Budget Approved - Fees are Lowered
Around midnight last night, our Board of Trustees approved the 2017-2018 budget. It was an incredibly difficult task because the Board was focused on protecting the Lovejoy experience each of your children has in classrooms district-wide. The challenge came from the Texas Legislature's unwillingness or inability to pass a new school finance bill. As you have read in Email Express throughout the spring semester, the financial impact of the Legislature's inaction is resulting in the loss of approximately $6 million in state funds, which is 16% of our budget.
The Board has worked diligently with staff since last November to find a way to fund the current programs and experiences for Lovejoy students by increasing revenue streams. We added summer enrichment camps, created a tuition-based Pre-K program, marketed our programs to increase K-12 tuition-based transfers, among other revenue generating projects created by Lovejoy staff members.
A healthy number of parents and community members attended the Board meeting last night and provided great input during the public hearing. After much deliberation and thoughtful consideration, the 2017-2018 budget was adopted by the Board. The 2017-2018 budget will be funded by additional cuts, without direct impact on the classroom, the use of some of our fund balance, Personal Seat Licenses at the LHS football stadium (beginning with the 2018 season), and by implementing fees. The fee structure approved by the Board is as follows:
- $250 fee for 8th grade students participating in extracurricular fine arts/sports*
- $350 fee for 9th - 12th grade students participating in extracurricular fine arts/ sports*
- $350 fee for bus service
- The Texas Legislature goes into special session on July 18th. This will be one last chance for them to restore some or all of our funding which could result in the reduction or elimination of these fees
*The extracurricular fee is per student, regardless of the number of activities in which the student participates.
Additional information regarding the implementation of the fees will be forthcoming. In the meantime, please know plans are in place to assist families with hardship waivers and/or scholarships to ensure no student is denied participation in an extracurricular activity.
For additional information you may
click here
to read the Special Edition of Email Express which was sent this past Tuesday, and contains background information regarding school finance and the Lovejoy ISD budget for 2017-2018.
Lovejoy ISD Summer Closure
The district will be closed Monday, June 26th - Friday, July 7th
and will re-open at 8:00 AM on Monday, July 10th. As many of you know, my family started a tradition 19 years ago of spending a couple of weeks at South Padre Island, and we are headed that way again this year. If I may be of any assistance to you during the time the district is closed, please contact me by phone or text at 972.415.8129.
Hart Elementary School Principal
It is a pleasure for me to announce that, at the Board meeting last night, the Board approved Lacey Moser as the new Principal of Hart Elementary School. Lacey has been a part of the Lovejoy family for the past two years as an Assistant Principal of Willow Springs, and as a Hart parent where her daughter Molly just completed her Kindergarten year. I am honored to be professionally associated with Lacey, and am confident Lacey will be a great addition to the Hart team.
Lacey began her education career in McKinney ISD where she taught 4th and 5th grades, was an instructional coach, and Assistant Principal under the leadership of then-Principal, Kathy Foster. She moved to Colorado where she served as an Assistant Principal and opened a new elementary school. She then served as a middle school Principal for six years. Family ties to the Dallas area returned Lacey to North Texas where she has served at Willow Springs. Kent Messer, Principal of Willow Springs Middle School, shared, "Lacey always makes student success a priority. She has an excellent touch with students in how she supports them academically, emotionally, and behaviorally. In addition, she is very proactive and thorough in her communication with parents."
Lacey is committed to continuing the rich traditions at Hart while focusing on fostering an exceptional learning environment and improving upon the many successes which make Hart special. Lacey has chosen Amber Ross as the assistant principal. Amber taught for two years at Hart and has served as an assistant principal at a Denton elementary school for the last two years.
School Funding Rally Day in Austin - July 24, 2017
Mark your calendars to attend the School Funding Rally Day in Austin on Monday, July 24, 2017.
We have one last chance for the Texas Legislature to return the $6 million to our budget. We are asking as many of you as possible to join us at the Capitol on July 24, 2017, to make one strong push with the Legislature to restore our funding.
School Finance
We are now four weeks ahead of the special session of the Texas Legislature. It remains critical for you to contact our local elected officials to let them know the importance of restoring funding for ASATR during the special session. We did receive support from all three of the officials listed below during the regular legislative session. District office phone numbers are as follows:
The Honorable Van Taylor, Texas State Senator, District 8
972.398.9416
The Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Texas House Representative, District 89
972.424.6810
The Honorable Scott Sanford, Texas House Representative, District 70
972.548.7500
You may
click here
for specific talking points regarding ASATR. As always, thank you for your support of Lovejoy ISD.
National Junior High Finals Rodeo
Congratulations to Willow Springs Middle School 8th grade student, Avery Beimer, who earned a position on the Texas State National Junior High Rodeo team. Avery is currently in Lebanon, Tennessee, where she is competing in the 13th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo in the barrel racing competition.
