EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Conroe, Montgomery & Willis ISDs
EDUCATIONHIGHLIGHTS MONTGOMERY ISD The district held two town hall meetings in January and February for community members to learn about the district’s proposed bond projects before the MISD board of trustees was slated to vote on calling a bond election during a regular meeting Feb. 15, which was after press time Feb. 14. During a Jan. 18 school board meeting presentation, district officials said the estimated property tax impact of a $326.9 million bond election would be an estimated $0.007 increase per $100 valuation for MISD’s interest and sinking rate. This equals an increase of $22.29 per year on a $350,000 home, according to district information, pending no change to the homestead exemption. QUOTEOFNOTE “IT’S JUST ABOUT IMPACTING EDUCATION FOR THE KIDS. WE HAVE TO BE AHEADOF THE GROWTHBECAUSE IF [STUDENTS ARE] COMING, WE GOT TOHAVE APLACE TOPUT THEM.” GIDGET BELINOSKI-BAILEY, EDUCATIONAL DIAGNOSTICIAN AND MEMBER OF WILLIS ISD’S LONG-TERM PLANNING COMMITTEE ON FEB. 9 The Conroe ISD board of trustees will meet at 6 p.m. March 22 at 3205 W. Davis St., Conroe. 936-709-7752. www.conroeisd.net The Montgomery ISD board of trustees will meet at 6 p.m. March 22 at 20776 Eva St., Montgomery. 936-276-2000. www.misd.org The Willis ISD board of trustees will meet at 5:30 p.m. March 9 at 612 N. Campbell St., Willis. 936-856-1200. www.willisisd.org MEETINGSWE COVER NUMBER TOKNOW $225million The Willis ISD board of trustees voted Feb. 9 to call a bond election for May 7 that will place three propositions on the ballot, totaling $225 million for two new schools and other district facilities and improvements.
Safety level lowered following employee shortage
BY ALLY BOLENDER
“This last little bump we had really impacted our staff,” Null said at The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Economic Outlook Conference on Feb. 11. “That’s where we get vulnerable is if we don’t have enough teachers, then you can’t safely open school. But we were able to get through what was a rough patch about a month ago, and now we see ourselves in a much better place.” The CISD board of trustees unanimously voted to increase substitute teacher pay by $10 a day during a Nov. 16 regular meeting. The new pay rate went into effect Jan. 2, district officials previously said.
CONROE ISD According to Conroe ISD officials, the district moved from COVID-19 safety alert Level 4 to Level 3 on Feb. 7, indicating a lower level of danger to students and staff. The district had moved to Level 4 on Jan. 13 following an employee shortage due to COVID-19 isolations, which require COVID-19 infected employees to stay home. Level 3 calls for continued enhanced cleaning protocols and size limits on indoor activities. However, Level 3 loos- ens restrictions on visitors in school buildings and event cancellations. Superintendent Curtis Null said that employee isolations and low availability of substitutes to fill empty classrooms could result in school closures. According to the CISD COVID-19 dashboard on Jan. 15, 632 employees were in isolation, which was the highest number of employees in isolation recorded by the district. By Feb. 11, the number of employees in isolation dropped to 106. In addition, the district’s substitute teacher fill rate has seen recovery since mid-January. On Jan. 24, the district reported the lowest substitute fill rate of 2022 with 57% of needed substitute positions filled. As of Feb. 11, 68% of the positions were filled.
ISOLATION SNAPSHOT Information current as of Feb. 14
Students Employees
Highest number of positive COVID-19 reports by day:
489
Jan. 18 Jan. 18
93
Highest number of isolated individuals :
2,646
Jan. 20 Jan. 15
632
SOURCE: CONROE ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Conroe ISDapproves 2022-23 school calendar
Calendar set for 2022-23 Several holiday breaks are included in the 2022-23 school year calendar. Aug. 10 First day of school for students Nov. 21-25 Thanksgiving break Dec. 19-Jan. 3 Winter break March 13-20 Spring break May 25 Last day of school for students
BY ALLY BOLENDER
trending higher than the April 2021 demographic study projected. “Our enrollment is up almost 700 kids just this year, which is double the predicted amount that it was going to be,” said Gidget Belinoski-Bailey, an educational diagnostician and member of the long-term planning committee, during the meeting. Proposition A, totaling $143.05 million, includes funds for the construction of a seventh elementary school and third middle school; a fine arts addition to Lynn Lucas Middle The 175-instructional day cal- endar will see students begin the fall semester Aug. 10, and the 2023 spring semester will conclude May 25. Breaks are scheduled for Thanks- giving, winter holidays and spring break. According to the district, two inclement weather days are built into the calendar. For more information regarding the approved calendar for 2022- 23, visit the district’s website at www.conroeisd.net/calendars.
CONROE ISD The 2022-23 school year calendar was approved by the Conroe ISD board of trustees at its Jan. 18 meeting. The schedule was developed through a district-level planning committee with community input. According to district officials, the approved calendar received the highest percentage of positive feed- back among three calendar options included in district’s calendar survey for families to consider.
SOURCE: CONROE ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Willis ISD calls $225M bond electionMay 7
School; and other items, according to district information. Proposition B totals $62.57 million for a new football stadium, and Proposition C includes $19.39 million for an aquatic center. The proposed propositions could result in a tax increase of up to $0.05 per $100 valuation if all are approved by voters, according to WISD. “It’s just about impacting education for the kids,” Belinoski-Bailey said. “We have to be ahead of the growth because if they’re coming, we got to have a place to put them.”
BY MAEGAN KIRBY
WILLIS ISD Trustees called a bond election for May 7 totaling $225 million at the Feb. 9 board meeting. The district’s long-term planning committee began meeting in Novem- ber to determine the need for a bond, district officials said. Superintendent Tim Harkrider noted enrollment is
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CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
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