PUBLIC NOTICES Regular board meeting set for February 13

The Longview ISD Board of Trustees usually meet in the boardroom of the LISD Education Support Center, (1301 E. Young St.) but often set special-called meetings at various locations around the district.

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, February 13. After that, the next regular board meeting is tentatively set for Monday, March 6, at the ESC building.

For more information about the LISD meetings or about the boar members, go to LISD.org . Agendas and Minutes can also be found at the website, as well as information on financial transparency. Information about the areas of the district can also be found online.

District seeking architectural firm for various projects

The Longview Independent School District is seeking to retain an architectural firm with the qualifications and staff resources necessary to perform planning, designing, bidding and construction oversight phases of various projects deemed to be in the best interest of the District. In addition the District is looking for a firm with the capability to provide value added services including, but not limited to structural engineering, security consultation, technology consultation, interior design, etc. Therefore, it is the intent of the Board to obtain information in the request for qualifications that addresses these options.

Firms are requested to submit their qualifications outlining their background and experience in campus planning and building design.

Selected firms may be invited to participate in interviews. Once the most qualified firm is determined, the District will attempt to negotiate a fee. If a fee cannot be agreed upon, negotiations will begin with the next most qualified firm. Once an agreement is reached, the selected firm’s name will be submitted for the final approval by the Longview ISD Board of Trustees.

Submit one original and four (4) copies of the RFQ to the following:

Longview ISD Administration Office 1301 E Young Street Longview Tx 75602

Please mark on the outside of the envelope “RFQ #20-01.”

BOARD |Continued from page 7 service and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and civic involvement.

“Like so many of our programs here at Longview ISD, or Future Farmers of America students continue to perform at the highest levels,” said Dr. Wilcox. “Not just during their time here, but as they continue their careers and educational goals. It’s certainly no surprise to see Cooper receive this award, and LISD remains proud of his excellent work in the field of Agriculture.”

Esser Funds

Dr. Wayne Guidry , Assistant Superintendent for Finance, told trustees that the Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services (RIPICS) plan was revised in December 2022 and the Use of Funds Plan remains as it was previously presented. It should be noted that the district’s total ESSER III total allocation was $19,666,123.

The purpose of the American Rescue Plan: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER III) funding is for school districts to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools.

Dr. Guidry explained to the board that the American Rescue Plan (ARP) statute requires that local education agencies develop and make publicly available their plans for the use of funds after having engaged in meaningful consultation with stakeholders. This plan must be reviewed and revised every six months.

“The district conducted a needs assessment at the campus, in-district charter partners, and district level with input from students, parents, staff, and the community through direct communication, surveys, board meetings, and prior needs assessments to determine how its portion of ESSER III funds should be used,” he said.

“Per that assessment, Longview ISD has written a plan and it is posted to our website. Should revisions to the plan become necessary, the plan will be updated and a revised version posted as well.”

SUPT’S REPORT

During the Superintendent’s Report portion of the meeting, Dr. Wilcox honored the LISD Board of Trustees as part of School Board Recognition Month, as Dr. James Hockenberry, Assistant Superintendent of District Services, presented award plaques, gift baskets, and student artwork to LISD board members, explaining that the theme this year is “Forward, Together.”

HOCKENBERRY

Although showing appreciation should be a year-round process, Dr. Wilcox said taking advantage of the designated month “ensures that these important people receive some of the thanks they deserve.”

“Our school board members are volunteers who shoulder critical responsibilities and often make difficult choices for our district, all without pay,” he said. “Their goal is always focused on the future success of the children in our district.”

Other items in his report included the latest RAPTOR (Rapid Algorithmic Prototyping Tool for Ordered Reasoning) data from the Office of Innovation, as well as departmental reports from the LISD Office of Innovation and Community Relations.

In addition, Dr. Wilcox discussed the TASB 2022-24 Advocacy Agenda, in addition to receiving updates from public school charter partners: East Texas Advanced Academies (ETAA), Longview Educates And Prospers (LEAP), and the Texas Council for International Studies (TCIS).

During the course of the meeting, the LISD Board of Trustees also:

• APPROVED a multi-year contract with Comprehensive Training Center to assist with the application of a 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) grant;

• APPROVED Minutes and Board Time Use Tracker for the Dec. 12 Regular Meeting; and

• APPROVED Financial Statements as of November 2022.

For More Info

Trustees usually meet in the boardroom of the LISD Education Support Center (1301 E. Young Street), but often set special-called meetings at various locations around the district. The next regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 13, 2023.

For more information about the Longview ISD Board of Trustees please go to LISD.org

Calendar 2 was the clear winner, receiving 76.3 percent of the vote, while the remaining 23.7 percent of voters preferred Calendar 1,” he said, adding that the feedback from the survey also encouraged an additional adjustment to the final version approved by the board.

The survey, which ran from Jan. 19-24, received a total of 777 votes and nearly 200 comments from staff.

Thanking staff members for their participation and candor, Dr. Hockenberry said he hopes that intervals of time off over the course of the year, “will help provide staff and students with some strategic downtime at busy times of the school year.”

“Hopefully, we can get relief from the restrictive guidelines and have something even more marvelous to consider in the future,” he said. “But under the tight guidelines we are currently forced to work within, this calendar is a good step in a new direction.”

Important dates for next school year include:

TALKS |Continued from page 4

Sam Jackson, a 10th grader has a good knowledge about credit. His father Worth Jackson is a banker.

Sam says he learned from his father to pay bills on time.

Avery Gonzalez, another 10th grader is not in the dark about good credit. “Good credit is something you build up. You get a credit card; you use it wisely and pay your bills in a timely manner.”

Addison Martin was excited to attend the LOBO Talks. She has

IB |Continued from page 6

• Aug. 9 – First day for students

• Sept. 4 – Labor Day (observed)

• Nov. 20-24 – Thanksgiving Break

• Dec. 20-Jan. 3 – Winter Break

• Jan. 15 – Dr. Martin Luther King Day (observed)

• March 11-15 – Spring Break

• April 1 – Good Friday (observed)

• May 24 – Final day of school

• May 27 – Memorial Day (observed)

• May 28-29 – Bad weather makeup days (if needed)

EOC/STAAR testing dates include the weeks of Dec. 5-15, April 16-30, and May 1-10 with STAAR makeup dates on June 18-28. For the complete 2023-24 Academic Calendar, please go to LISD.org.

Clean Audit

Later the board approved the financial audit report for the 2022 fiscal year.

Dr. Wayne Guidry , Assistant Superintendent for Finance, praised the tireless efforts the LISD Business Office staff throughout the audit process, citing their attention to detail and fierce integrity in accounting for every dollar limited knowledge about credit and borrowing but she is willing to learn from the presentation.

In addition, Alley discussed rules for using credit.

She told the students to do the following : universities like UT and TAMU. It also increases the chances “of getting the major college of their choice once admitted. While IB does not guarantee them the major of their choice, it certainly helps when applying to exclusive schools within the university such as the McCombs School of Business at UT and the Mays School of Business at TAMU.” Also, “Many, certainly all I can think of, who were admitted to honors programs at state or private Texas universities were IB students.”

• Pay credit card balances in full to avoid paying any interest.

• Be aware of early loan payoff penalties. Besides that, pay loans off quickly by paying more than the minimum payment.

IB students are also excellent candidates for generous academic scholarships at universities. In the last several years at Longview High School, IB students have earned the lion’s share of the college scholarships awarded to graduating seniors, according to Kay Ray. With 77% of academic scholarships earned in 2019 to 62% in 2022 (but with an unfortunate slump during the two years affected by COVID), these figures for scholarships are impressive. Mrs. Marsha Childers, IB DP Language and Literature teacher at LHS, says that 80% of IB students receive some form of scholarships and remembers that one student who went to Em- of public funds coming in and going out of Longview ISD. everyone involved in the process.”

Giving her report to the board, Mrs. Murrell explained that the district will receive “an unmodified opinion, with no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting and compliance.”

A “clean” audit means that financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards and that there are no material misstatements.

In attendance were district staffers Mrs. Xenia Durham , Ms. Kaitlyn Fugate , and Ms. Tiffany Lee , but Dr. Guidry extended his praise to the entire department, as well as Ms. Susan Murrell from the Lufkin-based CPA firm Alexander, Lankford & Hiers.

“An audit is always a time-consuming and complicated process, and I can’t imagine it going better than this,” he said. “That is a tremendous credit to the professionalism and excellence of

• Keep debt to income ratio (DTI) below 28%. Be aware that borrowing too much in one swoop is not a good idea.

• Pay 20% down for large items such as homes or cars. it helps the borrower not to borrow the full amount of the purchase and pay it off with assurance and ease.

Alley concluded her presentation by reminding students that credit has a big effect on their ory University pieced together a number of smaller scholarships to total a full-ride there. The many benefits of an IB education are well known by college admissions and scholarships officials, but looking beyond that to how students perform at university proves out these benefits. As Scholarship Coordinator at LHS, Mrs. Ray has learned from thankful former LHS students that “IB prepared them regarding time management once they were at college, for they had learned how to manage their classes and extra-curricular responsibilities; it prepared them for doing research at college and writing papers that required citing sources because they had written those papers in IB English, and it taught them to write papers in classes other than English as well. IB prepared them for sitting for lengthy exams before they sat at college for mid-terms and finals.” Mrs. Childers, who also hears from grateful former students, says, “The point of IB is not to get the college credits because that’s entirely up to the universities and the students’ major, and other factors that we have no control over, but what puts them at lives since it is one of the determining factors for borrowing in the future. the front of the line is their study habits and time management skills. They come back to us and tell us ‘I get assigned 1200 word essays frequently. I go back to my dorm room or apartment and sit down to write [an essay] in about 3 hours, and I receive an A on it,’ and this is in places like UT and Texas A & M where we know the rigor is there.”

The clean audit comes on the heels of Longview ISD’s perfect score from the Texas Education Agency’s Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. The district also holds a AAA bond rating from S&P Global and an Aa2 bond rating from Moody’s Investment Service Inc. The S&P rating indicates that bonds are of the highest quality and offer the lowest degree of investment risk. Issuers are considered extremely stable and dependable.

LOBO Talks is patterned after the worldwide motivation and education program, TED TALKS: where various experts visit college campuses and theatres to educate their audience. Longview ISD community relations created LOBO Talks with a similar format. Once a month, they invite community experts to Longview High School to speak to at-risk and business students.

Quite importantly, IB places students at great advantage for college admissions and scholarships, but most importantly, IB gives them the solid foundation to succeed once they get there