Wichita Falls ISD trustees set tax rate, approve technology purchases and policy updates; hear enrollment and accountability briefing

The Wichita Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a proposed tax rate and several budgeted purchases, adopted local policy updates recommended by TASB Policy Service and heard a report on enrollment and school accountability at a regularly scheduled meeting. Several public commenters spoke about teacher dress code and disciplinary practices at Hershey campus.

The board voted unanimously on a series of consent and action items that included setting the district's maintenance-and-operations and debt-service tax rates, approving software and equipment purchases and authorizing submission of a waiver to the Texas Education Agency for dual-credit instructional minutes when college and district calendars do not align.

The tax action sets the maintenance-and-operations rate at $0.6822 per $100 valuation and the debt-service rate at $0.393087, yielding a proposed combined rate of $1.075287 for the 2025-26 school year, down from 1.11 the board said. The board approved that measure 6-0.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of the consent agenda: motion to approve "as presented" approved 6-0. - Maintenance & operations tax rate: set at $0.6822 per $100 valuation; debt-service tax rate: $0.393087; total proposed rate: $1.075287 for 2025-26; approved 6-0. - Three-year bilingual grammar curriculum license (renewal): $2,000; approved 6-0. - Recording system for Wichita Falls ISD Police Department: $25,162.96 (one-time, budgeted); approved 6-0. - Purchase of Pure Storage units and 36 months support from Red River Technologies (option recommended by staff): $162,037.60; approved 6-0. - Submission of TEA waiver for dual-credit instructional minutes (covering 2025-26 through 2027-28 school years): approved 6-0. - Adoption and advertisement/deletion of local policies from TASB update packages (including cellphone/library/capital expenditure language): approved 6-0. - Approval of applicant pools for human resources: approved 6-0.

The motions were made and seconded during open session; vote tallies were recorded as 6-0 for each listed item. The board moved to closed session later under the Texas Government Code to discuss personnel and student petition matters.

Enrollment, accountability and ratings

Dr. Donnie Lee, superintendent of schools, told the board the district saw an early enrollment increase during the first three days of the school year and that enrollment typically stabilizes around day 20. Dr. Lee said last school year's final enrollment was 12,397 and Day 1 enrollment this year was 11,950. She told trustees that missing data points in graduation rate and college, career and military readiness (CCMR) measures reduced some high schools' accountability ratings for the current published cycle.

"We didn't have a graduation rate, because there was no graduation rate to be had on the one-year lag," Dr. Lee said. She added the absence of CCMR points and graduation-rate data removed roughly 60% of data points in some calculations and depressed overall campus and district ratings. The superintendent said she expects ratings to improve next year when those data points are available.

Board members and district staff discussed campus-level performance charts and campus progress reports supplied to trustees. Assistant superintendent materials presented to the board showed that Legacy and Memorial high schools represent a substantial share of the district's total rating, and staff warned that the two campuses drove much of the district's lower overall score this cycle.

Public comments: teacher dress code and Hershey disciplinary concerns

Two members of the public spoke during the allotted public-comment period. A speaker identified only as Lacey urged the board to allow teachers to wear jeans daily, arguing clothing choices affect comfort and approachability. "Education is not about what a teacher wears. It's about what a teacher does," Lacey said. She said she called districts in Region 9 and found several allow teachers to wear jeans with a dress or spirit top.

James Banner, who identified himself as a veteran and a parent, told the board he was concerned about discipline practices at Hershey. "What's happening in Hershey's school is unacceptable," Banner said. He described practices he characterized as punitive, including students losing part of their lunch period and being kept with peers who are "struggling," and said he felt his concerns were dismissed when raised with the campus principal.

Requests for follow-up and next steps

Trustees asked staff for follow-up information on multiple items discussed at the meeting. Board members requested continued updates on enrollment and staffing; the human-resources director reported the district remained short several positions but had improved since summer hiring. Trustees also asked staff to provide periodic data on cellphone policy enforcement, including counts of phones picked up by campus staff, with a suggestion to report after each six-week grading period.

The board voted to move into closed session under Texas Government Code Sections 551.074 (personnel) and 551.082 (student matters). The board said final votes, if any, would be taken in open session.

Ending

The board approved all presented action items by unanimous vote and directed staff to provide additional data on enrollment, staffing and policy implementation timelines. The public record shows the meeting adjourned to closed session to consider personnel and student-petition matters under state law.