Marble Falls ISD accepts recommendations from Advisory Committee

The Marble Falls Independent School District’s Advisory Committee presented the board of trustees its findings and recommendations during the regular meeting Dec. 16.

The committee had a slide that broke the proposed bond into three parts. The first was general facilities planning that totaled $124,335,000. Next was the Staff 1 to 1 Devices totaling $2.2 million. The final was athletics that came in at $28.55 million.

The total is $155,085,000.

Co-chairwoman Lee Ann Johnson pointed out bonds are repaid through Interest and Sinking (INS) property taxes. The tax rate is 21.53 cents per $100 of taxable house value.

The INS tax rate stays the same no matter if voters approve it, according to Johnson and Dr. Jeff Gasaway, Marble Falls ISD superintendent.

The report has not been made public yet because committee members and officials are looking over the proposals to ensure accuracy before releasing them to the public, Gasaway said.

“We’re working to finalize all the different things,” he said. “We’re going to come back Jan. 13 (during the regular school board meeting) and finalize everything.”

At that point, he said, residents will get a solid look at what the committee found and its recommendations.

The committee met six times as it reviewed school district properties and talked with individuals. Among them were students.

Johnson noted those conversations were impactful and helpful as students praised their teachers “for making the difference.”

Gasaway said the students the committee spoke to came from one person.

“(Marble Falls High School Principal Patrick) Hinson provided us with a number of students who have a broad spectrum of activities: athletics, choir, academic,” Gasaway said. “They were all over the place. There was a good representation of the student body.”

He emphasized hearing from the students was a no-brainer.

“If you look at our vision statement, our desire is to help every child, to love every child and inspire them,” he said. “When thinking about ideas, you want that student voice in the room. Public schools is about kids. Our kids’ voices are heard and acknowledged. I was really excited about our student participation in this process.”

While Gasaway declined to get into the specifics of the third proposal, he indicated that it wasn’t all for one specific campus. And he noted they could include other extracurricular activities such as the band, cheerleaders and Starlettes dance team.

“The athletic portions of the bond will touch all athletic students,” he said. “It will be something identified by the community advisory committee of projects that affect many student groups.”

The superintendent may be the role model for getting good grades and obtaining higher education. And there’s no doubt he is a big fan of the extra curricular activities at each of his campuses. He can be seen cheering on students who are in concert, on the field or on the court. He is known to congratulate the players, the performers and their coaches for a job well done.

And he believes those extra activities for many students help them in numerous ways.

“I think for many students, athletics and extra curricular activities provide a strong reason for them getting excited,” he said. “One of the things that was very clear was the impact athletics had in them going to class. Athletics today holds an impact on kids like it did when I was a kid. We wanted to participate in something bigger than ourselves. All of our extracurricular activities and our (Career Technical Education) program provides that niche and puts them on a pathway that finds success.”

The deadline for the board of trustees to call for a bond election is Feb. 14.

“More information will be coming out as soon as we get ready to finalize and potentially ask the board to call for a bond,” Gasaway said.