SHAC tables draft wellness plan, forms work groups to revise before March

Members of the Conroe Independent School District School Health Advisory Council voted to table the draft wellness plan presented at the meeting and to form work groups to revise the document before the SHAC reconvenes.

Dr. Bryce Spear, the newly elected chair, opened discussion by urging careful review of the draft and the underlying triennial assessment (WellSAT). District staff including Barbara Robertson (director of health services), Robin Hughes (director of child nutrition) and Wade Haymark (coordinator of PE and health) described the assessment process and noted the draft arose from group work that began in October.

Staff explained why a revision was proposed: the district must complete a triennial wellness assessment to meet federal requirements for school meal programs, but the draft plan lacked specific SMART objectives and campus-level implementation and evaluation steps. Robertson said the group used the WellSAT 3 tool (a widely used model assessment) to compare the district's policies and the draft plan and identified areas with low scores; she emphasized the committee should decide which low-scoring items are realistic priorities for Conroe ISD.

Council members raised several operational concerns that prompted the motion to table. Susan Moore, a district music teacher, asked for clarification about the PE standard in Goal 6 ("30 minutes daily or 135 minutes weekly"), and staff confirmed the asterisk in the draft appeared to be a typographical error and that Texas Education Code provides alternatives where daily activity is impractical for scheduling reasons. Brent Maddox and other members raised concerns that some draft goals were generic and lacked concrete implementation steps; they urged careful campus-level review to avoid producing an infeasible plan.

After discussion, a member moved and the council seconded a motion to table the plan and assemble work groups to review the draft, examine WellSAT results (the triennial assessment is posted on the SHAC website), solicit broader input, and return a revised proposal at the next full SHAC meeting in March so staff can pursue board review in February or April as the schedule allows. Staff confirmed operating under the current wellness plan until a new plan is adopted, and that tabling the draft will not jeopardize federal meal-program funding.

The motion passed on a roll-call vote with broad support; several members abstained where they were not present for the October work that produced the draft. The committee will circulate a sign-up for subcommittees and schedule multiple meeting times and shared working documents to maximize participation across staff, parents and community members.