American Audacity
Show focused on how big and small issues affect the daily lives of Americans through conversations with elected officials, business owners, and exploration.
American Audacity
Joe Waldron - Superintendent of Abilene ISD
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Joe Waldron, the new Superintendent of Abilene ISD, answers 15 Rapid Fire Questions about Texas and then we dive into:
-How the school voucher law has affected public education;
-How the billions of new construction for data centers affect public education funding;
-How public education is really funded in Texas...first the taxpayers, then the state general funds, explained in an easy way to understand;
-How AI is being implemented into schools and has changed how teachers teach and students learn;
-How the ban on cell phones in schools has played out;
-What the future of Abilene ISD holds for the next 3-5 years.
Joe, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01So we'll jump right in into the rapid fire questions. After we do the 15 rapid fire questions, we'll do the uh uh in-depth questions. Are you ready? I'm ready. All right. Number one, what river forms the border between Texas and Mexico? Uh that's probably the only river you know in Texas.
SPEAKER_00Rio Grande.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Yeah. What is the capital of Texas?
SPEAKER_00Austin.
SPEAKER_01Uh what is the this is a tough one. What is the largest county in Texas by land?
SPEAKER_00No clue, but probably around El Paso.
SPEAKER_01Brewster County, yep. Uh what is your favorite restaurant in Abilene?
SPEAKER_00Corkin pig.
SPEAKER_01Name two of the four US states that border Texas.
SPEAKER_00Two of the four? Oklahoma, New Mexico.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01What Texas Lake is the largest lake wholly within the state? Hint it's not in West Texas.
SPEAKER_00Travis?
SPEAKER_01Lake Sam Rayburn Reservoir over in Deep East Texas.
SPEAKER_00Eh, that makes sense. Rains a lot over there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. How many? Now these next two may be tough. I don't I don't think most people know these. How many members sit in the Texas House of Representatives?
SPEAKER_00143? One? 141?
SPEAKER_01I think it's 150. I should know that. How many members sit in the Texas Senate? 29. 39. 31. Pretty close though. Pretty close. How long is the term for the governor?
SPEAKER_00Never ending. I know that one. Four years. What oh, they and there's no term limit.
SPEAKER_01There's no term limit, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's what I was thinking you were asking.
SPEAKER_01What official oversees the county government in Texas? Who's the head of the county?
SPEAKER_00Uh Judge Crowley.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they kind of judge, yeah. Um who holds the most executive power on paper, even more than the governor, in some view. The lieutenant governor? That's right. What year did Texas declare independence from Mexico? This is on a lot of the the the seals. 1836.
SPEAKER_001836.
SPEAKER_01That's right. You did okay, I think that was that was the last question. You did well. You did well. You did uh one, let's see, what was the one that I had written down that I was like, oh, I don't think he's gonna get this. Um oh I had in there and I went ahead and skipped it. Name you may get it. We'll do it as a bonus question. All right. Name the mountain range in West Texas that contains the contains Texas's highest peak. Well, it's far west Texas.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01No, it's Guadalupe Mountains. Guadalupe Mountains, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I should trust my instincts because that popped went right through my head.
SPEAKER_01I think the tallest peak is uh it may be El Capitan out of the Guadalupe Mountains, I believe.
SPEAKER_00Seen many pictures from the top of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Should have known. Should have known. Should have gone with your gut. Oh well. All right. Well, uh, I feel like that was kind of a version of the star test.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I don't know at which level.
SPEAKER_02But yeah.
SPEAKER_01All right. Well, let's jump in. Uh so we're gonna talk um um, you know, schools, you're you're now heading up AISD, so we're gonna talk a bunch of different you know topics about um public education. Great. But first, before we jump in, uh in just a you know, a quick little couple of sentences, uh, tell the people about you um and how you how you got to where you are now as superintendent of AISD.
SPEAKER_00Great. I'll try to be brief. So I was born and raised in the south side of Chicago, uh, came to Texas in 1998 and uh arrived in Wichita Falls, where I thought I was gonna coach volleyball for the rest of my life. Um I played and coached volleyball in high school and college in Illinois, and then started coaching girls, um, and that's what brought me to Wichita Falls, the opportunity to coach at Midwestern State. And then there's this moment where I had an educator, one of my professors, challenge me. Uh maybe not a challenge, but speak in to me. Uh and it changed the trajectory of my life. This is spoiler alert, this is a story I'm probably telling at convocation on August 11th. And uh uh my education, public education journey started. I became an alternatively certified educator in Wichita Falls ISD, was a teacher for nine years, and then started my administrative journey in Texas as an assistant principal in Childress, which is where my wife grew up. And um, there's a lot of stuff in between there, but between um teaching and for nine years and then starting my administrative journey, I've had the blessing of being pretty much every administrative job there is I've done. Um, it's very helpful in conversations to be able to understand from our different uh points of view in a large school district like Abilene because I've walked in their shoes a little bit here and there. Um so my journey started in Texas in 1998, but my administrative journey started in 2008. So I'm almost 20 years as an administrator.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay. What position did you hold right before becoming ASD superintendent?
SPEAKER_00I was our deputy superintendent over all of our um senior leadership team, um, but mainly over operations, and uh I was a support for our finance department because I have been our CFO, I've been an associate superintendent for personnel in Abilene, um, but most recently deputy superintendent.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So you come in with a pretty, pretty good background about knowing all the different positions and knowing what this job's gonna entail. This is not just being plucked out of a random place going, hey, good luck.
SPEAKER_00Correct. I've actually been a superintendent twice um before, and but what you just said couldn't be more true. It's actually to me it's a huge blessing. Uh the opportunities that I've had to do different things in school administration is really laid quite a foundation that, like I mentioned earlier, allows me to be um understanding and like relate to issues as they arrive and the strategy that we need to talk through. And um it's really quite a journey I've been on. Uh I tell our aspiring administrators all the time you know, if you have a supervisor or someone who is uh an authority figure in an organization, they ask you to do something. My philosophy has always been to say yes because that person believes you can do it. So get after it. Um, and I've said yes a lot. Um those yeses have led to this conversation right here. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. For good or bad. Yeah. Um, so you when did you officially start the role as superintendent? June 1st. Okay. We're in mid-July now, so you're about a month and a half in.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, our school board was fantastic in this process. I tell you, it's we've asked our school council, I've asked a few of our statewide organization leaders, have you ever seen a superintendent take the seat and the outgoing superintendent stay employed in the school district? And no one has said yes yet. Yeah. Um, so uh hats off to our board, to John Kuhn, um, for a very thoughtful transition plan, because really it started at the end of February, and we have incrementally handed things off between John and I.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um and the full transition happened June 1st, and that was to ensure that um the transition was smooth for Abeline ISD. Right. Right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I off the top of my head I can't think of any that have have uh stuck around. So yeah, that's that's a good position. So we were talking about it a little bit before the show, but um, because that's a unique situation, how is that for you of basically having your old boss still, you know, there in the system, maybe kind of looking over your shoulder, uh, any any point where he's like, ah, I would have done that differently.
SPEAKER_00Right. Well, maybe the funny thing is to say, well, I've just demoted John and kicked him out of the office. Uh but that's not exactly how it worked. Uh the truth is that because of the human John Kuhn is, there's no issue. There won't be an issue. Um, he's an incredible human being, uh, believes in me, uh, believes in Abilene ISD and the work we do in public education. And there's no fabric within him to get in the way. Um, all he wants to do is help. So uh this won't be an issue. It hasn't been an issue. I don't foresee it being an issue. Yeah. Uh I actually see John in the role that he's in, uh, making quite an impact for our English language learners because he is one himself. You know, he is a he's bilingual, he has acquired Spanish. He's married to Noelia, who is uh born and raised in Peru and natively learned English. Like she her native language is Spanish. And uh they're an incredible, they're incredible humans, and John's passion for the English language learner is immense. Um he has a history of turning around bilingual programs and fully expect his leadership to we have a large population, over 1,300 English language learners in Abilene ISD. And he's got a great team, he's gotten to know them, uh and they're fantastic. So together I think there more momentum is going to continue to build to build for uh our English language learners, which we have 39 languages spoken in Abilene ISD. Wow.
SPEAKER_01What um what is the population of the entire um AISD school system from you know, I guess pre-K or K through 12? What's that? Do you know that number off the top of your head? Sure.
SPEAKER_00Um, so it always starts high when school starts, and every year has a downward trajectory during the course of the year. People move out, others don't move in. Some kids graduate early. So the the population fluctuates. So if I give you a number, it's depending on the year, it may not be accurate. But the the number we use often is 14,500. Wow.
SPEAKER_0114,500 in from from K through 12, and then the high schools are um is it they're 6A, 5A?
SPEAKER_005A, both of them, and then Adams would be considered a 3A high school, but they don't compete in athletics.
SPEAKER_01Right. Okay. And so what um what's the population of 9 through 12 at the high schools these days, like each high school of 5A? What is that? Is that 4,000 kids each?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you could round it to about 4,000. Um the the freshman class is generally the biggest. Sophomore class, junior and senior. So as they go through high school, some kids graduate early, some kids um move out, don't move back in, things like that. But generally speaking, well, about a thousand per grade though.
SPEAKER_01Okay. 14,000. That's a that's a lot of kids. It is um to manage across the entire the entire city. I'm a Wiley grad, so I've you know I've always been partial, but even even them, my I remember my graduating class was 176. This was 20 or so years ago. Uh 176, and now I want to say their classes are mid-threes. Right. So I mean they're growing as well. How much has AISD grown or have they has it plateaued uh let's say over the last 20 years? What was the entire population of the school system 20 years ago? Do you know?
SPEAKER_00Oh, significantly higher. Okay, so it's Yes. So just through COVID, we've lost more than 2,000 in enrollment. Oh wow. Uh so when I got here in 2019 before COVID, the number, the answer to your question earlier was would have been 16,500.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So with um a lot of the the data centers, you know, the Great Lakes Cheese, the base, uh uh DIES Air Force Base um uh construction, all that kind of good stuff. We have a ton of people moving to Abilene. Um how does that affect the school system since we're talking about population-wise? What are you guys projecting over the next uh, let's say, five to ten years for the population of the AISD system?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. Um, much like predicting the weather could be I mean, it's just a challenge to predict. Uh, but we have two uh in the last five years we've done two demographic studies of the Abilene ISD population. Um the last one, excuse me, it's not back. The last one was just before the data center broke ground.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00So I think the last one projected us to it goes 10 years into the future and it's flat. Our enrollment stays flat. Instead of continuing to decline, it it gets flat and might recover. Uh birth rates don't have any indication of enrollment recovering because across the state birth rates are low, lower. Um what we hope is that our enrollment uh bounces back up so that our trajectory changes. In other words, we create a valley over time that we we have hit the bottom and it's a valley, not a plateau. Right. We go back up. Right. Um I believe in Abilene ISD, and uh my daughter goes to Abilene ISD, my wife teaches in Abilene ISD. We I think that's probably the expectation that the superintendent should believe in Abilene ISD. That's probably not a shock, but yeah, uh there are so many things in Abilene ISD that are the one and only in the big country. And uh we are very good at many things and have a lot to offer different students in different populations. So um I really hope that turns around.
SPEAKER_01It's it's it that's interesting to hear on the population though, projected-wise, over the next, say, five to ten years, because I think a lot of the people in Abilene had the concern of oh, all this uh movement to Abilene for the for the construction of these data centers and Great Lakes Cheese and the base is going to lead to all the it's gonna be packed in the school school systems, they're not gonna be able to handle it. That you know, oh, it's gonna be another, it's gonna be a problem, right? And so it's I think it's it will come as a bit of a surprise to most people to hear, oh, it's it's not projected to increase the number of students in the classrooms, at least for ISD. Now the surrounding communities may, you know, from Holly to Eula to you know Clyde, they may be seeing an increase there, but for Abilene AISD, um, you guys aren't expecting an increase. Is that because most of the people moving here for the construction are uh single guys or they're coming for six months only, they're not moving the kids here, they're staying, you know, wherever they're from. And so we're getting the workers here, but we're not getting the full families or we're not getting the kids.
SPEAKER_00Correct. That's been the experience thus far. Uh I heard this week at a a meeting that I had that the working population at the data center that's in our attendance zone, the Lanceum project, is actually uh maybe on the downslope of total workers. Um so we've seen the peak, and the peak hasn't impacted our enrollment positively as a whole. It's here and there. There's certainly some students who have come with their families, but by and large, it's it's workers who come without their kids and their families because it's temporary. Um Great Lakes Cheese generally brought workers. Great Lakes Cheese is not in Abilene ISD. Fun fact. Really? Just the parking lot. I did not know that. So the workers certainly are out and around Abilene, but the property is not in Abilene ISD. It's certainly in Abilene. Uh-huh. Uh what is it in?
SPEAKER_01Wiley or Eula?
SPEAKER_00It's in or Jim Ned? Eulah or Clyde, one of the two. Okay. The eastern boundary of Abilene ISD is jagged. Uh goes in and out.
SPEAKER_01Hmm. That's interesting. I just assumed that they were in AISD, but Lytle, uh Lytle Lake, Lytle is is part of Wiley. They're they're a little carve-out as well. It has a very small carve out in Wiley. Yes. Yeah. That is interesting. School school districts are um are fascinating. I, you know, I served on city council, loved it, but I always had a lot more respect for people who serve on school boards because yes, city council, you're dealing with uh issues. You know, people are very passionate about their their zoning or their, you know, what will affect their house or the data centers, you know, pick an issue. But I feel like none of it rises to the level of parents um having an issue over their kids. And so it as a school board member, dealing with that on the regular has got to be the biggest sacrifice you can make. So I have I have a ton of respect for the people who serve on school board. I think it is tougher than city council.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. Well, I've appreciated past and present school board members we've had. Uh it is quite a service. I couldn't agree with you more.
SPEAKER_01Um so speaking of kind of you know, changes um and and the or expected changes, and then seeing how they pan out, you know, population data centers, all this growth, and how it's affected AISD. Another big thing was probably a year ago when it peaked, or a little probably a year and a half ago when when the fervor or when the the really the debate happened was um school vouchers and and all that. Um we had John Kuhn on, it was probably I don't remember the date, it was probably around this time or is or is in the spring, it's probably in the spring maybe of last year, something sometime around there. And so we were talking about school vouchers and the impact of it at that time, and I think at that time it hadn't been approved. I think it was being proposed, it was still in the work, so it hadn't come about, and we were talking the pros and cons. Now that it has passed, um what has been the impact of it, or it really hasn't taken effect until until next year?
SPEAKER_00Good question. Uh actually I appreciate you asking this question. Um so school vouchers have been delivered to those who have received them that happen this month. Um in Abilene ISD, we have I think it's between 85 and 90 students who went to our schools last year who received a voucher from the the savings account program. So it remains to be seen if those kids use that voucher for any of the qualifying things and leave public education, or if they enhance their public education using it because uh those options are out there. Likely if you applied for a school voucher, you're probably headed in a different direction. Um there are so many options to families these days for the education of their children. And I'm I'm one I know that I have to be a and I am a public education believer, I'm but I'm also a believer that families get do get to choose. I I my personal opinion is that I wish it wasn't public dollars funding potentially private education. I wish those public dollars were coming to public educators. Our educators work very hard and deserve it, in my humble opinion. But um I do think there's room for families to choose. Uh that existed before vouchers, families could choose homeschooling, or in our town there are several options for families that exist already. Um but the impact to Abilene IST we won't see until kids arrive at school. Um so the data we know is the 85-ish who were in our schools who applied for a voucher and got one. Don't know their levels and how much money they got for the voucher program, but this is out of the entire system of 14,000.
SPEAKER_01500, yeah. Okay. So um the vouchers would allow them to go to a uh a private school. Right. Uh what are your thoughts and and uh uh John Kuhn and I talked about it last time, but again it was still very early and it was just in discussions, but I think at the time this was a bigger issue for Houston, Dallas, bigger cities where there are a lot of private school options. Rural Texas, West Texas doesn't really have that many private schools as an option. They may say, hey, yeah, I would uh go to a private school, but there's no private school within a hundred miles of of me. And so, you know, that's that's that. Um have you seen more private schools uh open or or potentially kind of pop up around Abilene? Uh and if not yet, do you foresee that happening over the near future? Um I think the answer to both of those is yes.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Um I would expect the opportunity to create a result um in the in the world of educating kids. We have a very small Christian school here and another uh Christian school. And then uh some people think that the Texas Leadership Charter is a part of the voucher program, but it's not, it's a public school, um, but it's a chartered public school. It's not an Abilene ISD. So I bet there's some confusion about what goes where, but in general, I imagine the uh the opportunity will create growth. Um but just like in any other thing, uh the market generally dictates the direction of uh the outcomes. So if people continue in Abilene to pursue a voucher, then they're gonna need a place to use it.
SPEAKER_01Do you think that um creating this type of competition within the education field will be a good thing and that the competition will make both private and public education better because they have to be, because now there's competition. It's kind of like the Cold War, you know, the USSR and and the US racing to the moon or or developing technologies or whatever because they had competition, kind of how we are with China right now, AI, it's it that competition is pushing us to be better in whatever field. Do you get a sense that potentially that was a rationale or that will be a result of this? Of hey, public public education systems across the state will have to be better, legislators will have to fund them better so that they can compete with the dollars now going to publ uh to private, or or what are your thoughts as far as the competition?
SPEAKER_00This is I got a lot of thoughts. So, first of all, I I competition generally leads to increased performance. Just as a blanket statement. Um if all things were equal, I think we could um make that statement apply to this situation, but all things aren't equal. Um charter schools are funded different than public schools, private schools now have the ability to use public dollars to enhance or change their tuition or and enhance what they offer beyond what was already being paid. Um so depending on what side of the argument you're on, you could argue what I just said quite a bit. Um in regards to like money and making us better and the legislature recognizing it. Um the lieutenant governor, the governor, and the speaker of the house published today um budget priorities. And it's interesting because the language they use was to keep public education level funded and to meet the need of the Texas Savings Account Plan, the voucher plan. So to increase the based on need of the voucher program, but to level fund public education. So if you want to, and I'm probably gonna take the opportunity to want to, uh those words matter. And the the words are not directed as make at giving public education the resources they need to be the best they possibly can.
SPEAKER_01But the other version is now uh in the I think it was in the same same bill or tagged in was the additional, was it 8.9 billion towards public education? Sure. How does that factor into the leveling off, let's say? And then two, has that been already dispersed to school to schools so far and and how has that helped or how have you guys been able to deploy it?
SPEAKER_00Right. So the legislators, what you're referring to is called House Bill 2. It's from the last legislative session. They refer to it as a historic amount of money for public education. And the total could be described that way. Uh, when the money was received by Emily NISD, we got somewhere between four and a half and five million dollars out of that for uh that number may not be correct, but we got we got money from that. And it's in the millions, and the amount of money in that new money, that big chunk of new money that was discretionary at our discretion to use for what's best needed right here in Abilene ISD was a little over $200,000. Everything else had a limit or a rule or a a specific um purpose purpose for those funds. Um, now some of that helped give teachers a a giant raise up. Um some of that helped uh us offset the cost of things that we pay for every year, anyway, with like property insurance to make sure that if a roof falls off, we can replace it with insurance dollars, things like that. But uh by and large, the new money we got was assigned, not free to use for the needs of all kids. So they did raise the basic allotment, which that's fancy language for um the amount of money that the public school gets per student if they attend school every day. They raised it by $55. Um, some of our organizations talk about the the real need. If you go back to the last time it was moved, which was 2019, the real need, if you take into account inflation, is well over a thousand dollars that needed to move and it moved 55. Um so all that, if you put that all together, it was an historic amount of money. It was a lot of money. A lot of money. Uh but when we received it, it was for specific things. It really feels like when the often when the school funding formula gets altered, which it's already complicated, it gets more complicated and maybe in some opinions more restrictive.
SPEAKER_01It it does feel like it's it's kind of like how the legislature and the counties' relationship is in that uh the legislature doesn't like to give power to the counties, and I assume it's probably the same way with the school districts. Legislature likes to put uh guardrails on and doesn't like to cede power, and so they really kind of go in and put put hard restrictions and tell tell well counties and and cities they'll say, hey, you have to do this, and a lot of times they won't even give them funding. But it is a very um the legislature likes to keep control. And so it doesn't surprise me that they said, okay, here's here's millions and billions, um, but here's exactly how you have to use it, because I think and it and it could be that the you know there's some distrust between some of the bigger city ISDs in the legislature, uh, but for whatever reason, uh I I'm not surprised that they have the same kind of um view of of ISDs as they do of counties as well. Um so um with this influx of of um the $8.9 billion into the school system, um that's been good. I know that's that's helped uh teacher salaries quite a bit. It did. Um last uh last time when we had John on, um the Vader tax was was going, was, was being considered by the voters, and it hadn't been voted on at the time, but he was explaining it. And uh besides the name, which which is catchy but also kind of sounds bad, you know, Darth Vader, but um that ended up passing. Right. And so uh that what does that allow uh the ISD to get?
SPEAKER_00Right. So in year one, which was the fiscal year that ends this summer in August, it was uh a little over $10 million. Um because of different intricacies of the school funding formula moving forward, it'll actually be less. Um kind of wish it didn't work that way. It doesn't that doesn't feel right when I say it, but that's how it the mechanisms work. Right. And they're complicated. Probably can't really get into that. Um, but the the community supported us, it was awesome to be a part of that. I wasn't here for the 2018 bond election, which was another opportunity our school, our school was supported by our community for a big thing. Um, to have the community support a tax, which isn't a building or anything tangible, felt pretty good to get that outcome. Uh so we did multi-steps in order to figure out where we prioritize that money. We started with big buckets like reduce the deficit, eliminate the deficit, actually, take care of our teachers, um, new programs that are needed, yeah uh maintenance, deferred maintenance, because you know we have restricted funds and no endless about money. A lot like you might deal with the city issues, like how do you take care of all this stuff?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and when money's tight, you just decide I'm gonna wait to do that. So we addressed deferred maintenance and then um buses. We had slowly slowed down too far our replacement program for our buses. So we needed to get back to level. So with that, we've also um so the staff, all those five categories. We had the um senior leadership team of our organization and executive team, which is all the people in charge of campuses and departments, go through an hour and a half exercise of creating here's what we can spend it on, here's what we could spend it on. And then they all voted. And then we took this long list and put it out to our staff and said, you vote. Tell us what you want to see. So the top thing, I'll just tell you about the top thing on that list, which was um compensation for clerical paraprofessional employees. So they they're working in an hourly wage job, they're supporting the educational process, they're often the first people people meet when they walk onto a campus. Uh, these are an integral part of our organization, and at every level, they were the top need. Everybody agreed we need to compensate them better. So they're gonna hit get a historic change this year. Um, even before the board votes on the compensation plan in August, we know that the the pay for our hourly wage employees is moving well. Uh so the Vader money and what we heard has been connected in order to fill that need. And there are several others. So I forget what your question was, but that we we've done a very inter integrated process in order to ensure that the the additional revenue keeps us budget um balanced, takes care of our people, um, helps us take care of our system. Um, and uh it's really been good. It's quite a blessing.
SPEAKER_01There's two or three other, you know, this is not just gonna be a a tax revenue um uh session, but there are, uh, you know, I've been trying to think, well, what are the questions that I typically get from people that they don't understand and um or online where I see a lot of dialogue or frustration. And so I always like to uh address those if I can because I'm a big believer and if there's a void of information, people will fill it with their worst fears. And so it's kind of our our job, and part of the reason why I have this podcast is to address kind of those voids of information out there and fill it hopefully with good information. Now, whether people want to use it or take it, that's on them, but at least it's out there.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01Where I where I get and see a lot of questions is one, the impact of um homestead, uh homestead exemptions, uh raising that homestead exemption and and how does it apply, how does that affect ISDs? And then two would be um uh there's there's a growing talk, and I think Florida just passed it, you know, or or is moving towards it, abolishing property tax. And I'd be interested to know your thoughts on that. Obviously, that would be a a beast that would have to be worked out of what the impact is to schools, and I don't know if it will happen in Texas. My hope is that it happens in other states first. I always tell my clients, I don't want my client to be the guinea pig. I want other states to figure it out if it's gonna happen in Texas, figure it out in other states, work it out, and then, you know, fine, bring it to Texas. Um, but so the the potential for if property tax was eliminated, how would that affect school, you know, school districts? And then the final part of this would be what's been the impact of the data centers on property, um property taxes for school districts. So it's kind of three-part, but uh first one, if you want to tackle in that order, would be homestead exemptions. Uh what's how would you clear up maybe some miscommunication or some misunderstandings out there about how homestead exemptions and the increase of the homestead exemption affects um ISDs?
SPEAKER_00So that'll connect to the data center answer too. Okay. So um the homestead exemption, uh I wear two hats. I'm a resident of Abilene ISD, and I'm also the person responsible, ultimately responsible for the financial health uh together with our board and our CFO. Uh so from a resident, the homestead exemption is awesome. I can tell you and prove that my tax bill is healthier or more reasonable because of the homestead exemption, because certainly property values have changed in Abilene over the last several years. So from the fiscal side, um the funding formula for schools is built on property value. So if you reduce property value, you're gonna change another aspect in order to fill the void. It's just like if you have a multiplication problem and it's two times four is eight. If you make the four, if you double the four, or in this case, the homestead exemption takes stuff away. If you turn four into two, now two times two is four. So you've just reduced the outcome by half. And essentially what's happening with the homestead exemption is it's taking the total property value and reducing it down. Um, that has implications not necessarily on funding how we operate, because this will come as a surprise to most people. Uh, it's it comes as a surprise to board members who come on in our new the system to fun fund schools and how we operate every day is fixed. Not a fixed like a betting scheme, fixed like constant. So it is a formula built on essentially let's take this cup. So let's say if we say this cup represents what the state of Texas says Abilene ISD needs to educate our kids. The and the water is the money. We're gonna fill it with money, and when you get to the top, that's how much money you get. So the the cup for Abilene ISD is a different size than the one for Wiley, because they have different students, the one for Jim Ned, they have different students, the one in Eula, they have different number of students and makeup. So all the things go into creating the size of that bucket before you consider property value, but property value is the driver to how it gets filled. So you and I, as residents of a school district, we pay school tax and we're the first water to go into that cup. So if our property value is at any level times the tax rate, we're gonna generate money. That money goes into the cup first. The second money to go into the cup to fill it up is the state's money. Once the cup's full, they're done. Everybody's done. But the state goes in second. This is one of the fundamental things that when things get a little dicey in Austin during testimony, that the state funds education second, not first, at a committed level, but it's as a filler, becomes a heated topic. So think about that. The the local taxpayer and politicians love to say that I'd like to lower the residence tax base, I'd like to lower the residence tax obligation, but yet our tax monies first into this bucket. There's no reducing now, compression reduces our tax rate, but I'm sorry, I'm getting really complicated. But essentially there's a there's quite an argument to be had about the local tax base fills the bucket first.
SPEAKER_01So in a situation like this, let's take Abilene, where the um property valuation as a whole is increasing from new construction, let's say. Let's not uh factor in inflation at the moment, but let's just say from new construction, we have um Great Lakes Cheese, we've got Bass Pro Shop, we've got uh Lancium, billions and billions of dollars of new construction being built in AISD. If using the glass uh and water analogy, so if the valuation has increased, and so the revenue from those taxpayers, a lot of that being those those commercial enterprises, is now being funneled into that cup. And let's say the previous year, the water from those taxes only filled half, and the state had to fill the other half. Right. Now the um the the the commercial taxes are filling ninety percent of the glass and the state only has to fund 10 percent. The deal. The 40 percent that they paid the previous year, the state, that now goes back into the general fund for the state, or that goes to other schools, or what happens to that 40 percent school?
SPEAKER_00I'll one up you there. Okay, because that is a great great summary of what we're talking about. As property value rises, the local tax base fills the cup more, and the state puts in less. The state, I would argue that the state counts on that. So the the offsetting thing is compression. So they take we have school districts have no say in their tax rate anymore. It is all a formula that the state started several years ago, and it it gives a window that our tax rate gets in. That's too deep and doesn't answer your question, but you're right. If property value goes up, our local tax pace will fill the cup, potentially all the way. Let me let me throw the data center in there. We're gonna skip a question and go all the way to the data center. Our property value is gonna more than double in one year because of the data center. We think it is very possible for not only for the cup to fill, but for it to overflow. Anything that overflows goes back to the state. So, in to your point, if there was 60% of this cup that was being filled by the state in 25-26, and in 26-27, the next year, our local tax base will fill the whole cup. The state saves what they were gonna send us, and if it overflows, we send the overflow water back to the state. That's called recapture or Robin Hood, some people called it. So Abilene ISD for the first time in its history is potentially going to send money back to the state. We'll know that after um at the end of July, beginning of August, after all the tax base is final. And our our friend Gary Ernest sends us the certified property value, and we can do all the math. Right now we can't do all the math, it's just a guess, but think about that. So um, not to speak for another school district, but there's another data center being built around Abilene, and it's not in Abilene ISD. It's in Clyde ISD. It is they are likely having the same conversation about what the state funded Clyde is now going to be bore by the local tax base, just like it. It's gonna happen here. Right.
SPEAKER_01So really the takeaway is the schools at the end of the day don't really go up or down from a funding perspective. Whether a billion dollars worth of a data center is built in their community or not, their their funding level's already set, their cup is already made. It just depends on how it's filled. But as from a school side, it doesn't make a difference. You're not going to get any more money, you're not going to get less money. One way or the other, a cup will be filled, but you don't get more money.
SPEAKER_00So I was hoping I would get to say that today. But you're exactly right. In in a sentence, that data center in Abilene ISD equals no new revenue for Abilene ISD. Because the cup is fixed, it's made of glass, it's not changing in size unless our student population goes up or down. The size of the cup is driven by the kids, not by property value. How the water gets into the cup is driven by property value. Local tax base first, state second. The cup always gets filled. Who fills what? It's shared. Um that's you summed it up well.
SPEAKER_01So the so the other side, I'm looking at, okay, well, from the state or the state legislature side, their argument for this system would be, oh, well, yes, we are getting money from Abilene or AISD this year, but some years, let's say 10 years ago, we had to put in uh 50% of the money into that glass for for AISD. Well, this year we're actually getting some money back, but most years we've paid back, or in prior years we've paid you. And so this is kind of a balancing act. Is that kind of the rationale on the other side?
SPEAKER_00Maybe. I don't really know, except that the legislature build builds its two-year budget every time they meet. And there are some things that I think carry over, and there's some accounting things they do back and forth between biennium budgets. But the whole recapture system started a little over. I don't know exactly when it started. It'd probably be unfair for me to say when it did, but it started pretty small. It was a like a couple million dollars, and now it's in the billions. So the state of Texas is getting billions in overflow money back. And all that money goes in the general fund. It doesn't necessarily come right back to education. Some people originally thought that recapture the overflow money that spills over the glass would go back to school districts that may not have may have a really low tax base and might need more money. And so the that's why it was called Robin Hood at first. It took from the rich property wealthy and gave to the property poor. My understanding is that it goes back to the general fund and then could be used in any which way the legislator so legislature so sees.
SPEAKER_01They could use it for uh schools in need, but they could also use it for roads or for whatever project they want. Yeah. Potentially, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I don't quite know how the allocation process knows goes specifically in the legislature, but yeah, um, so I don't know how they reallocate the money.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um so on the this will be more hypothetical, um, but on the property abolishment of property taxes. You know, we're seeing in Florida, we're seeing a push, kind of in several states across the nation. And there's certainly a push. I know Governor Abbott has talked about it. Um I think a lot of people, if not most people, uh like the idea of abolishing property tax. There's certainly a growing support for it, and I think in the abstract, a lot of people like it. I certainly do, you know, as a as a conservative. Um, but I also have the that balanced with the concern or the fear of, well, hey, I do want my state government to provide certain benefits, and that means they need uh a revenue source. I want good highways, I want good roads, I want good um sheriff departments, I want good schools, how are we gonna fund them? Basically, at the end of the day, it still needs the government still needs money. Where are they gonna shift the tax burden to? Um if it's not property owners, still needs revenue. So are they gonna increase sales tax? Are they gonna increase uh some other tax to make up that shortfall? What's the what's the ultimate plan? From from the school side, how do you guys um what what's your thoughts on the abolishment of property tax? And then two, is it something you guys even consider or you say, hey, we'll address it if if and when it comes? Right.
SPEAKER_00Um another great question. With the Texas economy being like the eighth or ninth largest in the world um to consider that I think public education is the largest line item for the legislature to go to another you're absolutely right, it would need another source of revenue in order to fund it. Either that or you don't have it, yeah. Which the Texas Constitution, I think, mandates that there is a free and appropriate public education in the state of Texas. So I don't know how those two things reconcile, but we're seeing the beginning of it in the idea of compression. So if you look at Abilene ISD's um seven-year tax history, our rates are on a downward trajection, trajectory, and that's driven by compression, which uh it's exactly what it sounds like. The tax rate gets smaller and smaller, it gets compressed. Um so as property value goes up, the tax rate gets compressed down. That's in an in and of itself not a terrible idea, right? It it kind of keeps it flat for the resident. Even if your property value goes up on what you own, your total bill likely isn't rising at the same rate because the rate is going down. Um, we in education have often wondered, and I've heard many people say it, how can the state continue to afford compression? Because all that means is property value goes up in Abilene ISD, our rate gets compressed, so less money goes into that glass. And then the state has to do more. Right. Um theoretically, that's not sustainable. Now, in Abilene ISD's unique story, we have uh billions and billions of dollars in a data center that has changed the game in that math equation, and our property value soars, and we're gonna fill that cup. Yeah. Because the state currently has a limit on compression, it can only go down so far. So we'll go down as far as it'll let, the rules will let it, and we'll still fill that cup. So it it's um it's a little mathy, but uh in general, I don't think we can I think it's a great idea. Property tax no more. Yay. But there's a $50 billion public education budget that has to it's gotta exist from something.
SPEAKER_01Have you seen, you know, whether it's Florida or other states that are pushing for this, uh look at other sources and go, well, we still need to fund public education, and we're gonna do it by doing X. Is there a sense of, okay, if Texas does do this over two, five, seven years, this is where it's going to fund public education?
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Okay. I feel like that's a big, I mean, with it ro roads and public education and then and then um uh public safety, I feel like are the big three that um you gotta have funding for. And and and again, I'm not not opposed to the abolishment of the property tax. I would just like a better idea, a better answer of well, where are we gonna fund it uh from? At the end of the day, taxes are gonna be paid, uh, just by who and how much.
SPEAKER_00Right. I think everybody still has a tax bill because uh I think the conversation at this point is about school tax, and there are there are more line items on my tax bill than just Abilene ISD.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I'm not I really am not sure. Having been in Illinois, um, I've been an Illinois resident as a kid, grew up, and then I was a superintendent in Illinois for a short time. And the way schools in Illinois are funded is property tax, but it is more complex than ours. Um but Illinois has a income tax, property tax, and a higher sales or lower sales tax than Texas. I don't know, you you put this menu together and you have to create a revenue in order to fund the program.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I I don't know how you solve that problem.
SPEAKER_01Where do you um where do you see Texas just kind of personally? I'm sure there's there's national rankings out there, but where from your experience, where would you put Texas in in education uh across the the nation if you had to rank Texas?
SPEAKER_00I think it depend what I've seen. I'm I'm not sure I'm willing to give you my opinion. Okay I can give you my opinion about Abilene Iced D. Okay. Uh, but statewide there are plenty of polls and measurements to use um assessment data that is nationwide and stuff, and we're we're behind. We're generally on the lower half, if not further than the lower half. Um some of that has been identified and the work's been started, certainly in reading, and now the the momentum is towards math. Um and that's true in Abilene ISD. Math achievement is uh pretty tough right now. Yeah. Uh and there's a that we are taking steps to to fix that. Um in general, I think Texas is headed in the right direction in public education. Certainly, I can speak for Abilene ISD. We're putting uh quite a large investment into um the teachers in the classroom, the the leaders on the campus. Um there is uh some research that shows that one of the greatest impacts we can make as an educational system is to have great leaders at a campus. Um they make a huge difference as they coach their teachers in the classroom because the the real work in Abilene ISD happens behind the door of the classroom with the teacher and the kids building relationships, teaching them content, um, caring about them, you know, all the things that uh great educators do. And we have a lot of great educators in Abelaine ISD. So I I believe in public education. I believe that um Abelaine ISD is headed in the right direction. I also think that there are there is a momentum of public educators, regardless of the rhetoric, doing great work for kids in it in our state.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, and I think there are a lot of a lot of great programs that really I won't I won't say fly under the radar, but um that maybe a lot of people just aren't aware of within the school system from obviously the ROTC. Um I think I've been to a couple of those. I think I spoke at one um at one of the campuses, and then um um from From Boys to Gentlemen is a program. Uh I can't remember Chris, I can't remember which campus it's on, but um man, I was up there uh a few months ago. We did the taco challenge for for Abilene Gibbs, actually. And uh but to see those kind of programs and then the lift out by the airport uh and um uh Taylor Elementary. I mean, there's a lot of lot of physical improvement, but there's also a lot of um, I feel like a lot of optimism. And I and I hated to tell John this because I I hate to give him compliments to his to his face, but um you know, I I feel like uh AISD, for whatever reason, you know, 10, 12 years ago, uh reputation-wise, uh it needed it needed a shot in the arm. It w it was it was um it was in need, and I feel like um that ship has been righted and um on a number of different factors. I think John was a good contributing factor. I think the board has done a good job. Um I think the sports staff, everything. I think that there's there's much better morale, and um I'm sure the the increase in pay helps, but it's also just been, I think, a belief in the system um that AISD is implementing, but also the you know, I'm I'm a big proponent on when I was on the city council, but also just across the board that you can't underestimate the physical uh improvements and how that affects you mentally. And so seeing Taylor Elementary doesn't just help the sc the students and the staff there, the teachers, it also mentally changes the perception of the residents out there going, oh, AISD, it's it's uh improving, it's fresh, it's got new buildings, okay, that's a good, that's a good school system. Um, you know, same with Lyft, same with these kind of improvements across the campus. So it's been not just one improvement, but it's been across the board. And so um, you know, I would say as as AISD goes, so goes ABLE. I mean, yes, yes, we have, you know, Clyde has a little bit, Wiley has some, but really AISD dictates how um, you know, how our our future of ABLEN will be. And so it's been very encouraging to to see that that improvement happen. Um on one or one or two more questions, what do you see? Um I think when John was on, we talked about the cell phone ban. I think it was just kind of coming online across the state. Schools were implementing it. Um how, you know, a year, year and a half later, how has that affected um discipline and also just the kids' understanding and education? What what are your thoughts on the the cell phone tech ban, let's call it?
SPEAKER_00Well, let me address that, but uh before that I'm gonna I'm gonna echo some of the things you said about Abilene ISD and our history. Um I think each leader Abilene ISD has had has been pretty appropriate for the moment and what was needed for the school district. And I can tell you, I'm I'm eternally grateful to David Young giving me the opportunity to come to Abilene ISD. I think in 2015, David Young was the absolute perfect superintendent for Abilene IST. Um, David grew up here. He went to Abilene Schools, loves Abilene. Um he's a he's a great man and did uh some of the things you mentioned are because of the leadership of the board and a superintendent and communicating with our community to get to some of the new things. Um absolutely the lift and tailor are on that list, which you mentioned. And then John, also like the right person at the right time. You could even throw Jim Largen in there, who was our interim. Great man. Um, they're just a bunch of great leaders in our history who are here at the right time for the right thing. Um, I've already said how much I appreciate um John, but I wanted to make sure uh the community hears just how much I appreciate it and still do appreciate David. Um, and there are some in the past, like we lost David Polnik. Um great man, I love that that guy was great to have around Abilene and visit with uh wise, wise man. So uh education leaders are uh a close-knit group and uh Abilene ISD, I couldn't agree with you more that Abilene ISD is the heartbeat of the city of Abilene. Where Abilene ISD goes, our town goes with it. There's a little saying in public education when when the sports team have good years, this the high school has good years. When when the there's something to rally around to connect to, to get the kids involved, we have our we have our uh student advisory group tell us all the time that the key to having a good experience and education in our schools is to get connected. So, you know, to have our community connected to the school district is how we I mean it's woven into the fabric. So that I've even forgotten what you were gonna what you asked me about because I wanted to brag about Abilene ISD. There's so much good going on.
SPEAKER_01Uh school system, uh school discipline, and uh cell phone.
SPEAKER_00Cell phone band. So let's talk about the cell phone band. So we have a history, especially in middle school, we were way ahead of the law and cell phones were not allowed. My daughter doesn't know having a cell phone at school in her hand. So she's going into if her freshman year, she's not had one in her hand. Okay, so we were ahead of the band that started last year. And I think there's a the cohort of kids that are in my daughter's class that are going into freshman year, they went three years in middle school without their phones, and they're about to go four years of high school without them. Um so I I think there's a group that is used to it, and uh it's pretty interesting in my experience of being around kids when they can get their phones out after yonder bags last year, and before it is totally different. Kids don't just reach for it anymore, they might check it, but they'll put it away and they'll actually have a conversation. I transport kids for our student advisory group, and they're kind of my barometer to see kids be more responsible with their device. Um, I actually, before it happened, pulled my little student advisory group. And there were the group that didn't want it at all. Sure. And then there were several that said, I really can't believe this is happening, but it's probably gonna be good for me. And I think that's really what's true, is it's really good for the educational environment. It's just might be a little traumatic for some of our students.
SPEAKER_01Well, and and looking back now, you almost go, well, why didn't we do that over the last 10, 20 years, you know, across the nation? Um, I think the next, you know, that was that was kind of a big discussion, and and you know, I think it it's worked out really well. What are your thoughts on, I think the next debate or discussion will be obviously implementation of AI? How much do we allow uh grade school or high school AI into the learning process? Right. Where do you think, and I won't say where's the line, but where do you um how do you approach that? We'll just go open-ended. How where do you see AI's role in the classroom? And then overall, do you think it's detrimental or beneficial uh at at certain levels? Great.
SPEAKER_00Um so AI in a classroom is a complicated question that every educational institution is behind because it's moving faster than we can respond. Um Abilene ISD is doing everything that we can to create good policy around the use of artificial intelligence. I'll give you a simple example. Can you use AI to um fine-tune a draft you wrote first? Is that okay? Or is that plagiarism? Or is that using is that against what we think is academically appropriate? Well, we have to answer that question so that the real answer will come from the practitioners. So we we have committees that are made up of uh teachers and uh campus leaders and district staff in order to create an AI policy. That work is hard, um a lot of hard questions to answer. Uh, we're not the first now. Um, we can borrow from others and see where the direction is going. But generally speaking, you can't take AI out of the the world. Like it's it's a it's there, it's around us. Yeah. The other thing that's true is I think that one of the questions we're wrestling with is what do the adults get to do and what do the kids get to do? Because it might be the same, but there may be some differences. Um, right now we're there's one organization that we're partnering with called Play Lab. Uh Play Lab is essentially, think about it like uh a safety net. You can take AI large language models like Claude and uh Open AI and ChatGBT, all the things, which I think one of those was the same thing, but you can take them and put them into Play Lab, and the information doesn't go back out, it's within a protected environment. There's a lot of sensitive information in public education that we're required to protect. So they were first to the safe environment to deal with maybe the most important thing is that it's our responsibility to again teach the youth of our community the appropriate use and how to use it well. Use this tool, it's another tool, use it well. Uh so that's really the direction of our policy is how do we allow the nurturing of using a tool, a powerful tool, well and not dangerously.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. When you say adults, do you mean the teachers? Or are you okay. So are they using it to um grade papers or or how are they implementing AI on the on the adult teacher side?
SPEAKER_00Um so I think AI has been attached to a lot of our instructional material resources in order to create efficiency. I I was in a conversation earlier this week about the that AI is generally the fear at first was that it was going to take jobs away from people. And now it's really I think the the the consensus is that it's going to create efficiency for jobs, not necessarily steal them, but make it so that this task can get done accurately with more efficiency. So there are tools within our instructional materials that publishers have already included to make greater efficiency for teachers because their time is a big deal. In order to prepare for the next day, the next week, the next six weeks, teachers' time is super important. I think the that's kind of the beginning of taking the content and the the instructional materials and creating efficiency within them. Grading things. And here's the instructional materials. They have a quiz. So you and I are in class together, we take a quiz, we give answers, and we might do it on a Chromebook. So all the answers are digital. It's like check this box or type this short answer. And all that goes into the instructional material software. And the report generated might be might come out more efficiently because of a code, an AI code, to get like this is what your students did well. This is what your students need support in. This is what uh this is what Susie did well, this is what Johnny needs. Right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I that's I think that's good information. I think a lot of people haven't quite um figured out the the role of AI and how how much it's being implemented, uh, for good or bad. And I I do think though, part of the concern with AI was, oh, it it will replace teachers. It'll change the whole um way that we learn, and and maybe over 10, 20, 50 years. But I do think that we're seeing in the same way that we saw students learning through laptops or tablets or very tech heavy, the scores went down or the and the learning went down, and now you see a pushback of that, you know, over the last 15 years. Only now you've seen a pushback, and and schools are shifting more towards uh in-person uh lessons or physically writing out their exams and and all that kind of good stuff. And so I think the medium of learning has been discounted, and I think it's only now people are kind of circling back going, well, wait, how you learn is very important, not just the information. And so I have just as an outsider, non-teacher, I I taught a business law class at one of the universities three years ago, and I made them all write their answers hand hand wrote, you know, handwritten. Because one, I didn't want to deal with having to make sure they weren't using AI, but also two, it forces you to um to write exactly what you're thinking. Even typing on a laptop allows you to kind of use a lot more words than than maybe are are aren't really necessary. And so I do think when it comes to AI, I think it's fascinating that kind of the pendulum has swung a little bit and now we go, wait, there is a huge importance for actually having teachers physically there teaching the information, not just AI. And so for me, yes, the CEOs of these AI companies out there are going, oh, don't even be a radiologist, don't even be a teacher, you know, it's gonna replace everything. And I'm going, that's not happening. And we're seeing it now in real time. Oh, they're selling a product, of course, they're gonna hype it up. But I think especially on the teacher level, we're only now realizing there's a huge amount of importance of actually having the person there in the classroom. So um I I've I've been kind of watching that just from a professor potential, but then also just on the you know, grade school, high school level of where do the teachers fit into our society 10, 20 years down the road. And I think it's going to be, yeah, more efficient. They're gonna get better feedback and more output, but they're still gonna be extremely valuable in the classroom. So exactly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, couldn't agree with you more. Probably the most impactful thing to a student is a teacher who believes they can positively impact that student. So we call that efficacy. It's a fancy word for I believe I can make a difference in that kid's life. And when a teacher believes that, there's nothing greater in the in the world of education to make a difference for kids.
SPEAKER_01We'll end on where do you see AISD uh paint the picture for for listeners, AISD over the next, let's say, two to three years. Sure. Um, you know, as we kind of talked about things are looking good for AISD. Um are there any new buildings, projects upcoming? What can what can Abilene residents expect of AISD over the next two, three, four years?
SPEAKER_00Great. So um actually I got some good coaching as I walked into the this or I guess walked into the superintendency. And one of them was to answer that very question and then to set up our support and our our leadership to uh run that race well. So top is the North Star goal for our district, which means that by the end of the 28-29 school year, 75% of our kids are gonna sit in A and B seats. Uh that's real easy for me to say now. Um, but driving towards that means that uh right now at 34% of our kids in A and B seats has to continue to climb steadily. Um it's we're a little on the fence whether or not we're gonna make another jump forward this coming year or if it's gonna be a little flat. Um certainly the bright shiny star academically in our school district is in sixth grade and up, specifically in ninth grade and up. Um it our school district has the already has the the best academically high school in our in the big country in Abilene High, uh as far as rating goes. Um I believe once it's all all shakes out August 14th, all the all the data comes out. I believe Abilene High will be that again. So imagine that in the state of Texas, um that's quite an accomplishment. Like it makes me smile to talk about it. Cooper's not far behind. Of course, Adams, Adams is a magnet, and they've they'll they'll be I they've been in A, I don't think they'll change. So our nine through 12 programs are the very top of the big country. And you it's not debatable, it's just not. We get the we get the academic outcomes, and that's our bright shiny star. We have work to do in other areas, but to speak positively. So um two to three, three years, North Star goal, 75% of our kids in A and B seats. And there's a lot happening right now for that work. The second thing is strategic compensation. I think by the time we get three years from now, we'll have a more um aligned compensation system towards um a movement that started in the state of Texas. It actually started in Dallas ISD, where they have a system where um a lot like in the private world, uh, hard work and good results equal more compensation. We have that a little bit in Abilene ISD and the teacher incentive allotment, where a teacher who whose students do well. Um there's a whole system to this, but uh to sum it up, if students do well, then the teacher gets rewarded. Um that reward's called the teacher incentive allotment. Um, we have over 150 teachers that have been designated in that and equals more money. Um, so we're gonna expand that system. Uh that there'll be a committee that develops it over time. So over three years, we'll eventually get to having that where one of the things battling public education is having a living wage as a teacher. You just can't deny that. So we are we are strategically moving towards a compensation system that gets at that living wage thing and rewards the hard work and the results, which many of our teachers are getting. Uh, there's obvious in the data. So the next thing is leadership. I mentioned earlier in the podcast that uh campus leadership is a huge, very important thing. So we are in a multimillion dollar training program. Our 15 of our principals are in it over the next three years. It's about a million dollars a year, investing in them being the very best leaders they can be on the campus. They're not moving from management to instructionally focused to to coaching the teachers in the classroom to get results. Makes sense, right? It's it's like, really? Yes, yes, that's what we're doing. Um, we have a kid, we have 23 campus administrators, and they're great, incredible humans. And being coached is one of the best things that could happen to us. Like having, and that's what's gonna happen to them over the next three years. They're gonna get coached in instructional leadership so that their tool belt gets full, um, and they can serve our teachers and our kids in our classroom better. So that's three. The the fourth one um is to continue to be innovative. Uh, our school needs to continue to meet the needs of our community. Uh, so you're seeing a little bit of that in having a K through 12 STEM track in Abilene ISD. So the the STEM, which is less about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and more about a way of thinking about learning and learning in a collaborative environment with uh the skills of problem solving and and teamwork, is gonna start in kindergarten and go all the way through twelfth grade. It already exists at Adams. We started Mansteam Academy, and now we have uh Bowie and Purcell. So remarkable innovation that's gonna continue in Abilene ISD um and super exciting. I think if we accomplished at least the first three, the A and B seats, the um compensation and the leadership thing, the sky's the limit, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I like it. I like it. Um one last question that we can end on. I'm sure you get this a ton. Um do you do you think that Abilene High and Cooper will ever be one high school? Do I think? Yeah. Well, I'm not gonna answer that question. I think I asked John and I can't remember what his answer was.
SPEAKER_00My opinion doesn't matter. I do have an opinion. And outside of this podcast, I'll tell you my opinion. Uh but really what's gonna happen is uh by our board policy, by law, we have to continue to do a recurring facility assessment and a long-range planning process. Makes sense, right? A $200 million organization should be planning for the future. The fact remains, Abilene High's over 70 years old. Cooper, man, and Madison are over 65 years old. Um, they're we have kids walking the halls of buildings that were built a long time ago, and we've gotten a lot of use out of, but they're harder and harder to maintain. Um, that will come up in our master facility planning process. But that committee, which we will be working towards, it'll be a year-long process, and they will create recommendations. This happened in 2018. The 2018 Facility Planning Committee, I forget exactly what we called it then, um, created a menu of options and then narrowed it down to um, which this doesn't have to happen, but this that time it was a bond election: $136 million. It built the Lyft, Taylor Dias, Austin, the Annex, um uh renovated fine arts in both Cooper and Abilene High. Stupid bang for your body. All all yeah, those that economy doesn't exist anymore. So I don't know what the master uh what the long-range facility planning process gets to, but we are intentionally going to engage in a slow, deliberate process to get to an answer. And whatever they say, we're they're gonna present it, they are gonna present it to the board. And then ultimately it's the board decision. I may go ahead and tell you what my opinion is. So I think Ebline ISD could benefit from new high school facilities. Um the the nature of both campuses, both big campuses is kids go outside. I think that's great, actually. I love that they have to walk outside, but it's not in alignment with the safety conditions we have to maintain for kids. Like I like the idea of students being outside. It's healthy, right? Um, breath of fresh air. But both campuses are in that situation. Um, both campuses have huge maintenance needs, enormous. Uh do we have a student population that would fit in one high school? Yes, we do. Um, it would be bigger than what we're used to, but not much bigger than what Abilene High was in the 20-year history at the at the highest enrollment. Yeah. So our community is gonna have to say yes to that if that becomes an option. Can we uh create a situation where the the committee says no, we're not doing one high school, we're gonna build we're gonna replace as we can, and we'll just see.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And so that comes out next year, or when does that come out?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the we're gonna present to the board um how we're gonna select the committee either in August or September. Uh the first committee meeting will be in September, and then it's about once a month until May. Okay. And generally the process is uh school people and the board are not on the board and school people are not on the committee. School administrators. Uh we can answer questions, but the committee's made up of our secondary, some of our secondary students, parents, and our employees. And they're gonna receive a lot of data, and they're gonna tell us. So I had a wise, wise administrator once tell me, and this is a great story. It was in a school district that I worked in that had a Native American mascot. And some people in the community thought that should change, and some didn't. But certainly the big newspaper in Chicago thought it should change, so they always wanted to talk about it. And the wise words were when the community wants this to change, we'll change it. So schools live uh breathe serving the community. We are the heartbeat of Abilene, I of Abilene, Texas, right? So when the community and this makeup of the community says go this direction, we should listen.
SPEAKER_01I think that's good advice. Yeah, it was great advice. I think that's a great note to end on. Joe, thanks for being on the show. This has been, I think, very informative, and you put it in a great, I think, easy way to understand, especially the glass and the water and how school funding works. So that was, I think, very educational and hopefully a little bit fills a little bit out there of that void of information. And so I hope so. Thank you for being on.
SPEAKER_00Yes, happy to come back.