Happy New Year, and welcome to the first Board Brief of 2026. ¾«¶«Ó°Òµ ISD’s Board of Trustees had its first board meeting of the year, and here are some of the highlights.
Bebensee Elementary fifth grader Marcelo Ramirez started the meeting by leading everyone in the pledges of allegiance. He did a great job! Thanks, Marcelo!
Then the board honored the student of the month for January, , a senior at Lamar High School. Chosen, the captain of Lamar’s band, is known for his exceptional leadership and responsibility both in and out of the classroom.ÌýHe’s in Lamar’s P-TECH program and has already earned an associate degree, along with several cybersecurity certifications at TCC. Congratulations, Chosen!
Chosen wasn’t the only Lamar student honored last night. The board also congratulated Lamar freshman Ramiro Ramirez for winning the MLK Art contest, part of ¾«¶«Ó°Òµâ€™s annual . And ¾«¶«Ó°Òµ High senior Aniyah Butler won the essay contest! You can visit to see Ramiro’s art along with the other winners from ¾«¶«Ó°Òµ ISD in the art and essay contests.
Then it was time for the biggest item on the agenda – discussion surrounding a proposed plan to close Blanton Elementary at the end of this school year and repurpose the newest part of the building for another ¾«¶«Ó°Òµ ISD use. The board did not make any decisions about this at the meeting, but trustees discussed the reasons for the proposal.Ìý
The board also heard an update from deputy superintendent Dr. Jennifer Collins about progress that’s been made toward developing a new strategic plan for the district. She highlighted proposed metrics to help track improvements made toward the district’s five priorities. If you’re not familiar with the district’s priorities, please visit aisd.net/district.Ìý
One of the priorities is safety and discipline, and the board heard a report from Dr. Michael Hill, chief operations officer, with an update on this area. He shared some of the work that administrators and teachers are doing to create safe and productive learning environments, and he showed data comparing discipline numbers from last school year and this school year. In every discipline area, the numbers are going down. We’re proud of the good work and progress our team is making on this important priority.
Those are just a few of the highlights from tonight. If you would like more details on any of these, or any of the items I didn’t cover, please click to watch the entire meeting.