Coppell trustees narrowly voted to close its oldest elementary school Monday night, with district leaders lamenting the painful decision as necessary because of a financial squeeze triggered by declining enrollment and stagnant state funding. The trustees’ decision devastated Pinkerton Elementary families, who said the closure means children will attend campuses farther from their homes and away from their friends next year. view article

Parents and advocates are showing up in numbers to share their concerns and requests when it comes to the employment of Lorena ISD superintendent and a principal. view article

The Clint Independent School District on Thursday approved pay raises and a one-time $2,500 payment for qualifying employees during the upcoming school year. view article

A growing number of Houston-area leaders are calling for the resignation of a Cy-Fair ISD board member after he made comments suggesting that the more Black teachers a district has, the greater the dropout rate. The comments were made Monday night during a work session about Cy-Fair ISD's equity audit report. view article

In a video address by the Conroe ISD superintendent, Dr. Curtis Null gave an update on the latest numbers on Friday as COVID-19 cases in the district continue to climb. Dr. Curtis Null, the Conroe ISD Superintendent, said, “We need to do something as a community to help make sure that we can keep our schools open and keep our kids safe.” According to the district in the first two weeks of the school year, there have been over 1,100 reported positive cases that included 962 students and 176 staff. view article

As COVID-19 cases rise and schools begin to come back into session, the safety of students is a top priority for many school districts. According to a social media post by Jim Hogg County Judge Juan Carlos Guerra, JHC ISD is taking precautions to protect students against rising case numbers. view article

A new board of trustees at Socorro Independent School District was sworn in Wednesday evening. New board members said they’re ready to get to work looking for a new superintendent for the district after Dr. Jose Espinoza resigned last week. view article

Amid Southlake Carroll ISD’s continued reckoning with inclusivity, which last week saw parents and advocates calling for the Department of Justice to get involved, two seats are up for grabs on the district’s board of trustees in the May 1 election. The dispute that candidates are campaigning during involves Carroll ISD’s controversial plan to promote cultural competency, which is tied up in court after a judge issued a temporary restraining order late last year. The plan is currently set to go to mediation as part of the lawsuit that has tied it up in court. view article

Katy ISD continued to experience upheaval Monday as Ashley Vann suddenly announced she was stepping down as board president and two new board members were sworn in, just a few weeks after Lance Hindt, the district's controversial superintendent, announced he would retire next January. When the school board returned from closed session Monday night, Vann acknowledged how proud she was to serve the school district during Hurricane Harvey and of watching the community come together, but then her tone shifted. view article

Trustees with Port Neches-Groves Independent School District are looking at ways to sweeten the pot for custodians. Trustees will hold a called meeting at noon Tuesday at the administration building, 620 Ave. C, in Port Neches where they will consider increasing the hourly starting pay rate for custodians from $8.51 per hour to $9.50 per hour. They will also consider offering additional summer work days to encourage current and future custodians a broader annual salary, which could assist in alleviating the custodian vacancy issues, according to information from the district. view article

Eagle Pass ISD administration and employees are pushing for voter participation as the Tax Ratification Election comes closer. At the Chamber of Commerce Community Breakfast on Wednesday, May 24, C.C. Winn High School Principal Jesus Diaz-Wever, Eagle Pass Junior High Vice Principal Yolanda Ramon, and Deputy Superintendent for Business and Finance Ismael Mijares stressed the importance of the election. “Saturday will be the chance for everyone in Eagle Pass to do something for these students,” said Ramon. “Our students deserve it. This is for them, we ask you to please remember that when you’re voting.” view article

The Frisco ISD School Board heard a summary of the proposed 2017-18 budget during its meeting on Monday. No action was taken. More than 50 budget recommendations were outlined in April to trim spending and generate additional revenue to address funding challenges. The recommendations were the result of months of work by employees, trustees, parents and citizens who shared ideas and input on possible solutions. Monday’s presentation included discussion of the remaining budget timeline, as well as a look at proposed budgets for both the maintenance and operations (M&O) fund, which pays for day-to-day expenses such as staff salaries, as well as the interest and sinking (I&S) fund, which pays off debt from issuing bonds to build new schools and fund other projects. view article

Here are six takeaways from the Round Rock ISD board of trustees voting Thursday to approve the RRISD District of Innovation plan: view article

The Frisco Independent School District meets Monday to work on some of the problems associated with being one of Texas’ fastest growing areas. The board will be voting on a proposal to help balance its budget by delaying the openings of four new schools. view article

The Dallas school board Thursday night voted against putting a tax ratification election before voters this fall. The proposed 13-cent tax hike would have given the district $100 million to fund early childhood education and early college high school programs. The district also wanted to expand a program that pays extra money to top teachers who take jobs in some of the district’s toughest schools. view article

Marfa ISD board of trustees groaned when Superintendent Andrew Peters announced he hired a Professional Service Provider (PSP), also known as a monitor as a result of the school district not meeting Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) academic standards. Holly Roberts, recently retired at Midland ISD, will assist MISD to meet TEA standards. Marfa ISD received an “improvement required” in TEA’s 2015 accountability rating, the only district in the tri-county area to get that moniker. Schools in Alpine, Fort Davis, Valentine and Presidio met standard and also received distinction designations. view article

Greg Aune, an Argyle ISD school board trustee, has resigned. Board members discussed in closed session whether to leave Aune’s position vacant, appoint someone to the seat or hold a special election to fill the position at Monday night’s school board meeting. view article

The Lampasas Independent School District met Monday to discuss the district’s fiscal year 2016 budget and proposed tax rates. “My idea was still to give everyone a tax break, but to make it 1 cent right now, and we could change it in a year if we need to,” board member Sam Walker said. “I think we are jumping the gun by dropping it 2 cents.” view article

The Palestine Independent School District school board held a special meeting Monday and Tuesday night to interview possible board candidates. A position on the board opened after the resignation of Dana Staples earlier this month. The board choose not to take action on the interviews during the closed session. After reconvening into open session, board members voted on the approval of the new student code of conduct for the 2015-2016 school year. According to Superintendent Jason Marshall, most of the changes made to the code were to appease decisions made in the legislative session. view article

Frisco Independent School District School Board President Anne McCausland has earned the Master Trustee designation by completing Leadership TASB, a Texas Association of School Boards program. view article

Longview ISD officials are evaluating bids to demolish the vacant T.G. Field Auditorium in downtown. Trustees voted 4-3 in January not to sell the auditorium for $200,000, despite district Assistant Superintendent Lynn Marshall saying he didn't see the district having a use for the property. view article

The Amarillo City Council on Tuesday bid adieu to Councilman Jim Simms and named former two-term city commissioner and Amarillo businessman Ron Boyd to fill Simms’ unexpired term. view article

Highland Park ISD has suspended seven titles from the curriculum after a wave of criticism surrounding some content. view article

Officials with the El Paso County Republican Party are questioning the legality of a proposed early voting site on the West Side. Two GOP leaders in El Paso said the proposed designation of the Canutillo Independent School District's administration building as a permanent early voting location "leaves the appearance of impropriety" because a school district trustee is on the ballot in a justice of the peace race. view article