TEXARKANA, Texas -- Texarkana Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a resolution to extend COVID sick leave for employees in a regular meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
This resolution will allow the district to provide additional paid leave for an employee diagnosed with COVID-19 or required to quarantine by a federal, state or local order; when advised by a healthcare provider; or when experiencing symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis. Employees will also be eligible to use accrued leave.
This extended epidemic sick leave will be limited to a total of eight days between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. An employee is only eligible for a total of eight days of epidemic sick leave during the 2021-2022 school year.
The board also approved a change to the 2021-2022 school calendar due to the loss of three instructional days from Jan. 12-14, 2022.
Feb. 17, 2022, will be changed from a half-day to a full instructional day for students. Feb. 18 will remain an instructional planning day, with the authorization to change it without returning to the Board for approval if more instructional minutes need to be added back into the calendar following another unforeseen set of circumstances that might occur before Feb. 18.
In other news, TISD trustees approved an order calling for a trustee election on May 7. Incumbents Wanda Boyette, representing District 3 and Bryan DePriest representing District 5 will seek re- election for their respective positions.
A joint election agreement between TISD and the city of Wake Village for the May 7 trustee election was approved for the purposes of having a common polling place.
The board also approved the appointment of a school marshal, who is allowed to carry a firearm, and to respond to various types of calls by the TISD police department for the safety of the district.
According to the Texas Education Code, the governing body of a private school may appoint one or more school marshals. A school marshal appointed by the governing body of a private school may carry or possess a handgun on the physical premises of a school, but only in the manner provided by written regulations adopted by the governing body.
TISD has adopted an annual tuition rate for ineligible students for the 2022-23 school year. The rate is $6,160 per student.
The annual rate is set based upon the Adjusted Basic Allotment the district expects to receive from the state in the 2022-23 school year.
The next meeting for the TISD Board of Trustees will be Wednesday, Feb. 23.