CITY & SCHOOL
News from Richardson & Richardson ISD
COMPILED BY JACKSON KING
Richardson City Council meets Aug. 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 411 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson. www.cor.net. The meetings are open to the public and streamed live online. Richardson ISD board of trustees meets Aug. 11 and 25 at 6 p.m. at the RISD Administration Building, 400 S. Greenville Ave., Richardson. www.risd.org MEETINGS WE COVER However, expenditures of $736.7 million, including a state recapture payment of $226.9 million, are expected to lead to the $38.9 million decrease in the district’s existing balance of operating funds. RICHARDSON After holding its rst festival in two years during the spring, the city of Richardson announced Michelle McDowell Smith as the featured artist for the fall 2022 Cottonwood Art Festival. Smith’s work is known for combining collage and acrylic paint. PLANO ISD Trustees adopted a budget de cit of $38.9 million for the 2022-23 school year during the board’s June 21 meeting. General fund revenue is projected to increase to $698.2 million. HIGHLIGHTS RICHARDSON Ally Haynes- Hamblen will be taking over Sept. 19 as executive director for the Charles W. Eisemann Center, according to a July 21 city press release. She replaces retiring director Bruce MacPherson, who has served as the center’s managing director since 2000. RICHARDSON The city announced July 6 that it had hired 25 lifeguards, which allows the Heights Family Aquatic Center to open on weekends for the remainder of the summer. The water park is targeted to be open Friday-Sunday from July 15-Aug. 14, or as long as sta ng levels can be maintained.
Richardson ISD selects lone nalist for new superintendent
City planning nearly $500K in park projects RICHARDSON The city reviewed recent and upcoming parks and recre- ation projects at the June 20 City Council meeting. The review was part of the city’s e ort to update the Parks and Recreation Open Master Plan. A rewrite of the plan is conducted every 10 years with an update RICHARDSON ISD The board of trustees named interim Superinten- dent Tabitha Branum the lone nalist to become the district’s full-time superintendent during its July 18 meeting. Richardson ISD has been in need of a permanent superintendent since December when the board of trustees accepted the resignation of former Superintendent Jeannie Stone. The board named Branum as the interim superintendent after accepting Stone’s resignation. During the meeting, the board voted unanimously in support of Branum, citing her past experience with the district. She joined RISD eight years ago as assistant superintendent every ve years. The last update was adopted by council members in 2017. During scal year 2021-22, the city worked on ve parks projects totaling $576,500. City o cials expect ve projects to be done during FY 2022-23, which are expected to total $480,000. The projects were funded in part by the maintenance fund.
before becoming the district’s deputy superintendent. “Tabitha Branum demonstrated that her unique leadership capabil- ities and track record of success in RISD were exactly what the commu- nity was looking for,” board President Regina Harris said. “Ms. Branum can relate to RISD, has shown leadership in building community consensus, is transformative and has a strong academic conviction.” With her appointment, Branum will become RISD’s 10th superintendent since 1946. According to district o cials, Branum has been a Texas educator for 25 years with service as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, technology leader, principal
and curriculum leader. “I am honored and humbled to continue my service to RISD as superintendent,” Branum said in
Tabitha Branum
City set to expand water distribution e orts this year RICHARDSON The city is expanding its water distribution system with a 5 million-gallon storage tank in the area near Point North Park. An agreement to construct the tank was approved July 11. O cials said construction should begin later this summer and be fully complete by fall 2024. Construction of a new water transmission line is expected in fall 2023. The city plans to relocate some park facilities to give room for the new tank. a statement. “I’m grateful for the trust that our board has placed in me, and I accept this responsibility with great excitement for the future of Richardson ISD, our students, our sta and our community.” Branum cannot be o cially hired by the district for 21 days, according to Texas state law. The board plans to approve Branum’s hire at its Aug. 9 meeting.
PARKS WORK BREAKDOWN
• Replacing the in eld material and backstop at Mark Twain Park’s baseball eld: $71,000 • Replacing the east backstop at the Heights Park softball eld: $45,000 • Constructing a new bridge at the Cottonwood Park south pond crossing: $250,000 • Replacing the restroom building at Creek Hollow Park: $200,000 • Replacing the ooring at the Hu ines Tennis Center: $10,500 Richardson worked on parks projects throughout the city during scal year 2021-22.
2021 22 TOTAL COST: $576,500
SPRING INTO ACTION WITH ESTATE PLANNING! Law Offices of Dana D. Huffman, P.C. BERKNER HIGH STEPHEN F. AUSTIN TEXAS WESELYAN LAW 26 YEARS IN PRACTICE ESTATE PLANNING • PROBATE • MEDIATION CIVIL/FAMILY/CPS • ARBITRATION CONTACT OUR OFFICE ABOUT REVOCABLE TRANSFER ON DEATH DEEDS 972-713-7757 • WWW.HUFFMAN.LAW
1901 N. Central Expressway, Suite 200, Richardson, TX 75080
10
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook