ECISD appoints naming committee members
A portion of OHS would be named for Medal of Honor winner Pvt. First Class Alfred M. Wilson and a portion of PHS for Medal of Honor winner Staff Sgt. Marvin R. Young.
The committee will make recommendations and the board will make the decision.
Trustees approved Art Leal and Gordon Albright to a Naming Committee for Odessa High School. The Military Order of the Purple Heart has asked the district to consider naming an area at OHS campus after Alfred M. Wilson, a Medal of Honor recipient who graduated from the high school. ECISD policy requires the board to put together a committee of community members to consider these types of requests.
Trustees approved Fabian Aguirre and Johnny Carrasco to a Naming Committee for Permian High School. The Military Order of the Purple Heart has made the same request for Permian High School; to consider naming an area of the school for Marvin Rex Young, a PHS graduate who also received the Medal of Honor. There is no request to nor any consideration to renaming either high school, the board recap said.
All the board members were present.
In public comment, Betsy Rhodes expressed an issue with the idea of naming an area of Odessa High School after one veteran when many others through the years have served their country. She thanked all veterans for serving, wondered if a mural could be done with many former students represented, and offered to be on the committee, too, the board recap said.
District officials have now received 75% of the construction documents for the new Career & Technical Education center. A page-turn activity (a review of the blueprints and design documents done page by page) was done with PBK Architects, Teinert Construction, and Gallagher Construction, the board recap said.
Site clearing for the new middle schools is ongoing and foundation work has started.
Research is being done for the Permian High School auditorium project to determine if electrical upgrades are necessary. The renovation should begin at the end of the school year.
Prospective contractors walked the site of the new JROTC facility at PHS to better inform their bids. The project is out for bid now and a recommendation for the contractor will be brought to the school board in March.
The Transition Learning Center is in the design development phase and architects recently met with staff and leadership to show potential design options.
The new Agriculture Farm project is also in design development.
A local committee has selected colors for the new middle school: Shamrock Green, African Gray, and Incredible White. These colors will be prominent throughout the campus.
The PA/Bells/Alarms/Clocks project is now complete at Burleson (closed at the end of last school year; it will reopen as an early education center this August). Cabling for these technology project has been completed at 13 campuses with Alamo, Cameron, and Jordan scheduled next, the recap said.
The installation of new surveillance cameras is now complete at Odessa High School and is 75% complete at Permian High School.
ECISD Fine Arts has ordered 1,054 new instruments (179 for elementary schools), and has received 792 of them. New choir risers have been delivered to Bonham Middle School, Wilson & Young Middle School and will arrive at Ector Middle School after Spring Break.
In regard to finances, about 5% of bond funds have been spent with 31% ($131.5 million) has been encumbered through purchase orders for specific expenses. Priority 1 and Priority 2 maintenance/renovation projects are starting to move along.
In March, the school board will receive an update from the Bond Oversight Committee.
Following the update, trustees voted 7-0 to approve purchases over $50,000 related to the bond. The single item on list this month is $360,000 to Gallagher Construction Company to perform oversight responsibilities for the Transition Learning Center (TLC) project.
Trustees voted 7-0 to approve purchases over $50,000. Items on this list this month are $1.3 million to CDW-G for network infrastructure equipment to provide connectivity to three new facilities to be built as part of Bond 2023; $473,600 to Air Tutors to cover students moving to Air Tutor from a different company; and $54,000 to The Sewell Family of Companies for a new van for School Nutrition.
The board also approved the academic calendar for 2025-26.
Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Lilia Nanez said three options were sent out for community and staff members. Some 312 responses came from staff more than 1,100 from the community. It includes 187 teacher days and 175 student days.
School will start Aug. 11 for prekindergarten through sixth grade and ninth grade.
Grades seven and eight and 10-12 will return Aug. 12.
Sept. 1, Labor Day, is a holiday. Oct. 13 will be a teacher holiday and there will be a professional development day Oct. 14.
The calendar also includes a week for Thanksgiving and two full weeks for Christmas.
Jan. 5 will be a professional development day and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will be Jan. 19.
A bad weather makeup day is Feb. 16.
There will be an early release day March 6 which will allow PE teachers to help with the 81st running of the West Texas Relays.
Superintendent designate Keeley Boyer said Pease Elementary has been officially accepted as an International Baccalaureate candidate school.
The board also approved the 2025-26 campus principal and administrator contracts.
Trustees also approved $360,000 for Gallagher Construction to perform the oversight for the Transition Learning Center.
The district is purchasing a van for School Nutrition from The Sewell Family of Companies for $54,090.
Chief Financial Officer Deborah Ottmers said the conversion of Burleson Elementary to a prekindergarten center is costing an additional $860,000 that will be coming from the general fund/fund balance.
Ottmers said they didn't get the estimate until recently.
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