BURTON SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSES LEGISLATIVE CHANGES FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Burton ISD trustees on Monday received an update on new laws that pertain to parental rights and school library materials.
Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 13 from the 89th Legislative Session add onto measures adopted through House Bill 900 from the 88th Legislature, regulating what can be sold to or included in public school libraries. Superintendent Vikki Curry said the new legislation lays out what school districts must do in order to keep parents apprised of the items available to students in libraries.
Burton ISD Library Aide Karen Douglas said parents are required to have access to the school library catalog, which is online, and they also need to be able to see what their children are checking out and indicate any books they do not want their children to have access to.
Douglas said the district must submit any book lists that it is interested in through a “chain of command” that includes campus principals, the librarian, the superintendent, the school board, an optional school advisory council that could be created by the board, and then the public. The books are then vetted for whether they are curriculum-based or for leisure, and if they are age-appropriate.
Curry said there will be further discussion next month on steps the district can take, including the possible creation of an advisory council made up of parents that would review book choices.
In other business, trustees heard an update on the status of the school bond project. Weaver and Jacobs Constructors Project Manager Ryan Malinovsky said there is very little exterior work remaining in the current phase of the project, as crews are “pretty well wrapped up” with roofing and wall paneling. Discussing the cafeteria, he said they should be able to start laying floor this week, and tables and chairs will go in soon after that. The target date for completing the cafeteria is now October 31st.
Also on Monday, trustees reviewed Burton ISD’s School FIRST financial accountability rating. The district’s 2024-25 rating, based off of financial data from the 2023-24 school year, is a 94, reflecting “Superior Achievement”.
The board also received a report on special programs and Results Driven Accountability. Later, it approved the district’s 2025-26 wellness policy, agreed to designate Austin County extension agents as adjunct staff members, and chose Joe Antkowiak and Leslie Boehnemann Jr. as its nominees for the Washington County Appraisal District Board of Directors.