Lockhart ISD ends year on firm footing

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

During a lengthy but celebratory meeting of the Lockhart Independent School District Board of Trustees on Monday evening, LISD officials announced that the district has made great strides during the last 12 months, and will be starting 2010 on solid ground, both financially and educationally.

Assistant Superintendent Ja

nie Wright presented information regarding the district”s latest Academic Excellence Indicator System (AIES), which monitors standardized testing scores for the district.

The AEIS figures, released in their original form in August and finalized last month, indicate massive gains by LISD students during the 2008-2009 round to Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) testing. In fact, LISD students gained so significantly that the district earned a Recognized rating, the second-highest available in the ranking system.

Two campuses, in fact, earned the highest rating – Exemplary – while some others were only a few points away from reaching the district”s eventual goal of being an Exemplary district.

Some sources inside the district suggest that higher recognitions might also be in order for several district campuses. However, official announcements on additional recognitions for students and administrators are still forthcoming.

After Wright”s enthusiastic presentation, LISD Chief Financial Officer Tina Knudsen offered a “state of the district” report on school finances, which indicated the district is on solid financial ground and expects to remain so throughout the next year.

Knudsen said the district”s enrollment, one of the factors used to determine the amount of funding a school district receives from government sources, is higher than originally projected when the trustees built the budget this summer.

In fact, Knudsen said, the increased enrollment has the potential to earn the district more than $1 million in funding that was not expected.

However, she noted, the budget was also predicated on tax rolls more valuable than the official Caldwell County Appraisal District roll wound up being. That difference will offset the projected gains for enrollment growth, to a certain extent.

Still, Knudsen said, the district will likely end the fiscal year in a financial position better than initially projected, possibly allowing for campus improvements and other projects that might not have been feasible otherwise.

In other business, the board recognized dozens of students for their accomplishments throughout the year, including winners of the science fairs at two elementary campuses, the state-qualified Lockhart Lions Cross Country team, and two members of the varsity Lady Lions volleyball team, Lauren Moore and Jordyn Platt, who were named to the Academic All-State Team this year.

After hosting a short holiday reception for administrators and guests, the trustees attended to some routine business, then convened in an executive session to complete the performance evaluation of Superintendent Jose Parra.

The LISD Board of Trustees normally meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Center at Lockhart High School. The meetings are open to the public, and parents, students and taxpayers are encouraged to attend. For those who cannot attend, the meetings are also broadcast over the Internet on the district”s website, www.lockhartisd.org.