Seen and Heard at the December 2018 School Board Meeting

Posted Date: 06/03/2020

December 17, 2018- After discussing a presentation from Board Vice President John Ben Blanchard and after listening to several favorable comments from citizens during a public hearing, the Board voted to submit a plan to the Office of Civil Rights that proposes a resolution to the long-standing issue of a neighborhood school in the North Heights area of Amarillo.

The plan, which was developed by a committee of parents, citizens, staff and school board members, provides elementary students living in the Carver Attendance Zone (North Heights area) a choice of attending Carver Early Childhood Academy (pre-k through first grades) or Carver Elementary Academy (2^nd through 5^th grades) or they may continue attending the campus to which they are assigned under the current OCR desegregation plan.  A third option is to apply for a transfer if a student in this attendance zone wishes to attend a different AISD school.  Then, before the end of their 4^th grade year, students living in the Carver Attendance Zone will select the AISD middle/high school feeder pattern of their choice for 6^th – 12^th grades. 

In other business, the Board approved design plans for a bond construction package, totaling $9,617,311, that includes plumbing and sewer line work, site drainage improvements and installation of bullet resistant glass in exterior doors at Bonham Middle School and Paramount Terrace, Puckett, Ridgecrest, Sleepy Hollow, Western Plateau and Windsor elementary schools.  This project will also include improvements to student drop-off areas at Bonham, Sleepy Hollow, Western Plateau and Windsor, as well as a six-classroom addition and enlarged music room at Sleepy Hollow.

Trustees also approved construction documents and authorized the bidding process to begin for a $15,029,775 package of bond projects at Amarillo and Tascosa high schools and Coronado and Lee elementary schools.  This work includes auditorium and restroom renovations, locker room shower/restroom upgrades, plumbing/sewer line replacement and site drainage improvements at the two high schools.  It also includes plumbing/sewer line replacement, site drainage improvements, restroom renovations and window improvements, in addition to bullet resistant glass installation, at the two elementary schools.

The Board also took action to add replacement of the two elevators at the Rod Schroder Education Support Center to a previously-approved contract to replace elevators at Dick Bivins Stadium and the district-owned Park West Office Center.    

Finally, the Board expressed appreciation for $11,489.95 worth of gifts and donations given to schools this month from Mr. and Mrs. Matt Singleton, the Amarillo Association of Realtors, Education Credit Union, Triangle Realty and the Panhandle Restaurant Association.