LEGISLATURE GETS A LOW GRADE FROM TEACHERS
East Wilco education leaders describe what’s ahead
BY SUSAN YERKES
s a new school year begins, most Texas public school districts are tightening their budget belts to keep up with the rising costs of everything.
The 88th Legislature ended with no significant increase for public education, and Gov. Greg Abbott’s suggestion he may call another special session on “education freedom” this fall likely will be another push for school vouchers.
East Wilco districts are feeling the pinch, too. But as the fall semester begins, school officials remain optimistic and enthusiastic about new initiatives and projects.
Construction is a big item on the list of positive changes. With the rapid growth of population in even the smallest districts, new buildings, additions and renovations are a necessity to accommodate the influx of additional students.
HUTTO ISD
The Hutto Independent School District, with nearly 10,400 students expected this year, is one of the fastestgrowing districts in Texas. That means the schools have to grow, too – and the $522 million bond package Hutto voters passed in May will help.
Most of it will go to new elementary schools, additions to existing schools and land to build more schools. New middle schools and a new high school are also planned.
To meet space needs, Hutto former Superintendent Celina Estrada Thomas said the district has ordered seven portable buildings this year for elementary schools and Hutto Middle School.
Estrada Thomas announced her retirement in May, but she is still involved with the Hippo Nation.
Hiring teachers remains a challenge, she said, especially when more classrooms are being added. The dual-language program at the middle and high school was a casualty of the need for certified teachers last year. Even continuing the program in elementary schools required bringing in certified teachers from other countries – “a huge budget impact,” Estrada Thomas said.
She hailed innovative new programs at Hutto High School including esports, where tech-savvy students form teams and participate, train and compete in organized gaming competitions. It’s now a nationally recognized educational curriculum.
The program was a hit as soon as it started last year, she said.
“Children have different kinds of competence. We’ve got some students with really high-tech skills, and it is a way to validate their accomplishments. This year we are also adding a CTE (career technical education) certification for 911 dispatcher,” she said.
Estrada Thomas said the results of this legislative session were “a punch in the gut.”
“It’s demoralizing when you have a Legislature that is not in support of public education,” she said. But while the school board had to pass a deficit budget this year, trustees gave teachers and staff a 3% raise “across the board,” she noted.
She was also disheartened by the Texas Education Agency’s changes to its system of rating schools, which will lower many district’s ratings that would otherwise have gone up.
“The rules of the game keep changing. Just when you get ahead, the marker is moved,” she said.
Still, Estrada Thomas added, “We always look to the new school year with optimism.”
TAYLOR ISD
Taylor Independent School District Superintendent Devin Padavil shares that optimism.
“I think we have every reason to be excited about the future of Taylor’s public schools,” said Padavil, who announced in July he is the lone finalist for the Georgetown Independent School District superintendent’s slot. “There are lots of positive pieces in play. We have great teachers, and great principals.”
“It’s not uncommon in many districts that principals manage the buildings and keep everything running,” he added. “But our school board has given us the expectation that our principals are instructional leaders – they have to spend time in the classrooms to support and grow our great teachers.
“Over the last two years, after the pandemic, we did a lot of work, and now we’re seeing results. After the pandemic, our elementary kids were reading as far as two years behind grade level. This year, we got the fourth graders from the second level to the fifth level in a year.”
Although the Taylor school board passed a deficit budget in June, they voted to give $2,000-$4,000 raises to teachers, Padavil said.
He praised the district’s new P-Tech program, a six-year career building pathway from ninth grade to graduation, with two more years spent to earn an associate’s degree in a science, technology, engineering or math field.
“I think we have every reason to be excited about the future of Taylor’s public schools. There are lots of positive pieces in play. We have great teachers, and great principals.”
Taylor ISD Superintendent
In Taylor’s case, the program will focus on manufacturing and technology – “for obvious reasons,” Padavil said, alluding to the new Samsung Austin Semiconductor foundry and other high-tech businesses coming online in the area.
“About 20 kids are enrolled since we got the word out to parents, and we expect that to grow,” Padavil said. “Samsung met with me last week – they are all in on helping kids in Taylor get prepared to join the manufacturing work force,” Padavil said.
Hiring and retaining new teachers remains a challenge, but Padavil predicted a great year for the Taylor Ducks, with new Athletic Director Earven Flowers and girl’s coach Karen Sanders.
Padavil called the recent legislative session “a double whammy. We are limited in how much we can raise compensation for staff. And the Texas Education Agency’s changes in the ratings means a lot of districts will see their performance improve, but their school ratings will go down. It hurts morale of teachers and parents and kids.”
THRALL ISD
The Thrall Independent School is being proactive about the area’s growth, Superintendent Tommy Hooker said.
“Thanks to the bond issue in 2021, we’re building a new elementary,” he said.
The district broke ground for the school in July. Big changes are in store for the middle school and high school, with remodeling and additional construction, officials said. One goal is to bring fourth and fifth graders back to the middle school, which will move into a completely remodeled building.
Another is a pre-kindergarten center with a setting geared toward the youngsters’ needs.
“All the campuses will be under construction for a while. That will be a bit of a challenge,” Hooker said. But he added the school board has committed to avoiding the use of portables – Thrall has sold the ones they had, he said.
Hooker said he’s very excited about welcoming Thrall’s special-needs students back home. In past years they have been going to a co-op that provides special education for four area districts.
“We have brought on quite a few new personnel to serve these students with more extreme needs,” Hooker said. “We wanted them to have an authentic experience of living and going to school in Thrall, with our pep rallies and all the social interaction with their friends.
“We’re also doubling the capacity of our high school, adding a lot of new classrooms for core academics and some special programs – new CTE and (agriculture) courses, a business section geared toward accounting. And an actual school store to showcase student products and sell Practically Purple gear. There will be coolers for the Flower Club’s horticulture students.”
Hooker, too, lamented the legislative session results.
“Williamson County has some of the fastest growing cities in the nation. It just blows my mind that our legislators don’t see the need for funding education,” he said.
GRANGER, COUPLAND DISTRICTS
The Granger Independent School District broke ground on a new high school this summer. For the first time since 1887, there will be a second school building in the district.
Another first: The school is adding four portable buildings to meet the constant need for more space.
“We’re growing – like 23% in the last two years,” Superintendent Jeni Neatherlin said. “We anticipated 531 (students) this year, and ended with 560. We could be upward of 600 this year.”
Another change is Granger’s new online app, the educator added.
“Now our parents and students can have our schools in the palm of their hand,” she said.
Neatherlin said the district’s biggest challenge is money.
“With inflation, it’s getting harder to balance a budget,” she said. “Granger’s (accountability) scores improved dramatically in some areas last year, but now with the TEA changes we are possibly going down in the ratings. They keep raising the bar, but they’re not raising the funding.”
Meanwhile, with 282 students enrolled in 2023, the Coupland Independent School District is the smallest in East Wilco. But it’s among the fastest growing – and with growth has come conflict.
Weeks after a successful bond election for a new middle school, Superintendent Tammy Brinkman resigned in the face of opposition from some members of a split school board. There was controversy over how to handle bond funds.
“We have grown and grown and we don’t have room for our students,” said school board member Mike Welch. “The bond is for a middle school with an athletic field, and the plan is to eventually add a wing for a high school out there. Right now our high school students go to Taylor or Elgin. Those schools are over capacity … already. Without this new building, we’re in danger of being consolidated into a larger district.”
The district’s administration is new – Principal Brian Booker started in mid-July.
“This is the first time Coupland has had a principal – it was (a) superintendent and assistant principal,” Booker said. He praised Assistant Principal Kate Knapek, who has been at Coupland for three years.
Booker said the focus must be on the children’s education, not community politics.
He’s excited about a growing creative arts program, with a new theater teacher for middle school and a full-time art teacher.
“We are trying to grow our athletic program. We have football, basketball, volleyball. But there’s a lot of interest in soccer and cross country. We’re looking at options,” he said.
Booker would like to see high school students return to Coupland instead of migrating to other districts because they have no secondary campus. It would be the first time since 1947.
“The earlier Coupland culture was so strong,” Booker said. “I want to return to the days when our students graduate from Coupland High.”
“We’re also doubling the capacity of our high school, adding a lot of new classrooms for core academics and some special programs – new CTE and (agriculture) courses, a business section geared toward accounting. And an actual school store to showcase student products and sell Practically Purple gear. There will be coolers for the Flower Club’s horticulture students.”
— TOMMY HOOKER
Thrall ISD Superintendent
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