New board member sworn in, Trustees adopt lower tax rate for 2026-27

The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees held its September board meeting on the 15th. A recap of the agenda is below.

1.      Roll Call.

2.      Verification of compliance with open meetings requirements.

3.      Braxton Batten from Adela & Gilbert Vasquez Middle School led the pledges of allegiance.

4.      Children’s Pastor Burke Millard from Crossroads Church gave the invocation.

5.      The special presentations included the introduction of Teacher Incentive Allotment Level Up teachers and the announcement of this year’s AP Scholars, AP Scholars with Honor, and AP Scholars with Distinction.

 

6.      Rosalita Veronica Garcia, the newly appointed school board member, took her oath of office. She was appointed during a special board meeting two weeks ago to fill the vacant Position 1. She is a former ECISD teacher with more than 25 years of education experience as an elementary Gifted-Talented Bilingual teacher, a third-grade Bilingual teacher, a library clerk, and a classroom aide. Her appointed term will run through May 2027 when she will be required to run for election if she would like to remain in the position. She was sworn in by County Judge Dustin Fawcett.

 

7.      In opening comments, Superintendent Dr. Keeley Boyer welcomed Ms. Garcia to the board, announced ECISD won an award for Innovative STEM Initiative from the Mexican American School Board Association over the weekend, recognized the start of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) and introduced the Odessa High School Mariachi Broncho that then performed for the board meeting audience.

 

8.      In public comment, Dallas Kennedy thanked the school board for reducing the tax rate and for working through what he called a lack of adequate funding by the state for public education. Francisco Morales also addressed the board, congratulating new Trustee Rosalita Garcia and asking her to remain true to her oath. He asked the board to table item 10-C related to Senate Bill 12 and asked the board to reconsider its policy on public comment at board meetings.

 

9.      Bond 2023

A.     Bond Update:

The ATLAS Career and Technical Education Center continues to progress. The structural steel installation is complete and electrical, HVAC, and roofing are ongoing.

Vasquez Middle School is open; however, landscaping continues and work on the auditorium is ongoing.

The pre-engineered metal building for the Transition Learning Center is complete, the metal stud framing is in progress, and the exterior waterproof panel installation is almost complete.

The Permian High School JROTC Center is in the final stages with the six-lane pellet catcher (firing range) and furniture expected to be delivered this week. A water meter installation and inspection will follow.

At the Ag Farm, roof installations and straps are now complete, walls are coming up in the barn, and duct hangars are being installed.

The demolition of five structures at the Transportation Center is done. Additional site renovations are beginning.

Roofing package 1 is being closed out.

Fall and winter renovation packages include complete roofing renovations at Cameron Elementary, Noel Elementary, and San Jacinto Elementary; plumbing renovations at Hays Elementary, Jordan Elementary, and Pease Elementary; and roof top unit (HVACs) replacements at the Alternative Center, Austin Montessori, Bonham MS, Crockett MS, Goliad Elementary, and Gonzales Elementary.

Looking at finances, a little more than $200 million has now been spent on Bond 2023 projects with another $125.8 million already encumbered for specific project costs. Twenty-three percent, approximately $98 million, remains available.

Follow the progress at ecisdbond.com.

 

B.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a revised estimated cost for the Carver Early Education Center job order for Priority 1 and Priority 2 construction. 

 

10.  Action Items

A.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve purchases over $100,000. The only item on this month’s list is for Parkhill, Smith, and Cooper for facility condition and education adequacy assessments with long-range capital planning.

 

B.      Trustees voted 7-0 to adopt a total tax rate of $0.9939 for the 2026-27 school year. The adopted rate is slightly lower than the tax rate last year. A school district’s tax rate is broken into two parts: Maintenance & Operations (M&O) which provides funding for day-to-day operations; and Interest & Sinking (I&S), also known as debt service, which provides the funding for debt (bond) payments. The total tax rate approved by the board breaks down as follows:

$   .7395 for M&O – this rate is lower than last year’s rate of .7504

$   .2544 for I&S – this rate is the same as last year

$ 0.9939 total tax rate – this rate is lower than last year’s rate of $1.0048

To note, based on property values in July 2026:

    •     The total tax rate is less than the prior year.

    •     The M&O tax rate is less than the prior year.

    •     The I&S tax rate is the same.

    •     The total tax rate is at the voter approval rate, and therefore, is at the maximum tax rate allowed without a tax rate election.

    •     The M&O tax rate is at or below the voter approval tax rate.

    •     The I&S tax rate is at or below the allowable to cover bond costs.

    •     The decreased total tax rate exceeded the No New Revenue total tax rate of $0.943598 calculated by the Ector County Appraisal District

This tax rate will effectively be raised by 5.3% as it will raise more taxes for Maintenance & Operations than last year’s tax rate.

 

C.      Trustees voted 7-0 approve the required certification of compliance with Senate Bill 12.

 

D.     Trustees voted 7-0 to approve the donation of two (2) obsolete school buses to Odessa College for a new school bus licensure program to train school bus drivers. The two buses are no longer part of ECISD’s active fleet.

 

E.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve 2026-27 Campus Improvement Plans (CIP). The plans were presented to Trustees during last week’s board workshop. Each school, regardless of rating, is required to build a CIP annually. That plan serves as the blueprint for how each school will uniquely address campus-specific needs identified in their comprehensive needs assessment.

 

11.  Trustees voted 7-0 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; acceptance of donations over $10,000*; recommended library materials, an amended resolution for police grants from the Governor’s office; a memorandum of understanding with Grand Canyon University for teacher preparation; T-TESS and T-PESS appraisers; three memorandums of understanding with Greater Opportunities of the Permian Basin Head Start; a memorandum of understanding with Star Tech Group for the ACCESS College and Career Online Platform; personal services approval for Perla Quintana for an ESL instructor for Odessa College; update 2026-27 dual credit matrix; and out-of-state travel for the Odessa High School Dance Team.

 

12.  There was no closed session.

 

13.  Information items – https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=757515

 

14.  There were no closing remarks.

 

15.  The meeting adjourned at 7:19 p.m.  

 

*$13,500 from Diamondback Energy for the keynote speaker and supplies for GT Super Saturday, and for t-shirts and supplies for GT Chess Tournament.