2026-27 calendar approved; principal announced for Vasquez Middle School

The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees held its February Board Meeting on the 17^th. A recap of the agenda is below.

1.     Roll Call. Delma Abalos was absent.

2.     Verification of compliance with open meetings requirements.

3.     Baylee Kamp and Gage Lowe from Goliad Elementary led the pledges of allegiance.

4.     Pastor Gary Douglas from Standing Stone Ministry gave the invocation.

5.     The special presentations featured the introduction of this year’s TMEA All-State Musicians. Not all students were able to attend this meeting.

6.     In opening comments, Superintendent Dr. Keeley Boyer congratulated Reagan Elementary 5^th grader Naithik Yankarla on winning the regional spelling bee last week and earning a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. In all, 20 students qualified for the regional bee and all represented their individual schools very well.

7.     There was no public comment.   

 

8.     Bond 2023 

A.     Bond Update:

The update started with the new Career & Technical Education high school. A lot is happening: site sewer system, foundation excavation and placement, electricl and plumbing work.

The new middle school, Vasquez Middle School is seeing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing advance, blockwork continuing around the fine arts area, and interior finishes are ongoing in the academic area. The final steel beam was placed two weeks ago following a beam-signing ceremony with the Vasquez family and district leaders.

At the Transition Learning Center, buildling pad prep and excavation of footings continues.

The stage extension has now begun inside the Permian High School Auditorium, and new lighting fixtures have been installed. Columns were added to the drama theater, and new brick has been installed around the building’s exterior.

The pre-engineered metal building is up for the JROTC building at PHS, with underground plumbing and sewage work ongoing and electrical work starting.

At the Ag Farm they are excavating the retention pond, framing the first building and digging ditches for the plumbing in the second building.

A general contractor is being presented in this meeting (Item 8-B) for the Transportation Facility construction and renovations. Ground surveys are being done to determine engineering needs for the project.

Four roofing projects are substantially complete – Burleson, Fly, Travis, and Zavala Elementary – and five more are in the design and planning phase – Noel, San Jacinto, and Cameron elementaries and Ector and Crockett middle schools. At Travis, the building has passed final inspection from the City of Odessa and sidewalk, and parking lot concrete will be evaluated for repairs during Spring Break. These are all Priority 1 and Priority 2 renovations/replacements.

Phase one of the surveillance system upgrades is complete. This includes the successful installation and activation of cameras across district campuses and other facilities. Phase two is starting with additional cameras installed at elementary schools focusing on exterior wings.

Fifteen campuses now have fully operational upgrades for PA, bell, alarm and clocks. The next two schools scheduled for installation of these new systems are Hays and Jordan elementary schools.

Looking at finances, a little more than $119 million has been spent, $164 million has been encumbered for specific projects and purposes, and more than $190 million, or about 33%, remains available.

Be sure to keep up with the progress at www.ecisdbond.com.

 

B.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Bond 2023 purchases over $100,000. The two items on the list this month are $775,345 for Priority 1 and Priority 2 renovations and $545,000 for construction and renovations at the new Transportation Facility.

 

C.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve an amendment to the professional services agreement for the Ag Farm Facility.

   

D.    Trustees voted 6-0 to approve an amendment to the professional services agreement for the JROTC Facility.

 

9.     Action Items

A.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve purchases over $100,000. The items on this list this month are $7.6 million to upgrade wireless access points and switches across the district for reliable network connectivity, and 1.45 million to replace and upgrade edge switches and routers so each campus has high-capacity connection to the core network.

 

B.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve budget amendment #5.   

 

C.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a proposal for a Facilities Condition Assessment, Long-Range Facilities Master Planning, and Preventative Maintenance Strategy Development Agreement to be created with Parkhill Architects and Engineers.

 

D.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve an easement for the City of Odessa to create a temporary road along the north and west sides of district-owned property near the corner of Faudree Road and Yukon Road. This temporary road will be for semi-trailer traffic working on the new sports complex to avoid having them travel toward that intersection.

 

E.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve delaying teacher certification requirements until the beginning of the 2029-30 school year. The state has re-emphasized its expectation for all teachers to be certified; however, the Texas Education Code allows school districts to delay teacher certification requirements to be fully in place until the 2029-30 school year.

 

F.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the 2026-27 academic calendar. Our Academics & Accountability Division created three options for staff and parents to consider. In all, we received nearly 1,400 survey responses: parents preferred Option B for its later start date (August 18) and its Spring Break aligned with Midland ISD. However, more staff members preferred either Option A or Option C because the professional development days were spread out through the school year and not front-loaded in August. Taking those comments to heart, a new Option D was created for approval. The highlights:

4 days of professional development and one dedicated teacher work day before school starts with the rest spread throughout the year

• First day of school is August 11 and August 12
• Holidays and professional development days combined for extended weekends for families
• First semester ends on December 17 and the second semester begins on January 6             
• Aligned Spring Break
• Last day of the school year is May 27
• The calendar for our two early college high schools was also presented and approved. Both calendars will be on our website soon.

 

G.    Trustees voted 6-0 to not adopt a resolution establishing a daily prayer period in schools as outlined in Senate Bill 11. SB 11, from the last legislative session, allows districts to authorize a daily period for prayer and reading of religious texts. The law also requires school boards to vote on such a resolution before March 1, 2026. If a district chooses to adopt this daily period it must: apply to every school every day; may not substitute for instructional time; participation is allowed only for staff and students who sign a consent form; prayer or reading of religious texts are not permitted in the physical presence of or within the hearing distance of any person who has not submitted a consent form; using the PA system is prohibited; and it is restricted to classrooms or areas where every single person present has a signed consent form. In regard to religious freedom practices, ECISD has a moment of silence in every school every day, adopted policy GKG (Local) allowing chaplains as volunteers; and allows students to participate in voluntary events and organizations like “See You at the Pole,” Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Fields of Faith, and First Priority.

 

10.  Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the Consent Agenda. The consent agenda is a group of routine, or previously discussed items presented together for a single approval vote. This month’s Consent Agenda included minutes of meetings; bills for payment; donations over $10,000*; the quarterly investment report; recommendations for library materials; and a resolution designating additional non-business days under the Texas Public Information Act for 2026.

 

11.  Trustees moved to closed session to discuss campus principal contracts and the principal for Vasquez Middle School.

A.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve campus principal contracts.

 

12.  Information items – Public Meeting Agenda: February 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM - Regular Meeting - BoardBook Premier

 

13.  In closing remarks, Dr. Boyer announced Raquel Rodriguez as the principal for Vasquez Middle School. Mrs. Rodriguez is completing her fourth year as the principal at Ross Elementary where she has been a Principal Incentive Allotment (for campus growth) recipient the past two years. She participated in the Holdsworth Campus Leadership Program in 2024-25. She began her career with ECISD in 2004 and has served as a special education teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal.

 

14.  The meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m.  

 

*$28,156.71 from Milam Elementary PTA for playground shade and installation.