Here is the question on stackoverflow:
I'm having the same issue. Basically, I work on a large project with many SCSS source files. Some of these files depend on sprite files. The problem I'm having is when I run "compass watch", compass checks each of my sprite files for changes, then compiles the css. This process takes about 30 seconds every time and is tremendously slowing down my workflow.
How can I make compass stop polling the sprite image files for changes? Or is there a better way to approach this problem?