January 21, 2020 - The Oath of Office was administered to new Board member Doyle Corder Jr.  Mr. Corder, who is a minister at Southwest Church of Christ, was appointed to serve an unexpired term on the Board.  He will serve at least until May 2021, when the trustee position will be up for re-election.

Students from Eastridge Elementary School presented a shortened version of their annual Multi-cultural Celebration which was held in December.  The students also brought food items representative of their native countries for trustees to enjoy.  

The Board approved the AISD Calendar Committee’s recommendation for the 2020-2021 official school calendar.  Next year’s calendar is similar to this year’s, with 176 student instructional days and 187 teacher contract days.  School will start on Thursday, August 20, 2020, and will end on Friday, May 28, 2021.  The Calendar Committee (which is also the Districtwide Educational Advisory Council) is composed of elected teachers and District support staff, as well as parent, community and business representatives.  Watch the A.I.S.D. website (ABOUT AISD tab) for the 2020-2021 School Calendar to be posted soon.

The Board authorized District administration to negotiate a contract with Southwest General Contractors to serve as the Construction Manager-at-Risk for the renovation of the former Hastings building on Plains Blvd. into a new career and technical education (CTE) center.  The construction manager will join architects, AISD staff and industry and higher education advisors who are working on the preliminary design phase of the multi-faceted career center/academy, set to open in the 2021-2022 school year. 

Trustees approved the purchase of new seating for auditorium renovations at Caprock High School and they approved the first phase - schematic design drawings - for a 2017 Bond project at North Heights Alternative School and Wolflin Elementary School.  At North Heights, improvements will be made to drop-off areas, plumbing and sewer lines and site drainage.  The school will also get some additional parking.  The project at Wolflin Elementary will be similar to bond projects at other AISD elementary schools with bullet-resistant glass installation, as well as site drainage improvements and an improved drop-off area.

Trustees also approved the second phase of the design process for $10.8 million worth of bond projects at 12 schools including Austin, Crockett and de Zavala middle schools and Avondale, Belmar, Bivins, Glenwood, Oak Dale, Pleasant Valley, San Jacinto, South Georgia and Woodlands elementary schools.  In one of the last of the construction packages approved in A.I.S.D.’s 2017 $100 million bond election, all these campuses will receive bullet-resistant glass at main entrances as well as site drainage improvements.  Several will get necessary plumbing/sewer upgrades and Austin and Crockett middle schools will also receive restroom renovations and locker room shower/restroom renovations.

The Board accepted gifts and donations totaling $23,937.03, given to various schools this month from the Amarillo Association of Realtors, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, Love Family Affiliated Fund (Love’s Country Store), Betty Foster, First United Bank, Jon Winsette, CNS Pantex Plant, Marci Freidberg, and the Mann Middle School Alumni Association.