The Whitney Independent School District (WISD) Board of Trustees met in regular session Monday, November 18, and heard a presentation on the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program.
Assistant Superintendent Amy Leech presented details about the TIA program, which the district is considering adopting. The program is designed to promote the profession of teaching in Texas and provides a path to higher incomes for educators through a system in which they attain one of three levels of designation: “Recognized,” “Exemplary” and “Master.”
House Bill 3, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in June 2019, established the optional program.
Through the TIA, an educator can obtain funds to be allotted to the district according to their designation. Once achieved, a designation will be valid for five school years. These funds range from $3,000 at the least to $32,000 at most per designated teacher; districts which are deemed to be rural or higher need receive more funding from the program.
In order for a district to be approved for a local teacher designation system, it must develop and implement a system based on teacher observation and measures of student growth and have it be approved by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), a process which altogether spans three school years. After a system is established and approved, the district will be approved to issue TIA designations.
Ninety percent of funds generated through the TIA program must be used to compensate educators, while 10% may be used for costs associated with supporting a local designation system or to support educators in obtaining designations.
Leech and other WISD staff have been attending meetings and performing intensive research related to the program, which had an approval rate of 74.2% among educators at WISD in a recent survey. The district is currently in the process of creating a TIA Stakeholder Committee.
“I think we’re at the point we don’t have any choice but to do it – that’s kind of the driving force of doing this, because it’s such a struggle to find teachers,” said Superintendent Todd Southard. He also noted that neighboring districts have adopted or are in the process of adopting the program.
The board approved the annual district and campus improvement plans, designed to guide students and staff to improve performance and meet the standards set by the state. Also approved was the 2025-26 Education Services Center (ESC) Region 10 Multi-Region Purchasing Cooperative Interlocal Agreement, which allows the purchase of commodities from Region 10 by WISD.
The board authorized Superintendent Southard to renew the district’s electrical contracts, set to expire in May of 2026. The district’s interlocal agreements with the City of Whitney Emergency Management and Hill County Emergency Management were also approved.
A stipend of $5,000 was approved for paraprofessional positions in the district’s Behavior Unit. “It is a tough, tough gig,” Southard said. “Most of those guys are making $17,000 to $18,000 a year, so we felt like there needed to be some adjustment to their pay.”
Jaynes, Reitmeier, Boyd & Therrell, P.C. gave an overview of its audit of the district for the 2023-24 school year. The audit was clean, with an unmodified opinion.
An action item to consider the approval of a bid for the elementary school roof to be painted was tabled, to be discussed at a later date. Southard said that two bids were received, and he and Director of Operations and Maintenance Russell Gauer have concerns about each. “I don’t think right now we’re in a position we’d feel comfortable making a recommendation to you guys on this,” Southard said.
The superintendent gave a summary of findings from an intruder detection audit, in which Region 12 personnel visit campuses to check if entry points are secured. Southard said that there was an issue at the field house on the high school campus, where a coach had propped open the door.
“Of course the kids were not in there; they were outside practicing football at that time,” Southard said. “So, needless to say, I don’t completely agree with it, but I understand it…we made the adjustments and went on from there.”
Staff members of the month were as follows: elementary school clerk Erin Cadena; intermediate school paraprofessional Melissa Parton; middle school secretary and coach Lauren Ortega; and high school teacher Meghann Gatlin.
Students of the month were: elementary school student Mlynn Matthaei, intermediate school student Wendell Cook, middle school student Tyson Rhodes and high school student Anderson Franklin.
District principals were recognized for their hard work and dedication. Elementary school principal Amber Seely, intermediate school principal Layna Philipp, middle school principal Mark Page and high school principal Kendra Hensley were congratulated and given gifts by the board.
Enrollment stands at 1,439. Resigning were Sarah Thompson and Kevin Fisher; Russell Gauer will retire in May of 2025.
The next board meeting will be held Monday, December 2, at 6 p.m. in the WISD Administration Board Room, located at 305 South San Jacinto Street.
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