Dickinson ISD Gator Bytes

It was "Hats off to Dickinson ISD" as teachers and support employees showed off some creative hats at the district's Convocation Wednesday morning at McAdams Junior High.

hats3 This annual employee gathering brings the majority of the district's employees together to help kickoff the new school year. This year, employees were encouraged to wear a hat to help celebrate the district's Recognized School District achievement.

hats2 A special "Hats off to Dr. Williams" presentation
concluded the event to honor retiring Superintendent Dr. Leland Williams. Each principal presented him with a different type of hat to represent all the "hats" he has worn during his 16 years as Superintendent of Dickinson ISD.

Jeff Pack named TASSP Region 4
Assistant Principal of the Year

A big congratulations goes out to Jeff Pack, associate principal at McAdams Junior High. Pack was named Region 4 Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year from the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. School administrators are nominated and chosen by their peers based upon outstanding leadership and exemplary performance. Jeff will now go on to compete for the state title of Assistant Principal of the Year.

Energy conservation a top priority
as students return to school

As a new school year gets underway next week, energy consumption and conservation is a huge concern in our area and across the state as high temperatures continually climb above 100 degrees. The Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas have issued some conservation tips for schools to put in place to help with energy consumption once school gets underway. With the help of Dickinson ISD's new Energy Education program put into place earlier this summer, these tips were already being implemented to help with energy conservation. In addition, peak electricity usage generally occurs between 3-7 p.m., when the school day has ended or will be ending shortly at Dickinson ISD campuses.

Thermostats during the school day will be set to 74 degrees and raised to 83 degrees when the school day ends. Employees are encouraged to close blinds or curtains on any window that gets direct sunlight.
Any unnecessary lights and electrical equipment are to be turned off when not in use.
Campuses are asked to avoid any non-essential activities that require electricity during the peak hours of 3-7 p.m.

Board approves budget and tax rate

The Dickinson ISD Board of Trustees approved a balanced budget for the 2011-2012 school year at their meeting Aug. 15. The new budget of $62,067,883, represents a reduction of $4.3 million from the 2010-2011 school year budget. Dickinson ISD spent the last eight months looking at ways to reduce the budget due to the state legislature reducing school district budgets across Texas. The district reduced employee positions by more than 60, all done through attrition, with no layoffs. Superintendent Dr. Leland Williams detailed other budget reductions made in his recent article in the district newsletter, "Dialogue." Click here to read his article.

The Board also approved the 2012 tax rate of $1.54 - the same as 2011.