Trustees press staff on community‑center use, transportation and extracurricular fees

During the budget Q&A, trustees and councilmembers pressed district staff for more detail on a string of operational matters that affect families: underuse of a community center, transportation for after‑school programs, the loss of a shared bus mechanic and the prospect of charging fees for extracurricular activities.

Councilmembers argued the community center sits underused during peak after‑school hours and suggested partnerships or student-run enterprise models (coffee/snack sales, vending or concessions) to increase activity and offset operating costs. Dr. Stevens said staff have met with entrepreneurship classes and a new chef to explore activating the space and noted conversations with community partners including the Boys and Girls Club.

On transportation, trustees asked why the district stopped providing direct buses to the Boys and Girls Club; Dr. Stevens said the club now runs its own bus and the district had stopped providing that route prior to his arrival. Trustees also raised that the district recently lost a bus mechanic who had specialized certification and that the district is contracting third-party services in the interim.

A trustee asked about fees for band and UIL activities; Dr. Stevens noted examples from other Central Texas districts using activity fees but said the Stafford board had not signaled a desire to adopt such fees and that the district prefers to keep programs available. "Judging by the faces of the trustees, I'm not sure that's a road we want to explore," he said.