The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 101, No. 87, Ed. 1 Friday, November 1, 1996 Page: 4 of 20
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Clifton Record and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Nellie Pederson Civic Library.
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4
I i I *
The Cufton Recoup
mm
•CAdUTlES
CKBwnd From Nf Or
the district's children ami provide
rtook tobe-
for study. Those
narrowed
varive backgrounds ate) ted them to
commit to use all existing facilities
in the most efficient way possible,
and to share die use of new areas of
construction so the most children
would be benefited for the least
amount of money. 1
In continuing, Robertson reviewed
some secondary suggestions in the
Committee's final report before fo-
cusing on the primary recommenda-
tions.
“Early on, the members agreed to
recommend vigilant maintenance of
existing buildings and continued use
and purchase of energy efficient
equipment throughout the district.
The Committee also recommends
continuing improvements to comply
with the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
“In discussing new construction,
the Committee agreed to plan far
enough ahead so that new buildings
would meet the district’s needs for
10 years or more.”
“Based on the information gath-
ered by the subcommittee, the Gen-
eral Committee proposed five ideas
ally consists of two pans and some
option. The two para (or two steps)
reflect the Committee's findings of
curremovenrowding, particularly cm
the elementary and high school cam-
puses.
The Committee felt that the dis-
trict should remedy the district-wide
overcrowding as quickly as possible
while planning for continued growth
in the student population,” he said.
A two-part recommendation and
two options were then presented to
the board. For clarity, those are de-
tailed in the sidebar accompanying
this story.
Robertson concluded his presen-
tation with thanks to all the Com-
mittee members who participated
in the study.
“There are a bunch of hard-
headed people in this community,
and most of them were on this com-
mittee,” he commented. "They were
from all walks of life; they were all
different, but they all helped.
“What kept this hardheaded
group together was their absolute
devotion to the kids of this district,”
he concluded.
Final Inventory Report
Details Survey Results
By Debra D. Brown
EDUCATION EDITOR
CLIFTON—The final report of the
Facilities Committee presented last
Tuesday to the Clifton Independent
School District Board of Trustees de-
tails the findings of the subcommit-
tee formed to inventory the district’s
existing facilities.
The following information was
taken from the Final Report of the
Facilities Committee presented Oct.
29 by Chairman Phil Robertson...
Elementary School
“The elementary school building
was constructed in 1940-41; it was
designed to hold all grades for the
Clifton ISD (at that time with the en-
rollment of approximately 500 stu-
dents based on graduation numbers).
“It has since become thd home of
the current elementary school. The
kindergarten wing was added in
1959.
“Much of the overcrowding can be
attributed to the reduction in the class
sizes that have gone from an average
of 28+ to the now state-mandated
class size of 22, plus the general
growth in the City of Clifton. The cur-
rent enrollment in the elementary
school is 554 as of Sept., 1996.
“The overcrowding has led to many
classes being held in areas that were
not designed to be classrooms when
they were designed. This certainly
does not lead to the best teaching en-
vironment, and in many cases puts
us in possible violation of the state
guidelines.
“The committee has found the fol-
lowing areas to be of most concetn:
“1. Classes and student services not
being accessible to all students. For
example, Chapter I and a Dyslexia
class are located upstairs, as are the
nurse’s office/clinic and counselor’s
office.
“2. Six classrooms are being held
in portable buildings with less than
favorable access to the main school
building for restrooms and commu-
nication with the school office. The
portables have no covered access to
the main building which would be
needed in the case of weather-related
emergencies.
“3. All of the school’s labs are too
small to handle the number of stu-
dents that they now handle. For in-
stance, the computer lab is in a
portable building that shares space
with the TAG program.
“4. The lunchroom serves 851 stu-
dents daily with the kindergarten
starting at 10:45 a.m.
“5. The library would be adequate
for the elementary school, but it has
to be shared with the middle school.
Therefore, it does not serve either
campus effectively.
“6. The lack of proper bathroom
facilities for the students based on the
total number of students attending
the elementary school.
“7. The campus currently does not
have enough storage/book rooms,
teachers’ lounge/workrooms, or a
proper conference room for parent/
teacher conferences.
“Based on codes for the existing
facilities, the school is in need of win-
dows and emergency exists in each
of the classrooms. In addition, there
exists other violations of the Ameri-
can with Disabilities Act.
‘The Facilities Inventory Subcom-
mittee gave the elementary school an
appraisal rating of 615 out of a pos-
sible 1,000 based on the questions
submitted by the Clifton ISD Board
and the district’s architect.
Middle School Survey
“The middle school addition to the
elementary school was added in
1988, and had to have an additional
six rooms added in 1992, bringing it
to the current capacity of 271 stu-
dents. The enrollment as of Sept.,
1996, was 298 students.
“Many of the problems that were
found in the elementary school are
also found in the middle school. The
counselor’s room has been turned into
a classroom. The counselor’s office
has taken over the nurse’s office, leav-
ing no room for the nurse to deal with
students.
“The lack of space has caused the
middle school to eliminate the com-
puter classes for the sixth and seventh
grades because they do not have
classrooms available. The current li-
brary is shared with the elementary,
so both schools have an inadequate
library.
“The teaching staff voted to go to
eight periods a day to keep the class
sizes down and help with overcrowd-
ing.
“The Fadlities Inventory Commit-
tee gave the middle school an ap-
praisal rating of 678 out of a possible
1,000 based on the questions submit-
ted by the CISD Board and the dis-
trict architect.
High School Survey
The high school opened fordasses
in 1973; it had an additional six dass-
rooms added in 1991, bringing the
current capacity to 280 students. En-
rollment in the Clifton High School
in Sept., 1996, was 382 students.
“In addition to the elementary and
middle school campuses, the high
school also has too many students and
limited space.
“The high school currently has
classes held in these areas not de-
signed as dassrooms: the cafeteria,
The Cave,” ISS (In-School Suspen-
sionh and Content Mastery. There are
10 teachers who are not able to use
their rooms during their conference
periods because the rooms are being
used by other teachers.
The band hall practice rooms are
not sound proof so they cannot be
used as they were designed, so they
are now used as school storage.
The AG shop has a problem with
the amount of noise that it generates,
thus causing problems in the band
and other classrooms in the area. The
cafeteria has a total of five classes
taught in it by three different teach-
ers.
The library is not large enough to
handle the number of high school stu-
dents in addition to those that are
required to do term and research pa-
pers. Computer classes are limited by
the number of rooms and computer
stations available.
“Our physical education fadlities
are totally inadequate in room space
and in locker availability. They cur-
rently have three to four students
sharing the same lockers.
The weight room and field house
are too small to handle the number
of students currently in the athletic
programs. Our current gym is over ca-
pacity *at just about every school bas-
ketball and volleyball game. This is
in violation of the fire safety laws.
This teaching staff also voted to
go to eight periods a day to keep the
class sizes down, to help with over-
crowding, and to allow for two lunch
periods.
The Fadlities Inventory Commit-
tee gave the high school an appraisal
rating of 715 out of a possible 1,000
based on the questions submitted by
the CISD Board and the district ar-
chitect.”
i freed for some additional i
; the middle!
geffier with the i
soucrion allows!
to have appropriate science!
sic complex, cafetoriura, new
ratory space, access u> an ajMp- gym, practice gym, and athletic
propriate library, and expanded ■
programs utilizing computers.
The change in use of several
current high school rooms allows
""WSSLi
“Neither of the bufldfa* projects,
basic dr expanded, assumes any
program expansion and anticipates bells or whistles; the emphasis was
future student population In- on long Hfe, space, and function.
The dassitxxns are plain in design,
but property equipped.
The laboratories tre equipped
to meet foreseeable advances in
computer use in die beginning of
the next century. The lifraty is ex-
pected to rely as much on com
purer technology as on hard bound
books, if not more.
The P.E. and gym fadlities, and
particularly any athletic support fa-
cilities, are expected to be spartan,
designed to meet the need for
space—not comfort.
"The project charts are intended
to show the rooms sizes and uses
we were able to anticipate with the
architect’s help. Of course, calcu-
lating space for a particular stu-
denfpbpulatiM probably has as
much to do with curriculum and
scheduling as it does with the num-
ber of students.
“Do not become fixed on a par-
ticular number of room of general
or specific use. The calculations
must be done as your planning
continues.
These are the recommenda-
tions of the Fadlities Committee.
Our work has been interesting and
challenging. As the District’s Board
ofTrustees, your work indudes the
issues of cost and budget which
will be equally as challenging.
creases.
“A new high school solves cur-
rent overcrowding and allows for
future expansion. Along with the
middle school, it will provide ap-
propriate modernized library
space, science laboratories, and
computer dasses.
“In keeping with the committee's
pledge to share space and i
mize use, the plan indudes i
ing of the new or expat
kitchen/cafeteria, library and mul-
timedia/computer lab.
The Options
The options were created try-
ing to deal with athletic fadlities
as part of the building program.
Athletic facilities became a coocarn
of the committee for only two rea-
sons:
“1) The proposed placement of
the new high school building may
necessitate moving and/or rebuild-
ing the current field house;
“2) Sharing the existing gym is
not possible. The number of PJy
Gym dasses requires a new gym-
nasium. At the same time, die Com-
mittee recognized that the entreat
gymnasium is too small to accom-
modate basketball/volleyball com
petition crowds.
The district dtizens and the
board ofTrustees must deal srith
the issue of a large number of stu
dents partidpating in athletics and
their increased audiences. Because
that issue is well beyond what this
Committee was asked to do, the
“Thank you for allowing the
district’s dtitens topartidpate in
planning our children’s future,'’ the
report condudes. /
Subcommittee Says No Change In Grades
By Debra D. Brown
EDUCATION EOITOR
CUFTON — As reported earlier in
September, the subcommittee fontied
to review the district’s grade align-
ment is recommending that no
change be made in the current align-
ment.
According to Phil Robertson, chair-
man of the Fadlities Committee or-
ganized to study the district’s needs,
committee members used several re-
sources in making its decision.
Those included discussions with
Clifton students, teachers, and admin-
istrators, as well as Robinson,
Hillsboro, West, and China Spring
school districts, and the Texas Edu-
cation Agency.
The findings were pan of a final
report of the Facilities Committee re-
viewed with the Clifton ISD Board of
Trustees on Oct. 29.
The reports reads, “The Clifton stu-
dents, faculty, and administrators
contacted believe the current grade
level structure is appropriate for this
school district.
Those school districts interviewed
determined their grade level align-
ment based on the availability of
buildings and their capacities.
“Resource materials from TEA pro-
vided information on the essential el-
ements for each grade level, the
compatibility and characteristics of
various grades, and the requirements
for graduation.
“The committee recommends that
the current grade level alignment con-
tinue to be used,” says the final re-
port.
Currently, Clifton Elementary
School houses grades pre-kindergar-
ten through fifth. Clifton Middle
School contains sixth through eighth
grades, and the high school grades
nine through 12.
Site Subcommittee
Looks To Future
By Debra D. Brown
EDUCATION EDITOR
CLIFTON — Members of the Site
Subcommittee looked to the future in
preparing its report to the Facilities
Committee, which was organized in
late August to look at the needs of
Clifton Independent School District.
Chairman Phil Robertson presented
those recommendations, along with
the Facilities Committee’s final report,
to the Board ofTrustees during a spe-
cial meeting Oct. 29. The following
was taken from the final document.
“The Site Committee studied the
current sites of the elementary/
middle school campus, the high
school campus, and the athletic/ag-
ricultural complex.
“The committee’s members visited
with the Mayor of the City of Clifton
and some adjacent land owners.
Members also gathered population in-
formation about students in the Lake
Whitney area to determine whether
a building site outside of Clifton
would serve the needs of students
residing far from town.
The committee found the elemen-
Trustees Plan To Continue
CISD Facilities Discussion
By Debra D. Brown
EDUCATION EDITOR
CLIFTON — After hearing the re-
port of the Facilities Committee last
Tuesday evening, members of the Clif-
ton Independent School District Board
ofTrustees agreed that further discus-
sion of the report was in order, and
scheduled a meeting Nov. 13 for that
purpose.
Ilie special session will begin at 6
p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, to the
high school cafeteria.
Trustees directed Superintendent
of Schools Marlene Zipperlen to con-
tact the district’s architect, Randy
tary/middle school campus to be too
small for significant additional build-
ing on land already owned by the dis-
trict.
The high school campus will ac-
commodate additions to existing
buildings and new building and sup-
port facilities.
“However, in order to anticipate
growth, the Board of Trustees must
continue to investigate and, when
available, acquire property adjacent
to or within reasonable distance of
the existing high school and athletic/
agricultural complex," concludes the
subcommittee’s report.
Fromberg, to ask that he put the con-
cept recommended by the Facilities
Committee “to paper.” He is expected
to make that presentation on Nov. 13.
Members of the Facilities Committee
will be on hand as well to answer any
further questions the trustees may have
concerning their final report.
The next regular meeting of the
board will follow on Monday, Nov. 18,
at 6 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.
Action On Oct. 29
Before presentation of the final re-
port last week, the board unanimously
agreed to hire WayJuston Construction
Management Services, Inc. to work
with the district on any forthcoming
construction projects.
Bobby Peschel, the district’s Director
of Operation, and Board President Bill
Murdoch each reported unfavorable
results from his discussions with other
construction management firms.
Both also spoke of the satisfaction
expressed by contacted school districts
who have worked with WayJuston Con-
struction Management.
The motion to hire the firm passed
unanimously.
By now, you’ve scanned the from page, and you know that the recommen-
dations indude the buMng of a new high school. But, there is much, much
more that you need to undostand, and we urge you to take the daw to read
all the information gathered by the facilities team that is available at your
fingertips in this newspaper.
The committee scrutinized every aspect of the charge before it, and we
have reprinted in repot almost verbatim in several articles this week in
order to accurately describe its findings to a dtizenry that, for the most part,
was absent from this important meeting last Tuesday.
The hardest work has been done, but your responsibility has just begun.
Please take the time to carefully review the material. It’s important that you
follow this matter from this point on in the likely event that a bond issue is
put before you.
Finally, our sincere congratulations go out to each and every committee
member who gave of his ot^er time and intelligence to participate in this
study. The hours and the energy you exerted is evident from the extensive
report presented last Tuesday. We appreciate your dedication to our chil-
dren.
We are pleased to be able to say with certainty now that when enough
people in Clifton get together in one room, great truths are still possible.
—Debra D. Brown
Report Looks At
District’s Needs
By Debra D. Brown
EDUCATION EDITOR
CLIFTON — The final report of the
Facilities Committee presented to the
Board of Trustees last Tuesday in-
cluded findings made by the subcom-
mittee studying fadlities needs in
Clifton ISD.
The following information was ob-
tained from that report, as presented
by Chairman Phil Robertson.
This group was convened in late
August of this year to look at the cur-
rent and future needs of the Clifton
ISD. Specifically we looked at what
courses were being taught in space
that was not configured for that
course (e.g. classrooms in book stor-
age areas and in portable buildings).
“We addressed the problem of our
booming enrollment and tried to pre-
dict growth trends with projections
of student populations at five and 10
years, and calculated how much
space would be required to accom-
modate these students.
“We looked at courses that were
not currendy offered (e.g. vocational
training at the middle school level)
and courses which are only now com-
ing into vogue (e.g. computer labs)
that would require new or expanded
classroom space or technology sys-
tems.
“We also took into consideration
the impact of increased population on
our athletic facilities, and deliberated
on whether the present facilities (e.g.
high school gymnasium) were ad-
equate to host events with larger
crowds.
“Finally, we looked at special fa-
cilities that would be useful beyond
their role as striedy school-designated
areas (e.g. auditorium, community-
interactive library).
“As a group we felt that our present
needs, although glaring and numer-
ous, could not be met without taking
into consideration factors such as stu-
dent population growth, lead-time for
building projects, existing facilities
which could accommodate our needs,
and the cost of adding to present fa-
cilities in contrast to a more formal
building project.
“We realized that we needed to
incorporate our present needs into
our future plans in order to reach a
solution rather than constantly chas-
ing one.
There, we took an approach in
which we planned for CISD needs in
the year 2001 and 2006.
“Upon beginning our evaluation of
the CISD needs, we made site visits
at each of the schools to evaluate the
campuses and to speak with teachers
and administrators regarding their
views about present and future needs.
“We also looked at CISD enroll-
ment figures and calculated an aver-
age growth rate of 5.7% per year from
May of 1990 to May of 1996.
Therefore, as a round number, we
chose to use 5% as our average
growth rate, and used this figure to
calculate the projected number of stu-
dents at each level and in each cam-
pus.” (See charts accompanying this
article.)
“Although general classroom space
was needed at certain levels, we
chose to calculate the number of
rooms that would be necessary for
our projected student population in
2001 and 2006.
“In order to arrive at these figures,
we took the projected student popu-
lation at each grade level, and then
divided this by 22 at the elementary
and middle schools, and by 25 at the
high school.” (These figures are
shown on the accompanying charts.)
“Aside from basic classroom space,
we identified the following areas of
needs (whether immediate or future):
Clifton Elementary
“Computer lab, science lab, TAG,
Atfaal-J
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447 57*
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HifkSchad
210 2M
239 15*
371 44SI
444 Sill
Qna4 Total
loHtfknmiteilahhaRiM
MfilM wi&nrg
ESL (English as Second Language),
«peech therapy, Chapter I, special ■
education, dyslexia, music room, in-
door physical education facility, cen-
tral campus administration
(principal’s office, nurse’s office,
teachers’ lounge, etc.).”
Clifton Middle School
"Computer lab #2, science lab #2,
resource, ESL, content mastery #2,
special education, special education
(self-contained), art, Behavioral
Modification program (BAC), music
hall, counselor's office, vocational
training area.
Clifton High School
“Art, special education, special edu-
cation (self-contained), sdence/tech-
nology labs #2 and #3, computer lab
#3, dyslexia, life skills, alternative
education program, behavior modi-
fication program, ISS (In-School Sus-
pension), speech, resource #2, and
content management #1 and #2.
Other needs include cafetorium,
band/music hall, dressing facilities/
weight room, vocational/technology
facility, libraty/multimedia center,
and competition gym.
“We have brought this material for-
ward to the General committee in
order for them to appreciate the class-
room shortage predicted for 2001 and
2006, as well as the other needs men-
tioned above,” the report concludes.
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Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 101, No. 87, Ed. 1 Friday, November 1, 1996, newspaper, November 1, 1996; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth787966/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.