BELTON, Texas — The Belton Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Monday to take steps to minimize the impact of closing the district due to last week's severe weather, power outages and issues with water.
The Board unanimously approved to pay employees for the five days of closure and to submit a “Missed School Days” waiver to the Texas Education Agency for those days, the district said.
These waivers, if approved by TEA, would waive the requirement to make up missed instruction time for Feb.16-19 and Feb. 22. The Board also voted to submit an additional waiver to claim credit for instructional minutes on Feb. 12, which the district deemed a virtual learning day.
“Through an immensely challenging week in the State of Texas we saw, first hand, what makes this community special,” Superintendent Matt Smith said. “Power outages, limited water access and freezing temperatures made it a trying, if not unbearable, week for many in the Big Red Community. Yet throughout this devastating storm, the heart of this community was on display through their generosity and support of each other.”
After they hear back from TEA on the status of the waivers, the district plans to decide how the early dismissal on Feb. 11 might impact the school calendar.
“Before we rush to make a decision about adjusting the school calendar, we want to see if TEA approves the waivers we submit,” Smith said. “That information will help us know how best to proceed on making up the 50 minutes of instructional time we lost on Feb. 11 from the early dismissal.”
During the workshop portion of the evening, Board members evaluated the progress the district is making toward Goal 1 to “Engage the community in setting the direction for the future of BISD.”
They reviewed a draft of values and beliefs statements that will be brought to them at the March Board meeting for approval. They also discussed the six attributes identified in the district’s Journey of a Graduate and the importance of instilling them in all Belton ISD students, the district said.
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