Alongside legislative discussion, trustees also talked about long-term financial needs for the district.
What’s happening?
Multiple bills passed by the Texas Legislature must be implemented by Sept. 1.
Superintendent Kristin Craft said policies are planned to be brought to the board in August for approval.
Trustees discussed the following bills:
- HB 1522: Meeting agendas must be posted three business days in advance of the meeting
- SB 13: Allows parents to review library materials and requires the creation of a library council or committee
- SB 401: Requires the district to allow non-enrolled students to participate in extracurricular activities. School districts can opt out of this requirement
- HB 1481: Prohibits cell phones and smart watches while on school property during the school day
- SB 12: Board meetings must happen outside of typical work hours and prioritize public comments
- HB 3372: Prohibits administrators from receiving a financial benefit from businesses or other organizations
For cell phone legislation, the ban does not include devices provided by the school district, and exceptions can be made for students with a doctor's directive to comply with health or safety equipment or for students who have authorization to use devices.
While trustees have not decided on the process for prohibiting cell phones, staff is working on analyzing data from a community survey to determine the best course of action in complying with state requirements.
Looking ahead
One of the priorities moving into the next budget cycle is to make teacher and staff compensation more comparable to area districts.
From HB 2, which provides increased funding for teacher compensation, the district will pull in approximately $3.8 million, with $3.47 million allocated for teacher and support staff pay.
Even with the state increase, the district aims to stay competitive with other districts by increasing the tax rate and possibly pursuing a tax ratification election to pay staff more.
“We can’t have stellar student achievement without amazing teachers in our classroom,” Craft said.
Chief Financial and Operations Officer Wes Scott said BISD is the lowest funded district in the area when looking at funding per student.
Aside from staff compensation, the district will look at other long-term needs, including:
- Aging infrastructure
- Technology
- Maintenance fleet
- Transportation fleet
- Band instruments
- Athletic needs
- Classroom furniture replacement
- Significant annual maintenance projects
