Trustees approve 5 new principals, the 2026-27 budget, and a timeline appoint a new board member

The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees held its June Board Meeting on the 16th. A recap of the agenda is below.

1.      Roll Call. Delma Abalos was absent.

2.      Verification of compliance with open meetings requirements.

3.      LaKamrynn Turks (San Jacinto Elem) and Alyssa Hernandez (Nimitz MS) from Camp SIP led the pledges of allegiance.

4.      ECISD police officer and Deacon Leonard Hendon from St. Stephens Catholic Church gave the invocation.

5.      The special presentations included the Split Gavel Award given to Tammy Hawkins as the outgoing board president; the Extra Mile Award given to Dawn Miller for her three years of service on the Board of Trustees; the TASB Grassroots Scholarship given to OHS  senior Briana Ortega; a MASBA Scholarship given to OCA senior Miguel Campos; recognition of NTO senior Esteban Zubia as a National Academic Decathlon qualifier; and announcement of Academic All-American student-athletes and UIL state competition qualifiers. Note: pictures from these presentations are posted on our Ector County ISD Facebook page.     

6.      In opening comments, Superintendent Dr. Keeley Boyer thanked both Mrs. Hawkins and Ms. Miller for their service on the school board.  

7.      There was no public comment.

 

8.      Bond 2023

A.     Bond Update:

At the ATLAS Career & Technical Education Center, the foundation work, steel work, electrical, plumbing, and masonry are all ongoing. The project is on a timeline to be completed in late spring 2027.

The opening date for Vasquez Middle School is just two months away. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing continue; interior finishes are happening in the education wing, kitchen, and library.

All seats have been installed in the Permian High School auditorium, as has the LED wall. Audio/visual cabling is 98% completion, and construction fencing has been removed to start painting parking lines soon.

The steel structure of the Transition Learning Center is going up.

The rain has delayed some of the work at the PHS JROTC facility. Interior paint, tape, and texture is happening; the ceiling grid and tiles are being installed; and technology will follow soon.

At the Ag Farm, electric and water lines for the north and south pens are being reworked to receive animals in July. Landscaping elements are under review, and furniture, fixtures and equipment meeting have begun.  

Demolition is the next step for the new Transportation Center. Trustees are approving a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for that service to remove some damaged/unnecessary structures on the property.

Looking at Priority 1 & 2 projects: five (5) are underway now at Cameron, Sam Houston, Reagan, Ross, and Gonzales; five (5) more are in abatement right now – Bonham MS, Burnet, Goliad, Wilson & Young MS, and New Tech Odessa.

The first package of roofing projects (P1 & P2 projects) are moving to the final closing.

A quick look at finances shows 71% of bond funds have now been spent or are encumbered (earmarked) for specific projects.

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

  

B.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve bond purchases over $100,000. See the full list at this link - https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=743099. 

 C.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve delegate authority to the superintendent to negotiate and execute individual job orders for Priority 1 & 2 construction at Travis Elementary.

 D.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve delegate authority to the superintendent to negotiate and execute individual job orders for Priority 1 & 2 construction at New Tech Odessa.

 E.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve delegate authority to the superintendent to negotiate and execute individual job orders for Priority 1 & 2 construction at Bonham MS.

 F.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) amendment for demolition of the Transportation Center.

 G.     Trustees voted 6-0 to contract with Goytia Enterprises for Priority 1 & 2, Package 2, roofing projects.

 H.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a GMP amendment for Priority 1 & 2, Package 2, roofing projects.

I.        Trustees voted 6-0 to approve an easement for Oncor electric delivery.

 

9.      Public Hearing for the adoption of the official 2026-27 budget.

The proposed budget includes a $4.5 million deficit in the General Fund, which has proposed revenue of $354,265,169; with balanced budgets for the School Nutrition Fund (revenue $20,696,787) and Debt Service Fund (revenue $48,940,048). The budget planning process began in January when Trustees discussed the things they viewed as budget priorities. That list included support for the Bilingual program and extra-curricular activities, continued professional/talent development for staff, eliminate redundancies, keep cuts away from classrooms, and if a raise is not possible explore a retention bonus for employees (a 1% retention bonus would cost about $2 million). The budget revenue projections are based on an enrollment of 31,630 and an average daily attendance of 92%. The current recommendation is to keep next year’s tax rate the same as this year. See the Taxpayer Impact Statement below and item 10-D below. Note: the tax rate is officially adopted in September.

 

10.  Action Items

A.      Trustees voted 6-0 to adopt the 2026-27 budget presented in the public hearing.

B.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve purchases over $100,000. With this being the final board meeting of the fiscal year, this list is lengthy and can be seen at this link - https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=743099.

C.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve 2025-26 budget amendment #9.

D.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a resolution to calculate property tax rates. The current ECISD tax rate is $1.0048 and that is also the proposed tax rate for the 2026-27 school year. See the Taxpayer Impact Statement above in Item 9, budget hearing.

E.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a resolution committing fund balance in accordance with GASB 54.

F.       Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the 2026-27 District Improvement Plan. The DIP was presented to the school board during last week’s workshop.

 G.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the 2026-27 Compensation Plan. The comp plan was also presented to the school board during last week’s workshop. Due to the budget situation, there is no proposed pay increase for all employees for the 2026-27 school year. There are some teachers, however, that will see increases because of the requirements of House Bill 2 passed by the legislature in 2025. A quick refresher on HB 2: a 0 Year (0 years of experience) Non-certified teacher must make less than a 0 Year Certified teacher; teachers with 3-4 years of experience receive a $2,500 increase over their 2024 salary; and teachers with 5 or more years of experience receive a $5,000 over their 2024 salary. Those required salary increases were given last year, however, this year additional teachers moved up into those years (3, 4 or 5) and the requirements remain in effect for those teachers meaning those teachers will see that increase in 2026-27. ECISD created a $100 Step between a 0 Year teacher and a 1 Year teacher for the coming year. Teachers still have the opportunity to earn dollars above their salary through “stackable compensation” like Teacher Incentive Allotment and Opportunity Culture; in fact, 64 teachers are projected to earn more than $100,000 this year.

H.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the 2026-27 Student Code of Conduct and revisions to Student Handbook Fees. There are no changes to either document.

I.        Trustees voted 6-0 to delegate hiring authority to the superintendent through the end of August 2026.

J.        Trustees voted to name Tammy Hawkins as the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Assembly Delegate, and Chris Stanley as the TASB Assembly Alternate Delegate.

K.      Trustees voted 6-0 to appoint a replacement for Dawn Miller, Position 1, of the ECISD Board of Trustees. Ms. Miller is moving out of the district for Position 1. The timeline for the appointment process will be: now the board has approved the plan, an announcement of the vacancy will be mailed to District 1 registered voters; applications will be accepted for the position from July 1 through August 14; district leaders will hold a Town Hall meeting on July 21; applications will be reviewed and candidates for interviews selected at the board meeting on August 18; interviews will take place between August 31 and September 4 and an appointed announced during that time; the new Trustees will take the Oath of Office on September 15.     

 

11.  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*; recommendations of library materials; memorandums of understanding with Odessa College and the University of Texas Permian Basin; a partnership with the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk; and a 2023-26 safety and security audit survey.

 

 12.  Trustees moved to closed session to discuss hirings.

A.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Amy Vance as the executive director of College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR). Amy is an assistant principal at Odessa High School, and has a long history of Career & Technical Education (CTE) experience that includes director of CTE/CCMR, CTE program access coordinator, CTE department lead, and agriculture science teacher.   

B.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Stacey Nunez as the executive director of district operations. Stacey is currently the director of district operations, a position he’s held for the past two years. For part of that time, he served as the interim director of transportation. His career in education includes 11 years as a middle school or high school assistant principal.

C.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Jessica Moreno as the principal for Austin Montessori. For the past two years Jessica has been the assistant principal at Austin and she taught there for eight years, too. His experience includes two years of teaching and one year as a reading coach at Pease Elementary. She also completed a year-long Texas Tech University Principal Fellow at Sam Houston Elementary.

D.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Jared Smith as the principal for Jordan Elementary. Jared comes to ECISD after a year as a principal at IDEA. He has a total of three years of experience as a principal, two years as an assistant principal (at EK Downing and Wilson & Young MS), two years as an instructional coach, and 12 years at a math teacher.

E.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Welton Blaylock as the principal for Milam Elementary. Welton served as a principal intern at EK Downing Elementary this past year. He also participated in the Holdsworth Aspiring Principal Program. He was an assistant principal at Odessa High School, Wilson & Young MS, and Ector MS. He taught for three years at Wilson & Young and has a background in fine arts and performance.

F.      Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Mary Gorman as the principal for Bowie Middle School. Mary just completed five years as Bowie’s assistant principal during which time she participated in the Holdsworth Aspiring Principal Program. She served as an instructional specialist for two years after teaching for five years.

G.     Trustees voted 6-0 to approve Richard Kyle as the principal for Wilson & Young Medal of Honor Middle School. Richard joins ECISD after one year as an assistant principal in Midland. He has extensive leadership experience as a superintendent in Buena Vista ISD, and a secondary principal in Meadow ISD and Loraine ISD.  

 

13.  Trustees voted for reorganization of board officers. For 2026-27 Dr. Steve Brown will be president, Bob Thayer vice president, and Chris Stanley secretary.

14.  Information items can be found at this link - https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=743099.      

15.  In closing remarks, Dr. Boyer reminded Trustees there will be no board meetings in July.

16.  The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m.  

 

*$87,555.49 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for furniture for the Murry Fly library refresh

  $32,050 from the Permian Basin Workforce Development Board for Workforce Retention Awards for staff dedicated to child care

  $25,000 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for paint at the Murry Fly library refresh

  $14, 582.96 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for carpet for the Murry Fly library refresh

  $10,000 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for AVID Summer Institute fees and travel costs