Skeeters are taking a big gamble this season, see inside
WEDNESDAY • APRIL 11, 2018
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 40 • No. 35
FBISD may consider closing schools ‘Why do they want to close our school?’ By Theresa D. McClellan FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
The teary-eyed youngster saw the mayor of Meadows Place talking with parents at the Fort Bend ISD facilities planning session at Marshall High School in Missouri City April 4 and had one question. “Why do they want to close our school?” This was Mayor Charles Jessup’s third meeting on school planning and he’d expressed the same concerns at the first one when he learned that the district school board was considering closing Meadows Place Elementary. No decisions have been made by the FBISD school board on any proposed changes to any of the schools. The district is holding town-hall style meetings along with a steering committee where they present the same information on every school at each session and then allow interested parties to give input.
By the time the mayor got to Marshall, he noticed that options for Meadows Place Elementary had changed because the public got involved and was giving the district their input. So he took time to reassure the little girl. “She came up to me with her lip quivering asking why. I just put the brakes on that and told her how wonderful it was for them to come up. I told her that no, the school district is not mad at us and they want to know who cares to come out to care. So you tell those other children you helped make a change to Meadows Elementary,” Jessup said. He learned of the potential closing from Superintendent Charles Dupre, who told him to show up at the school board meeting. “We went to that board meeting and we were in shock. So we got signs and shirts. Now more options are on the table and it shows me that the dis-
trict is listening to and responding to the parents and stakeholders,” Jessup said. Not everyone was so optimistic. Since this was Jessup’s third meeting, he knew what to expect. Concerned parents and students packed the Marshall High School auditorium and grew alarmed as the district consultant spent a half hour talking about multiple high schools across the county and their options with no mention of Marshall. Someone finally shouted a request to talk about Marshall drawing thunderous applause. The question of why was echoed last week by students, parents, and residents concerned about the future of their particular school. During the spring of 2018, a Facilities Steering Committee made up of a broad, cross-section of community members and district staff will meet to discuss facilities assessment data, student enrollment projections
and community feedback to develop options and recommendations regarding utilization of district facilities, continuing the Facilities Master Planning process that first began in 2013. Ultimately, the updated Facilities Master Plan will inform the development of the District Capital Plan. The district is looking at shifts in demographics as some schools are underutilized, according to FBISD information. For Marshall High School graduate, 19-year-old Kayleeya Cahee, it was important for her to come to advocate for her siblings who are still students. One of the issues, according to the district, is that Marshall High School is underutilized while other schools like Ridgepoint are at capacity. Cahee said that is because students want to attend other schools in the district to get a better education and access to better opportunities they are not receiving. “For half my classes we’d have substitute teachers. You walk into the computer lab, they don’t work. It’s been like that through all my education, “ said Cahee, who is studying culinary arts at the Art Institute.
Two tearful youngsters ask Meadows Place Mayor Charles Jessup why the district wants to close Meadows Place Elementary. (Photo
by Theresa D. McClellan)
“I was taking AP chemistry and had different substitutes every other
SEE SCHOOLS PAGE 2B
Historic cemetery discovered Graves found at construction site of new FBISD facility in city
Hurricane Harvey left residents in several Riverstone communities flooded and now they are suing the Houston company that designed the stormwater management system that they say should have kept the water out of their homes. (Submitted
From staff reports FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
Fort Bend ISD, in partnership with the Texas Historical Commission, has identified a historic cemetery on the current construction site of the James Reese Career and Technical Center, located at University Boulevard and Chatham Avenue in Sugar Land. The district has halted work in the identified area as the exploration of the excavation site continues. Work continues on the remaining part of the site, but measures have been put in place to ensure the two scopes of work do not overlap. “We are proceeding under the guidance and expertise of the Texas Historical Commission to ensure we are respecting the history and lives of the people buried on this site. One of our community members who has a passion for history brought to our attention the possibility of archeological artifacts in the general area. We were careful as we began work, with an archeologist on site from the beginning,” said Dr. Charles Dupre, Fort Bend ISD
SEE CEMETERY PAGE 2B
photo)
Flooded Riverstone residents filing lawsuit By Theresa D. McClellan FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
Loaded with bear John Baker of Houston donned an antique grizzly bear fur coat as part of his outfit during the annual Runaway Scrape re-enactment held Saturday at George Ranch Historical Park. Temperatures in the upper 40s with high winds made for a cold day, but several brave souls came out to see the battle re-enactment of Texas settlers fleeing from advancing Mexican forces during the Texas Revolution in 1836. The re-enactors will perform the Battle of San Jacinto April 21 in Houston. (Photo by Joe Southern)
More than 400 Sugar Land residents chased out of the Riverstone subdivision following Hurricane Harvey are suing the Harris County company that designed and developed the stormwater management system. Multiple suits were filed against Costello Inc., seeking more than $1 million in damages for the 423 residential homeowners, now called plaintiffs, living in the Sweetbriar, Millwood, The Orchard, Lost Creek and Shadow Glen neighborhoods within the Riverstone development. The neighborhoods are within the Levee Improvement District (LID)19 which was created in 2007. Other residents in the Riverstone Development are within LID 15, which was created in 2001.
Costello Inc., designed LID 15 and LID 19 to handle the same amount of rainfall and flooding of the Brazos River but that did not happen, according to the suit. The LID 19 neighborhood suffered “catastrophic rainwater inundation” from several feet of rainwater filling the streets and homes during Hurricane Harvey while LID 15 suffered no rainwater inundation, according to the suit. “Documents obtained by the attorneys for the homeowners and reviewed by internationally renowned hydrologists and engineers familiar with Southeastern Texas LID designs revealed that Costello’s designs for the levees and pumping stations in LID 19 were wholly inadequate and was a direct cause to the loss and destruction of
SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 2B
Stafford moves closer to approving TI development over mayor’s objections By Theresa D. McClellan FOR THE FORT BEND STAR
A developer’s plan to create transformative changes to the old Texas Instrument property are one step closer to reality after the Stafford City Council approved the first reading of the project by a 6-1 vote last week with the mayor
voting no, citing “serious and grave concerns.” The council is expected to revisit the issue tonight (April 11) with public commentary and a final vote. If approved, the city still has to wait for 60 days before any action can be taken, according to the city attorney. This allows anyone to create a petition to force an election on the project.
Supporters of the plan question the motives of Mayor Leonard Scarcella, who says that the way the plan is financially structured, “the City of Stafford will pay out nearly $18 million while collecting less than $5 million for a $13 million deficit of city funds. “In the outer years, we’ll get $3 million once Street
Level Investments is paid out. But for now through 2024, we will be paying out that substantial amount of money and only getting a minimal amount of money and that will impact our ability to continue without a city property tax,” Scarcella said.
SEE STAFFORD PAGE 3B
Attorney Steve Robinson (left), representing Street Level Investment, and Jeff Wiley of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Corporation urge passage of $500 million proposal at a meeting of the Stafford City Council. (Photo by Theresa D. McClellan)
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