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Board Meeting - April 21, 2015
New campus leaders announced for 2015-16
The Denton ISD Board of School Trustees approved the following administrators this week to replace leaders who are retiring after this school year or pursuing other opportunities.Secondary Principals
Braswell High School: Lesli GuajardoLesli Guajardo, principal at Hurst Junior High School in the HEB ISD, is the first principal of Braswell High School. She has served the students at Hurst Junior High for seven years, and brings more than 20 years of experience in secondary education to her new role. Mrs. Guajardo earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Tech University. She is expected to graduate this May with her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Texas.
Guyer High School: Shaun Perry
Shaun Perry, principal at Navo Middle School, has been named the principal of Guyer High School. He replaces Barbara Fisher who is retiring after 30 years in education. Mr. Perry has been the principal at Navo since the school opened in 2005 and was involved in much of the building and planning process of the school. His experience, coupled with the tutelage he received under Mrs. Fischer, has helped prepare him for this new position. Mr. Perry earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
LaGrone ATC: Marcus Bourland
Marcus Bourland, assistant principal of McKinney High School, has been named the principal at the LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex. He will replace Carla Ruge, who will finish the school year, and then begin serving as the district’s director of career and technology education. Mr. Bourland is a graduate of the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in educational administration.
Elementary Principals
Hawk Elementary: Robin BrownellRobin Brownell, assistant principal of Pecan Creek Elementary, will be the new principal of Hawk Elementary. She is replacing Susannah O’Bara, who was approved as the district’s second executive director of elementary academic services beginning in the fall. Ms. Brownell has served the district for the past 12 years and has been in education for 19 years. She has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degrees from the University of North Texas.
W.S. Ryan Elementary: Rosa Olivera
Rosa Oliveira, interim principal of W.S. Ryan Elementary, was named the permanent principal of W.S. Ryan, effective immediately. Ms. Oliveira, a veteran educator with experience as both an elementary principal and principal of an Early College High School, joined the district in December of this school year. She has a bachelor’s degree from Corpus Christi State University and a master’s degree from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.
Board receives update early childhood education
Vicki Sargent, executive director of elementary academic services, outlined the growth of the district’s pre-kindergarten program. Mrs. Sargent pointed out that 966 students are enrolled this year and the district has had open discussions with other outside agencies to possibly further expand the program’s reach in the community.In 2014 the district agreed to expand the pre-kindergarten program and partner with an outside agency, Fred Moore Day Nursery School. The program is located at Gonzalez School for Young Children and enrollment has doubled since the beginning of the year.
Mrs. Sargent also shared the work of the Pre-K Coalition, a group that meets monthly to ensure the needs of students in the program are being met. Made up of district professionals and members of the community, the coalition works to share ideas and best practices in early childhood education to better prepare students for school.
2015-16 budget requests gets a preliminary review
Debbie Monscke, assistant superintendent of administrative services, reviewed the preliminary budget requests for the 2015-2016 school year. The district will approve its final budget in June.Mrs. Monscke noted that any administrative positions that have been requested are positions that were cut four years ago, and are now being restored. New positions in the Special Education Dept. are due to an enrollment increase this year of 275 students
TIA Conference set for July 21 & 22
Dwight Goodwin, director of instructional technology, invited the Board as well as members of the staff and community to the Technology in Action (TIA) Conference. This year’s conference will be July 21 and 22 at Ryan High.Registration for district employees and retired teachers is free. Those who do not work for our district may register early for $35 until June 1. The focus of the conference will be to create, communicate, collaborate and critically think and will feature Todd Nesloney, also known as the “TechNinja” to many as keynote speaker.
“I’ve been to this conference for three straight years and it gets better each time because you always learn something new. I encourage everyone who has the opportunity to attend,” said Board Vice President Barbara Burns.
Board discusses current legislative agendas
Superintendent Dr. Jamie Wilson outlined the impact of the currently proposed legislation with regard to the district’s budget, specifically the impact on Pre-K Education. He expanded on the need to fully fund public education, and urged citizens to pay close attention to misinformation being circulated about funding.The Board joined Dr. Wilson in praising the work of the district’s teachers and staff in preparing our students for the future despite the inconsistency in funds. Trustee Charles Stafford asked that citizens contact their representatives and express their opinion to allow funds raised in local communities to remain in the community to fund education.
“In a state that has the second highest graduation rate in the nation, yet education funding ranks 46th in the nation – I believe we understand the concept of doing more with less. In fact, we are being pretty successful at it,” Mr. Stafford said.
In other action
- Approved BBVA Compass as the depository bank for the district. The contract will begin on July 1 and end June 30, 2017.
- Debbie Roybal, executive director of special education, reported that the district is in compliance with all state requirements.
- Approved the Guaranteed Maximum Price of Elementary No. 23 at $19,459,633 submitted by Balfour Beatty. This project will be funded from the 2013 Bond Authorization and 2007 Bond Contingency Funds. The site is in Little Elm and is scheduled to open in August 2016.
- Honored students from Denton and Ryan high schools that won or participated in German and technology education state competitions