September 7, 2012

Dear Alief ISD Key Communicator,

As our second week of school comes to a close, I thought I would share with you some relevant and important information. So far, we have enrolled 45,758 students as of yesterday and are over our projected enrollment for the start of this school year. Based on previous years’ history, we do not expect to see our enrollment continue to grow but should level off until the second semester.

At the August 28th monthly School Board Meeting, our Trustees passed a balanced operating budget of $400.9 million for the 2012-2013 school year. The majority of our budget goes directly towards instruction and the education of our students, and includes a one-time salary supplement of $1,000 for all qualified returning full-time staff members. The Alief school district has long been committed to recruiting and retaining quality personnel by offering a competitive salary. Although there were not sufficient funds to provide a raise or supplemental pay last year, and future anticipated funding levels will not allow for permanent raises, the Board unanimously agreed to recognize our staff contributions by providing this one-time supplement for this school year. We have received numerous emails from staff members expressing their appreciation to the Board for this consideration.

The Board also adopted a 2012 combined tax rate of $1.32 per $100 assessed value, representing a one-cent decrease. I’m very proud to tell you that we have lowered the tax rate by one penny in each of the past two years. That’s unheard of during these uncertain financial times. In fact, a recent survey of Greater Houston area school districts showed that Alief ISD had the second lowest tax rate in the area. Even though there continues to be much uncertainty over the future of public education funding in our state, the demands placed on our schools continues to increase. I want you to know that Alief ISD is doing everything in its power to provide the best possible education for all of our students while providing the best value to our taxpayers.

In closing, I would like to invite you to come out and visit our schools. See for yourself what’s going on in our classrooms. I’m sure you will agree that Alief has great students, great teachers and a solid plan on the best strategies to educate students. I also encourage you to come out and support our students as they perform on the playing fields or on stage in one of our theatres. Information regarding our various athletic events and fine arts performances can be found on our web site at www.aliefisd.net.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in the Alief Independent School District by serving as a Key Communicator. Please let me know if there are any topics that you would like me to address in future messages.

Sincerely,

HD Chambers
Alief ISD Superintendent of Schools