Leopard Pride News
It's a great day to be a Leopard!
COVID-19 Dashboard
Gainesville ISD has launched a COVID-19 dashboard to provide our families and staff with a transparent and up-to-date snapshot of lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in our district.
An active case indicates that a student or staff member has received a lab-confirmed positive case of COVID-19 and they have not yet returned to campus. Individuals who test positive are excluded from participation in any in-person/on-campus activity until the campus verifies that the individual meets the return criteria set by state and local health authorities. Once the individual is cleared to return, they are then considered a recovered case.
Students and staff labeled as quarantined are a result of either a personal lab-confirmed positive case OR exposure to a lab-confirmed positive case. Exposures are reported to GISD by a parent and/or the Cooke County Emergency Management System as a result of contact tracing.
This data will be updated each school day. The dashboard is located on the district and campus websites under news & announcements or you can click the link below. (red button)
Mask Requirement Extended to Edison & Chalmers
Although teachers and staff at all campuses are required to wear masks, our students at Edison and Chalmers were allowed and encouraged to wear masks, but it was not required. The initial decision to not require these students to wear masks was based on the Governor’s orders which excluded those who were under the age of 10.
For the safety of our students and staff, effective Wednesday, September 2, ALL GISD students are required to wear a mask or face shield. If a student does not have a mask or face shield, one will be provided. If a student has a medical condition which prevents wearing a mask, medical documentation must be provided to the campus nurse. Students are NOT required to wear a mask during physical activities such as recess and PE.
Thank you First United Bank!
Water refill stations
GISD November Election Cancelled
At the regular Board meeting held on Monday, August 24, the GISD Board of Trustees voted to cancel the November 3rd election. The initial election, scheduled for May 2nd, was postponed to November 3rd due to the pandemic. These elections included the Board of Trustees election as well as the Bond election.
The Board of Trustees places up for election are:
Place 1:Mike Rosenberg
Place 2:Marvin Royal
Place 3: Will Presson
All places were unopposed, thus allowing the cancellation of the election. I November, those taking the seats for a three year term are:
Place 1: Latecia Hendricks
Place 2: Marvin Royal
Place 3: Dan Doss
In addition, the $35.1 million bond election was also cancelled. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to cancel the election due to the current state of the economy. However, the information gathered from the bond planning process, including the countless hours invested in by the facilities steering committee, will be utilized when the Board determines it is economically responsible to bring the Bond issue back to a public vote.
Budget Approval Includes Lower Tax Rate
At the Board of Trustees meeting on August 24, the 2020-2021 budget was approved. The new budget includes a lower property tax rate for properties within GISD boundaries and a raise for staff, all while operating on a lower average daily attendance allotment.
A district's property tax rate consists of a maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate and an interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate. The M&O tax rate provides funds for maintenance and operations. The I&S tax rate provides funds for payments on the debt that finances a district's facilities.
Due to increased property values, GISD was able to drop the rate from $1.1484 to $1.1016 per $100 assessed property value. This rate includes a Maintenance & Operations rate of $1.0216 and an Interest & Sinking rate of $.08. The GISD property tax rate history can be found on our business office web page, or by clicking HERE.
The budget was also based on an average daily attendance of 2,639, compared to 2,730 the previous year. GISD currently receives $6,160 per student. The district continuously strives to operate with a conservative budget.
The 2020-2021 budget also approved a 3% raise from the salary midpoint for all staff who are not on a step salary schedule. All staff on a step salary schedule received the step increase for another year of service. Those on a step salary include teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, and bus monitors.
Special Education Parent Meeting
We are excited to offer the first of many Special Education parent meetings driven by you. Our goal is to ensure that we are providing relevant information to help you and your student be successful.
Our first meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 9 at 6pm at the GISD Administration Building at 800 S. Morris St. Masks are required. This kickoff meeting will include an introduction of all SPED staff and an overview of goals and the SPED department.
Bus Transportation Update
Parents of bus riders:
Bus routes have continually been adjusted throughout this first full week of school. Pick up and drop off times are being adjusted as we navigate the addition of new bus requests as they are received. As a reminder, buses have limited capacity this year due to restrictions on social distancing. Due to these limitations, bus routes are
New this year, you can track your child's route and see approximate pick up and drop off times. Times listed may vary up to 5 minutes due to traffic, train, or other conditions. Once your request for transportation is processed, you will then be able to see all transportation details in the portal. The Ride 360 parent portal will be an important messaging tool for the transportation department throughout the year.
Click this link to set up a Ride 360 account: https://tinyurl.com/y6s666bh
Bus Rider Changes
Please contact the transportation office before noon if your student needs to change bus routes that afternoon. Bus rider lists are distributed to campuses each day. Any changes attempted after NOON will not be on the campus list. The transportation office can be reached at 940-665-1431.
Meals for Virtual Learners
Meals will be provided via curbside pick up for students who are receiving virtual instruction. However due to federal guidelines, we are not able to provide these meals free to all students. The pricing status for these meals will mirror those for in-school students. Once the student ID is verified at pick up, the student meals provided will either be free, reduced, or full price. As a reminder, breakfast is free for all students, with the exception of high school.
Locations for pick up will be the same as it was for summer meal service: Edison (front side of school) and Chalmers (back side of school). Breakfast may be picked up from either location from 8:30am-9:00am. Lunch may be picked up from Chalmers from 12-12:30pm or Edison from 12:25-1:15pm.
Meals will be available for pick up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, both breakfast and lunch can be picked up at one time and will include two days of meals (4 meals provided both days). On Fridays, both breakfast and lunch can be picked up at one time. For example, a student will be provided 2 breakfast and 2 lunches on Monday mornings and the same for Wednesday. This will ensure that students can receive all 10 meals with only 3 trips to the school.
Nortex Offers Free Community Hotspots
In order to help our communities stay connected during this time, Nortex Communications has temporarily placed free Wi-Fi hotspots to provide support for short term internet access needs. We are grateful that our virtual learners have extended access!
These are outdoor locations to support physical distancing. Be prepared to work in your car or find a spot outside.
- Tioga Middle School parking lot
- Saint Mary’s Catholic School parking lot
- Heritage Park parking lots
- Gainesville Farmers Market
- Forestburg ISD parking lot
- Era Baptist Church parking lot
- Valley View ISD parking lot
- Saint Jo ISD parking lot
- VISTO parking lot
- Butterfield Stage parking lot
- Whaley Methodist Church parking lot
For more information, visit: https://www.nortex.com/hotspots/
Dress Code NO
GAINESVILLE ISD
Email: lcrutsinger@gainesvilleisd.org
Website: www.gainesvilleisd.org
Location: 800 S Morris St, Gainesville, TX, United States
Phone: 940-665-4362
Facebook: facebook.com/gainesvilleisd
Twitter: @gainesvilleisd