BURTON TRUSTEES HOLD TALKS ON ATHLETICS, APPROVE HIRINGS AND RESIGNATIONS
Athletics dominated discussion at Monday night’s Burton School Board meeting.
Coach James Little announced his resignation as the Girls Athletic Coordinator and a member of the girls’ coaching staff, effective at the end of this year. He said his decision was due to his increased workload and responsibility as Burton ISD’s Director of Student Services.
Little said this decision did not come easy for him, as he loves coaching and believes in not just teaching about sports, but about life. He believed his role as Director of Student Services was “far too great” to continue coaching effectively, as he felt he wasn’t being fair to the students.
Little concluded by saying Burton ISD has some of the best students he’s ever taught, and as long as the district will have him, he wants to work there. Athletic Director Jason Hodde said Little has “been a blessing” for Burton ISD.
Shortly afterwards, the board announced the hiring of Patricia Thaler, who will fill the vacant Spanish teacher position. Thaler previously worked at Brenham High School for three years as a Spanish teacher, with 12 years of experience teaching Spanish. She originally comes from the Fort Worth area, where she was a Girls Athletic Coordinator for seven years in Lake Worth ISD.
Thaler was also recommended and approved for the Girls Athletic Coordinator and head track coach positions. Hodde said the district is negotiating for her to coach volleyball in the future.
During open forum, Clayborn Whitfield expressed his frustrations over the costs of having his three girls participate in the Burton cheer program. Clayborn’s wife, Trish, said the cost this year for junior high cheer is roughly $750 per child, with varsity at $1,050.
He asked why there are so few fundraisers to help students with costs, leaving parents to pick up much of the bill. He stated he shouldn’t have to go take out another bank loan or start a GoFundMe account so his children can cheer. He also wondered how many other children didn’t try out for cheer because their parents couldn’t afford it.
Trustee David Warner said, once his children graduated from Burton ISD, he hardly ever heard of anyone having a fundraiser even though he knew they were occurring. He said the district needs to figure out how to advertise its existing fundraisers more effectively.
Whitfield asked if the school district could set up a booster club for cheer, but trustees quickly shot the idea down, saying the district doesn’t have enough volunteers to run the current booster as is.
Also in session, school board members:
- Accepted the resignations of 1st Grade Teacher Jessica Parish, effective immediately, and High School Teacher Jessica Urista effective at the end of the school year.
- Heard request for proposals for professional annual auditing services. Superintendent Dr. Edna Kennedy announced that auditing firm Belt Harris Pechacek would not be renewing its services with the district, stating it was costing the firm too much to audit the district. Dr. Kennedy said Singleton and Clark and Co., a firm out of Austin, has agreed to give the district an agreement for next year.
- Held public hearing on the 2017-18 Texas Academic Performance Reports.
- Discussed the proposed calendar for the 2019-20 school year. Click here to view the 2019-20 calendar.
- Considered a statement of impact for a Charter School located in College Station. Dr. Kennedy said the proposed open-enrollment of this Charger should not affect Burton ISD.
- Approved the sale of a portable building to Larry Winkelmann for $2,000.
- Issued annual approval of instructional materials allotment and TEKS Certification.
- Tabled budget amendments for 2018-19.