June 13, 2022, Board Meeting
At its June regular monthly meeting, the Board heard a report from Superintendent Doug Loomis regarding
plans for enhancements to school safety and security. Mr. Loomis reported that the District has been
consulting with security experts regarding a layered deter, delay and defend approach to keep staff and
students safe, including but not limited to perimeter fences, access control locks on classroom doors, PA
systems and telephones in all classrooms, controlled access points to school buildings, installation of air-
conditioning in elementary gyms, additional school resource officers, and hardening of windows and doors.
Administration is currently prioritizing and exploring funding options for these projects and will bring
recommendations for Board approval soon.
Trustees heard a report from Sam Holder, Curriculum Coordinator for Elementary English and Language Arts,
and Ernie Cox, Curriculum Coordinator for Elementary Math, regarding curriculum initiatives for 2022-2023.
Based on campus decisions after seeing positive results in student achievement and engagement, a
reading/language arts and math curriculum pilot currently in place at three elementary schools will be
expanded to most elementary campuses next year. Also, plans are to pilot the new ELA curriculum at five
middle schools next year.
In other business, the Board approved an employee compensation package for the 2022-2023 school year
that includes a 2% raise for all (non-temporary) staff, at a cost of $4.4 million. The Board also approved
expenditures from the District’s ESSER (Covid relief) funds for a $1,000 one-time incentive stipend for all full-
time, benefit-eligible employees that will be paid in the fall ($4.6 million). In addition, administrators will
now be included in the ESSER retention incentives.
Trustees also approved $338,700 to be spent on Phase 1 of the Austin Middle School shoring project, and
they elected Kimberly Anderson as the new Board President and Doyle Corder as the new Board Vice
President.
Finally, trustees acknowledged gifts and donations in the amount of $37,098 given to various schools
this month from Renay Prince Goodman; Amarillo National Bank; Carrie, Aiden, Sophie, and Dustin
Jones; John Kritser; Toot ‘n Totum; and Education Credit Union.
June 20, 2022, Board Meeting
At a special Board meeting on June 20, trustees heard a presentation regarding additional details about
the Austin Middle School shoring project from the architect, structural engineer and vendor on the
project.
A representative from Corgan Architects said plans are to use a Smart Jack system to shore up 5,000
square feet of the Austin building where significant corrosion of steel beams in the crawl space has
occurred, as well as an additional 27,000 square feet of the building that has experienced moderate
corrosion. This work will extend the longevity of the building by 7 – 10 years, buying additional time for
a long-term solution to be determined.
The Board unanimously approved the proposed 2022-2023 school district budget which includes total
expenditures of $318,895,344, a decrease of about $11.5 million from last year’s budget. Deputy
Superintendent Pati Buchenau said a drop in enrollment of about 1,500 students caused a significant
budget deficit this year (2021-2022). Board members praised Administration for balancing the budget
by absorbing more than 260 staff positions through attrition, saving AISD about $14.2 million.
Trustees also took action to designate a portion of the District’s fund balance, or reserve fund, for
additional school safety and security measures, including those Mr. Loomis discussed with trustees at
the June 13 Board meeting.
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