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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Allen Independent School District has provided |
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generations of young Texans with a quality education, and local |
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residents are celebrating the district's 100th anniversary in 2011; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Citizens of Allen voted in 1910 to convert its |
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common school district, which had been established in 1883, to an |
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independent school district; a bond election funded construction of |
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a two-story brick building with six rooms and an auditorium, which |
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remained the main classroom facility for five decades; and |
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WHEREAS, The district faced numerous challenges early in its |
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history, including shrinking enrollment, inadequate facilities, |
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and a shortage of teachers and courses; in the 1940s, Allen ISD |
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trustees began actively recruiting educators, and concerned |
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citizens helped to keep them in the district by providing them with |
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housing and paying their salaries through PTA donations; and |
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WHEREAS, During the 1950s, voters supported two bond |
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elections by wide margins, and in 1959, the district opened Allen |
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High School; enrollments began to rise in the following decade, and |
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finally exceeded 500 for the first time in the 1968-69 school year; |
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Rountree Elementary School opened as the district's first |
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elementary school in 1974; and |
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WHEREAS, The 1980s brought considerable growth as farmland |
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yielded to new subdivisions, and the student population of 3,700 in |
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1986 doubled by 1993; expansion continued apace during the 1990s as |
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the district built a number of new schools, including the |
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state-of-the-art Allen High School in 2000; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Allen ISD serves some 19,000 students on 22 |
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campuses; it earned an Exemplary rating from the Texas Education |
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Agency in 2010, with 18 individual campuses rated Exemplary and two |
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rated Recognized; in addition to offering instruction in several |
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foreign languages and an international baccalaureate program, the |
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district sponsors a broad range of vocational courses; moreover, it |
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enjoys strong community support for its athletics, and a bond |
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election funded construction of a $59.6 million football stadium |
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that seats 18,000 fans; and |
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WHEREAS, The Allen Independent School District has changed |
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dramatically over the course of the past century, but it has not |
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wavered in its commitment to providing high-quality educational |
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opportunities to area students, and its rich tradition remains a |
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tremendous source of pride for the surrounding community; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the centennial celebration of the |
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Allen Independent School District and extend to all those |
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associated with the district sincere best wishes for continued |
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success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the district as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |