State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, has delivered a letter to Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath expressing his support of the proposed partnership between Ector County Independent School District and Ector Success Academy Network for the operation of Ector Middle School.
The ECISD Board of Trustees this week unanimously approved the agreement and now needs the approval of the Texas Education Agency, which Morath oversees, a news release from Landgraf’s office said.
“I am proud to support ECISD in this endeavor for the enrichment of West Texas students,” Landgraf said in the release. “I encourage the Texas Education Agency to approve this agreement.”
“I believe that this new partnership will allow Ector Middle School to achieve a higher accountability ranking,” Landgraf said. “Our state’s young people are undoubtedly our greatest resource, and any opportunity to improve the quality of their education should be considered a priority.”
ECISD has eight campuses on improvement required status under state accountability regulations. Ector Middle School, Noel and Zavala elementary are in their fifth year. If the campuses don’t come off the list, they will face closure or the Texas Education Commissioner will appoint a board of managers over the whole district.
Texas Education Agency Spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said the commissioner will consider comments from legislative members.
“They need to meet the requirements of what the bill asks for,” Culbertson said. “The contract needs to adhere to what the requirements are. Certainly the commissioner can consider the correspondence from the state representative, but really the plan needs to meet the requirements of law.”
