It was a night of recognition and celebration at Monday's Whitesboro school board meeting.
With January being School Board Appreciation Month, the night began at 5 p.m. at the Whitesboro Intermediate School cafeteria where the school district hosted an appreciation dinner.
The guests of honor included school board members, principals, assistant principals, central office staff and their spouses.
The Whitesboro ISD Food Service team prepared a special meal of fajitas, chips and queso, shrimp and chocolate molten lava cake. Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA) members served the attendees and each campus provided a gift for the board members.
Following a nearly 90-minute executive session, the board meeting began at the Hayes Primary School cafeteria with the recognition of the Whitesboro High School Marching Band.
For the fifth consecutive year, the pride of Whitesboro advanced to the State marching contest in San Antonio last November. Out of 233 3-A schools, they placed 5th in the state.
“It was a great year by the band,” Superintendent Ryan Harper said before turning over the spotlight to Director of Bands Jesse Speer. “We’re extremely proud of their 5th place finish at State.”
Speer introduced each student, who came forward to accept a certificate of recognition and shake the hands of each school board trustee.
“Thank you for supporting the band program,” Jesse told the audience. “Thank you for giving these kids a home in the Fine Arts department. The school board always makes sure these kids feel supported.”
Recognitions continued with December Employee and Teacher of the Month for each campus. The high school employee of the month is Sara Hamon and teacher of the month is Casey Monk. The middle school employee of the month is Bree Hendry and teacher of the month is Hannah Ferguson. The intermediate school employee of the month is Debbie Brule and the teacher of the month is Ashley Calderon. The Hayes Primary School employee of the month is Cindy Ortiz and the teacher of the month is Andrea Turnbow. Each of these honorees received a golf umbrella and a handshake from the board trustees.
A representative from the Whitesboro Education Foundation addressed the board, thanking them for their service to the community. She also announced the organization’s upcoming winter gala, “Denim and Diamonds,” a fundraiser scheduled for Feb. 8. The group is looking for volunteers but is also hoping to sell tickets to their event. Contact Amy Pirtle at Whitesboro Intermediate School for more information.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Prock conducted a brief public hearing regarding WISD’s Financial Rating System of Texas (F.I.R.S.T.) results. Based on 20 indicators to determine a district’s fiscal standing, Whitesboro earned an “A” and scored a 100. This means Whitesboro is deemed in good financial standing. The board voted unanimously to accept the report.
The bulk of Monday’s meeting focused on updates regarding the bond project design development. Since the last meeting, a few changes have been made to the campus site plan, including the addition of a fire lane loop around the middle school, new parking lots and spaces and street changes that would allow for four entrances/exits at the high school to help relieve traffic congestion.
In a detailed presentation, representatives from WRA Architects reviewed updated renderings and current financial expectations. These representatives explained that, as conversations pinpointing specific needs have come more into focus, financials have had to be adjusted.
While the Prop B project is coming in “right on the money” regarding budget, scope creep has caused Prop A projects to (at this stage in the design process) exceed the budget by $7.8 million.
“The more conversations we’ve had, the more we’re seeing what actual needs you have,” WRA partner Mary O’Brien said. “We’ve added more classrooms, made some spaces larger, and all of that affects the bottom line.”
Representatives from Gallagher Construction explained that the numbers presented to the board were not estimates, but budgets.
“The numbers are based on contractor feedback, square footage and similar projects being done today,” they said. “Once we get bids we’ll see what the numbers really look like.”
Bid date for these projects is April 1. The school board expects to receive exact numbers from the architect and construction firms on April 14, with a budget-item workshop before that.
The school board voted to approve the pre-bid construction budget, enabling the design firm to move forward with design and prepare a more finalized presentation for a future meeting.
The last big item on the agenda was to decide whether to renew Superintendent Harper’s contract, a discussion that was held in executive session. About an hour later, the board returned to open session and approved the renewal.
A special audit meeting was scheduled for Friday, Jan. 17 at 12 p.m. Originally planned for the week before, it had to be rescheduled due to the bad weather. The plan was to hear recent audit information, but now this meeting will also include the Superintendent’s evaluation. This meeting will be held in the WISD Board Room at 117 Fourth Street. Executive session is closed but the remainder of the meeting is open to the public.
