Op-Ed

Kristin Weiss, IOM

President & CEO

Central Fort Bend Chamber

kweiss@cfbca.org

CFBC SUPPORTS THE UPCOMING LAMAR CONSOLIDATED ISD BOND 

AND INTRODUCES AVENUES FOR CTE TRAINING

Building Our Future Workforce

The Governmental Affairs Division serves as an advocate on behalf of the Central Fort Bend Chamber’s member cities and businesses through access to municipal, county, state and federal legislators. The program members support legislation that affects the local business community in a positive way or enhances quality of life in Central Fort Bend County. The Central Fort Bend Chamber (CFBC) Board of Directors unanimously passed a Resolution of Support for the Lamar Consolidated ISD (LCISD) bond election, which will appear on the November 8^th ballot, at the September Board meeting.

The $1.72 billion in bond projects were developed and prioritized with the help of citizen input and coordination by and between the district and its board. These efforts resulted in a recommendation to LCISD to allow voter consideration of funding five propositions:

• Proposition A - $1,310,611,605; Facilities, Land and Safety
• Proposition B - $189,241,920; Career and Technology Center
• Proposition C - $16,769,775; Classroom & District Technology & Equipment
• Proposition D - $4,978,501; Traylor Stadium LED Lighting & Turf
• Proposition E - $194,904,700; Second Stadium Land and Facilities equipped with learning capabilities for CTE students (Career & Technical Education).

So why is this Bond Election so important for our community?

LCISD is currently the fastest growing school district in Texas. With the incredible growth that is coming to west Fort Bend County, it is imperative that we prepare for the increasing LCISD student population now. The future success of the county’s workforce lies with our students, and we need to be ready to educate them to the best of our abilities by adding new schools, expanding technology, building a dedicated CTE campus and constructing a new sports facility; equipped with CTE live-learning settings.

LCISD, an “A” rated district from the Texas Education Agency, will almost double the size in the next 10 years, making a significant bond election an absolute necessity. A growing community must have the capacity to provide safe and secure facilities for all students. Quality education, safe environments and forward-thinking educators will lead to tremendous growth in our community.

How has the Central Fort Bend Chamber help build the future workforce for Fort Bend County?

In 2018, the Central Fort Bend Chamber opted to make education and the workforce issues a priority by adding a Workforce Development Division to its Program of Work. Out of many conversations with industries and volunteers, we came to understand that as new businesses were looking to move to west Fort Bend County, their number one question was no longer about the incentives they may receive, but about the size and capabilities of our workforce. From these revelations, we decided to make important moves to serve as a conduit between workforce development and education and companies in Fort Bend County to facilitate positive communication and economic growth.

In October 2019, CFBC added the nationally recognized Manufacturing Day to our event schedule, hosting 200 students from three local school districts in our first year. Some of the highlights of the day included tours of the highly touted Texas State Technical College-Fort Bend Campus, interactive exhibits from 18 local industries focused on manufacturing, industrial or construction areas and a panel discussion with former trade school students. The program has continued to grow, thanks to a great collaboration with LCISD-CTE Department.

In 2020, the Workforce Division wanted take Manufacturing Day to the next level and the CTE Leadership Academy was born. For the next two years, CFBF, along with a group of community volunteers, including the LCISD CTE Director, put pen to paper to design a state-of-the-art program for high school juniors and seniors. Through the partnership with LCISD, students from each of the six high schools were invited to complete an application to participate in the CTE Leadership Academy – a six-month program (September, October, November, January, February & March) designed to engage students in higher education institution and local industry tours, with soft skill training added in monthly. The CTE Leadership Academy’s sole purpose is to enhance leadership skills and confidence in our youth while growing our workforce organically and locally through education.

With the success of these programs, CFBC will be rolling out two additional events for the LCISD students in the spring of 2023 – Health & Wellness Day and Technology Day, which will both mimic Manufacturing Day.

Our community and business owners need to support the LCISD Bond. A successful bond election with define the future of our youth, economic development and our community.

About the Lamar Consolidated ISD Bond

For more information on the Lamar Consolidated ISD bond, visit https://supportlcisdschools.org/, a website led by Advocates for LCISD, a special purpose political action committee (S-PAC) chaired by Jeff Haley, and Llarance Turner, treasurer. This S-PA advocates in strong support of this bond package.

About the Central Fort Bend Chamber

The Central Fort Bend Chamber has been caring for businesses in Fort Bend County since 1910. The mission is to cultivate community connections, advocate for business and facilitate growth. For more information on the Central Fort Bend Chamber and its programs, please visit www.cfbca.org.