HUTTO – More funding for growing districts and a better method of assessing student progress are among the top issues facing local and regional schools as Texas prepares for its 88th legislative session next year.
Fast-growing school districts in Central Texas share common concerns that affect Hutto students as well, according to Hutto Independent School District Board of Trustees president Billie Logiudice. The district recently voted to align their priorities for the Texas 88th Legislative session with those of many other districts in Region 13 of the Texas Education Agency.
“I think it’s important to recognize we don’t want to float on our own island of just Hutto ISD,” Logiudice said. “We’re locking arms and joining forces to say this impacts districts across our state and across our region. We’re all facing this need and we want to accomplish this together.”
The challenges these districts face stem largely from the population growth of the region, but there are also issues that districts of all sizes face when it comes to accountability and funding. One of the main changes the districts are advocating for is a more equitable assessment method.
The current system bases a school’s performance on the results of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. The resolution signed by the school board asks for Texas to adopt an accountability system that reflects the students’ continuous improvement. They support real-time assessments that measure a student’s entire educational experience.
The Texas Association of School Administrators agrees, and the organization has pledged to support or initiate legislation which “looks beyond high-stakes, multiple-choice exams to meaningful assessments that have value for students, parents, and teachers, as well as flexible measures that local communities value.” according to a published statement.
“Nobody wants to be ‘teaching to the test’,” said Logiudice of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam. “I think there is an effort across the entire state of Texas to support this. We feel strongly there has to be a fairer measure of whether students are growing and learning and succeeding.”
In the last 15 years, Hutto ISD has gone from a district of just over 1,000 students to having more than 8,400 students enrolled in 2022. This type of exponential growth requires increases in facilities, staff, safety measures and more. The state’s fast-growth district allotment is intended to help those like Hutto ISD to keep up with demand, but districts say it isn’t enough.
“Increasing state funding for new facilities to ensure our fast growth districts can meet the needs of their community remains a challenge,” said Dr. Greg Smith in a written statement. Smith is Executive Director of Fast Growth School Coalition, an organization that lists Hutto, Georgetown and Pflugerville among its eligible districts. “We strongly believe – and the economic data has shown – that money matters in public education and an investment in our state’s fastest-growing schools makes good economic sense,” he said.
Logiudice added that the fast growth district allotment allows districts to meet and exceed safety standards and remedy staff shortages. “For all of the things that are important to us in a fair and equitable way, to keep up with growth and have a home for all the new students we are receiving daily, we need to increase the fast growth funding.”
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We’re locking arms and joining forces to say this impacts districts across our state and across our region. We’re all facing this need and we want to accomplish this together.”
- Billie Logiudice, Hutto Independent School District Board of Trustees president
