March 27, 2017
Board Authorizes Purchase of Property

Belton ISD school board members voted unanimously to authorize the purchase of 109 acres near Loop 121 and Shanklin Road in Belton. The cost for the property is $1.529 million. The site is large enough to accommodate an elementary school and either a middle school or a high school.

Belton ISD added more than 3,000 students in the past decade, and that growth is expected to continue into the future. A build-out analysis conducted by the district's demographer reported that Belton ISD could eventually have more than 28,000 students.

The board has not determined what types of schools might be built on the property, and the upcoming bond election does not include funding to build schools at the site.

History Fair State Qualifiers

The 2017 Heart of Texas Regional History Fair was held in late February at Baylor University. Students who placed first or second in their respective categories qualified to participate in the Texas History Day in late April. 

Trustees Review Conceptual Site Plans for Proposed Schools

On May 6, voters will decide whether or not to issue bonds to fund the construction of a new high school and a new elementary school. During the workshop, school board members reviewed preliminary site design concepts for those campuses.

The proposed elementary school would be located near Poison Oak Road and Carriage House Drive in Temple. In the preliminary site design concept, the entrance to the school would face Poison Oak Road, and parents, visitors, staff members and buses would access the school from that road.

The proposed high school would be located near FM 317 and FM 2483 in Temple. In the preliminary site design concept, the school's entrance would be oriented to FM 2483, and traffic would access the site from that road.

If voters approve issuing bonds to fund the projects, the elementary school will open in 2019 and the high school in 2020. Bhs9, which is currently part of the Belton High School campus, would be repurposed to serve as a middle school again starting in 2020.

Without new facilities, Belton ISD's elementary and middle schools are projected to be at or near capacity in 2019 and high schools in 2021.

Business Professionals of America State Qualifiers

Business Professionals of America (BPA) students competed at the state leadership conference March 1-4 in Dallas. Students who qualified for state were Bailey Peacock in Fundamental Desktop Publishing; Destenne Winkler in Business Law and Ethics; Lizzy Nix, Erin McGoldrick, Destenne Winkler, and Sariah Winkler in Administrative Support Team; and Kaydn Utley, Lauren Blair, Ericka Agraan, and Ethan Evelyn in Financial Analyst Team. 

Kadyn Utley placed fifth in Accounting Mathematics Concepts and second in payroll accounting. He isadvancing to the national leadership conference in Orlando, FL.
Superintendent's Report

#BISDreads
Belton ISD is pleased to be partnering with Fort Hood for their 30 Day Reading Challenge. Throughout the month of April, the district will be encouraging parents of elementary students to read with their child for at least 20 minutes each day. Belton ISD also will be sharing photos of parents and students reading on social media using #BISDreads.

Legislative Update
Last week, the Senate Education Committee voted out Sen. Larry Taylor's voucher bill, Senate Bill 3, citing enrollment growth as a problem it will solve. 80% of all of the student growth in Texas is in just 75 fast-growth destination school districts. Belton ISD is one of those districts, and there is no evidence to suggest that families are moving here to receive a voucher. Instead of funding the facilities needs of fast-growth school districts and providing needed property tax relief to taxpayers, this bill would divert over $300 million away from public schools.

More photos of students and staff members recognized at this month's board meeting can be found on Belton ISD's Facebook page.