Superintendent Search: Pettus ISD hires New Superintendent

Pettus ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire Michael E. Homann, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance of Medina Valley ISD, as the district’s new superintendent for Pettus ISD Superintendent of Schools. Details and updates will continue to appear on our search page.

DOUGLASS ISD HIRES ARROW EDUCATIONAL SERVICES TO CONDUCT SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

The board of trustees of the Douglass Independent School District has contracted with Arrow Educational Services, Inc. to assist them in their search for a new superintendent. view article  

Deer Park Classes Resume:  Day 3: Chemicals burn at ITC facility in Deer Park as fire intensifies and spread to more tanks

DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) -- The fires at the ITC facility in Deer Park have intensified now burning eight tanks, days after the fire started.  The fire has been burning since Sunday around 10:30 a.m. It started with one tank at Intercontinental Terminals Company. Emergency responders have been working with foam and water to try and control further spreading. Six tanks were on fire as of Monday, but ITC officials said flames spread to two empty tanks due to a temporary reduction of water pressure.  view article  

Brownsville:  BISD hires TASB; Association to assist with superintendent search

Brownsville Independent School District trustees on Monday hired the Texas Association of School Boards as a consultant to assist the district in hiring a new superintendent of schools.  The trustees voted 4-3 at a special-called meeting to hire TASB for a fee of $19,500. Board President Minerva M. Peña and Trustees Philip A. Cowen, Laura Perez-Reyes and Erasmo Castro voted to hire TASB, while Trustees Sylvia Atkinson, Drue Brown and Prisci Roca Tipton voted against. view article  

House and Senate Education meet Today

House meets today:  Notice of House Public Education 8:00 AM, Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - and  The Senate Education Committee meets at 9:00 AM March 19.

TASB Talks

TASB Talks Lege Update March 18, 2019 - (9:25) On this week's episode, we dive into House Bill 3 with Dax Gonzalez of TASB Governmental Relations. What's the timeline for the bill? What's going on with the gifted and talented allotment? How does the Senate's school finance bill compare?   view article  

May 2019 Bond List

Bond Election Data collected by TexasISD.com for public school bonds in the upcoming May 2019 election cycle.

Waco ISD superintendent enters plea deal in marijuana possession charge

Waco Independent School District Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson entered a plea agreement with the Robertson County District Attorney’s Office to have his misdemeanor marijuana possession charge dismissed if he completes a 90-day diversion program, Robertson County District Attorney W. Coty Siegert said in a statement. view article  

Waco ISD Superintendent Marcus Nelson speaks out following his drug arrest

WACO, Texas (KWTX) After being arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana charge early this month, WISD Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson spoke with KWTX News 10 about what happened that night and the rumors surrounding his potential departure from the school district.  Below is the full interview between Drake Lawson and Dr. Marcus Nelson.  Drake-  So first Dr. Nelson just want to say thank you for sitting down with us today and for doing the interview we appreciate it.  I just want to go through that night, where were you coming from and where were you going and tell us about the situation. view article  

Superintendent Nelson to seek forgiveness from Waco ISD board for pot arrest

Waco Independent School District Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson said he is remorseful for his marijuana possession arrest but plans to ask the school board Tuesday for the chance to “redeem” himself.  He said he can use his mistake as an opportunity to warn children about the danger of drugs and “making poor choices,” the superintendent said in an hourlong interview Sunday with the Tribune-Herald. view article  

Former Waco ISD aide told to resign or be fired after marijuana possession arrest last year

A 24-year-old former special education aide at Waco Independent School District said she was forced to resign after she was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge last year, the same charge for which Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson was arrested.  The former aide, who asked to remain anonymous for fear that publicizing her arrest would hinder job prospects and disappoint family members, worked for the district from August 2017 to August 2018. view article  

Analysis: Asking Texas voters to swap higher sales taxes for property tax cuts

In the rush of legislation filed before last week’s deadline, you wouldn’t be the only person who missed the measure proposing a 6.26 percent state sales tax rate. No reason you should have seen it or made note of it.  For one thing, it’s a teensy tax increase, at least on paper — at least for now. The state’s current sales tax rate is 6.25 percent, and local governments can add two cents on top of that rate. The increase to 6.26 percent is a placeholder in a proposed constitutional amendment — a place to put the real number when it’s available. view article  

Preventive Law: Update from the Feds: SROs, School Law Enforcement Units, and FERPA

In February, the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) of the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidance concerning School Resource Officers (SROs), School Law Enforcement Units, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The guidance answers some of the ongoing questions that districts have wrestled with as they try to balance the need to share information with law enforcement with FERPA’s confidentiality provisions.

New From TEA

• 2019–2020 Testing Calendar 2/1
• State Board of Education UpdateState Board of Education hosts free conference Jan. 30 1/15
• 2017-2018 Federal Report Cards are now available 1/10
• TEA releases 2017-2018 Texas Academic Performance Report
• 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 Testing Calendars 12/13
• TEA releases final 2018 academic accountability ratings 12/13
• Applications Open for Joining the System of Great Schools Network 12/7

Schools to reopen as Texas chemical plant fire continues to burn. Health officials are not convinced that it’s safe

As schools and businesses reopen Tuesday amid a chemical fire in suburban Houston, health officials still worry about the possible effects of the flames on the air quality and the people of Deer Park and the surrounding communities. The fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) has been burning since Sunday. The cause of the blaze is under investigation and it could take until Wednesday to put out the blazes in tanks filled with gas, oil and chemicals, according to ITC. The Deer Park Independent School District said in a message to parents Monday night that its schools will reopen Tuesday. The school district said it made the decision to reopen, in part, because air quality monitoring has been "consistently favorable." view article  

House passes its budget out of committee

On to the full House, then the real fight occurs. A panel of House budget writers gave initial approval Monday to a budget that would spend $115 billion in state funds, including a $9 billion infusion of new funds for Texas public schools and property tax relief. view article  

Texas House abandons plan to give teachers merit-based raises

A Texas House committee on Tuesday delivered a blow to proponents of giving teachers raises based on merit. The author of the leading House bill to overhaul public school education across Texas struck a controversial plan to create a $140 million program that offered raises to only top-performing teachers.  view article  

IT’S PAST TIME TO BOOST PAY OF OUR CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Before I was elected Texas’ lieutenant governor in 2014, I served on the Senate Education Committee for eight years, including as chair during the 2013 legislative session. Making our public schools better has long been a top priority for me. Working first as a senator and then as lieutenant governor, we have reduced standardized testing, reformed graduation requirements and created new career tech partnerships between public schools and businesses to help ensure we provide training that will lead to jobs in the 21st century economy. Even so, research consistently shows that, aside from a parent, nothing has more impact on the success of a student than a teacher. They must be our top priority when we determine how to spend our education dollars. view article  

KUENSTLER GRATEFUL TO BE NEXT YORKTOWN ISD SUPERINTENDENT

On March 7, the York town ISD School Board voted 7-0 to hire Katherine Kuenstler for the position of Superintendent. Kuenstler is grateful to the Board of Trustees for granting her the honor and privilege to be the next Superintendent of Yorktown ISD. Kuesntler grew up in a small town and believes in the values smaller rural towns possess. Kuenstler is in her 23rd year in education. She has served students in the classroom, as a school counselor, and as an administrator. She believes that being an educator is not a job, but a lifestyle. Kuenstler was raised in an educator household. view article  

To fund schools, lawmakers eye a swap: Higher sales taxes, lower property taxes

exas lawmakers are considering an infusion of $9 billion to improve public schools and lower property taxes over the next two years. The additional $6.3 billion in the classroom is being billed as a transformational effort to better educate the state’s 5.4 million students, while another $2.7 billion would stem the tide of escalating property taxes for homeowners.  “If we’re going to make some strides on these really big items, it really has to happen this session,” said Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, chairman of the influential Appropriations Committee. view article  

Second measles case confirmed in Collin County, officials say

COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — Collin County Health Care Services (CCHCS) has identified a second case of measles, the health organization said Monday.  The infected person was at a Kroger on North Preston Road in Prosper on March 15th between 9 a.m.-10 a.m. while contagious, officials said. The person did not go to any pother public locations, officials said,  view article  

Teen who refused chickenpox vaccine says school is limiting his activities. So he’s suing

A Kentucky student is suing his local health department after it barred students who aren't immunized against the chickenpox from attending school and canceled extracurricular activities during an outbreak that has affected 32 people. Jerome Kunkel, a senior at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart/Assumption Academy in Walton, Kentucky, refuses to get the chickenpox vaccine, citing his Christian faith, reported CNN affiliate WLWT. He and his father allege that he's being discriminated against because of religious beliefs. view article  

Teachers Union Backs Slate Against Best San Antonio ISD Board in 50 Years

It is sad to learn that the teachers union for the San Antonio Independent School District is endorsing candidates to oppose the board’s president and one other member, as well as backing a critic of the board for an open East Side seat. This, simply put, is the best board SAISD has had in at least 50 years. I’ve lived in the district for most of the past four decades and I could tell some stories. In fact, I have told some stories. There was the school board member who took the most junkets of any of the trustees, yet hadn’t paid her school property taxes for years.  view article  

House Appropriations Discusses Budget Bills: HB 1 and SB 500

Today, March 18, House Bill 1, the major budget bill in the House, and Senate Bill 500, which includes supplemental appropriation dollars for the state budget, were heard by the House Appropriations Committee. These are two of the most important bills the Legislature is constitutionally mandated to pass. view article  

Nederland ISD takes 3rd swing at passing bond issue

Jathan Garrett calls the proposed $155.6 million Nederland Independent School District bond issue a "pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later situation." "Young couples are going to look at the facilities and say, 'Is this where I want my children to go to school?'" the Mid-County dentist and bond proponent said. "We are all going to suffer if people say, 'I don't want to educate my child in this district.'" view article  

Deer Park plant fire could last two more days; authorities monitoring air quality

A Deer Park petrochemical fire sending smoke across Harris County has not immediately caused hazardous air quality conditions, county officials said early Monday afternoon, though the blaze could burn for two more days. Emergency crews have been working since Sunday morning to contain the fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company in eastern Harris County, where thick plumes of smoke have covered the region. County and municipal officials said readings from multiple air quality tests prompt no serious health concerns, allowing them to lift a shelter-in-place order issued Sunday. view article  

Georgetown ISD leaders await legislative specifics on school finance reform

Georgetown ISD officials are unsure how reforms to the state’s property tax and school finance systems will affect the district’s bottom line as lawmakers continue to iron out the details of proposed legislation that includes a cap on annual increases in maintenance and operations tax revenue for cities, counties and school districts. Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2 would trigger automatic elections when taxing entities seek to adopt tax rates that allow for more than a 2.5 percent revenue increase over their effective rates, which calculate the rate needed for revenue equal to the previous year. view article  

Some Collin County school districts rally behind school finance reform bill

Several Collin County educators have thrown support behind Texas House Bill 3, a school finance reform bill that would add $9 billion in funding over the next two years. The bill not only increases teacher pay and student funding but also follows this legislative session’s theme of property tax reform by compressing school districts’ tax rate by $0.04 on average. House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty, R-Houston, briefed representatives from nine Collin County school districts about the bill on March 15 in Plano. The group included superintendents and school board members from Frisco, McKinney, Plano  and others. view article  

Final town hall planned on $19.9M bond proposal

Officials with the Lindsay Independent School District are hosting another town hall on the district’s proposed $19.9 million bond at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 20. Superintendent Trevor Rogers said Wednesday’s town hall at the Lindsay ISD cafeteria, 498 W. Sixth St., will be the “last full community-wide meeting to present comprehensive information about the bond program.” “Anyone who has not had a chance to hear about the program including why we are asking for public support, why we chose the plan we chose, how the whole process came about, etc. should come and learn more about the bond proposal,” Rogers said via email Monday afternoon. “We will also have a time allotted for questions for those who have questions or concerns.” view article  

Should Texas raise the smoking age from 18 to 21? Nation’s largest tobacco company agrees

AUSTIN — A long-stalled push to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco and e-cigarettes in Texas has a puff of momentum, thanks to early hearings in both chambers, strong support from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and a surprising and quiet change of position by one of Big Tobacco's leading corporations.  GOP leaders of powerful committees in the House and Senate are again lead authors of proposals that would raise the legal age for buying cigarettes, other tobacco products and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21.  view article  

Bond talk revived in Port Neches-Groves schools

Port Neches-Groves ISD has revived discussions about a multimillion-dollar bond issue to replace aging elementary schools. “There is a need for new schools in the district,” Matt Marchak, spokesman for a citizens committee that began looking at this issue four years ago, said after addressing the School Board on Monday night. “We established this prior when the committee originally got together.” view article  

Counselors available as Frankston ISD mourns death of Coach Reginald Clark

Frankston ISD announced on Monday the death of a teacher and coach in the district. Reginald Clark, who was a history teacher as well as a middle school coach, died after a sudden illness, the district reported on their Facebook page. “We have received some very sad news today, and we need to share it with our FISD community. One of our teachers, Coach Reginald Clark, recently became very ill and has passed away.  view article  

Student Robbed at Gunpoint Near Oak Cliff Magnet Center

Parents in the Dallas Independent School District were warned Monday of another armed robbery near an Oak Cliff school campus. Administrators at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center sent a letter to parents detailing the March 8 incident in which a student was robbed by gunpoint after classes were dismissed for the day. The student handed over their backpack and was not hurt, the letter said. Administrators said Dallas police and Dallas ISD police were investigating the crime and would provide additional security support. view article