Dear BISD staff,
As the school year and my term as Board President wind down, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on where BISD is and where we are going. First and foremost, we as a Board are proud of Superintendent Darrell Brown, his administration, and all the wonderful personnel throughout BISD who work so hard on behalf of the children of this community. We are particularly excited about Dr. Brown's emphasis on academic excellence. Under his leadership, the district is seeing student achievement improvements all across the District. The Board celebrates with Dr. Brown, the faculty, and staff, many recent positive academic achievements, such as:
- BISD performance on the 2012 STAAR EOCs exceeded state performance by four percentage points or more in reading, writing, Algebra I, biology, and world geography.
- BISD graduates have exceeded the state and national average in ACT composite scores for the past 9 years.
- BISD graduates have exceeded the state average reading and mathematics SAT scores for the past 12 years.
- In 2012, BISD performance on STAAR reading exceeded state performance in grades 3-8.
- In 2012, BISD students scored 3 or higher on 1,204 AP exams, which represents a possible savings in college tuition of over $1.3 million to students and their parents.
"We know this is just the beginning of great things happening in BISD. Congratulations to each of you for the part you are playing in this success. The Board and administration are anxiously waiting to see more great things from the latest STAAR and EOC tests," Brad Greene, Board Vice President, recently shared. This progress is even more impressive when you recall that the amount of target revenue the District receives is among the lowest amounts in the state.
Earlier this school year, because of needed security measures and aging buildings, infrastructure, and technology, the Board formed a community bond committee. The committee was composed of a diverse group of citizens from across BISD who worked diligently to create a bond package to address our educational needs. In developing the proposal, the bond committee strove to be innovative in their thinking, focusing on the current and future needs of our facilities and how to best impact student learning for years and decades to come. As you know, the committee's proposal was accepted by the Board and presented to the voters, but the bond did not pass. Unfortunately, because the bond did not pass, we will have to continue to use scarce dollars, which could be used for other purposes, to patch up and maintain outdated structures, and because we cannot make needed technology upgrades, we will not be able to provide some educational enhancements.
Regardless, we are committed to excellence in BISD, just as you are. The Board is evaluating next steps and realizes that our staff is anxious to see what is next in BISD. Over the next weeks and months, the Board and administration will work together evaluating data and asking questions of our community. We will take what we learn and use much gained information to help us determine next steps.
Board Secretary Cary Hancock asked me to share this thought with you, "I am sure BISD's focus will continue to be on meeting the educational needs of our students. I want to personally thank you for your regular hard work. That work is paying off in the lives of children each and every day."
Summer break is just around the corner, and I encourage you to finish the school year strong and then take some much needed time off. Each of you has earned it.
Thank you for all you do,
Ralph Kunkel
President
Board of Trustees
