MISD School Board President to step down

School Board President Daniel Beyer has chosen to step down from his role at the Moulton Independent School District meeting on Nov. 13. 

“I’ve served on this board for almost 19 years,” Beyer said in a statement after the meeting. “Many of those years, I have served as the president. Recently, it has become extremely stressful for me and my family. At this time, I am choosing to step down as the president of the Moulton ISD School Board.”

Beyer is just stepping down as school board president and will remain on the school board. 

“On behalf of the entire school community, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for Beyer’s outstanding service and dedication as president of the MISD school board,” MISD Superintendent Renee Fairchild said. “His leadership has made a positive impact on our school, guiding us through challenges and helping us achieve meaningful progress.”

“His commitment to our students, families, and staff has been a constant source of inspiration. We’re deeply appreciative that he will continue to serve on the board, as his experience and insight will remain invaluable.”

Fairchild wants to thank Beyer for his dedication, vision, and service.

Former Vice President Justin Anderle was then elected as the new president while Debra Luksovsky took the role as vice president. 

School Board Secretary Carol Dvorak also resigned.   Her place will be posted with applications for the position due December 6th. 

Many citizens were at the school board meeting expressing their ongoing concerns of not only the previously adopted reading and language arts program, “Amplify,” but also the leadership within the board. Four people spoke up for public comment. 

This is the second meeting in a row where an abundance of folks showed up in protest. “Amplify” was the former program that was used before the district switched to “Bluebonnet Learning.” The former program was criticized by the community due to some of the material allegedly being unsuitable for the students.

One person claimed that Fairchild did not have board approval for “Amplify” along with the grant application that came with it. 

“What the board does is that they don’t approve programs specifically,” Fairchild said. “What they do is approve of anything that is on the state-approved list. The board was made aware all throughout the process of the grant and how we were going about it. They may not have heard the word ‘Amplify’ specifically, but it is a state-approved curriculum. That’s what they approved. You must approve it every single year because we receive state and federal funding. We have to approve that we only use state-approved curriculum and that’s what we approved.”

Regarding ‘Amplify,’ MISD is going to put out a district wide comment at a special board meeting tonight according to Fairchild. 

Other items on the agenda include:

• The school board approved a resolution for a line of credit and tabled moving forward on a maintenance tax note.

• It was reported that the district received a “superior” rating on its Financial Integrity Rating System (FIRST.) The FIRST rating measures everything from timely completion and accuracy of the annual financial report to compliance with payment terms of all debt agreements. It evaluates a school district’s management of its financial resources.

• High School Principal Penny Irwin gave a report on early graduation, class rank, and online and dual credit classes. It was reported that one person is graduating early this year. This is also the first trial year for a dual credit program with Blinn College out of Schulenburg. There are eight students taking dual credit classes this year while last year, only two students took it. 

• It was also reported that this year there are eight high school students who have English as a Second Language while in Elementary School, there are 26 students.

• The district was told by the Texas Education Agency and the Governor of Texas that the mobile applications such as “Tik-Tok” is prohibited from student access through school issued devices. 

• All schools recently had UIL events, and it was reported as a success. It was also reported that the high school fall theater show was also a success.

• The district thanked the Parent Teacher Organization for a nice Thanksgiving lunch with the staff.

• Coach Broussard and Seniors Moises Manzano and Zachary Sturm attended a luncheon with the Republican Women of Yoakum. Both students competed in the Constitution Scholarship Essay Competition that the organization was hosting. Manzano placed first out of 177 students competing and won a $1,300 scholarship while Sturm placed third and won a $600 scholarship.

• The new bus the district ordered is running smoothly.

• The district finished its emergency operating plan for safety and security.