July 2014

On June 12, a diverse group of BISD citizens presented a plan to the Board of Trustees to address ever-increasing facilities needs across Birdville ISD. This plan represents hundreds of hours of evaluating facilities in BISD.

Kristin Wheeler, Bond Planning Committee member, told Trustees, “The message you continue to hear from this Committee is, ‘This is a financially prudent package. It gets us moving in the right direction—a direction we must continue to follow and with great conviction, commit to continue. Why? Because it is what is right for our children.’”

Why was the Committee’s message so strong? It is because they quickly came to realize that doing nothing to our facilities means,

• Our financial resources will suffer;
• Our facilities will continue to suffer;
• Our staff will continue to suffer;
• Our communities will suffer;
• Our business community will continue to suffer; and
• Most importantly, current and future generations of students will suffer due to limited services we will be able to provide.

The plan being recommended to the Board from the Bond Planning Committee is:

• Rebuild North Richland Middle School;
• Rebuild The Academy at West Birdville and Birdville Elementary School;
• Provide for safe and secure science labs;
• Enhance safety and security;
• Provide for technology needs;
• Improve facility equity among our high schools; and
• Address critical renovation needs throughout the district.

The Committee made some bold steps in their recommendation to the Board.

At this time, the Board of Trustees is reviewing the plan which positively impacts every campus and every student. BISD has done a lot with a little for many years, but now is the time to move forward.

A copy of the Committee’s final report to the Board is available at http://tinyurl.com/l4r3grg. The Committee’s recorded presentation to the Board is available at http://youtu.be/_gJlaVm8usY.

I hope you will review the details of the recommendation on the district’s website at birdvilleschools.net and support your fellow citizens’ efforts to do what is right for current and future generations of Birdville ISD students.

Darrell G. Brown, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Birdville ISD