Denton ISD Attendance Zone Changes

Denton ISD- Board of Trustees Meeting Tonight

2004-11-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Denton Board of Trustees meeting is tonight at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Denton High School Auditorium, 1007 Fulton ST., Denton, Texas. Please attend if you want your voice to be heard.

A new map

2004-11-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

Buster,

I know this is a very rough picture and I am sure it will need some major refinements. But for discussion purposes I thought it might be a start in our efforts to define a new attendance plan. Someone here said we need to look at the whole district when we propose something. Focusing on just Forrestridge and Montecito will not solve the problems with this proposed map.

Anyway, please take a look and let’s have open and candid conversations about this mockup:

http://www.avera.net/ms0405.jpg

This map is based off of the current middle school attendance zones. I have overlaid some colors to define GENERAL areas of attendance for the new schools. I believe it is a good start, if we only had the numbers to define the plan to present and alternate.

Regards,

Jim

Letter from concerned parent

2004-11-19T08:59:00.000-08:00

I am a parent of a 4th grader currently attending Wayne Stuart Ryan
Elementary. If no changes are made and no high schools built, she will
now be attending DHS.

I agree with most of the statements presented. There is a REASON we
moved to Forrestridge...the school proximities and to be around students
that are also neighbors.

I am wondering if the board is taking into consideration that we pay
HIGH property taxes for this reason. I do not have a problem with the
faculty at DHS; I know several of them. I do have a problem with
bussing my child across town when there is a school 2 miles away that is
on my way to work.

I will gladly assist in any endeavor we feel as a neighborhood that
will benefit our arguments to the zoning committee. I do agree that we
will have to come up with an alternative plan to present rather than
just complain.

Sincerely,

Audrey Bryant

From Bret Curran

2004-11-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

Buster,

Could you put this up as a post please? I didn't want it to get
buried as a "comment".

I read through this, and while it's more "forum-like", meaning more
"noise", it does contain some interesting and educational material.
I personally think the 380 corridor is worse-off in this plan than we
are -- of course, their situation truly is "temporary" as they will
have their own high school in 4-6 years. thanks, --Bret

Subject: More information and opinions

Website: http://www.providencelifestyle.com/
(You'll have to register for free to view the forum... look 2/3 down
the page in the middle column, looking for "Highschool district lines
being changed").

Today's DRC:
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Balance_sought.6b8fc625.html

Remark from DHS Teacher

2004-11-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

I am a teacher at Denton HS. Two of my children are currently
students
> here. I am dismayed to hear that people are worried about continuing
to
> attend DHS. While Guyer is going to be a nice buidling to work in,
it
> is unproven concerning the quality of the education. No one knows
who
> the teachers will be. No one knows how the teachers and
administration
> will work together. Personally, I would not want my children to go
> there for a few years until the school proves itself. Denton High
> School is know for its concern for all of its students. We offer
highly
> experienced teachers in academic and vocational classes. We have an
> excellent administration that supports the teachers (which is highly
> important for a school to be successful). I am sure that Guyer is
going
> to turn out to be another excellent high school, but it will take
some
> time for the teachers and adminstrators to work out the details.
>
> When a person buys a house, there are no guarantees as to what
schools
> their children will attend. There are no guarantees as to how their
> neighborhood will change.
>
> While I don't agree with all of the zoning decisions, I didn't see
any
> reasons on the blogging site that would make me agree with the
residents
> of Southridge,
> Forrestridge, and Montecito. Their students can afford to the
longer
> travel than our poorer populations.
>
> Michelle DeAngelo
> Denton High School
> Social Studies Teacher
> UIL Social Studies Coach
> Junior Class Sponsor

Letter from J. and Staci Taylor

2004-11-18T13:16:00.000-08:00

As we read these blogs, we have to say we agree with all. We also want to ask everyone in the Monticeto/Forrestridge neighborhoods not to forget about Southridge. We are fighting for your neighborhoods as well.

The schools in this area were a huge factor for us when looking to purchase our house. With the building of Guyer we were thrilled because we thought our children would get to go to all of their schools close to home. Also, get to go to school from K-12 with the same group of friends. The teenage years are such a rough time for most students and to be thrown into a new school with people they have never met before is crazy, especially at a time in their lives when their self esteem is so fragile.

Here's a question, does the DISD currently split the 4 middle schools to go to DHS and RHS? Or do they send the entire middle school to a high school?

A great point we read was from the Herr's, has anyone considered what this will do to the value of our neighborhoods and our homes? If we were just moving to Denton, we would purchase in the area of Guyer (of course, this is just our opinion).

We also agree with the Curran's letter. This issue also has to do with distance, facilities, and continuity.

With all of this being said, we are going to the meeting tonight at DHS and we hope to see everyone there.

Thank You,

J. and Staci Taylor

Southridge

Letter from DISD Teacher

2004-11-18T13:10:00.000-08:00

Buster- I know that some parents have some concerns about the
changes
> that may come in the future due to redistricting. Being on the DHS
> campus for some time and having some familiarity with the situation-
I
> want to share with you how I see it. Most of us that teach here at
DHS
> do like it here, there is a real sense of family among the staff. I
> think our new principal is a real asset, and with his leadership we
will
> become an even stronger faculty. Every school will have its
dissenters
> and hopefully they will be the ones to choose to work elsewhere- but
> overall I do not see the quality of the faculty degrading at all
with
> the opening of the new school. In addition, we have a diverse
student
> population. I would not want to teach in an environment that was
any
> other way. Every student in my classroom brings something valuable
to
> the table. The more diverse the population, the more interesting it
> becomes. If I were choosing a school for my own children to attend
I
> would not hesitate to choose this one.
> I don't know of any school that is perfect- and hopefully we all-
> individually and collectively- will strive to make this the best
> environment for the learners that are sent our way.
> I hope that if you have the chance to convey this to any of the
parents
> that you may know that have students at DHS that you will share
this.
> Hope all is well, have a great day- Leslie Kregel
>

Letter from RHS teacher

2004-11-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

Letter for the blog:

I teach at RHS and live in Southridge. After attending the meeting at
RHS, it is obvious there are three points of contention: 1) Southridge,
Forrestridge, and Montecito want to attend Guyer, 2) the 380 corridor
residents want to attend Ryan, 3) the school district does not want
DHS to become an inner city school.

If the 3rd point is the most important, (which I believe is the case),
we are in an uphill battle. Actually, it is like the battle is at the
top of Mt. Everest and we are gathering rocks in the foothills of Tibet.

I think we need to ally with the people of the 380 corridor and present
a single, unified modification. The modification needs to be an
alternative map. In order to make this map, we need the actual income
density data that the school is using.

There are several issues with the proposed map as I see it. Since it
looks like gerrymandering is in play to make the economic status
similar, (ie: 380 going similar then they did a poor job. Low
socio-economic levels of 16% for Guyer, 34% for RHS and 39% for DHS
doesn't seem very equitable to me. Bussing high income all around as
the only solution is very one sided. Bussing low income around should
also be on the table to get these things evened out. It seems like a
neighborhood "feel" could be more easily achieved by bussing inner
Denton students a shorter distance than outer Denton students longer
distances.

The main point I have to make is the school board needs to see a map
that has our sub-divisions at Guyer and still has an even socio-economic
breakdown of the schools. If we can't do that then we have no chance of
going to school across the street.

I find it hard to believe that teachers at DHS are thrilled with this
map. A 15% increase in your low socio-economic student base is not a
prayer answered. The fact is that these kids generally have more on
their plate. Academia simply can't take precedence over survival. I
realize these are generalizations and politically unsound, and that
every child has his or her own story, but typically these parents are
both working many hours, these kids are working or watching siblings and
school is 3rd, 4th or 5th on the list of priorities. It is a tougher
student body to reach. The students of Southridge, Forrestridge and
Montecito have different pressures.

Scott Dean
Southridge resident
RHS teacher

Concerned Citizen

2004-11-18T06:20:00.000-08:00

Please feel free to post this letter to your blog, but
please keep my name out of it.
thanks

I sincerely hope that DISD board members actually look
at this web blog and truly consider the concerns of
the residents of the Montecito/Forestridge area.

My concerns have already been addressed in an
articulate manner by Randy Wuenche and others and do
not feel that rehashing them ad nauseum is productive.

I am VERY FRUSTRATED in the manner in which this
entire situation was handled! The decision that the
board is making affects the core of so many people.
Breaking this news just weeks before a vote without
anything but hurried community input is absusrd!

If the data presented on this blog is anywhere close
to being accurate, the point of socioeconomic equality
of high school campuses is bogus. The size of this
neighborhood is not nearly enough to make much of a
statistical difference in the high school population.
And this is the only valid point that the board can
make?! And somehow this statistically insignificant
number outweighs numerous other valid concerns? Am I
the only one that thinks that this is crazy?

I am passionate about my children going to
neighborhood PUBLIC schools. I settled in this
neighborhood knowing that because of the growth in the
south Denton it would only be a matter of time before
a new high school on this side of town would be built.
'Lo and behold shortly thereafter a sign appeared at
the Guyer site and I was thrilled to know my kids
would be going to school just down the road. . . .. .
until last week.

Sincerely

Concerned Citizen

More Clarity on Mandate

2004-11-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday during the Elementary Zoning meeting at McMath MS a question about demagraphics was asked and I like a lot of people assumed that there is a Federal Mandate to balance out the schools. When asked if this was not so Mr. Galloway referred us to Dr. Rutherford who stated that there is a Denton ISD Mandate but there is no longer a Federal Mandate. I made a point of asking Dr. Rutherford again after the meeting and he said a Federal Mandate no longer exists but if there is a complaint then the courts and or civil liberties people may get involved. Supposedly there was a complaint previously concerning Tomas Rivera, consequently there are no Transfers into or out of Rivera. One of many thoughts I've had this past week is why the free and reduced numbers for next year are so unbalanced especially since making this fair for all children is a DISD Mandate. Why will the numbers be so much higher at DHS and RHS. I don't believe this is in the best interest of the student population or the community as a whole.

Toni McCartney.

Is there a federal mandate?

2004-11-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

Can someone help clear up the issue relating to a federal mandate concerning the socio economic disadvantaged in our schools? Is there a mandate that requires the DISD to maintain certain percent ratios of socio economic disadvantaged in our schools? Does the percentage in a particular school have to be lower than the district average? I have received numerous conflicting statements regarding this. In addition, is there any mandate relating to balance of the percents?

Comments about the hearing last night

2004-11-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended the first of two presentations regarding the High School Zoning changes that will occur next year. I now have a better understanding of the complexity of this issue than I did previously. I have an even greater respect for the School Board and Administration that have to sort all of this out. I thought that Mr. Tony Swafford and Mr. Gene Holloway did a great job at presenting the information and answering the questions. In fact, they answered all of the questions and took follow-up questions from the group. It was obvious that although they answered the questions, most of the people in the audience did not like what they heard. There were several points that became clear to me as a result.

I was surprised based on the importance of this issue that there were only a few parents that attended the presentation. I am guessing that 30 or so attended the session. Given that this blogger has been averaging over 200 hits a day and growing. At the end of the day regardless of the final outcome, I urge you to attend these meetings because they seem to be the only place to make your opinions heard. In addition, there is a document that you can fill out for comments of recommendations for the School Board.

It was obvious that the distance the kids had to travel to school and the inconveniences that go along with this did not matter.

It was made clear that the continuance of neighborhood schools and the common sense of that did not matter.

It was clear that the cost of transportation for the school district did not matter.

I drove home thinking that my opinions did not matter.

The only thing that did matter in the new zone districts was making sure that the percents of the reduced and free lunch students at Denton High and Ryan were not above the average percent of the entire district. Hence, some neighborhoods right down the street from Guyer must attend these schools to maintain the numbers, and many kids will have to drive by Ryan on the way to Denton High for the same reason. Oh by the way, they may have to bus kids into Guyer from other areas North to make the numbers look better at Guyer. I have learned that this is a DISD Board mandate that the district must adhere to. I very much respect that, and I personally believe it is the right thing to do. However, I just can’t comprehend that there is not a better way to get this done where diversity exists and kids can attend schools down the street. Maybe it is because I have always been a business man where there always seems to be a solution for a complex situation even though disaster often time seems right around the corner. Maybe I’m just plain wrong.

We learned that internal staff at DISD administration did the Zone study. I have no doubt that they are very good at what they do, and respect the countless hours they spent on this proposal. However, I can’t help but wonder if an independent study should have been conducted to determine if there is a better way to get this very difficult task done. Maybe there should be one.

Regardless of what you think of the new zone changes. Please make your opinions known to the DISD Administration. I firmly believe that they are trying to do the right thing for our children. I also know that there are hundreds of teachers and administrators that work hard every day in the best interests of our children. For this I am very grateful and believe that all of us are indebted to them. Personally I feel a tremendous amount of guilt for not being more involved over the last 10 years my children have been in DISD. Whatever the outcome of this issue, I intend to be more involved with the DISD to help make all the schools the best they can be.

Letter from Donna McClendon

2004-11-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

Mr. Brown,

I am writing with regard to your website on postings to the proposed high school attendance zones.

First let me tell you that I have served on two redistricting committees one being Rivera. I know more about this process than I want to know, I can assure you!!!!!! I have a son who is a senior at DHS and a daughter who is a freshman. My husband is the robotics and engineering instructor at DHS. I am extremely involved in the campus not only as a parent but as the spouse of an employee as well. I would like to address your concerns one at a time. Teachers- they are very pleased with the boundaries as they are at this point. Only 12 employees out of about 145 have even applied for transfers. Additionally, the football coach has resigned. According to DISD there are limits on how many teachers can be taken from existing campuses to new schools. There have not been limits in the past and it has proven to be damaging to existing schools. Therefore the issue was addressed. Distance- I understand your concern on this issue. When Rivera was built there was an expectation from those in the neighborhood that they would attend Rivera. Of course many of them were not allowed to go to their neighborhood school because of their race and the upsetting of the balance of the schools. If your neighborhoods were shifted to Guyer it would raise DHS number of socio economically disadvantaged and significantly lower those numbers at Guyer. Denton high depends on your neighborhood for volunteerism and support. The inclusion of your neighborhood keeps the balance that must legally exist. There are federal mandates that state that no one school can have a representation in their school that does not represent the district as a whole. I trust DISD to address DHS slightly higher socio economic numbers before the proposed plan is approved. Denton High is an amazing school. The teachers and programs are incredible. Especially in the area of fine arts. Mr. Brown I want to thank you for attending Les Mis at DHS and supporting our fine arts program. I am sure you will agree the production was of professional quality! The principal is unbelievably supportive and accessible. I urge those who are unfamiliar with DHS to go visit with him and tour the school. While I currently live in North Denton we are building a home in your neighborhood so as far as transportation, I am about to be in the same boat with you.

Thank you for your time.

Donna McClendon

Letter from Tim and Kathie Herr

2004-11-17T06:18:00.000-08:00

We agree with all the issues discussed by other concerned parents writing to this blog. The bottom line is the "BOTTOM LINE".

1. The increased distance increases cost for not only parents and students but also the school district's transportation cost. Not only the cost of gas, but brakes, tires, wear and tear, and time. As someone else put it, do we want our least experienced drivers trekking across the heart of Denton 2-6 times a day? What about auto insurance cost? Every extra mile increases the chance for a fender bender or worse case, another tragedy caused by inexperienced drivers.

2. What about property values and taxes? Has the school district thought about the appraisal values affected by taking a preferred school off the pro list of a perspective home for sale. Schools are a big plus on the appraisal process. Quality of life can add or decreases value. So when the district is attempting to make the demographic percentages look right they need to look and the bottom line once again.

3. Another bottom line is one already mentioned. 0-1% is the amount of students we're discussing. We're not asking for much.

4. Another bottom line is I have enough things to worry about on an everyday basis and I didn't think I would have to be writing a list of reasons why my daughter should go to a school in her neighborhood opposed to one across town.

Sincerely,

Tim Herr

Results from Sunday Meeting

2004-11-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

A meeting was held at the Brown’s house on Sunday night to discuss the proposed DISD Zone Changes. The meeting was open to anyone in the community. The results of the meeting were very positive with discussions centered on what could be done about the proposed zone changes. Some of the results are as follows:

The blogger is a very import tool for expressing the opinions of the community, and that people should spread the news about the blogger to ask people to post their comments and opinions. It was explained that any letters needed to be sent to buster_brown@earthlink.net to post. Also, that it is easy to email the blogger to others by clicking the envelope on the site. It is our hope that the DISD administration will eventually make posts to this site.

Several questions were agreed upon that needed to be asked during the hearings/presentations this week. And were subsequently assigned to a few folks to be asked during the hearings/presentations.

We all agreed that it was important for people to attend the hearings/presentations to show their support for this important issue, and ask their questions both Tuesday night and Thursday night. Ryan High School Auditorium, Tuesday November 16, 2004 and Denton High School Auditorium, Thursday, November 18, 2004.

Discussions took place about the format of the hearings/presentations, and that questions had to be written out on a form. Those that attended the session last week explained that a presentation was given and that questions were answered that had been written only. No oration or statements could be made by the community.

Concern was also expressed about teacher transfers from DHS to Guyer over the next few years.

6. An additional question arose in relation to the increased percent of free and reduced lunch students at DHS. Does DHS have the appropriate resources to allocate for this increase?

Message from Kay Clark

2004-11-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

This proposed zone change has really shaken and confused my family. As parents we were shocked to be included in the Denton high zone. We feel we were lead to believe we would be included in the new and closer high school. We truly love where we live with all the schools around our neighborhood. Our children are so close, making it easy for them to get to school and convenient for parents to volunteer and stay involved.
Our children are confused with the fact they were asked to participate in a school vote to decide the colors and mascot of our new neighborhood high school and then be told they may not attend. How to explain this is difficult when as parents we are a little confused ourselves.
How great it would be for our families to look back at the memories of growing up in a neighborhood where elementary, middle school, and even high school were all within a couple miles from our homes.
Opening a new school is a real challange,our neighborhood and community can relate to since we've opened two new neighborhood schools already. Challange or not it's what neighborhoods do. They come together to help make a sucessful school.

School volunteer and parent of 3 Kay Clark

Letter to DISD Board from John Weeks

2004-11-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Board Members,
I was surprised as were many of my neighbors, to learn that the Forrestridge and Montecito neighborhoods have been tentatively zoned to continue attending Denton High School. With the new construction of Guyer High School, and it's close proximity to these neighborhoods, the thought never crossed my mind that Forrestridge and Montecito would not be in the boundaries of this new school.
As we all know the traffic situation in Denton is rapidly decreasing the quality of life in this "small town". I am sure no doubt, that various traffic studies have been conducted about the feasibility of this zoning. I am concerned however, that there were no alternative proposals that address the inefficiencies and inconveniences this plan places on these two neighborhoods.
I-35 with it's NW - SE orientation allows only two viable routes to connect Forrestridge and Montecito to DHS. These two roads are Ft Worth Drive and Teasley ln. One only has to travel these roads during the morning rush to experience the congestion. What used to take 15 minutes now takes at least 20-25 minutes and will soon take in excess of 30 minutes. To get to DHS from the south side of Hobson one would travel in excess of 5 miles and transit at least 10 intersections with traffic signals, not to mention numerous turns disrupting the "flow" of traffic. The same commute to Guyer High school would entail 1 left turn followed by 1 right turn, transit 2 intersections with signals and cover a distance slightly over half of that to DHS. I ask, which would we rather have our LEAST EXPERIENCED drivers make?
I realize the bus transportation logistics have also been studied in depth, but I wonder with the high price of fuel if it makes economic sense to bus these long commutes as well. A major drawback of the current bus system is that it doesn't offer viable transportation to students involved in extracurricular activities. This burden falls squarely on the shoulders of the parents who can automatically write off at least one hour of their day for transportation to and from DHS. This strikes me as ludicrous when there is a school 5 minutes away! I had hoped the advent of Guyer high school would alleviate some of this inefficiency.
I would ask you to reconsider the proposed boundaries of this redistricting and address this issue as it further attacks the quality of life in these two neighborhoods. Thank you for your time.
Concerned Parent,
J.D. Weeks

Please get involved !

2004-11-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Please make your opinions known with this blogger. This is the most pure way for you to make your feelings known. If you want to make a posting please make comments or send me your posting to buster_brown@earthlink.net and I will do my best to post quickly. If you do not want your name mentioned, then tell me and I will not post your name. My intent is to let our voices be heard.

Letter to Trustee from Randy Wuensche

2004-11-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks for taking the time to read my e-mail, I know this is a busy time
for all of you. First of all, I appreciate all the time that you put in
with your positions on the board. I have some major concerns regarding the
proposed high school redistricting for next year. I live on Leisure Lane off
Ryan Road right next to Forrestridge. Our children were placed in the Denton High
School zone. I was flabbergasted when I read the map. There is only one
alternative, no "Plan A" or "Plan B"! I have never seen plans with no
options beside the one presented. Where is the public input? What is the reasoning
for the area from Hobson to Ryan to Country Club road being placed in the DHS
zone while Guyer is less than three miles away? There are only 38 current 8th
graders residing in the above mentioned area. Zoning Forrestridge/Montecito
with Guyer High would not affect the populations significantly of Guyer or DHS. I
want my children to go to a close high school, not one that is 7 miles away
in the middle of downtown Denton. There are many concerned parents in our are
regarding this matter. Please hear our concerns. We are not talking
about a large group of children. Please consider the matter and hear public input in
our area before voting on the redistricting map.
Thank you.
Randy Wuensche
DVM

Letter from Bret & Michelle Curran

2004-11-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Buster, thanks for setting this up! Makes me wonder why I didn't think to set one up! :-)

. Could you post this to the blog please?

As parents of 4, currently in grades 7th, 6th, 4th and 2nd, Michelle & I would like to cast a vote for our preference to have our children attend Guyer High School. First of all, it's odd that we're even having to cast a vote and state a preference, as it was thoroughly and completely expected that we would be attending the new high school that's "just down the road". We are extremely curious as to why the lines were drawn as such, and would appreciate full disclosure of the decisioning process. The DISD website seems like the perfect place to present such information, as opposed to the brief article in the newspaper.

With the information we do have, our preference for attending Guyer High School is based on three factors:

Distance -- how to state the obvious? Our family has been down the path of commuting to the center of town before when our children attended pre-school near DHS. It is an 18-20 minute drive at best, one-way, from our house. Not so bad until taking into account the fact that we average 4 round trips to McMath middle school currently due to extracurricular activities such as band and athletics. That would amount to 160 minutes per day, which is 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Facilities -- make no mistake, the lure of a new high school with new facilities is very real. I attended Denton High School, and often thought it would be quite nostalgic having my children attend as well. However, I would trade that nostalgia in a heartbeat for the opportunity for my kids to have increased opportunities afforded by attending a new school with better facilities.

Our family is fortunate enough to attend a relatively new middle school, McMath. But even that new school has had improvements made to its design, as Principal Dianne Blair says on the DISD site: "Ronny Cronover Middle Schoool is the second school that Denton ISD has constructed using this same footprint but with upgrades and changes that our experience with the first construction told us were needed." With nearly 50 years difference, the new Guyer high school will be heads and shoulders above DHS with regard to facilities.
Continuity and Community -- In an ideal world, it would be as simple as several elementary schools flowing into a middle school, which in turn flows into the high school. This would be ideal because of the continuity that it allows in the community of the school. The success of public schools, and therefore the education of our kids as future citizens and leaders, depends heavily on the establishment of the community, in many areas such as the kids, the parents, the families, the extracurricular activities such as sports, scouting, and so forth.

We want our kids to continue their education, and school-age lives, with the friends and community they've established -- both from elementary transitioning into middle school, and then middle school transitioning into high school. We, as adults, coaches, volunteers, car-poolers and leaders, want to continue with the friends and community we've established over the years.

While this blog is primarily focused on the Montecito and Forrestridge households, it is our belief and desire that the communities that comprise our elementary schools and middle school should continue together if at all possible. We are not satisfied with the current plan that would send the neighborhoods west of Teasley to DHS while the other part of our McMath community on the east side of Teasley would go to Guyer. Nor would we be overly pleased with the east of Teasley and south of Teasley going to Guyer, while north of Teasley (Southridge) being sent to DHS.

We understand that there is no solution that would make everyone happy. The reasons listed here, in prioritized order, are why we want our children to attend Guyer High School.

Bret & Michelle Curran

3000 Montecito Drive

Meeting tonight

2004-11-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

There will be a meeting tonight at 7pm to talk about this important issue. The meeting will be held at the Brown's home at 204 Wellington Oaks Place. Everyone is welcome.

Please send letters or documents that are to large to put in the comment field to buster_brown@earthlink.net to be posted.

Letter from Angie Maffey

2004-11-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Board Members:

It has been brought to my attention, as well as the attention of my neighbors in Forrestridge and Montecito, that the current proposed re-zoning package for Guyer High School has neglected to address possible alternatives to the lines drawn nor were we given ample time by which to prepare our information for a rebuttal.

I realize that there was a need to have the entire process complete prior to the holiday season in order to give the new principal enough time to begin the process of hiring a qualified staff; however, the public should have then been given the information a bit sooner in order to research and consolidate their data in preparation of the forum meetings scheduled for 11/16-11/18. In addition, the population breakdown should be published at the same time that the zone lines are published. When I called Central Services to ask why this information was not in the newspaper, I was told that there was not enough space. Not a very valid reason. This is public information and we, as the public, should not have to dig for the data. (My computer could not bring up the website data as I didn't have the program to do that.)

Our neighborhood has had several meetings, and I have to say that we are completely dumbfounded by the turn of events with these new lines. Below are some questions/comments that I hope each of you will consider in your deliberations on this issue:

Under the existing package, Forrestridge students would need to travel 5.5 miles to Denton High and through 13 stoplights versus 3.5 miles to Guyer High and 2 stoplights & 2 stop signs - Does it make logical sense for Forrestridge & Montecito to go to Denton High?
The area south of Hobson is a mature neighborhood and the number of children that will be attending high school is low. In fact, the number of potential students from both Forrestridge & Montecito that would be going to Guyer is 38 in total. This amounts to less than 1% difference in the overall affect on the totals for both Denton and Guyer High. (This number could conceivably be lower if the siblings of children already attending Denton High remain with their siblings.) Since the impact on any of the high schools is negligible, should you not consider redirecting the line to Teasley down Hobson to FM 1831?
I believe it to be the charter for Denton ISD that students have the opportunity to attend the schools in their neighborhood first and foremost. Since the impact would be negligble, is it too much to ask for us to attend the school in our neighborhood?

As I stated earlier, the timeline on the re-zoning proposal needs to be reviewed so that the public has ample opportunity to review the data. Not only were we not given ample time, but we are extremely frustrated at the fact that alternatives were not considered. I have been involved in the school district since 1993 and there has always been at least 3 proposals presented at the forum meetings. The people in and around our neighborhoods are very angry that alternatives were ignored causing everyone to think their well-being was not being considered. This is something that could be improved next time around.

I ask that each of you review these concerns and hope that you will recognize the need for a change to the existing proposal.

As someone who is very involved in PTA, I thank you in advance for your time and attention to this very important issue.

Sincerely

Angie Maffey

38 Wellington Oaks Circle

Denton, TX 76210

Concerned Citizens

2004-11-13T09:44:00.000-08:00

A public meeting was held at Buster and Sara Brown's house on Friday afternoon. The meeting was held because of the Denton ISD decision to change the High School attendance Zones. Most in attendance were very upset about the way Denton ISD communicated the changes without any public input. Especially since many of the people in attendance had spent many years volunteering their time to make DISD better. In addition, people were very upset that there was only one option presented to the community with no other alternatives. There was strong frustration level that we were being told what to do with little or no input to the process.

A discussion took place among the attendees of what could be done about the proposed changes. The following were agreed points that came out of it:

1. A common theme came up that the population of School age Children South of Hobson was very small. In fact, so small that a change of 0 to under 1% would occur to the overall percents of any of the High School no matter which one we attended. If this is true, then this area is inconsequential to the School populations.
2. Guyer is viewed as our neighborhood school because of its proximity to the neighborhood. Denton High is not because of its distance and travel time from the neighborhood. In fact, one of the attendees conducted a non-scientific experiment by driving the two routes from Forestridge. The first was to Denton High at 7:45. The person drove North on Forest Ridge, Left on Hobson, then Right on Country Club, then Right on Fort Worth Drive, then Left on Crescent. The drive consisted of 13 traffic lights and 3 stop signs. The distance was 10.4 miles round trip and took 36 Minutes. The same person drove the route to Guyer were they went south on Forestridge, Left on Ryan Road, Right on Teasley. The drive had 2 signs and 2 stoplights. The drive was 6.4 miles long and took a total of 12 Minutes. The big concern is that when you add in extra School activates the time it takes for the commute to Denton High was vastly more time consuming. The biggest concern however was that it would be impossible for any child to walk or ride their bicycle to Denton High because of the distance and the danger of crossing I35.
3. Many of the people in this neighborhood have worked for many years as volunteers for the DISD. Being treated this way by the DISD administration with no input to the process or alternatives presented was felt as almost a slap in the face. Therefore, many were concerned that the amount of Volunteer work would diminish drastically if the purposed attendance change occurs.

Several Questions came out of the meeting that needed to be answered by the DISD.

1. What was the rationale behind the decision for this area being put in the Denton High district?
2. Why was there no alternatives presented for attendance zone changes?
3. Is it possible for the District to re draw the lines?

4. What adverse impact would it have putting the community South of Hobson at Guyer?

This meeting and several more will be held because we are the community and were given little time to consider the consequences of this proposal, and are frustrated because we were excluded from the process by having no voice in the decision that DISD has made.