Beaumont ISD's board of managers on Wednesday cleared the way for potential partnerships with charter schools, considered a threat to public education by some, allowing the district to proceed with discussions with charter school company ResponsiveEd. Five managers voted to approve the resolution and policy on the "public/private partnership." A.B. Bernard opposed it, and Jack Carrollabstained. view article

The Three Rivers Independent School board of trustees in South Texas approved the policy Tuesday, which would allow for paddles to be used as corporal punishment against misbehaving students. Corporal punishment is defined by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA) as “deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping or any other physical force used as a means of discipline.” view article

Public trust in a governmental body can evaporate quickly when there is a perceived lack of transparency, intentional or not. The Comal Independent School District is facing a public relations nightmare over the proposed location of a fourth high school in this fast-growing area north of San Antonio. view article

New district wide security measures were approved at Weatherford Independent School District’s board of trustees meeting Monday. Card readers and the purchase of updated surveillance cameras will help make the district safer, said WISD superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Hanks. Card systems are more secure than using keys, Hanks said. view article

Kermit ISD students will now see a shorter day on Fridays after parents vote in favor of it on an online survey. That is according to KISD Superintendent Denise Shetter. view article

Three Rivers Independent School District trustees adopted a policy to allow corporal punishment in schools. view article

Royse City Independent School District Board of Trustees was selected as the Honor Board recipient for the North Texas Region 10 area. Superintendent Kevin Worthy said the staff made a decision in the fall that they were going to nominate the board for Region 10 board of the year. “This is a big region,” he said. “This is a great honor. I’m so proud of you.” view article

Every Tuesday at 8 a.m., Houston ISD Trustee Manuel "Manny" Rodriguez, Jr., would roll his maroon mobility scooter up to his favorite table at the Tel-Wink Restaurant & Grill in Southeast Houston. Rodriguez always left the seat across from him empty. Constituents and complete strangers knew those were his office hours — the hours he set aside to visit with community members with questions about the school district, parents worried about new policies or those who just wanted to get Rodriguez' opinion on the latest local news. If you were lucky, Rodriguez would buy your breakfast. view article

Superintendent Alan Andrus called for a community meeting at the monthly North Zulch ISD school board meeting on Thursday night. The community meeting will take place this upcoming Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the North Zulch High School Cafeteria and focus on a variety of topics. “It’s an informational meeting,” said Alan Andrus. “It gives the community an opportunity to see what we have planned as well as ask questions. We’re certainly excited to hear from everyone.” view article

Wichita Falls Independent School District officials said they could not wait any longer for Texas legislators to make a move on teacher salary increases. Monday night school board members approved a $200 raise for teachers, librarians and nurses. view article

UPDATE on Tuesday, July 18, 2017: The superintendent of La Vernia ISD now says the district will reverse its course and release documents to the News 4 Trouble Shooters. When those documents are released, we will provide an update. view article

Lewisville ISD trustee Angie Cox has earned the designation of Master Trustee upon completion of Leadership TASB, a program sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). During the fifth session, June 22 – 24, school board members in the 2016–17 Leadership TASB class made presentations of their team’s findings following year long research. Class participants researched each of the titles in the federal law known as Every Student Succeeds Act. view article

The Hardin-Jefferson Independent School District Board of Trustees is the 2017 Regional Board of the Year, one of only 20 regionally selected boards in Texas to hold the honor. Hardin-Jefferson ISD Superintendent Shannon Holmes credited the board for always finding away to push past whatever obstacles the district may encounter. The district will represent Southeast Texas in the Texas Association of School Administrators School Board Awards Program in October. view article

On Thursday, Round Rock ISD will host its first meeting in search of a new trustee to fill the seat left vacant by Paul Tisch. At the Thursday meeting, current members of the board will present duties of the board and answer questions of interested candidates. Applications for the position are being accepted through July 26. The term of the vacant seat is set to expire in November 2018. view article

The Killeen Independent School District Board of Trustees has been chosen by a Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) committee as the Region 12 School Board of the Year. As a regional honoree, the Killeen ISD (KISD) Board of Trustees, representing districts with more than 1,000 students, will compete for the Texas Honor School Boards. read more

The state Legislature's proposed property tax reforms are misguided, infringe on local  control and would make Texas a "state centralized model, like California," Dallas County commissioners said in a letter released Thursday.  The county commissioners court, which includes four Democrats and one Republican, urged the Republican-controlled Capitol to address school financing because, they said, school districts make up at least half of homeowners' property tax bills. The letter also said the state's budget cuts have shifted expensive burdens to the county, such as public defenders, court-appointed attorneys in child welfare cases and state prisoners being held in the county jail. view article

The Beaumont Independent School District announced Thursday that three current members of the district's board of managers will be stepping down at the end of July. 12NewsNow spoke to the Texas Education Agency, they tell us that there will be an announcement made on the first School Board Meeting in August. view article

Representatives from the Region X Educational Service Center attended the Royse City ISD School Board Meeting on Monday, July 10, 2017 to congratulate the board of trustees for being named the 2017 Board of the Year for the region. The RCISD School Board will represent Region X and will be in the running to be named one of five Texas Honor Boards from across the state. One will be chosen as Texas’ Outstanding School Board for 2017. view article

Google has named Royse City ISD as an official Google for Education Reference District. According to Google, “Google for Education Reference Districts are districts that demonstrate excellence and thought leadership through the innovative use of technology, including G Suite for Education (formerly known as Google Apps for Education) and Chromebooks, to drive impact and positive learning outcomes. Fewer than 150 schools and districts are Google for Education Reference Districts/Schools nationwide. view article

Following a few weeks of discussion and a single public hearing, early voting is now underway here for a tax ratification election to help fund an across-the-board staff compensation plan as well as facility and classroom upgrades. Mercedes ISD officials have called a tax ratification election for Saturday, July 29, in which voters will consider moving 13 cents from the school district’s interest and sinking fund to maintenance and operations — otherwise referred to as the I&S and M&O. If approved, the measure would generate $4 million without raising taxes, according to an online notice posted on the misdtx.net homepage. view article

The Amarillo Independent School District (AISD) board of trustees gathered together Thursday night for a special meeting to discuss cost projections for a proposed bond election this November. AISD board members said this would be the first capital improvement bond election they've had in more than a decade. Board members are preparing to ask Amarillo taxpayers for hundreds of millions of dollars. view article

The Killeen Independent School District board was chosen by a Texas Association of School Administrators committee as the Region 12 School Board of the Year. Region 12 includes 29 school districts. As a regional honoree, the Killeen ISD board, representing districts with more than 1,000 students, will compete for the Texas Honor School Boards. view article

The Royse City ISD Board of Trustees voted 5-1 to approve adding parking permits to the FNF local drug-testing policy. Under this rule, students who fail drug tests will have their parking permit revoked. Board secretary Christina Carrion opposed the motion. She provided statistics on random drug testing. She also referenced a book called “Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning.” view article

Kilgore ISD trustees had their second budget workshop Monday evening, but everything they discussed could change with one vote in Austin. The Texas Legislature’s special session, which includes multiple topics related to education, will not begin until July 18. Then, it will continue for another 30 days, concluding well into August. view article

The board of trustees for the Coahoma ISD will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, in the Coahoma Elementary School faculty dinning room, 400 Ramsey St., Coahoma. view article

Big Spring ISD trustees will consider setting a date to conduct a public meeting over the proposed FY 2017-2018 budget and tax rate when they meet Thursday evening. At their June 8 meeting, Big Spring ISD CFO Susan Bryan informed the board the district was facing another round of belt tightening. view article

The Temple Independent School District board of trustees approved curriculum purchases totaling $737,226 Monday evening. A contract with education company Edgenuity will cost the district $350,226. This will give the district access to the company’s Hybridge blended learning support system. The district will also be paying Edgenuity an additional $46,500 for 125 software licenses for a credit recovery program. view article

Like his favorite football team, Raul Gonzalez seeks greatness - not for himself, but for the Mansfield Independent School District (MISD), which he also loves. A lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan who moved to the area from El Paso to attend the University of Texas at Arlington and be near his beloved team, Gonzalez has brought that same passion to his position as president of the MISD Board of Directors. view article

A new agreement with the Alamo Colleges District has some Judson Independent School District trustees reconsidering the district’s commitment to its early college high school programming, including its highly successful Judson Early College Academy program. A March 23, 2017 internal JISD document spells out the district’s acceptance of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alamo Colleges, including charges for JECA students’ classroom experience at Northeast Lakeview College for $667,000. view article

The Ector County Independent School District Board of Trustees will have a special meeting at 6 p.m. today in the board room of the administration building, 802 N. Sam Houston Ave. The meeting includes several presentations and a few action items. Some of the items, like the teacher and principal evaluation system, are things school board members have requested more information on. view article

At the last Round Rock ISD board meeting in June, trustees decided to appoint a replacementfor Paul Tisch’s vacant trustee seat. The district is now issuing the call for interested RRISD residents to apply for the open position. Eligible applicants must be a U.S. citizen, be 18 or older, have not been determined to be totally or partially mentally incapacitated by the courts, have not been convicted of a felony, be a resident of Texas for more than a year, be a resident of the school district for six months and be a registered voter. view article

When Michelle Moore joined the Carroll ISD School Board in 2015, she set out to serve the community and make a difference. Her service and commitment has been recognized. Moore recently earned the designation of Master Trustee, the highest designation recognized by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).   view article

After a three-week break, the Killeen Independent School District will meet to further discuss the fiscal year 2018 budget. At the district’s board workshop June 20, members discussed their updated strategic facilities plan that would cause the district to spend nearly $300 million on new facilities over the next four years. According to the district’s board agenda, KISD’s Chief Financial Officer Megan Bradley will present new information to the board related to the district revenue from the 2016-2017 school year as well as the district’s expected expenditures for the 2017-2018 school year. view article

The Texas Education Agency has notified the Donna Independent School District of its intent to appoint a monitor to oversee the district’s financial status, management and governance after a series of scandals. The agency sent a letter to district officials Tuesday notifying them of the decision and highlighting some of the main reasons, which all stem from a special accreditation investigation that was finalized last week, according to the letter signed by A.J. Crabill, deputy commissioner of governance at TEA. view article

More than a year after being approached by a trio of men, the Abilene Independent School District board will hold a public hearing to discuss single-member districts. According to a release from the school district, the board will meet at 6 p.m. July 13 to seek public input on how school board members should be elected. The session will be at the district administration building, 241 Pine St. Attendees will be provided an opportunity to speak, while those who cannot attend will be allowed to provide comment through a survey the district has made available online. view article