Marble Falls High School scores new board for baseball

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Marble Falls baseball scoreboard

The old baseball scoreboard at Marble Falls High School will see its last season this coming spring as the Board of Trustees voted Monday, Nov. 14, to approve the purchase and installation of a new board. Because of supply chain issues, the new one might not be installed until after the school year or sometime in the summer. Staff photo by Jennifer Greenwell

The Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a new scoreboard for the high school baseball stadium in a 4-0 vote during its regular meeting Monday, Nov. 14. Board President Kevin Naumann and trustees Gary Boshears and Mandy McCary were absent from the meeting.

Talks about replacing the high school baseball stadium scoreboard have been ongoing for over a year as the MFISD administration identifies worthy projects for excess bond funds.

“That’s a scoreboard that, during multiple games last year, wasn’t functioning,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway during his presentation to the board on why the old one should be replaced. “We didn’t know what the runs were. We didn’t know how many outs there were.”

Initially, quotes for a new scoreboard were over $40,000. After working with high school baseball coach Tyler Porter to ensure the new one addressed the program’s needs, the board decided  $28,000 would be enough to fund it.

“One of the things I want to highlight is this wasn’t something where administration was doing something without consulting the coach or vice versa,” Gasaway said. “The last one that was purchased was done so without consulting the maintenance department.”

The district opted to purchase a Daktronics scoreboard on the recommendation of MFISD Director of Maintenance Michael Phillips.

“We’ve got quite a bit of knowledge with Daktronics,” Phillips said. “We also don’t have as much repair money going toward Daktronics boards as we do Spectrum boards at this time.”

Gasaway was hesitant to provide a concrete timeline for the delivery and installment of the replacement scoreboard.

“With the supply issues we’ve seen from other products we’ve purchased, realistically, we should be looking at a late school year or summer installment,” he said.

nathan@thepicayune.com

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Burnet CISD tackles a slowing economy, picks 2022 Christmas card

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2022 Burnet CISD Christmas Card

Shady Grove Elementary School second-grader Lorelei Ingram created the Christmas card that will be used by the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District in 2022. Courtesy image

High interest rates have slowed student population growth in the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District, which will affect decisions about upcoming building projects and future budgets. Trent Smith of Zonda Education presented a demographic report to the BCISD Board of Trustees at its regular meeting Monday, Nov. 14. 

Last fall’s demographic report showed a fast growth rate, but that has been slowing since the Federal Open Market Committee began raising interest rates in March. Previously, the FOMC had lowered rates to boost the economy during the pandemic. Coupled with long completion rates in new home construction, growth in the district is expected to continue dropping over the next two years. 

The slowdown will allow the district to prioritize additional renovations to existing facilities, but it will decrease funding, which is based on student enrollment. The current budget depends on nearly 100 percent student enrollment and attendance. 

“The district is going to have to make adjustments to account for lower revenue projections based on the slowdown in growth over the next two years,” said BCISD Superintendent Keith McBurnett in a statement after the meeting. “We are hopeful that the Legislature will raise the basic allotment for school districts across the state. Unfortunately, we won’t know whether or not that will happen until May.”

The Texas Legislature, which only meets every two years, will be in session from January to May in 2023. 

IN OTHER BUSINESS

The board approved the 2022 Christmas card design, which this year was created by Shady Grove Elementary School second-grader Lorelei Ingram, and added Personal Financial Literacy and Economics to the course offerings at Burnet High School. 

Four amendments were added to the District of Innovation Plan, including the ability to eject unruly/unwanted visitors without prior formal warning and the ability to locally certify teachers in high-needs areas when traditional attempts to find applicants have been exhausted.

“This would allow BCISD to compete with other districts hiring quality teachers-in-training,” McBurnett said. “Important to note is that we cannot use flexibilities in federally governed programs: bilingual, ESL, special education.”

The next meeting of the BCISD board is 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, in the district board room, 208 E. Brier St. in Burnet. 

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Students will get an extra day off for the Thanksgiving holidays due to a staff development day on Monday, Nov. 28, according to the superintendent’s statement. Campuses will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday Monday-Friday, Nov. 21-25. Students report back to class on Tuesday, Nov. 29

editor@thepicayune.com

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Texas artifacts and Native American history program Nov. 14

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Native American arrowheads

A display case full of arrowheads from Texas Cache Magazine showcases a bit of the state’s Native American history. Magazine publisher Patricia Even is giving a presentation on Texas artifacts at Lakeshore Branch Library on Monday, Nov. 14. Photo courtesy of Texas Cache Magazine

Learn about Texas’ Native American history during a program at the Lakeshore Branch Library in Buchanan Dam. Texas Cache Magazine publisher Patricia Even, a Buchanan Dam resident, will share her knowledge on artifacts, including how to identify them, and then answer questions from the audience. The free presentation is at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at the library, 7346 RR 261. 

“There’s so much about the Indians of the past that most people don’t know, and it’s a goal for me to help people understand how they lived and why they did what they did,” Even told DailyTrib.com. 

During her 30-year career as a school teacher, she saw a serious deficit of information on the state’s Native Americans. In 2003, she started publishing Texas Cache Magazine, which features news and stories on Texas’ rich archaeological history. 

The presentation will include information on the prehistoric peoples of Texas, their interactions with Spanish and American settlers, and legendary local tribes such as the Comanche, Apache, and Tonkawa. 

“There’s not a lot of easy-going information out there,” Even said. “You really have to dig for it.”

To save your spot at the Nov. 14 presentation, RSVP to the library at 325-379-1174 or lakeshore.library@gmail.com.

dakota@thepicayune.com

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