Schertz council proposes ad hoc education advisory group; staff to inventory city programs

Councilmember Westbrook asked the Schertz City Council on Thursday to form a time-limited, advisory ad hoc committee to gather perspectives across public, charter, private and homeschool communities and recommend ways the city can support student development.

The proposal was pitched as an information-gathering effort, not a governing body: "This is not gonna be without some objections," Councilmember Westbrook said, calling the panel "only ad hoc, time limited and focus[ed] on actionable results." He said the aim was "building the best city for student development and educational outcomes."

The request followed a public comment from resident Carolyn Wolfer, who urged clearer city communication about outreach tools such as resident surveys. "I would like to see a full page ad that says this is what you're signing for," Wolfer told the council, citing confusion about who sends surveys and how often residents would receive them.

Councilmembers expressed broad agreement about supporting education while asking for clarity on scope and authority. "I fully support the most supportive community for education across the board," Councilmember Brown said, noting multiple existing programs — library services, youth leadership events, parks and recreation activities and partnerships with the chamber and economic development corporation. But Brown and others said the city may benefit from cataloging those programs so residents and councilmembers can see what exists and where gaps remain.

Mayor Pro Tem Hayward raised a legal and role-based caution: "My concern is knowing what my role is and what the council role is," Hayward said, warning the council not to imply control over school governance reserved by state law. "We can offer services for different things, but we can't control how these entities are run."

Councilmember Watson said a committee could spur ideas such as using existing city assets — for example, a billboard near Station 2 — to highlight student achievement. Several councilmembers suggested staff could first compile a broad list of city programs that have educational components and the regular communications the city maintains with school districts and other education providers.

Acting City Manager Robert said staff were willing to gather that information and emphasized the need to define the effort's intent: "Staff is certainly happy to do whatever council wants us to do in terms of a priority of where we spend our focus," he said, adding that staff could produce a comprehensive list of programs and contacts and that the council could then decide whether to form an ad hoc committee.

Toward the end of the discussion the council reached consensus on a next step: have staff assemble an inventory of city programs, communications and points of contact with school districts, charter and private schools, and homeschool organizations so the council can identify any gaps and decide whether to create the advisory committee. The meeting adjourned before addressing a second agenda item due to a hard stop at 5:45 p.m.

The discussion repeated two clear themes: councilmembers want better communication channels with families and education providers, and they want to avoid overstepping legal boundaries of school governance while identifying city actions that could support student outcomes.