The Goodrich ISD School Board met Thursday to approve a roofing bid, a holiday bonus, and hear a report on instructional materials in the regular meeting for November.
Goodrich superintendent Daniel Barton said staff and administration are currently reviewing all instructional materials in the district.
"We are looking at the possibility of recommending going a different route, as far as our instructional materials," Barton said. "We really want a vet all of our materials K-12, but we are going to start out with reading and math K-5. What we hope to do is (determine) a timeline before the end of the school year, as to what the recommendation is. If we end up swapping curriculums, that is time to get it here over the summer and get it in teacher's hands.
"We want to vet it ourselves. The materials we are on now were vetted by TEA and we just haven't seen the growth, quite honestly, that we expect to see. There are some identified reasons for that and we are kind of learning that through the TSL process. It has come to light in that Texas Strategic Leadership process. We think we have found the problem, and we want to find the solution. I trust nobody better to do it than our own people. We've got great teachers, and they will be involved in the process along with administration.”
In action items, the board passed an update that will allow students to miss 20 total days of classroom instruction for extracurricular activities. The campus principal may make limited exceptions to provide additional extracurricular days. Those exceptions will be based on the students' academic and attendance records. Barton reminded that the word "exception" means it will be used sparingly.
The board also passed an item on the old gymnasium re-roofing project, for $148,500 that comes with a 20-year guarantee. The contract was awarded to Bonner Roofing in Diboll. The project will begin in the summer when the gymnasium is not being used as often. Bonner will also hire the solar company to place the panels on that roof.
One final approval was a staff incentive bonus, where staff will receive a $500 addition around Christmas.
Goodrich ISD scored 100 from the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas for the 2023-24 year.
“Were usually about a 96,” Goodrich financial manager Sarah Bacica said. “Next year, when we don’t have the ESSER money to pump into instruction, that (100 score) will probably drop a couple of points.”
Taxes collected for the month of October are around $14,000. Around 99% still needs to be collected for the fiscal year that begins in October.
TEA will be on campus Dec. 3 for a district vulnerability assessment. They will look at safety issues to ensure the campus is up to code. The district recently had to place closures on a dozen exterior doors. The cafeteria will also receive new doors and a new frame. The ag building will receive its new door around the Christmas break. The new intercom system will be in place by Christmas. New thermostats are also getting installed.
