NISD approves raises and incentives
The Navasota ISD Board of Trustees approved an overhaul of the 2022-23 compensation plan with a unanimous vote at the July 18, school board meeting.
The new compensation plan provides all Navasota ISD employees with a 2% pay increase.
In addition, the plan also provides several incentives available to new and returning staff including:
• A one-time retention stipend of $2,000 for all returning NISD employees to be paid in two installments ($1,000 in July 2022, and $1,000 in November 2022);
• A one-time recruitment stipend of $500 for all new NISD employees to be paid in August of 2022;
• Five Local Leave Days Annually (Local Days may now be banked up to 10 days max);
• Free lunch for all NISD employees.
• Five Local COVID-19 Leave Days extended through June 30th, 2023;
“We are pleased to show our appreciation to all of our NISD employees for their continued commitment and dedication to our students,” said NISD Superintendent Dr. Stu Musick.
TEA Teacher Vacancy Task Force
The TEA Teacher Vacancy Task Force is comprised of teachers and school system leaders in public education from a variety of districts and geographies to address the need for teachers statewide.
NISD Director of Personnel and Administrative Services, Derek Bowman, provided the board with an update from the Task Force’s first meeting June 2. He assured the board the need for teachers is not just a problem within the district, it is a problem that is affecting districts nationwide.
Although nothing was acted on during the meeting, Bowman stated there were an array of topics discussed including: the decline in the percentage of college students; how the number of teachers declined during COVID-19; teacher burnout; teacher retirement rate increases and more.
Superintendent Musick was asked about hiring retired teachers. He stated a mandatory penalty for teachers that returned to the workforce was lifted, however the penalty was placed on districts that hire those teachers. In the past, Musick explained the fee could be negotiated between the district and the teacher but the new rule no longer allows that negotiation.
In essence, Musick said hiring a retired teacher whose salary was $65,000 per year would cost the district approximately $80,000 with the penalty in place.
Bowman shared that his daughter is attending Texas A&M University to become a 4th-8th grade teacher. He explained there are currently only 17 students attending TAMU for the same certification. Bowman stated the district recently attended a teaching job fair where he saw the lowest number of attendees in 10-15 years.
Accountability Ratings
NISD Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Learning, Dr. Tracy Brewer, shared information about the upcoming Texas Academic Performance Reports accountability that are expected to be released in August. Once released, the district is required to publish the TAPR results on their website by Aug. 10.
Brewer also explained the district’s focus to retain experienced teachers within the district. She also shared district board goal information for Telpas, Staar Alt and Telpas Alt.
COVID-19
Navasota board members approved the adoption of a resolution regarding personnel matters related to COVID-19. The district had a previous resolution in place that allowed employees 10 days off if they have COVID19, but that resolution expired in May.
New guidance from TEA, states employees are only required to be off five days if they contract COVID-19. The new resolution from NISD reflects the five days off and will be valid through June 30, 2023. The board can revise the resolution anytime if the need arises.
Public Forum
The NISD board heard concerns from two speakers during the public forum. The first was a retired man over 65-years-of-age who had a question about his latest home tax.
Dr. Musick and NISD Board Member, Paul Malek, assured the man that the tax-rate is capped at a certain percentage for anyone 65 and over. Malek stated the information is available on the Texas Comptroller website. The man stated he will follow up with the Grimes County Appraisal District for clarification.
A second speaker (name being withheld to protect the identity of her children) expressed concerns about the way NISD handles disciplinary measures. She stated her, and her family have been in the district since 2016 and live 50 yards from the Waller ISD boundary. She has a 2018 NISD graduate and two students that will graduate in 2028 and 2030.
She stated her younger two children attended High Point Elementary and she commends the staff at the school for “doing a really good job of building the Navasota brand.” She said her children are Rattlers through and through.
Despite hearing negative feedback about Navasota Junior High, she didn’t anticipate it being as bad as she heard. “In April of this year our son retaliated against a kid that had been harassing him all year,” she explained. “When you have a 12-year-old facing assault charges for standing up to a kid that was bullying him all year that is bad enough, but when it seems to me the school district is pushing those charges that is unreal.”
The mom said the report from the junior high was “there is no bullying here, everything is fine.” The concerned parent said, “There is a huge disconnect from what actually happened and what the school is saying happened.”
She said per the handbook she is able to access, there is no department of student affairs. “So, when a kid gets himself into trouble, and if any individual on the administration staff thinks that child should be in DAEP (disciplinary education alternative program) that child goes to DAEP. There are no other questions asked. Nobody talks about it, nobody listens to it. It is done and there is nothing you can do about it.” She explained it feels like “Take your medicine and shut-up!”
According to her, Navasota Police Department and the Grimes County District Attorney were a huge help. “We are truly thankful for School Resource Officer [Crystal] Martin who did a really good job with her investigation. And even the DA could see that in fact he was being bullied. And even though we wish he had made a different choice in that moment, the DA decided not to press charges because she believed when kids are between the ages of 10 and 16 kids should be allowed to make mistakes that will not stay with them forever.”
She stated Navasota Police Department even issued a harassment citation to one of the students who was bullying her child.
Her fear is that if something isn’t done about the way students are disciplined, then with the growth of the city that is anticipated, the school may “become famous in the worst possible way.” She said a parent with no personal connection to the district would likely go to the media to express displeasure in the way their student is disciplined if a similar scenario happens to them. “This is not just about what happened to my family, this affects all students and their families.”
Action Items
• Approved second and final reading of Update 119;
• Approved Student Code of Conduct;
• Approved District Employee Handbook;
• Approved T-Tess Appraisers and T-Tess Appraisal Calendar;
• Approved T-Pess Appraisers and T-Pess Appraisal Calendar;
The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Monday, Aug. 25, with a 6 p.m. public hearing for the 2022-2023 budget and tax rate and 6:30 p.m. for the regular meeting.