February 19, 2024 – At a special called Board meeting on February 19, the Amarillo ISD School Board decided not to close any schools, at least for the 2024-2025 school year, and instead ask for community input and continue to study possible additional revenue sources for the District.
Citing a number of current unknowns, Board members said the District needs to consider every option available before closing a school. “It behooves us to get everyone involved to make the best decisions regarding the path forward,” said Board Vice President Kayla Mendez.
Superintendent Doug Loomis said all indications are the downward enrollment trend will continue for the foreseeable future. “I really believe the day is going to come when we will need to close and consolidate a number of schools, I just struggle with whether that is now. We need a longer runway. We need to have community conversations about what our parents and citizens want for the future of our schools, and we need to consider all possible efficiencies and sources of additional revenue.”
February 12, 2024 – At its regular monthly meeting, the School Board conducted a public hearing and review of the District’s Annual Report for the 2022-2023 school year. Assistant superintendents and department directors discussed highlights of the comprehensive report that includes the state-issued Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), as well as reports regarding District financial status, campus performance objectives, and other information related to academic performance of Amarillo ISD students. District and campus five-year plans for College, Career, and Military Readiness and Early Childhood literacy and math proficiency were also highlighted. The complete 2022-2023 AISD Annual Report is available at the AISD Rod Schroder Education Support Center and on the District’s website here (PDF opens in new window).
Deputy Superintendent Kevin Phillips said while there are important indicators in the Annual Report that the District tracks and measures, much of the report reflects compliance with state requirements. Phillips said the District is working to develop local accountability measures that will better reflect how Amarillo parents and citizens view the effectiveness and quality of our schools.
In his Superintendent’s Report, Doug Loomis again discussed with the Board declining enrollment and options to address the resulting decrease in funding. Since 2016, AISD enrollment is down almost 4,000 students (about 11%), essentially because there are fewer school-age children living in AISD than previously. The District is anticipating the downward trend will continue, with another enrollment drop of about 430 students expected
next year. Loomis summarized the various tools that have been discussed to deal with a budget shortfall anticipated after next year, but said it’s become apparent simply closing some campuses for 2024-2025 would not be enough to address revenue concerns.
He said solutions are complex and involve the welfare of students, parents, staff, and our community. “I propose we postpone any decisions regarding school closures and instead continue community dialogue about possible tools to address this, including pushing for the Legislature to increase funding levels for schools; gauging community support for a tax ratification election and/or bond election; continuing to look for program and staffing efficiencies; and developing clearer parameters around which schools to close or consolidate.”
Chief Human Resources Officer Chris Tatum announced that AISD’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) plan has been approved by the Texas Education Agency and the state is providing approximately $1.4 million to be distributed to 155 AISD teachers this spring. The incentive awards are based on teacher evaluations and observations and on student academic growth. Tatum said, “This was a huge undertaking and multiple District committees, including many teachers, worked for several months to design our local plan, but we felt it was important to take advantage of this opportunity to reward outstanding teachers.” Tatum said this initial group of ‘Recognized’, ‘Exemplary’ and ‘Master’ teachers are in the first eligibility group; additional AISD teachers will qualify for incentives in future years in additional eligibility groups.
In other business, Trustees approved a contract with an engineer, ARMKO Industries Inc., to design and oversee roof replacements at Bonham Middle School and Windsor and Lawndale elementary schools. They also approved the purchase and installation of a new electronic scoreboard at Dick Bivins Stadium to replace the 11-year-old current scoreboard that is no longer working properly. The new scoreboard will cost $627,156 but will pay for itself in about five years with revenue generated from advertising.
Finally, trustees acknowledged gifts and donations totaling $17,451, given to the District and various schools from Socorro Ordaz, Sleepy Hollow Elementary PTO, Dottie and Andrew Mitchell and the Austin Middle School Athletic Boosters, Panhandle Restaurant Association, Trudy Keeling, de Zavala Middle School PTO, FC Traffic Control, Inc., MH Civil Constructors, Inc., and Joan Gaines.
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