The Whitney Independent School District Board of Trustees met in regular session Thursday, April 17, and approved beginning the partial conversion of Whitney High School’s auxiliary gymnasium to a weight room.
WHS Athletic Director David Haynes said that the move will be a major improvement from the school’s current weight room, which is tightly packed with equipment and lacks sufficient space for storage, a meeting room or locker room for officials and visiting teams.
Haynes also pointed out that the current weight room is not large enough to accommodate all athletes, leading to students having to be split up.
Under the plan approved by the board, a portion of funds already designated for the district’s athletics program will be used to convert half of the gym floor to accommodate the weight room and accompanying meeting and locker rooms, with the other half reserved for basketball and volleyball practice.
An update was given on the district’s preliminary budget. There is a projected end-of-year deficit of $170,415, significantly less than the district’s adopted deficit of $571,982 for the 2024-25 year. Superintendent Todd Southard issued a statement to the community last week and said that the district is financially sound and has enough funds available to easily handle this deficit.
Board members’ completion of their annually required continuing education hours were announced, with all members either meeting or exceeding the required hours.
Amy Teal spoke in open forum and complained to the board that the meeting, which had been rescheduled to 7:30 a.m. April 17, was taking place at too early of an hour. Teal also encouraged the board to publish a sample ballot for the upcoming Saturday, May 3 election on social media, and she expressed concern regarding the district’s deficit budget.
The board approved an agreement with InterQuest Detection Canines, which states that narcotic-detecting dogs will be intermittently brought to Whitney schools on randomly selected days.
The board approved Superintendent Southard and Business Manager Tamara Harrison as investment officers for the 2025-26 year, as well as extending the district’s depository contract with Citizens State Bank through August 2027.
The board then approved authorization of a third-party investigator to create a record related to a grievance against Southard.
In other business at the meeting, it was reported that enrollment stands at 1,424.
Employees resigning or retiring were: Kristina Matthaei, Nikki Chiles, Ethan Becker, Joseph Williams, Lisa Mays, Charlotte Cooper and Joe Martinez.
The next board meeting will be held Monday, May 12, at 6 p.m. in the WISD Administration Board Room, located at 305 South San Jacinto Street.
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