First day of school, first board workshop of the year

The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees held its August Workshop on the 11th. A recap of the agenda is below.

1.     Roll Call.

2.     Verification of compliance with open meetings requirements.

3.     In opening comments, Superintendent Dr. Keeley Boyer talked about this being the first day of school for the 2026-27 school year. She said being at the opening of Vasquez Middle School was special, and she said VMS had the 358 6^th graders show up today (only 6^th graders reported to middle schools today), the largest number at any middle school.

4.     There was no public comment.  

5.     Board Policy

A.     Trustees discussed TASB Board Policy Update 127. The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) regularly sends recommended updates to school districts, keeping local policies aligned with changes in legal policy. You can see all of the polices recommendations at https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=752991.  

 

6.     Report/Discussion Items

A.     Trustees received a presentation from the district’s medical plan committee. Health care costs nationally are increasing – between 7-9% for many employer plans in 2025. The same is true for ECISD’s medical plan expenses (9.2%) and it is expected to continue here in 2026.

ECISD is self-insured, meaning the medical costs not paid by employees are paid by the school district. Based on current costs to ECISD, and anticipating the rise in costs, a loss of approximately $9 million is projected (a loss that would come out of the General Fund budget).

Our local medical plan committee is reviewing all aspects of the health care options to find potential savings. Changes to Blue Cross Blue Shield as a plan administrator and to Lucy RX for pharmacy service have shown promise in saving money for the district and for employees. ECISD’s clinic, Care ATC, also seems to be providing a good return on the investment of creating it (866 people have used it in the first six months of 2026). With the district facing a deficit budget, continued losses in the medical fund cannot be sustained. All aspects of the health care plan are under consideration to balance coverage and costs.

 

B.     Trustees heard an update on the pilot for an MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) Behavior framework, an initiative of the strategic plan. Emergent Tree is a framework to model behavior skills. It is designed to help deepen knowledge of behavior science, align practices across the district, and use data-driven decisions; it teaches skills and strategies for behavior; it’s done up front to mitigate not in response; and is flexible for long-term sustainability. In 2025-26, thirteen schools participated in a pilot with each school designing a campus behavior system using the common language centering on the words Safe, Respectful, Responsible. Disciplinary actions decreased from 3-23% at these schools. Another 15 schools will join the work this year.

 

C.     Trustees discussed STAAR results from the spring. All subjects and all tests from Grade 3 through high school End of Course exams reached 68% passing, an improvement of three points. The district saw gains in the Meets standard in all subjects and all grade levels. That greatly influences accountability ratings which will be released by TEA this week. Eighth-grade social studies remains a priority focus.  

 

7.     There was no closed session.

8.     There were no closing remarks.

9.     The meeting adjourned at 7:47 p.m.