Plano, Texas

**Plano** () is a ceety in the state o Texas, locatit maistly athin Collin Coonty.  The ceety's population wis 269,776 at the 2010 census, makkin it the nint maist muckle ceety in the state o Texas an the 70t maist muckle ceety in the Unitit States. Plano is athin the Dallas–Fort&nbsp;Worth–Arlington metropolitan aurie. The ceety is hame tae mony corporate heidquarters, includin Ericsson Inc., Rent-A-Center, Crossmark, Dell Services, Pizza Hut, Alliance Data Systems, HP Enterprise Services, JCPenney, Frito-Lay, Cinemark Theatres, Dr Pepper Snapple Group an Siemens PLM Software.

## History
Settlers came tae the aurie near present-day Plano in the early 1840s. Facilities sic as a sawmill, a gristmill, an a store suin brocht mair fowk tae the aurie. Mail service wis established, an efter rejectin several names for the buddin toun (includin namin it in honour o then-Preses Millard Fillmore), the locals suggestit the name *Plano* (frae the Spainyie wird for "flat"), a reference tae the local terrain. The name wis acceptit bi the post office. In 1872, the completion o the Houston an Central Texas Railway helpit the ceety grow, an the ceety wis offeecially incorporatit in 1873. The population grew tae mair nor 500 bi 1874. In 1881, a fire ragit throu the central business destrict, destroyin maist o the biggins. The toun wis rebuilt an business again flourished throu the 1880s. An aw in 1881, the ceety assumit responsibility for wha will eventually acome Plano Independent School District (PISD), endin the days o Plano bein servit anerlie bi private schuils.

The population o Plano initially grew slowly, reachin 1,304 in 1900 an increasin tae 3,695 in 1960. Bi 1970, Plano began tae feel some o the boom its neebours haed experiencit follaein Warld War II. A series o public wirks projects an a chynge in taxes that remuivit the fermin commonty frae the toun helpit increase the oweraw population o Plano. In 1970, the population reached 17,872, an bi 1980, the population haed explodit tae 72,000. Sewers, schuils an street development kept pace wi this massive increase, lairgely due tae Plano's flat topografie, grid layoot an plannin initiatives.

In 1981 the Plano City Council adoptit the Ceety’s offeecial logo based on a design submittit via a commonty contest bi lang-time Plano resident James R. (Jim) Wainner, a profeesional airtist an graphic designer. City of Plano Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2-1 (b) states that nae body, firm, organisation, or corporation ither than the ceety shall adopt, uise, display, incorporate, or appropriate the offeecial logo o the ceety as ony pairt o ony material, equipment, or ither matter o sic person, firm, organisation or corporation, athoot written application tae an appruival o the ceety cooncil.

Durin the 1980s, mony lairge corporations muivit thair heidquarters tae Plano, includin J. C. Penney an Frito-Lay, which helpit the ceety grow. By 1990, the population reached 128,713, dwarfin the coonty seat o McKinney. In 1994, the ceety wis recognisit as an All-America City. Bi 2000, the population grew tae 222,030, makkin it ane o the lairgest suburbs o Dallas. Plano is completely lockit in bi ither municipalities an canna expand in aurie, an thare is little undevelopit laund remainin athin the ceety limits.  Housomeivver, ane lairge tract o laund is bein developit as o Julie 2012.  Turnpike Commons  at the intersection o Renner Rd an the George Bush Turnpike (bordered an aw bi Shiloh Rd tae the east).  The development will featur apairtments, medical facilities, restaurants, a Race Trac gas station, an a hotel.

## Geografie

Accordin tae the Unitit States Census Bureau, Plano haes a tot aurie o 71.6&nbsp;square miles (185.5&nbsp;km2).

Awtho Plano is namit for the flat plains o the aurie, lairge trees aboond in the ceety's mony pairks (Plano's map of big trees ).  Ane sic tree, estimatit tae be ower 500 year auld, resides in Bob Woodruff pairk near Rowlett Creek on the ceety's east side (Plano’s Quincentennial Bur Oak ).

### Climate
Plano is considered tae be in the humid subtropical climate zone. The heichest recordit temperatur wis 118&nbsp;°F (48&nbsp;°C) in 1936. On average, the ceulest month is Januar an the wairmest month is Julie. The lawest recordedit temperatur wis -7&nbsp;°F (-22&nbsp;°C) in 1930. The maximum average precipitation occurs in Mey.

## Economy

Accordin tae the Plano 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the tap employers in Plano are:

Approximately 80% o Plano's visitors are business travelers, due tae its close proximity tae Dallas an the mony corporations heidquartert in Plano. The ceety an aa haes a convention center that is awned an operatit bi the ceety. Plano haes made a concertit effort tae draw retail tae its dountoun aurie an the Shops at Legacy in an effort tae boost sales tax returns. The Shops at Legacy aurie haes apartments, shops, an restaurants constructit wi the new Urbanism philosophy. An experimental luxury Walmart Supercenter is locatit at Pairk Boulevard an the Dallas North Tollway.

### Heidquairters o major corporations
Some o the kintra's lairgest an maist recognisit companies hae thair heidquairters in Plano. Tree-lined Legacy Drive in the 75024 ZIP code, atween Preston Road an the Dallas North Tollway, haes mony corporate campuses. The follaein companies hae heidquairters or major regional offices in Plano:

* Acision
* Adams Golf
* Alliance Data
* CA Technologies
* Capital One Financial Services
* Cookies by Design
* Dell Services
* Dr Pepper Snapple Group
* Cinemark Theatres

* Crossmark
* Ericsson
* Frito-Lay
* Gearbox Software
* GENBAND
* HP Enterprise Services
* Infosys Technologies
* J. C. Penney
* Metromedia Restaurant Group

* Pizza Hut
* Rent-A-Center
* Robot Entertainment
* TEK
* Safety-Kleen
* Siemens PLM Software
* Tektronix
* Traxxas
* Yum! Restaurants International

## Transportation

Plano is ane o 12 suburbs o Dallas that opts intae the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) public transportation seestem. Durin maist o its memmership in DART, Plano wis lichtly servit bi bus lines, but in recent years, the Red Line o the DART Light Rail project haes opened stations in Downtown Plano an at Parker Road, which provide access tae commuters travelin tae wirk elsewhaur in the Dallas aurie. Approximately 1% o the ceety's population uses DART.  The Parker Road station began chairgin for pairkin for nan-memmer ceety residents on 2 Aprile 2012.  The program is cried the Fair Share Parking initiative.

Plano wis the first ceety in Collin Coonty tae adopt a maister plan for its road seestem. The uise o multi-lane, dividit heich-gates for aw major roads allous for heicher speed limits, generally , but whiles up tae  on the northren section o Preston Road. Plano is servit directly bi several major roadweys an freeweys. Central Plano is bordered tae the east by U.S. Highway 75, the wast bi Dallas North Tollway, the sooth bi President George Bush Turnpike, an the north bi Texas State Highway 121. Preston Road (Texas State Highway 289) is a major throufare that runs throu the ceety.

Plano opened a new interchynge at Parker Rd. an U.S. 75 in Dizember 2010.  The single-pynt interchynge is the first o its kynd in Texas.  The design is intendit tae reduce severe congestion at this interchynge.  Accordin tae reports  traffeck congestion haes been reducit 50-75%.

## Govrenment

### Local govrenment
Accordin tae the ceety’s maist recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the ceety’s general fund haed $194.0.million in Revenues, $212.3 million in expenditurs, $277.5 million in tot assets, $31.4 million in tot liabilities, an $337.2 million in cash an investments. The structur o the management an coordination o ceety services is:

Plano is pairt o the North Texas Municipal Watter District heidquairtered in Wylie, TX.  Lake Lavon is the principal soorce o raw watter for the destrict.

Plano's Water Distribution System : 
* 11 Elevatit Touers
* 12 Grund Storage Tanks
* 54.5 Million Gallon Watter Storage Capacity
* 5 Pump Stations
* 225 Million Gallon Daily Pumpin Capacity
* 1,080 Miles o Watter Mains
* 65,965 Metered Service Connections

### State govrenment
Plano is represented in the Texas Senate bi Republican Florence Shapiro District 8, an in the Texas House of Representatives bi Republican Van Taylor, District 66 an Republican Jerry Madden, District 67.

### Federal govrenment
At the Federal level, the twa U.S. Senators frae Texas are Republicans John Cornyn an Kay Bailey Hutchison; Plano is pairt o Texas' US Congressional 3rd District, which is currently representit bi Republican Sam Johnson.

## Education
Thare are 70 public schuils, 16 private schuils, twa campuses o the Collin Coonty Community College District (Collin College), an sax libraries in Plano.

### Primary an seicontary schuils
The Plano Independent School District serves maist o the ceety. Student enrollment haes increased dramatically ower the past few decades. Plano haes a unique heich schoouil seestem, in which grades 9-10 attend a heich schuil an grades 11-12 attend a senior heich. Thare are three senior heich schuils (grades 11-12) in PISD; Plano East, Plano, an Plano West. In Newsweek's 2012 leet o best naitional heich schuils, Plano West wis rankit as 63rd, Plano Senior as 108t, an Plano East as 243rd.  Sma portions o Plano are servit bi the Lewisville Independent School District, Frisco Independent School District, an Allen Independent School District. In 2012, Plano Independent School District annooncit that 128 seniors wur selectit as National Merit Semifeenalists.  Plano haes gien $1.2 billion in property tax revenue tae ither schuil destricts throu the Texas "Robin Hood" law, which requires schuil destricts that are designatit as affluent tae gie a percentage o thair property tax revenue tae ither destricts ootside o the coonty. In 2008, PISD gae $86 million. Controversy eruptit whan the salaries o teachers in less affluent destricts, lik Garland ISD, exceedit the salaries o teachers in destricts that haed tae pey intae "Robin Hood".

In the 2013-2014 schuil year, Plano ISD will open twa heich schuil magnets, ane focusin on STEM education an the ither on halth science. Additionally, the destrict will modifee its existin International Baccalaureate program tae allou freshman an sophomores in the program tae be hoosed at Plano East Senior High School.

In addeetion tae Catholic primary an middle schuils, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas operates John Paul II High School in Plano. Nan-Catholic private schuils in Plano include Plano Christian Academy, Great Lakes Academy, Prince of Peace Lutheran School, an Prestonwood Christian Academy.
In addeetion, the Collin Coonty campus o Coram Deo Academy is locatit in the One Kirk (previously Four Corners Kirk) facility in Plano.

### Colleges an universities

Plano is the hame tae twa campuses o Collin College, ane at the Courtyard Center on Preston Pairk Boulevard an the lairger Spring Creek Campus on Spring Creek Parkway at Jupiter. SMU-in-Plano, umwhile SMU-in-Legacy, a branch o Southern Methodist University, is a graduate varsity servin the needs o 3,000 wirkin profeesionals. Its academic programs include business, ingineerin an computer trainin, education an continuin education. It featurs The Guildhall at SMU an aw, which affers a maisters program in video gemme development.

### Public libraries
The Plano Public Library System (PPLS) operates public libraries. The seestem consists o the W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library, the Maribelle M. Davis Library, the Gladys Harrington Library, the Christopher A. Parr Library, the L.E.R. Schimelpfenig Library, an the Municipal Reference Library. The Haggard leebrar hooses the seestem's admeenistrative offices.

## Demografics

As o the census o 2010, thare wur 259,841 fowk. in the 2000 census thare wur 80,875 hoosehaulds, an 60,575 faimilies in Plano. The population densitie wis 3,102.4 fowk per square mile (1,197.8/km2). Thare wur 86,078 hoosin units at an average density o 1,202.8 per square mile (464.4/km2). The racial makup o the ceety wis 66.9% White, (58.4% nan-Hispanic White) 7.6% Black, 0.36% Native American, 16.9% Asie, 0.1% Paceefic Islander, 3.86% frae ither races, an 3.0% frae twa or mair races. Hispanic or Latino o ony race wur 14.7% o the population.

O the 80,875 hoosehaulds,  42.0% haed childer unner the age o 18. Marriet couples accoontit for 64.3%; 7.5% haed a female hoosehaulder wi nae husband present, an 25.1% wur nan-faimilies. Approximately 20.2% o aw hoosehaulds wur individuals, an 2.9% haed someane livin alane who wis 65 years o age or aulder. The average hoosehauld size wis 2.73, an the average faimily size wis 3.18.

Data indicates that 28.7% o Plano's population is unner the age o 18, 7.0% is 18 tae 24, 36.5% is 25 tae 44, 22.9% is 45 tae 64, an 4.9% who is 65 years o age or aulder. The median age is 34 years. For ivery 100 females, thare are 99.3 males. For ivery 100 females age 18 an ower, thare are 97.2 males.

Accordin tae a 2007 estimate, the median income for a hoosehauld in the ceety wis $84,492, an the median income for a faimily is $101,616. Aboot 3.0% o faimilies an 4.3% o the population live belaw the poverty line, includin 4.6% o those unner age 18 an 7.8% o those age 65 or ower.

Plano wis the heichest income place wi a population o 130,000 or mair in 2000. Plano wis rankit the maist affluent ceety wi a population ower 250,000 in the Unitit States wi the lawest poverty rate o 6.3%. Its neebour tae the northwast, Frisco, wis rankit the richest ceety for the population o unner 250,000 in the Unitit States wi a 2.7% poverty rate. In 2007, Plano haed the heichest median income o a ceety wi a population exceedin 250,000 in the naition at $84,492. As o 2010, Plano haes a median income o $103,913 annually. Accordin tae creeme statistics, thare wur fower homicides in Plano in 2006, the lawest homicide rate o aw U.S. ceeties o 250,000 or mair population.

## Sister ceeties
Plano haes five sister ceeties designatit bi Sister Cities International. This program's presence is seen in Plano ISD schuils, whaur representatives frae sister ceeties aften meet an tour.

*  Ivanovo, Roushie Federation
*  Brampton, Ontario, Canadae
*  Marikina, Philippines
*  San Pedro Garza García, Mexico
*  Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic o Cheenae
*  Port Adelaide-Enfield, Australie

## References

## External links

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