Greetings! I hope you and your family are having a great summer. LHISD has been working hard this summer to make this the best year ever in Liberty Hill! This year we will open two new schools: Legacy Ranch High School and Tierra Rosa Elementary School.

In addition to the new campuses, you will find new leadership at some of our other campuses.

• Christina Gamez will take over at Burden Elementary as Mrs. Lambert has transitioned to LH Administration to take the new role of Assistant Director of Talent Acquisition and Recruitment. Mrs. Gamez previously served as assistant principal at Burden.
• Nicole Haggarty will be the new principal at Santa Rita Middle School. She has lived in Liberty Hill for many years and has two children in the district. She is a veteran principal of over 10 years and has a record of high performance and great community relationships.
• Rancho Sienna's new principal, Robert Gillis, was hired in July. Mr. Gillis also lives in Liberty Hill and comes to LHISD from Leander where he served as an assistant principal. More details below.

LHISD has also been busy with construction. We are happy to report that our new campuses will be completed and ready for teachers and students. Later in the newsletter, there are updates on our current projects and some drone footage of the campuses.

We had a very productive board meeting in July. The Board Briefs are below.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer. See you soon!

Steven Snell, Superintendent

Liberty Hill ISD

Public Comments

• Liberty Hill Mayor, Crystal Mancilla, thanked the Board and Superintendent Snell for supporting the City of Liberty Hill during the July 3, 2024 celebration.

Budget Workshop. A budget workshop was provided by Chief Financial Officer, Rosanna Guerrero, who described the timeline for budget and tax rate adoption, an efficiency audit, and elections. In addition, she explained the budgets for food services and debt services.

Communication and Information Items

• GPA/Class Rank Policy/Guidelines for the Class of 2028 and beyond were presented by Chief of Schools Travis Motal, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Susan Cole, CTE Director Deah Twine, and Counseling Services Coordinator Jamie Richardson. A GPA committee comprised of administrators, counselors from LHHS and LRHS, teachers, and parents was created with the purpose of reviewing and updating the current GPA and class rank method to determine potential improvements to the systems and opportunities to create greater clarity for our students, staff and parents.

July Construction Project Updates were provided by Construction Director Dustin Akin. These projects are funded by the 2021 and 2023 Bonds. A detail of the updates are below in this newsletter.

• Mr. Snell shared that the LHISD School Board won the Regional Honor Board of the Year. The State Honor Board will be announced September 27.
• Mr. Snell was awarded the Region 13 Superintendent of the Year. He will advance and represent LHISD at the state level which will be announced September 28.
• TASB Policy Update 123 included an overview of changes for the following:

• BBD (Local): Board Members Training and Orientation
• BBFA (Local): Ethics: Conflict of Interest Disclosures
• CKC (Local): Safety Program/Risk management, Emergency Plans
• CKE and CKEA (Local): Safety and Security
• CQC (Local): Technology Resources: Equipment
• DCE (Local): Employment Practices and Other Types of Contracts
• DGBA (Local): Personnel-Management Relations: Employee Complaints/Grievances
• EEH (Local): Instructional Arrangements: Homebound Instruction - this is a new homebound services policy which supports psychological conditions as well as medical.
• EF & EFA (Local): Instructional Resources: Instructional Materials
• EFB (Local): Instructional Resources: Library Materials
• Demographic Update

• We increased over 4,500 students since the 2018-19 school year.
• LHISD ranks fourth in Central Texas in the number of new houses built in the last quarter, following Hays, Georgetown, and Leander.
  
• Cost-Savings Follow up: LHISD conducted a staff survey as a follow up to hundreds of suggestions and feedback we received from our employees on potential cost-saving measures as we enter the next budget season. Areas that the staff favored are as follows:
• LHISD considering moving to a semi-monthly pay cycle. The administration recommendation is to begin with hourly employees starting in September.
• Prefer one lump-sum payout of the $500 stipend in October 2024 (as part of the 2024-25 Compensation Plan).
• Preferred to have two work-from-home days as part of the 2024-25 professional development schedule
• The choice to pay a $50 appliance fee to use small appliances in their classroom or office was split pretty evenly. This prompted further discussion by the Board. No decisions were made about this at this meeting as it was not an action item.

Consent Agenda. The consent agenda items were approved and included the following:

• Tax collection summary
• Cash position and investment report
• Finance summary report
• Budget amendments
• Purchases over $50,000
• Legacy Ranch MS golf, track and field equipment, and uniforms
• Santa Rita MS equipment, uniforms, and coaches gear
• District vehicles purchased for maintenance and employee travel
• Reclassification of expenditures to the 2021-2023 Bond programs
• Instructional materials for PreK - fourth grade handwriting
• Bond status, monthly police, & food services reports
• Off campus Physical Education (OCPE) agency list for 24-25
• LHISD Student Code of Conduct with no changes to the student dress code
• TASB policy update 123

Action Items

• The Board approved GPA/class rank policy/guidelines for the Class of 2028 (described in Communication and Information Items above).
• The Board approved re-roofing the 18+ building as presented by Chief of Operations Mark Willoughby and Construction Director Dustin Akin.
• The Board approved additional concrete flatwork at LHHS stadium to help with drainage runoff as presented by Chief of Operations Mark Willoughby and Construction Director Dustin Akin.
• The Board approved the endorsement of Board Vice President Kathy Major for the TASB Board of Directors as presented by Superintendent Steven Snell.
• The Board approved the interlocal agreement with the City of Liberty Hill for wastewater for Legacy Ranch High School as amended and authorized the superintendent to negotiate the terms.
• The Board approved accepting resignations and employing personnel, a growth position for Tierra Rosa ES, Superintendent goals, and the Principal of Rancho Sienna Elementary School.

To listen to an audio recording of the July 15, 2024 Regular School Board Meeting click here.

The next Regular Board Meeting will be Monday, August 19, 2024.

LIBERTY HILL ISD, Texas – The Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees was happy to announce the hiring of Robert Gillis for the principal position at Rancho Sienna Elementary School during the July 15 board meeting.

Mr. Gillis comes to us with 12 years of experience in education. Originally growing up in San Angelo, he followed in the footsteps of his parents who were teachers/coaches. They instilled a love of learning at a young age and he wanted to continue the legacy.

In 2012, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Angelo State and went on to earn his Master in Educational Leadership at the University of Texas, Arlington in May 2018. He began his career in education at Rogers ISD as a history and math teacher/coach. He then spent time in Belton teaching science and coaching tennis while pursuing his master's degree. For the past six years, he has been an assistant principal in Leander ISD.

Residents of Liberty Hill, Robert and his wife Erin settled here for the small-town family atmosphere about two years ago and have loved the community ever since. Erin is a fellow educator as she teaches in Leander ISD. His three children also attend schools in Leander ISD. Their daughter, Peyton will be a junior and his son, Brooks will be in third grade this coming school year. His youngest, Aria, will begin her educational journey as she starts kindergarten this year! When he’s not working, Robert loves spending time with family and coaching his kids' sports teams.

“I am honored to continue the rich tradition that has already been established at Rancho Sienna Elementary,” said Gillis. “I believe in building relationships with students, staff members, and the community in order for us to partner together to be successful. I am proud to be in Liberty Hill ISD and look forward to serving the Rancho Sienna community this school year!”

The LHISD police department welcomed their newest teammate, Officer Darrin Lahr, who was sworn in on July 16. He will be serving Bill Burden Elementary School this fall. Welcome Officer Lahr!

1. New LRMS/LRHS. We are very excited to report that construction is wrapping up and the building is ready for teachers and students. The team is currently engaged in punch list items and landscaping. Teachers will move in next week.

2. LRHS baseball, softball and tennis. Connected to the LRHS project; the baseball, softball, and tennis facilities will be ready to go in late August for students to practice. The locker room facilities on the property will be ready in late fall. Students will use the locker rooms across the street during the fall.

3. Tierra Rosa Elementary. The new elementary school located in Santa Rita is substantially complete and is ready for teachers to move in on Friday. The team is currently cleaning the building, finishing landscaping and fencing, and working on punch lists.

4. New 18+ education center. The back wing of administration is being redeveloped as an 18+ learning center for special education students ages 18-22. The center will teach life skills and work skills to transition beyond school. The construction is scheduled to be finished by the end of August.

5. Liberty Hill Middle. Finishing up phase 2 which included classroom refresh and renovations of the fine arts area and girl’s locker rooms. Final clean-up and punch list ongoing. The next phase will be refurbishing the old tech building into CTE classrooms and a new roof. Will be ready on August 5.

6. Existing Transportation Facility. LH is making improvements to Champions Drive and the parking around the current transportation building. They are on schedule to finish by the end of July. This will be a tremendous improvement in both facilities and roads. LHISD also has a new fuel tank system which will save the ISD money on fuel costs. Related to this project, the city of LH will restripe the entrance to the property to help with traffic.

7. New Technology Building. LHISD is refurbishing the old field house close to Noble Elementary to serve as the new LHISD technology office and storage facility. This will double the space of their current facility which will serve as future classrooms. Anticipated completion is September 1. The furniture has been delivered. Move-in is expected on Labor Day weekend.

8. Liberty Hill High School. Several Projects

1. Success Academy. LHISD started a success academy and has graduated over 200 at-risk students in the three years it has been open. This year we moved the large 10-classroom portable unit from Santa Rita Elementary to the high school to serve both the Success Academy and the LHISD Discipline Alternative Education Program (DAEP). New portables were moved and are in place. Fencing and drives will be in place by the end of July.
2. LHHS New parking and drives. This summer, LHISD removed areas of decomposed granite and replaced them with more parking spaces. This project will be completed, cleaned, and striped next week.
3. LHHS Press Box. LHISD reconfigured the press box to help with space and the new student-led audio-visual team. Space was also reconfigured to separate guests and workers. The project will be ready by the start of school.
4. LHHS Turf and Track. The new turf installation is complete and the new track installation is in progress. Striping is taking place this week. In addition, there is a board action item to install concrete to help with drain and decomposed granite runoff.

9. Agriculture Barn. New animal pens and a new water system are installed and the project is complete.

10. Flatwork at LHES. Work to finish the cement drives behind the campus and lighting under the canopies will start next week.

11. Rancho Sienna playground. Sidewalks have been poured to replace the decomposed granite trails, and installation of playground turf is complete and in the punch list phase.

12. Noble playgrounds. With the completion of the Noble expansion, LHISD has moved and built new playground facilities behind the school. The playground and fencing are complete. LH will build a walking trail around the playground.

13. Legacy Ranch High School. Construction is ahead of schedule. Click here for Drone footage of the project

Future Projects from the 2023 Bond

14. LHHS baseball and softball turf replacement will start in early fall in coordination with each program.

15. Entrance vestibules at Rancho Sienna ES and Bill Burden ES. LHISD will reconfigure the entrances at these two campuses over the Christmas break to create an entrance similar to the other campuses.

16. Liberty Hill High School

1. New Concession Stand and Restrooms. Construction will begin in January of 2025
2. New Band Hall and Robotic Space. Construction will begin in May of 2025.

16. Lariat Elementary. New elementary school #8 will start construction this year and be ready to open in the fall of 2026.

17. Maintenance warehouse. Construction is scheduled for 2026.

18. Elementary #9 is scheduled for completion in 2028. Location to be determined by growth.

19. LHISD purchased the land (approx.. 20 acres) to the west of Liberty Hill High School for a possible new agriculture barn to accommodate the growth.

Liberty Hill ISD. Building Champions in Academics, Character, and Community

Email: superintendent@libertyhill.txed.net
Website: libertyhill.txed.net
Location: 301 Forrest Street, Liberty Hill, TX, USA
Phone: 512-260-5580
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.snell.585
Twitter: @s_snell