May 13, 2024 — The May School Board meeting began with recognizing the Palo Duro High School Don Diamond Dancers and the Amarillo High School Sandie Steppers who both were named National Champions in the American Dance and Drill Team National Competition. Recognitions were also given to Adam Burlison at Amarillo High for achieving gold and silver medals at the State track meet and to the 2024 National Merit Scholars Finalists Garret Saied and Allison Wu, Semi-finalists Nathaniel Wright, and Commended Students Adam Bursi, Luke Lusby, Pranav Nambiar, and Jordan Howard. Principals from each high school then continued with the annual tradition of reading a list of regional, state, and national athletic, academic, or fine arts winning students and teams in 2023-2024.
Trustees continued with the meeting and held a public hearing on the 2024-2025 school district budget. The Board heard an overview on the proposed district budget and employee compensation plan from Chief Human Resources Officer Chris Tatum and Chief Financial Officer Daniel West. Next year’s budget and employee compensation plan are scheduled to be adopted at a Special Board Meeting on May 20, 2024 at 12 p.m.
At the recommendation of AISD’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), the Board approved Worth the Wait, an abstinence-based education and decision-making program, as the District’s human sexuality program. Worth the Wait is presented by trained educators to all 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in AISD and has been in use in the District since 2004. The Board also approved adding Team Sport Officiating as an innovative course at the high school level to teach students to become referees, allowing them to officiate District middle school volleyball and basketball games and earn a wage.
In other business, Trustees approved an opportunity to refund bonds to take advantage of market conditions, saving the District an estimated $2.4 million over the life of previously issued school bonds. In keeping with a Board and District priority of safety and security, Trustees approved contractors for upcoming projects at AISD. Hellas Construction, Inc. was approved as the contractor for the project to replace decade-old field turfs at all four high schools, and Advantage USAA, Inc. was approved as the contractor for the project to replace roofs at Bonham Middle School and Windsor Elementary.
Finally, Trustees acknowledged gifts and donations totaling $10,255.60, given to various schools from Amarillo National Bank, Border States Electric, FirstBank Southwest, Trailer Services of West Texas, Estate of C.R. Cap Chesser, Gene Bitner, Ridgecrest PTO, School Nurse Supply, Jason’s Deli, Woodlands PTO, Julie Landry, United Market Street, Amarillo Power Church, Access Credit Union, The Blackbaud Giving Fund, Scotts Flowers, Freeman’s Flowers, and Bahama Bucks.
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