Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Southwest ISD board approves SB 546 filing, $1.81M in instructional materials and several grants and purchases
Loading...
Summary
The Southwest ISD Board voted to declare it cannot afford to replace its full bus fleet with 3‑point seat belts and authorized submission of inventory and cost estimates to TEA, and approved purchases and grant resolutions including an approximately $1.81 million instructional‑materials purchase and a two‑year autism transition grant.
The Southwest ISD Board of Trustees voted to determine that the district budget does not allow replacing its entire bus fleet with 3‑point seat belts required under Senate Bill 546 and to submit its inventory and retrofit cost estimates to the Texas Education Agency on 2026‑05‑29 in hopes of securing grant funding instead. The board also approved a series of purchases and resolutions, including roughly $1.81 million for instructional materials and a two‑year, $1 million‑per‑year grant focused on transition services for students with autism.
District staff described the SB 546 process as a three‑step requirement: (1) the board must decide whether replacing all buses is financially feasible, (2) staff must inventory which buses already have 3‑point systems and which do not, and (3) the district must provide retrofit estimates before submitting a determination to TEA. "I call it one of the another unfunded mandates that's pushed upon districts," the staff member presenting the report said, describing the law as imposing new costs without a dedicated funding source. Staff reported a fleet of 141 vehicles: 75 buses already have 3‑point belts, eight have 2‑point belts and 58 buses have no seat belts. The district estimated total retrofit costs at about $1.7 million (roughly $33,000 per standard bus and about $29,000 for certain special‑needs or activity buses) and said it expects 20 new buses in the next 12–18 months through previously approved bond purchases.
On special education supports, district staff described a two‑year TEA partnership grant that would provide $1,000,000 per year focused on students with autism aged 14–22 and on transition services into employment, higher education and independent living. "This time around, we are partnering with three other districts," the presenter said, explaining that the collaboration aims to build employer partnerships, summer campus experiences with A&M San Antonio and a sustainable blueprint for services beyond age 22.
Curriculum staff requested approval to use state instructional‑materials allotment funds for a package of K–12 and high‑school materials, CTE licenses and printing costs for Bluebonnet titles. Lisa Bolte, introduced to the board before her presentation, said the proposed purchase would cost approximately $1,809,000 and be drawn from the instructional materials and technology allotment and the State Board of Education entitlement buckets. The board approved the purchase.
Other board actions included approval of: a child‑nutrition equipment RFP award (not to exceed $225,000, paid from child‑nutrition funds); a compensation plan wording change to broaden a $50/hour nurse rate to an "additional duty" classification; replacement of two end‑of‑life chillers at McNair Middle School (vendor quote $926,395, funded by remaining 2023 bond funds); a resolution to support Purple Star designation for all campuses; a dual‑credit faculty expansion resolution; a library collection purchase for Juan Alvarado Elementary (not to exceed $146,000); and personnel and contract approvals following closed session. Each of those motions was presented, seconded and approved during the meeting.
Votes at a glance: the consent agenda (items 5a–d) passed; the board approved the SB 546 determination to submit inventory and cost estimates to TEA (submission dated in the presentation for 2026‑05‑29); FDA local revisions and local wellness policy updates were approved; the Purple Star resolution passed; the RFP equipment award and the instructional‑materials purchase were approved; the chiller replacement recommendation and related contract were approved; and personnel and emergency‑communications annex approvals were confirmed after closed session.
The district will submit the SB 546 inventory and cost estimate to TEA on 2026‑05‑29 and continue to use bond purchases and potential future grants to replace or retrofit buses as funding allows. The meeting adjourned at 9:08 p.m.
