School Board Report 20090428
From The Lovejoy Way
This is the UNOFFICIAL report of the LISD School Board Meeting for April 28, 2009.
The meeting began with the recognition of many students that achieved academic excellence through
this school year. We are very proud of our students' achievements!
The board reconvened in the lecture hall, which had been filled with band students and parents. During the Public Comments portion of the meeting several members of the audience addressed the school board regarding the demotion of the band director, Mr. Cruz. Perhaps the most touching address was given by a student, Alex Malliet. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room when he finished. Mr. Hickman, the board president, replied, "It's hard to make a change, especially with a winning program."
The next item addressed the finalization of the arrangement with Collin College (CCCC) regarding dual credit courses. English 4 is established to provide college credit for English 1301 and English 1302 at CCCC. A culinary arts class will also be rovided, though it only offers the pastry portion, since the high school does not have a gas range. The students who take these classes are responsible for paying tuition, books and fees.
The board heard a report on the most recent TAKS test scores from third and fifth graders, as well as the PSAT test scores of our Junior class taken last October.
Mr. Moore provided a revenue update. He stated that all operating budgets have been frozen for next year, as well as all payroll except for class room teachers (which were awarded a 3% raise in the February board meeting for the 2009-2010 school year). He reported that House Bill 3646 (HB3646) contains a clause that will repeal the mid-sized school exemption. The repeal could allow LISD to receive as much as $1.5M in additional funding, which is about the amount of our current shortfall. This additional funding will NOT increase our current tax rates, and may well help prevent future tax hikes in our district. I encourage you to write your state representatives and ask them to support HB3646.
The last item addressed was regarding the LISD Chess Program. This is a program started by a parent, Trisha Dobson, and has grown tremendously. It is now an officially sponsored program for our kids in all the elementary schools in the district. It consists of 8-weeks of instruction provided by BGS Chess. Participating students are bussed to Sloan Creek Middle School for the instruction. The cost per child is split between the school and the parents, $50 paid by the parent, and $125 paid by the district. This is a great program for our kids, and an excellent expenditure of our funds. I applaud Mrs. Dobson and the district leadership for initiating this fine program. Mrs. Dobson pointed out that the TAKS scores reported earlier were highest in the school where the Chess program has seen the most participation.
In Monday night's candidate forum Marianne and I addressed our concern about the lack of debate and discussion at the public school board meetings. I was pleased to see many of the board members ask clarifying questions of the presenters at Tuesday night's board meeting. I wouldn't call it debate, but it is certainly progress. Here is a count of the topics where the given board member asked a question or made a comment.
- Hickman – 4
- Westbrook – 2
- MacDonald – 4
- Guilbeau – 3
- Casey – 0
- Ellrich – 0
- James - 0
