Greenville ISD board appoints Head Start director, approves $1.12M for special-education staffing and multiple vendor contracts

Greenville Independent School District trustees appointed a new Hunt County Head Start director and approved a slate of vendor contracts and curriculum purchases during their regular meeting.

Tony Todd recommended Crystal Penny as the new Hunt County Head Start director; the board moved to appoint the candidate and the motion carried (recorded in the minutes as "Motion passes 6" after one member excused themself). Todd told trustees that Head Start policy council approval is part of the hiring process and reviewed the minimum qualifications for the position, including a bachelor's degree and supervisory experience. The transcript contains inconsistent spellings of the candidate's last name ("Penny" and later "Petty"); district records should be consulted for the official spelling.

On contract approvals, the board agreed to a series of purchases and renewals for the 2026'1027 school year. The largest single authorization was a request to contract staffing services to help fill hard-to-recruit special-education roles (licensed specialists in school psychology, occupational therapists, educational diagnosticians, speech-language pathologists and assistants, special-education teachers and board-certified behavior analysts). Staff asked for authority to spend up to $1,120,000 on those contracted services to begin hiring in July; the board approved the request. As district staff said, the goal is to avoid classroom gaps as hiring season progresses.

Trustees also approved: a $90,000 renewal for Bridging the Gap to provide interpreting and translation services for Greenville's regional deaf-education program (which the district said serves roughly 27 sending districts); a $358,850 contract with Foundations in Teaching for instructional coaching, STAR prep and K'2 literacy supports (staff outlined line-item uses of the total and said the district will retain ownership of materials); and a purchase of Studies Weekly K'5 social-studies materials to bridge to forthcoming state standards (the transcript shows inconsistent/garbled dollar amounts for Studies Weekly; the approved motion was recorded but the exact figure is unclear in the recorded text and should be confirmed with the district finance office).

The board also approved administrative platforms and software renewals: Frontline Education for an accumulated total of $130,511.88 to cover HR, substitute tracking, special-education case management and asset/help-desk functions, and Skyward for $151,155 for student information, payroll, finance and HR systems.

All motions on the contracts and purchases were recorded as approved; most voice votes in the transcript are recorded as "Motion passes 7'00," indicating unanimous board approval on those items.

Why it matters: The staffing authorization and curriculum contracts shape classroom supports and services for the coming school year, particularly for students with disabilities and those in deaf-education services. The board's decisions lock in third-party support and district-owned instructional materials the administration said will be used to train new teachers and sustain practices as state assessments change.

What's next: District staff will execute purchase orders and contracts for the approved vendors and proceed with hiring and onboarding under the authority granted. The district indicated some services are funded through state formulas or dedicated state allotments; finance staff will finalize ledger entries and contract details.