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Harlandale ISD reviews TEA instructional-materials certification, LASSO grant supports Bluebonnet rollout and recommends $1.57 million in classroom displays
Summary
At a board work session April 16, Harlandale ISD staff asked trustees to certify instructional materials for TEA, outlined LASSO grant-funded supports including a proposed $700,000 Region 20 contract, and recommended purchasing 600 ViewSonic interactive displays for $1,567,800 to support Bluebonnet curriculum implementation.
Harlandale Independent School District staff told trustees at their April 16 work session that the district must submit its annual instructional materials allotment certification to the Texas Education Agency before it can process requisitions or disbursements.
Miss Casey, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the board that "the district will be unable to submit any requisitions or disbursements until the certification has been signed and submitted to TEA." The certification confirms that required curriculum subjects have instructional materials covering the Texas essential knowledge and skills.
Administrators also reviewed components of a recent LASSO grant award that the district intends to use for instructional leadership, Strong Foundations math work, professional learning communities (PLCs) and Bluebonnet curriculum implementation. "The instructional leadership and PLC components will specifically target campuses that have been identified for improvement," Miss Casey said, and she added the district must partner with a vetted provider and allocate a minimum of 50% of grant funds. To meet that requirement, staff outlined a proposed estimated $700,000 contract with Region 20 to provide advisory and professional learning supports.
Superintendent Gerardo Sotto thanked staff and the grant-writing team for securing the award and emphasized that the funding will support district improvement goals.
Separately, staff recommended buying 600 ViewSonic 75-inch interactive displays to be installed in classrooms across the district. Miss Martinez, presenting the item, said the district’s adoption of the Bluebonnet curriculum includes TEA-provided, fully editable slide decks designed for myViewBoard software and that the displays would support classroom implementation. The administration recommended purchasing the boards from Intech Southwest under Region 20 contract number 2300022 at a district cost of $1,567,800, with funding from the general operations budget and Bond 2022 funds.
No formal board approval was taken at the work session; staff presented these items for review and said they will appear for action at the district’s upcoming regular board meeting.
Trustees asked clarifying questions during the presentation, and staff said the Region 20 contract would fulfill the grant partnership requirement and that the ViewSonic boards were chosen as the lowest-cost, best-value bid from the vendors who responded to the solicitation.
If approved at the regular meeting, the combination of certification, grant-funded supports and new interactive displays would be used to align instructional materials and technology with the Bluebonnet curriculum rollout for the 2025–26 school year.
