Citizens' Advocate (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, January 28, 2005 Page: 1 of 20
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WM. T. COZBY PUBLIC LIBRARY
177 N. HEARTZ RD.
35 cents
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
January 28, 2005
Serving Coppell, Valley Ranch and Hackberry Creek since 1984
Volume XXI, No. 4
Board OKs Calendar,
Cameras, Sets Drug
Testing Forum Dates
Suresh Lassos Spelling Bee with ‘Lariat’
By Jane Moore
Coppell School Board mem-
bers covered a wide variety of
topics at Monday’s meeting, in-
cluding approval of next year’s
calendar, announcement of up-
coming forums on substance
abuse and student drug testing,
a report on the District’s new
energy savings plan, approval of
up to $180,000 for surveillance
cameras, and extension of the
superintendent’s contract.
Dates for the 2005-2006
school calendar include an Au-
gust 15 start date for students,
with teachers starting on August
9. After Labor Day, the first stu-
dent day off is October 7, which
will include time for elementary
teacher conferences. There will
be some half days for staff de-
velopment, but fewer than the six
in this year’s calendar. Those
dates have not yet been set. The
traditional full week for Thanks-
giving will remain, but winter
School District Summit
Set for February 10
The CISD Board of Trust-
ees will host its first School Dis-
trict Summit next month, pat-
terned after the City of Coppell’s
summit model.
The purpose of the summit
is to invite the community to join
in an open discussion about the
Coppell ISD today and in the fu-
ture, according to Superinten-
dent Jeff Turner.
“Citizen input is very valu-
able in assisting District officials
in setting the course for the fu-
ture ofCoppell schools,” Turner
said.
Initially, 10 issues of con-
cern were identified and nar-
rowed to four topics to be dis-
cussed by teams of community
representatives and Trustees at
holidays won’t begin until De-
cember 22 next year. (Semester
exams will be administered be-
fore the winter break.) Students
will return after the break on
January 4, following a teacher
in-service day on January 3.
January 16 will be a holiday for
Martin Luther King’s birthday,
and January 30 will be a staff
development day. Spring break
is March 13 through 17, which
coincides with school districts in
Carrollton, Lewisville and
Grapevine. Weather days are
May 1 and May 24, which is the
last day of school. May 25 is a
staff development day. A gradu-
ation date has not yet been set.
The calendar is contingent on
the District getting a waiver from
the state to start earlier than Au-
gust 22. Superintendent Jeff
Turner said the District might
also alter some school start times
for next year. Those could be
on the agenda of a special meet-
see BOARD on page 19
the meeting, set for Thursday,
February 10, 6:00 to 9:30 p.m.,
at the Vonita White Administra-
tion Building. The four topics
will be Coppell High School,
North Lake property develop-
ment (Cypress Waters), middle
schools, and a bond campaign.
Community members are
welcome to listen and observe
any portion of the meeting, how-
ever, those who wish to serve on
the committee of community rep-
resentatives must have a com-
pleted survey on file prior to the
meeting date, and be willing to
attend the entire meeting.
Surveys are available for
pick-up Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Ad-
ministration Building.
By Jane Moore
After 40
rounds of compe-
tition among 13
campus’ champi-
ons last Thurs-
day, Coppell ISD
declared Krish
Suresh, CMS
West sixth
grader, the win-
ner of the
District’s 2005
Spelling Bee.
Suresh took
the champion-
ship by correctly
spelling the word
“lariat” in the
fortieth round of
the bee, which
was held January
20 in the CMS
West auditorium.
Suresh will ad-
vance to the Dal-
las County Spelling Bee on
February 24 at Eastfield Com-
munity Codege.
All participants in last
week’s bee were winners at
their individual campuses, with
School Board
Candidate
Workshops Set
By Jane Moore
Two School Board seats
are up for election this year,
and anyone interested in run-
ning for Trustee can learn
more about it by attending one
of two workshops in Febru-
ary.
Coppell ISD is holding a
local workshop on Monday,
February 21, from 7:00 to
8:00 p.m., in the Board Room
at the Vonita White Adminis-
tration Building. The Region
10 Education Service Center
will also hold a candidate
workshop Wednesday, Febru-
see WORKSHOP on page 19
i
i. :
Spelling Bee caller Carson Thompson (left) and Janis Branum, CISD di-
rector of gifted and talented and secondary lanuage arts, congratulate
Krish Suresh, winner of the District Spelling Bee, which was held last
Thursday at CMS West.
champions from all 10 elemen-
tary schools and the two other
middle schools competing.-
Abhishek Mallela, CMS North
eighth grader, was the second
place winner, and Hiba Ibad,
City Council Okays Youth
Advisory Council Concept
By Jean Murph
The Coppell City Council
Tuesday endorsed the concept of
a Youth Advisory Council, the
result of months of discussion
between the Council, CISD rep-
resentatives, the YMCA and a
large group of Coppell youth.
The Council agreed to a steer-
ing committee selection process
for youth to serve on the Advi-
sory Council.
The steering committee is
made up of adult volunteers from
the City, CISD, YMCA, and the
community. A job description
and interview process will be
developed by the committee, and
their work will involve training,
including the 40-Asset Program
CMS East seventh grader,
placed third.
Elementary participants in
last week’s bee, all champions
of fifth grade bees at their cam-
see SPELLINGon page 19
promoted by members of the
community as a method to better
communicate with and support
youth.
The group will come up with
possible plans for a teen center,
the top priority during recent dis-
cussions.
In other action, the Council:
•Approved a resolution to inter-
vene before the Railroad Com-
mission of Texas regarding the
filing of a gas cost prudence re-
view by Atmos Energy Corpora-
tion, formerly TXU Gas Com-
pany.
•Approved a resolution suspend-
ing the proposal by Atmos En-
ergy Corporation to implement
interim GRIP rate adjustments,
see COUNCIL on page 19
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Citizens' Advocate (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, January 28, 2005, newspaper, January 28, 2005; Coppell, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1687331/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cozby Library and Community Commons.