Multiple people sent me a link to an article published by National Public Radio last week. It’s about decades of sexual abuse allegations at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a Michigan boarding school. One of the accused teachers is Thomas Clower, who until recently was listed as a director for the Ballet Academy of Texas and the Ballet Ensemble of Texas. Neither of those Coppell organizations responded to multiple requests for comment, NPR reported.
City Keeps Covering School Officers’ Salaries
The City of Coppell will continue to fully fund the police officers stationed at Coppell ISD campuses within the city.
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring an armed security officer at every public school. That law provided school districts with only $15,000 per campus — plus $10 per student — to cover that mandate.
During a June 9 meeting of the Coppell Crime Control and Prevention District’s Board of Directors — a body whose roster mirrors that of the Coppell City Council — Kevin Nevels relayed a question one of his constituents asked him: How much does a school resource officer cost? Budget Manager Jessica Almendarez said each officer’s salary and benefits add up to about $125,000.
Nevels subsequently made a motion to approve the Crime Control and Prevention District’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with one amendment: subtracting a $794,550 reimbursement from Coppell ISD. (His motion was approved 6-0, with Biju Mathew being absent.) This action continues a tradition of the city lending a hand to the school district that began shortly after the law was passed.
(See “City to Cover School Officers’ Salaries” in Vol. 4, No. 22.)
The Crime Control and Prevention District is one of the city’s special revenue funds, and its budget was the subject of a second public hearing during the City Council’s Aug. 11 meeting. During that hearing, Director of Strategic Financial Engagement Kim Tiehen said nearly a third of the fund’s expenditures — or about $2.3 million — will go toward the salaries and benefits for 13 school resource officers, one supervising sergeant, and one administrative compliance officer.
The only person who signed up to speak during the Aug. 11 hearing was Randy Fite, Coppell ISD’s Chief Operations Officer, who expressed gratitude on behalf of the school district.
“In these challenging economic times, and as districts like Coppell ISD are facing unfunded mandates, the city’s financial commitment to providing school resource officers to ensure the safety and security of our students, staff, and families is something we do not take lightly,” Fite said. “The City of Coppell and Coppell ISD continue to foster a strong and collaborative relationship as we work together to serve these great citizens of our community. While funding the SROs out of the city’s budget is certainly a significant commitment, the city has continued to prioritize the safety of our students and families. That commitment means a great deal to us, and for that we are extremely grateful.”
Tiehen said 96 percent of the Crime Control and Prevention District’s revenues will come from sales taxes. (The remainder will be interest income.) Mayor Pro Tem Jim Walker pointed out that, as of a couple of years ago, at least 60 percent of Coppell’s sales taxes were paid by residents of other cities. Mayor Wes Mays said they’d have to confirm that statistic, but the last version he saw was 66 percent. Walker’s response: “I like that number too.”
In prior school years, the four Coppell ISD campuses in Cypress Waters and Irving have been protected by Dallas County sheriff’s deputies and security officers from D&L Entertainment Services, but the “Safety and Security” page on the school district’s website leads me to believe that each campus now has its own school resource deputy. I’ve never understood — or asked, frankly — why Irving police officers aren’t assigned to the two Coppell ISD campuses in Valley Ranch. On July 30, the Irving City Council approved agreements regarding school resource officers at Irving ISD campuses as well as Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD campuses within Irving. Those agreements call for the two school districts to cover 65 percent of the officers’ salaries and benefits.
With students returning to school last week, here are a few more education-related items of note:
• Coppell Middle School North teacher Duane Masengill told me last weekend that items were stolen from a locked cabinet in his classroom, and he suspects someone participating in campus renovations over the summer may be the culprit. Before I could ask many questions (including “Are you telling me this on the record?”), Masengill’s wife posted this theory in the “Coppell, Texas” group on Facebook. I have filed an open records request for any police reports filed this month by employees at North, Coppell High School, or the Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus, all of which were renovated this summer. Core Construction, which oversaw all three projects, did not respond to a request for comment, but Coppell ISD spokesperson Amanda Simpson told me this via email: “Coppell ISD is aware of missing personal items belonging to CMS North educators in connection with the construction project this summer. With teachers receiving access to their classrooms last Thursday, we are at the start of this process and are working with the affected educators, as well as the contractors and authorities, to address the issue.”
• Last week, the Texas Education Agency released its annual accountability ratings for schools and districts. Coppell ISD got an A overall, as did each of its campuses with the exception of three; Austin Elementary, Cottonwood Creek Elementary, and Denton Creek Elementary each got a B. Coppell ISD downplayed the accountability ratings in a post headlined “Measuring What Matters,” while Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD trumpeted its second consecutive B rating. (The one CFBISD campus within Coppell, Riverchase Elementary, got a high C rating of 79.) The other school district whose boundaries overlap with the City of Coppell’s, Lewisville ISD, also got a B; I didn’t see any related announcements or articles on that district’s website.
• There are two charter schools within Coppell’s city limits. Universal Academy got an A from the TEA, while Coppell Classical Academy got a C. Manara Academy, a charter school located in the Irving portion of Coppell ISD, got a B. You can look up the rating for any school or district here.
• When I covered the Coppell ISD board’s June 8 workshop, I made a joke about Trustee Jonathan Powers sitting on the low-tech/no-tech side of the room as far as microphones were concerned. After watching a recording of the board’s Aug. 10 workshop, I can confirm that Powers’ seat still occupies an auditory black hole.
Belt Line Building Marketed as Data Center
I pay more attention than the average suburban doofus to “for sale” and “for lease” signs in front of commercial properties. I can’t recall seeing another one in Coppell — or anywhere else, for that matter — marketed like this:
With people protesting data centers nationwide, touting a property as the future site of one seems like a bold strategy. That’s why — upon spotting that sign last week in front of the building at 1177 S. Belt Line Road — I pulled over, snapped a picture, and posted it on my Instagram account.
Before long, my post was on the radar of Julie Waters, a two-time candidate for the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees who has been crisscrossing the state to campaign against data centers. Her resulting Facebook post got far more engagement than what I put on Instagram.