BCISD to rearrange Pre-K through 4th-grade classrooms to meet state mandate
The Burnet High School FFA meat judging team of Cayden Beatty (left), Enrique Montalvo, advisor Kari Beth Langbein, Jackson Drozd, and Carter Bostic received team and individual honors at the National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis on Nov. 2-3. The team was recognized by the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees on Dec. 18. Photo courtesy of BCISD
Some Burnet students in prekindergarten through the fourth grade will soon move into new classrooms with new teachers. The Burnet Consolidated Independent School District hired two new teachers to bring the student-teacher ratio closer to the state-mandated 22-to-1. At the same time, the Board of Trustees voted to seek a waiver from the state to allow for bigger classes during its regular meeting on Monday, Dec. 18.
A total of 30 prekindergarten through fourth-grade classes are over the 22-to-1 ratio; 13 of those are more than one student over.
“Once those teachers are in place, and with the hire of other additional teachers this past semester, we will have (Pre-K through fourth-grade) ratios no higher than 23:1 and 5th-grade ratios no higher than 25:1,” BCISD Superintendent Keith McBurnett said in a media release. “When new teachers are hired mid-semester, the experience of the teacher hired and the needs of students at the time of the hire determines whether new sections will be created, or whether an additional teacher will push in and/or pull out small groups of students from oversize classes.”
The application for Maximum Class Size Exceptions is part of the Texas Education Agency waiver system, which has been disabled over the past months.
“This is the first opportunity in the 2023-24 school year to apply for the waivers,” McBurnett said. “In the meantime, the district has continued to monitor class sizes, provide support to elementary teachers with large rosters, and hire additional teachers where possible.”
IN OTHER BUSINESS
Also on Dec. 18, trustees approved an order setting the school board election for Saturday, May 4, 2024. Four places will be on the ballot, the first three are for three-year terms:
- Place 2, currently held by Angela Moore
- Place 4, currently held by Ross Behrens
- Place 6, currently held by Robby Robertson
- Place 5, currently held by Katy Duke, who was appointed in November to fill the remaining year of a three-year term left vacant by the death of longtime trustee Andy Feild
The application window for any of the four positions opens on Jan. 17 and closes at 5 p.m. Feb. 16.
Trustees also approved repairing, painting, and sealing the exterior of the Bertram Elementary School gym. The work should be completed during the spring semester.
An audit by firm Eide Bailly was presented during a public hearing and approved during the regular board meeting.
“The audit firm provided an unmodified opinion on the district’s financial statements, which is the highest opinion possible,” McBurnett said.
Trustees will begin working on the 2024-25 budget with their first workshop on March 4.
The superintendent search continues on schedule, board President Earl Foster announced. The position was posted on Dec. 8. Applications are due by 4 p.m. Jan. 26. Trustees will review applications beginning Feb. 12. An online survey seeking feedback from the public on superintendent qualities is live until Dec. 22.
The next meeting of the BCISD Board of Trustees is at 6 p.m. Jan. 22, 2024, in the board room at 208 E. Brier in Burnet.