Colleyville Mayor Bobby Lindamood Announcement on GCISD

I’d like to provide an update to my fellow Councilmembers and to the community about a good meeting I had with Grapevine Mayor Tate last Thursday. He had requested the meeting, and we were joined by Colleyville City Manager Jerry Ducay and Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow.

Mayor Tate started the meeting by stating he hoped there was a way we could try to help GCISD keep schools open. He shared his concerns and ideas for how to avoid school closures. I shared my sadness to see attendance numbers drop so low, and frustration that the state has not adequately addressed school funding, and the serious harm caused by the recapture dollars leaving our school district. Mayor Tate suggested that I call School Board president Shannon Braun to see if we could slow down the process and find other possible ways to help with the district’s financial needs. I agreed to call her and also to reach out to our state Senator Tan Parker. I wanted to get details and see what, if anything, could be done. Mayor Tate said he could raise 2 million dollars from corporate donations, to donate to the district. At the end of the meeting, Mayor Tate and I agreed to send a letter to the state asking for oversight and information about those recapture dollars, should there be a chance we can use some of the recapture dollars to help ease GCISD’s financial burden.

Following my meeting with Mayor Tate, I had a lengthy conversation with President Shannon Braun, who explained in great detail why we are going through closures in our school district. With attendance being down significantly, and recapture dollars being taken from our district, it’s clear that our trustees are faced with some very difficult decisions to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of GCISD. These 7 trustees have been working with community members to do what is needed to avoid the state stepping in and taking over, like what we’ve seen in Fort Worth.

I also spoke with State Senator Tan Parker, and he fully recognizes the recapture issues. He was working to revamp education funding this last session, but unfortunately, it didn’t reach the floor. He has committed to making it a major priority next session. I did ask about withholding some of the recapture money and not making the payment to the state (It never hurts to ask), but he advise that districts need to make the recapture payment and do what is needed to survive at this present moment. I finished our conversation by saying it hurts to see other districts build new, advanced schools while we try to scrape up money to pay the light bills and replace old tile in our aging schools. If we could just keep 20% of the $36 million that is leaving our district, both GCISD and the schools receiving recapture dollars could survive with breathing room. He fully agreed and again promised to work hard for us. He has been a good resource in the Texas Senate and I fully believe he will go to bat for us.

This is the entirety of my recent meetings and follow up actions related to the district’s announcements of school closures.

Just a couple of days ago apparently there was a meeting with Parents and some of the Grapevine elected officials. There was a statement by Grapevine City Council member Leon Leal about some sort of joint agreement letter coming out from Mayor Tate and I to try to save our schools from closure. Leon was not present at my meeting with Mayor Tate, and his inaccurate and premature comments have led to confusion in the community. Let’s be clear. We will not over promise, nor do we have any authority over decisions to close schools in GCISD. We are here to give support and help offer solutions if possible. If some sort of formal City action were to be taken or discussed, (and I’m not sure what that would be), it would occur at a public meeting of the full City Council. To date, there is nothing scheduled to do so.

Also, for clarity, there have been false statements claiming that I myself and Patriot Mobile are trying to shut down school buildings so that we can buy the property for pennies on the dollar. That is not true! I have had no conversation with any entity about closing our schools for personal gain, nor to purchase the property via city funds. Those are nothing more than wild conspiracy theories.

I’m sad that GCISD is having to consider closing schools. There’s so much history and love for our beloved schools, but the data tells the story. We are victims of our own success. We have built a wonderful community with low taxes, a safe place to live, and as we age no one wants to leave this oasis. That includes me a now empty nester. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for the district to remain financially sustainable if attendance has declined so much. I believe the leadership of GCISD has done extensive homework and has left no stone unturned. But let’s please remember that GCISD is its own entity and is operated by its own elected officials. We support the district, the trustees, and families as these difficult decisions are considered. Through these tough times and all the times ahead, the City remains a steadfast partner to GCISD.

Colleyville Mayor

Bobby Lindamood