Granbury ISD superintendent lays out 90-day review, recommends scorecard and advisory groups

The superintendent of Granbury Independent School District presented a 90-day review to the school board during a public meeting, summarizing the results of stakeholder engagement sessions, district performance data and recommendations for immediate next steps.

The report combined input from more than 1,000 participants across 10 staff, four parent, four student and six community engagement sessions and a district internal review. It highlighted district strengths—staff commitment, a broad Career and Technical Education (CTE) program and community involvement—and identified priorities for improvement including staff support and salary, facilities and transportation, and school climate and connections.

The superintendent said staff repeatedly raised student behavior and bullying as top priorities; parents prioritized communication, behavior and core academics; and students emphasized CTE and choice opportunities such as the STEAM Academy. In aggregated results across all groups, the top combined priorities were reading, writing and math; communication; behavior and bullying; and climate and culture.

Key district statistics cited in the presentation included a student population that is about 68% white and roughly 26.2% Hispanic, an economically disadvantaged rate of about 57% (based on free-and-reduced-lunch eligibility), roughly 91% of high school students taking a CTE class, about 9% identified as gifted and talented, and an estimated 17% in special education (described in the presentation as slightly outdated).

To improve transparency and public understanding of district goals, the superintendent proposed creating a two-page, easy-to-read version of the district strategic plan and posting it on the district website, and producing a district scorecard to monitor progress on plan goals with regular updates to the board.

The superintendent also said she will schedule a session for the board to develop specific goals to be added to the strategic plan, will create four superintendent-level advisory groups (for students, staff, parents and community members) to continue stakeholder engagement, and will present monthly updates to the board on plan progress. She invited community members to sign up for those advisory groups; the superintendent said the advisory groups will begin at the start of the next school year. She noted two ambassador sessions already held and encouraged attendance at a June 16 session on policy and curriculum.

No formal motions or votes were taken on the superintendent’s recommendations during the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 5:46 p.m.

"With all of the amazing people and passion we have in our district, there's nothing we can't accomplish," the superintendent said, summarizing the tone of the presentation.

Next steps stated in the meeting record include scheduling the board goal-setting session, publishing the condensed strategic-plan summary, developing the district scorecard and forming the four advisory groups; launch timelines given in the presentation were "beginning of the school year" for advisory groups and "monthly" reporting cadence for scorecard updates.