NEWS
Tax assessor ready to announce her retirement date
The Montague County Commissioner’s Court will meet at 9 a.m. on March 11 for its first session of March.
Tax Assessor-Collector Syd Nowell is expected to submit her letter of resignation as she plans to retire in April after serving in office since September 1999.
A committee was formed to seek a replacement who will serve until the March 2020 primary; however, the committee could not meet until a formal declaration was made by Nowell.
The court has agreed to hire a person to come in and work with Nowell about a month before she leaves office to help with the transition. The agenda also lists consider appointment to tax assessor position.
Could the county receive some new financial assistance to make road repairs? The court will consider working with the Texas Oil and Gas Association and others to obtain state grant funding for county road repairs. Previously the state provided a statewide grant program following the last energy boom 10 years ago.
Other topics on Monday’s agenda will be the monthly reports from the Veteran’s Service Office, sheriff’s office and update on the mitigation plan project; agreement between CTC Commissary and the sheriff’s office; risk management pool property renewal questionnaire; advertising for fuel bids; precinct two request to sell salvage trucks; bonds for the election administrator and tax collector clerk; and budget adjustment in precinct one.
Several personnel issues including the superintendent’s summative evaluation and filling the vacant intermediate principal position face the Bowie School Trustees when they meet at 5:30 p.m. on June 16.
The superintendent’s review is usually done in two parts during the year with the summative an effort to evaluate overall progress. Donna Hale’s contract also will be considered. as she marks her first year leading the district.
For the intermediate principal’s job, Jason Childress left the post last month taking the new formed director of student services, which will handle many of the tasks the assistant superintendent handled such as curriculum and test scores. That assistant position was eliminated by the board after Lee Ann Farris left the job. Childress’ resignation has been submitted.
Filling the principal’s job and consideration of a rental agreement for a portion of the bus parking lot property also are set for executive session. Any action all these topics will be considered back in open session.
On the regular agenda, the board will receive the 2025 fiscal audit for Jack County. A small portion of the district runs into that county.
The superintendent will provide operational reports and personnel updates. Childress will present the preliminary STAAR scores and the status of board goals, while Paula Peterson, finance director, gives the monthly financial report.
Numerous annual items will be up for action: Contract for cafeteria software; budget amendments; consider the ESSA application, the Montague and Jack County Tax Appraisal District budgets; library books for the elementary; ESC 9 contracts and a Texas Association of School Boards policy updates.
The board also will consider offering open enrollment for pre-kindergarten students for the next school year.
Six Montague County volunteer fire department have received grants from the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The service recently approved $29.3 million in funding for grants to through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program.
In the fourth funding round of the year, the program awarded 531 grants addressing volunteer fire department requests for personal protective equipment, slip-on units, fire and rescue equipment, water tenders, small brush trucks and training aids.
Nocona Hills Volunteer Fire Department received a $300,000 grant for a water tender vehicle. Montague and Sunset VFDs each received $45,000 for a slip-on unit, and the Nocona rural, Nocona city and Saint Jo VFDs each received $25,000 for fire and rescue equipment.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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