On Nov. 12, the Pearland ISD Board of Trustees met to discuss potential renaming decisions for the district and approve teacher incentive payment for 2018-2019 STAAR, CTE and AP.

Trustees had previously talked about creating a cap for incentive payments, which Board President Charles Gooden said had originally been discussed because the district was looking at a multi-million dollar deficit.

The board approved the full amount that would have been earned by teachers without a cap for both AP and CTE, and above the discussed cap for STAAR. The total approved incentive pay is about $2.8 million.

Pearland High School principal John Palombo spoke to the board about suggestions for renaming projects throughout the district.

“It was a fun committee, looking at all the aspects and impacts that names have,” Palombo said. “There was a fair bit of support for renaming the Pearland Stadium to Pearland ISD Stadium, and no support at all for renaming Pearland High School.”

After hearing the recommendations, the board approved the naming of a building at Pearland High School after Garland “Preston” Bullard, who served as PISD superintendent for 15 years and passed away in 2018.

For another agenda item, Pearland Junior High West’s principal Dana Miles presented to the board about the progress of the Culturally Responsive Council. The group's mission is to be proactive and create a path for the district to move forward in a positive way when it comes to conversations about race and restorative practices, Miles said.

“We feel that restorative is the way we need to be thinking,” Miles said. “We believe that Pearland is moving forward, making great strides, but as diversity changes, as we have an influx of people joining our district, we have to be able to meet them where they are.”