The Spring ISD board of trustees unanimously approved its 2019-20 instructional calendar, which favors longer weekends and shorter breaks throughout the year, at its Feb. 12 regular board meeting. The board considered two instructional calendar options for the 2019-20 school year and selected Option B, which created more long weekends throughout the year, rather than fewer, long breaks as featured in Option A. view article

After fiery exchanges and confusion dominated a special meeting Monday by the Harris County Department of Education’s board trustees voted to update the composition of an ancillary board charged with issuing bonds and overseeing construction projects for Texas’ last remaining county department of education. Board members overseeing the department’s Public Facilities Corporation will largely remain the same, with HCDE Superintendent James Colbert Jr. and CFO Jesus Amezcula earning enough votes to have their terms renewed, and HCDE’s relatively new Executive Director of Facilities Rich Vela named as a new board member. HCDE Trustee Richard Cantu was also voted onto the ancillary six-member board. view article

The Austin ISD Board of Trustees on Monday night, Feb. 11, poured cold water on an aggressive facilities plan from district leaders that would identify schools for potential consolidation or closure by June. At the board's monthly work session, trustees said they were being asked to move too quickly on these "emotional" decisions without taking time and care to truly engage their constituents. Under the timeline proposed by AISD Superintendent Paul Cruz, the board would need to approve the process at its Feb. 25 meeting, authorizing district staff to collaborate with the Facilities and Bond Planning Advisory Committee (FABPAC) to analyze data and draw up "scenarios" for trustees to review in May. "Why are we being given six months to try and address all the emotion around possibilities in here?" asked Trustee Ann Teich. "When we start messing with people's schools, we start messing with their communities." view article

Texas lawmakers are thinking about giving school districts money to lengthen the school year, and superintendents are for it. Per a recommendation from the Texas Commission on Public School Finance in December, lawmakers are mulling whether to offer to help pay for 30 extra instructional days in the school calendar. The state would pitch in half the cost of each school day, amounting to $50 million per day in the first year, according to the commission’s report. view article

Spring ISD trustees on Tuesday unanimously approved a $2.8 million safety and security package for 10 campuses. The funds will be used toward adding more cameras, upgrading doors for keyless entry and controlling building access as one of the projects outlined in the $330 million bond approved by voters in 2016. view article

Many Pflugerville ISD and Hutto ISD students will attend new schools next school year after the districts both voted to adjust attendance boundaries. view article

After fiery exchanges and confusion dominated a special meeting Monday by the Harris County Department of Education's board  trustees voted to update the composition of an ancillary board charged with issuing bonds and overseeing construction projects for Texas' last remaining county department of education.  Board members overseeing the department's Public Facilities Corporation will largely remain the same, with HCDE Superintendent James Colbert Jr. and CFO Jesus Amezcula earning enough votes to have their terms renewed, and HCDE's relatively new Executive Director of Facilities Rich Vela named as a new board member. HCDE Trustee Richard Cantu was also voted onto the ancillary six-member board. view article

On Feb. 11, the Lewisville ISD board of trustees approved a resolution designating 11 properties as surplus properties and authorized district staff to take any action in regard to the sale of the properties. District staff said LISD does not anticipate using any of the properties for future educational purposes and they are no longer necessary for district operations. Additionally, the sale of these properties will provide additional revenue to the district and eliminate the need to maintain the properties. view article

The Corsicana Independent School District Board of Trustees was named as one of the top five statewide finalists in the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. “I would like to congratulate our board for this tremendous honor,” said Dr. Diane Frost, Corsicana ISD Superintendent. “These servant leaders tirelessly devote themselves to the welfare of our district. Through the board’s guidance and leadership, CISD has created a student focused culture so that students and staff continuously strive for excellence.” view article

The Killeen ISD school board is scheduled Tuesday night to approve $71,000 in scholarships to help 20 graduating seniors attend college this fall, according to the agenda posted online. The money comes from endowments to the school district from Parrie Haynes, Franklin and Emily Pratt, Maude Moore Wood, Ira Cross, Jr. and Amanda Ware. The 20 recipients of the scholarships will be determined later in the year. view article

School trustees here will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the administration office to address several items including board policy updates, which will affect local policies and compensation and benefits leaves and absences, as well as a number of administration contracts. The board will address the following local policy updates: view article

Notice is hereby given that on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, at 7:00 PM the Board of Trustees of the Bonham School District will hold a Special Meeting at the Bonham ISD Administration Center, 1005 Chestnut Street, Bonham, Texas 75418. The subjects to be discussed are listed on the agenda which is attached to and made a part of this Notice. view article

Ordering the May 4 board election in conjunction with the city of Tatum is among items on the agenda for the Tatum ISD board of trustees when it meets Monday. Trustees also will consider and approve acceptance of a donation and consider and approve participation in the Lone Star Investment Pool. Consideration and approval of the 2019-2020 school year calendar also is on the agenda. view article

A new electoral system was set into motion Feb. 4 when Richardson ISD trustees voted unanimously to approve a new majority single-member district voting map. The move comes after a lawsuit filed by a former trustee alleging Voting Rights Act violations was settled last month. Under the new system, RISD voters will elect five trustees by district and two at large. Prior to the settlement, all board members were elected at large. view article

Dallas ISD is searching for a temporary trustee to fill a now vacated seat on their board. The DISD Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Jaime Resendez on Tuesday. He represented District 4, which covers southeast Dallas, Seagoville, and Balch Springs. view article

With nine days left to file to run for two Fort Bend ISD board of trustees positions, six candidates are now on the ballot for positions 3 and 7 as of Feb. 6. The election will take place May 4. Incumbent Position 3 trustee Jim Rice remains the lone candidate in the running for the position, while Position 7 has seen three new candidates join in the past week. view article

Weatherford ISD district officials proposed a plan for full-day pre-kindergarten to the board of trustees during their Monday evening meeting. A handful of state bills are being brought forth by lawmakers to fund full-day pre-kindergarten for eligible students. The plan presented to trustees did not take into account additional revenue that might come from new legislation. view article

We knew they didn't get along. Anyone watching one of the Houston ISD's school board meetings in the last year could tell you that. Even after a public apology for their inability to work together in a civil manner, certain trustees haven't been able to resist the urge to unload on each other in public. Grudges are everywhere. view article

Dallas ISD board trustee Jaime Resendez has resigned. The school board accepted his resignation at a meeting Tuesday afternoon, school district spokeswoman Robyn Harris said. An election to replace Resendez will be held in May. The school district did not release more information about Resendez's resignation. view article

Weatherford ISD administration discussed a plan to adopt the employee compensation plan in the spring rather than in August. Human Resources and Operations Assistant Superintendent Monty Chapman gave a presentation about this to the board of trustees on Monday evening in the District Services Building. Adjusting the compensation plan and budget timeline would allow the district to align itself with the Teacher Retirement System creditable compensation policy. TRS officials issued a clarification in December 2018 to districts that said “a pay increase given retroactively after work has commenced under the contract or work agreement is excluded as creditable compensation for TRS purposes because it is not paid pursuant to a valid contract.” view article

During a meeting in which the Elgin Independent School District board members were honored as part of School Board Recognition Month, former board member Pete Bega was given special recognition last week for his years of service. Bega has served on the school board for the past 16 years. During last month’s meeting, Bega officially resigned from the board; Juanita Valarie Neidig was appointed to replace him, and board member Beth Walterscheidt took his place as vice president of the board. He resigned because his granddaughter became a teacher at Booker T. Washington Elementary School, and school board policy does not allow the district to hire an employee related to a current board member.  view article

The superintendent of Donna Independent School District is looking to turn a new leaf and leave the past, in the past. He shared how he plans to move the district forward. Since Dr. Hafedh Azaiez became the superintendent, they have rebranded Donna I.S.D. with a new seal. “We want our district to be known as the district of tomorrow. a district that offers so many choices and opportunities for our kids." view article

In the annual State of the State address in Austin Tuesday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott hit on a variety of topics. The address was a 30,000 foot view of his priorities for this season, but his main focus was education reform. Abbott made emergency measures of school safety, student mental health, funding and teacher pay top priorities. view article

Houston ISD trustees had a lot to say during and after their heated, seven-hour meeting in mid-October -- much more than the Houston Chronicle could document in a single story on Sunday. Below are some extended quotes and excerpts from comments made by trustees during the meeting, as well as interviews conducted with several board members in recent days. Trustees underscored the causes for distrust on the board, frustrations with matters surrounding the district's superintendents, their level of optimism about progress on board relations and much more. view article

During an at times contentious school board meeting last Thursday, opposing viewpoints over reopening three schools took center stage in the South San Antonio Independent School District. The day before, trustees had voted 4-3 to approve a resolution to reopen three closed schools next fall: Athens Elementary, Kazen Middle School and West Campus High School. The meeting was the first in a series of discussions between Superintendent Alexandro Flores and the board about what it would take to reopen those schools. He’s slated to present a more detailed plan the week of Feb. 11. view article

The Killeen ISD board of trustees and the Killeen City Council took steps to get on the same page about upcoming projects, as the two came together for a joint workshop Thursday evening. “These meetings are so important,” said KISD Superintendent John Craft. “We work in such close partnership with the city on so many fronts.” view article

Lisa McClure has announced she will be seeking the District 6 seat on the Tyler Independent School District board of trustees this May. McClure, 50, said in a news release that she filed paperwork on Thursday to run for the seat in the May 4 election. She will be running against the current board president, incumbent the Rev. Fritz Hager Jr. He is the executive pastor at Bethel Bible Church. view article

AUSTIN -- At least 20,000 people whom state officials put on a list of potential non-citizen voters have now been removed from those lists after the state told counties that data it provided were flawed, local officials said on Wednesday. And Secretary of State David Whitley, whose office has gone silent in giving direction to county election administrators and responding to the news media, told civil rights groups late Wednesday that he’ll respond to them “within the next week.” The 13 groups have asked Whitley, a recent appointee of Gov. Greg Abbott, to withdraw his request for counties to review nearly 100,000 Texans’ eligibility to vote. view article

Regardless of what policy the Round Rock school board has set, board members have the right to talk to news media, a school district attorney has told trustees.  Reacting to a television interview given by board member Cory Vessa in January, the board voted 5-2 at its meeting Thursday to require board members to refrain from speaking on behalf of the entire board. view article

Gary Inmon, a lawyer and longtime Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District trustee, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felony charges stemming from his handling of an elderly woman’s estate, agreeing to pay back $120,000 to her family. He admitted to misapplying fiduciary property and to committing aggravated perjury and was sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will drop a theft charge against him. view article

Feelings of gratitude and concern were voiced Jan. 30 as residents gathered to offer their thoughts on Richardson ISD’s new voting system. Six residents signed up to speak about the proposed majority single-member district map released by RISD late last week. The move to restructure its electoral process came in the wake of a settled lawsuit that pitted a former trustee, David Tyson Jr., against current school board members accused of discriminatory practices and violations of the federal Voting Rights Act. view article

 A video of a fight at Spring High School has gone viral. Both parties involved in the fight are accusing the others for starting it and parents are questioning security measures at the school. view article

Kilgore ISD school board members discussed “Sam’s Law”, a Texas House bill intended to improve seziure response training in Texas schools, at Monday night’s board meeting. Superintendent Andy Baker said he had recently learned about the bill when he took over the superintendency in January. “This was new to me,” Baker said, “As I understand it right now, Sam’s Law is a bill that has been filed, it’s not a law yet. About two years ago, we had one of our high school kiddos pass away after going through a seizure. What Sam’s Law is, in memory of her, it’s the idea of the state coming in and making a law that would require different things, such as requiring school personnel to be trained on the signs of a possible epileptic seizure, possible first aid if you encounter another student or a staff member who is having a seizure and how you can best help them. The idea behind Sam’s Law is to put this into state law to require schools to annually go through these types of training for our staff members and for our kids.” view article

January is School Board Recognition Month, and BISD is taking the opportunity to share with the community a little bit about each of our board members.  Please enjoy the following Q&A featuring featuring BISD Trustee, Eric Evans. view article

The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees on Jan. 29 during a special meeting approved calling for a special election to fill the Position 5 spot that was vacated when KP George was sworn in as Fort Bend County Judge Jan. 1. The window to apply for a place on the ballot under this position opened Jan. 29 and will close on March 4. The election for Position 5 will be May 4, the same date as the election for two other trustee positions, 3 and 7. view article