Superintendent Quintin Shepherd provided the task force's findings, along with other key education updates from the Texas Legislature during a Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce event in March.
The details
The task force, made up of 65 parents, students, teachers and other community members, met nine times over the course of five months to create a list of findings and directions.
Shepherd said the findings are the "big overarching statements" indicating the general direction the district should go toward, while the directions provide a more "granular" look.
- Planning for the future: prepare students to discover their passions, develop core values and life skills, communicate effectively, and foster a sense of self worth and community.
- Student learning experiences: create an environment of connection and trust where teachers inspire and empower students to take risks, think critically, and embrace a growth mindset.
- Recruit, develop and retain teachers and staff: essential for fostering student achievement and growth.
- Community: collaboration between the district and community will help families and students foster a value for learning.
- Safety, belonging and mental/social wellness: foster a culture of safety and connection to ensure students and staff feel respected and engaged.
- Communication: transparent, proactive communication, active listening, and sharing students' work with the community.
- Finance: transparent and intentional financial planning to ensure equitable access to education.
- Facilities: monitor, review, and address facilities and infrastructure and integrate sustainable solutions.
Also of note
A few education bills have been discussed since the Texas Legislature convened in January.
The PfISD board of trustees adopted a list of priorities for legislators ahead of the session, including shifting public school funding from attendance-based to enrollment-based, increasing the basic allotment, increasing funding for safety mandates and fully funding special education.
Community Impact recently reported that legislators discussed House Bill 2, which proposes a $220 increase to the basic allotment. The basic allotment has not increased from $6,160 since 2019.
"You can reach out to our legislators and say that's not even close to being enough," Shepherd said. "$1,114—that's what we need just to keep up with the cost. This doesn't get us ahead; this just keeps us where we were."
Legislators also discussed House Bill 3, which includes a plan for a potential school voucher program.
However, the bill also includes safety mandates that require an armed police officer on each campus.
According to district officials, PfISD has had to divert funds from other areas such as instructional programs to meet these mandates, as state funding has lacked.
"They're talking about it [being] a significant increase; they're doubling the amounts," Shepherd said. "But when doubling the amounts are still less than half of what we need, it's just not good enough."
The district needs 20 additional police officers to meet HB3's requirements, which equates to about a $3 million cost to hire this many officers, including their individual salaries, vehicles, radios and other equipment.
Stay tuned
Shepherd said the structure of the district's monthly administration report, which provides updates on departmental projects, campus news and more, will be changing in the coming months.
"We are going to write our strategic plan as it relates to the findings and directions because we owe it to you as a community," Shepherd said. "The best way that you can do that is to look at the administration report and say, 'I see these are the findings and directions that lead to the strategic plan, and now I know what they're working on at the district office that is advancing that strategic plan or not.'"
