Ott's Outlook
March 2022
When the 2021 Bond was two votes shy of passing back in November, as a district we were faced with two scenarios:
Consider rezoning attendance boundaries and pulling children out of their neighborhoods, adding portables to campuses to increase capacity and start limiting student participation in some of our fastest growing programs. OR
Re-engage citizens, gather feedback, rework the bond package and send it back out to voters.
Due to the two-vote margin in November’s election results and the immediate feedback by many residents, TISD selected the second option. Working with our community has always been a point of pride for TISD and we believe this is something that we do well! The goal of any bond is to find the balance between the school district’s needs and the community’s expectations. Therefore, we viewed this opportunity as a continuation of working with our residents to strike that balance and achieve this goal.
Our Senior Leadership Team mobilized quickly since November and held several focus groups with voters representing every TISD precinct to gather additional feedback. The overwhelming consensus was that we needed to put a revised bond package back out to the voters to consider that would reduce the total dollar amount, decrease the estimated impact on taxpayers, eliminate the stadium proposition and explain more about what programs would be included in the new elementary school.
The proposed 2022 Bond package has achieved these goals. It has reduced the overall cost of the previous package by more than $20 million, the estimated impact to under three pennies, eliminated Wildcat stadium improvements and outlined the new elementary school as a Fine Arts Academy.
The most significant bond projects include preparations for growth that were part of the 2021 Demographic Study as well as safety and security updates:
Construction of a new elementary campus (Fine Arts Academy) in the southeast quadrant
Expansion of instructional space at three campuses - Scott Elementary, Bonham Middle School and Temple High School - for a total of 12 additional classrooms
Eliminates the 20 remaining portables at seven campuses
Addition of security vestibules at three remaining campuses - Hector P. Garcia, Kennedy-Powell, and Raye-Allen
Construction of a new auxiliary services building
As you may know, the Temple ISD Board of Trustees has placed a bond election on the ballot for May 7, 2022. Board President Dan Posey wrote a letter that was published in the Temple Daily Telegram that outlines why the bond has been called. That letter is included below and provides a lot of information about our current and future facility needs.
The role of the school district in a bond election is to provide factual information about the bond package and impact. We will do that in a variety of ways between now and election day and I encourage each of you to stay informed and engaged throughout this process through our website www.tisd.org/bond2022/, social media, emails and mail outs.
Bobby Ott
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Our Fine Arts Programs Continue to Excel!
- THS Choir had 62 students who received a rating of Superior (1, the highest rating they can receive) and 19 students who qualified for TEXAS STATE SOLO & ENSEMBLE in May!
- THS Band had 9 qualifiers for TEXAS STATE SOLO & ENSEMBLE in May along with: 18 GOLD medal soloists, 10 SILVER medal soloists, 10 BRONZE medal soloists, 2 GOLD Medal Ensembles...yay band!
Temple Highlighters were selected to perform for the 14th Annual Charles Mingus Virtual Festival hosted by the The New School, The Django, and The Charles Mingus Institute! They are one of 6 big bands that will have our video submissions broadcast for the virtual event on February 19th!
- Winter Guard placed 4th overall in their contest division!
Our CTE students advanced to State competitions in the following programs last month:
- Auto Tech
- Manufacturing - CNC Mill Specialist & Technician
- Construction Trades
- Criminal Justice - Forensic Science
CTE Agri-science & FFA Students had several top 10 finishes at the 2022 Bell County Youth Fair:
- Yorkshire - Morgan Porubsky 4th Place and Kaydance Horelica 6th Place
- Duroc - Aiden Lara 8th Place and Francisco Narvaez 7th Place
- Dark OPB - Bella Waugh 5th Place, Morgan Porubsky 7th Place, Flor Trujillo 8th Place and Kanae Bowers 9th Place
- Berkshire - QuinAnthony Taplin 3rd Place
- Hampshire - Kaydance Horelica 5th Place
- Light OPB - Wyatt Johnson 6th Place
THS Track & Field claimed 2nd place at their opening meet of the season including breaking a 45-year Track & Field Record...
Tyson Tamez set a new school record in the 1600 meter run . Tamez took first place in the race with a time of 4:22.33 which bested the previous school record of 4:27.7 held by Mark Tormey. The record had stood since 1976, or 45 years.
Temple finished in second place overall in the Leander Lion Relays meet and earned three gold medals and three silver medals on the day and several athletes placed in the Top 6 for the Wildcats.
You can nominate a special Temple ISD alum for our Alumni Spotlight!
Temple ISD has a long history of excellence and we have had many, many graduates who have gone on to exemplify our vision to become influential and impactful leaders in their local communities and beyond. Temple ISD Alumni Spotlight will feature alumnus and alumna that have represented our community and our district in a positive way.
To nominate yourself or a Temple ISD graduate, please complete our online Alumni Spotlight Nomination Form. Nominations will be reviewed and candidates selected by the Temple ISD Board of Trustees Policy Committee.
...Now that you know, please share our story with others!
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Celebrating the 100th day of school
Bell County Youth Fair
Hector P. Garcia Elementary
Football Banquet with wife Nicole
Reading at Jefferson
Rewarding exemplary leadership
Art class at Cater
TEF Grant at Meridith-Dunbar Early Childhood Academy
Catching up at Western Hills
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Bobby Ott, Ed.D.
Email: bobby.ott@tisd.org
Website: https://www.tisd.org/apps/pages/Superintendent
Phone: 254-215-6760
Facebook: facebook.com/templeisd
Twitter: @OttTempleISD