INSIDERGEORGETOWN

September 2011

Dear Georgetown ISD Employees,

We are very excited about the 2011-12 school year. The official opening of Georgetown East View High School is the first step in making way for new opportunities and greater participation for our students. The completion of the build out of GEVHS, construction of McCoy Elementary, and a complete renovation of Georgetown High School will allow GISD to create productive, safe learning environments where all of our students can succeed.

The 2011-12 school year is off to a great start. I have confidence in our campus leader-ship and classroom teachers to make this the best year ever for our district. I feel privi-leged to have the opportunity to work with such an awesome staff as we serve the stu-dents of Georgetown ISD. I have no doubt that our students will continue to excel aca-demically, and know that they have adults in their lives who truly care about them.

Due to state funding reductions, Georgetown ISD, like all Texas public schools, will continue to face financial challenges. For the 2011-12 budget year, GISD made $6.5 million expenditure re-ductions due to loss of state revenues and federal stimulus mo-nies. Staff reductions were made in Central Office Administra-tion, Campus Administration, Classroom Teachers, Support Staff, Paraprofessional and Clerical Staff. Additional non-payroll reduc-tions totaling over $700,000 were made. State revenue reduc-tions for the 2012-13 school year will require an additional $3.5 million in budget cuts. GISD will see a total $7.2 million reduction in state funding for the 2011-13 biennium. The challenge will be to develop a budget with less revenue that will allow us to con-tinue to offer exemplary programs and services to our students.

The good news is that we have an outstanding “Recognized” school district with great staff, good students, committed Trustees, involved parents, and a supportive community. Despite financial challenges, none of that will change. We have the opportunity to work together to insure that we continue to be a school district of excellence. Expectations for our students and school district remain high. Together, we can fulfill those expectations.

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UPCOMING EVENTS SEP 17-23 SEP 21 OCT 3-21

ConstitutionWeek

InternationalDay of Peace

GISD’sUnited Way

Campaign

WHAT WERE THEY LOOKING AT?

The McCoy Elementary School staff recently took a “field trip” during to the site of their new home where con-struction is underway. The citizens of Georgetown ap-proved $13,500,000 in November 2010 to build a brand new McCoy at a new location (located off Shell Road). The photos below, provided by campus architects SHW Group, show off what the school will look like. The new McCoy is scheduled to open in August 2012.

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CHEFS MOVE TO SCHOOLS PROJECTVISITS GEORGETOWN ISD

The Chefs Move to Schools Project, spon-sored by the United States Department of Agriculture, visited Georgetown ISD ... and shot a video while they were here. The video being produced by the Regional Service Center in Austin, featured several GISD Nutrition Services employees.

In the photo to the right, Sandra Honea (East View High School) prepares brown bread with Chef Beveylon Concha while an ESC-13 cameraman zooms in for a close up.

The Chefs Move to Schools Project is de-signed to help volunteer chefs find inter-ested K-12 schools with whom they can collaborate with. The chefs volunteer their time to create healthier school meals and educate students about nutrition.

ON THE NEWS

FOOTBALL ... IN THIS HEAT?FOX-7 came to Georgetown in late August to do a story on the heat and football. The story “Football Players Keeping Cool in Texas” was shown several time during the AM and PM newscasts. The story focused on how players at Georgetown High School dunk themselves in icy cold water to cool down after a hot practice. Sev-eral Georgetown ISD staff were inter-viewed including Phil Blue (Athletic Director), Jason Dean (Head Football Coach), Chad Hennessey (Athletic Trainer), and Mary McKenna (Health and Safety Director).

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Georgetown ISD in the News ...

Here are a few web links that you can use to see what “news” Georgetown ISD was making over the past month. Please note that the Williamson County Sun, which features many GISD stories, does not have a web enabled version of their newspaper.

August 12 - FOX7 (www.myfoxaustin.com)★ Football Players Keeping Cool In Texas

August 23 - KXAN (www.kxan.com)★ Lessons Learned at Recess in the Heat

August 23 - American-Statesman (www.statesman.com)★ Central Texas Schools Take heat Precautions

August 26 - KXAN (www.kxan.com)

★ Weighing Cost of Steroid Drug Testing

September 9 - Community Impact (www.impactnews.com)★ Georgetown ISD Expands Campuses, Adds New Facility

JUNIOR FORUM HELPS FILL THE BUS WITH SCHOOL SUPPLIES

The annual Fill the Bus campaign was a rousing success once again. “We appreciate the great work by the Georgetown Junior Forum in braving the heat and collecting supplies for our students,” explained Cheryl Lang, Executive Director of Elementary Education. Supplies were sorted and delivered to the campuses with the assistance of Zelinda Richards, GISD’s Family Specialist and the Kohl’s Cares volunteers.

HEB DONATES WATER TO NON A/C BUSES

Superintendent Joe Dan Lee and Assistant Su-perintendent Carlos Cantu were on hand to help HEB stock some buses with water. The store located at 1101 South IH 35, donated enough bottled water to quench the thirst of those stu-dents riding the few bus routes with no A/C.

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GEORGETOWN ISD = CUSTOMER SERVICEThis summer, Georgetown ISD began a customer service training program focusing on the people we all serve: parents, students, tax-

payers, and fellow employees. Principal’s secretaries, de-partment secretaries, central office personnel, and front office staff from around the district were all a part of “An Attitude of Customer Serv-ice”. The program, developed by School and Community Relations Director Brad Domi-trovich, has been imple-

mented in several Texas school districts over the past few years. Georgetown ISD’s “Five Rules for Great Customer Service” are listed to the right.

FIVE RULES FORGREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE1) Keep customers the priority.2) Over-deliver when possible.3) Offer choices.4) Be access-approachable.5) Use logic not emotion.

Georgetown InSiDer is published by the GISD School and Community Relations Office as a service to our employees. If you have news or a photo to share, please send it to CommunityRelations@GeorgetownISD.org. Questions regarding the con-tents of this publication may be addressed by Brad Domitrovich at (512) 943-1890.

THE “NEW”GEORGETOWN HIGH SCHOOL

If you haven’t seen what Georgetown High School will look like after the construction of new facilities and renovations, just look at these photos provided by Huckabee Architects on the left. The top photo will be the new entrance to Georgetown High School, the bottom photo will be the new cafetorium.

As a part of the November 2010 bond referendum that was passed by our Georgetown community, $28 million will be used for facilities at George-town High School.

To keep up to date on all bond con-struction projects, view the presenta-tions made to the Board of Trustees at Georgetown ISD’s SlideShare site www.SlideShare.net/GeorgetownISD.

The first day at East View High School was a day for the history books. Above, Associate Principal Charles Aguillon addresses students during schedule distribution. Below, Assistant Principal Dan Garza gets interviewed by one of the many media reps that visited.