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Goodrich ISD receives high marks

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Goodrich ISD Hornet Facing LeftBy Brian Besch
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The Goodrich school board heard discussions on financial ratings, and made decisions on their theater roof, a surveillance system and board positions Thursday in their regular meeting for November.

The meeting opened with a public hearing on the district’s rating in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (F.I.R.S.T.).

With passing score at 70, Goodrich ISD received a 98 out of 100. A minor detail of the cost ratio was off by 0.0067% to miss the perfect score.

“When you look at that, I know it is not a perfect score, but we are super close,” Goodrich business manager Sarah Fulcher said. “I am working really hard to get that cost ratio down, so we will score that perfect 100%.”

James Guest, lead attorney from Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson congratulated all on the score, saying the 98 shows that the district is very well managed.

In the delinquent tax report, Guest said a total of almost $91,000 was collected. He said every account that is delinquent is contacted by mail. Last year, 959 letters were sent.

In action items, the school’s theater reroofing was discussed.

“We had this originally as one of our priorities when we were committing funds to replace the theater roof,” Goodrich Superintendent Daniel Barton said. “I didn’t know it was going to be this much of a priority, but actually, about three weeks ago, we came in after we had a blowing storm and we found shingles laying back behind the theater. That is a sign that it is time to make a move before we create more damage.”

Three bids were collected for work on the roof and all in close range of about $30,000. Barton recommended and the board accepted Lucas Roofing, who has also done work on the ag building and gymnasium roof. The new roof is expected to be metal for durability.

The board also approved the 2022-23 district improvement plan. After two meetings, changes in the plan included maintaining and upgrading the ag facilities, reviewing the parent engagement policy, having a career day with guest speakers from the community, and having a volunteer pool. There are also points such as reviewing the compensation plan to remain market competitive, a sick pool, as well as employee incentive and recognition opportunities.

A bid for a new video surveillance system was approved for under $23,000 from Cyber One Solutions, with the other two bids coming in at over $110,000. It is a system used by school districts such as Leggett and High Island.

The board accepted the resignation of Jennifer Pickett, who had not attended a regular board meeting in several months. Taking her place will be Lidia Moreno. The board will have one open position remaining after the passing of Bobby Bridwell.

The parent of a suspended student spoke to the board, in hopes of reducing his child’s punishment. The punishment, he said, stems from a social media post. He said it is difficult to transport his child to and from Corrigan, the campus to which two of the students were sent.

The district has had a few buses receiving repairs and there is also some fence repair occurring. Heaters in the old gym for years have run on a breaker and should have a thermostat. The district is working toward putting a thermostat on those heaters Monday.

Brenda Williams has been covering as high school principal while Aubrey Vaughan has been out with a medical issue. She was thanked for a job well done by the superintendent.

“I wanted to say job well done, because not only has she taken on a head principal role, and moving over to the high school where there is quite a learning curve, but she has also taken on testing coordinator and all of this in the past month,” Barton said. “She is probably one of the most valuable people we’ve got.”

Vaughan is expected to return after Thanksgiving. Williams thanked the superintendent and board for the opportunity to grow in her career. 

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