James Rinn, Steiner Ranch resident, shares encouraging words to the community and prays during the National Day of Prayer event May 5.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Photos by Duane Duncum, Nancy Norvell

The 2nd annual Steiner Ranch National Day of Prayer was last week on May 5 at 7:15 a.m., and many attended from the community.

“It went really well… we had about 150 plus,” said Nicole Duncum, a volunteer of the event.

Olivia Helmund, 8th grader at CRMS and daughter of Alison and Mike Helmund, sang the national anthem in the beginning and “Amazing Grace” at the end of the National Day of Prayer event.

Olivia Helmund, 8th grader at Canyon Ridge Middle School, sang the national anthem in the beginning and “Amazing Grace” at the end of the National Day of Prayer event.

Josh Howard, youth pastor at Hill Country Bible Steiner Ranch, and his wife, Christy, and their three daughters were part of the event. Their middle daughter shared a prayer.

“It was neat seeing the intergenerational prayers,” Duncum said.

Melissa Workman and sons, Trent, Ty and Webb, were part of the National Day of Prayer event last week in Steiner.

Melissa Workman and sons, Trent, Ty and Webb, and Kevin Whitehurst and his daughter Lily, CRMS 8th grader, all participated in last week’s event.

Cooper Dossey, Vandegrift senior, prayed for the local community, families and schools. Additionally, CRMS sixth graders Callye Self, Jenna Levine and Athena Galantis were part of the event.

Scott Etkin, retired sheriff and chaplain for Travis County Sheriff’s Office, prayed for the local community at the Steiner event.

Scott Etkin, retired sheriff and chaplain for Travis County Sheriff’s Office, and James Rinn, Steiner resident, both shared encouraging words to the community and prayed for the community.

Josh and Christy Howard with their three girls were part of the National Day of Prayer event last week in Steiner. Josh is the youth pastor at Hill Country Bible Steiner Ranch.

Kevin Whitehurst and his daughter Lily, 8th grader at Canyon Ridge Middle School, participated in National Day of Prayer.

ViperBot team 6299 QuadX captured the first place PTC Design Award for the second year in a row at FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships in St. Louis recently.

By SUZANNE GALLIGHER, Contributor

Two Vandegrift ViperBot robotics teams — 6299 QuadX and 6209 Venom — competed at FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships in St. Louis recently, adding to the area’s growing reputation for excellence in STEM education.

A total of 128 teams from 16 countries — the top 2.5 percent of over 5,158 FTC robotics teams worldwide — took part in the four-day tournament that started Apr. 27. 

At the worlds opening ceremony, Donald Bossi, president of FIRST, stated that every one was a champion just by making it to worlds. Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

When it comes to determining annual property tax rates, the neighborhood one lives in can play a big role. Steiner Ranch is topping the list with the highest property taxes when comparing rates in Four Points and surrounding communities and cities.

Property taxes are local taxes that provide the largest source of money local governments use to pay for schools, streets, roads, police, fire protection and many other services, according to the state comptroller. Texas law establishes the process followed by local officials in determining the value for property, ensuring that values are equal and uniform, setting tax rates and collecting taxes. Taxes are collected at the county level by each county’s tax assessor.

School district comparison

The largest share of the property tax bill goes toward the local school district. With a tax rate higher than surrounding districts, those living in Leander ISD will pay more tax each year. Leander ISD residents pay a tax rate of 1.511870 per $100 valuation. For a person living in a home with an assessed value of $300,000 after homestead exemptions are applied, that would mean a school district tax bill of $4,535.61 per year. That rate is higher than Lake Travis ISD (1.40750), Round Rock ISD (1.33250), Eanes ISD (1.212500) and Austin ISD (1.202000).

Veronica Sopher, assistant superintendent of community and government relations for Leander ISD, said the higher rate is linked to the district’s high rate of growth.

“We are a destination district, which means families are choosing to move into the district, so we have to build schools to accommodate our growth,” Sopher said. “Leander ISD is one of the fastest-growing school districts in Texas.”

Two Austin-area school districts have higher tax rates than Leander ISD – Pflugerville ISD, with a rate of 1.540000, and Manor ISD, with a rate of 1.515000. Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

The Leander ISD Board of Trustees is starting the search process for a new superintendent after Bret Champion announced on Apr. 28 that he is resigning July 1 to become the new superintendent of Klein ISD in Houston.

Champion has served as LISD superintendent since 2008, leading during a period of rapid growth that has consistently placed LISD among the fastest-growing districts in the state.

Will Streit, LISD Board president

“The ability to succeed and grow at the same time, those are often difficult to do,” said LISD Board President Will Streit. “His biggest accomplishment has been helping us to manage that balance.”

Klein ISD in Harris County, Houston is also a fast-growth district with 50,000 students. By comparison, LISD has approximately 37,000 students.

The Leander ISD Board of Trustees has met twice in the past week to work on searching for a new superintendent, after Bret Champion announced his resignation that takes effect July 1. (L-R) Don Hisle, Grace Barber-Jordan, Will Streit, Pamela Waggoner, Aaron Johnson, Trish Bode and Russell Bundy.

Continue reading →