Christoval school board election is a six-horse race
By Andrew Atterbury, San Angelo Standard-Times, Texas | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Add 25 new students to the fray, and quarters become closer.
Couple the surge with revamped state curriculum requirements that came to fruition this fall, pushing for college and career readiness, and space in
"It's all hands on deck," said
On the
The remodeled board will face continued growth in the district while planning for the maintenance and expansion of their facilities on a tight budget, Walker said. They must get a bead on school finances and work on strategies to ensure CISD meets state requirements.
District enrollment is approximately 503 students, an increase of about 25 from the end of last school year. Two years ago the district reported a student population of 445.
Voters in 2013 turned down a
The bond would have increased the district's I&S tax rate to
District administration authorized
Faculty, staff and substitutes permitted to bear arms most recently practiced defensive and offensive tactics with the
As for the CISD square footage quandary, the district must be creative, Walker said.
With the passing of House Bill 5 in 2013, school districts are required to offer courses allowing students to graduate with at least one of five endorsements in business and industry, public services, arts and humanities, multidisciplinary studies or STEM -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A school district that offers only one endorsement curriculum must offer it in multidisciplinary studies, according to the
CISD elected to offer all five endorsements, adding more courses to the curriculum in home economics, statistics, business, career and technology -- even vocational classes like ag mechanics and animal science, Walker said.
"Our kids deserve the same opportunities as everyone else in the state," Walker said. "We are all competing for the same jobs."
Teachers are stationed in the library during the day because there are no classrooms available, blocking library use, Walker said. There's a shortage of science labs, he said.
The administration is looking at the cost of bringing in a portable building to ease the constraint, Walker said. The district will try to accomplish projects in little chunks before again asking taxpayers for help, he said.
There needs to be more public awareness of the inequities in school finance, so as a community,
In the meantime CISD will continue to stay resourceful and look at options like portable buildings and holding class in the library, Walker said.
"It takes everyone working together, not only advocating for our situation, but being creative as a community, to make
The six board candidates recently discussed their views on the issues facing the district.
State funding is the No. 1 issue in
The district wants to give students more opportunities but can't due to the current financial climate, she said.
CISD facilities are in need, so the future board must elect to install portable buildings or bite the bullet and present another bond, Cochran said.
People want to move to
The board must be the voice of the community, Cochran said. It needs to hear out what residents desire and get them more active in the process, she said.
"We kind of walk a fine line trying to balance taking care of the school's needs and the community's needs," Cochran said.
In her time on the board, Cochran said she has learned to question information and dig deeper into background material. This election is a great opportunity to get some fresh eyes on the board to look at things in a new way, she said.
A school board member's real job is to adopt and approve the district's budget, said
Taxpayers were overwhelmingly against the 2013 bond, he said, so CISD has to ensure the facilities it has are being maintained.
The board needs a facilities committee eyeing the district's immediate and long-term needs to be prepared when a bond is again called upon, Doering said.
Doering has hashed out budget issues at
"With my experience and background in education and training, I can be a be a benefit to the district and the community," Doering said.
Lynn dye
Tax dollars are only going to go so far in
The district must be fiscally responsible until the state education funding system is fixed, which won't happen overnight, he said.
Eventually,
How the district could fund a new school is the big question, Dye said.
As he grew up, Dye said, his educator mother showed him the importance of keeping children engaged in learning. He wants students at
"They've done a fantastic job providing an education to the children that go there, but I think it's going to be more challenging as the future comes to present," Dye said.
When nearly 75 percent of
Communication between the school board and the community needs to improve, said Moore, who works for a wind energy company. Often, Moore said, he is the only member of the public who attends board meetings.
He wants to open the dialogue in the community and get people talking about what's happening with the board, Moore said. The board's job is to represent the people who elected them, not voice their own opinions, he said.
As a property owner, Moore said he wants to be on the deciding end of how his tax dollars are spent.
Before moving his family to
"I'm hoping to bring a new perspective," Moore said. "If I get elected, the people voted for me not to voice my opinion, but to voice their opinions."
Shawn nanny
The facilities are maxed out, and a new science lab is desperately needed, Nanny said. The ag shop needs to be brought up to par, as does the crumbling athletic track surface and a water drainage issue on the football fields, he said.
Portable buildings could ease the space tension in classrooms, Nanny said.
"We're studying all of our options right now to do what's best," Nanny said. "We don't want to throw money into the wind. It's a balancing act trying to do the best for the school and the taxpayers."
If Nanny could do one thing as a school board member, he said he would get the community to attend more meetings. The district has tried several avenues to draw a crowd at meetings, but nothing seems to work until it comes to spending money, he said.
Nanny said he thought the CISD board was moving in a good direction when he decided to run and wanted to hop onboard. The board is gaining momentum, and he wants to continue making it better, Nanny said.
Hopefully, the new board members can get their circle of friends involved in local education and keep that momentum going, Nanny said.
Drew workman
More students are arriving at
The school board should hold students as their No. 1 priority and do what they can to make schools better to acclimate the kids, Workman said. The addition of at least two new board members should shake some things up and bring new ideas to the table, he said.
Workman attempted to see the benefits of the 2013 bond but said it just wasn't worth what CISD was asking of taxpayers. If the new board can rehash some of the specifics, Workman thinks it's possible to pitch a bond the community and school can agree upon.
Through the
"I will do anything to help out the community and these kids," Workman said. "My family is directly involved in it, so if I can make it better, why not?"
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