When Lake Travis ISD board of trustees met Tuesday night, they recognized three individuals for their contributions to the district and revealed the district’s financial integrity rating system of Texas results.
1. Ed Wooten gets a sendoff
Longtime district administrator Ed Wooten will leave his post with LTISD on Sept. 25 to become executive director for procurement services for Dallas ISD.
“We are very sorry to see you go,” Superintendent Brad Lancaster told Wooten at the meeting. “I’ve been here six years and there’s nothing Ed Wooten can’t do, and there is nothing he is not willing to do.”
Wooten has served as LTISD’s director of purchasing since 2008 and helped the district create its distribution and transportation center, said Johnny Hill, LTISD’s assistant superintendent of business, financial and auxiliary services.
Wooten also had a hand in negotiations regarding employee benefits, food services, furniture, maintenance and operations, technology, and transportation.
“When I [came] to the district nine years ago, Mr. Wooten and I shared an office space and I had an opportunity to get to know him very well,” Hill said. “I can tell you that, without a doubt, he has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever been around, and I will miss him terribly.”
Wooten said the distribution and transportation center were nothing but “dirt and a concept” when he joined the district.
“I got to design the inside of the distribution center and get everything ready,” he said. "Now we look to expand it in the next bond, and I regret not being here [to see it come to fruition].”
2. Stand Up for Texas Public Schools
The board recognized Sonesta Bee Cave hotel and Xceleration Sports Performance Lab through the Stand Up for Texas Public Schools campaign. Eric Winbush and Matthew Neal represented both groups respectively at the meeting.
Started by the Texas Association of School Boards, the campaign encourages districts to honor businesses and other community organizations that get involved with and support local school districts, said Kevin Claypool, LTISD director of development and corporate relations.
“Their partnership with the district and contributions and generosity to the students and staff of the Lake Travis Independent School District are unparalleled and are to be modeled by other business partners in the community,” Claypool said.
3. District receives superior FIRST rating
LTISD received a score of 96 out of 100 from the financial integrity rating system of Texas, or FIRST, resulting in a superior distinction. Districts must receive a score of 60 or higher to pass, Hill said.
The formula uses 15 indicators to grade districts based on financial management and LTISD lost points because paying off bond debt early is considered a liability, Hill said.
“In my opinion we should get bonus points because we’re paying our debt early,” Lancaster said, “For districts like ours who are extremely fast growth, we have rising property values that allow us to pay it off early."