Wylie Today

The WISD School Board of Trustees will hold two public forums to seek input regarding the proposed high school attendance zones. The first of these meetings is tonight, June 23rd at 7 pm and will be held at Wylie High School. Next Monday, June 30th, the forum will be at Wylie East High School at 7 pm.

Residents of WISD are encouraged to attended and voice their opinion on proposed future attendance zones for high school students. Below is the map that was approved during the second reading. Click the image for a super-duper large ultra-readable version.

The Wylie ISD Board of Trustees may be asking you to increase ISD taxes this year. Trustees listened earnestly to the WISD finance director during the second budget workshop Monday night, May 18th. The tax relief program implemented by the State of Texas last year is causing serious fiscal concerns with school budgets.

ISD taxes have two parts to them; Maintenance & Operations (M&O) and Debt Service. The Debt Service portion of ISD taxes can not exceed 50 cents per $100 of appraised property value. This portion is used to cover debt incurred by the district through issued bonds. Wylie ISD’s rate is currently 35 cents.

The M&O portion is used for exactly that, Maintenance and Operations of the district. The maximum rate the ISD can use without an election is $1.04. Wylie ISD’s M&O tax rate is currently set at $1.04. The M&O portion of ISD taxes has a ceiling of $1.17. But in order to use the maximum allowed, the voters within the district must agree and demonstrate their agreement at the polls.

Based on the conversation that took place Monday night, I will be really surprised if the WISD Board of Trustees didn’t ask citizens to raise the tax rate with a vote in November. And honestly, it’s not as bad as it sounds because it provides an automatic return on investment from the state.

The first 6 pennies over one dollar mark are referred to as “Golden Pennies” because they are matched by the state at a ratio of approximately 1.25. That means every dollar the ISD generates in taxes using those 6 “Golden Pennies”, the State of Texas gives the ISD $1.25 in return on top of that. Pennies 7 through 17 are also matched, but at a significantly reduced rate.

WISD Superintendent Dr. John Fuller recommended to the Trustees to ask citizens to raise taxes to the maximum amount allowed. Without those additional 13 pennies, teacher and staff raises might be out of the question, resulting in a loss of talented educators to other districts. Dr. Fuller made it clear that he would forfeit his recent raise as well.

Currently, 12% of districts have successfully voted on tax rates higher than $1.04. Dr. Fuller said he expects this number to increase as he thinks many districts will have this item on the ballot in November. His ideal scenario though is for the State legislation to fix the problem they have created.

 Click on image above for a large, large, large version.

The Wylie ISD Board of Trustees approved an altered version of the Wylie High School and Wylie East High School attendance zones on Monday night, May 18th. This is the second reading of the new high school attendance zones and again it was mentioned there would be parent forums to solicit feedback from the community before the final reading and approval is made.

There was only one change and it is not that significant. In order to account for the possibility of a large development north in St. Paul, the dividing line has been straightened out a bit. To see the previous map, click here.

Congratulations to the 20 teachers who have been selected as members of the WISD Teacher Leader Academy Class of 2009.  The selection committee reviewed the applications of more than 40 teachers; criteria included evidence of leadership abilities as demonstrated in current and previous positions as well as commitment to ongoing professional growth.  Good luck to the members of this new Teacher Leader Academy Class!

Class of 2009 members are:

Mindy Allen, Draper IS

Tracey Baskeyfield, Birmingham ES

Suzanne Burnham, Cox ES

Carma Gay, Akin ES

JoAnn Elliott, McMillan JHS

Barbara Gilmore, Whitt ES

Jennifer Gustavson, Dodd ES

Tiffany Cook-Harrod, Cooper JHS

Andrea Henderson, Wylie East HS

Kathryn Lee, Draper IS

Lynda Maynard, Birmingham ES

Michael McAloon, Wylie HS

Sharla McCrary, McMillan JHS

Elizabeth McDorman, Birmingham ES

Michelle McGaughy, Wylie HS

Cassie Nickel, Harrison IS

Diana Pecorino, Whitt ES

Lindsay Pitts, McMillan JHS

Beth Schara, Davis IS

Jessica Taylor, Wylie East HS

The Wylie ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously on new school hours for the 2008-2009 school year on Monday night. During the end of March, Dr. Fuller was recommending that high school students start school at 7:30 am. But tonight Dr. Fuller relayed what he had heard from the community that prompted the change in high school start time to 9:00 am.

Dr. Fuller mentioned the countless amount of studies showing that later start times contributed to better students as they got older. He also talked about the concerns of parents regarding teenagers out of school and on the roads driving while the younger kids are walking and biking home. I recalled the discussion on the Wylie View about the school hours and seeing those exact points brought up. It’s fantastic to see Dr. Fuller and the Board listening to the concerns of parents.

The new start times:

Elementary Schools: 7:30 am - 2:30 pm

Junior High and Intermediate Schools: 8:15 am - 3:15 pm

High School: 9:00 am - 4:15 pm

On Monday night, May 19th, 2008, the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees elected officers for the next year, voting unanimously to keep Susan Shuler as President and Ralph E. James as Vice-President. Sam Satterwhite was elected Secretary. The evening began with newly elected Trustee Lance Goff taking his oath of office along with Ronni Fetzer and Ralph E. James.

I’m still amazed at the results of the Fetzer/Goss race. Five votes. Wow. The people still have faith in Ronni Fetzer. And the people believe that Barbara Goss is the right type of person needed on the School Board. Maybe the time will come where everyone can be happy and support both Ronni Fetzer and Barbara Goss. Personally, I have no doubt that they will both put our children’s education as the top priority in each decision they make.

After the election, Ronni Fetzer said, “My sincere thanks to all the voters who made an effort to have their voice heard on the Wylie ISD elections, and to those who supported me during the campaign. Thanks also to Barbara Goss and all the candidates who put their hats into the ring to serve the students and families of Wylie ISD. We are in an important time for our district, and the dedication and commitment of many people is vital to our success. Please stay involved with your local schools.”

I also think it’s real funny (sorry, Sam) that they elected Sam Satterwhite as Secretary, even after Ronni Fetzer told everyone he said he didn’t want to be. It’s too bad Mr. Satterwhite was doing his job as WEDC Executive Director in Las Vegas today and wasn’t there to nominate someone else as Secretary. You know, Stacie Gooch, or someone like that.

From the Wylie Community Newsletter:

Congratulations to the 22 Wylie High School graduating seniors who have been selected as Birmingham Scholars. On Monday the students completed the interview phase of the scholarship process and attended a celebratory banquet with their parents. Those 11 scholars who have been awarded $11,000 each are: Yasmin-Pei Chau, Lauren Dennis, Maggie Emerson, Heath Gipson, Sheila Hobbs, Jennifer Lipe, Brittany Murrie, Stephanie Oliver, Robin Reininger, Allie Spillyards and Monica Wyrem.

Students receiving $1,500 awards are Joey Bartley, Joshua Burkhart, Katherine Griggs, Zahidul Haq, Jace Lington, Wesley Murack, Rachel O’Steen, Charles Partridge, Korey Stephens, Blake Stevens and Erica Wickett. The scholarships are funded annually by the Pearl Birmingham Scholarship Trust Fund which was formed in 1947. From that initial gift by the former WISD teacher, students today continue to receive benefits.

Saturday, May 17th @ 9 am @ Pirate Stadium

Proceeds will benefit the William Henry Smith, III fund at Inwood National Bank

Will is the son of BJ and Lajuana Smith. BJ is a coach and teacher at Wylie East High School. Lajuana is a teacher at Hartman Elementary. Will has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Phelan-McDermid Syndrome/22q13 Deletion Syndrome. Specific developmental and physical features are affected by the loss or deletion of a small amount of genetic material from chromosome 22. Fewer than 300 people worldwide have been diagnosed as of 2006.

Please help support the wonderful teachers and contributors to our school district by walking on Saturday or sending in a donation.

More details can be found on the flyer distributed by the WISD.

1 May 08

Maxwell AFB AL

Colonel Richard J. Ragaller, Director of Air Force Junior ROTC, has announced that MSgt J. J. Smith, an Aerospace Science Instructor at Wylie East High School, was selected as one of the Outstanding Instructors for 2008. Under AFJROTC policy, the top 20% (384 of 1,920 instructors) were selected based on their individual contributions and impact on cadets, their school/unit, and community.

MSgt Smith was the coordinator for the Curriculum In Action trip for over 100 cadets that spent the night at Randolph AFB and in Corpus Christi, Texas aboard the USS Lexington. This trip served as a catalyst for building our senior leaders into a strong united team. It also served as a forum for all cadets to meet and work with each other. It has been a key motivator in building cohesiveness within the unit. He also planned and organized a JROTC Corps Night once each semester. This has been a big hit with the cadets and has lead to several non-JROTC students wanting to join just to participate in these type activities. MSgt Smith was the planner and coordinator for the Fourth Annual Wylie Pirate Drill Meet. He set up with the cadet staff a plan that coordinated all aspects of the event, including invitations to schools, coordinating facilities use with school officials, scheduling events, judges, awards, and award ceremony. Nineteen teams participated and every team praised the event as one of the best they had ever seen.

MSgt. Smith’s dedication and giving to the school district is unsurpassed, whether it is cooking for cadets and school staff, or chaperoning numerous after school events, he is always there when the district or kids need him. MSgt Smith has been with TX-200010 for 6 years and has taught AFJROTC for 12 years.

Air Force Press Release

Voters residing within the Wylie ISD opted not to change too much at once in the 2008 elections. Two incumbents, Ralph James and Ronni Fetzer, will remain as Trustees for another three years, pending official results. Mr. James will be serving his fourth term and Mrs. Fetzer will be serving her third.

Lance Goff was elected to unseat incumbent D. Baron Cook, who was appointed to the seat last year to replace the departed Eric Lindsey. This particular seat is a one year term, so Mr. Goff will have to run for election again next year.

I don’t know that I have seen a race as close as the Fetzer/Goss race since I have been here (or ever). Ronni Fetzer gained 701 votes while challenger Barbara Goss received 695. Also voting for ‘blank’ were 105 people. Goss was ahead by a handful of votes after early voting results were released.