Community members weigh in on Communities in Schools

 

The CCISD board of trustees held a special meeting on Monday evening, during which the upcoming budget for the 2026-2027 school year was discussed.

Not on the budget this year is funding for Communities In Schools, which places a site coordinator on each campus, save for the prekindergarten campus. $200,000 partially funded the site coordinators. CIS has had a presence on CCISD campuses for more than three decades, according to CIS board member Bruce Vasbinder.

 

During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, BrendaLiz Gomez addressed the board, sharing her concerns that without CIS reps on district campuses, counselors at CCHS will not be able to fill the need.

“Our high school counselors currently serve approximately 550 students each, which is well above the American School Counselor Association and the Texas School Counselors Association recommended ratio of 250 students per counselor. While our counselors work tirelessly to support students, that caseload makes it nearly impossible to meet every academic, social, emotional, and family need,” Gomez told the board.

“Communities In Schools helped fill the gap. Ms. Vines worked alongside counselors, administrators, teachers, local businesses, churches, and community organizations to meet the needs that often extended beyond the classroom. She connected families with food, clothing, hygiene items, and basic utilities during times of crisis. She helped students experiencing housing instability, supported families facing medical emergencies, and ensured students could remain focused on learning instead of worrying about their basic needs. She also helped students participate in milestone experiences like prom, giving many the opportunity to feel included and valued.

“These services were not a duplication of existing roles; they were an expansion of support.”

Winett Vines likewise addressed the board. Vines has been the CIS site coordinator at CCHS and appealed to the board regarding the students she has served. She acknowledged what she called a “riff” on social media about CCISD not continuing to contract with CIS in the upcoming school year.

“I’m not here for that. I’m just here to speak because some of us did stay silent. Some of us didn’t say anything, and my first concern, and I will be the first to admit it, was what about the kids? Are they going to be taken care of? That is my first concern when it comes to anything,” Vines told the board. “My heart is with children. My heart is to make sure that children are taken care of, that they have a voice, that they’re heard. Because so many times we are busy, and sometimes we get caught up, and we may have a child fall through the cracks. My biggest fear is the kids that sometimes don’t voice what’s going on at home. We just need to make sure that they have a safe place.

“If you guys decide to consider it, that is something for you guys to do. But if you do not, make sure that the children are taken care of. That is all that I’m asking. Make sure that they receive the love, the care that they need because they deserve it.”

Public comments at the meeting were concluded with Ava Casson, a student at Copperas Cove High School, who had prepared a statement for the board.

“I actually just got back a few hours ago from four straight days at cheer camp. I’m completely exhausted, but I knew I had to be in the room tonight because what Communities In Schools did for me is worth every ounce of energy I have left. Looking at me at a track meet or on the sidelines in varsity cheer, you might think I have everything under control. On the outside, I bring energy and Bulldawg pride, but behind that smile, I battle anxiety, insomnia, and depression,” Casson wrote.

She said that although she invested time with the counselors about her education, CIS brought something to her that nothing else could, and that because of site coordinators like Vines, she did not give up and has become an advocate for youth mental health.

“My lifelong dream is to become a U.S. Marshal. CIS taught me the resilience and strength I need to protect others one day. Please continue to invest in communities and schools at CCHS. You aren’t just funding a program. You’re giving students like me a lifeline, a future, and a fighting chance.”

 

Likewise, several site coordinators with CIS who have served on CCISD campuses reached out to the Leader-Press regarding what their program has done during its tenure with CCISD.

Cenia Arenas was the site coordinator for the Williams/Ledger campus.

“I was disappointed after reading the recent article regarding the district’s decision not to renew the CIS contract because it did not reflect many of the realities that I witness every day. I can only speak from my own experience, but I believe it is important to share what CIS truly provides for students and families,” Arenas wrote. “During my first year at Williams Ledger Elementary, I received approximately 100 parent consent forms from families requesting CIS services. Last school year, that number grew to nearly 300. To me, that growth represents the trust families placed in our program and the value they saw in the services we provided. It also demonstrates that the need for CIS continues to grow.”

She also said that although district reps said they receive federal funds to help with student clothing, in her experience many families who struggle financially do not legally qualify under that definition. Those students come to school needing shoes, clothing, hygiene items, and other basic necessities.

Kaitlynd Vickers has been the site coordinator at Martin Walker Elementary and wrote about the efforts that she and other staff did for the annual Angel Tree and also addressed the issue of clothing for students.

“The nurses are not allowed to keep clothing in their office. This is where CIS steps in and uses their budget provided by CIS to buy clothes, socks, underwear, and shoes for students in case of accidents, milk or food spilled on their clothes, or bloody noses and they don’t have a change of clothes,” Vickers said. “The only clothing item I have ever received from admin was a box of jackets. And while those are used and appreciated, it doesn’t take the place for when a student needs an entire outfit change. I don’t know of any other staff member on campus that had any of those items available for students. Once again, it was under the responsibility of CIS.”

Cassandra Ray, who has been site director over at Crossroads and House Creek, said similar things regarding the services CIS provided on campus.

“Occasionally we would receive boxes of jackets or hoodies from Shelley Brown. A few times we were able to get donations of thick winter coats. Unfortunately, this was not enough to cover all the students who needed winter weather gear and CIS would use our budgets to provide more coats/gloves/hats to students in need,” Ray wrote. “Many times these students were not on my caseload as well, but I could not have a student go cold. All of the clothing and shoes we have are included on the CIS inventory sheet, so there will be none left over once we leave the campus.”

Ray also questioned if assigning these duties to campus parent-community outreach coordinators could be a violation of Title 1 that funds the PCOC positions.

“The Parent and Community Outreach Coordinator (PCOC) has specific duties that are outlined by Title 1. The PCOC does not handle student basic needs or facilitate small groups,” Ray wrote. “This means that CCISD plans to incorporate extra assigned duties, possibly in violation of Title 1 regulations.”

 

Board of trustees Place 7 Jeff Gorres spoke during the budget discussions and asked the board to consider the $200,000 in funding for the program.

“As this is a workshop, I’d like to discuss as trustees, what can we do? There’s a row out there, and we can’t find $200,000 for CIS? I just put this to my fellow trustees,” Gorres said, noting that the budget deficit was reduced to $172,788.

No board members initially said anything to Gorres’ request to discuss funding CIS.

Then, board of trustees president Joan Manning commented.

“I know Mr. Gorres asked the question about CIS, and I think we had some really good presentations that people brought tonight. I know that Ms. Vines really touched my heart with her presentation, and we hope that in some way we can continue using her. I don’t know how, but I’m just going to say that since this is a budget workshop, and I know that CIS has been an important part of our school district for a long time, but we’re making some hard decisions, like Dr. Hawkins just mentioned, and you know we have to keep our students and our staff in mind first and foremost,” Manning said. “This was difficult for him and for us to take on. It’s definitely not a popular thing that is happening, and we understand that, and we do want to continue with the good work that they have been doing and can continue to have a Ms. Vines or people like her at our schools who can help those students, because we all know, especially in this day and age, in this world, we have kids everywhere that that are forgotten.

“We’re not hard-hearted. We’re not just thinking about budgets, we’re thinking about the kids, and that’s why each one of us ran. I would say every one of us ran because of students and making life better for them.”

She said she really couldn’t answer Gorres’ question, except that she knew it was a “hard decision for Dr. Hawkins to make.”

“I appreciate his courage in doing that hard work that he’s doing, to make sure that that we take care of our students and we take care of our staff. I don’t really have anything else to say about that, but I appreciate what you’re doing, Dr. Hawkins.”

She also thanked the district’s “cabinet,” meaning central office administrators.

“Y’all don’t get kudos like you should, but believe it or not, we think and pray for you a lot, and we thank you for what you do each and every day for our kids and our in our community. This is our community, and we want to make it better. Just like Ms. Vines was talking about the kids that she serves, we’re emotional about it.”

The board will be holding its regular meeting for the month of July on Monday, July 27, at the CCISD administration board room, at 508 S. Main St. at 6 p.m.