Ann Huberger, a long-time Del Valle ISD community member and former trustee, said she was banned from volunteering at Beatty Elementary after a week at a book fair; she said the interim principal provided vague reasons and referred the matter to HR, and she suggested the ban could be retaliation for prior public comments.
The board voted to submit a District of Innovation waiver application to TEA, conditioned on the district increasing its accountability score to the threshold required (A/B/C rating); trustees said the waiver would provide operational flexibilities including calendar and hiring options.
Trustees reviewed four proposed superintendent guardrails and four board self-guardrails, debated wording differences from prior workshops, and voted to change the adjective 'poor' to 'counterproductive' in a staff-retention guardrail; the board will finalize guardrails for action in January.
District staff said they are using MAP Growth as the lead measure for an early-mathematics board goal that aims to increase third-grade STAAR math from 27% to 60% within five years and highlighted subgroup gaps—special education students were reported at 14.5% on grade level in kindergarten.
External auditors gave the district an unmodified (clean) opinion on the annual financial report and federal single-audit (Title I and IDEA B); fund balance rose by about $1.2 million and the board reviewed a budget-development calendar that leads to adoption of the 2026–27 budget in June.
District staff proposed a Teacher Incentive Allotment application that would deliver 90% of generated funds to teachers and retain 10% for sustainability and administration; trustees sought clarity on testing pressure, inclusion of special‑education assignments, rollout counts and upfront administrative costs; board action on the compensation plan is scheduled for March 24.
District finance staff presented an early FY2026–27 forecast showing a roughly $7.5 million deficit and recommended pursuing a voter‑approved tax‑rate election to provide recurring revenue; trustees pressed for clearer spending plans and asked staff to verify audit exemptions and timeline dates.
The board debated whether to replace the standing Lone Star Governance committee with three ad hoc committees and voted to retain the standing committee; the motion to form ad hoc committees failed and the motion to keep the LSG committee passed with roll calls recorded in open session.
The district presented a plan to transition Child Nutrition Services from an outside manager to an in‑house, self‑operated model, proposing to hire 4–5 food‑service positions, retain procurement savings locally and keep free‑meal status for students; trustees requested cost analyses and compliance clarifications.
Texas / School Districts / DEL VALLE ISD
The Del Valle ISD board voted 7‑1 to decline establishing a designated daily prayer time under Senate Bill 11, approved a new attendance policy for upcoming redistricting, approved safety and security upgrades at Del Valle High School following executive session (8‑0), and approved personnel actions including hiring a social studies coordinator.