Public meetings scheduled for superintendent search
HUTTO – Hutto Independent School District will hold a series of community meetings to gather input from stakeholders as they pursue their recruitment of a superintendent to replace Dr. Celina Estrada Thomas, whose last day is scheduled to be August 31.
The meetings are in addition to an online survey the district has made available to gather public input. The survey is available in English or Spanish, and some of the meetings will also be accessible to Spanish–only participants.
Meeting schedule:
• June 21, 12–1 p.m., Virtual meeting, access through the district’s superintendent search web page.
• June 21, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Veterans’ Hill Elementary School, 555 Limmer Loop, in English and Spanish • June 22, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Hutto 9th Grade Center, 301 Destiny Lane • June 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Howard Norman Elementary School, 101 Llano River Trail • June 28, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Farley Middle School, 303 County Road 137, in English and Spanish The district has set up a web page, hipponation. org/superintendentsearch, where the community can find information about the ongoing search and register to attend the virtual community meeting.
Car winner announced
Hutto Resource Center held the drawing for the winner of a brand new 2024 Chevy Trax Saturday, June 10. The drawing was held during the HRC’s third annual Holes 4 Hunger Golf Tournament benefiting the food pantry.
The winning ticket belonged to Sammy Ybarra, who was present at the event.
“I’ve entered a lot of things but I’ve never won,” Ybarra told the cheering crowd.
HRC Executive Director Donna Jones said the organization sold approximately 350 tickets. They began selling the tickets in February.
They originally sold tickets at $100 each, but later switched to $50 per ticket and gave those who had previously purchased at the original price two entries instead of one.
“You may not have won a car today, but every $50 donated provides 200 meals to those in need, so thank you for your contribution,” Jones said.
Juneteenth celebration planned Adam Orgain Park, named to honor the slave who was Hutto’s first settler, will be the scene for Black Families of Hutto’s Annual Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 17. The park is located at 1001 County Road 137, and the event will take place at Pavilion B from 1 to 6 p.m.
Onnesha Williams, one of the organization founders, said everybody is welcome to celebrate either by joining the Freedom March or enjoying the festival afterward.
“We will have good food and great entertainment. We have local people coming to entertain, and that keeps us connected to the community. The whole community is welcome. We hope we have the highest turnout this year,” she said.
To join in the Freedom March, meet at Adam Orgain Parking lot at 12:30 p.m. Marchers will be driven by shuttle to Ray Elementary School. The march will take place at 1 p.m. and wind from Ray Elementary back to Adam Orgain Park.
The festival will follow immediately after with family activities and entertainment, plus food and market vendors. Williams said entertainment will include African music performances and cultural line dancing.
New nurse coordinator position announced Hutto Independent School District has created a new nurse coordinator position to oversee their team of health service providers, a district spokesperson said. The task was previously under another position, but will now be standalone, reporting to the Director of Student Affairs.
According to school officials, the position is a crucial one. The district oversees tens of thousands of medical needs during the school year, a presentation by Henry Gideon, assistant superintendent of operations, reported.
2022–23 school year totals as of May 15 included: • 29,503 health office visits (3,500 sent home over 25,000 remained in school) • 13,295 medications administered • 4,309 hearing screenings
• 4,306 vision screenings • 1,500 spinal screenings • 2,600 medical responses • 38 emergency medical services calls • Extra duties such as being present at large district events. Recruitment for this position will begin soon, according to the district.
Source: Hutto Resource Center
