Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why are we changing the District Boundaries?

Our current districts have grown at different rates since they were last re-structured in 1989.  Because of the irregular growth, some of our DE’s are providing service to more units and youth than they can manage effectively.  Volunteer leadership is also stretched.  By restructuring the districts and adding more professional staff, both professional and volunteer Scouters can do a better job of providing service to units and youth.

2. I thought you said you were following school district boundaries?

School district boundaries were one of the key considerations, particularly in the urban areas of the Council.  There was not a strict adherence to this however because some of the districts within the council are simply too large to be a single district (large from a student population and/or geographic size standpoint).  Other key considerations included geographic boundaries (i.e., the Colorado River), transportation corridors, projected growth, youth population, drive times, community affinities, and others.  Taking all these into consideration with input from many volunteer and professional Scouters is why the RASD Task Force spent months developing and arriving at the final plan -- it was not a simple thing to do.

2. By moving the boundaries you took away all our current leadership.

One reason that some of the districts are currently understaffed from a volunteer basis is that the jobs at the district level are perceived to be overwhelming.  By cutting down the size of the districts, each task becomes smaller and more manageable. This will make it easier to recruit and give the opportunity of service to many new volunteers. Another reason for the realignment is to cut down the travel times for district volunteers from their homes or work in order to participate in district activities.

3. What determines the District where a unit will belong?

A unit will be placed in a district based on its geographic location.  The policy from the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America is that a unit is a member of the district based on the address of its sponsoring organization.  The only way a unit could change the district it is a member of would be to change sponsoring organizations.

4. How will the names of the districts be determined?

At the April 28, 2007 District Key-3 meeting, the current district Key-3 decided that new district names will all be changed (including the Pathfinder District which was not actually subject to this report.)  The guidelines for new district names are:
     1) may not be any of the current district names (but may be a name that was used prior to the current structure);
     2) must conform to one of the themes of: 
          Texas flora/fauna
          Texas geographic features (includes Texas rivers)
By October 1, 2007, the newly formed district committees will submit a list of three prioritized names for their new district.  The RASD committee will make the final determination for the new names, and will inform the new district leadership of the selected name.  The new district name should be adopted at the new district's first Annual Business Meeting in October (or early November).

5. Why do we have to change our name when there is no change to our district?

The geography of all the current districts is being changed to at least some degree.  To keep with the idea of this being a new service delivery model for the Council, all districts will be renamed.

6. We have just completed our 2007-2008 calendars, how do we handle these with the new districts going into effect 1/1/2008?

Calendars will need to be coordinated with the new districts and the council calendar.  Where it is at all possible, each new district should have its own activities.  If this would cause a hardship from a financial standpoint, it may be permissible for districts to have combined activities in 2008.  As quickly as possible however, it is important that each of the new districts develop its own identity.

8. Why are we losing a DE in our area?

Under this plan, all the DE’s will have a smaller number of available youth (TAY) to serve.  Currently, some parts of our council have multiple DE’s supporting them while others have none — or one overworked DE!  It is precisely because of the current imbalance that the districts are being restructured.  The new plan provides a mechanism for all youth in our council to have equal support.

9. What are the triggering points to add youth service executives?

Many of the new districts should have more than one youth serving executive now because of the size of the district.  This is particularly true in the districts along the IH-35 corridor.  The primary trigger point for adding additional staff to these districts is the availability of funding.  If money were no object, the Council would add virtually all the proposed staff immediately.  However, the reality is different.  The Council will make every attempt to add staff as soon as possible.  It is anticipated that with the formation of the new districts, that both membership and total FOS contributions will increase, therefore accelerating our ability to add staff in order to provide better service to our units and youth.

7. How was the order for adding new Professionals in the future determined?

A phasing sequence for adding youth-serving executives was developed by the committee.  The order for adding youth-serving executives was determined by the TAY (population) projections over the next 20 years and was done so the council's financial committees can plan for the expansion.  If this plan is followed, the council should be nearly at the optimum ratio of youth serving executives to available youth as quickly as possible.  In reality, as funding for additional staff becomes available, the then current conditions will be examined, and from there, the district with the greatest need will receive additional professional leadership soonest.  It is anticipated that the RASD plan will be reviewed annually and adjusted as conditions evolve.