The Dripping Springs ISD board of trustees discussed next steps for the selection process of the district’s new bond advisory committee at a Jan. 20 agenda review meeting. The bond advisory committee will be a new group in the district, composed of parents and community members who will provide oversight to activities of the district’s 2018 construction bond.

Superintendent Todd Washburn began the discussion by announcing that the period for applications to the committee had closed, and that the board now has 52 applications to consider. According to Washburn, the representation of the district’s four elementary school zones (Dripping Springs Elementary, Rooster Springs Elementary, Sycamore Springs Elementary and Walnut Springs Elementary) presented by the application pool was “as near equal as you could possibly get.” He said that final selections should include the same diversity.

Based on guidelines designed by Washburn’s predecessor, interim superintendent Nola Wellman, the committee will include 9 members, along with 2 alternates. The board decided at the Jan. 20 agenda review that the trustees will each rank their top 11 applicants. Washburn will analyze the data from the trustees’ rankings and present a report to the board by Jan. 30, he said, which is the date of the entity’s next meeting. At that point, the board will discuss if another round of consideration is warranted.

Once appointed, the committee will hold quarterly meetings and present recommendations to the board biannually.