Ott's Outlook

You are probably aware by now of yesterday’s announcement that Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) is building their newest data center in Temple. As this will be one of less than 20 of these data centers across the globe, the significance of this investment also validates what our demographic study has revealed to the community for the last three years - Temple is becoming a destination region for economic growth, quality of education and quality of life. This growth naturally cascades into our school system because more employees equal more families, more homes, and more children to serve.

The expectation from citizens in a thriving and growing community is to have a school system that is provisioned to serve our growing population and provide educational services that continue to attract and retain families. A well provisioned school system is key to a community because it inevitably leads to many other investments such as additional amenities, master-planned single-family neighborhoods, and a variety of retail/shopping opportunities. The partnerships between the City of Temple, Temple ISD, Temple Chamber of Commerce, Temple Economic Development Corporation and Temple College are second to none and will accelerate these investments even more. We could not be more proud to work with such amazing partners.

The upcoming Temple ISD bond is right in line with such investments and would allow us the space, programming and safety/security features necessary to accommodate growth. Adding Meta to our commercial tax base helps our taxpayers tremendously. Temple ISD already boasts the lowest tax rate among peer districts, but now with this announcement, we can continue minimizing tax impact while preparing for growth. Meta will effectively reduce the tax impact carried by the residential community for any future bond because a majority of the bond will be paid for by our commercial tax base.

This should be welcoming news to any resident and voting member; and even more reason to continue supporting this community, our schools, our families, and our children!

The role of the school district in a bond election is to provide factual information about the bond package and impact. We will do that in a variety of ways between now and election day and I encourage each of you to stay informed and engaged throughout this process through our website www.tisd.org/bond2022/, social media, emails and mail outs.

Bobby Ott

• Temple High School students won three individual championships

• Temple also won a team district championship

• Temple High School qualified a total of ten students to advance to the UIL Regional Meet

• THS Theatre Department clenched their 30th, yes 30th, consecutive district title!
• Congratulations to Natasha Tolleson, THS Theatre Director, for this extraordinary accomplishment!

• In a historically male-dominated industry, five female Auto Tech students from THS qualified for the state Automotive Competition Skills USA!

One of THS's welding students earned $16,000 in scholarships during the last competition! The sky is the limit for Fidel as he works towards his certification and prepares for his next steps after high school.

Temple ISD has a long history of excellence and we have had many, many graduates who have gone on to exemplify our vision to become influential and impactful leaders in their local communities and beyond. Temple ISD Alumni Spotlight will feature alumnus and alumna that have represented our community and our district in a positive way.

To nominate yourself or a Temple ISD graduate, please complete our online Alumni Spotlight Nomination Form. Nominations will be reviewed and candidates selected by the Temple ISD Board of Trustees Policy Committee.

Email: bobby.ott@tisd.org
Website: https://www.tisd.org/apps/pages/Superintendent
Phone: 254-215-6760
Facebook: facebook.com/templeisd
Twitter: @OttTempleISD