OISD School Board News Briefs
School board approves improvements
BY GINA KEATING | EDITOR
The school district is making a number of improvements to facilities this year that will cost around $300,000, school superintendent Dr. Greg Roach told the school board. The elementary school will receive four new Promethean boards - interactive display screens for classrooms to replace outdated models at a cost of $80,000, he said. The elementary school is the last of the three campuses to update the Promethean boards, he said. The high school gym floor will be resurfaced and the bear logo switched for an ‘O’ and a Cub paw for $20,000, he said. The high school commons will have its drainage problem resolved at a cost of $40,000 to pour concrete and keep it from becoming “a mud pit” when it rains, he said. The shop will receive a new plasma cutter for $50,000 - “we have about worn it out,” Dr Roach said of the existing cutter. The band hall storage will be finished for $12,000, he said. The district also will invest in school security, including “hardened” windows that don’t shatter and hardware to keep classroom doors shut in the event of an active shooter situation, he said. The district also will invest $10,000 in the FFA/Ag program. “The big expenditures will be over at the end of this year,” Dr. Roach said.
School lunch prices to rise
BY GINA KEATING | EDITOR
Food service revenue is up at Olney Independent School District but food costs and higher wages for cafeteria workers is creating a $63,000 deficit in the district’s budget, Dr. Roach said. The deficit could be offset by a hike in USDA reimbursement rates, he said. Kids will see a rise in their school lunch costs from $3.25 to $3.50 as a result of the rising food prices and from the planned wage hike, he said.
Drop in STAAR scores at Elementary Schools due to COVID
BY GINA KEATING | EDITOR
Olney Independent School District received preliminary results for its state assessment tests that indicate that Olney Elementary School slipped in its ratings from an ‘A’ grade to a ‘B’ grade, possibly because students fell behind during the COVID pandemic, OISD superintendent Dr. Greg Roach told the school board at its July 25 meeting. The preliminary STAAR results “were a mixed bag,” he said. Olney High School and Olney Junior High School kept their ‘A’ rankings in the preliminary results, he said. The combined score for the district probably will be a ‘B’ this year, he said.