SSISD Eligible To Apply For $11.5 Million In Federal ESSER Grant Funding
Sulphur Springs ISD students and staff could benefit from up to $11.5 million in federal ESSER Grants funding over the next three years, provided the district can adequately articulate in grant applications that the funds meet the terms stipulated for their intended use.
SSISD Assistant Superintendent Josh Williams reported the district has been notified SSISD is eligible to receive two types of federal funding, but must apply to Texas Education Agency for the federal grants.
The school district is eligible to receive $7,984,629 of the $11.2 billion appropriated to Texas for public education purposes under the American Rescue Plan Act through the in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III Fund. The district has to apply for funding, which may be spent on qualifying expenses from March 13, 2020-Sept. 30, 2024, resulting from COVID-19’s impact on the local educational agency.
SSISD too will apply for its allocation of $3,555,269 of the $5.5 billion appropriated to the state for public education purposes under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act through the ESSER II Fund. The money should be spent on costs incurred between March 13, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2023.
Applicants must answer three questions regarding intended use of ESSER funds:
- Is this reasonable and necessary purchase for the good of students and programs?
- Does it meet the intent of the statute: to address the impact that COVID-19 has had and continues to have at SSISD schools?
- Has to be an allowable activity according to the statute? There are 15 potential allowable uses.
“If you read through these you’ll see there’s money for everything from technology, money for tutorials, after school programs, supplies to clean, upgrade facilities-particularly HVAC for clean air, activities, people, materials, resources to meet the needs of low income students and children with disabilities, English language learners and so on for every subpopulation that we have,” Williams told the school board members at their regular June meeting Tuesday night.
The final allowable reason is deliberately vague to cover a broad array of other needs that can be district or campus specific and necessary to maintain.
Twenty 20 percent of the ESSER III grant funds must be set aside to address academic impact on students and campuses. That’s 20 percent on evidence-based interventions such as summer learning, extended day comprehensive after-school programs, or extended school year programs, which respond to students’ academic, social and emotional needs and address disproportionate impact of coronavirus on various student populations, including those receiving special services, economically disadvantaged, disabled, in foster care and experiencing homelessness.
Yet a third component of the grant is “meaningful consultation,” which means stakeholders must be engaged in the process and the public given the opportunity to provide input in development of the district’s plan to use ESSER III funds, including students, families, school and district administrators, teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators and school staff.
SSISD on May 19, consulted the District Advisory Committee; on May 27 the Sulphur Springs High School Campus Advisory Committee, May 14 Community survey (invitations were sent to families, students and educators via Blackboard and a notice inviting community members top weigh in was posted on Facebook), the June 15 SSISD board meeting, and a District Advisory meeting was slated today (June 17) as well.
District administrators compiled a color coded chart (see below) not only indicating how each of the uses meets the three requirements, but telling which population it will help or serve, what campus, and year of the award, and whether it was a pre-award amount, if it’s the 20 percent set-aside to address academic impact, if it’s a measure to implement CDC recommendations or if it will be unfulfilled until the remaining 1/3 of ESSER III or ESSER II amount is available. That will be included with the applications submitted for the ESSER II and ESSER III funding.
District officials anticipate that a certain amount of the $3.555 million ESSER II funding will be held back to hold the district harmless for any shortfall in the last year; the district has calculated that at 10 percent, but the district won’t know until later this summer when all numbers are in, Williams noted.
Williams later in the June 15 meeting asked trustees to approve a resolution adding to Policy CB (Local) text regarding ESSER statutes, as recommended by Texas Association of School Board, to ensure all requirements outlined by the federal government for the ESSER grant funding are met, including a public notice. The board members present unanimously approved the resolution to be included in the local policy regarding the federal funding.
Independence Concert is Back! July 3 by SS Symphony League
From a Press Release by SS Symphony League:
We’re back!! The Symphony League is so excited to be hosting the downtown concert and fireworks once again! This event is outdoors and free to the public thanks to our major sponsors: Alliance Bank, CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs, and Grocery Supply Company. Bring your chairs and visit one of our downtown restaurants/eateries for a memorable evening of music and fireworks! The event will begin at 8pm, opening with a Veterans Parade.
The 2021 Independence Concert is set for 8pm on the evening of Saturday July 3, 2021 for the 29th annual Independence Concert and Fireworks extravaganza! Bring the family for this heart-stirring, flag-waving community event! Conductor Dr. Doug Bakenhus and the NE Texas Symphony Orchestra will present a thrilling prelude to this unique Fourth of July celebration. Music starts around 8pm and the Fireworks will begin at dark. The concert is presented free to the community by major underwriters Alliance Bank, Grocery Supply and CHRISTUS Mother Francis Hospital, Sulphur Springs.
In a letter by SS Symphony League Board member Linda Galligher,
The League has planned this 29th annual event as the kick-off for summer community events. The Symphony League’s Board is very excited and expects a great performance and good attendance. This is the 29th year since we started the annual event, which has drawn thousands to the Sulphur Springs downtown area. The orchestra will play favorite patriotic staples along with some new American selections. We are pleased that Conductor Dr. Doug Bakenhus will again join us to direct the returning professional musicians, some who have played at every concert, and others who are new to us. Soloists will include local singer Della Cleveland and her daughter Trelandra Miles. Plan to make lasting memories will be made as you experience this unique community event.
2 Hopkins County Men Returned To Jail On Felony Charge
Two Hopkins County men were returned to jail this week on a felony charge each, one who was released less than 3 months ago and another just four days months after his release, according to arrest and jail reports.
(HCSO jail photo)
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Steve Shing and Kevin Lester located 43-year-old Charles Ray “Chuck” Rollins at his Saltillo residence just before 3 p.m. June 14, 2021, on an indecency with a child by sexual contact warrant. The offense, is alleged to have occurred on June 6, 2021.
Rollins remained in Hopkins County jail Thursday night, June 17, in lieu of the $100,000 bond set on the second-degree felony indecency with a child charge.
Monday was the second time in less than a week Rollins was booked into Hopkins County jail. He was booked into Hopkins County jail Thursday, June 10, 2021, on another indecency with a child by sexual contact warrant; he was released later that day on a $100,000 bond as well.
Lester also took Cory Layne Belz into custody at 10:13 a.m. Tuesday June 15, 2021, in the 8th Judicial District Court and escorted him to jail. The 36-year-old Brashear man was booked on an order revoking his bond on a possession of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone. He was held at the jail Thursday night without bond.
Belz has been arrested locally about two dozen times since 2005, most recently from Feb. 12 to April 8, 2021, on possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone, failure to identify by giving false or fictitious information and surety off bond on a second offense driving while intoxicated charge. bond on the Feb. 12 charges totaled $16,000.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
2021 SSHS Wildcat Football Season Tickets To Be Sold Online
Wildcat football season tickets will be sold online this year, a June 17 release from Sulphur Springs ISD superintendent’s office stated. Individuals who were season ticket holders in 2019 will be contacted first via email (or by letter if the school has no email on file) with instructions on how to secure season tickets in the next week or so. The email will come from the email address of [email protected].
More information will be released to the public when any remaining season tickets are available to purchase online, according to the SSISD release.
Texas A&M System to Observe New National Holiday
BRYAN/ COLLEGE-STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M University System will shut down Friday, June 18, in observance of Juneteenth being designated a national holiday, Chancellor John Sharp announced Thursday.
“This is a special day that originated in Texas and we’re proud to honor it,” Sharp said.
President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act today, establishing June 19 as a national holiday. In recognition of the historic nature of this event, the 11 universities and eight state agencies in the Texas A&M System will observe this holiday Friday.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery. On June 19, 1865 Maj. Gen. Gordan Granger arrived in Galveston and delivered General Order No. 3, which announced that all slaves were free in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation. Months later, the 13th Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery.
Given the short notice, employees should report to work if they provide essential services or whose services are needed Friday to support events and activities involving or serving members of the public. They will be provided compensatory time off.
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Current Tax Practices Discussed At Sulphur Springs ISD Board Of Trustees Meeting
It’s no secret school finance is a complicated animal, with many different factors affecting funding, including how high Sulphur Springs ISD and other school districts may set the ad valorem rate. Lucas Janda with Live Oak Public Finance LLC discussed with SSISD Board of Trustees the “current tax practices” aspect of school finance, specifically the state’s values versus appraisal district values in Texas.
“The state for years has always had one big picture, that the higher your property values are, the less amount of state aid they have to give you. That’s been the system they’ve had forever. With House Bill 3, nothing has really changed,” Janda told the board. “Let’s think about that for a second. Values keep getting higher and higher, and the state has to give less and less. Is that on the chief appraisers? Who is really responsible for that?”
The state does a sample of values in every county, with business or tax officials selecting the home or business properties to appraise. The state then gives an estimate of what they think they are worth and determine estimates for counties based on those appraisals. The appraisal rates set by the county’s chief appraiser then is expected to be within 5 percent of the state estimate, either at 95 or 105 percent of the range, for the “state to bless your school districts,” Janda reported.
He said, currently, the state continues to put pressure on chief appraisers for the 254 counties in Texas toward appraisals with higher property values annually. Those appraisers that do not set appraisals within that 5 percent range estimated by the state are given three years to get values up to the level indicated. When they don’t, Janda said, schools are hurt, receiving less and less state aid each year, and there could be repercussions for the chief appraiser, including potentially losing their job, Janda reported.
“We’d have to run numbers to tell you exactly what that means, but for districts in the 4,000-plus enrollment range, I’d venture to say that’s going to be hundreds of thousands and potentially even closer to a million dollars of that kind of loss in state aid,” Janda told the SSISD Board of Trustees during their June 15 meeting. “It’s obviously put in front of you, your superintendent, CFO; everybody’s got eyes on this and you have no control over anything. This is all between the state of Texas and what they think you values are the chief appraiser trying to keep up and ultimately not being at the threshold that the state’s expecting.”
Janda said the percentage that counties or schools are off can be found on a state website. The first year a district is in the “grace period,” the appraisal is typically in the lower lower 90 percentages compared to the state appraisals.
In the past, districts have benefitted from higher tax values. However, recent years’ legislation has capped the amount districts may set their maintenance and operating tax rate at. Now, when appraisal rates go up, districts are required to reduce their M&O tax rates, per HB 3.
“They’re probably doing their best to get values where they think is fair, but when the state says this is what they think it should be, now it’s fair plus premium,” Janda said.
Coach Owens and Football Edge Continue Building on Progress After Week 2
On Thursday, June 17, we met up with Wildcats head coach Greg Owens to discuss how the Edge has gone for him and his squad as the second week of Edge has concluded.
Coach Owens said he still wishes more students would participate in the summer strength and conditioning program, but recognized that so many student-athletes are still away on vacation, participating in a summer sports league, or away on a church camp.
The Wildcats football coach says he still wants these kids to participate in those types of activities, but stressed how falling behind can affect the progress of not only the student’s conditioning as they prepare for football season, but also the Edge.
Coach Owens said that they want the kids that are here in Sulphur Springs to come to the Edge, be on time, and work hard. The coach said he’s been praising athletes that attended the camp this week have been “busting their tails.”
Earlier today at the Edge, Coach Owens and his staff have implemented a new drill, called “The Tribe Test.”
This is a drill where football players had to run to the goal line, pick up a cone, and run as fast as they can in the hopes of making it back to the 10-yard line.
The quick nature of the drill, and making players pick up the cone and as quickly as they can run in the opposite direction, will be an incredibly valuable conditioning drill moving forward due to the nature of how quick some plays in football can be.
According to Coach Owens, the average football play is four to six seconds, so the ability for players to quickly pick up the cone (or ball), and take the ball in the opposite direction provides players with the practice they may need to dive at the ball, scoop a fumble, and do what they can to move the ball after the turnover.
“We’re doing those things now with the change of direction that’s really kind of taxing them,” Coach Owens said.
The Wildcats football head coach said that the drill and effort was really good, but they were taxed and just as quickly it was over.
Speaking on the Tribe test, Coach Owens said that it “Hopefully it gives us a good judgment of where we’re going to be and where we’re at.”
The Edge continues to build on what they have done over the last two weeks, while continuously adding on new challenges and drills to make sure that as many athletes as possible still have “The Edge” on their foes come football season.
The Edge for football runs Monday through Thursday at the Multi Purpose Building, from 8 A.M. to 10 A.M. for students entering ninth through twelfth grade, and 10 A.M. until noon for students entering the seventh through ninth grades.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
Emergency Sirens to be Tested Today
Emergency Sirens will be tested in Sulphur Springs today, Thursday June 17, 2021. The test will be conducted by the Sulphur Springs Emergency Management office. The test will be conducted at noon.
The test is to gauge the reliability of the emergency warning system and is conducted to find any potential flaws in the system. Recent tests have shown the emergency sires to be a ready source of warning in case of emergencies such as weather or other threats to safety.
This is only a test.
Court Issues Nationwide Preliminary Injunction Blocking Biden Administration’s Pause On New Oil And Gas Leases
AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton announced that a district judge has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on the Biden Administration’s oil and gas leasing moratorium, which intended to put a pause on the sale of new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and offshore waters by an executive order issued January 27, 2021.
The executive order was a clear violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and the Mineral Leasing Act. The moratorium would have cost millions, possibly billions, of dollars for oil and gas workers, state and local government funding, and funds for the restoration of state coastlines, the news release from Paxton’s office states.
“I am pleased that the court recognized this federal overreach and worked promptly to end the implementation of this ill-advised moratorium that would harm the U.S. economy and cost many their livelihoods,” AG Paxton was quoted in the release “President Biden does not have the authority to revise Congressionally-mandated statutes on a political whim. Alongside Louisiana, and the eleven other states who joined our cause, we will continue to challenge any unconstitutional executive orders that this Administration tries to implement.”
Read the Judge’s Ruling here.
According to the judge’s order signed June 15 by Judge Terry A. Doughty, US District Court Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, Lake Charles Division, the plaintiffs ( the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia) allege President Biden and the government defendants “violated provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act),” entitling the states to a preliminary injunction.
The 44-page court order states states that the preliminary injunction shall remain in effect pending the final resolution of the case, or until further orders from this Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, or the United States Supreme Court.
Tira News: Homecoming Slated July 4
By Jan Vaughn, Tira News correspondent, [email protected].
The Tira Homecoming is quickly approaching. It will be held on Sunday, July 4. The program and business meeting will begin at 11 a.m. inside the Tira Methodist Church, and then a covered dish lunch will be shared at the picnic tables on the grounds. Donations for the upkeep of the cemetery grounds may be given that day or you can mail them to the Tira Cemetery Association, c/o Jan Vaughn, 776 FM 1536, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. We always appreciate
the contributions.
Joyce Dodd reported that Georgia Smith made a donation to the Tira Food Pantry. Joyce added, “She, also, brought the American flag that Danny Rawson’s daughter donated to the Tira Community Center.”
We want to express our appreciation to Georgia and to Sophie Markides, daughter of the late Danny and Judy Rawson and granddaughter of the late Dwight and Mary Rawson, of Tira.
Yvonne Weir reports, “Shana Parkinson, Caleb and Aaron visited from Friday to Sunday” Also, Robert and Yvonne’s grandson, Levi, spent Saturday night with them. Yvonne says, “We shot fireworks and went to Cooper Lake State Park and had a good time.”
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
