Comment: (October, 2012)

Who is on the Community Facility committee who identified the needs of the district referred to in Shiver and associates proposal?

Response:

On February 17, 2009, the following committee members met to begin the discussion on the needs of the district:
Kim Striplin
John Hooker
JR Hatfield
Delores Simmons
Joe Allen
Clifton Daniels
John Jones
Roger Thomason
Benny Solley
Tommy Cash
Shirley Hill

Subsequent to that meeting, it was decided that we would open all subsequent meetings to the public.  Since that date we have numerous public town hall meetings to discuss BISD's needs for the future.  Following a number of surveys, the Board acted according to the results of these surveys.

Comment: (September, 2012)

I'm not sure if I understand what is meant when it is stated that no person over 65 will see a tax increase if the bond passes.  Don't you mean that there would not be an increase on their "homestead"?  In other words if a senior citizen owns property other than their home, that said property will have an increase?  Correct?

Response:

A homestead can be a separate structure, condominium or a manufactured
home located on owned or leased land, as long as the individual living
in the home owns it. A homestead can include up to 20 acres, if the
land is owned by the homeowner and used for a purpose related to the
residential use of the homestead.

If you qualify your home for a 65 and older homestead exemption for
school taxes, the school taxes on that home can't increase as long as
you own and live in that home. The tax ceiling is the amount you pay
in the year that you qualified for the 65 or older exemption. The
school taxes on your home may go below the ceiling but not above the
amount of the ceiling.

However, if you improve the home (other than normal repairs or
maintenance), the tax ceiling may go higher because of the new
additions. For example, if you add on a garage or game room to the
house after you have established a tax ceiling, the ceiling will be
adjusted to a higher level to reflect the value of that addition.

Only a homeowner's principal residence qualifies for this exemption.

Comment:  (August 2012)

When is homecoming,this year,we heard it would be during football season instead of basketball season. Is there any truth to this rumor.

Response:

The Athletic Department and the HS Principal made a decision to move the Homecoming ceremony to the more traditional football season.  This creates less conflicts for the girls who are part of the Homecoming Court.  Homecoming is set for October 20, 2012 at 1:30pm. 

Comment:  (May 2012)

Concerned about the construction bond.  How many more students are their in the school now compared to say 1986.  The proposed Gym is way to big and probally waste 4 to 500 thousand in wasted space.

Why do we need so many principles and assistant principles.  These are high pay jobs and their pay could go to more teachers.  The amount of kids in the school are not much more than they were when we where in school.

Response:

In trying to research the number of students attending BISD in 1986, I found that records had not been kept electronically.  Rather than hunt down records in the "Vault" of paper records, I'm going to respond using 1988-89 data.  

That year, BISD had 243 students.  Comparing that to today's numbers of 277, we've had a 14% increase.  During that same time frame, our neighboring schools had experienced losses between 10% and 15%.  The increase need for classroom space during that time frame can be attributed to this increase in numbers, as well as the increase in required credits for graduation.  In 1989, a student needed 18 credits to graduate.  In 2012, a student needs 26 credits to graduate.  This increase created a need for more teachers to be able to offer the increase in courses.  

The proposed construction is listed at 22,738 square feet of space.  Our current gym and cafeteria takes up approximately 18,500 square feet.  The majority of the increase in space is due to the addition of a platform stage area in the cafeteria to be utilized for programs.  The gym itself only has a slight increase mainly due to the new weight room.

In 1988-89, we had one Principal who served K-12th grade.  We now have one Principal who serves Pre K-5th grade and one Principal who serves 6th-12th grade.  With all the new accountability and required state testing, the management of the Elementary curriculum has become very distinct from the management of the Secondary curriculum.  Thus to serve our students efficiently, this structure is preferred.  We have no Assistant Principals at BISD.

Comment:  (Sept 2011)

I was just wondering what the school colors are. I see purple and yellow at the school, however, the football team is blue and yellow. Which one is correct? Thank You.

True or False:  

Bloomburg school colors are Blue and Gold.  I'm not sure where you are seeing the 'purple' but blue is one of those colors that sometimes has different shades, depending on the material it is put on.

Comment:  (Oct 2010)

I am concerned that our children do not bring books home anymore to study. They now have this "Smart Board". If you are not bring home books home in my opinion our children should have all A's. But some children are hardly even passing or have 70's. If you have a child that makes good daily grades but not so good on test then maybe they need to bring a book home to study for the test.  This "Homework Haven" is ok but not helping very much. When I asked why the children cannot bring a book home to study, the reply is "this is something the child can only do in class or that we do not have enough books for all the children". It's not in the budget as they say. I know that we needed more classrooms and we needed to buy the new administration building but may we should have used the building out back we bought from the church for ISS or Special Education Classes. Remember what they say "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" ! There is going to be quiet a few left behind if they can't study if they are having a hard time with certain subjects.....

True or False:

In the past, most course curriculums were 'driven' by a textbook.  Now, with technology and the internet, that is not the norm.  Thus the textbook becomes one of a number of resources to enhance the learning process.  Thus, there are some activities that go on in the classroom that are not 'covered' in the textbook.  But we would support any parents participation in their child's learning experience by allowing them to have a copy of the textbook that is being utilized.  The state purchases our first set of textbooks for our students, but we have to maintain them for a 7 to 10 year period before a new one is introduced.  During this time, students loose their textbooks and/or they just get worn out.  It is at that time that we have to replace them with our local money.  This is done whenever the teacher shows a need for the textbook.  If you would like a copy, please contact your child's teacher and the request will be transferred on to our Textbook Coordinator.  We would just ask that the textbook be returned at the end of the year.  Again, we thank you for your participation in your child's learning.

Comment:   (June 2010)

I am curious as to what the new building on campus will be used for at its completion. I assumed classrooms, but have heard it will be offices for the Superintendent and Principals. I was concerned with that "rumor", as I thought the principals should be there inside with the students.Thank you ahead of time for your response!

True or False:

The new building is going to serve as the BISD Central Administration Building.  The Superintendent and his support personnel will be located in this building.  The Principals will not be located in this building.  Their offices will remain on their perspective campuses.  This move will create new space within our current campus that will allow us to create three new classrooms for the expansion of our numbers.

Comment:  (November 2009)

I was wondering if you have thought about posting like they do if child has bad grade with tx connect(Alerts) when children have field trips or things pertaining to their child that need to be address, because sometimes my teenagers forget to give me something that should be signed and return. I feel this may help parents get more involved in their child's learning and education progress.

True or False:

The thought of posting 'alerts' for information pertaining to information coming home to parents is interesting but this particular software is not capable of doing that.  I would suggest that parents make contact with teachers to ask if that kind of information could come directly from each teacher.  I will pass this comment on to our teachers.

Comment:  (Sept. 2009)

I didn't know if you might consider putting public information on this site, such as school closing or starting late. I received at least 3 calls last night and this morning wondering if school was starting late or not at all or what. Or maybe our system just needs to be checked and make sure all parents are being notified. This is just one suggestion as somewhere else info could be put out.

True or False:

Since this particular site (Wildcat Rumor Watch) is only checked when a question arises, it would not serve as a place for 'immediate' public information. Our telephone system is working and we are constantly asking for new phone numbers to keep our list updated. We also contact the television stations to broadcast the information.

Comment: (April 2009)
You talk about raising tax for bond issue this year by two-four hundred dollars per residence. For how many years is the bond tax? How about next year if you decide to raise tax ontop of the bond tax? How about all the out-of-district students, out-of-state students, are their parents paying out of district and out of state tuition fees? If not, why not? This would give relief to already burden taxpayers.

True or False?:

The tax increase would not be the same for all. It would depend on the value of your property. If your home is assessed at $50,000, your increase would be approximately $17 per month. If your home is assessed at $100, 000, your increase would be approximately $34 per month.
Once the tax rate is set by this election, it cannot be raised without another election. The state of Texas also puts a cap on how much the rate can be. Each year the School Board will review the proposed budget and can make a determination if the rate can be lowered and still cover the cost of running the school. The bond payments will be made for a period of approximately twenty years.
Transfer students do not currently pay any tuition to attend BISD. The District does receive funds from the state for their education. Typically, these additional funds end up helping to raise the education of all students who are attending BISD. Our transfer students currently produce between $250,000 and $400,000 for our district.

Comment: (March 2009)
 

Is it true that BISD is considering a bond election?

True or False?:

The school board is considering future needs for BISD.  They have asked a committee of community members to meet and consider the needs of the school district and decide if they recommend any future building projects.  The result of these recommendations could result in the Board calling for a bond election to pay for these projects.

UPDATE: The school board has called for a bond election for the addition of classrooms and a new gym.