They must have read my survey notes and placed it in the pile that didn't agree with their views. I wonder if they intend to post the full set of survey responses?

Maybe I'm just a pessimist and should give them the benefit of the doubt.....

The survey responses are actually all posted and available to read - it's a link within the agenda for yesterdays board meeting. Seems to me the vast majority of people were against it. I'm confused why something so controversial had such universal support by the board. Does anyone have more scoop on what's going on with this board and what they said as the right thing to do?

AggieMom_38 said:

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The survey responses are actually all posted and available to read - it's a link within the agenda for yesterdays board meeting. Seems to me the vast majority of people were against it. I'm confused why something so controversial had such universal support by the board. Does anyone have more scoop on what's going on with this board and what they said as the right thing to do?

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The rebranding is the boards gateway to rezone. They say it isn't but it is. They also said it's about giving Middle Schools their own identity (as if they don't have it now). The truth is they're trying to eliminate continuity identity so kids don't get attached to a particular HS while in Middle School. They said at the meeting they think rezoning kids including high school kids every year would be fine. i.e. sophomore at a HS one year then forced to move to the other HS the next year as Junior. They do not support grandfathering either. They say kids are resilient. Crazy! I don't care how little it costs to rebrand. When they choose to spend even one dollar on this project and that one dollar could be used instead for teachers, supplies, or whatever is needed to help teach students then they're misusing that one dollar.

Is it possible that the community noticed but chose not say anything during the campaign regarding the connection of one candidate to an existing Board Member? One of the candidates, the woman that one (Nolan), her campaign signs state that her Treasurer was Amy Clough. Clough works at the same law firm as Harris, an existing CSISD Board Member. More over, it seemed that Harris followed up with everyone the candidate spoke with in an effort to clear up misstatements made by that candidate and actively campaigning against the other candidate. Not to mention letters in the Eagle supporting Nolan came from people that work with Harris. Harris has actually never won a campaign for his Board seat. His seat has never been contested. Guess he finally won one now! People can certainly support and vote for whomever they want. I'm all for that but this appears like a hand picked candidate to help keep all future votes 7-0. If we ever see a dissenting vote from a member on this Board I will be shocked. They just go through the motions with the community and then do what they want. Makes me feel a little icky about the whole thing.

Too late to do anything about it now!

Can you imagine if they rezoned star football players between sophomore and junior year? People would just start renting and not buying so they could move their kids as needed.

Some of the comments in the survey were rather amusing. Don't advertise that you are a former teacher when you have poor spelling and grammar. I don't care if math or a non English subject was your specialty, it doesn't leave a positive impression.

I agree with techno, though, both middle schools have some deferred maintenance issues that I hope will be resolved soon. Some of the water issues have me concerned for students and staff with mold allergies.

Wow - Mrs. Nolan's connections to the current board seem crazy. That is insane! Why doesn't our media do any homework and investigate these things? So I guess we know how she will vote. I knew she was close to the superintendent but also the board?

I guess I understand the deferred maintenance argument. But there has to be real costs associated with rebranding (can't just say it was all going to happen anyway). It's uniforms, mascots, decor, everything that has a color or insignia on it... But also, there's the psychological cost too to the kids. Does anyone even think about them? And, I would be heartbroken if I went back to my junior high school to learn everything about it's identity was wiped away. Wow! It's almost unimaginable that this was the school board's decision.

I can't speak to any of the info regarding the campaign stuff, but as a voter, I vetted the candidates prior to casting my vote. Both candidates for that position had a fairly solid volunteering background including volunteering within the District. So, I guess I would expect them to be familiar and have a collegial relationship with the Superintendent. Not a big deal for me. As a matter of fact, an administrator who discouraged parental involvement would be kind of suspicious in my book.

AggieMom_38 said:

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Wow - Mrs. Nolan's connections to the current board seem crazy. That is insane! Why doesn't our media do any homework and investigate these things? So I guess we know how she will vote. I knew she was close to the superintendent but also the board?

I guess I understand the deferred maintenance argument. But there has to be real costs associated with rebranding (can't just say it was all going to happen anyway). It's uniforms, mascots, decor, everything that has a color or insignia on it... But also, there's the psychological cost too to the kids. Does anyone even think about them? And, I would be heartbroken if I went back to my junior high school to learn everything about it's identity was wiped away. Wow! It's almost unimaginable that this was the school board's decision.

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Well that's what you elect them for. They're supposed to look at the issue clear-eyed and emotions free, & make the best decisions for the district. Sounds like they did their job.

I assure you they did not do it clear eyed. They are clouded by emotional intentions. I guess the community has no idea that CSISD has a projected deficit operating budget of $2million plus. I agree on deferred maintenance but really? Let's spend money we don't have on things we don't need. Who operates like that?

Agmaker speaks the truth.

I've been sitting through the school board meetings for the last year and a half.
There are 2 board members up there that run that show.
They run roughshod over the others.
The others "go along to get along"

Why don't you go sit though some of those meetings and you can decide who is who.

It's a total mess.

Quote:

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The rebranding is the boards gateway to rezone.

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I think this is a given regardless of any 'rebranding.'

I would not vote in favor of a bond for the CSHS expansion if ballotted prior to the underutilized AMCHS issue being addressed. That seems fiscally irresponsible on a fairly large magnitude.
The rebranding thing isn't really an issue for me. Obviously some folks feel strongly about it. The maintenance, however, is an issue. When CSMS had the big leak and had to close school; that was an issue. When the roof leaks at a school or there is no air conditioning (and the windows don't open these days- -security) that is an issue. I agree that the District has had a deficit and probably will continue to have one as long as the Lege continues procrastinating on reforming school finance. But the funds for maintenance have already been voted upon so hopefully the building needs can be addressed.

After reading through some of the surveys, there is a lot more support for this re-branding then this texags post seems to acknowledge. Sure, there are plenty of people against it for varying reasons, but the people that support it tend to share my view. I filled out the survey and STRONGLY supported the re-branding.

I am sick to death of the maroon vs purple, new school vs old school, this side of 6 vs that side of 6 mentality that has developed in our community. It has created way to much division in our community and created a view among many people that one side is better than the other.

My kids are on the maroon side and this issue became very apparent to me when my 7th grade daughter told me that "her school is a dump". I was dumbfounded by her comment. I discussed this with her to try and understand why she felt this way and ultimately she did not really have a good example of why her school was the dump. She simply said "I don't have a good example dad, but everybody just knows the purple side is better".

Here is a news flash people: We live in an excellent school district and all of our schools are good. There is not a single campus at any level that I would have a problem with my daughter attending. Seriously, if you think different, then you really need to take a look at other districts around the state.

Don't get me wrong, I fully support a good, healthy cross town rivalry between the high schools but we need to stop this unhealthy view of some of the schools and I believe this re-branding will help that by severing the connection between the middle schools and high schools.

BigBubba said:

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After reading through some of the surveys, there is a lot more support for this re-branding then this texags post seems to acknowledge. Sure, there are plenty of people against it for varying reasons, but the people that support it tend to share my view. I filled out the survey and STRONGLY supported the re-branding.

I am sick to death of the maroon vs purple, new school vs old school, this side of 6 vs that side of 6 mentality that has developed in our community. It has created way to much division in our community and created a view among many people that one side is better than the other.

My kids are on the maroon side and this issue became very apparent to me when my 7th grade daughter told me that "her school is a dump". I was dumbfounded by her comment. I discussed this with her to try and understand why she felt this way and ultimately she did not really have a good example of why her school was the dump. She simply said "I don't have a good example dad, but everybody just knows the purple side is better".

Here is a news flash people: We live in an excellent school district and all of our schools are good. There is not a single campus at any level that I would have a problem with my daughter attending. Seriously, if you think different, then you really need to take a look at other districts around the state.

Don't get me wrong, I fully support a good, healthy cross town rivalry between the high schools but we need to stop this unhealthy view of some of the schools and I believe this re-branding will help that by severing the connection between the middle schools and high schools.

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So rebranding is the answer? How about stop hiding costs for maintenance and upgrades behind the school colors, etc?

Just to make a point, look at the number of National Merit Scholars between the two high schools. Branding does not matter, academics does.

BigBubba said:

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After reading through some of the surveys, there is a lot more support for this re-branding then this texags post seems to acknowledge. Sure, there are plenty of people against it for varying reasons, but the people that support it tend to share my view. I filled out the survey and STRONGLY supported the re-branding.

I am sick to death of the maroon vs purple, new school vs old school, this side of 6 vs that side of 6 mentality that has developed in our community. It has created way to much division in our community and created a view among many people that one side is better than the other.

My kids are on the maroon side and this issue became very apparent to me when my 7th grade daughter told me that "her school is a dump". I was dumbfounded by her comment. I discussed this with her to try and understand why she felt this way and ultimately she did not really have a good example of why her school was the dump. She simply said "I don't have a good example dad, but everybody just knows the purple side is better".

Here is a news flash people: We live in an excellent school district and all of our schools are good. There is not a single campus at any level that I would have a problem with my daughter attending. Seriously, if you think different, then you really need to take a look at other districts around the state.

Don't get me wrong, I fully support a good, healthy cross town rivalry between the high schools but we need to stop this unhealthy view of some of the schools and I believe this re-branding will help that by severing the connection between the middle schools and high schools.

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I think you should go tour the $100 million CSHS then tour AMCHS. Tell me you don't notice a difference. It isn't just because one school is new and the other is older. The CSISD board and leadership created this perception of the "have and have not" when they spent entirely too much money on the new high school. They could have built a similar high school that cost much less without all the amenities and fancy finishes.

My kids go to the maroon schools and I'm good with them going to Consol, but there is a big difference in the campuses and the board and leadership have no-one to blame for this except themselves.

The other issue is capacity utilization. The board continues to avoid addressing the true issues and instead wastes taxpayer funds on rebranding. Lets deal with the true issues facing the district first. Then if we have money left we can deal with the feeling issues.

The maroon v purple thing is both sad and interesting. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I only hear the negative comments about consol from other consol parents. Personally I have never heard a negative comment about consol from a CSHS parent (in fact the opposite given many of my friends with kids at CSHS went to consol themselves). There are a lot of derogatory comments directed toward CSHS and it seems to just be acceptable to do at this point (openly referred to as "the purple palace"). I suppose it's some misplaced jealousy toward a newer school, however there's no reason for that because consol is great so I don't see why consol parents (and maybe kids, but I feel it's more about the parents) are so focused on this distinction. Rivalry is good and normal, pointing people out for the neighborhood they live in or where their children go to school is dumfounding. I'm sure there are things that need to be done to make improvements at consol in terms of resources and aesthetics. I'm wondering if the rebranding will even put those needed things further on the backburner.

I also saw that a prior poster (lilmonkey) who's comments have disappeared showed such anger toward "SoCo." I hear this so often - openly being hostile toward a part of town and making blanket and unsupported statements about racism and the like (admittedly, I'm not quite sure what SoCo refers to). I wish more of us would stand up and say enough to the neighborhood wars (and call our friends/fellow parents out on it as well)

AggieMom_38 said:

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The maroon v purple thing is both sad and interesting. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I only hear the negative comments about consol from other consol parents. Personally I have never heard a negative comment about consol from a CSHS parent (in fact the opposite given many of my friends with kids at CSHS went to consol themselves). There are a lot of derogatory comments directed toward CSHS and it seems to just be acceptable to do at this point (openly referred to as "the purple palace"). I suppose it's some misplaced jealousy toward a newer school, however there's no reason for that because consol is great so I don't see why consol parents (and maybe kids, but I feel it's more about the parents) are so focused on this distinction. Rivalry is good and normal, pointing people out for the neighborhood they live in or where their children go to school is dumfounding. I'm sure there are things that need to be done to make improvements at consol in terms of resources and aesthetics. I'm wondering if the rebranding will even put those needed things further on the backburner.

I also saw that a prior poster (lilmonkey) who's comments have disappeared showed such anger toward "SoCo." I hear this so often - openly being hostile toward a part of town and making blanket and unsupported statements about racism and the like (admittedly, I'm not quite sure what SoCo refers to). I wish more of us would stand up and say enough to the neighborhood wars (and call our friends/fellow parents out on it as well)

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Amen. We're all one community. South College Station, North College Station, Bryan. The name calling should stop. Let's be proud of BCS.

AggieMom_38 said:

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"Personally I have never heard a negative comment about consol from a CSHS parent .."

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I'm not involved in CS schools, because I'm in Bryan. But I have heard negative comments about Consol from CSHS parents with whom I'm acquainted. In all fairness, they don't just sit around dogging Consol, but when the subject of THEIR offspring being sent to Consol comes up, they have expressed some very strong negative commentary about the school.

As a parent of children that graduated from BHS, I can tell you the perception in the community is that "The Purple" school is better than any other school around. Much of this is perpetuated by some of the kids that attend CSHS as well as their parents. Just scroll through social media and you see tons of posts about " purple this and purple that" Even local media outlets such as KBTX has referred to it as "the purple" school. A few weeks ago, I went to Kroger in College Station to pick up a few things from the deli. Near the back of the floral department, they were selling school t-shirts. I immediately noticed the disparity in what was being offered for CSHS and Consol. The Consol merchandise covered about 6 feet of wall space while the CSHS merchandise covered about 12-14 feet of wall space.

OnlyANobody said:

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AggieMom_38 said:

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"Personally I have never heard a negative comment about consol from a CSHS parent .."

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I'm not involved in CS schools, because I'm in Bryan. But I have heard negative comments about Consol from CSHS parents with whom I'm acquainted. In all fairness, they don't just sit around dogging Consol, but when the subject of THEIR offspring being sent to Consol comes up, they have expressed some very strong negative commentary about the scho

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Which is what happened in 2016 when the board was talking about sending more neighborhoods south into Consol. Lawsuits, threats, and just plain ugliness ensued and the board caved (which is reason alone that they all need to be replaced). However, there are no more neighborhoods available in town to send to Consol - it's only a matter of time.