CITY & SCHOOLS
News from Richardson, Richardson ISD, Plano, Dallas County & Collin County
Richardson City Council meets May 8, 15 and 22 at 6 p.m. Due to a re at City Hall, council meetings have been temporarily relocated to the Richardson Police Department at 600 N. Greenville Ave. www.cor.net Richardson ISD board of trustees meets May 18 at 6 p.m. at the RISD Administration Building, 400 S. Greenville Ave., Richardson. The meetings are streamed live online at www.risd.org. MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS PLANO CITY COUNCIL Approved a zoning change during its April 10 meeting that will see 5.2 acres of land on J Place developed into 307 multifamily units by apartment developer Trinsic Residential. The plot of land is just north of SH 190 and the Richardson border. Council categorized the development as transit-oriented due to its proximity to the CityLine/Bush Dallas Area Rapid Transit Station and the planned 12th Street Silver Line Station. The complex is also set to feature a parking structure between the residential units and SH 190, and 10%-20% of the development must be active open space, such as playgrounds.
RISD eyes enrollment expansion
RISD opposes state program funding private education
The Counseling Place seeking expansion
Homelessness count shows decline in region
HOMELESSNESS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY During its count, Housing Forward identi ed 4,244 homeless individuals.
BY JACKSON KING
BY CECILIA LENZEN
RICHARDSON A local mental health center is seeking to tackle growing needs while nding more funding. Heading into the summer, Debo- rah Dobbs, executive director of The Counseling Place, said the city-af- liated nonpro t is looking to bring its Project Positive program, which provides stress-coping coaching and the development of positive habits for youths, to Richardson ISD. While seeing an increase in clients struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues since, the center has eliminated a six-person team of counselors due to funding issues, leading it to turn away at least 100 people, Director of Development Cindy Shafer said. She added the nonpro t hopes to hire two more full-time employees, which is estimated to cost $288,000 annually, with each able to provide 960 sessions.
DALLAS & COLLIN COUNTIES The number of
4,244 homeless individuals counted in 2023
BY JACKSON KING
homeless individuals in the local counties is at its lowest in ve years with 4,244 individuals counted. Housing Forward, a North Texas nonpro t serving the homeless population, announced the new data during its annual State of Homelessness address April 13 based on a federally mandated point-in-time count of the homeless population in the counties. According to the count, home- lessness in the two counties dropped by about 4% since 2022. While homelessness decreased overall, the number of veterans and youth experiencing it increased since 2022. This year, Housing Forward counted 194 youth ages 18-24 and 365 veterans experienc- ing homelessness, up from 164 and 302, respectively.
BY JACKSON KING
RICHARDSON ISD O cials announced their opposition to proposed state legisla- tion that would create a savings account for parents who opt out of public school during an April 13 meeting. “We need Austin to fully fund public education so we can meet the demands we have,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. “Until you fully fund public education, do not use these funds in a way that is going to hurt us.” The proposed legislation would give families who leave public schools $8,000 to spend at private schools or on other educational costs. A concern for RISD is the lack of account- ability for schools under the proposed voucher system. In addition, one of the board’s legislative priorities was to ensure state funding or tax dollars used to fund education is held accountable by taxpayers.
RICHARDSON ISD O cials are looking to increase the district’s enrollment by allowing more students from outside the district to enroll in the 2023-24 school year. During a March 30 meeting, the RISD board of trustees discussed the proposed program, known as the Open Enrollment Inter-District Transfer program, which would allow students who live outside the district’s boundaries the opportunity to apply for enrollment at an RISD school. No decision or vote on the program was taken by the board. District o cials expect the program to help solve a $23.7 million budgetary de cit caused by reduced enrollment, in ation and a lack of new state funding since before the
Richardson ISD is looking to enroll students from outside the district to help with a $23.7 million budget shortfall. (Courtesy Richardson ISD)
59.5% Black 34.8% White* 2.3% Multiple races
1.5% Asian or Asian American 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Paci c Islander
pandemic, according to Super- intendent Tabitha Branum. Branum said while open enrollment would not be a standalone solution to the budgetary shortfall, she has heard an appetite from the board to expand the district’s school choice programs, both strengthening RISD’s magnet program and providing more options to students. “We have a newer demo- graphic in our community that
is asking for some of the choice options that are available in the surrounding districts,” Branum said at the meeting. If approved, the district would utilize it in a limited capacity during the 2023-24 school year and consider expansions for the 2024-25 school year. Open-enrollment transfer applications would be for students in grades K-12 based on availability.
1.5% American Indian, Alaska Native or Indigenous
*INCLUDES HISPANIC LATINO PEOPLE SOURCE: HOUSING FORWARD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Joli Angel Robinson, president and CEO of Housing Forward, said the organization plans to expand its rapid rehousing program. The program has housed 1,871 people since October 2021 and plans to serve 6,000 by 2025.
DALLAS 9500 North Central Expressway (214) 369-2800 ADDISON 15055 Inwood Road (972) 239-5891
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