Five Ector County Independent School District high schools will be graduating some 1,600 students in a two-day period starting Friday.
Robert Cedillo, an executive director of secondary education, told the ECISD Board of Trustees Tuesday that the graduates have been awarded more than $7 million in scholarship funds.
Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Howard said that is just what’s known right now.
This is the first year that Falcon Early College High School and OCTECHS will have commencement.
The Odessa High School baseball team is competing Friday in the ballpark at Arlington for the semifinals against South Lake Carroll.
Since OHS graduates at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Ratliff Stadium, six students will graduate at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the OHS Performing Arts Center.
On a separate item, Howard gave a budget update, although things remain up in the air due to the legislature.
“We’ve done all the leg work we can with the budget. We feel like we feel like we’ve been working conservatively, so we feel like we’ll wind up in good shape,” Howard said.
The district is still waiting for the legislature to decide on a finance bill, so they haven’t bought salary schedule recommendations to the board yet.
Howard said district property values are expected to rise 11.7 percent.
Howard said district officials thought they would have to increase contributions for medical insurance, but they won’t be.
Howard said the district will continue to follow developments on the finance law in the legislature.
Chief Financial Officer David Harwell said including delinquent taxes, the collection rate is at 98 percent.
Trustees also voted to nominate trustee Steve Brown to fill a position on the Texas Association of School Boards Board of Directors.
