The Levelland ISD Board of Trustees held their monthly meeting Wednesday with the group approving the bid to sell the Carver property.
The board had multiple items slated for executive session and provided the results of said items.
A $3,500 bid was received from Diamond Football Academy for the Carver property and a second bid was received from Ruby Brackens for $50. The bid for Diamond Football Academy at $3,500 was approved with the property selling as is.
LISD Superintendent Becky McCutchen explained that the process will no go into legal discussions and contract talks which is expected to be a lengthy process when selling school property.
Another item discussed were several administrative contracts including: Dr Matthew Birdwell, Assistant Superintendent Rodney Caddell, James Daniel, Eric Eugenis, Shelbi Eugenis, Sid Gerber, Ginger Hicks, Ashley Howard, Laurie Jones, Heather King, Lyle Leong, Brian Luna, Teresa Montemayor, Adam Oliva, Donna Pugh, and Joanna Runkles.
All contracts were approved by the board. However, the board attempted to name a new director of special education and failed twice. Shelbi Eugenis was presented to the board for the position, and did not name her to the position as the board split the vote three-to-three. They also rejected a second candidate in a vote tied at three-to-three.
Board Member Joyce Johnson was absent from the meeting.
Moving through the meeting items, the board entered into an agreement with the Hockley County Elections Commission office to contract that office to facilitate all elections. That is $10,000 per election even if there is no election held for that cycle.
The agreement does save the board from having to conduct their own elections cutting down on manpower, equipment and other expenses. The board agreed to that partnership. Additionally, the group followed approved the decision to cancel their local election for May of 2024 as they have no challengers for board seats.
The board approved a waiver to remove five instructional days for students and move those to staff development days. The waiver allows the district or charter school to train staff on various educational strategies designed to improve student performance in lieu of a maximum of 2,100 minutes of student instruction for districts and charter schools that provide operational and instructional minutes.
Levelland will use up to 2,100 minutes during the 2024-2025 calendar for professional learning in place of student instruction. These days must occur between the first and last day of instruction. These days are called PLC/PD days. Those will be submitted to the TEA for approval.
The contractual agreement between Levelland ISD and South Plains Community Action Association, Inc. (SPCAA) establishes a partnership to provide HeadStart services to age and income eligible Pre-K children per the guidelines established by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The board was updated on the agreement for Levelland ISD to continue to fund Head Start students for 90 plus children in the district. This will include funding for the program based on number of students enrolled.
Moving forward, the Summer School calender was approved by the board.
South Elementary will provide extended year and STAAR Preparation/Remediation Program for grades K-4 and the bilingual program for grades PKK.
The Migrant Program for grades PK-12 will also be held at South Elementary.
The Extended Year and STAAR/EOC Preparation/ Remediation Program for grades 5-12 will be held at Levelland High School.
All classes will start at 8 am. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. until 8 a.m. at South Elementary and Levelland High School.
Lunch will also be served from noon until 12:30 p.m. Buses will run at that time. Bilingual and migrant classes at South Elementary will meet 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. each day.
Transportation will be provided for eligible students in grades PK-12. Buses will stop at selected sites within the city. Buses will run in the morning and at noon.
Teachers and teacher assistants working in the Summer School Program will be compensated based on hours of instruction.
Summer School Principals will be responsible for hiring their staff members. Staff members who have previously worked in Summer School and are certified and work in corresponding grades will be considered first.
No Summer School employee will be allowed to miss more than one day because of staff development unless permission is granted by the Summer School principal. Total staff will be determined based on student numbers.
Students to be served in the program are those who are identified as needing supplemental assistance in order to be successful at the next grade level and any student who was not met state attendance laws. A list of students must be maintained at each campus along with the criteria used for determining eligibility.
All personnel who are absent will be responsible for hiring (but not paying) their substitutes. Substitutes should enter work times electronically and will be paid according to true time records.
Students currently not enrolled in Levelland ISD must present a letter from their sending school to the principal of the school they wish to attend indicating that they must attend summer school in order to be promoted to the next grade. A fee of $100 will be assessed these students. Acceptance into the program is not guaranteed.