L-EISD officials consider putting unused parcel property up for bid

Trustees of Liberty-Eylau Independent School District voted unanimously Thursday to declare a parcel of property as surplus during their regular meeting.

The 3.5 acre tract of land, at Buchanan Loop and Starlite Drive, was donated to the district in the 1960s and is not being used. District spokesman Matt Fry said he expects the district to put the property up for bid in January 2018.

The board also held a public hearing on the 2016 Texas Academic Performance Report from the Texas Education Agency, which showed that all four campuses achieved the Met Standard designation. The report is available at www.leisd.net.

The district’s technical director, Jason Brown, gave a presentation on how teachers at the elementary school are using Clevertouch smart boards in their classrooms. The teachers are using the devices, which Brown said are basically a large television and tablet combined, for children to draw, learn coding skills, play interactive educational games and complete worksheets. They can also be connected wirelessly to a document camera and a laptop.

“I’ve heard nothing but great things about these and the innovation and participation in all the classes,” Board Member Scott Bergt said.

The board voted to purchase 11 of the boards for a total of $50,163, which will come from Title 1 funds.

Superintendent Ronnie Thompson gave an update on construction at the new elementary school. He said it is on schedule, all the concrete has been poured and roof beams are being put on the building. The gross maximum price for the project is $17,342,316 and costs to date are at 25 percent, which is $4,277,795.

Jackie Martin with Chartwells food service also gave a report to the board.

“We have a lot of varieties of food and the kids and the staff are loving the varieties we produce,” she said. “What we did is, we talked to the kids to find out what they like to get participation to go up and get more kids in the program. What we found is some vegetables we thought kids didn’t like, they actually like. It’s a good thing because we need our vegetables.”

Martin said Chartwells will be purchasing a grill to be used at the high school at least once a week. Martin added Chartwells will be opening a snack bar at the middle school after the first of the year.

“Everything is moving in a great direction and we’re bringing great progress,” she said.

Chartwells took over the district’s food service in September.

Thompson said he was pleased with Chartwells and that the numbers show students are eating more in the cafeteria.

“The bottom line is we’re up $5,000 in profit,” he said. “More kids are eating and participating through the lunch program in the cafeteria. That’s just awesome. And they’re liking it.”