Thorndale ISD

Volume 2, Issue 11: 1/31/25

Posted on January 31, 2025

Volume 2, Issue 11: 1/31/25

Greetings Bulldogs! Happy Friday.

Do We Have to “Make Up” the Recent Weather Day?:

NOPE. Many of you who have been in the district for some time know that our calendar has extra minutes built in for this very reason (and others). Thankfully, even with having no school on Tuesday, January 22nd, and the upcoming calendar adjustment on Thursday, Feb. 13th from a school day to a teacher work day (to host UIL academics), we still have 76,830 instructional minutes. We are only required to have 75,600 instructional minutes, so we are still good!

February 13th - UIL Academics Meet:

As mentioned above, Thursday, February 13th WAS a normal instructional day for students and staff. However, we have adjusted the calendar and it is now labeled as a “teacher work day”. As a reminder, this was done because this year Thorndale ISD is hosting the district-wide elementary AND middle school UIL academics meet. This is a huge undertaking and a great opportunity to show off how great TISD is!

Please stay tuned for more details.

Student Counselor Appreciation Week Feb 3rd-7th

Help us show our appreciation for all three of the TISD counselors. TISD is blessed by each of them and all they do for our students, staff, and district! THANK YOU!!!

THS - Andie Warner
TMS - Britney Pollard
TES - Abby Jones

THSCA 2A Region 8 Coach of the Year!!!:

Congratulations Coach John Kovar!

We are thrilled to announce that Coach Kovar has been named the Regional Coach of the Year. After a strong bounce-back season it was obvious that the Bulldogs, under the leadership of Coach Kovar, have quickly reestablished their presence in 2A football. We want to thank Coach Kovar, and all of our coaches for the hours they pour into our students. Perhaps what impresses me the most about Thorndale ISD coaches is that they not only prioritize that their students learn the sports they participate in

The Texas 89th Legislative:

It is that time again when the Texas House and Senate reconvene to make key decisions for Texas over the next biennium (2 years). This group meets every two years starting in January and their biggest decision is how to spend the Texas Budget!

Before we begin, if you feel way behind on all things Texas Legislature, you are not alone! Here is a great and easy-to-read article giving you the gist of what is important to know: Texas Legislature 101

Here are some key points I want to start with:

I believe it is incredibly important for educators and parents of students in education to stay informed.
Lawmakers are expected to represent their constituents, but it is important to note that they often give more weight to the voices of those who vote and those who speak up about their needs.
I will include some snippets and updates throughout this year's session from an “educator-lens” meaning I will focus on issues that affect education. I will NOT be sharing information in an attempt to sway or persuade anyone.
Although I will only be covering topics that affect education topics, remember there is more than just education on the table that they must discuss, although we are a big piece of the pie.
I encourage you to find a credible reporting entity that you enjoy to get all the information beyond the little bit that I share.
Stay patient as much of the information is drafts and not final legislation.
Finally, context is key. We teach our kids to be critical thinkers and view sources and information through a critical lens. We must do the same as all kinds of misinformation and catchy article titles will fly around in an attempt to get views and cause chaos!

Here we go!

First up, the Comptroller (kind of like the business manager for the Texas Legislature) who calculates/estimates budget predictions provides his annual report that shows the legislature will have roughly $194.6 billion in revenue available. Keep that number in mind as we talk about allocation amounts throughout this session.

Note: $4.6 billion of that amount is a carryover (unspent) from the last biennium that was allocated for education (specifically teacher/staff raises) but did not get spent because no bill was ever passed through the governor's office. Why? Well, if you remember back to the last session, the governor called multiple special sessions (meetings after the original meetings) to request the House and Senate pass a bill including vouchers. It never passed, so essentially the governor never approved the spending of these funds.

On January 14th the Texas House elected Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) as the new speaker of the Texas House. This is important to note, as Burrows was in favor of vouchers last session and vouchers, also known as Educational Savings Accounts (ESA) are a big topic this session. We will need to wait and see how that unfolds.

Next up, the Senate and House have released their first drafts of the state budgets. These bills will change throughout the session, but they do give us a good first look at spending priorities.

Both bills include language that would allocate roughly $1.7 billion additional dollars to education to fund expected student population growth across the state. Additionally, schools that have adopted Golden Pennies (TISD) can expect a slight increase in revenue as the current law requires the yield to increase from $129.52 to $132.40 in fiscal year 2026 and $140.02 in fiscal year 2027.

The House bill includes a $4.85 billion increase over the next biennium (2 years total) in funding to public education.

The Senate bill includes an increase of $4.85 billion over the next biennium to be used for teacher raises ($750 million would go to the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA)). The other $4.1 billion would go to teacher pay increases in the form of $4,000 for every teacher in the state and $10,000 increases for teachers in Rural districts (note: TISD is classified as a rural district).

Both bills include an increase of $200 million annually for the school safety allotment (which is more than double the current allotment).

Both bills also include vouchers (renamed as Educational Saving Accounts). Those bills have this increase in funding at $1 billion (last session they requested ½ that amount - albeit the bills never passed).

Finally, both budgets include additional tax relief of $3.5 billion. If you remember, in the last session we saw an enormous tax relief structure that included the increase to the homestead exemption. Although this is appreciated by homeowners to counteract rising assessment values across the state, it is important to note that it does impact the district's ability to collect Bond Funds (because the overall tax asset amount decreases).

In addition to the budget, the legislatures have committees that study, discuss, and make policy related to different priorities. One such committee is the education committee.

On the Senate side, some notable education priorities being discussed include expanding the Early Education Allotment so that Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 students generate additional funding. It is important to note that we only get ½ funding for our Pre-K kids. Huh? Yeah, you heard me right. We only get the equivalent of ½ of a day's worth of funding for each Pre-K student even though we educate them for the full day. The district, like many across the state, simply absorbs the cost. Not to mention the classes are capped at 11 yet require a full teacher like K-12 classrooms do.

Other topics in the Senate Ed committee include reinstating A-F accountability and High-Quality Instructional Materials monitoring through TEA (expect more info on this in the future).

Again, my goal is NOT to sway or persuade anyone's opinion. Rather, I want to encourage everyone to stay informed on all things Texas politics. Your voice matters.

(information credit to TREA, Raise Your Hand Texas, and the Texas School Policy Network)

Texas Comptroller’s Report - Texas Finance:

Speaking of budgets, revenue, and Texas… The comptroller put out a great article (https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/economics/2024/big-map/) to emphasize the magnitude of Texas finance and the impact of growth across the state. If Texas were a country, it would be the 8th largest country in the world! That is crazy.

The image below is from that article and gives a great visual of the wealth in our state and in our region.

Sandow Lakes Update:

A much-anticipated development in our county is the Sandow Lakes property formerly known as Alcoa. This development is massive and although many people are not pleased with the impact it will have on the size of our county, and Thorndale specifically, it does bring enormous tax value to this area.

A new website has been created with great updates on the project and some generated images that may blow your mind: Sandow Lakes Ranch: Transforming Texas Real Estate with Development and Energy at Alcoa Site — Beck Reit Commercial

The picture above shows some historic images of the site, which are nothing close to the generated images below that depict the future build-out of part of the property. More images can be found at the link above and specifically at this summary located here: Sandow Lakes Summary Brochure

NWEA MAP Growth Testing:

This may be a new conversation to some parents, but for your kids, MAP testing has become routine here in Thorndale ISD. We launched this new system this school year as a way to track student learning throughout the year. Many districts across the state use this progress monitoring tool (or something similar) and I cannot tell you how excited I am to have it in Thorndale ISD. So far, it has been rolled out in the elementary school at the 1st-5th grade, middle school 6th-8th, and testing subjects at the high school.

For more information on this testing, and the parent reports you may have already received (or will receive in the future), please check out the information below. This is an evolving priority in TISD so if your child has experienced any hick-ups in the rollout, please know we will continue to work through that.

Most importantly, if you have not received a parent report for your child and they are in one of the grades above, please feel free to email Melanie.Morrison@thorndale.txed.net or your child’s principal/teacher as we would love to get you a copy.

Annual Required Postings:

Each year, public school districts provide parents and the community with information on a variety of topics to ensure full transparency. TISD has created a document over the years that houses all of those required postings in one easy-to-navigate place. It can be found on our district website under required postings, or here at this link: https://bit.ly/3VLRXJV

Topics include:

ACCOUNTABILITY
FINANCIAL
GOVERNANCE
HEALTH
PERSONAL
PURCHASING
STUDENTS

Basketball Updates:

Boys and girls basketball is still on a roll. Both will be finishing up the regular season soon and both have already clinched a playoff appearance! Please stay tuned for dates, times, and locations!

Spring Sports Schedules:

The busiest time of the year for our Lady Dogs and Bulldogs is here! Stay updated with all the schedules online and right here on social media.

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Most sincerely,

Zack Kleypas
Superintendent
Thorndale ISD
#TISDStrivingForExcellence

“Keep improving, always, in all ways.”