In February 2023, Plano ISD announced that it would be “unifying brands, mascots and colors of 9-10 campuses with their respective 11-12 senior high schools.”
Plano ISD, which was operating at the time under a $38.9 million budget deficit (and continues to have a multi-million dollar deficit), revealed that this would include:
- 💸 NEW EXPENSE: Purchasing new athletic and fine arts uniforms
- 💸 NEW EXPENSE: Paying to plan, repaint, and refinish the gym floors at all 6 high school campuses
- 💸 NEW EXPENSE: Paying for planning and redesigning campus interior paint, exterior colors, signage, carpet, tile, and mascot graphics at all 6 high school campuses
Why subject a school district with a multi-million dollar deficit to all this costly, discretionary spending?
While we do not know the why, we have discovered that Trustee Jeri Chambers had some astounding sixth-sense 8 years earlier, prior to even becoming a Plano ISD Trustee:
“School climate and spirit really does make a difference for campus life. Although this may seem like a minor change, it would have a long-term significant impact. Having high school campuses and senior high school campuses makes sense on many levels.
– Jeri Chambers
It provides great opportunities and keeps campus sizes manageable. Unfortunately, many ninth- and 10th-graders don’t really identify with their current school’s spirit but rather choose their feeder senior high instead. Those ninth- and 10th- grade students playing JV and varsity sports already spend a big portion of their days at the senior high.
What if the mascots and the colors of the feeder high schools adopted the mascots and colors of their senior highs? Shepton and Jasper would become Wolves. Vines and Clark would become Wildcats. McMillan and Williams would become Panthers.
There would be some significant costs at first with uniforms (sports, band, cheerleaders and drill teams) and paint, but perhaps the changes could be made over a couple of years, rather than all at once. Uniting the Plano clusters under one mascot would really have a huge impact on community and school spirit and allow a more united support for all schools and all students.”
March 13, 2015
Dallas Morning News “Sounding Off: Readers tell us what Plano
ISD’s new superintendent should tackle first when he arrives“
Back then, Plano ISD was not operating with any deficit, so this type of discretionary spending might be understandable.
However, when Plano ISD continues to run millions of dollars in the red year after year, this reeks of fiscal irresponsibility.
Jeri Chambers has been on the Plano ISD Board of Trustees since 2018. She has approved every Plano ISD budget for the past five years. She knows that the budget deficit grows and grows. It is sad that Trustee Chambers apparently couldn’t put aside her costly pet project for the sake of a financially strapped District.
Educate Plano 