By Sarah Snyder
Staff Writer

With a nationwide financial crisis in full swing, Northside Independent School District is keeping an eye on its investments, officials said at a Sept. 23 school board meeting.

“In the last couple of weeks, a lot of attention has been placed on the volatility and crumbling of the financial markets. Lehman Brothers has essentially gone out of business, AIG is facing bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch has (been bought) by Bank of America. There’s much talk about Morgan Stanley facing similar destiny,” said Oscar Cardenas, Assistant Superintendent for Budget & Finance.

“All of these things I tell you because they do affect how we do business at Northside.”

Cardenas says NISD has about $325 million in investments, either directly or indirectly, that include Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, UBC, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, the former Wachovia and the former Bear Stearns.

About $62 million of NISD’s investments, Cardenas said, are secured in TexPool, a local government investment pool that up until recently received services from the bankrupt Lehman Brothers.

The district has no investments in commercial paper or any investments or relationship with Lehman Brothers. Cardenas said TexPool invests in high-grade commercial paper and NISD’s investment in the pool is at “very little risk” of peril.

He added that the district has $34 million invested in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and the funds are 100 percent secured by the U.S. government.

NISD has $1 billion in outstanding bonds, and the district is carefully looking at all of its investment relationships, Cardenas said.

Superintendent John Folks echoed Cardenas’ sentiments that so far NISD investments are stable, but that concern is in the air.

“Our investments seem to be okay,” Folks said. “The concern is that when we go out for our next bond sale – which we’re going to have to go out for soon to … basically continue on our projects – is are we going to have any buyers for those bonds.”

“That is something we’re just going to have to work through with the market.”

In other news:

n NISD revealed its attendance boundaries for Kuentz Elementary School, which will open in Helotes in 2009. The proposal may be viewed at www.nisd.net/schools/info/191. A public hearing is set on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at Stinson Middle School. Kuentz Elementary will be located at 12303 Leslie Road and will relieve overcrowding at Beard and Krueger elementary schools.

n Trustees reviewed an amendment on the Garcia Middle School boundaries that moves six areas from Jefferson Middle School to Garcia Middle School, which opens in 2009.

The involved neighborhoods are Helotes Ranch Acres, Wynstone, Hunters Ridge Estates, Hearthstone Ranch, Beverly Hills, and FM 1560 north of Braun Road. These area are in the Helotes Elementary School zone, and parents appealed for a change in March 2008 to keep Helotes Elementary School students together when they transition to middle school.

The amendment is offered as a parental option, and trustees declined to make any more changes to the attendance zones of Jefferson and Garcia middle schools.

n NISD will seek a student-to-teacher ratio waiver for Ott and Ward elementaries. Current law calls for a 22:1 ratio, while the schools at are a 23:1 and 24:1 class size.

n The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the Alamo Ranch area middle school to open in 2010 was set at $35.3 for building costs, putting the total project at $40.9 million.