KISD approves ‘Vision’

Kerrville school district trustees held their last regular meeting of the 2021 fall semester on Monday night, approving an updated “Vision KISD,” appointing a new assistant principal at Starkey elementary, and voting to hire a contractor to build the district a new storage building to replace the old one at the former Peterson Middle School.

Design Build proposal

Under action items, trustees got a brief presentation from the superintendent on the administration’s latest building proposal, to construct a new storage facility for the district near the new Tivy Ag Barn on Spur 100.

Superintendent Dr. Mark Foust said the administration posted a “request for proposals” and received two.

Of those two, he said the one from JK Bernhard suited him and the project expectations best.

This “Design Build proposal” will cost about $850,000, he said, to get a building with electricity but no plumbing, and containing about 10,200 square feet.

It replaces one the district had at the old Hal Peterson Middle School, he said.

Trustees voted 5 to 1 and one abstention to approve this project.

Assistant principal,

Starkey ES

Foust announced that Starkey Elementary School is getting a new assistant principal as of January 2022.

She is Audrey Davila, and she will replace the former assistant principal who is moving into the district’s testing area, he said.

Trustees approved this new appointment by a 7-0 vote.

Recognition,

THS girls’ volleyball

Members of Tivy’s girls’ volleyball team were recognized by trustees at the start of the meeting, introduced by their coach.

Election Calendar report

Trustees received a calendar about the upcoming trustee election, saying for those who terms are going to expire, an election is held on the May uniform election date. This year that date will be Saturday, May 7, 2022.

This cycle, the single-member districts 6 and 7 of trustees David Sprouse, M.D.; and Mike Tackett will be up for election.

The first day to apply for a ballot by mail is Jan. 1. The first day to file for a place on the ballot will be Jan. 19; and the last day to file will be Feb. 18.

Early voting will begin April 25 and end May 3.

Vision KISD

Trustees approved as part of the Consent Agenda the “Kerrville ISD Vision KISD.” The subtitle of this list of overall goals says the district is “an educational leader in the heart of the Hill Country, inspiring all students to become lifelong learners and productive citizens.”

The vision statement says, “We value students first; personalized learning experiences; preparing students for the future; continuous learning and improvement for KISD; and sound fiscal management and aligned resources and goals.”

Under the “We believe …” column, it says:

• Students come first in KISD;

• Our employees are our district’s greatest asset and we are a family in KISD;

• KISD is a values-driven, data-informed organization;

• KISD fosters a positive environment for learning, teaching and for connecting with our community;

• Every student deserves the highest quality learning experiences;

• KISD inspires lifelong learning and a culture of continuous improvement for all students and staff;

• KISD is a destination district in our state for academics, athletics, fine arts and student programs.

The poster says Kerrville ISD “will provide students with engaging, rigorous, personalized (academic and character-building) learning experiences that meet individual student needs, foster student ownership of learning, and develop 21st century skills for lifelong learning.”

Other items address building a strong academic foundation; and identifying post-secondary pathways; and providing personalized support for college, career and military readiness through science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM); career and technology education (CTE); workforce certification, college credit; advanced placement; and other opportunities.

Other listed goals are about employees and fiscal management.

Superintendent

“performance goals”

A multi-section set of “Performance Goals” that outline what the trustees expect in the performance of Superintendent Mark Foust includes “Goal 4 – Recruit, develop, retain student-centered employees.”

The agenda Dec. 13 said, “KISD believes students come first in all decisions and our employees are our greatest asset. In recognition of the incredible efforts to accelerate instruction and rise to the continued challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the district will provide a mid-year retention stipend of $750 for all employees who will continue their employment into January 2022.”

This one-time stipend will be a separate payment that will be distributed to all employees this week, as the student and staff Christmas holiday starts after school Friday.

A letter also will be sent to each recipient from the trustees.

Some of the other performance goals include the directive that Foust will provide an annual report on certain topics to the board.

Academic Excellence

Committees

Trustees got a report from administration members on the district’s 2021-22 “Academic Excellence Committees,” of which KISD has seven. They each are made up staff members, led by principals and directors as co-chairs.

The committees each have different “concentrations,” including tools for learning; career and tech; the teacher incentive allotment; the LitGrit literacy plan; pre-advanced placement focus skills and advanced academics; algebraic thinking skills; and character development.

2021 Financial Audit

Each year school districts are required to hire a “certified public accountant” to perform an audit of the district’s annual financial statement. Eide Bailly, LLP, was hired to perform the audit for KISD’s year ending Aug. 31, 2021.

Kerrville trustees were told by a representative that the firm issued the district “a clean, unmodified report;” and they found no issues or findings to report.

The district’s assets decreased overall because of ongoing construction, they were told. But the more projects that got finished, their liabilities decreased, too.

The district’s payroll costs increased, mainly due to the stipends the trustees voted to give to teachers who returned to teach in the district again in 2021-22.

Overall their fund balance was reduced from $57.8 million to $30.5 million. But expenditures have decreased with less construction activity.

Revenue is measured in three parts – local revenue mainly from tax collections, $37 million; state funds, $14 million; and federal funds, $8.7 million.