Changes in Personnel, Library Top LGISD Meeting

The La Grange ISD board of trustees held their monthly meeting June 19 and among the biggest news was a slew of school personnel changes, and a new way the school will evaluate library books.

Personnel

The following people were added to the LGISD staff for the 2023-24 school year: Phillip Brummett-elementary music teacher, Rachel Castillo-elementary pre-k teacher, Lora Cherry-high school science teacher, Ginger Cooper-high school science teacher/coach, Amanda Gommert-elementary assistant principal, Stetson Gommert-middle school PE teacher/coach, Sarah Janischelementary math teacher, Terri Prihoda-elementary resource teacher, Jamie Rhaeelementary reading teacher, Ashlyn Collier-middle school educational aide, Crystal Daniels-food service worker, Kelsie Hrbacek-middle school educational aide, Allison Mensching-elementary school educational aide, Kamryee Keilberg-elementary resource teacher.

Transferring positions are: Megan Compton from 5th grade math to 6th grade math, Tina Liccioni from 3rd grade science/social studies to 5th grade science, Sharon Novak-from elementary resource teacher to elementary life skills teacher, Maria Guevara-from middle school educational aide to elementary school educational aide.

Resigning from their positions at LGISD are: Alejandra Caldera-high school counselor, Taylor Gunn-elementary teacher, Tracy Hughett-elementary teacher, James Magness- middle school teacher/ coach, Christian Pitre-high school assistant band director, Christopher Pustka-high school teacher/coach, Courtney Tschatschula-elementary teacher, Ragan Watson-elementary teacher/coach, Evon Carter-middle school educational aide, Yeli Cerda-ESL intervention support paraprofessional, Hannah Farquahrelementary school educational aide, Kylie Mica-middle school educational aide/coach, Lisa Nichols-high school/middle school cafeteria.

Administrative Reports

Superintendent Andy McHazlett told the board that the enrollment at the end of the year was 1,740.75 students for average daily attendance (ADA.)

Some of the board members attended a summer leadership institute recently. They attended many informative sessions. One of the laws that is coming down from the state affects the library. They were told that there will be a rating system of all library books and a committee will determine that rating system. Part of the process will include that any book that has a rating with explicit content will be automatically pulled from the shelves. After that, if a company refuses to pull those books, they will be blacklisted, and schools will not be able to purchase from them.

This will apply to existing and new books. There will be more details at the next board meeting.

Assistant Superintendent Stacy Eilers gave a report of the numbers of students in each of the summer school programs. Camp Invention is currently going on at the elementary school. There are 29 students enrolled in Camp Summit, 19 students in the Kindercamp and First Grade Enrichment, 41 students in bilingual summer school, 2 students in special education summer school, 70 in 2nd-5th grade summer school, 50 in 6th-8th grade summer school, and 89 in high school.

Repairs

Many buildings in the district are in need of repair. The roof at the administration office was next on the list of needed repairs and bids were received to replace it. Five vendors attended at pre-bid walk through and three of those vendors submitted proposals. As per the RFP, bids were to include a quote for either membrane or metal roof with a 5% bond. The Roof Co. Waco submitted a bid for each: membrane - $54,980.79, metal - $54,998.37. They also included a price for the addition of new gutters and downspouts for $7,956 and removal and replacement of insulation for $11,771.99. Haworth Roofing & Seamless Gutters submitted a bid for a metal roof, including insulation and gutters for $64,850.00 but did not include a 5% bond. CR Systems Inc. submitted a bid for a membrane roof, including insulation and gutters for $100,875.78 and only a 2% bond.

The board voted to go with The Roof Co. Waco with the metal roof at a cost of $54,998.37 plus the add-ons of insulation of $11,771.99 and gutters and downspouts of $7,956 as they were the only vendor who completed the RFP as requested.

The money for this project will come from ESSER funds.

With most students gone in the summer, many maintenance activities are underway at La Grange ISD. Director of Operations, Sharon Muzny reported that the biggest project underway is the replacement of the HVAC units at the high school. There are some cleaning projects going on as well as more signage being put out around the campuses.

Health Services Report

Kari Willrich, La Grange Elementary School nurse, gave a report on the various services that were provided during the 2022-23 school year to the students of LGISD. These include 6,893 clinic visits, 8,536 daily medications distributed, and 974 as needed medications distributed. The school nursing staff also provided 937 procedural medical services this past school year. She also reported on the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) who met four times during the 2022-23 school year. SHAC reviews the materials and approves the health and sex education program as presented at the meetings.

Budget Amendments

The school’s fiscal year ends on Aug. 31. As the end of this year approaches, some transfers of funds are needed to better utilize them. Below is a list of the transfer amendments approved:

• Dr. Walker requested $1,200 moved from Counseling to Professional Development for three teachers to attend TEKSCON (TEKS Resource System Curriculum Conference.)

• Dr. Walker also requested $2,500 to be transferred from Professional Development to School Leadership so that three administrators could attend the TASSP (Texas Association of Secondary School Principals) conference.

• Ms. Head requested $2,200 moved from Professional Development to Instruction for materials.

• The final drawdown of ESSER II funds requires moving supplanted funds of $36,000 from General Administration to Facilities Maintenance and Operations for roof replacements.

• During preparation for the July interim audit visit, some cleanup of over-budgeted funds in School Transportation in the amount of $42,000 should be moved to Maintenance and Operations, again for roof repairs.

• Excess funds of $12,500 in Instructional Resources (Library) will also be moved to Maintenance and Operations for roof repairs.

Adult Meals at School

While the students at LGISD are able to receive both breakfast and lunch at no charge, any adults (both teachers and visiting parents) are charged. This past year the charge for breakfast was $3.25 for breakfast and $4.50 for lunch. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Adult Meal Calculator, LGISD should be charging $3.25 for breakfast and $5.00 for lunch. The board approved the increase of $.50 for the price of an adult lunch plate in the school cafeteria.

Change of Meeting Time The school board approved a change in the start time of the regular monthly meetings from 6:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. This change will begin with next month’s regular meeting on July 17.