May 15, 2023 — The May School Board meeting began with the Palo Duro High School Show Choir and senior choir students singing the National Anthem. The PDHS Choir recently received three sweepstakes trophies in UIL competition – the most in school history and the first sweepstakes in 45 years. The Board recognized the Caprock High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC Armed Drill Team, who placed 2nd in the National Drill Team competition; the Amarillo High Team Tennis, Girls Doubles, and Boys Doubles who were all state champions; the Tascosa High School Boys Wrestling Team, also named state champions; and the AmTech Sentinels eSports Team who made it to the semi-finals in state eSports competition. Principals from each high school then continued with the annual tradition of reading a list of regional, state, and national athletic, academic, or fine arts awards which students and teams achieved in 2022-2023.
The District said farewell to Board President Kimberly Anderson, and Board members Alonzo Everhart and Dick Ford. Superintendent Doug Loomis honored each with an engraved chair and their portrait and thanked them for their service to the students and staff of AISD. New Trustees Jon Mark Beilue, Connie Brown, and Steve Trafton, who were declared winners in the May 6 School Board election, were sworn in as Trustees and took their places at the Board table for the remainder of the meeting. The Board later elected Doyle Corder as the new president of the Board, and Kayla Mendez as the new vice president.
Trustees set June 26, 2023, as the date to hold a public hearing on the 2023–2024 school district budget and proposed tax rate. Next year’s budget is also scheduled to be adopted at the regular monthly Board meeting on June 26.
The Board approved a contract with AMA ProAir for the project to upgrade HVAC units to add air-conditioning at several high school and middle school gyms at a cost of $3.8 million. In other business, the Board adopted the Texas School Counselor Evaluation and Support System, or T-SCESS, as the new appraisal instrument for school counselors. T-SCESS mirrors the current evaluation system used for teachers and principals in AISD, and it aligns much more closely with a counselor’s job duties than the previous appraisal instrument.
Finally, Trustees acknowledged gifts and donations totaling $11,800, given to various schools from Dr. Rouzbeh Kordestani, Janice Thompson, Avery Davis with H&H Salvage, Johnny Ramirez with Kingdom Elite Mover, the Mays Foundation, and Amarillo National Bank.
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