SCHOOL NEWS
Texas Education Agency issues new start guidelines
AUSTIN, Texas – July 17, 2020 – Last week, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released public health planning guidance for the 2020-21 academic year in order to well prepare students, teachers, and staff to safely return to school campuses for daily, in-person instruction. Given the latest developments around COVID-19, TEA is issuing important updates to the guidance. In response to the varying public health realities of each Texas community, these changes give the needed flexibility for schools to effectively provide a smooth transition for students, teachers, and staff so that they will experience the safest and least disruptive mode of learning during the beginning of the school year.
School systems will now be able to temporarily limit access to on-campus instruction for the first four weeks of school. After the first four weeks, a school system can continue to limit access to on-campus instruction for an additional four weeks, if needed, with a board-approved waiver request to TEA.
Click here to view Commissioner Morath’s video message to Texas teachers and parents.
TEA guidelines include important exceptions for students; specifically, any family that lacks Internet access at home and/or requires devices for students learning virtually. Any student requiring on-campus instruction during this period—i.e. those who need reliable access to technology—will still be entitled to on-campus instruction every day during this transition period.
Local school boards for districts in areas with high levels of community spread also retain the flexibility to delay the start of the school year.
Additional changes provide school systems with the ability to convert high schools—with school board approval—to a full-time hybrid model once students have transitioned back to on-campus instruction. This model will provide for a more socially distanced school experience, where students receive a portion of their instruction on-campus and a portion of their instruction remotely at home.
One week prior to the start of on-campus activities and instruction, school systems must post for parents and the general public a summary of the plan—developed in consultation with their teachers, staff, and parents—that they will follow to mitigate COVID-19 spread in their schools based on the requirements and recommendations outlined in TEA’s updated public health planning guidance.
Bowie Independent School Trustees continued work on the 2026-27 budget during its Aug. 17 meeting including the creation of a salary schedule and establishing a proposed tax rate.
The budget and 2026 proposed tax rate will be up for adoption in an early morning meeting at 7 a.m. on Aug. 31, just at the brink of the new fiscal year.
The salary schedule is based in large part on the Texas Association of School Board’s salary study commissioned by the district. Per the study teacher salaries are above the market median at most benchmarked years. They are most competitive at year 0 where they are 5% above the market median and least competitive at year five where they are 1% below the marked median.
District officials initiated the salary study to get more definitive information where its salaries fall and while some areas were in the range, other category of employees fell below the market. Trustees discussed the need to move auxiliary staff and custodial closer to the market level.
Superintendent Donna Hale and Finance Director Paula Peterson explained the new schedule will not be an across-the-board percentage increase, but focus on getting all employee pay scales closer to the market averages.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonnline.com
Bowie Independent School District Trustees began plowing through the 2026-27 budget at its first workshop on Aug. 3.
The center of discussion was presentation of the salary study commissioned by the district through the Texas Association of School Boards. Laura Wurman of TASB explained how the data was gathered and developed into recommendations for the district.
Purpose of the study is to assess competitive pay levels for common jobs. Wurman said they analyses market data to determine where the district is at risk and identified priorities for pay system improvements.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Diana Calderon will join the Bowie High School staff as assistant principal in the new school year.
She comes to Bowie from Lake Dallas Elementary School where she served as assistant principal since 2024. Her prior positions include administrator at Decatur High School from 2022-2024, and English as a second language director at Ponder High School and Middle School from 2017 to 2022.
Calderon’s educational background began with a bachelor of business management in 2007 from the University of Phoenix. She earned her master degree in bilingual education from Southern Methodist University in 2018 and a master’s in educational leadership also in 2018.
The educator is working on her doctorate of educational leadership.
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