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Board approves ESC‑Region‑11 Reading Academies MOUs after trustees press for cost, time and compliance details
Summary
Trustees approved two memoranda of understanding with ESC Region 11 to deliver Reading Academies (local implementation and comprehensive cohorts). Discussion focused on cost, the number of teachers to be trained, overlap with pre‑service coursework, scheduling to reduce classroom disruption, and the district’s need to remain TEA‑compliant.
Trustees voted to approve two memoranda of understanding (items E and L) with ESC Region 11 to implement Reading Academies training for district staff, after an extended discussion about cost, teacher time and state requirements.
Doctor Simpson opened the item by asking for cost details and how many teachers and principals would be served. Doctor Espinosa explained that the local‑implementation MOU funds two coordinator/coaches from the service center who will deliver in‑district training. “We have 2 trainers … they can train up to 120” teachers and the district expected about 112 teachers this year, she said, and described that local implementation as a cost‑saving alternative to sending teachers to external trainers.
Espinosa said the comprehensive cohort MOU covers bilingual teachers who must attend training at a regional center because the district lacks in‑house capacity for that cohort. She added that administrators who still need the training would likely incur only minimal cost (about $300) and that the district had delayed the start to January and provided summer options and four days during the year to mitigate classroom disruption.
Several trustees voiced frustration that the Reading Academies training overlaps with pre‑service coursework and called it an underfunded or duplicative mandate. Doctor Simpson and other trustees described the state requirement as insufficiently funded and noted prior efforts by districts to ask TEA for reconsideration; Doctor Faust and other trustees urged compliance to avoid leaving staff noncompliant. “I would not want NISD to move into an area of noncompliance with our staff,” Doctor Faust said when asked about pausing the program.
Motion and vote details: Doctor Rausch moved to approve the local‑implementation MOU (item E); Mrs. Murphy seconded. The board approved the item (vote recorded as 6–1). Mr. Schluter moved to approve the comprehensive‑cohort MOU (item L); Mrs. Kopp seconded. The board approved that item as well (vote recorded as 6–1).
Trustees requested continued district advocacy to TEA and the legislature about funding and the scope of required training and asked administration to provide clearer cost and accountability information in future briefings.
