Katy Independent School District Board of Trustees President Courtney Doyle recently posted her monthly video that reviews the accomplishment of students, teachers and staff members and provides important school district updates.  view article

Ella Bell, a longtime member of the Alabama School Board, has died, the Alabama State Department of Education announced Sunday. She was 71. State Superintendent Eric Mackey in a statement called Bell an education icon who "dedicated her life to the betterment of the students of Alabama." view article

The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees has censured board member Erasmo Castro, expressing its disapproval “concerning recent occurrences, some on social media, which have demeaned the board as a whole." The action came at a special-called board meeting on Wednesday during which the board released a statement of disapproval for Castro’s actions. view article

Texas Education Agency investigators issued a final recommendation Wednesday urging Commissioner Mike Morath to temporarily replace Houston ISD trustees with a state-appointed governing board, concluding the district’s elected officials engaged in multiple acts of misconduct that warrant stripping them of power. view article

A yearlong saga to draw new boundaries in Southwest Austin for Baranoff and Kiker elementary schools came to a final committee vote Oct. 20, with Austin ISD’s Boundary Advisory Committee approving preliminary recommendations for both campuses that—if ultimately approved by district trustees—would go into effect once the new Southwest Elementary School opens for the 2020-21 school year. According to AISD Director of Planning Melissa Laursen, the committee recommended Plan K for both schools. The plan would rezone current Baranoff students in the Greyrock neighborhood and current Kiker students south of SH 45 to the new Southwest Elementary School.   view article

Superintendent Demetrus Liggins shared several highlights about Greenville Independent School District on Tuesday at a “State of the District” breakfast co-hosted by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Central to Liggins’ talking points were the district’s efforts to equip students with a variety of “soft skills,” with the intention of helping them learn how to work well with others regardless of how the job market changes due to technological innovations. view article

School board members in Brownsville taking action against one of their own. During a meeting Tuesday night, the board disapproved the actions by board member Erasmo Castro. Board members say he broke a new social media regulations recently put in place to safeguard students. Despite the new rule, they say Castro has posted pictures of students on his social media pages without their parents’ permission. view article

Four out of nine school board seats in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) are up for election on November 5. Fourteen candidates are running: view article

According to Clear Creek ISD surveys sent to district employees and families, high schoolers want later school start times, and families of other grade levels and district employees do not. Since September, the CCISD School Start Time Committee has been considering changing school start times. In CCISD, elementary schools start at 7:55 a.m., intermediate schools start at 8:40 a.m., and high schools start at 7:10 a.m. Modern research shows high school students benefit from starting school as late as 8:30 a.m., officials have said. view article

On Nov. 5, the Conroe Independent School District community will have the chance to vote for two bond propositions, together totaling $677.37 million, with the promise of no tax rate increases. Earlier this year, a larger bond proposal was rejected at the ballot box, but the district has restructured its bond proposal and is trying again. One of the biggest changes is that one of the most contentious parts of the original package has been removed and will be voted on in a separate proposition: $23.8 million for artificial turf to be put on district high school fields. view article

HALLSVILLE — Hallsville ISD trustees on Monday unanimously approved to sell several old school buses to auction and also approved the purchase of several new ones.  Hallsville ISD Transportation Supervisor Roy Presley told the trustees on Monday that the district can auction off 11 of their oldest buses that are in the worst conditions to an auction company. The 11 buses included some models from 1987 and 1989, while others had cracked frames, Presley said.  “We’re not running as many routes right now and with the opportunity to get new buses, that will still leave us with 13 spare buses,” Presley said. “That leaves us some extras and we used to keep at least 10 for spares.” view article

A Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Bonham ISD was held Monday, October 21, 2019, beginning at 6:00 PM in the Bonham ISD Administration Center, 1005 Chestnut Street, Bonham, Texas 75418. view article

Beaumont ISD on Wednesday will interview five candidates to fill a vacancy on the board left by A.B. Bernard, who resigned in September. An appointment originally was slated for the October meeting of the board, but recovery from Tropical Depression Imelda pushed back the timeline, according to district spokeswoman Hannah LeTulle. Bernard’s departure was one of the latest in a series of shakeups for the board, which was taken over by the state in 2014 after a series of financial scandals and other mismanagement. view article

During its October 28 Regular Board meeting, Trustees approved attendance boundary modifications for Elementary #43, as well as Jordan, Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes, Taylor and Tompkins high schools.  The boundary changes take effect August 2020. With the construction of Jordan High School (High School #9) and Elementary #43 set to be completed for the 2020-2021 school year, the final ABM recommendation and Board vote came after four months of community feedback, Board discussion and boundary revisions made to the original high school modification presented this past June.  view article

A hearing on the petition to remove a Rio Grande City school board trustee was canceled earlier this week due to scheduling conflicts. Daniel J. Garcia, the school board trustee, was set to appear in court on Friday morning for a hearing on the petition that was filed to have him removed from the school board. However, a hearing over the custody of his child was also scheduled for Friday morning. view article

Allegations of hostility, harassment and discrimination leveled by a district administrator have nearly divided the Round Rock school board. Sandra Carpenter, who serves as general counsel on the superintendent’s executive leadership team, formally accused board President Chad Chadwell of illegally retaliating against her in the workplace and general mistreating her. She also assessed blame on the board, saying trustees supported Chadwell’s behavior by allowing him to remain president and creating an atmosphere that encourages community members to target — and sometimes discriminate against — administrators. view article

Conceptual designs for high school improvements, significant savings for taxpayers and much more were presented during Tuesday’s Denton school board meeting. Perhaps the most visually impressive section of the evening included the renderings of future renovations at Guyer and Ryan high schools. Most renovations and additions will be toward athletic facilities in an effort to bring them up to the level of the new Denton High School, which is currently under construction. view article

A showdown between conservative and liberal state activists over the district’s proposed sex education curriculum is expected at Monday night’s Austin school board meeting. Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region is advocating for the district’s new curriculum, and on Wednesday asked supporters to join it in the board room to advocate for the new lesson plans, describing them as “LGBTQ inclusive, science-based, and much-needed.” view article

The Chron notes that where there are elections there are contributions, even for our diminished HISD Trustees.  The threat of state officials stripping power from Houston ISD trustees has not scared off donors interested in the district’s school board elections, with 13 candidates combining to raise about $210,000 through early October. With about a month before the Nov. 5 general election, candidates running for four school board seats were collecting money at a similar pace as the 2017 election cycle, campaign finance records show. That year, 19 candidates took in about $300,000 with a month remaining before the general election, which featured five regular races and one special election in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. view article

Conroe ISD Board Trustee Dale Inman sparked a social media storm this week after he attacked Willis ISD officials on Facebook for having a Houston-area drag queen speak to cosmetology students about makeup application. In dozens of posts, Inman accuses the district of promoting “Harris County alternative lifestyles” in Montgomery County schools and calls on followers to address the school board that having a “homosexual drag queen” speak to students was “unacceptable.” view article

The Katy ISD board of trustees will meet Monday and are expected to discuss the attendance boundaries for Jordan High School. The board is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday — the open meeting is scheduled to start about 5:30 p.m. — in regular session in the Board Room of the Katy ISD Education Support Complex at 5301 S. Stadium Lane in Katy. view article

Local school board members authorized JISD superintendent Dr. Chad Kelly to advertise for bids on a south warehouse property, after identifying it as excess property during their regular meeting on Monday. A minimum bid for the warehouse – located at 2045 S. Jackson St. – was set for $215,000, said Calah Moake, administrative assistant to the superintendent. view article

After holding a two-hour hearing in closed session, the Decatur ISD trustees took no action Monday on a Level III grievance filed by Decatur High School teacher and coach Carly Cloud. view article

Those who spoke at a Clear Creek ISD public hearing Oct. 22 all agreed that the start time for high school needs to be later and the proposed solutions do not go far enough. In CCISD, elementary schools start at 7:55 a.m., intermediate schools start at 8:40 a.m., and high schools start at 7:10 a.m. The CCISD School Start Time Committee of district residents has met four times since late September and considered four separate models that would start high school at 7:30 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:15 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. view article

The Jarrell board of trustees accepted the resignation of longtime trustee Sue Lofland on Oct. 16 and is looking to fill her vacancy, according to a news release. The board opted to appoint someone to serve in Place 4 until November 2020 when that position would be up for election, the release said. All seven members of the Jarrell ISD board of trustees represent member districts and must live in the district they represent, it said. view article

Gilmer ISD trustees have decided to submit names to the school board president to fill a vacancy on the board. Last month, trustee Diedra Camp resigned from the school board for personal reasons. view article

Charlotte FFA would like to thank the Charlotte ISD school board for allowing the purchase of a new gooseneck stock trailer. view article

A new fleet of buses is coming to Huntsville ISD schools. The Huntsville ISD Board of Trustees approved the purchase of six school buses from Lonestar Bus Sales at their regular meeting Tuesday night. Four of the buses will be for the general student population, while the other two will be designated for special education students. “We budgeted this purchase during our budget workshop over the summer,” HISD superintendent Scott Sheppard said. “I believe this will greatly benefit our students and keep them safe.” view article

A Tatum ISD mother and grandmother are planning to take the district to court, after the school board on Monday unanimously denied their grievances about the expulsion of their children over dress code issues. The school board’s attorney, meanwhile, denied Monday that the children have technically been expelled and insisted, instead, that the issues at hand have to do with a grandmother’s manipulation of the Head Start system and a mother enrolling her child in a district in which he doesn’t live. view article

An area school district is facing a state investigation following allegations of nepotism by an administrator and board member. Both the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Rangers have been forwarded information regarding the allegations involving Stafford Municipal School District Superintendent Robert Bostic and the longest-serving Stafford MSD school board member, Greg Holsapple. view article

A Henderson schools trustee may face criminal mischief charges for allegedly paying two teenagers to damage the pickup truck and steal the campaign signs of an election challenger, the Longview News Journal reported. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office submitted a criminal mischief case against the trustee, Jon Best, to District Attorney Micheal Jimerson last week, although both Jimerson and Sheriff Jeff Price declined to comment on the case, the newspaper reported.    view article

Monday, dozens of community members packed Wimberley ISD's board meeting for a chance to voice their opinions on recent controversy. Last month, board member Lori Olson made a Facebook post supporting the town's first gay pride parade. Olson attached picture of herself wearing a t-shirt with the pride flag as the backdrop of the Wimberley High School logo. view article

Nothing is set in stone yet for what the Wichita Falls ISD wants to include in a bond election for next year. One thing they do know: there are 26 schools in the district and a student population that’s meant to support only 19. Today members of the board heard from wary parents and community members on what closing or building new schools could mean for Wichita Falls. view article

The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office has submitted a criminal mischief case against Henderson ISD trustee Jon Best to Rusk County District Attorney Micheal Jimerson. Sheriff Jeff Price confirmed his office had done so, but both he and Jimerson declined to comment on the case, which could advance to the grand jury. view article

In one of the more bizarre situations in the past two years, The Woodlands Township Board of Directors devoted almost two hours Thursday to discussion, debate — and an unplanned presentation — of the Conroe Independent School District’s upcoming $653.5 million bond election, eventually approving a resolution of support for the proposition “A” bond. The board resolution has no power and is merely a statement of support of CISD bond package “A” before voters in the Nov. 5 election. Directors first rejected the proposed resolution of support for the bond in a 4-3 vote, however the three losing directors — vociferously led by directors Ann Snyder and John McMullan — refused to accept the vote and vigorously argued with board Chairman Gordy Bunch and other directors about their belief it was important to pass the resolution, demanding a special meeting be scheduled immediately to revisit the issue. view article