EDUCATION: YEAR-IN-REVIEW
The Taylor and Hutto independent school districts stayed busy this past year with a celebration of a centennial anniversary, changing leadership, growing populations and considering legal action against a state agency.
Year of the Duck — a century of history
The year 2024 marks a century since the Taylor Independent School District has been the home of the Ducks, and some folks are only too happy to quack about it.
History began on Nov. 5, 1924, when the Taylor football team was first referred to as “Drake’s Ducks” after Coach C. R. Drake led the players through a rainy game.
To celebrate the anniversary, the school district held a series of festivities, from a festival-like convocation to kick off the 2024-25 academic year on Aug. 5 to Communications and Community Liaison Tim Crow sharing his encyclopedic Duck knowledge with crowds at the Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Aug. 19 and the Williamson Museum on Dec. 11.
Hutto ISD hires new ‘head Hippo’
After just seven months in the position, Superintendent Raúl Peña resigned from the Hutto Independent School District on April 26.
Four months later, on Aug. 27, Jeni Neatherlin from the Granger Independent School District was hired as the new “head Hippo.”
Neatherlin said she hopes to create an enduring legacy for Hutto schools.
School districts impacted by growth
Taylor ISD could be running out of room by 2030 unless more facilities are built, according to a recent demographic study presented Aug. 16.
Officials in the past have said much of the growth is being driven by the emergence of area high-tech hubs, anchored by the presence of the multibillion-dollar Samsung Austin Semiconductor facility in Taylor.
In Hutto ISD, expansion is being addressed as the school district works through plans for new facilities, including the recently opened Gus Almquist Middle School, the coming completion of Lee Martinez Elementary School and the pending transformation of the Ninth Grade Center into a full-fledged second high school.
Second accountability lawsuit weighs on Hutto ISD minds
A redesign of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness prompted Texas school districts to launch a second lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency in August 2024.
More than 30 districts have joined over concerns about the validity of the test, as ratings are largely based on students’ scores.
Hutto ISD is one of 120 school districts that sued the agency in August 2023 to protest changes to the school accountability system, which is on an A-F “grading” scale and provided stricter college and career readiness benchmarks in January 2023.
The school districts have argued in the filing the agency did not give enough notice before introducing the stricter standards to allow them to adjust, therefore affecting ratings.
At its Oct. 24 school board meeting, Hutto ISD tabled the decision to join the second suit to gather more information.
It will continue its participation in the 2023 lawsuit against the state agency.
