Sharyland ISD reviews 2023–24 Texas Academic Performance Report; board hears safety and legislative updates and approves routine business

At its regular meeting, the Sharyland Independent School District Board of Trustees received a public hearing on the district’s 2023–24 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), heard updates on campus safety audit findings and current legislative issues affecting public education, and approved the consent agenda and several closed-session personnel actions.

The TAPR presentation summarized the state-required annual report’s eight sections, including STAAR results, staff and program data, financial PEIMS reporting and college, career and military readiness (CCMR) indicators. A district staff member presenting the report said the TAPR “contains a wealth of information” for district and campus planning and noted that accountability ratings remained on hold “since 2023 due to pending litigation.” The presenter also said the district had 100% STAAR participation for the last two years and provided snapshots of attendance, chronic absenteeism and CCMR measures.

Why it matters: The TAPR is the state’s formal record of district performance and is used to inform parents, boards and the Texas Education Agency about academic outcomes, enrollment and programing, and helps guide local priorities and state accountability discussions.

Key details from the board discussion and presentation

- Enrollment and staffing: The presenter reported total district enrollment at 9,742 students for 2023–24 and total staff of about 1,354. (Numbers reported by the presenter in the TAPR summary.)

- Assessment and participation: The TAPR slides described STAAR performance (percentages at approaches, meets and masters for tested grades and subjects) and noted that district participation in STAAR was 100% for the two most recent years covered in the report.

- Attendance and chronic absenteeism: The presenter said chronic absenteeism (students enrolled at least 10 days and absent 10% or more) decreased compared with previous reporting, and that the district’s annual dropout rate “remains virtually 0.”

- College, career and military readiness: The presenter summarized CCMR indicators from 2022–23: annual CCMR graduates (89.0), college-ready annual graduates (78.5) and career-or-military-ready annual graduates (66.8), noting these figures were presented so trustees could compare progress across years.

- Data caveats: The presenter cautioned that certain postsecondary tracking data come from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and are not 100% complete for all graduates; the TAPR is a snapshot that the district supplements with additional local data.

Safety audit briefing and remediation

Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard informed the board that the district is required to report any campus intruder-detection audit deficiencies and that two campuses recently were identified with deficiencies. According to Dr. Howard, deficiencies ranged from unsecured doors to gaps in staff knowledge of safety procedures. She told trustees the district has implemented remediation steps, including additional staff training and retraining, and that further details about the specific incidents were provided to trustees in closed session.

Legislative and policy discussion

Board members also discussed legislative activity affecting public education. Trustee Megan Sullivan (committee report) summarized ongoing state discussions: the House public education committee’s work on a voucher bill, TEA guidance on how new funding might be designated or discretionary, possible changes to homestead exemption thresholds that could affect local revenues, and recommendations from the TEA Commission on Special Education to alter funding mechanisms and invest in teacher preparation and pay adjustments. Trustees emphasized uncertainty in state revenues until the budget process advances and the need to monitor potential hold-harmless provisions.

Board actions and approvals (Votes at a glance)

- Consent agenda (routine financial and administrative items including month-end bills, investment reports, tax collection reports, budget amendments, prior meeting minutes, elementary class-size waiver, budget planning calendar and approvals of out-of-state travel requests): Motion to approve the consent agenda passed (7–0).

- Employment of personnel discussed in closed session (subject to satisfactory background and reference checks): Motion to approve passed (7–0).

- Declaration of unopposed candidates and cancellation of the May 3, 2025 Sharyland ISD School Board election: Motion to approve passed (7–0).

- Acceptance of mid-contract resignations as discussed in closed session: Motion to approve passed (7–0).

All votes were recorded as voice votes with the chair calling for ayes; the board reported each motion passed unanimously.

Process and next steps

The presenter noted the full TAPR and supporting documentation will be posted to the district’s shared drive and the district website. Trustees asked staff to continue monitoring legislative developments, especially proposals that could change revenue or funding formulas. For the safety audit findings, Dr. Howard reported remediation is complete and that she would provide additional closed-session detail to trustees as appropriate.

The meeting included a large number of ceremonial recognitions and student spotlights before the business agenda; those recognitions did not change board policy or action items. The board adjourned after a closed session and the unanimous votes described above.