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Miller Grove ISD Superintendent Steven Johnson describes the Linebarger 2020 property value study which shaved off $4 million from the district’s local tax base at the Monday night board meeting. Staff photo by Todd Kleiboer
Fall carnival canceled due to concerns
MILLER GROVE—Dirt work for Miller Grove’s 20,000-square-foot multiuse facility is further along than expected, said Superintendent Steven Johnson at the September regular board meeting Monday night.
“They [the construction company] are trying to get that slab ready to go before the rainy season,” Johnson said.
The facility, with designs approved in May, includes two courts to be used primarily for physical education or Little Dribblers, dressing rooms, a small stage, concessions and bathrooms with sole access from the track, and four classrooms.
“We know that big that building is going to be in our mind, but when you really see how much is dug out around there and how long that thing is, that’s a dang big building,” board president Brandon Barrow said.
Secondary Principal Gary Billingsley and Elementary Principal Jaime Fox announced the cancellation of the Miller Grove Fall Carnival scheduled in October. Billingsley said the event’s organization would be “a mess,” and companies likely will not donate because of an uncertain financial situation.
“I’m thinking maybe on that Friday letting the kids do a truck-or-treat here,” Billingsley said. “Let them do a trunk-or treat in their costumes.”
Fox presented the district’s asynchronous plan for board approval, a Texas Education Agency requirement this year for schools to receive funding. An asynchronous plan (like Google Classroom or paper packets) is mandatory for second grade and below. Synchronous plans (such as live streaming a class through Zoom) are allowed for all other grades.
“Where we can do real-time [synchronous], we’re definitely doing real-time,” Fox said. “We’re saying we’re really supporting those at-home learners, whether it be synchronous or asynchronous.” According to Johnson, about 8% of
According to Johnson, about 8% of the district is currently remote learning, and Fox said if a school closure occurred, synchronous learning would be encouraged; however, a combination between both types of plans would be used.
“We had to put in the plan just in case, so we could still get funding,” Fox said. “It’s better to have it and get funded than to not have it, be shut down and not get funding.”
In other items, the board voted to rescind the adult lunch contribution they approved some time ago, stating tax complications for employees were to be created in the process.
4-H was approved as an extracurricular activity, a yearly agreement between the Hopkins County AgriLife Extension and all county schools, and the board discussed the Linebarger 2020 property value study that knocked off about $4 million in the district’s total property value. Any funds lost through the district’s tax on local property will be replaced by the state, Johnson said.