Breckenridge Texan

BISD approves interlocal bus agreement, honors students

BISD approves interlocal bus agreement, honors students
February 16
07:20 2018

The Breckenridge Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Monday night to approve interlocal agreements with two neighboring school districts. They also extended some contracts, changed a hiring policy and honored the students of the month.

Interlocal agreements
The interlocal agreements with Moran ISD and Woodson ISD will allow their buses to continue coming into the Breckenridge school district at no charge to pick up transfer students who attend their schools. The agreements passed at Monday night’s meeting cover the rest of the 2017-2018 school year, and the terms could change next year when BISD renews the agreements.

At their January board meeting, BISD trustees discussed the possibility of charging both districts next year. During that meeting, BISD Superintendent Tim Seymore said Texas state law requires school districts that send their buses into a another school district to pick up students and take them back into their districts to attend classes, must have an interlocal bus agreement with the district where they pick up the students. He also said under the law that the district where the students are being picked up, such as BISD, has the option to charge the other districts a fee for each student who is bused out of the district.

However, BISD trustees chose not to charge those districts this year because they didn’t want to disrupt the school year for the students.

At Monday’s meeting, BISD board president Jeff Dooley said that before making a decision on next year’s agreement, he is considering setting up a committee to study the issue and explore why BISD students are choosing to attend schools in other districts and find out how to get them to come back to BISD.

“Maybe get some people in the community on the committee,” he said. “Maybe poll some people and find out why your kids are going to another school. Whether we can do any good or not, I don’t know, but we can try.”

Under the terms of the new agreement, Moran ISD buses will continue to pick up students at 1610 W. Walker St. and Woodson ISD buses will continue to pick up students at the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and FM 578, north of Breckenridge.

BISD hiring policy changed
Also at Monday night’s meeting, trustees made revisions to the district’s hiring policy, giving the superintendent final hiring authority for non-administrative personnel, such as teachers, nurses, librarians and counselors. Previously, all teacher contracts had to be approved by the Board of Trustees.

Under the revised policy, the school board will retain hiring authority for administrative employees, such as principals, assistant principals, the athletic director and other administrative personnel.

Seymore said the change will allow the superintendent to issue teacher contracts without having to wait until they can get a school board meeting together to approve the contract. He said the change is important because BISD is losing prospective teachers to other districts because of the delay between when the candidates are interviewed and the date of the next board meeting.

“More and more frequently, we are having people that have multiple interviews lined up and we say, ‘OK we have a board meeting in 10 days.’ And they go to six more interviews and then they’re gone,” he said.

Administrative personnel contract extensions approved
The board also approved employment contract extensions for BISD administrative personnel.

Director of Instruction Molly Johnson and Athletic Director Casey Hubble received multi-year contracts for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 schools years. Special Education Director Susan Britting received a one-year contract for the 2018-2019 school year.

Breckenridge High School Principal Bryan Dieterich received a multi-year term contract for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years.

Also approved for one-year contracts for the 2018-2019 school year were BHS Assistant Principal Paul Armstrong, East Elementary Principal Barbara Collinsworth, South Elementary Principal Kenna Rainey, Director of ALC/DAEP/DTC Karen Lawson, South Elementary Assistant Principal Prairie Wilson-Freeman, North Elementary Principal Jennifer Gillard and Breckenridge Junior High Principal Mich Etzel.

Students of the Month honored
Three BISD elementary students of the month were recognized at the meeting. They were Lynzi Poindexter, South Elementary; Caegan Elder, North Elementary; and, Bentleigh Whitaker, East Elementary.

East Elementary Principal Barbara Collinsworth presents Bentleigh Whitaker with a certificate for being chosen as East Elementary Student of the Month. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

North Elementary Principal Jennifer Gillard presents Caegan Elder with a certificate for Student of the Month at Monday night’s BISD Board of Trustees meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Story by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: South Elementary Principal Kenna Rainey presents Lynzi Poindexter with her certificate for Student of the Month at Monday night’s BISD Board of Trustees meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

 

 

 

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