82R8112 BPG-D
By: Paxton H.R. No. 612
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Allen Independent School District has provided
generations of young Texans with a quality education, and local
residents are celebrating the district's 100th anniversary in 2011;
and
WHEREAS, Citizens of Allen voted in 1910 to convert its
common school district, which had been established in 1883, to an
independent school district; a bond election funded construction of
a two-story brick building with six rooms and an auditorium, which
remained the main classroom facility for five decades; and
WHEREAS, The district faced numerous challenges early in its
history, including shrinking enrollment, inadequate facilities,
and a shortage of teachers and courses; in the 1940s, Allen ISD
trustees began actively recruiting educators, and concerned
citizens helped to keep them in the district by providing them with
housing and paying their salaries through PTA donations; and
WHEREAS, During the 1950s, voters supported two bond
elections by wide margins, and in 1959, the district opened Allen
High School; enrollments began to rise in the following decade, and
finally exceeded 500 for the first time in the 1968-69 school year;
Rountree Elementary School opened as the district's first
elementary school in 1974; and
WHEREAS, The 1980s brought considerable growth as farmland
yielded to new subdivisions, and the student population of 3,700 in
1986 doubled by 1993; expansion continued apace during the 1990s as
the district built a number of new schools, including the
state-of-the-art Allen High School in 2000; and
WHEREAS, Today, Allen ISD serves some 19,000 students on 22
campuses; it earned an Exemplary rating from the Texas Education
Agency in 2010, with 18 individual campuses rated Exemplary and two
rated Recognized; in addition to offering instruction in several
foreign languages and an international baccalaureate program, the
district sponsors a broad range of vocational courses; moreover, it
enjoys strong community support for its athletics, and a bond
election funded construction of a $59.6 million football stadium
that seats 18,000 fans; and
WHEREAS, The Allen Independent School District has changed
dramatically over the course of the past century, but it has not
wavered in its commitment to providing high-quality educational
opportunities to area students, and its rich tradition remains a
tremendous source of pride for the surrounding community; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the centennial celebration of the
Allen Independent School District and extend to all those
associated with the district sincere best wishes for continued
success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the district as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.