League of Their Own
September 23, 2005
Dallas Morning News
Cedar Hill leads the way on school partnership
It’s great that the city of Cedar Hill and the Cedar Hill Independent School District are joining forces – and budgets – to build a new joint headquarters. It’s sad that such common-sense collaborations are a novelty worthy of a story on the front page of the Metro section.
In addition to saving their taxpayers an estimated $4 million a year, the city and school district will put their top leaders down the hall from one another. Who knows what might happen if other cities followed their lead? Mayors and superintendents might talk to each other more often than at a quarterly breakfast. They and their staffs might actually internalize the oft-repeated bromide that “Hey, we’re all in this together.”
“Joint use” has been a buzzword in government circles for many years. It’s relatively common for schools and city recreation departments to share sports facilities. Dallas and DISD have gone so far as to build a shared library in conjunction with a new school in Arcadia Park.
California seems to lead the nation in the number of such partnerships, in part because the state law that requires a two-thirds vote to pass bond issues has left both school districts and local governments desperate for money. San Jose made history by partnering with San Jose State University to build a state-of-the-art downtown library.
Closer to home, Austin’s J.J. Pickle Elementary School/St. John Community Center houses an elementary school, a public branch library, a neighborhood recreation center, health and human services offices and a community police office.
But Cedar Hill seems to be unique in bringing together not just a few ground-level personnel but the top officials and planners. Who knows what groundbreaking innovations in education and municipal governance will be hatched during casual conversations in the parking lot or at the copy machines?
Let’s see now, DISD’s administration building on Ross Avenue has certainly seen better days, and there are several acres of barren concrete in front of Dallas City Hall.
What if … ?
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Welcome!
My name is Wade Emmert and I am a Council Member for the City of Cedar Hill. This web site is a way for me to share with you some of my thoughts about issues important to the City.
It is my sincerest goal to be a good steward of the citizens’ trust. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at Wade.Emmert@cedarhilltx.com or (214) 740-3164.