Castleberry Independent School District board meeting, Aug 17, 2026

3 h 05 min

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 3 h 05 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Castleberry board approves architect proposal for high school project on 6⁠-⁠1 vote 2:40:37

  • A district staff member presented the 2026 A through F ratings and said the district earned an 88 and the high school earned its first-ever A rating. 20:41
  • Staff also presented district improvement plan performance objectives, a bond and energy project update, and a proposed tax rate of $1.2469 that a staff member said was unchanged from the prior year. 37:38
  • The consent agenda, new hire contracts and a proposed interest and sinking rate above the minimum debt service rate each carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:16:10
Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and public comment 0:55
    • A staff member said no one had signed up to speak to the board. ~0:55
    • The meeting was called to order with a quorum present. 8:18
    • A speaker said no questions had been called in about the consent agenda. 10:07
  2. 2026 A through F ratings 10:21
    • A staff member said a middle school earned a 90 campus rating for the first time and the high school earned its first-ever A rating. 16:49
    • The staff member said REACH High School earned a 96 rating for the 3rd year in a row and the district overall earned an 88. 22:46
    • The staff member said 3rd grade literacy reached 50% against a goal of 43% and attendance rose from 92.8% to 93.6%. 28:36
  3. District improvement plan objectives 36:46
    • A staff member described the district's continuous improvement cycle and two new priorities on enrollment and average daily attendance and on professional growth. 37:38
    • The staff member said the Domain 2 growth goal is to progress from 73% to 75%. 46:54
    • The staff member said strategies and progress measures will be presented next month. 51:05
  4. Bond construction and energy project update 51:44
    • A staff member said about 28% of bond money remains with about 20 to 21% of construction remaining. 53:18
    • The staff member said lighting, roofing and mechanical work were expected to be completed by Labor Day, with controls to follow. 57:49
    • The staff member said the energy savings project has about 80% of its funding left and is about 50% of the way through. 1:00:25
  5. Proposed tax rate presentation 1:05:07
    • A staff member said the proposed tax rate is $1.2469 with no change from the prior year and the average homeowner's school tax bill is estimated to decrease about $31. 1:06:17
    • The staff member said under Senate Bill 1453 final approval of the tax rate requires a supermajority of 60% of the board. 1:12:48
    • A speaker asked whether the Tarrant County appraisal plan was settled, and another speaker said meetings with the appraisal district were continuing. 1:15:12
  6. Monthly finance update 1:17:23
    • A staff member said the district had collected about $1.4 million of the $48 million budgeted and spent about 2.6%, with a positive net change of $155,000. 1:17:53
    • The staff member said the district is seeking financial advisor services on short-term debt and potential bond refunding. 1:19:17
  7. Closed session and consent agenda 1:20:40
    • The board went into closed session at 7:24 PM and reconvened at 8:17 PM. 1:20:40
    • A motion was made to approve the consent agenda as presented. 2:15:21
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:16:10
  8. Professional new hire contracts 2:15:35
    • A motion was made to approve the superintendent's recommendation to hire teachers, librarians, nurses and other professionals. 2:16:32
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:16:51
  9. Tax calculation officer designation 2:16:43
    • A motion was made to approve the officer or employee for TNT Calcs designation resolution as presented. 2:17:07
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:17:33
  10. Interest and sinking tax rate 2:17:24
    • The motion stated the minimum debt service tax rate is 0.4404 per $100 valuation and the proposed interest and sinking rate of 0.50 exceeds it by 0.0596. 2:17:24
    • The motion said additional revenue will be used for lawful debt service purposes, including early retirement of bond debt. 2:18:06
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:19:03
  11. 2026 tax rate resolution 2:18:52
    • A motion was made and seconded to adopt the 2026 tax rate resolution as presented. 2:19:19
  12. Architect proposal for high school project 2:19:30
    • A speaker asked whether the item could be postponed until next month to get more data, including where the money would come from. 2:22:30
    • Another speaker said waiting costs money because the contractor would need to remobilize and recommended moving forward with the proposal. 2:25:23
    • A speaker asked whether any teachers would work from carts, and the response was that 4 teachers are floating during construction and none would need to after it is finished. 2:37:58
    • The motion carried 6⁠-⁠1. 2:40:37
  13. Compliance certification and architect contract 2:40:25
    • The board considered the certification of compliance and an AIA-B101 contract addendum with WRA Architects for the high school construction. 2:40:53
    • Both motions carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:41:42
  14. Information items 2:46:45
    • A speaker asked why the TRS active care rates were listed, and a staff member said the rates did not change and the item was informational. 2:48:25
    • A speaker suggested the board look at insurance costs for staff as an advocacy item for the legislative session. 2:49:25
  15. Board key dates and events 2:50:44
    • Speakers discussed the October 8th through 11th conference, with early registration due September 15th. 2:51:24
    • Speakers discussed the homecoming parade at 6 PM on the 24th and formed an informal committee for a December 7th Christmas dinner. 2:52:59

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “School Board Meeting | August 17, 2026”