🌱 RRISD Superintendent Extension + 31% Attendance Rate For Westwood

Hey, everybody. Elaine, here with your Thursday edition of the Round Rock Daily, full of everything you need to know about what's happening locally. Today's briefing includes news about...

• High levels of absences after Westwood High School threats
• $28,900 incentive payment + contract extension for RRISD Superintendent
• Local neighbors and awesome services they provide + local pediatric dentist practice with cool themed exam rooms!

But first, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and hot. High: 99 Low: 73.

PM2.5 (Fine particle matter) is 2.3 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value, which may make visibility hazy and can irritate those that are generally sensitive to air pollutants.

Here are the top stories today in Round Rock:

1. Westwood High School students' rising absences following a week's worth of threats, hoax or not, is not surprising at the least bit. It is only the beginning of the school year and students, staff, and parents are genuinely concerned for their safety. The attendance for Tuesday was just 31% (percentage includes sick and other excusable absences), following these threats. Westwood High School has a very secure process for entering the school including screening bags/backpacks, following stricter entry guidelines, and taking every report of threats to student safety serious and responding to those accordingly. (KEYE TV)
2. Let us take a look back on the 2022 March EF-2 tornado that left $32 million in damages, 680 homes affected, and tons of power lines downed. Round Rock Police and Fire Departments immediately responded to the many calls that had came in and then did door-to-door welfare checks to account for every citizen (this process took about only three hours). Transportation crews were on top of repairing the city traffic signals and power lines. 500 volunteers showed up on March 26th for a cleanup event, and there were so many more volunteers from Round Rock and surrounding cities to get everything back in order. The love and dedication was overwhelmingly helpful. Some of the donations and volunteers are noted here (you can see the others noted here): Round Rock Express, Central Texas Refuse, Austin Disaster Relief Network, and Samaritin's Purse. (City of Round Rock)
3. A long term project that serves the entire Williamson County receives $19M in grants. $5M went to Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority while $14M went to Round Rock and Georgetown. This project is expected to take eight to ten years and includes repairs to the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment that was damaged by the March 2022 tornado. The grant mainly will take care of the replacement of a pipeline that will allow for less water supply vulnerability and repairs for ongoing leaks that have occurred for Round Rock, Leander, and Cedar Park. (Community Impact)
4. The Round Rock ISD board of trustees approves a one-year contract extension and a one-time $28,900 incentive payment for superintendent Hafedh Azaiez. The one-time incentive payment was approved by a 5-2 vote and the extension was approved by a 4-2-1 vote. The "no" votes were made due to the superintendent's license currently under review by the Texas Education Association as well as other issues that happened in the last couple of years with the district and his placement on administrative leave. One of the "yes" votes stated they did believe Azaiez was doing a good job and expressed the desire for stability by putting the kids/students first, and by putting the work and business of the school district first. (Community Impact)

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Today in Round Rock:

• Hometown Parklet Shows at Downtown Round Rock (11:30 a.m.)
• Hiring Event with TMD Staffing at TMD Staffing (1 p.m.)
• Round Rock Business Networking Happy Hour at Salt Traders Coastal Cooking (3 p.m.)
• Round Rock High School Water Polo v.s. Waco Midway High School at Round Rock Aquatic Center (5:30 p.m.)
• City Council Meeting at Round Rock City Hall (6 p.m.)
• Social Security and Income Planning Workshop at Round Rock Public Library (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Logix Fiber Networks has entered into an agreement with Sabey Data Centers to build fibre into its new Round Rock data campus. This is great news for their customers as this expansion will provide the agility and connectivity to continue to grow their own businesses. Sabey estimates that the completion of this facility will be by the end of 2023. (Capacity Media)
• Your neighbor Adam of the Sam Bass Corridor area provides lawn care and other services of the like for reasonable prices. Text or call Adam at 737-710-8228 for your own personal quote and to schedule a service. (Nextdoor)
• Destination Pediatric Dentistry is tentatively set to open in October at 3100 RM 1431, Ste. 400 in Round Rock. This practice is locally owned by Dr. Phil Matson and will offer checkups, cavity fillings, and sedation for services. What's really cool about this place is that patients will be set in themed rooms: a beach house, ski lodge, or safari-lodged exam room. Their contact number is listed as 737-239-0123. (Community Impact)
• Hey neighbors of Turtle Creek Village! Backey's Fence is a local company and provides deck and wood restoration services. Give them a call at 737-314-1300 or email backeymaurice@gmail.com for quotes and lists of services, as well as any photo examples of past work done. (Nextdoor)

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Events:

• Home for the Holidays Gift Market of Waco (September 23)
• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (September 26)
• Online Webinar with specialists for Assisted living in Georgetown, TX (September 30)
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That's it for today! See you tomorrow morning for your next update.

— Elaine Thompson

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Round Rock Daily? Contact me at RoundRock@Patch.com