San Felipe-Del Rio CISD board approves submission of $906,000 LIFT grant to fund Bluebonnet math implementation
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Summary
The board authorized submission of a LASO Cycle 4 LIFT grant application for $906,000 to support implementation of Bluebonnet math (K–5 and 6–8) and professional support for campus and district leaders; administration said narrowing the request to math only may reduce the award by about $35,000–$36,000.
The San Felipe-Del Rio CISD Board of Trustees voted March 30 to approve submitting a LASO Cycle 4 Leadership and Instructional Foundations for Texas (LIFT) grant application to the Texas Education Agency that would fund implementation of the Bluebonnet math curriculum across the district.
Administrator Jane D'Avella told trustees the district was selected on Feb. 3 for an award of $906,000 and must submit the grant application by April 2. "This fund supports not just the implementation of the Bluebonnet math curriculum, but also supports our district's administrators in supporting high-quality instruction, schoolwide procedures, observation and feedback, and student work analysis," she said.
Administrators explained that the district originally applied to implement both Bluebonnet math and Bluebonnet ELA but elementary teachers later selected Houghton Mifflin for ELA. The district therefore plans to implement Bluebonnet for math only, a change officials said will reduce the grant award by an estimated $35,000–$36,000. "We believe [the award] will be reduced to about $870,000 to $875,000," an administrator said.
D'Avella told the board there are no local matching funds required at this time and the grant would support K–5 and 6–8 math instruction along with training and leadership support for 10 campus leaders and two district leaders for the 2026–27 school year. The board approved the administration's recommendation on a motion by Becky Chavez, seconded by Mrs. Webb; the chair announced the motion carried unanimously.
The administration also recommended and the board approved a memorandum of understanding with Education Service Center Region 15 to serve as the approved provider for implementing the LIFT grant; the MOU covers the grant start date (March 1) through Aug. 31, 2027 and will be renewed or brought back to the board annually for subsequent years.
What happens next: the district will finalize its grant submission by the April 2 deadline and notify the board if the TEA issues the anticipated amended award amount after the district confirms it will not implement Bluebonnet ELA.
