Thursday’s regular meeting of the Goodrich ISD School Board was highlighted by reports from finance, as well as upgrades in maintenance and operations.
Goodrich ISD brought in $63,737 in the most recent quarter. The district also received funds in their settle up with the Texas Education Agency, good for $570,000. The agency paid Goodrich for their original numbers in the American Disabilities Act but owed the district the difference for their growth and attendance.
“Attendance really matters for our income,” Finance Manager Sarah Bacica said. “So we are really excited about that number. We’re about $360,000 from this budgeted year to roll over in the fund balance. If you add that $360,000 plus the $570,000, we’re at about $930,000 to roll into fund balance at the end of this year.”
Cameras have now been installed on route buses. The new devices will pick up license plates. There have been issues with vehicles running school bus stop signs, and those can now be identified.
Library doors have been installed, and Goodrich Superintendent Daniel Barton said the process has been around six months. The outer fence has been repaired. New access controls for school doors are currently being installed.
The district also received good news on their roof at the old gymnasium.
“I spoke to Dr. (Ray) Luna, who was the original person who donated the solar panels and the new roof that is on there,” Barton said. “He was over here the other day, and we had a conversation. I told him that we appreciated it, but that we were going to have to pull them all off and replace it. I told him a price point on it, which was around $167,000, the only bid that we had at the time. He called me two days ago and said, “I have a non-profit, and I just want to let you know we are going to pay for that.’”
Board members were also shown blueprints of the ag building’s renovations.
A used John Deere Gator utility vehicle will be purchased for $3,500 for use by the maintenance crew.
October’s regular meeting is scheduled during a conference the superintendent will attend. The new date for the meeting will be Oct. 24.
In action items, the board approved putting a radio in all buses for communication.
“When our buses are in route, if there is an issue, they can radio when there is an emergency,” Barton said. “The system will include a repeater, because we can’t communicate within our buildings sometimes when we are too far apart. We have an analog system that is not antiquated, but it is older.”
Funding for the radios will come from a grant already obtained. It will also give the district a means of communication if cell phones go down.
Each year, Goodrich ISD is granted a waiver for class size. The waiver is a requirement for any class over 22 students in pre-K through fourth grade. Goodrich has three grade levels with classes above 22 students.
