COUNTY OF POTTER

STATE OF TEXAS

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
OF THE
AMARILLO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
 

WHEREAS, Section 23.001 of the Texas Education Code permits the District to employ or accept as a volunteer a chaplain to provide support, services, and programs for students as assigned by the Board;

WHEREAS, Senate Bill 763, passed by the 88th Texas Legislature, requires each school board to take a record vote between September 1, 2023, and March 1, 2024, on whether to adopt a policy authorizing a campus of the District to employ or accept as a volunteer a chaplain under Education Code Chapter 23;

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees does not believe that employing chaplains or accepting chaplains as volunteers serves the best interests of the District.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of Amarillo Independent School District hereby does not permit a District campus to employ a chaplain or accept a chaplain as a volunteer to provide support, services, and programs for students at this time, and is accordingly declining to adopt a policy addressing this issue.

Adopted this 22^nd day of January, 2024, by the Board of Trustees, by the following Record

Votes For:

• Doyle Corder
• Kayla Mendez
• David Nance
• Don Powell
• Connie Brown
• Steve Trafton
• Jon Mark Beilue

Votes Against:

• There were no votes against

Absent/No Vote:

• Connie Brown

Doyle Corder, President
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees

Attest:

Susan Hoyl, Secretary
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees

COUNTY OF POTTER

STATE OF TEXAS

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
OF THE
AMARILLO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
 

WHEREAS, a Voluntary Desegregation Plan ("Plan"), approved by the Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") has been in effect in the Amarillo Independent School District since 1972; and,

WHEREAS, as part of the Plan, four schools in the North Heights neighborhood were closed in the early 1970s; attendance zone boundary lines were re-drawn and students were reassigned and provided bus transportation to schools in other parts of Amarillo; and,

WHEREAS, the District's commitment was and always has been to ensure equal educational opportunity to all students in the District, regardless of race; and,

WHEREAS, over the years, and following collaboration between the District and OCR, the Plan received several OCR-approved modifications, and continues to be in effect; and,

WHEREAS, two formerly closed campuses in the North Heights neighborhood of Amarillo were re-opened as magnet schools: Carver Elementary Academy (in 1989) and Carver Early Childhood Academy (in 1999), which were renamed George Washington Carver Elementary Academy and George Washington Carver Early Childhood Academy in March 2020; and,

WHEREAS, in December 2018 the Board approved and two months later submitted to the OCR a proposal, developed by a North Heights Committee composed of parents, community members, District and campus administrators, teachers and Board representatives, to make changes to the District's Voluntary Desegregation Plan as a solution for serving students in the North Heights neighborhood; and,

WHEREAS, numerous attempts to obtain a ruling from the OCR on this proposal have been unsuccessful to date, and there is a strong desire to end bussing on the part of community and the District and to create a neighborhood school with a new attendance zone that allows students in the North Heights neighborhood to attend the Carver schools and continue in the Palo Duro High School feeder pattern if they so choose.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of Amarillo Independent School District hereby dissolves the attendance zones in the North Heights area of Amarillo previously established as part of the District's Voluntary Desegregation Plan (as identified in Exhibit "A") and creates a new attendance zone (as identified in Exhibit "B") for George Washington Carver Elementary Academy and George Washington Carver Early Childhood Academy that will feed into Allen 6th Grade Campus, Mann Middle School and Palo Duro High School; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby allows students currently attending campuses to which they are assigned under the Plan to choose whether to remain in their current feeder pattern, with bussing provided, or attend school in the newly created Carver attendance zone and feeder pattern; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all students new to George Washington Carver Early Childhood Academy and George Washington Carver Elementary Academy or students entering school for the first time within the new attendance zone (see Exhibit "B") shall enroll in and attend school at George Washington Carver Early Childhood Academy, George Washington Carver Elementary Academy, Allen 6th Grade Campus, Mann Middle School, or Palo Duro High School, as appropriate; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the provisions set forth in this Resolution take effect beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, and the Superintendent is authorized to develop Administrative Regulations to further the purposes set forth in this Resolution.

Adopted this 22^nd day of January, 2024, by the Board of Trustees of the Amarillo Independent School District.

Doyle Corder, President
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees

Attest:

Susan Hoyl, Secretary
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees

AMARILLO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD OF TRUSTEES

RESOLUTION REGARDING
MECHANISMS THAT REDUCE PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING
AND THE LEGISLATURE’S DUTY TO SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN
TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 

STATE OF TEXAS

COUNTY OF POTTER

    
     WHEREAS, Article 7, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution recognizes that “the general diffusion of knowledge is essential to the preservation of liberties and rights of the people;”

     WHEREAS, Article 7, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution requires the Texas Legislature to “establish and to make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools;”

      WHEREAS, the Amarillo Independent School District’s Board of Trustees (“Board”) believes that public education is a critical contributor to quality of life;

      WHEREAS, the Board believes that competition is good for the overall quality of education, but asserts that competition must be on fair terms, particularly when competition receives state funding, including in the form of an education savings account plan, voucher or similar taxpayer-funded mechanism;

      WHEREAS, according to the 2023 Education Data Initiative and virtually all other publications, Texas ranks in the bottom ten states in the country and is at least $4,000 behind the national average in funding per student in public schools;

      WHEREAS, despite inflation and increased costs for Texas school districts, the Legislature has not increased average daily attendance funding for Texas schools since 2019;

     WHEREAS, during the most recent Legislative Session, the Legislature approved underfunded or unfunded mandates or obligations for Texas Public Schools, the most recent include House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 838 regarding safety, House Bill 1416 regarding accelerated instruction, House Bill 473 regarding threat assessment, Senate Bill 294/629 regarding rescue medication, House Bill 59 regarding student water safety, Senate Bill 2069 regarding signage, House Bill 3928 regarding dyslexia, House Bill 3033 regarding public information requests, and House Bill 471 regarding leave;

      WHEREAS, a taxpayer-funded education savings account or voucher program would cost the State of Texas billions and reduce the amount of state funds available for public schools; and for example, funding education savings accounts of $8,000 per year for the estimated 70,000 pre-kindergarten students currently choosing private or home school would cost the State $560 million in the first year and $7.3 billion over their 13-year school career. This does not take into account the other estimated one million current home school or private school students who could apply for an education savings account, let alone those who would use an education savings account to exit public schools;

      WHEREAS, the Amarillo Independent School District (“District”) provides a high-quality education to every student who lives within its boundaries, is eligible to attend and seeks an education at the District, including students with needs beyond those of their typically developing peers, despite underfunded and unfunded mandates from the State legislature and an increasing number of students with special needs;

      WHEREAS, the District received an accountability rating of “B” for 2021-2022, despite underfunded and unfunded mandates from the State Legislature and an increasing number of students with special needs;

      WHEREAS, the District had a graduation rate of 92.2% in 2022, and received an “A” in School Progress according to the State’s Accountability Ratings, despite underfunded and unfunded mandates from the State Legislature and an increasing number of students with special needs;

      WHEREAS, private schools in the State of Texas may choose to deny educational services to students for any variety of reasons, without consequence or oversight from the State;

      WHEREAS, private schools are not required to meet the same academic standards as public schools, nor are they required to report test results, graduation rates, and other performance measures to the public or parents whose children attend said private schools;

      WHEREAS, private schools are not required by law to have a Board of Directors or Trustees who are responsible for the oversight of the administration of private schools and, ultimately, the quality of education for children attending the private school;

      WHEREAS, the Board and District’s Administration believe parents are partners in their child’s education, and work diligently to involve parents in the District’s business and educational system; for example, Amarillo ISD recently customized the state-sponsored curriculum based on feedback and concerns expressed by local parents;

      WHEREAS, school choice already exists in Texas via public school districts, charter schools, inter- and intra-district transfers, home schools, virtual schools, and private schools;

      WHEREAS, the Amarillo ISD Board believes parents should have a choice in which school their child attends, as evidenced by its policy FDB(LOCAL), which directs: “Taking into consideration enrollment growth projections and other factors in accordance with this policy and administrative regulations, the Superintendent or designee shall establish available openings for intra-district transfers at each school for the upcoming school year”;

      WHEREAS, The District has been a district of choice for many years and has long proven to its parents and stakeholders that school choice is available, evidenced by the 5,855 students (20%) who currently choose to attend a school outside of their attendance zone for either programs or personal choice and the approximately 1,050 out-of-district students who choose to transfer into Amarillo ISD;

      WHEREAS, Texas parents who accept a voucher would lose out on a long list of important parental rights outlined in the Texas state education code and in federal law, especially the right to access full information concerning school activities of their child (as set forth in Texas Education Code § 26.008) and protections for students receiving special education services;

      NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees calls on the Texas Legislature to reject any diversion of taxpayer dollars to private entities in the form of education savings accounts and similar voucher arrangements, and further calls on the Texas Legislature to provide additional funding to school districts and fulfill its responsibility to support and maintain public schools as required by the Texas Constitution.

PASSED AND APPROVED on this 16th day of October, 2023.
 

Doyle Corder, President
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees

Attest:

Susan Hoyl, Secretary
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees