Belton ISD is kicking off a six-month process to determine new attendance boundaries as construction on the district’s 12th elementary school gets underway this week.

At its regular meeting on Monday, the Board of Trustees heard about the process that will include multiple rounds of input and feedback from community members and the district’s long-range facilities planning team. Trustees will also have opportunities to weigh in before administrators bring a recommendation to the board in February.

New boundaries would not take effect until August 2023 at the earliest, said Michael Morgan, assistant superintendent of operations.

Considering new attendance boundaries is needed as the district moves forward with the construction of elementary schools #12 and #13 and the new addition at Southwest Elementary — all funded by the 2022 bond voters passed in May, Morgan said. These projects address growth in the north and south sectors of the almost 200 square miles of Belton ISD where ongoing enrollment growth is making the biggest impact.

Trustees also heard an update on the process to name the new elementary schools. Name suggestions are being accepted through Oct. 15 at www.bisd.net/name.

The student showcase featured floral design students from Belton High School. Led by agriculture science teacher Annie Fogle, these students have learned flower and plant identification, business skills, design principles and the art of portraying emotions through floral material. Students in the advanced floral and practicum classes gain real-world experience with the Belton Tiger Lillies, a “flower of the month” subscription service available to staff and community members. The service allows students to experience the business side of floral arranging by planning, budgeting and receiving feedback from customers.

Students in the floral design classes include Jasmine Martinez, Aryanna Martinez, Faith Martinez, Regan Martin, Jezzie Gracia, Kambyl Utley and Yuliana Rodriguez.

Yulissa Gray, a junior from Belton High School, was recently named to the UIL All-State Journalism Staff. To qualify, students must earn 50 points in one school year by participating in UIL invitational contests, UIL district, regional and state contests, as well as Interscholastic League Press Conference and similar journalism contests. Earning this many points in one school year is no easy task! In the last year, Yulissa has earned second place in headline news at the Centex Invitational, second place in featuring writing at the Midway Invitational, second place in both feature and headline writing at the district level, and placed second in headline writing at the regional level making her a state qualifier. Way to demonstrate the district’s Journey of a Graduate competencies, Yulissa!

Laura Smith was Yulissa’s sponsor last year. Joseph Savoldi took over the role after Ms. Smith’s retirement in May.

The College Board has named 149 Belton ISD high school students as AP Scholars for their “college-level achievement” on Advanced Placement exams taken last spring. The goal of AP courses is to help prepare students for the college experience. These recognitions — divided into four categories — spotlight the hours and hours of preparation and studying that our students and teachers put in. Congratulations to students and teachers alike for their demonstration of perseverance and critical thinking, two of Belton ISD’s Journey of a Graduate competencies.

The Technology Department is led by Shad McGaha, chief technology officer, and Rachel Starnes, assistant director of technology. The team of 15 tech staff and three PEIMS personnel carries a heavy load to keep the school district functioning. Here are a few of the areas they impact:

• Technology staff are responsible for managing 20,000 student and staff devices across the district. This includes maintaining an inventory, loading software, setting up devices, troubleshooting issues and repairing damages.

• They also oversee all technology-related purchases which was about 500 purchase orders last year.

• They are responsible for the technology infrastructure throughout the district including the network and wireless network, phone system, security cameras and district server.

• This summer, Technology staff prepared 2,500 iPads for students and set up 250 devices for new staff.

• The team supports all staff with software applications including creating accounts and training on logins.

• Weekly they resolve about 550 Help Desk tickets.

• If you call the Help Desk, you’re one of about 15,000 calls they receive annually for tech support.

• PEIMS staff train and support campus registrars and attendance clerks. They also support counselors and principals with course scheduling.

• PEIMS also reports student data to the state. Last year they extracted 360,000+ records of data and prepared them for state reports.

Thank you, Technology Department, for being World-Class Employees in Belton ISD and contributing to our ability to inspire dreams and empower futures.

Policy: The policy committee met on Sept. 6 and discussed policies CDC(LOCAL) and EF(LOCAL).

Facilities: The facilities met on Sept. 12 and heard updates on bond projects and the school naming process. They also discussed the current state of the Blair Street Administration Buildings and possible student uses for the complex in the future.

• Dr. Smith recounted the highlights of his month to trustees. They included Patriot Day events, facility improvements happening at Belton New Tech, a new assistant principal leadership academy, safety training and his participation in the Future Ready Superintendents' Leadership Network.

• Unaudited financial report for the month ending August 31, 2022
• Gifts, grants and bequests
• Expenditures over $50,000 (subscription renewal with Education Advanced, Inc. and purchase of buses from Longhorn Bus Sales)
• Annual investment report
• Certified T-TESS appraisers for 2022-2023
• Class size waiver

To review Belton ISD board meeting agendas and full packet materials, click here.