December 2010 - Dripping Springs Independent School District

Message from the Superintendent
Dr. Mard Herrick
What a smooth and successful fall
we have had in Dripping Springs ISD. An
outstanding semester does not happen
by chance. It is a product of the spirit of
partnership that exists in our community.
Thank you for being a part of that
effort.
Many examples of teamwork
and generosity also are evident as we
approach the holiday season. Several of
our campuses participated in Coats for
Kids collections, as well as Toys for Tots
and other charitable efforts. The high
school and middle school choirs are
visiting two local assisted living facilities
to share music with residents. Several
PTAs are organizing luncheons or cookie
exchanges as a way of saying thank-you
to teachers and staff. It warms my heart
to see all the good things that are initiated
and delivered by our students, staff
and parents.
As we remain committed to continual
improvement, we have several
groups working on various aspects of
future planning. As we take these steps,
we must realize our future financial
picture could present serious challenges,
depending on what occurs in the
state legislative session. As you may be
Board Briefs
At the November Board of Trustees
meeting and workshop, several topics
of interest were discussed. Curriculumrelated
reports were provided on future
district calendars, the format of the
annual district survey, implications of endof-course
assessments and Gold Performance
Acknowledgments/accountability
ratings. Business-related reports were
given on the recent bond refunding and
anticipated state funding cuts.
Facility Committee chair Caroline
Pekarek and Finance Committee chair
John Adams provided updates on recent
meetings, including presentation of the
2009-10 audit.
Following the opening ceremony in
the evening session by Dripping Springs
Elementary students, a demographic
report was given by Steve Stewart of
DeskMap Systems (see story, Page 5).
Superintendent Mard Herrick
shared a legislative report and gave an
enrollment update.
Action was taken on several other
items: Policy Update 88, a resolution to
nominate Galen Dodson for the Hays Central
Appraisal District and Tom Buckle for
the Travis County Appraisal District, and
the nomination of Trustee John Adams for
the TASB Region 13 Board of Directors.
The 2011-12 school calendar was
approved by the Board and key dates
were approved for 2012-13 for planning
purposes (see related story at left).
Calendars Set for 2011-12;
Key Dates Determined for 2012-13 A Grand Project!
At its November meeting, the
Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees
finalized and adopted the calendar for the
2011-12 school year, and approved some
key planning dates for the 2012-13 school
year.
Proposed calendars are developed
by the District-Wide Educational Improvement
Committee (DWEIC) – comprised
of parents, community members and
staff – after asking for feedback from
the campuses and community. Then, the
calendars are presented to the Board of
Trustees for approval.
The newly approved calendar dates
for 2011-12 include the first day of school
on August 22, the winter break running
aware, state funding for public schools
has essentially been frozen since 2006
despite inflationary costs and salary
adjustments. The projected state deficit
certainly creates concern for us. We will
watch closely what is happening at the
Capitol beginning in January.
One major planning effort that has
made progress is our District Long-Range
Facilities Planning Team, which has been
meeting this fall to discuss future district
facility needs and help establish direction
for bonds and construction programs
over the next 10-20 years.
Several district program reviews
also will be concluding in the coming
months. Review teams have worked
diligently to collect and analyze data,
before developing recommendations for
the future.
Don’t miss good news about Gold
Performance Acknowledgments from
the TEA and some student honors in this
issue of “Inside DSISD.”
Have a great winter break,
Mard A. Herrick, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
from Dec. 19-Jan. 2, Spring Break from
March 12-16, and the last day of school
on May 31. Graduation will be June 1.
The 2012-13 school year will see
something of a shift as the first day moves
back to August 27 due to restrictions
established by the state legislature that
public schools cannot start before the
fourth Monday of August. Winter break
also shifts back to Dec. 24-Jan. 7 (the last
instructional day is Friday, Dec. 21). Spring
Break has not yet been set, but will coincide
with UT-Austin’s schedule. The last
day of school will be June 6, 2013.
To view and download the new calendar,
visit the DSISD website, www.dsisd.
txed.net (“District Calendars” on left).
The Dripping Springs Grand Piano
Project is an initiative launched by
a committed group of parents and
community members to raise funds
to purchase a grand piano for the new
high school auditorium. Individuals
may “purchase a key” for a donation
of $50. All 88 black and white keys
are available, so donors can pick their
favorite note! Donations are taxdeductible
and eligible to be matched
through a $5,000 challenge grant that
has been received, doubling the value
of each key contribution to $100.
More information on the project is
available at ds88keys.org.
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