The Board of Trustees selected a search firm to find the next LISD superintendent, approved a change of the LISD fiscal year, and reviewed attendance zoning scenarios for the 2020–21 school year at its May 2 meeting.
Trustees start superintendent selection process, name search firm
The Board of Trustees selected a search firm to find the next Leander ISD superintendent of schools after the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) named Dan Troxell, Ph.D. as its deputy executive director.
The Board approved Thompson and Horton as the search firm, which will start a community engagement process for collecting feedback to guide its vetting of qualified candidates.
Troxell will continue to serve as superintendent until the Board finalizes next steps in the selection process.
“The Board was unified in its desire to get our search started quickly with a highly respected search firm. But we will take our time making our selection, while ensuring a transparent and open process,” Board President Aaron Johnson said. “This is an important moment of reflection and engagement with our community to ensure we attract elite candidates who fit our specific profile. We ask our staff, families and community to follow our progress and to take advantage of opportunities to contribute to our candidate profile.”
Trustees expect to meet with the search firm during a special May 8 Board of Trustees meeting with the goal of having the new superintendent in place before the start of the new school year.
Trustees hone in on zoning priorities, review Scenario B with modifications
As they continue to work toward a districtwide attendance zoning plan for the opening of Danielson Middle School in 2020–21, Trustees asked administration to review Scenario B with one modification, sending Neighborhood 3100 to Cedar Park Middle School. The resulting Scenario E map and feeder patterns will be posted on the zoning webpage next week.
Trustees discussed financial implications of schools that operate over and under capacity, including staffing guidelines and the cost of portables. The timeline for approval of the zoning with the potential for approval in June.
“Scenario B offers a tremendous balance of aligning feeder patterns and balancing enrollment,” Board President Aaron Johnson said. “With some modifications, it may be the best solution to what is clearly a very complex situation.”
For more information about the Leander ISD attendance zone adjustment process, please visit www.leanderisd.org/msaz.
District changes 2020 fiscal year start, reviews staffing options to reduce elementary class sizes
Trustees voted to change the start of the district’s fiscal year from Sept. 1 to July 1 and reviewed costs associated with reducing fourth-grade class sizes next school year.
LISD is one year into a phased approach at reducing teacher/student ratios at the elementary level, having addressed fifth grade in 2018–19. For 2019–20, the focus is on reducing class sizes in fourth grade from 24 to 22 students per classroom. If adopted in the budget process, the initiative will require hiring approximately 16 more fourth-grade teachers at a cost of $880,000.
The change in fiscal year will better support teachers and schools at the beginning of school. The process would culminate in a change in 2020. The change does not result in any changes in the budget or tax rate processes.
“I am excited about updating our fiscal year start date to July 1,” Trustee Elexis Grimes said. “This will better prepare our campuses for student arrival and give our staff the tools they need in order to complete that mission.”
