• Square-facebook
  • X-twitter
Time to read
2 minutes
Read so far

School board okays new band uniform design at meeting

Wed, 09/19/2018 - 12:00 am
  •  
    BISD School Board holds a special meeting to pass the budget and new tax rate. Their next meeting was Sept. 10. BA photo by James Norman

Breckenridge ISD Board of Trustees met Monday, Sept. 10 and approved the new high school band uniforms, as well as acknowledged this year’s first students of the month. Along with a consent agenda, they approved to continue a partnership with Germ-Blast, a program that comes in and wipes down surfaces to eliminate germs to avoid the spreading of infections.

To open the meeting, four students were awarded “Student of the Month,” which amounted to one student at each of the three elementary schools and the middle school. The following students are:

• Dexy Adams, a first grader at East Elementary

• Audra Wimberley, a second grader at North Elementary

• Matthew Wunsch III, a fourth grader at South Elementary

• Callie Shirley, a student at Breckenridge Junior High

During the meeting, the board heard a presentation on the new accountability system passed by the state to see the breakdown of where BISD currently stands in the system. BISD received a C, or 79 out of 100. In the presentation, areas of strength were identified as an increase in reading scores, save for seventh and eighth grade, math, science and social study scores.

Student growth was listed in areas of concern, particularly in South Elementary. The board noted one reason it is difficult is because BISD has several smaller group populations that are accounted for in the scores. The district also acknowledged it must be sure not to let any group fall behind in their scores or academics, which is something the presentation echoed. They added this is not a problem in several districts that were scored higher.

The presentation ended with goals from the previous year and a goal to follow it up. According to the presentation, 73 percent of third graders in the district were reading at grade level. This exceeded their goal of increasing it from 67 to 70 percent. This year’s goal will be to make it 75 percent. The band uniform was also discussed. The board came to an agreement on the design that was pitched. BISD Band Director Dane Richardson presented the design to council, explained the costs and broke down the amounts being ordered. Typically, the band uniforms last about 10 years, which is what the current uniforms are at. BISD Superintendent Tim Seymore said rather than buying a few new uniforms, it would be more worth while to purchase a new set entirely.

The band’s growth is also a reason for the purchase. When the current uniforms were bought 10 years ago, there were 40 kids and 100 uniforms. Now there are 98 kids and the order would call for 150 new uniforms. The total bill would be $60,877.50, which has been approved.

The board also agreed to continue their contract with GermBlast for more than $30,000. GermBlast is a service that disinfects and wipes down surfaces to help stifle the spread of infection. The Board did not have data present to show it makes a difference, but Seymore noted the previous year when they came was not as severe as prior years.

The BISD school board meets on the first Monday of each month. Their next meeting would be Oct. 8, but to avoid conflicts with Columbus Day they agreed to push it to the following Monday, Oct. 15.