The Herald-Zeitung

The Comal Independent School District Board of Trustees tonight will discuss changes in graduation requirements created by House Bill 3, passed during the 2009 Texas Legislative session.

HB 3 set in motion changes to the “recommended” graduation plan for high school students, removing health education as a requirement and reducing the number of credits of physical education needed.

“We’re going to present our proposal on how and when to implement HB 3’s specific graduation plans,” said Dr. Jodi Duron, assistant superintendent for academics and student services.

The administration and school board have not yet determined if health and physical education will remain local requirements above the state standard or if they will be slowly phased out of the graduation plan.

“For students still in high school now, how will it (the change in policy) affect them? If students are new to high school, will it affect them?” Duron said.

Funding construction

CISD is ready to move forward with several construction projects — the expansion of Church Hill Middle School, Smithson Valley Middle and Spring Branch Middle schools.

Before it can begin, the school board must vote to sell a remaining $55.85 million in bonds left over from the $205 million approved by voters in May 2008.

The new construction will expand the capacity at each middle school to 1,150 students.

“We’re selling the remaining balance of the 2008 bond,” said Debra Smith, assistant superintendent for business at CISD. “Our credit rating went up from last year.”

Smith thinks the district’s bond rating will be sufficient to receive financial underwriting for the remainder of the bond.

“In the past, districts didn’t have to rely on their credit rating because they could fall back on the Texas Permanent School Fund,” she said.

That fund dried up this year, she said. “The good (bond rating) is keeping us from having to buy insurance in order to get people to buy the bonds.”

The financial impact to taxpayers will not be known until growth in property values is known for 2010 - 11.

CISD Board

of Trustees

When: 6 p.m. today

Where: CISD support services building, 1404 I-35 N.,

New Braunfels

To download an agenda :

www.comalisd.org/

Board_of_Trustees