Latest news with #LindaleISD
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lindale ISD employee celebrated after dedicating 35 years to the district
LINDALE, Texas (KETK) – A celebration was held to honor a longtime Lindale ISD administrator and coach who will be retiring after dedicating the past 35 years of his life to the Lindale community and all of its students. SFA forced to cut several athletic programs due to ongoing budget concerns The event was held at the Lindale ISD Preforming Arts Center on Thursday and paid tribute to Jamie Holder, who will be officially retiring after 40 years in education at the end of the school year. During his time with Lindale, Holder served as a coach and administrator, most recently serving as deputy superintendent for the past 17 years. During the celebration, many of Holder's colleagues spoke about the impact that Holder has had on them both professionally and personally throughout the years. 'I wanted to impact people the way you impacted me when I was a little boy,' said one of Holder's co-workers. Two of Holder's former players that he coached back in 1989, who he had not seen since, attended the event, which indicates the kind of impact he had on his students throughout his entire career. AAA: What Texans can expect for Memorial Day travel Another one of Holder's colleagues emphasized the accountability Holder put on himself to make sure that Lindale ISD ran efficiently and that everyone felt respected. 'He took on the responsibility every day for every blade of grass, every brick on the wall, every student, every teacher and every staff member and treated everyone with ultimate respect,' Holder's colleague said. When asked what his greatest accomplishment was during his time at Lindale, Holder stated it was seeing everyone come together today, solidifying how important this community is. 'The greatest accomplishment is what I got to see today, the love and compassion this community has for the school district,' Holder said. Holder stated he has no immediate plans going into retirement besides focusing more on his golf game and spending time with family. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
People of Lake Palestine recovering one year after EF-1 Tornado
LAKE PALESTINE, Texas (KETK)- The people of Lake Palestine said even though the clean-up process is over, the storm left the area traumatized after a year of recovery. 'It was insane,' resident Shelby Soto said. 'It was like being in a movie when you first stepped out. It was surreal,' AAA: What Texans can expect for Memorial Day travel Shelby Soto lives by the lake and lived through the May 23rd, 2024 EF-1 tornado. Soto said when it hit, she was on her porch with friends and family. 'All we could see was like a bunch of water and stuff flying around,' Soto said. Soto and her friends and family took cover but worried for their animals and friends living by the lake. 'All we could do is pray and go inside because there was no time to, like, hide or anything, because there was no warning, no sirens, no text messages, nothing,' Soto said. Lindale ISD employee celebrated after dedicating 35 years to the district After the storm passed, their family discovered the severe damage. The area near Lake Palestine Resort was decimated with trees on the ground, trailer homes moved or rolled over and remains of the marina. 'It was just everywhere, there's debris everywhere,' Soto said. 'It looked insane, like there wasn't a part out here that didn't have some type of debris lying around.' It has taken a year to recover, and Soto believes it's all thanks to the community banding together. 'After it, it really brought everybody together,' Soto said. 'We're like a little, small, little family out here now.' The community is now helping other storm victims by hosting a fundraiser Friday night. Raising money for the people of Frankston, who were hit by an e-f zero tornado earlier this month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
East Texas districts react to senate's approval of school choice bill
LINDALE, Texas (KETK)- In a historic move for Texas, the $1 billion school choice bill, SB 2, was approved recently. The decision left some of East Texas districts such as Lindale Independent School District, disappointed. 'They call it school choice, but it's really not school choice, it's a voucher to give money, most of the money, whatever it ends up being, 60, 70, 80% or higher, to students already in private school,' Lindale ISD superintendent Stan Surratt said. The first version of the bill made it through the Senate at the beginning of February. Then amendments were added by House lawmakers, who sent their final version to the Senate last week, before approving it on Thursday. 'I think it's going to provide opportunities for parents and students right now where they don't believe that they are financially capable to choose a different education option,' State Rep. Brent Money said. Surratt said he believes several of the East Texas lawmakers changed their votes from no to yes due to political pressure. 'They didn't want the governor to campaign against them and, of course, use his political clout to support another candidate and basically primary them out during the primary elections,' Surratt said. Bullard ISD said they disagree with the decision, and now they hope the governor will stop holding public education hostage and do what is needed and fully fund public schools. 'I encourage the governor. He needs to be more wise and be more supportive of public education for all children and listen to the taxpayers and Texans because most of us are against vouchers,' Surratt said. Lindale ISD added that they won't see a huge difference in student numbers from the approval of SB 2, but said that doesn't mean they have to support it. Governor Abbott is expected to sign SB 2 into law, though it won't take effect until September. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School choice bill will move towards Texas Senate floor vote soon
LINDALE, Texas (KETK) – School choice is one step closer to becoming a reality in the State of Texas despite public school officials' disapproval. Texas budget proposals would fund school choice, border security, property tax relief The Texas Senate Education Committee is allowing the school voucher legislation to go up for a floor vote in the coming days. The governor has made this a top legislative priority, but some public school officials and lawmakers are fighting back. Senate Bill 2 would create education savings accounts per student and lawmakers would approve $1 billion to get this program started. It's money that Lindale ISD superintendent Stan Surratt said could go toward improving public schools instead. 'If vouchers is such a great idea, wouldn't it pass on its own merit,' Surratt asked. The vote was 9-2 in the State Senate Education Committee with all Republicans voting to advance the school choice bill to a floor vote. 'On this school choice front, I think we'll have the best plan and boldest launch in America,' Sen. Brandon Creighton said. Author of Senate Bill 2, senator Brandon Creighton from Conroe said the education savings accounts or ESA's would provide families $10,000 a year per student. The bill would also allow $11,000 for students with disabilities and $2,000 for children who are homeschooled. 'Parents can again spend this money on tuition, instructional materials, higher education courses, trade certificates, assessment costs,' Creighton said. Under this bill, families with children already attending private schools can also participate. Surratt believes the money could be better spent. 'It is not a conservative principle. In Texas we are full of conservative people, we don't like to waste money or give money away without accountability and this program is certainly is going to do that,' Surratt said. He doesn't think the number of students who attend Lindale ISD will drop, but worries people in the most rural parts of East Texas could be at a severe disadvantage. 'The travel distance would be so great. It's just not realistic. Some of these families that may not have the means to pay the extra five or $10,000 with the voucher. That's not about helping poor inner city schools or students who are failing school, that's not what it's about, its about getting money to wealthy families whose children who are already in private schools,' Surratt said. 'Parents Matter:' Gov. Abbott promotes school choice in Tyler Governor Greg Abbott promises that public schools will not lose funding. He spoke at Grace Community School in 2023 to push this idea. 'We will be adding billions more dollars to public education including more raises for our teachers,' Abbott said. Lawmakers remain skeptical saying recent history has shown public schools aren't getting the level of investment they should be seeing. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said the senate could pass this bill as soon as next Wednesday. Abbott would have to declare it an emergency item during his 'State of the State address.' The bill will have immediate effect if it passes the senate and house with a majority. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
