Board Adopts Balanced Budget for 2015-2016
The Board of Trustees adopted a general operating budget in August of $141,761,644 for the 2015-2016 school year. The balanced budget is the culmination of two years of work to reduce a deficit the district had been carrying for the past several years. This budget is based on a projected enrollment of 18,754 students.
Key highlights of the 2015-2016 budget include pay raises for teachers, nurses, librarians, and other district employees, as well as salary equity adjustments to make Hays CISD salaries competitive in Central Texas. The budget also includes expanded curriculum and instruction services; additional middle school counselors, school resource officers, assistant principals, and digital learning coaches; startup funding for the district’s early college high school; and funding for AVID – a program to prepare traditionally underrepresented students to attend college.
The Board is expected to adopt the 2015-2016 tax rate in September with no increase from the previous year. The current Hays CISD tax rate is $1.04 per $100 of taxable value for the maintenance and operations portion of the rate and an interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate of $0.4977 per $100 of taxable value.
See full budget presentation here.
2015-2016 Student Code of Conduct Adopted
The Board adopted the school year’s student code of conduct and extracurricular code of conduct in August. The district reviews the codes of conduct annually to make sure they are in compliance with new laws and policy. Parents can view the new codes of conduct online at the links below. Changes are identified with red strike-through marks for language that was deleted and blue underlined text for language that has been added for the school year.
See the 2015-2016 general student code of conduct online.
See the 2015-2016 extracurricular code of conduct online.
Wallace Superstar Athlete Recognized
Melanie Peters, Wallace Middle School 8th grader, was honored in August for her outstanding accomplishments this summer at the UCO Endeavor Games. She won an astounding seven gold medals and was named the games’ athlete of the year! Melanie won gold medals in the 60, 100, 200 and 400 meter events. She also won in the shot put, javelin, and discus events. She is a true champion!
Board Vice President Sandra Bryant presented the honors to Peters who was accompanied by her grandparents Bob and Agnes Burns and her triplet siblings Madelyn and Matthew.
Emotional Tribute to Jayne’s Angels
The Board recognized a group of employees for saving a Tobias Elementary colleague’s life earlier in the year. It was an emotional tribute. Last spring semester, Jayne Baker had a serious medical emergency while at work at Tobias Elementary that required the use of the automated external defibrillator (AED). She credits the quick response of four people with saving her life! They have affectionately become known as Jayne’s Angels – Kate Hungerford, Brooke Schweke, Danielle McKown, and Kristin Kelsey.
Board Secretary Teresa Tobias read a portion of a social media post from Baker during the recognition of the Angels: “I am overwhelmed and humbled by all the loving and supportive comments I have received since my medical ‘adventure.’ Someone referred to all of the kindness expressed through Facebook, calling these posts my ‘un-funeral.’ Your love will stay with me the rest of my life. But let’s make a pact to give all of our loved ones an ‘un-funeral’ every single day. Let’s surround each other with hugs, kisses, loving words, and gratitude for our lives. Blessings….Jayne.”
A+ FCU Foundation Grant Recipients Honored
The Board recognized A+ Federal Credit Union and the A+ Federal Credit Union Education Foundation as community partners of the month. The two groups have a longstanding and valued partnership with Hays CISD. The A+ Educational Foundation recently awarded $72,000 in educational grants to central Texas teachers, including seven from Hays CISD. Those teachers were also recognized by the Board. They are: (from Hemphill Elementary School ) Angela Pena, Martha Mendez-Trelles, Nancy Martinez, Perla Arellano, Sofia Galeana, and Tricia Martinez, and (from Negley Elementary School) Melanie Vasquez.
Trustee Bert Bronaugh made the presentation on behalf of the Board. Nancy Cowley, Elisa Surina-Garay, and Travis Percival represented A+ FCU and the A+ FCU Education Foundation. Superintendent Mike McKie, Negley Principal Melody Crowther, and Hemphill Principal Dr. Tracie Robinson are participated.
Master Trustee Tenorio Recognized by TASB
During the Board activity reports section of the meetings, Trustee Willie Tenorio, Jr., was surprised by Margie Villalpando, a school board trustee from neighboring San Marcos CISD, who represented the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) in recognizing him for completing a year-long intensive training program called Leadership TASB. In doing so, Tenorio has earned the highest designation recognized by TASB – Master Trustee. Tenorio joined 33 other school board members from across Texas this past year in Leadership TASB. The program sessions featured nationally recognized experts in the fields of leadership development and education. Teams also worked throughout the year on extended learning assignments between meetings.
Created in 1993, Leadership TASB has more than 700 graduates to date. The current class was sponsored in part by H-E-B. TASB is a voluntary, nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve approximately five million public school students.
Community Discusses Dixie; Board Policy to Preserve Mascots
A number of people spoke during the public comments portions of the meetings in August regarding the district’s decision to retire Dixie as the Hays High School fight song. Most people spoke in opposition to the decision; however, some spoke to support the decision. Just prior to the Board business meeting reconvening in open session, Superintendent Mike McKie made a statement to the audience that the students would be in charge of creating a process and developing criteria to select a fight song by January 2016. The Hays CISD Office of School Leadership headed by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lucio Calzada will oversee the student process of selecting a fight song.
In a related matter, the Board heard the first reading of an amendment to policy CW (Local) that would require Board approval of changes to any mascot once established at a school. The policy amendment would provide assurance to people that the Hays High School Rebel mascot is not being considered for a change.
Board and Superintendent Goals Adopted
The Board approved the 2015-2016 goals for the district. These goals are a joint endeavor between the superintendent and the Board. Board members and the superintendent participated in professional development to create the goals for the district. They also created beliefs and commitment statements. The goals were identified based on high priority items.
See the 2015-2016 Board and superintendent goals online.
See the 2015-2016 Board and superintendent belief statements online.
Submitted by Hays CISD