Board honors scholarship recipients
É«ÎÑÎÑÎÞÂëÒ»Çø¶þÇøÈýÇø’s Board of Trustees met on June 8, 2023, and here are a few of the highlights.
It’s June, and that means budget. But first, the meeting started with the best part – honoring outstanding students. First, the board recognized three graduating seniors who are the recipients of the J. Woodrow Counts Scholarship: Dilynn Derden, from Arlington High School, Isadora Paul, from Bowie High School, and Joanna Arellano, from Lamar High School. Congratulations to them and to all the Class of 2023 graduates!
Then the trustees celebrated and thanked the students who served on the Student Leadership Advisory Board this past school year. This group of students includes representatives from the junior class at all eight district high schools. They represent É«ÎÑÎÑÎÞÂëÒ»Çø¶þÇøÈýÇø students’ opinions and provide their voice to the Board of Trustees and the É«ÎÑÎÑÎÞÂëÒ»Çø¶þÇøÈýÇø community.
After recognizing the students, the board directed the district finance staff to proceed with the fourth sale of bonds from the 2019 Bond package. This sale will yield approximately $100 million to be used for construction; safety, security and technology improvements; fine arts equipment and uniforms; and school buses and service vehicles.
Some of that money will go to help replace Carter Junior High, and tonight, the trustees approved the budget and general contractor for the construction of the new school. Thanks to the generosity of this community through the 2019 Bond, the district is replacing the original Carter, which opened in 1958. The final product is going to be a school that incorporates state-of-the-art design, larger and more functional classroom spaces and more efficient site circulation for student arrival and departure. Work should begin this summer, and the new junior high should open for the 2025-2026 school year.
As mentioned earlier, the budget is a big topic in June as the new fiscal year starts July 1. É«ÎÑÎÑÎÞÂëÒ»Çø¶þÇøÈýÇø chief financial officer Darla Moss provided an update on the 2023-2024 preliminary budget, which will be finalized and approved later this month. The board also scheduled a public meeting to discuss the district’s budget and tax rate on June 20.
Finally, the trustees heard an update from Dr. Natalie Lopez, É«ÎÑÎÑÎÞÂëÒ»Çø¶þÇøÈýÇø’s assistant superintendent of research and accountability, related to the District Improvement Plan. This year, the Texas Education Agency – or TEA – implemented a redesigned STAAR test at each of the assessed grade levels. In addition, TEA is making significant changes to the state’s accountability system in how districts are graded. So, this presentation offered a brief overview of the preliminary results for the STAAR End of Course tests administered this spring. STAAR results for grades 3-8 and final A-F accountability changes will be presented later this summer when they become available.
Those are just a few of the highlights from the meeting. If you would like more details on any of these, or any of the items not covered in this brief, please click to watch the entire meeting.