Larger elementary school class sizes and some campus upgrades are among the items to be addressed during a Tyler ISD board meeting today.
The board of trustees is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. today in the Dr. Jack L. Davidson Conference Center in the Jim Plyler Instructional Complex, 807 W. Glenwood Blvd.
The board is scheduled to vote on a request to the state for 53 class-size waivers. The district has 53 classes from kindergarten through fourth grade that exceed the 22-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio set by the state. These classes are spread out on 14 of the district's 17 elementary schools.
TISD decided that increasing some of the class sizes in kindergarten through fourth grades to a ratio of 24 students to one teacher would maximize funding for teachers this school year, according to district information.
School districts are required to submit a request to the state waiver unit for any class that exceeds the 22-to-1 limit for kindergarten through fourth grades.
School districts can use "financial hardship" as a reason for exceeding the waiver and that is what TISD did.
Last September, the school district approved 24 maximum class-size waivers. The district elected to staff those classes at 24 students to one teacher, which allowed the district to avoid spending $630,000 for additional hires.
In 2011, the district had 81 class-size waiver requests.
In other business, the board is scheduled to vote on the district's self-funded insurance plan, a requirement of the Texas Education Code. The board also is scheduled to vote on the renewal of stop-loss insurance for the Tyler ISD Medical Benefit Plan.
In other business, the board is scheduled:
—To vote on the replacement of the lighting and sound systems at the Robert E. Lee High School Fine Arts Center. This will cost more than $73,000 and be paid for with the Fine Arts Budget and the Preventive Maintenance Fund.
—To vote on a deductive change order related to the recent science lab renovations at John Tyler and Robert E. Lee high schools. The work was slated to cost a maximum of about $1.49 million, but came in about $96,200 less than that. The total new guaranteed maximum price is $1.39 million.
—To vote on a memorandum of understanding between Tyler ISD and The University of Texas at Tyler to offer the University Academy, an extended day educational program, at Hogg, Hubbard and Moore middle schools. This program already is offered at Boulter, Dogan and Stewart middle schools and is grant funded by the Texas Education Agency, according to TISD information.