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Seen and Heard at the January 2023 School Board Meeting


Posted Date: 02/01/2023

Seen and Heard at the January 2023 School Board Meeting

January 23, 2023 — After listening to several public comments, the January 23 School Board meeting got underway with performances by the Park Hills Elementary Honor Choir and the Palo Duro High School Show Choir in honor of School Board Recognition Month celebrated every January across Texas. 

The Board approved the selection of L. Wallace Construction as the contractor for a roof replacement project at Amarillo High School and Palo Duro High School for a total cost of $17,986,052.  The project will replace the roof and rooftop heating/air-conditioning units at Amarillo High and also the portion of the roof over the Old Main gymnasium and locker rooms at Palo Duro.

The Board also approved a contract amendment for Phase 2B of the shoring project at Austin Middle School.  Phase 2B will include site work to improve drainage and subfloor ventilation in the crawl space under the foundation of the building. Phase 1 and Phase 2B of the project, which are complete, consisted of shoring up a total of 32,000 square feet of the first floor due to moderate to severe corrosion of the steel structure supporting the building foundation.

In other business, the Board approved the official school calendar for 2023-2024 as recommended by the Districtwide Educational Advisory Council which also serves as AISD’s Calendar Committee. School will begin on August 15, 2023, and will end on May 24, 2024. Next year’s calendar is similar to this year’s and includes a full 3-week Christmas break for students (2 ½ weeks for staff) as well as student/staff holidays on Labor Day, Oct. 6, 3 days at Thanksgiving, Feb. 16, a week at Spring Break, and Good Friday. The 2023-24 calendar provides for 172 instructional days and meets all requirements for the number of minutes in a school year. The calendar also provides for 187 teacher contractual days.

Trustees approved the purchase of virtual reality equipment and software for middle and high school math and science classes.  This technology allows students to apply what they’re learning to the real world through a practical, hands-on approach.

The Board also called a School Board election on May 6, 2023, for the purpose of electing three members to the AISD School Board. The three positions up for election are four-year terms currently held by Kimberly Anderson, Alonzo Everhart, and Dick Ford. 

Finally, Trustees acknowledged gifts and donations in the amount of $5,200 given to schools this month from Matthew Harriger and Bang Bang Vapes & Smoke Shop.