BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD SWEARS IN NEW MEMBERS

  

The Brenham School Board welcomed two new trustees and one returning member at Monday’s meeting.

Shawn Koonce and Justin Colley received the oath of office and took their seat for the first time as Position 5 and Position 6 trustees, succeeding long-standing board members Tommie Sullivan and Natalie Lange.  Jared Krenek was sworn in for his second term as Position 7 trustee.

The board then selected who will serve as officers for the next year.  Krenek was elected to be board president, Bonnie Brinkmeyer was voted to be vice president and Kelvin Raven was chosen as secretary. 

Board members later received an update on the active legislative session, which is set to end on June 2^nd.  Superintendent Clay Gillentine made a plea to those in attendance to contact their representatives about supporting school districts with a meaningful increase in funding, saying as the clock winds down on this session, this is “a critical moment”.

The board also reviewed preliminary certified property values for 2025.  Chief Financial Officer Darrell St. Clair said preliminary figures as of January 1, 2025 show total market value up 7 percent from last year, total assessed value up 6.4 percent, net taxable value up 7.4 percent, and freeze-adjusted taxable value up 5.4 percent.  St. Clair wrote in his report to the board that the district does not expect to see much more in the way of revenue, due to tax compression and offsetting state revenue.  The final certified values will come in by July 25^th.

In other business, trustees learned more about the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a federal option that allows eligible school districts to provide free breakfasts and lunches to students regardless of household income without needing standard free or reduced-price meal applications.  Instead, the CEP uses information from other means-tested programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Brenham ISD currently qualifies for the CEP at all campuses, and if it participates, families could save hundreds to thousands of dollars annually by receiving breakfasts and lunches at no cost.  Additionally, the district itself would save an estimated $29,000 by not having to use money from the general fund balance to go toward providing value meals.

After an executive session, trustees unanimously voted to name Robert Wiser as the assistant principal for the Disciplinary Alternative Education Program.  Wiser, who currently leads the AV/Tech program at the high school, has worked the last three years in Brenham and has been in the field of education since 2011.  He received his master’s degree from Houston Christian University and is completing his principal’s certification this week.