Polk County News - Breakout

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From Enterprise Staff

The Livingston ISD school board was recognized for its service Monday night while hearing details on additions for athletic facilities, awards for students and staff, and honors for two elementary campuses in their regular meeting for January.

Will Clayton with Claycomb Architect Associates presented the capital project report on the plans for the expansion at the Cochran Complex, located at Livingston High School. The improvements would include seating and a press box. 

The renderings shown to board members for review reflect that seating will begin approximately six and a half feet above the field level. The visitor side will accommodate 1,268 seats, while the home side will have 4,068 seats. A total of 638 reserved seats will have backs and armrests, and will be located at a higher level, giving fans a great view of the playing field. 

The 2,700 square foot press box is an efficient size that will accommodate special seating and include seats with countertops, offering bi-level seating for home and opposing team coaching staff, press, and include an area to allow filming accommodations, where there will not be glass impeding the camera view. The press box will have an elevator, a kitchen area, and networking equipment storage.

If there are no major changes to the current renderings, Claycomb is ready to move into the construction phase. They will meet with the facility committee in mid-February and mid-March, and plans will be ready to present in mid-May to begin the bid process.

Following this timeline, construction would start in July, and the facility would be ready to use by the fall of 2026. The next step is for architects to meet with the Barry and Clay construction manager, using the expansion details provided to begin getting accurate pricing. The Enterprise will have more on the Cochran Complex in a future issue.

After the closed session, the board extended the superintendent’s contract to 2029 on a 7-0 vote.

The January school board meeting opened with the recognition of Livingston ISD winners of the 2023 Polk County Enterprise Best of Polk County Reader’s Choice Awards.

Winners of the contest at Livingston ISD include best preschool to Pine Ridge Primary - second place; best public school to Creekside Elementary - first place and Cedar Grove Elementary - second place; best local athletes to Jace Morris - first place and Chevy Peters - second place and Audrey Rios - third place; best teachers to Samantha Sanders - first place and Bria Morris - second place and Nicole Murphy - third place; best school board to Bea Ellis - first place and Kevin Grimm - second place and Kevin Wooten - third place; best place to work to Livingston ISD – first place.

“U.S. News and World Reports notified us at the end of the fall semester that two of the district’s schools earned a Best Elementary Schools status because they placed among the top 40% in the state.” Livingston superintendent Dr. Brent Hawkins said. “The two campuses are Timber Creek Elementary, which scored well above expectations in math performance, and Cedar Grove Elementary. All public schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school.

Out of 4,393 elementary schools ranked in Texas, Timber Creek Elementary is ranked at 565, which is in the top 12%, and Cedar Grove is ranked at 895, which is in the top 20%.

Hawkins led the public hearing on the Texas Academic Performance Report, where he highlighted attendance during the 2021-2022 school year across the state dropped drastically to 92.2%, while Livingston ISD fared better at 95%. The College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) works to ensure that all Texas high school students have access to high-quality pathways to career and college. The Texas Education Agency changed the way they score the data collected across the state. Livingston High School scored at 16.8% and is continuing to move up. The percentage of Texans enrolled in state higher education reflected 46.7%. The data was pulled from the Class of 2020. Any graduates who attended a private university in Texas would not be included in the calculation, nor would a student who attended colleges out of state.

LISD data reflects a socioeconomic disadvantaged status between 70-80% of the student population based on the community eligibility provision that allows all LISD students to eat free breakfast and lunch each school day. The state has LISD listed as 50% socioeconomic status based on their collected data.

Dr. Audrey Young, the representative of the state board of education, presented the Livingston ISD school board trustees with certificates of appreciation in honor of School Board Recognition Month.

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From Enterprise Staff

In a concerted effort to increase the safety of school students on the highways, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Livingston Police Department are partnering with Livingston ISD through a pilot program which will place law enforcement officers on school buses to observe traffic.

The idea came about from local law enforcement who selected Livingston ISD to start the pilot program as it is the largest school district in the county with the largest percentage of miles driven by school buses. In time, however, efforts will likely expand to include other school districts as well.

Livingston ISD disseminated information regarding the development to its parents and staff on Tuesday.

“We wanted to share with our parents and staff that our students may see a law enforcement officer on their school bus in the coming days. The district is proud to be part of a collaborative effort between the Polk County-based troopers with the Department of Public Safety, the Polk County Sheriff’s Department and the Livingston Police Department to observe traffic and increase safety on our roads and highways,” LISD Superintendent Dr. Brent E. Hawkins said. “We extend our grateful appreciation to these three agencies for their work on this project.”

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By Emily Banks Wooten
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The Polk County Commissioners Court approved scheduling a special called meeting of the Court for 10 a.m. Feb. 6 during its regular meeting Tuesday.

“We have multiple grants from various offices that have deadlines approaching. Scheduling this special session allows them an additional two weeks to get their applications consolidated and sent to the Court for approval,” County Judge Sydney Murphy said. “We also have two bid packets out and the special session will allow us to award those bids sooner so that work can get started.”

The Court approved a request from the sheriff’s office to apply for a rural law enforcement grant.

“Based on the population of Polk County, the sheriff’s office is eligible for $500,000 which may be used to increase the salary of deputies and jailers, hire additional staff or purchase vehicles, firearms or safety equipment but the first thing they must do with the available funding is increase deputy pay to a minimum of $45,000 and increase jailer pay to a minimum of $40,000,” Murphy said.

The Court approved updating the county’s driver/vehicle policy.

“Several, several months ago we were made aware that some of our policies were out of date and that we were non-compliant with the insurance companies and with the IRS. The IRS uses take home vehicles for non-law enforcement employees as taxable compensation which must be reported on an employee’s W-2. They county may be assessed penalties and interest for failing to report the taxable benefit. There are multiple vehicles and personnel that are exempt from this. It’s a minimal number of employees that will be impacted,” Murphy said.

In personnel matters, the Court approved personnel action form requests submitted by department heads since the last meeting. Fiscal year 2024 budget revisions and amendments, as presented by the county auditor’s office, were also approved.

In old business, the Court approved a request to cancel a portion of Ridge Lake Estates Subdivision Phase 1, Lots 125, 127, 129, 131, 133, 146, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155 and 156 (removing lots) and re-plat the same as Ridge Lake Estate, Phase 1, Partial Replat No. 1, Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4.

During informational reports, the Court recognized the human resources department and heard the annual report from the AgriLife/Extension Office. This report will be covered in depth in the Jan. 28 issue of the newspaper.

Items on the consent agenda included:

•Approval of the minutes of the Jan. 9 regular meeting;

•Approval of the schedules of bills;

•Approval of an order designating surplus property;

•Receipt of county auditor’s monthly report, pursuant to Local Government Code Sec. 114.025;

•Receipt and recording of personnel action forms submitted by elected officials since the last meeting;

•Approval of sheriff’s request to submit an application to the Office of the Governor for the fiscal year 2024 criminal justice grant program for special victims officer;

•Approval of sheriff’s request to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, for evidence/procurement manager position;

•Receipt of sheriff’s department 2023 racial profiling report;

•Approval of purchase of equipment for Precinct 2 Road & Bridge from Pavement Technologies in the amount of $22,950, to be paid from the American Rescue Plan Act funds;

•Approval of agreement with Deep East Texas Council of Governments for solid waste project;

•Approval of Amendment No. 4 to Contract No. HHS000285000012 with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services;

•Receipt of county treasurer’s monthly report for December 2023; and

•Receipt of county treasurer’s first quarter fiscal year 2024 report.

Sean Ferry with Pine Forest Baptist Church opened the meeting with prayer.

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From Enterprise Staff

As work progresses on the Corrigan Relief Route being constructed on the west side of Corrigan, motorists will experience a work zone near the main lanes of U.S. Hwy. 287.

In coming days, crews will close the eastbound shoulder of U.S. Hwy. 287 from west of Reily Street to Bear Creek Crossing west of U.S. Hwy. 59. Work will include the construction of temporary asphalt pavement in preparation of an upcoming traffic shift on U.S. Hwy. 287. The traffic switch is estimated to occur in March, weather permitting, and will include moving traffic from the main lanes of U.S. Hwy. 287 south onto the temporary asphalt pavement. The traffic switch will be necessary to continue work that will widen U.S. Hwy. 287 near the Corrigan Relief Route construction.

Construction began in late 2023 on the Corrigan Relief Route after Texas Transportation Commissioners approved the $172.8 million construction for Polk County.

James Construction Group LLC out of Baton Rouge, La. is serving as contractor for the project that will bring U.S. Hwy. 59 to interstate standards with construction of new U.S. Hwy. 59 northbound and southbound lanes with controlled access.

The seven-mile project will include overpasses at the United Pacific Railroad, U.S. Hwy. 287 and Union Springs Road; entrance and exit ramps at U.S. Hwy. 59 tie-ins, and at the U.S. Hwy. 287 overpass. The project is being built to interstate standards and will promote public safety, improve emergency evacuations and support freight transport.

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