CITY & SCHOOLS
News from Dallas, Dallas County, Dallas ISD & Richardson ISD
Dallas City Council meets April 26 and May 10 at 9 a.m. at 1500 Marilla St., Dallas. www.dallascityhall.com Dallas ISD board of trustees meets April 20 and May 11 at 6 p.m. at 5151 Samuell Blvd., Dallas. www.dallasisd.org Richardson ISD board of trustees meets April 27 and May 4 at 6 p.m. at the RISD Administrative Building, 400 S. Greenville Ave., Richardson. The meetings are streamed live online. www.risd.org MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS DALLAS COUNTY The county has moved away from its color- coded COVID-19 risk level gauge system and transitioning into a “new normal.” The announcement, which comes as the Dallas County Public Health Committee says it has seen declining rates of COVID-19 infections, was made at a Commissioners Court meeting March 7. The “new normal” that takes its place comes with a number of recommendations, including evaluating personal risk, encouraging masking in public spaces, following vaccination recommendations and supporting masking in all health care settings.
City Council looks to increase food security with new agriculture plan
Dallas ISD adjusts 2023 24, 2024 25 school calendars
Richardson ISD seeks to solve budget de cit
to be held Dec. 25, 2023-Jan. 9, 2024, with the nal day of school set for May 24, 2024. The 2023-24 academic calendar includes a week o for Thanksgiving from Nov. 20-24, a weeklong spring break from March 11-15, and two fair days for elementary and sec- ondary schools on Oct. 12 and 13. Under the base 2024-25 academic calendar, the school year will start Aug. 12, 2024, with a set end date of May 23, 2024. Winter break is scheduled to be held Dec. 23, 2024- Jan. 3, 2025. The calendar includes a week o for Thanksgiving from Nov. 25-29, 2024, and a spring break from March 10-14, 2025.
BY JACKSON KING
BY CECILIA LENZEN
RICHARDSON ISD O cials are assessing options to reduce costs and increase revenue to overcome a $23.7 million budget shortfall heading into scal year 2023-24. The budget de cit is a result of reduced enrollment, in ation and a lack of new state funding since before the pandemic, Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. Richardson ISD o cials said they have already found $3.5 million in cost-cutting measures by eliminating certain administration positions and via a planned streamlining of the dis- trict’s English as a second language program. According to o cials, options to increase revenue include opening enrollment outside of district bound- aries, advocating for increased state funding, eliminating RISD’s optional local homestead exemption and considering a tax rate increase.
stakeholders. “Historically, the Dallas area has been home to farms and ranches, but despite this rich history, today some of our residents struggle with food security and access to healthy options,” said District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon. About 36% of Dallas residents, especially those in south and west Dallas, live in places called food des- erts, according to the Dallas Climate Action website, which is adminis- tered by the O ce of Environmental Quality and Sustainability. Food deserts are areas where typically low-income households have limited access to healthy and a ordable food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In Dallas, the food supply chain is largely dependent upon suppliers outside of the state and the country, according to Dallas Climate Action
DALLAS The city adopted a plan to ensure all communities in the city have access to healthy, local food. Led by Dallas’ O ce of Environ- mental Quality and Sustainability, the Comprehensive Urban Agriculture Plan provides recommendations, solutions, initial action items and metrics in pursuit of the city’s food system resiliency challenges. The new plan, which was approved during City Council’s March 8 meet- ing, is intended to provide a strategic long-term framework for urban agriculture development for the city to use in its programming and infra- structure planning e orts. The plan’s main goals are to remove regulatory barriers to implementation, support access to farmlands, provide access to urban agricultural education and resources, and facilitate collabo- ration between urban agriculture
BY CECILIA LENZEN
DALLAS ISD O cials adjusted the base academic calendars for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years during a March 23 board of trustees meeting. According to the newly approved calendars, the base 2023-24 school year will start Aug. 14. Winter break is still scheduled
Dallas’ Comprehensive Urban Agriculture Plan aims to increase food production in the city.
KEVIN CUMMINGS COMMUNITY IMPACT
FOOD INSECURITY IN DALLAS
o cials. Out-of-state factors, such as rising temperatures, changing precip- itation patterns and more frequent droughts, could lead to increased food insecurity in Dallas. Certain city residents have histor- ically faced issues with food-related health issues due to food insecurity, according to the plan. Rather than increase the number of grocery stores in the city’s food desert areas, the new plan aims to increase local food production, food access and local commercial food sourcing through increased urban agriculture production.
Dallas’ new Urban Agriculture Plan aims to improve the city’s food system resiliency initiatives.
In late March, the Dallas ISD board of trustees updated its 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic calendars, which were initially approved in December. SCHEDULED SCHOOL YEARS
of Dallas residents live in food deserts
2023-24
Dates to know 2024-25
36%
Aug. 14 First day of school Aug. 12 Nov. 20-24 Thanksgiving break Nov. 25-29 Dec. 25, 2023- Jan. 9, 2024 Winter break Dec. 23, 2024- Jan. 3, 2025 March 11-15 Spring break March 10-14 May 24 Last day of school May 23
planned increase in urban garden acreage producing food by 2030 of Dallas County children are either overweight or obese due to the lack of fresh food options
49%
20%
SOURCE: DALLAS ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: THE FOOD TRUST, CITY OF DALLAS COMMUNITY IMPACT
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