February 26, 2018 -- The Board recognized Nichole Bennett, curriculum assessment specialist at Caprock High School, and Kay Fincher, AP physics teacher at Amarillo High School, for their selection as state finalists for the 2017 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
In her Superintendent’s Report, Dr. West introduced State Board of Education Vice Chair Marty Rowley who discussed the SBOE’s long range plan for public education and efforts to streamline the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) state curriculum. In the context of current primary election issues, Dr. West also briefly discussed the funding per student in AISD and the impact on revenue when students transfer out to another district, transfer in to AISD from another district, or leave AISD for private or parochial schools, home school, charter schools, etc.
The Board instructed Administration to prepare a report, to be given at a future Board meeting, regarding school board election options including information about single-member district elections and cumulative voting. AISD has been under a cumulative voting system for electing trustees since 2000.
The Board also selected Southwest General Contractors for construction of the Caprock High School tennis center/sports complex at an estimated total cost of $4.5 million. The project is set to start on April 2, and is targeted to be complete by March 2019.
Trustees adopted several revised policies due to changes from the last legislative session, and they rejected all proposals for construction of the Bowie Middle School exterior renovation project since bids came in at almost twice the allotted budget for the project.
Trustees also approved expanding the North Heights Committee to include 11 parents and community members and 7 teachers and other educators. The committee has been working since March of 2017 to research and discuss options for serving students in the North Heights neighborhood.
Finally, the Board heard a report regarding the program overview and eligibility requirements for the proposed ACE Amarillo program and they approved the hiring of Kori Clements as the head volleyball coach at Amarillo High School.
Trustees accepted gifts and donations totaling $43,858.76, given to various schools this month from Pantex, Amarillo National Bank, Joey and Jennifer Hall and the Pioneer Natural Resources/Ayco Charitable Foundation, Sparkman Orthodontics and Dr. Kyle Sparkman, Diane Davis, Osgood-LaGrone Monument Co., Dr. Charles Hendrick, and Happy State Bank.
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