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Little Elm Independent School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

3 h 07 min · 1 public speaker

Meeting video · district archiveLittle Elm Independent School DistrictDate not confirmed yetWatch on the district’s video site ↗Opens in a new tab; skip to 3:03:21

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 07 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  2. Mary WatkinsPresident
  3. Jeff BurtonTrustee
  4. Jason OlsonVice President
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Little Elm ISD trustees adopt $1.2252 tax rate for 2026 3:01:37

  • Staff also presented reports on ratings, human resources and the bilingual ESL language program. 1:00:35
  • A representative of the firm that conducted the district's independent efficiency audit presented the findings, and the board approved the report. 2:06:36
  • The board adopted a total tax rate of $1.2252 per $100 valuation for tax year 2026. 3:01:37
Item by item (14)
  1. Opening, public comment and closed session 0:06
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to consider reversing school start times, with elementary at 7:30, middle school at 8:15 and high school at 8:50. 1:18
    • Mary Watkins recessed the board into closed meeting under sections 551.072 and 551.074 to discuss personnel and land. 4:19
    • The board returned to open session at 7:00 PM. ~4:54
  2. Staff and community recognitions 7:39
    • The district recognized two staff members through its Leader of the Pack program. 8:24
    • A presenter gave Heart of Service awards tied to America 250 to a former trustee and to the superintendent. 18:32
    • District staff recognized students for their achievement and the examples they set on their campuses. 25:09
  3. State accountability ratings report 59:50
    • A presenter said the district rating went from 71 to 74 to 79 and then to 78 this year. 1:01:55
    • The presenter said the high school went from 66 to 76 to 85 to 84. 1:05:09
    • The presenter said reading was higher than it had ever been while math dropped during the transition to Bluebonnet Math, and that adjustments had been made. 1:08:42
  4. Human resources and class size reports 1:11:42
    • A staff member said the district made 22 hires from its career fairs and that 5 bus monitors completed CDL training. 1:15:50
    • The staff member said that as of September 3rd the district had 15 professional vacancies, 12 of them teachers. 1:29:10
    • In the class size report, the staff member said the state ratio is 22 to 1, that 4th grade at Prestwick averaged 23.3 and that class size waivers were on the consent agenda. 1:30:22
  5. Student handbook update 1:33:46
    • The director for student services said there were few changes this year, including campus name changes, new principal changes and the updated school year. 1:34:08
  6. House Bill 3 goals update 1:35:08
    • A staff member said the goals were aligned with the Closing the Gaps domain and progress toward state targets for 2032. 1:35:44
    • The staff member said 54% of 3rd graders performed at meets in reading against a goal of 53%. 1:38:06
    • Asked how the end of STAAR would affect the targets, the staff member said the methodology would stay the same with the new test. 1:40:49
  7. Professional learning and bilingual programs 1:42:15
    • The director for professional learning said 651 surveys were completed and 97% agreed the sessions were worth their time. 1:42:15
    • The director for academic programs said the district serves 1,526 emergent bilingual students and that 95 reclassified this past year. 1:47:24
    • Asked about students who speak other languages, the director said they typically receive ESL and that a bilingual program is required with 20 or more students of one language in one grade level. 2:03:22
  8. Independent efficiency audit report 2:06:02
    • The presenter said the remaining 0.0317 Tier 2 pennies would yield approximately $1.3 million in additional funding each year if adopted. 2:15:47
    • The presenter said total revenue per student was $11,021, compared with a peer district average of $12,357. 2:21:18
    • A staff member said bringing transportation staffing in-house would move the payroll ratio closer to the state average. 2:38:39
    • The board voted to move the item up on the agenda and later approved the report. ~2:06:18
  9. Delegate assembly delegate and alternate 2:45:42
    • Jason Olson moved to nominate a primary delegate and an alternate to the 2026 delegate assembly. 2:45:42
    • The motion carried. ~2:46:21
  10. Certification of compliance 2:46:21
    • The superintendent said the district worked with its law firm to review handbooks and documents and recommended approval of the certification of compliance. ~2:46:28
    • The motion carried. ~2:48:30
  11. Personnel hire and position reclassification 2:48:30
    • The staff member said the transportation administrative assistant position would move from a 240-day to a 226-day calendar at the same pay grade to align with its supervisor. 2:49:33
    • The motions on the hire and the reclassification carried. 2:49:30
  12. Resolution setting the 2026 tax rate 2:51:02
    • A presenter recommended a maintenance and operations rate of $0.7552 and an interest and sinking rate of $0.47, for a total of $1.2252 per $100 of taxable value, and said the rate was unchanged year over year. 2:59:02
    • Jason Olson moved to adopt the $1.2252 rate and read that it would raise maintenance and operations taxes on a $100,000 home by approximately $8.70. 3:01:37
    • The motion carried. ~3:03:04
  13. Consent agenda 3:03:21
    • The board took up the consent agenda with no questions. 3:03:21
    • The motion carried. ~3:03:44
  14. Board comments 3:03:46
    • Mary Watkins thanked the audience for staying and said the football team was 3⁠-⁠0. 3:03:58
    • The board adjourned at 10:01. 3:06:24

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

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