LG School Board Declares ‘Good Cause Exception’ to Security Requirements

In Tuesday’s paper we covered the wide-ranging discussion that took place during the public comment period at the La Grange I.S.D. School Board meeting on June 10. Here’s a roundup of some other items from that meeting.

School Resource Officers 

The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3 this school year which requires one armed security officer for each campus. Currently LGISD contracts with the City of La Grange to provide two school resource officers to cover the three campuses. The La Grange Police Chief, David Gilbreath, has stated that he is unable to provide any more officers to LGISD to meet this requirement due to officer shortages. The board adopted a resolution to declare a good cause exception for the requirement of three armed security officers. Superintendent Andy McHazlett stated, “While our middle school and high school are considered two campuses, they are housed under the same roof. When you consider the response time at a large high school, getting from one end of the building to the other, our response time (from the middle school to the high school) is much shorter because it is simply one door separating the campuses.”

Athletic Program Update 

Athletic Director Kyle Cooper spoke to the board about current activities and future plans for the program. He told the board that the student athletes are participating in many activities this summer. Some that he mentioned were 7 on 7 football, spring and summer volleyball, girls and boys summer basketball, summer track through the Optimist Club, and summer strength and conditioning. He said he wants to put an emphasis on culture and character, and that starts with relationships. He is focusing on building programs, not teams.

School Health Services Report McHazlett gave the annual report of school health services and the school health advisory council (SHAC). Here are some highlights from the 2023-24 school year:

• The SHAC committee met twice in the 2023-24 school year – once in October and once in April. Their purpose is review the materials used in the district’s health and sex education program.

• Areport was given on the number of students serviced by the school nurses. There were a total of 6,000 clinic visits, 7,478 medications dispensed (daily medications for students throughout the year,) and 995 as needed medications dispensed.

• The school counselors and health care personnel were responsible for teaching the students about mental health and physical health throughout the year.

Adult Meal Prices 

After applying the cost of meals to the adult meal calculator provided by the Texas Department of Agriculture, it was determined that the cost of adult meals at LGISD will remain $3.25 for breakfast and $5 for lunch. Students will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch, and pay for snacks and seconds.