Levelland ISD held their monthly regular board meeting last Wednesday which covered a handful of items on their agenda.
Before getting meetings into full swing, LISD has recognized various students in all grade levels for their accomplishments or hard work. Before this meeting, the board was served a meal prepared for them by the High School Culinary Arts Team, who had come along to showcase all the growth they’d had this year. The LHS BBQ team also present with instructors to highlight this unique aspect of offered curriculum from Levelland ISD.
Public comment is one facet held by every entity holding meetings and there was one individual present to bring an issue to the boards attention. Curtis King, a bus driver who assists the district spoke about issues that have been mounting along their bus routes. King explained that disciplinary issues are beginning to be cumbersome for bus drivers. With so many students on one vehicle, it becomes difficult for a driver to control the space effectively, especially when students begin to act rowdy.
King cautioned the district with a tale of another district in Texas who recently had a student injured because they were not following bus safety protocol when the bus made an unexpected sharp stop, and warned that it could happen here as well. King urged for the district to begin employing bus aides to assist in keeping students safe during transit, and warned that there were some drivers in the district that leave should the issue not be addressed.
The School Resource Officer Contract with the City of Levelland Police Department was discussed this meeting. Already seeing changes on the city’s side of things several weeks ago, the contract originally made room for three SRO’s on LISD campuses.
After some changes within the legislature, the district approached LPD about expanding that number to five earlier this year. The City of Levelland approved of this change, as did the LISD board at this meeting.
Currently there are four SRO’s currently in operation within the district with the fifth spot being filled through a rotating staff position for the time being. This amended contract will make room for there to be a licensed LPD officer on every LISD campus for added security and safety.
The Safety and Security Board is hard at work with a few ideas for the future of the district. Their Emergency Operations Procedures (EOP) has been updated in recent years to include new scenarios and how to approach them. Additionally, the procedures have been sent to the LPD and other first responder agencies, who will be coming and doing walk-throughs of the district’s campuses to address any security or operational issues they may see.
Additionally the idea of adding a substance abuse curriculum to DAEP for students who are sent for vaping violations was floated, but any details about implementation are still in the works.
Steve Croyle with Sodexo was present to head the presentation of the Food Services Report.
The total number of meals has seen a slight increase over the course of this last year. According to data presented, on average 1,151 Breakfast meals, 1,460 Lunch meals, and 174 snacks (ABC) are served within the district daily. This is an increase of around 116 from last year.
Additionally, a large portion of the district’s students are utilizing the free and reduced lunch program that has been offered with ABC at 76%, Capitol ant 67%, South at 79%, LMS at 73%, and LHS at 58%. this brings the district total up to 69% utilizing the program.
Multiple avenues for contacting parents about the program are being utilized such as mailers, as well as calls from nutritionists or principles, but some challenges the department faces are a shortage of workers, and minor supply chain disruptions, though Croyle states the department is “almost fully staffed.
Special Services had a report to make, showing the depth of student population the district serves. In Kindergarten through 4th grade, there are 57 Gifted and Talented(GT) students, 351 “At Risk” students, and 86 Bilingual/ ESL students serviced. In 5th-12th grades those numbers are 93 for GT, 1,060 labeled “At Risk”, and 166 Bilingual/ESL students.
The district took a moment to recognize the 31 teachers who have received their ESL accreditation over the last four years, who help to support this system. CTE programs have also seen an increase in recent years. According to data presented, in LHS 667 of the 768 students participate in one or more CTE programs.
This is made easier by the sheer number of programs offered such as web development, carpentry, health and wellness, and numerous others. In total LISD provides 22 CTE programs to its students, with some even being offered as early as Middle School.