Board approves resolution regarding vouchers
The Hallettsville ISD Board of Trustees met in a regular meeting Monday evening, March 10 and unanimously approved a resolution regarding vouchers, education savings accounts, taxpayer savings grants and other mechanisms that reduce public education funding.
Hallettsville ISD board president Brian Smith said the resolution follows one recently adopted by the Cuero ISD Board of Trustees.
“I don’t believe in the school voucher program and that all funding should go to public schools,” Smith said. “This resolution makes a statement where Hallettsville ISD stands on state fundings regarding public education.”
Hallettsville ISD superintendent Dr. Jo Ann Bludau said the resolution addresses concerns that are out there.
“We (HISD) accept every student regardless of disability or financial standing,” Bludau said. “We are held to academic standards and accountability. We have oversights from our board. And, we are concerned about keeping our funds supporting the public school system that currently exist.”
Election Cancelled
The board accepted a certificate of unopposed candidates and adopted an order to cancel the trustee election scheduled for May 3.
Two positions, Place 4 (Justin Smith) and Place 5 (Brian Henneke, are up for election. Henneke filed for his position and is unopposed, while Smith has opted not to run for re-election.
Jon Lamson was the only candidate to file for the Place 4 chair.
Reports
In a video hook-up, the board heard from Taylor Pillar with SZS Architecture, who reported on the progress of the Junior High project.
Pillar said the project is going along very well with the concrete to be poured this week and they are working on finishing the foundation.
“Everything is going smooth,” Pillar said.
Hallettsville ISD executive director of curriculum and instruction Dr. Mandy Bucek, reported on the mid-year assessment progress of students.
Regarding other reports, Bludau informed the board of the Region 3 ESC School Board conference will take place May 14 and the 2025 Summer Leadership Institute is scheduled for June 11 to 14.
Hallettsville ISD chief financial officer Farrah Jernigan, reported the district has collected 94.65% of the taxes through February and amounts to $9,152,070.11 collected.
Special Recognition
Prior to the start of the meeting the board recognized members of the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) program.
Christian Smajstrla, FCCLA sponsor, introduced the members who included Jennessee Kutach, Kendall Mayer, Brenna Scott and Nadia Evans.
Smajstrla said Kutach, Mayer and Evans will compete at State April 10 through 13 and Mayer will also begin serving as the Region IV vice-president of programs.
Palo Alto Firewall
The board approved the purchase of a Palo Alto Firewall cybersecurity program for $21,405.
According to the Palo Alto Firewall website, it is a cybersecurity company that is known for its next-generation firewalls. It offers advanced threat detection and prevention capabilities, going beyond traditional firewall functionality by identifying and controlling applications, users, and content.
Hallettsville ISD technology director Lela Tyson said, “We have to replace the current firewall that had come to the end of its life in February 2021. Over the years, it has been slowly failing and we have to reboot it about 5 to 7 times each year. This will also replace our additional filtering component, iboss.”
School Personnel
Following executive session, the board approved the hiring of professional staff.
It also approved Mary Dru Sitka as a 5th grade Math teacher.
In other action taken by the board:
• Approved an Arbitrage Reporting agreement with Government Capital Securities
• Discussed and tabled tuition agreements with Vysehrad ISD and Sweet Home ISD.
• Approved Update 124 to the TASB policy.
Board president Brian Smith presided over the meeting with board members Justin Smith, Holly Cliffe and Dennis Herring Jr. present for the meeting.