Round Rock ISD year in review
• In June the board of trustees unanimously adopted a $374 million budget for the 2015-16 school year—a $12.7 million increase in revenue from the prior year’s budget. The revenue increase is largely because of $9 million in additional funding from the state and an increase in tax revenue from properties in the district, RRISD’s Chief Financial Officer Randy Staats said. RRISD had an increase of more than 650 students in the 2015-16 year.
• In June the board adopted a Freeport Tax exemption. Before the exemption, RRISD applied the tax to companies with inventory that was brought into Texas for manufacturing and exported out of the state within 175 days. The exemption could draw more manufacturers into the area and boost the local economy.
• In May the board adopted its strategic plan designed to spur innovation in schools and programs in the next five to 10 years. The district will implement several action items from the plan in the 2015-16 school year, such as increasing student access to technology, creating programs to encourage students to use technology and developing programs to get parents involved in technology. Other action items in the plan aim to identify disparities in academic achievement and eliminate those disparities. To read the entire plan, visit www.roundrockisd.org/strategicplanning.
• In November the Round Rock ISD board of trustees swore in newly elected trustees Suzi David, Place 5, and Nikki Gonzalez, Place 1.
Austin ISD year in review
• The board approved a $1.2 billion budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year Aug. 31. The budget includes a 3 percent salary increase for all full- and part-time employees, costing the district $14.7 million.
• On June 24 the district, Austin Interfaith and AT&T announced the creation of the High School Youth Leadership Development Program to give at-risk students at Crockett, Lanier and Travis high schools a greater chance to graduate and gain work experience. The program will begin in summer 2016 and will offer internships to students who are at risk of not graduating from high school.
• The board unanimously voted Jan. 26 to name Paul Cruz as superintendent, making him the first Latino to hold the post in AISD. Cruz replaces former Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, who left in April 2014 to lead Atlanta Public Schools.
• Jaime D. Padron Elementary School opened in August 2014 on a retrofitted campus to help alleviate overcrowding in North Austin schools.
Pflugerville ISD year in review
• On May 7, Westview Middle School Principal Kermit Ward was named the new principal at John B. Connally High School for the 2015-16 school year. Ward replaces CHS Principal Daniel Garcia, who is now principal at Hendrickson High School.
• In May, Parmer Lane Elementary School was named as both a high-performing and high-progress Title I school for 2014-15 based on the campus’s STAAR reading and math scores from that school year. The Texas Education Agency identified about 400 campuses throughout the state as high-performing or high-progress.
• The board approved a pay increase for all district staff as well as 73 new positions at its April 23 meeting. Employees on the step schedule will receive a raise based on 2 percent of the market median pay for their position. Employees not on the step schedule will receive a 2 percent increase based on their position’s midpoint, or the middle of the range of possible salaries for the position.
• Several Connally High School students screened their senior project, “True Beef: From Pasture to Plate,” on March 10 during the 2015 South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. The documentary, directed by Austin filmmaker David Barrow, follows the PfISD students as they learn about beef production.
