LGISD Updates on Enrollment, Personnel, Etc. From Recent Board Meeting
In Friday’s edition we had some coverage from last week’s LGISD school board meeting. Here’s more: Administrative Reports
Superintendent Andy McHazlett reported that the current enrollment is 1,875. He anticipates that number to go up after Labor Day.
Assistant Superintendent Stacy Eilers told the board that the in-service meetings and open houses held prior to the start of the school year had been well-received.
Director of Operations Sharon Muzny stated that the maintenance team was whittling down the list of maintenance projects. She also told the board that there are currently 1,076 students registered to ride the buses. She added that there are 17 morning routes and 16 afternoon routes. There are also 2 midday routes.
Gifted and Talented Update
Tenielle Adamcik presented a report on the district gifted and talented program. The program is called LEAP which stands for Learning Experience for Academic Performance. She told the board of the benefits the students receive from attending the program daily as compared to the weekly program that used to be in place for the younger students. She also reminded the board that kindergarten students nominations are taken October – November 15 and the first grade and up are taken January 1-February 1.
New Library Purchase Request
The board was presented a list of 75 books for potential purchase at the Aug. 26 meeting. The board has 30 days in which to review those books to determine if there is a reason to hold the purchase of any of those on the list. If there is no objection raised at the end of the 30-day period, all 75 books will be purchased.
2023-2024 Budget Amendments
The final amended budget for the 2023-2024 school year was presented and approved at the meeting last week. These amendments are necessary to appropriately adjust and balance the accounts of the school district. The recommended amendments are calculated to cover final expenditures during the remainder of the final month of the fiscal year.
2024-2025 Budget and Tax Rate
After multiple budget workshops and a public hearing on Aug. 19, the 20242025 budget was adopted and subsequently the tax rate was approved to support that budget at last week’s meeting. The proposed tax rate of $0.8036/$100 value is made up of a $0.6969 maintenance and operations and a $0.1067 interest and sinking.
The property tax rate reflects a 1.44% decrease in the tax rate.
Agreement to Purchase Attendance Credit
La Grange ISD received official notification from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in July of local revenue level in excess of entitlement for the 2024-2025 school year. This is a routine letter that LGISD has received nearly every year. Based on reports from the last 14 years, LGISD has not paid any funds back to the State as recapture. However, if the district sees a a material drop in WADA (weighted average daily attendance), they will owe funds back to the State. The state allows for an agreement to be submitted to TEA to allow the district to purchase attendance credits if there is a material drop in WADA so that these funds do not have to be paid back.
MicroPurchase Threshold The board approved a motion that allows the superintendent to make purchases that do not exceed $49,999.99 for the district without prior board approval. Anything over that amount will need board approval before purchase.
Threat Assessment Team The district has established a threat assessment team to serve at each campus. The threat assessment team’s job is to assess and report individuals who make threats of violence or exhibit harmful, threatening, or violent behavior and to gather and analyze data to determine the level of risk and appropriate intervention. The team serves as a safety net for the community and the school.
The members of the team are chosen for their different levels of expertise. The members include:
• Counseling – Charlee Hernandez, Molly Adams, and Shelly Hajek
• Behavioral Management – Nathan Truex, Blake Dooley, Amanda Gommert, and Ramona Glisson
• Mental Health and Substance Abuse – Katie Gross and Kelsey Ghromcak-Hilscher • Classroom Instruction/ Special Education – Stacy Eilers • School Administration – Andy McHazlett
• School Safety and Security – Sharon Muzny
• Emergency Management – Angela Hahn
• Law Enforcement – Curtis Zwahr and Jeff Archerd
• Technology – David Bennett
• Special Education – Rhea Wagner
Personnel
There were several new staff members announced at the August board meeting. They include: Jennifer Mendez- 1st grade teacher; Bailey Rangel-3rd grade math/science/ social studies; Gloria Sanchez-3rd grade English/ language arts/reading/social studies; Amaris White-speech language pathologist assistant; Donna Williamson-elementary special education; Emma Anderson-after school care counselor; Sophia Bellue-after school care counselor; Garit Carrico-food service worker; Emireth Cerda-after school care counselor; Louchin Chihigh school educational aide (AEP); Shelby Cook-middle school nurse; Jordan Dentonhigh school educational aide; Ashley Eldridge-high school educational aide; Makayla Bain-elementary school educational aide; Mayra Lopezfood service worker; Monica Mangum-elementary school educational aide; Lakyn McLelland-after school care counselor; Margarita Rodriguez- elementary school educational aide; and Maria Tavarez de Garcia-food service worker.
Sara Nichols transferred from 3rd grade teacher to 5th grade teacher. Ruben Gonzalez transferred from food service worker to food service manager in training.
Resignations were received from the following: Kyler Buzek-high school educational aide; Crystal Danielsfood service worker; Mary Lou Goehring-food service; Janine Grimes-food service manager in training; Ryder Kallus-maintenance worker; Jesus Martinez-elementary school educational aide; and Robyn Weyand-elementary school educational aide.