School board votes to allow foreign exchange students to participate in commencement ceremony, approves new scoreboard and teacher stipends

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

It was standing room only when Tuesday night’s Breckenridge Impartial University District Board of Trustees meeting acquired began at 6:30 p.m. Many subject areas of fascination on the May possibly 10 agenda introduced the crowd collectively and but divided the university board at their standard every month meeting.

Right after the Students and Instructors of the Month, as properly as the Valedictorian, Salutatorian and Lecturers of the 12 months, experienced been declared and honored, the group thinned out, leaving just a handful of local citizens concentrated on two issues — this year’s commencement ceremony and the probable set up of a new soccer scoreboard.

Far more than an hour into the meeting, soon after the announcements and presentations, numerous of those people still in the board space waited eagerly to see if this year’s foreign trade pupils would be authorized to take part in the forthcoming graduation services for the Breckenridge Superior School Class of 2022. And, it was another hour prior to those interested in a new scoreboard for the soccer stadium uncovered out the fate of that undertaking.

(Click here to read through about the students and academics who were being honored at the conference.)

Graduation Ceremony

Just one of the subject areas on the meeting’s agenda was whether or not to let two foreign trade learners to participate in the commencement things to do with the rest of the Class of 2022.

The difficulty was initially brought to the awareness of the university board when BHS senior Shalyn Owen started out a petition in March on Change.org to make it possible for the pupils to acquire portion in the ceremony, even although they would not be officially graduating with the community college students.

Extra than 1,700 folks signed the on the web petition in assistance of Owen’s request. Click right here to go through the Breckenridge Texan’s initially article about the petition and the school district’s responses on the condition.

Then, on March 21, Owen and Breckenridge resident Bo Asher signed up to converse at the faculty board conference, and a mother or father of a senior also spoke to the board in the course of the dialogue section of the assembly. On top of that, more than 20 pupils, mom and dad and other individuals attended the assembly in support of Owen and the foreign trade pupils. Click here to read through far more about that meeting.

Nevertheless, the subject was not on the agenda for the up coming conference in April. School Board President Graham Reaugh and BISD Superintendent Bryan Allen explained they did not realize there was ongoing desire in the issue, but they stated they would put the product on the May possibly agenda.

When Tuesday’s conference finally acquired to the product on the topic, Allen mentioned he had offered the difficulty a good deal of thought.

“I’ll be truthful, I have experienced a great deal of a lot of sleepless nights, imagining about this really matter and what the appropriate point to do is. And I can sit listed here and I could probably argue possibly side of the argument quite easily,” he stated. “… the summary I’ve occur down to variety of hit me, definitely, one day previous 7 days. I’m a Post-It note male … I used to have Post-It notes all more than my desk, and when I moved here, I took them all down and I set them in a folder.

“I came across that folder the other working day,” Allen ongoing. “And one of the Post-It notes on there is one thing that I listened to in a conference, but it was just simply just the phrases, ‘The child will have to earn.’ You know, in school enterprise, we have procedures and techniques that are created, and we have them in place, and we have them in area for a rationale. But at the conclude of the day, if we’re not providing the kids the opportunity to expertise a terrific large college working experience, or whichever degree they’re at, then I assume that is all me. That’s on the leader of the district to attempt to correct that. So, my recommendation is going to be … to allow the overseas exchange students in the class of ’22 to participate in activities on May possibly 27.”

Reaugh, however, did not concur with Allen and reiterated his first argument in opposition to the ask for on the basis that the ceremony need to be reserved for pupils who had achieved all of the demands for graduation. Due to the fact the overseas exchange college students only attended school listed here for a person 12 months, they could not have some particular Texas necessities for graduation. Consequently, they acquire a certification of attendance, relatively than a diploma. The present-day BISD policy allows pupils who are getting diplomas and certificates of completion, as properly as unique education and learning pupils who acquire certificates of attendance, to participate in the ceremony.

“I continue to stand by that I do not want to devalue graduation for children that have labored for 12 yrs to go as a result of there and get this,” Reaugh reported. “So we get started undertaking just one time, you know, give up this or (make a) a person time…allowance, we’re heading down a slippery slope. And then what did these issues rely for?”

College board member Nic McClymond created a motion to let foreign exchange students in the class of 2022 an prospect to take part in BHS graduation routines. Carrol Kanady clarified that the motion would develop an exemption to the policy and that the authentic coverage would still be in position then, she seconded the movement. Board users McClymond, Kanady, Jimmy McKay, Paul Lippe and Chad Townson voted in favor of the proposal. Reaugh and Roy Russell voted versus it. With the greater part in favor of the one particular-time exemption, the movement passed.

After the vote, individuals who had been at the conference for that agenda product congratulated Owen for standing up for her fellow college students and for what she thought in. On the sidewalk outdoors the assembly place, Owen couldn’t comprise her pleasure. “Oh my gosh, I’m so pleased,” she mentioned. “We did it!”

New Scoreboard

A further item on the agenda that has been of curiosity to several Buckaroo fans was the proposal to invest in a new scoreboard for the soccer stadium.

BISD Athletic Director Casey Pearce first brought the subject just before the university board at the February assembly, exactly where he mentioned that the existing scoreboard is bulb-primarily based and hard to maintenance. He introduced numerous selections for new, electronic scoreboards that have online video and advertising and marketing functions. At the earlier board meeting, Pearce also talked about how the digital scoreboard will supply coaching chances for the college students taking Career and Technological know-how Schooling courses.

At Tuesday night’s conference, he presented the board with a bid from Blackfin Sports Consulting for $386,850 for a digital scoreboard to be positioned in the northeast stop of the stadium. Pearce mentioned that bid is $100,000 to $110,000 significantly less than the other bids. He also explained he has “strong interest” from at minimum 5 community businesses, as very well as from 12 people today and corporations in Stephens County that are existing booster club sponsors. There are four recommended sponsorship amounts, ranging from $75,000, paid out in 5 annual installments of $5,000, to $12,500, compensated in five annual installments of $2,500.

“If you get a prospect to drive by (Abilene Christian College)…the new baseball scoreboard and their setup is accurately what this set up would be,” Pearce claimed. “It’s the very same measurement board that they just installed, and this firm did it about a thirty day period back. I guess Spring Split is when they debuted that new scoreboard for ACU baseball.”

The present-day scoreboard was put in in 1998. The digital scoreboard could very last 12 to 15 many years, Pearce mentioned. Following that, the technology will possible be outdated and will need to be changed.

“I’m not indicating that it is not essential, and I like the know-how piece, particularly with our CTE plans, you know, we’re seeking to enrich individuals, but I’m also wanting at 16 openings for instructors,” Kanady explained. She went on to categorical problem that if neighborhood corporations sponsor the scoreboard at the recommended levels, they could possibly not have enough to donate to other BISD organizations, this kind of as the band or cheer groups.

“I’m not stating it’s not desired, but it’s a good deal of dollars,” she claimed.

McClymond built a motion to acknowledge the Blackfin proposal, and Russell seconded the movement. McClymond, Russell, Reaugh, McKay, Lippe and Townson voted in favor of accepting the proposal, and Kanady voted against it.

Recruitment/Retainment Stipends

Superintendent Allen recommended to the board users that BISD use some of the ESSER (Elementary and Secondary College Crisis Aid) cash to present extra incentives to teachers who occur to Breckenridge or who carry on working for the faculty district. ESSER is a federal grant software licensed through the Coronavirus Help, Relief, and Economic Safety (CARES) Act.

He proposed two solutions for total-time teacher stipends — $2,500 or $2,000 — and the university board unanimously permitted the $2,500 choice for the 2022-23 university yr. Section-time BISD workforce will get fifty percent of that sum. The stipends will be broken up into a few payments — $1,500 to be paid in August, $500 in November or December, and $500 in May well.

Allen said a person vital matter for everybody to have an understanding of is that the stipends are coming from the ESSER money, which will most likely not be available in future a long time.

“This is not a little something that you are likely to bank on from 12 months to 12 months,” he explained. “I necessarily mean, this is just basically grant-funded it is in this article until the funds runs out. And when the funds runs out, then we possibly will not be capable to healthy that into the price range, you know, going ahead. But I believe it’s a excellent chance for us to reward the individuals that are being and to assistance out individuals new folks coming in also.”

Other small business

At the commencing of Tuesday’s meeting, Brittany Edgar, secretary to the superintendent, swore in the recently re-elected university board customers, Carrol Kanady, Jimmy McKay and Roy Russell.

The school board also authorized the pursuing:

• A contract with GermBlast An infection Management Solutions to present disinfection solutions for the 2022-23 college yr
• To buy place of work know-how kits with ESSER resources
• To order a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado K3500 do the job truck and a 2022 Chevrolet Traverse LS from Bayer Chevrolet-Buick-Cadillac
• An arrangement with Communities in Colleges of the Major Region
• The hiring of Catherine Schmidt as the district’s special schooling director and Shelby Copeland as an eighth grade history instructor.

 

Cutline, prime photo: BISD Athletic Director Casey Pearce talks to the Board of Trustees at the May perhaps 10 meeting about a proposed new scoreboard for Buckaroo Stadium. (Image by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

 

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