By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist
Athens ISD Board of Trustees Vice President Steve McElhany was in the crowd earlier this month when a group of passionate school district employees presented 16 diverse action plans aimed at achieving gains for the school district over the next few years. By the end of that day, McElhany had wholeheartedly embraced the unveiled strategic plan. Monday night, during the regular board meeting, that plan was brought before all seven board members for consideration and unanimously approved.
“This effort is the push on the flywheel for us to get behind a common vision,” said McElhany. “I’ve been saying this for years: The schools can’t really improve without the community getting behind us, and the community can’t improve without the schools. I believe this [strategic plan] is a great starting point.”
The strategic planning process started in earnest this past September, with the trustees and superintendent selecting categories for focused attention, ranging from facilities and finances to instruction and parent involvement. Approximately 100 school personnel and community members were brought into the process. Twelve teams were created and 16 action plans drafted as part of the strategic plan. The next order of business is for the various action plans to be prioritized and then executed. The whole process will unfold over the next three to five years and be regularly evaluated.
“I am very pleased with the work that has been done so far, and I believe we’ll see great things happen as a result,” said Superintendent Blake Stiles.
In other action:
- The board also approved a motion to continue a shared-services agreement between Eustace and Athens ISDs, which will provide services to AISD students with visual impairments for the 2015-2016 school year. The agreement requires Athens ISD to make two payments of $19,362.50 – one at the beginning of the 2015-2016 fiscal year and the second at the conclusion of the fiscal year.
- The board also approved an expenditure of $15,925 to continue a shared-service contract with Tyler Regional Day School for the Deaf, which provides services to AISD students with auditory impairments.
- The board members also voted to formally “abandon” two strands of unused fiber optic cable which were originally purchased in 2001 to provide digital connectivity between all campuses. The strands are housed inside a jacket containing other fibers owned by One Ring Networks, Inc. Athens ISD now utilizes the services of Suddenlink. By formally abandoning the unused strands to One Ring Networks, the school district will save approximately $500 a month on maintenance fees. The fiber optic cables have now been replaced with newer cables from places like VCHUNG (https://www.vchung.com/fiber-patch-cables/), which improves the network connectivity and security of their database.