Lockney High School (Alex Driggars/Floyd County Record)
LOCKNEY – It was a relatively quiet and quick school board meeting this month in Lockney, as board members and Superintendent Jim Baum discussed the future of Lockney ISD. One of the biggest topics of discussion is the future of the district’s 4-day school week, with the board in agreement the community has rallied behind the plan. “I’ve heard nothing but positives about the 4-day week,” president Mike Lass told the board. Baum said based on what he was hearing and at the board’s discretion he would move forward with setting the 2022-2023 calendar with the district’s curriculum task force in a similar 4-day instructional style.
Baum also gave an update on the district’s early steps toward a “Pathways in Technology” Early College High School program currently being developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The superintendent said meetings the district has had with the TEA have been successful, and that as it stands they are focusing on welding, business and possibly Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) programs to begin the new curriculum. He added they would schedule parent meetings with incoming Freshman for the spring, and would need to have current facilities checked to make sure the district can accommodate the programs.
The board also received a report on year-over-year enrollment. Currently the district has 412 students in K-12, down 33 children compared to 2021. “Enrollment has me a little bit concerned,” Baum told the board, noting the student numbers were lower than they had budgeted for but that the state is still not basing funding on hard numbers due to COVID-19 restrictions across Texas.
The board moved to cancel the May 7 election of seats 3, 4 and the At-large seat due to no opponents filling against Heath Rexrode, Billy Lefevre and Kayla Sherman.
Superintendent Baum also announced during Monday’s meeting that by the time students returned from spring break each Lockney Elementary School classroom would be equipped with a 75-inch screen to be used for instruction.
