As student enrollment in Tomball ISD steadily increases, a new state program may offer the district more flexibility in implementing certain state guidelines.

During the school board’s workshop meeting Aug. 8, Chief Academic Officer Martha Salazar-Zamora gave a presentation on making TISD a designated District of Innovation.

The District of Innovation concept gives traditional independent school districts more flexible guidelines that are traditionally only offered in charter-based schools. The program was passed during the 84th Legislative Session in House Bill 1842, according to the Texas Association of School Boards.

“It offers greater local control as the decision makers over the education and instructional model for students,” Salazar-Zamora said. “It offers increased freedom and flexibility, and empowerment to innovate and think differently.”

Salazar-Zamora said TISD focused on three sections of the program: modifying the academic calendar to address students’ needs; adjusting elementary class size ratios; and modifying teacher certification practices to allow more flexibility in who teaches curriculum.

“An example there might be a CTE teacher—somebody who is certified outside of education but has a very strong skill set in some type of career or technical education field,” she said. “An engineer who is not teacher-certified but has 25 years of field experience, [or] perhaps a sous chef or a chef who could teach culinary arts.”

Changes in the academic calendar or class sizes could occur at individual or at all campuses, Salazar-Zamora said. However, total mandated instruction time would remain unchanged.

To begin the program, the school board must pass a resolution to initiate the process, assemble a District Improvement Planning committee to determine how the program is implemented and hold a public hearing before the board votes to adopt the program plan, she said.

TISD Superintendent Huey Kinchen said district staff would like to see the process completed before the 2017 spring semester.

“We’d like to have to have done by December, if at all possible, so it gives us time in the spring to make recommendations,” he said. “Now that [the program] is available, it’s time to seize the moment.”

Should the district move forward with the program, committee meetings would begin this fall with implementation starting as soon as the 2017-18 school year. The program would last for a total of five years, Salazar-Zamora said.

Also during the workshop meeting, the district announced it will hold elections for three positions on the school board on Nov. 8.

Position 5 is a vacant position and Positions 6 and 7 are held by Sam Gregson and Lisa Nicholas, respectively. Each position serves a four-year term.

The deadline to apply for a place on the ballot is Aug. 22 at 5 p.m.