Crowley ISD to relocate College Prep Academy to Baylor Elementary; board unanimously confirms four principal reassignments

Dr. McFarland, a district administrator, told the Crowley ISD Board of Trustees that the district recommends moving the College Prep Academy now housed at Pointer to Baylor Elementary, saying the shift would address both educational goals and budget pressures. "We can both meet the educational needs of our students and the fiscal responsible needs of our district by moving the college prep academy ... to Baylor Elementary," Dr. McFarland said during the April called meeting.

The recommendation followed the district's midyear budget review and outreach with parents and staff. Dr. McFarland said district leaders had evaluated multiple alternatives and ‘‘have to find a way to ... make sure that this expense becomes more of an investment.’’ He described the move as a way to expand the program from the current, limited enrollment and to align the program with the district’s Vision 2030 goals for innovation and community engagement.

The board then considered personnel actions tied to the change and other reassignments. Secretary Dr. Ned Robinson moved to appoint Bianca Green as principal of the College Prep program at Baylor Elementary. Vice President Gracia seconded the motion; President Darryl R. Davis called for a show-of-hands vote and the motion "passes unanimously," according to the meeting record. Dr. Latanya Woodson Mayfield moved to confirm the reassignment of Dr. Felicia Tate as lower-school (pre-K–2) principal of the College Prep program at Baylor Elementary; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Trustees also approved leadership changes at Crowley Montessori Academy. Trustee Stevenson moved to confirm the reassignment of Robert Gillies as executive principal at Crowley Montessori Academy; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Trustee Stevenson later recommended Gerardo Moreno for the position of principal resident assigned to Crowley Montessori Academy; that motion also passed unanimously.

At the meeting, Robert Gillies addressed the board after his confirmation, describing 25 years of experience in the Montessori community and noting the campus is pursuing verification by the American Montessori Society. "If that happens ... we'll be the only public school that's verified as the Montessori school ... in Texas," Gillies said, praising the work of the school’s staff and predecessor.

Board members and district staff repeatedly credited parent advocacy and district review for prompting the recommendation. A trustee described the current College Prep cohort as "approximately 40 students" and said the district expects the expanded program to be available to "probably more than 400 students," language that trustees used while discussing capacity and goals for growth.

The recorded motions were made by named trustees and carried by unanimous voice or show-of-hands votes; the transcript records the board's announcements that each motion "passes unanimously." Individual vote counts were not specified in the meeting record. The agenda included other informational items (a TASB Region 11 nomination process, a district wireless refresh funded by bond 2023 funds, and an instructional materials adoption review) that were released for later action and did not require votes at this meeting.

The board recessed to executive session under Texas Government Code provisions and returned to open session before taking the personnel votes. There was no vote recorded in the transcript to formally adopt the College Prep relocation itself; trustees approved the personnel actions that implement the recommended changes.