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Willis Independent School District board meeting, Sep 9, 2026

2 h 10 min · 1 public speaker

Reading and test scores ▶ 19:10Safety, weapons and police ▶ 21:23

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 2 h 10 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Willis ISD board approves House Bill 3 goals and campus improvement plans 1:20:29

  • The Willis ISD board heard progress monitoring updates on safety expectations, the fine arts program and the district's House Bill 3 goals. 21:23
  • The board voted 7⁠-⁠0 to approve the 2026⁠-⁠2027 House Bill 3 board goals. 1:20:51
  • After closed session, the board voted 7⁠-⁠0 on a resolution authorizing the conveyance of an easement to Entergy Texas Inc. across district-owned property. 1:26:03
  • The board voted 7⁠-⁠0 to accept the 2026⁠-⁠2028 Local Accountability Plan grant. 1:36:39
Item by item (15)
  1. Opening of the meeting 0:01
    • The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM with a quorum present. 0:01
    • Chad Jones called the roll. 0:15
    • A student led the pledges and an invocation. 1:00
  2. Student and district recognitions 2:26
    • Staff members recognized students of the month from an elementary school and Lynn Lucas Middle School. 2:26
    • A presenter from CASEK12 gave the district two Champions of Excellence awards, including an individual award with a $500 incentive. 6:54
    • The presenter said an elementary school received the second award, which carried a monetary award of $1,000. 9:06
  3. Public comment 11:22
    • A speaker at public comment addressed the board as a member of the community of faith in the district. 12:18
    • The speaker said the events of last week do not define the school district and offered encouragement to the board. 13:06
  4. Consent agenda 15:53
    • Paulett Traylor asked for more information on items J and N before the vote. 16:06
    • A presenter said item J would update bus radios to the same technology used at campuses, letting bus drivers contact campuses and transportation directly. 16:36
    • A staff member said item N would buy Just Right Readers take-home packs for 4th and 5th grade students at C.C. Hardy and Cannon. 19:19
    • The consent agenda passed 7⁠-⁠0 on a motion by Cliff Williams. 21:29
  5. Safety expectations update 21:23
    • A presenter said each campus has 18 required drills, or 234 districtwide, and that a drill will count this year only with a 90% completion rate. 21:46
    • Cliff Williams asked how often the district's AEDs are serviced, and a staff member said nurses check them weekly while the state requires a monthly check. 27:15
    • The presenter said the district is the first in the country to implement Raptor Smart Audit for door checks, with installation expected to be done by December. 28:54
  6. Fine arts report 34:16
    • A presenter said secondary performing arts enrollment grew by 233 students. 34:25
    • The presenter said students in fine arts for 2 years or more showed a 7-point advantage in Algebra 1, a 9-point advantage in English 1 and 3.15 fewer absences. 34:25
  7. House Bill 3 goals update 45:48
    • A staff member said 46% of 3rd graders met grade level in STAAR reading against a 2026 target of 58%, and 42% did so in math against a target of 54%. 47:11
    • Paulett Traylor asked whether proposed benchmarks would be developed by the district, and the staff member said they would be developed using released STAAR questions. 53:18
    • The staff member said the college readiness goal reached 26% against a 23% target and that revised goals would be recommended in October. 54:52
  8. Financial and capital project reports 1:03:38
    • A presenter said the district projects a slight surplus for the 25⁠-⁠26 fiscal year with general fund revenue exceeding $105 million. 1:03:57
    • The presenter said enrollment reached 9,000 students as of September 4th, an increase of 314 or 3.3% since the first day of school. 1:05:21
    • A presenter said the Cannon Elementary expansion and the Transportation Center are each a little over 50% complete. 1:07:10
  9. Vote on House Bill 3 board goals 1:20:08
    • Paulett Traylor moved to approve the 2026⁠-⁠2027 House Bill 3 board goals as presented. 1:20:29
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠0. 1:20:51
  10. Stadium and scoreboard sponsorships 1:20:46
    • A staff member said sponsorship packages for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year totaled $93,500 from 12 businesses and community partners. 1:21:36
    • Asked about criteria for sponsors, a speaker said parameters would be evaluated moving forward. 1:22:20
  11. Closed session and resulting actions 1:23:31
    • The board met in closed session on real estate, personnel, security and legal matters and reconvened at 9:07 PM. 1:23:31
    • Cliff Williams made motions on an easement to Entergy Texas Inc., personnel as listed and revisions to the superintendent's contract. 1:25:04
    • Each of the motions carried 7⁠-⁠0. 1:26:03
  12. Local Accountability Plan grant 1:28:48
    • A presenter said the district was one of 13 districts selected for the $225,000, 2-year Local Accountability Plan grant. 1:29:23
    • The presenter said locally selected indicators could account for up to half of a campus's A through F rating. 1:29:23
    • A speaker asked whether a position would be hired, and the presenter said the grant application was written for a grant-funded position. 1:32:05
    • The motion to accept the grant carried 7⁠-⁠0. 1:36:39
  13. Professional development plan 1:36:33
    • A staff member said the district filled 895 professional development seats over the summer and that the plan requires board approval. 1:39:42
    • Paulett Traylor moved to approve the professional development plan for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year. 1:43:13
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠0. 1:43:28
  14. Strategic plan and improvement plans 1:43:28
    • A staff member said 8 strategic plan year 2 goals became 5 goals of the district improvement plan. 1:43:40
    • The staff member said the district aims to post the plans on the website by October 2026. 2:02:02
    • The motion to approve the strategic plan year 2 goals and district and campus improvement plans carried 7⁠-⁠0. 2:08:35
  15. Board comments and adjournment 2:08:38
    • A staff member said the next meeting is October 21st, 2026, with a public hearing starting at 5. 2:09:41
    • The chair announced the motion to adjourn carried. 2:10:16

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 “Willis ISD Board Meeting - September 9, 2026”