THE FLYOVER
A Weekly Newsletter From The Connally Cadets
Week of 4/22 - 4/26
Superintendent's Update
Greetings Cadet Community!
Today is a very important day in our community, as today is the first day of early voting for the May elections. Connally ISD has two important issues on the May ballot. The first item concerns the three seats on the CISD Board of Trustees. Two of the three seats are not being challenged. There is an incumbent and a challenger for a third seat. There are a total of seven trustees on the board who are each elected to a three-year term. Collectively, they make decisions for the district stakeholders. According to TEA, the purpose of the board of trustees is:
“The board of trustees of an independent school district is a corporate body that has the exclusive power and duty to oversee the district management and evaluate the performance of its superintendent.”
The second item concerns the Connally ISD Bond to build a new elementary campus for grades 2 through 5. We have conducted two town hall meetings for the community and visited each campus to present information concerning the decision-making process to call the bond, how the proceeds from the bond will be used, and the basics of how schools are funded by Maintenance and operations (M&O) and Interest and sinking (I&S) taxes, and what each classification of these funds can be used for.
The proposed bond can only be used for what the voters agree to through their vote: building a new elementary campus, repaving the school-owned road, Cadet Circle, and demolishing the old elementary building. If you have questions about the bond, visit the bond website at the connally.org main page. If you have questions that have not been answered or would like to tour the current elementary and early childhood facilities, please contact me!
I will not tell you how to vote on either the bond measure or the board election, but I will tell you your vote is important. There are 7,948 voters in our district. In the 2022 bond election, 1045 registered voters in our community cast their ballots. This is only approximately 13% of the registered voters. Therefore, it is not true when people state that a majority made the decision, as the majority of our community did not vote. Every vote matters in every election!
Early Voting Sites:
McLennan County Elections Administration Office Records Building
214 North 4th Street, Suite 300
Waco, Texas 76701
Robinson Community Center
106 W. Lyndale Ave.
Robinson, TX 76706
Doris Miller Community Center
1020 Elm Ave., Suite 8001
Waco, Texas 76704
West Waco Library/Genealogy Center
5301 Bosque Blvd.
Waco, Texas 76710
Hewitt City Hall/Library
200 Patriot Court
Hewitt, Texas 76643
The dates and times of Early Voting are:
Monday- April 22, 2024 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday- April 23, 2024 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday- April 24, 2024 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday- April 25, 2024 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday- April 26, 2024 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday- April 27, 2024 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday- April 28, 2024 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Monday- April 29, 2024 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday- April 30, 2024 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Election day is Saturday, May 4, 2024. You can vote at any McLennan County polling site. The polling sites in our community are the Lacy Lakeview Community Center and Chalk Bluff Baptist Church. The polls will be open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM on election day.
Last week, there was a lot of activity around the lights at Mac Peoples Stadium. Our maintenance crew took down the old lighting fixtures and replaced them with a new LED lighting system. The old lighting system was installed in the 1970’s and used mercury vapor light bulbs. Mercury bulbs have become very difficult to find, and when they are found, they are expensive. This is because several states' environmental protection agencies have banned their usage. Therefore, the manufacturers are not producing as many, as the new standard is the more energy-efficient LED bulbs.
As stated in recent newsletters, the year is wrapping up with only a few competitions remaining athletically and academically. The regional track meet scheduled for the past Saturday in Bullard, TX, was rescheduled due to inclement weather in the Bullard area. The regional track qualifiers will be competing in Bullard today. Tuesday, April 23rd, is the final home baseball game. The Cadets will play Robinson at home. Their final district game will be at Robinson on Friday, April 26th. We are also competing in spring 7 on 7 football. The Cadets will host a game at 6:00 p.m. tonight at MacPeoples stadium.
On the academic front, several students are competing in the UIL Academic Region 3 AAAA meet at Stephen F. Austin University on Saturday, April 27th. We also have a state qualifier in the UIL Latino History Essay contest. Connally High School junior, Glyn McDaniel, is one of only 12 state qualifiers. This competition does not classify contestants by the size of their school. This is a competition amongst all students in the state, no matter the school size. Miss McDaniel will read her essay on May 14, 2024, at the University of Texas at Austin before the final award presentation. This year’s essay contest prompt was: Historical and cultural legacies of Latinos in Texas history. Her essay will be archived in the historical record at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum.
The final intervention Friday will be this Friday, April 26th. All students are expected to attend school on all Fridays in May through the final day of school, May 23rd.
The week will close out with the Connally High School prom on Saturday, April 26th, at the John Knox Memorial Center in the Texas Ranger Museum. You will surely see some beautiful dresses and tidied-up young men in our community on Saturday!
Have a wonderful week Cadets!
Jill Bottelberghe
Superintendent
Connally ISD
Email: info@connally.org
Website: www.connally.org
Location: 200 Cadet Way, Waco, TX, USA
Phone: (254) 296 - 6460
Facebook: facebook.com/connallyisd
Twitter: @ConnallyISD