LHISD Board Briefs

We feel that our Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees is the best in the land! We appreciate the dedication they have to serve our students and community. You'll regularly see them on campuses supporting activities and engaging with students and staff. It truly is a wonderful thing to have these leaders taking care of our LHISD family and making the tough decisions in our fast-growth district for the benefit of our students. Thank you LHISD Board of Trustees for all you do for us! You really demonstrate what "Building Champions" is all about!

Communication Items - District Updates

• There were no public comments at this meeting.
• Liberty Hill Education Foundation Year in Review by Mike Bowles
• Student Scholarships - 16 student scholarships awarded this year in the amount of $40,000.
• Teacher Grants - 56 teacher grants awarded this year
• At least one grant awarded at each campus!
• Total amount awarded in grants: $102,110
• Additional programs supported
• Giving with Gratitude: $33,875 (every employee received a $35 HEB gift card)
• Panther Academy: $5,000
• Kristy Kercheville Excellence in Teaching Awards: $2,000
• Convocation
• End-of-Year Staff Appreciation Event
• Total donations to LHISD staff and students in 2024: $187,985
• 2025-26 Calendar Update: Chief of Schools Travis Motal shared the 2025-26 instructional calendar update which included two calendar options. One traditional calendar and one more innovative that allows for more planning days for teachers. The Board will continue the instructional calendar options at the board workshop January 27th.
• Board feedback included:
• Looking into a solid four-day week calendars or hybrid options to allow for more teacher planning time.
• LHISD Superintendent Snell shared updates to include:
• We are tracking illnesses and absences. LHISD is averaging over 100 staff absences a day, mostly with Flu A
• The Liberty Hill Education Foundation Gala will be on March 6, 2025 at Highpointe Estate
• Legislative updates
• Senate and House decided dollar amount for budget
• Senate Bill 1 - Increase in funds, they're proposing $5.3 billion for public schools. We're not sure if it's going in smaller allotments or in basic allotment
• There will be a Bill out for a $4,000 increase for teacher pay - last time they did this there were strings attached. We'll
• A Bill for $400 million for school safety
• Education Savings Account (Voucher) - $1 billion
• The committees are discussing property tax reduction, increase homestead exemption, talk about small businesses as well.
• The House Bill is similar to the Senate Bill
• Increase to public ed and public safety.
• Increasing the yield of our golden pennies which would not be subject to recapture which would be very beneficial to public schools
• Property tax reduction
• District enrollment is at 9,946 as of Jan. 17, 2025. This is an increase of 64 students since the December Board meeting.

January Action Items

• The Board approved the purchase of 150 marching band uniforms for Liberty Hill High School as presented by Fine Arts Director Luis Portillo and Chief of Schools Travis Motal.
• The Board approved the Civil Engineering Services for Liberty Hill High School Wastewater Lift Station Maintenance Project as presented by Chief of Operations Mark Willoughby and Director of Construction Dustin Akin.
• The Board approved the Design Services for Liberty Hill ISD Operations and Maintenance Facility as presented by Chief of Operations Mark Willoughby and Director of Construction Dustin Akin.
• The Board approved Guaranteed Maximum Price No. 2 for Liberty Hill Elementary #8 by Chief of Operations Mark Willoughby and Director of Construction Dustin Akin.
• The Board approved an Order by the Board of Trustees of Liberty Hill ISD to Call for an Election on Saturday, May 3, 2025, for the purpose of electing two (2) Trustees to fill Place 6 and Place 7 for three (3) full-year terms as presented by Superintendent Steven Snell.
• `The last day to file an application for a place on the ballot is Friday, Feb. 14, 2025., at the Liberty Hill ISD Administration Office, 301 Forrest Street, 5 p.m.
• The Board approved accepting resignations and the employment of personnel.
• The Board approved Amanda Langseth as the new Assistant Principal for Santa Rita Middle School.

The next regular board meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Click here to listen to the Jan. 22, 2025 board meeting.

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