PISD Board Notes for 05-15-23 trustee meeting

The Princeton ISD Board of Trustees meets monthly. Board meetings are typically held on the third Monday of each month and open to the public. Here are highlights from the May 15 meeting. The board will meet again Monday, June 19.

UIL state qualifiers include, from left, Isabella Vance, Kate Read, Rachel Sadler and Emily Copeland.

Trustees recognize state, national qualifiers

Several student groups from Princeton High School were recognized during Monday night's board meeting for advancing to the top competition in their program.

Earning a trip to the UIL state journalism competition this week are:

Rachel Sadler (news writing)

Kate Read (feature writing)

In the fall, Gabi Trejo advanced to state for UIL cross country.

Isabella Vance just returned from UIL state competition in theatrical design for hair and makeup.

Debate students qualified for state through the Texas Forensic Association, as well as nationals for the National Speech and Debate Association.

Texas Forensic Association qualifiers are:

Emily Copeland for Congress Debate

Savannah Brewer for Lincoln Douglas Debate

Robert Arroyo for Policy Debate 

Paola Diaz for Policy Debate

Also in speech and debate, several students qualified for nationals this summer through the National Speech and Debate Association. They are:

Emily Copeland for Congress Debate

Savannah Brewer for Lincoln Douglas Debate

Robert Arroyo for Policy Debate 

Paola Diaz for Policy Debate

Joey Lopez Diaz for Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking

Emma Parker (from Southard) for Original Oratory

Speech and debate students qualified for state through the Texas Forensic Association, as well as nationals for the National Speech and Debate Association. Qualifiers include, from left, Emily Copeland, Savannah Brewer, Joey Lopez and Southard student Emma Parker. Not pictured are Paola Diaz and Robert Arroyo.

Princeton ISD canvasses election results

The PISD Board of Trustees canvassed the results from the May 6 bond election. There were a total of 899 ballots cast, with 66.41% or 597 voting for the bond proposal and 33.59% or 302 voting against.

The $797 million bond package includes eight new campuses. Bond sales will fund construction of one early childhood center, four elementary schools, two middle schools and one senior high school over the next 10 years.

"We would like to thank all the residents who came out to vote and support the district," Superintendent Donald McIntyre said. "This will allow us to continue to provide facilities and an education our students deserve."

Board awaits end of legislative session

While the board intends to address the district salary scale for teachers, the district is waiting to see the results of the current legislative session that ends May 31. Lawmakers have been in discussions regarding school funding, but it is unclear at this time how this might impact district budgets.

"By waiting to see where any possible legislation might land, it will allow us to know how we can maximize any additional benefits we are able to approve," Superintendent Donald McIntyre said.

According to Mr. McIntyre, salary scales will be on the board agenda again in June.

PISD presents Teacher Incentive Allotment update

Superintendent Donald McIntyre updated the school board regarding the Teacher Incentive Allotment recently announced for 50 PISD teachers.

Princeton teachers were awarded more than $408,500 from the state this spring through the program. And, this incentive will continue for the recipients for an additional four years.

For the three designations, recognized, exemplary and masters, the incentives for Princeton teachers ranged from $3,200 to $16,250. The district averages were $3,780 for recognized, $7,155 for exemplary and $14,160 for masters.

"We anticipate more teachers will be added in coming years as the incentive program continues," Mr. McIntyre said.

Site work has started on James Elementary School adjacent to Mattei Middle School on County Road 728.

Culinary expansion OK'd; 3 projects underway

During the meeting Monday night, the school board voted to add a culinary arts lab for the new academic wing under construction at Lovelady High School.

The kitchen classroom will feature the latest in culinary arts essentials.

"We are excited about Lovelady being equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to prepare students for the industry demands," CATE director Brett Hackman said.

More than 100 students are already registered for culinary classes in the fall.

"With the growth and success of the culinary program, we are seeing more and more students showing an interest," Superintendent Donald McIntyre said. "It makes sense to include this lab at Lovelady because students need to start the introductory coursework in 9th and 10th grades. I am excited we will be able to meet the needs of more students."

Work on the Lovelady expansion is already underway and will be complete and ready for 9th- and 10th-grade students for the 2024-2025 school year.

In addition to LHS, work on the two new elementary schools, which are scheduled for a 2024 opening, has started.

Site work for James and Green elementary schools is moving forward following the recent approval of the GMPs.

Green will be located in the Whitewing Trails neighborhood, while James is being built adjacent to Mattei Middle School. This site will be busy as the Perkins Early Childhood Center is planned to open on the same property in 2025.

"I am pleased all the projects are underway," Mr. McIntyre said. "And, the added good news is that all three seem to be well ahead of schedule."

Construction on the additional academic wing, which includes a new culinary arts lab, is underway on the back side of Lovelady High School along Mabel.

Board approves assistant principal for Mattei

To complete the admin team at Mattei Middle School, the board approved hiring Adam Pemberton as the second assistant principal during its meeting Monday night.

Mr. Pemberton, who joins Principal Jerry Quinton and Assistant Principal Beth Davis, both of whom were announced at previous board meetings, comes to Princeton from Allen ISD where he has served as a world geography teacher, team lead and high school football/wrestling coach for the last five years.

Prior to Allen, he was employed at two different districts in Oklahoma where he served as PLC leader, department head, head coach and assistant coach for five different sports over a 7-year span.  

Mr. Pemberton also served in the Army from 2006-2011, and is a veteran of the war in Iraq. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Education from Northeastern State University and master's in educational administration from Lamar University.  

"He is excited for an opportunity to take on a leadership role at Princeton ISD and help move the district forward as it continues to grow," Mr. Quinton said.