The Sundown ISD School Board held a regular meeting Monday, June 19 at 6 p.m. in the board room.
The board began the meeting by welcoming Alan Berry as the new elementary principal before reviewing the ESSER return to inperson instruction plan and the 2023-2024 proposed budget.
The board approved the 2023-2024 budget after discussing staff raises, budget cuts and added expenses. The board approved $420,000 in budget amendments to increase the budgets for health insurance costs, the library and department services.
The board approved honors and advanced courses for the 2023-2024 school year. Honors Algebra I, Honors Algebra II, AP Calculus, year-long College Calculus, Honors English, Honors Biology, Dual-Credit Chemistry and Honors Physics were approved.
The board then approved the Board Policy 121 update detailing changes to local policies. Local Policy CKE was discarded and replaced with CKED authorizing employees to have firearms. Local Policy CLB details the change in past management to residential property primarily used for student housing.
Local Policy CRF was updated to allow new policies to be submitted digitally. Local Policy CVA regarding competitive bidding removed the access from a designee and placed the duty onto the superintendent. Policy CVA removed access from a designee and placed the duty onto the superintendent.
Local Policy DEA contained language changes for clarification to replace the phrase bi-monthly with semi-monthly regarding pay. Local Policy DA contains admission requirements for the unhoused ensuring they are able to receive the correct credits.
Local Policy FFI adopts a new policy to attempt to decrease the amount of bullying including an online reporting option and evaluation plan.
The board did not take action on the board policy but discussed a teacher attendance incentive to “buy back” days teachers do not take off from their total allotted amount a year. The board believes this will help students because they will have less days without instruction with a substitute teacher. The board did not take action on this discussion.
The group then approved the student code of conduct, drug deterrent plan, district plan, employee handbooks, board and district goals and superintendent goals. The board approved the code of conduct, the drug deterrent plan, employee handbooks and the board, district and superintendent goals with no changes from the previous year.
Tiffany Wylie was recently hired as an inclusion aide in 2021 and will also be the varsity and junior varsity cheer coach. Practice will be held Monday and Thursday; the varsity team will have eight members, while the junior varsity team will have six.
The board was informed that the price of cafeteria meals has increased $0.50 and heard the administration report.
The superintendent reported that the Levelland SPECO program will cost more in the near future potentially being charged by the number of students from each participating school. A definite date and plan moving forward has not been decided at this time.
Superintendent Brent Evans then gave a PowerPoint presentation discussing the future of Sundown ISD state funding and the current state of Texas publication.
The signing of House Bill Three in 2019 has reduced state funding to Sundown ISD from $2.8 million in 2019-2020 to $1.1 million in 2022-2023. By the 20242025 school year Sundown ISD will receive $0.
Sundown ISD has already or will take steps to lessen the financial strain by absorbing five teaching positions, move maintenance projects to in-house and reevaluate budgets.
The superintendent report concluded by informing the board where the district is currently with their new health care system. The new health care program will begin September 1, and is anticipated to save the district and its’ employees money.
The board then convened into executive session to discuss employment of personnel for the 2023-2024 school year and to do a formative evaluation of the superintendent.