By Dr. Scott Muri
For the past three weeks, we have taken the opportunity to recognize, and say thank you to, our Ector County ISD Board of Trustees for the work they do on behalf of students, families, and staff.
January is School Board Recognition Month in Texas, and we are proud to join the 1,029 school districts across the state in honoring these unpaid public servants. School board members are elected to represent you. To be the link between the community and the classroom. Trustees set the vision for the school district, they establish policies to carry out that vision; and approve a budget to support that vision.
In Ector County ISD, our school board members have created that vision – “OUR Students…THE Future” – and have shown remarkable resolve and steady leadership in pursuing it despite the worldwide COVID pandemic.
ECISD’s strategic plan is laser-focused on three strategic themes: Foundational Excellence, Talent Development, and the Learning Journey of our students. Your school board has overseen:
- A 40-point increase in SAT scores; topping the State by 15 points
- Attainment of the highest graduation rate in more than 5 years
- Expansion of prekindergarten services, full-day PK for four-year-olds and half-day program for three-year-olds, now preparing 1,800 children to be kindergarten ready
- A redesigned Summer Learning Experience that increased participation to 5,400 students (up from 2,100) by incorporating Robotics and Computer Science
- An increase in the starting teacher salary by nearly $13,000 in four years, from $44,500 in 2017 to $57,000 today
- Reduction of teacher vacancies by 300 since 2019
- Adoption of balanced budgets
- Perfect scores on the District’s financial report to the state two years in a row
- Clean financial audits each year
- Early payment/refinancing of existing bonds the last two years that saved taxpayers $19 million in interest payments
- Broadband Internet projects (including the ground-breaking SpaceX satellite pilot) that have connected more than 1,000 ECISD families
- Development of a Facilities Master Plan including Bond recommendations from a citizens’ committee
Several of these initiatives place ECISD on the leading edge of educational work and have gained state and national attention. Amazingly, this is not the full list of projects underway to transform our schools and our community.
I am proud to serve as the superintendent of schools in Odessa, Texas. I am proud to take this moment to honor our Board of Trustees for their love of our community, their vision for students, and their determination to carry it out no matter the circumstances. They deserve the accolades during this School Board Recognition Month.
Scott R. Muri, Ed. D., is superintendent of Ector County ISD.
