The White Deer ISD Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, February 20th, 2023. The meeting started in the cafeteria with recognition of the elementary all A Honor roll for the first semester, and then preceded to the all A Honor roll for the Junior High and High School. At the next scheduled meeting March 20th 2023 we will honor the Elementary students who were not able to make this board meeting.
The Board took action to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. A presentation was given by Dr. Kim Alexander, the Chief Executive officer of Collegiate Edu-Nation. He is also a retired superintendent from Roscoe ISD. Dr. Alexander presented on the non-profit he represents and the goal of his organization is to build a coalition of rural schools that produce the highest marks academically on the national level. Dr. Alexander stressed the culture of a school system is the key component. The culture of the school has to have the highest expectations for all students.
After the presentation from Dr. Alexander the board had a discussion and took action on approving the 10% Local Option Homestead exemption and also approved to collect an additional 20% in Attorney’s fees for delinquent taxes. The board also moved to accept the certification of unopposed candidates and to adopt the order to cancel the May 2023 election. The two candidates that turned in White Deer ISD Board of Trustee application packets were Blaine Bolton and Chance Bowers. They will each serve the next three years as a Trustee and will be sworn in at the May board meeting.
White Deer ISD received a grant in the amount of $200,000 from the Texas Education Agency, and the board approved two bids, replace exterior doors throughout the district, and to install a film on all windows on all exterior doors and adjacent windows to make it harder for someone from breaking the windows easily to gain access into the building. These two projects will bring White Deer ISD into compliance with the new Safety Standards that have been called for by Governor Greg Abbott.
The Board took action to accept the bid for the purchase of trustee property 608 Roosevelt in Skellytown, Texas, under Section 34.21 of the Texas Property Tax Code. The bid must also be accepted by Carson County, the City of Skellytown, and the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District before the sale can be finalized. The board also took action on a budget amendment that increased the facilities and construction line item to cover the cost of resurfacing the track.
A presentation was given by the Secondary Principal Darla Forney on the schedule and use of the Junior High building. In that discussion, an idea was presented to move the 6th graders to the Junior High from the elementary school. It was then discussed to have a community meeting to receive input on this possibility, please be looking for information on this meeting.
The board heard reports from the principals and directors of the school district, reviewed the Business Manager’s report, and received an update from the Superintendent. The current enrollment of White Deer ISD is 329 with a daily average attendance of 306. The Board then went into closed session, after closed session the board took action to extend contracts to the following, Rex Beck athletic director, Darla Forney secondary principal, and Jennifer Humphrey elementary principal.
