Whitesboro ISD Police Chief Aaron Scott swore in a new reserve officer for the school district at Monday’s school board meeting. Officer Tim Stebbins joins the team, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience.
“It’s an honor to protect the children of this community,” Stebbins said.
Also during the meeting, the board recognized the following Teachers and Employees of the Month:
WHS: Teacher of the Month Cameron Claman; Employee of the Month Gracie Villa
WMS: Teacher of the Month Tony Morrell; Employee of the Month Susan Bowley
WIS: Teacher of the Month Angela Barnard; Employee of the Month Kayla Garrett
HPS: Teacher of the Month Justinia Lunsford; Employee of the Month Lenet Gonzalez
Each school’s principal read quotes from the nomination forms that earned their respective staff members their recognition and the school board presented golf umbrellas to each individual.
Representatives from WRA Architects presented updates regarding design elements and plans for the bond projects. Their team is reaching the end of design development, and based on some budget-focused conversations, they had made several changes to the original schematics, which they wanted to share with the board.
Some changes were small, such as flipping a few room locations within the Early Childhood Center to help with traffic flow. Some rooms in the High School Auditorium were moved to avoid acoustic problems.
Some changes were met with raised eyebrows, including removing the black box in the auditorium to “cut substantial square footage” to keep the project at budget. The pickle ball court in the Multipurpose Center has been removed to allow for a 3,500 square foot weight room and the entire second floor (planned for professional development) has been removed. This will save money on things like elevator and circulation, WRA said.
Many changes could be seen in the Ag Building schematics. The ceiling height has been reduced; covered parking has been removed; half of the cattle pens will no longer be covered; and the building has been reduced by 3,000 square feet. Nonetheless, it will still be able to hold 10-20 cattle, 10 goats, 33 hogs and three wash basins.
When the architects shared the cost summary, the board members began to ask questions.
According to the cost summary presented, Prop A total cost is currently nearly $10 million over budget and Prop B total cost is more than $13 million over budget.
“I’m frustrated by how far off the price is. How are these numbers so far off?” board member Aaron Park asked.
WRA representatives explained that at the beginning of the planning phase, they encouraged everyone to dream big. Then, as the reality of budget came into focus, they had to begin scaling back. They also cited cost of supplies being a factor.
However, one of the biggest reasons given for the deviation was the cost of streets.
“The scope of roadwork is drastically bigger than I ever put a number to,” the WRA budget representative said.
WRA assured that this is all part of the planning and design process and they’re confident they can get the numbers to meet the originally proposed budget. Soon after, the board approved a contract with WRA Architects.
During delegations, one community member asked to address the board. Jennifer Magnum, whose son is in 8th grade, wanted to address some things she’d learned about the district’s AEP (Alternative Education Provision).
AEP is a learning environment created for students who have been prohibited from mainstream educational settings, often as a result of behavioral or disciplinary issues.
Magnum’s son had been assigned to AEP after making what she said was a “dumb comment at school.” After speaking with Superintendent Ryan Harper, who acknowledges the program “isn’t perfect,” Magnum began looking into best practices and questioning Whitesboro’s approach to the program. She wanted to share some of the information she had learned with the school board in the hopes of finding ways to improve the program.
“My son was questioned by himself without other adults present,” she said. “An unhinged attorney told me this was ‘trampling on a juvenile’s rights.’ So maybe this is not the best practice moving forward.”
She also mentioned concerns regarding a timeframe (or lack thereof) for the program.
“A Scouts parent told me her son had been in AEP and was supposed to be there for 90 days. He served two weeks. His mom didn’t appeal it, he was just dismissed. This erodes public confidence,” Magnum said.
She had even deeper concerns, sharing the things her son had learned since being sent to AEP.
“My son has learned the best way to sneak a vape into school. He now knows the best places to hide it. He’s learned how to hide nicotine packets in his mouth. He’s learned to scale fences while running from the police,” she said. “So maybe it would be a good idea to separate the high school and middle school students.”
Beyond thanking her for sharing this information, the board was not able to address or respond.
