AVERICKAVERICK insider

NOVEMBER 2017

A monthly look at the people and places that are the Marshall Independent School District

MARSHALLPROUD MAVERICKSTRONG

The Marshall High School Choir had 14 students named to the All-Region Choir this past Saturday, including multiple students who placed in the top 3 chairs of

their respective competition. Placing first at All-Region for Marshall were Sarah Craig in Alto 2, Jeremy Patter-son in Tenor 1 and D’Sherrick Williams in Tenor 2. Second-place finishers included Jada Hooker in Alto 2, Levi Smith in Bass 1 and Carson Carlile in Bass 2. Finishing in third place for Marshall was Samantha Reeves in Alto 1. Other All-Region selections for MHS included Ester Perez (10th) in Soprano 1; Nakayla Willie (5th) in Soprano 2; Heaven Woolen (7th) in Alto 2; Rickey Johnson (5th) in Tenor 1; Davion Williams (5th) in Tenor 2; Hilario Espinoza (2nd alternate) in Bass 1; and Khalil Wallace (4th) in Bass 2. These students will participate in a concert on Nov. 11 at Mt. Pleasant High School. They also advance to Pre-Area auditions which will take place on Nov. 28. Congratulations to all of these students!

MHS Choir studentsnab All-Region honors

Big Red Prideadvances to Area contestThe Marshall High School Big Red Pride Band

finished its marching contest season on Saturday, Oct. 28, by marching in the UIL Area Contest in Mesquite’s Memorial Stadium. The MHS Band did not advance to the finals, but nonetheless completed an outstanding season by going farther in competition than any Marshall band in over a decade. The Big Red Pride qualified for Area after scor-ing a First Division rating at the annual UIL Region 4 Marching Band Contest in Mt. Pleasant on Oct. 17. All three judges at the contest awarded Marshall a “1” rating for its performance. The band is under the direction of Mr. David Densmore, along with assistant directors Zachary Corbello, Carlos Maldo-nado, Colby Porter, Crystal Walker and Aaron Zeller. The Marshall band student participation level has grown at the varsity level from around 70 stu-dents on Densmore’s arrival in 2010 to a total of 136 marching at the Mt. Pleasant contest.

STATIONSEVERYONE

Brentley Smith, kindergarten student at Price T. Young Elementary, works at his computer station during Math Station.

Marshall High School senior Chandler Kelehan has been recognized as a

2017-2018 Wendy’s High School Heisman winner. Kelehan, a son of Dr. Shane and Sheryl Kelehan, was chosen by the Wendy’s High School Heisman committee as a student who “sets the bar, works harder, shows more passion and leads by example – in the classroom, on the field and within the community.” Kelehan is a senior wide receiver on the Maverick football team. He was also selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year for Academic Achievement at last spring’s annual ET Varsity Best Preps Banquet in Longview.

Since 1994, Wendy’s and the Heisman Trophy Trust have been running the same play to perfection: honoring more than 600,000 of the nation’s most esteemed students. This year, Wendy’s will celebrate the accomplishments of thousands of the best high school seniors, awarding win-ners in five phases. School Winners will receive a School Winner certificate and a Wendy’s High School Heisman Patch. State Finalists will receive a bronze medal, a Wendy’s High School Heisman State Finalist patch and a $25 gift card. The Wendy’s High School Heisman was created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas in 1994.

MHS senior Chandler Kelehan named Wendy’s High School Heisman winner

Leadership Development teams competeMarshall FFA’s Leadership Development

teams traveled to Alba-Golden High School Tuesday, Oct. 31, to compete against over 50 other teams from across the state for the first time this year.. Leadership Development Events focus on creating situations for members to demon-strate their abilities in public speaking, decision making, communication and their knowledge of agriculture and the FFA organi-zation. Team and individual events are used to reinforce what is taught in agricultural science classrooms. Marshall FFA was represented by 18 students competing in nine different contests Tuesday. These included: Agricultural Advocacy: This contest is designed to inform the general public and consumers about the importance and value of the agriculture industry and how agriculture impacts human lives. Marshall FFA’s Agricul-tural Advocacy team members include: Israel Gonzalez, Skylar Clark, Marrissa Williams, Jessica Stanford, and Michael Williams. Job Interview: At the competition, each member submits their resume, completes a job application for an agricultural position on site and participates in an interview via tele-

phone, in person one-on-one and with a panel of possible employers. The Marshall FFA Job Interview participant is Ja’Tana Sabboth. Creed Speaking: A member presents the FFA Creed from memory and answers ques-tions about its meaning and purpose. This event is just one way to boost self-confidence, earn recognition, and develop powerful, organized and professional communication skills. Our Senior Creed Speaker is Jackie Malinosky. Radio Broadcasting: A team of 3 mem-bers presents an informative radio program covering one or more agricultural subjects that is current in nature and local in content. The contest assumes that the chapter has a regularly scheduled non-commercial radio program once each month over a local station. Our Marshall FFA Radio Broadcasting Team includes Bailey Green, Jackie Malinosky, and Matthew Hasler. Public Relations: A team of between two and four FFA members develops and presents a 5-8 minute program to inform a specified target audience regarding the Texas FFA and what it represents. The presentation is devel-oped assuming that the target audience has no knowledge of the FFA. Team members are

asked questions in response to their program following the presentation. Marshall FFA’s Public Relations team is Jake Clark, Matthew Hasler, Ja’Tana Sabboth, and Chris Collier. FFA Quiz: An exam testing team members’ understanding of the FFA, agricultural educa-tion, current agricultural events and parlia-mentary procedure is given. Teams can be made of 3 or 4 members. There are Junior and Senior Teams in this contest. Marshall FFA’s Senior Team includes: Tallon Stevens, Jadden McMahon, and Mariah Cofield. The Junior Team is made up of Weston Smith, Marrissa Williams, and Jessica Stanford. FFA Skills: A team of 3-5 members per-forms an actual demonstration of an agricul-tural skill including anything in the Agricultur-al Science and Technology curriculum using effective public speaking and communication methods. The Marshall FFA Skills team is: Col-by Chambers, Katelynn Richardson, Zacarria Green, and Lane Howard. Marshall students will compete at two more invitational contests, open to all schools across the state no matter their size, before the district contest on Monday, Nov. 13, in Waskom. Marshall will be looking to advance from the district round to area.

Quiz Teams members Tallon Stevens, Weston Smith, Jadden McMahon, and Mariah Cofield

Radio Broadcasting Team members Matthew Hasler, Bailey Green, not pictured- Jackie

Malinosky.

Jr. Quiz Member Weston Smith.

Public Relations Team members Weston Smith, Jake Clark, Ja’Tana Sabboth,

Matthew Hasler.

Agricultural Advocacy Team members Marrissa Williams, Michael Smith, Skylar Clark, Israel Gonzalez, Jessica Stanford.

Senior Creed Speaker Jackie Malinosky

Marshall ISD held its first Special Programs Fair on Thursday, Oct. 26, at St. Joseph’s

School in Marshall with representatives from area agencies in attendance to share information on the resources offered to both students and families in the area. Parents in attendance also sat in on informa-tive meetings in the areas of Dyslexia, Speech and CTE (Career and Technology Education). Approximately 30 families attended the meeting, with MISD Special Programs expecting to make this an annual event. Vendors who participated in the event includ-ed Rainbow Smiles; WIC; Childrens’ Program; Alvarado; Community Healthcore; East Texas Baptist University; DaySprings; Adult Literacy; Women’s Center Star Youth Family Program; Tex-as Workforce; and Wellness Pointe.

Special Programs hosts community fairMISD Special Programs thanks our local vendors and agencies for attending the district’s Special Programs Fair.

Sharone Woolen, MISD Elementary Education Special Education Coordinator, talks with families attending the MISD Special Programs Fair.

Durrant named STEM CoordinatorMarshall ISD has announced that Dr. Dayan

Durrant is joining the district to serve as MISD’s new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Coordinator. Dr. Durrant joins the MISD family from Irving ISD, where he was an educator at the Jack E. Singley (STEM) Academy. Dr. Durrant taught Principles of Engineering and Robotics as part of the STEM program from August 2014 until the present. Dr. Durrant also taught Introduction to Engineering courses to fourth-year TexPREP students at the University of Dallas in the sum-mer of 2015. He has also served as an adjunct instructor at ITT Tech in Arlington as well as Westwood College in Fort Worth.

From October 2009-July 2014, Dr. Durrant taught Introduction to Engineering courses at Longview High School in Longview ISD. He also served as the Technology Students Association Sponsor in Longview, where his students won four consecutive state and national championships in competition from 2010-2013. He was also the school’s first Ro-botics sponsor, winning regional competition in 2011. While at Longview, Dr. Durrant also taught Algebra and Geometry. Outside of education, Dr. Durrant has also held positions as an architectural job captain for Cubellis, Inc., and was an Intern Architect and Project Manager-Vendor Coordinator for

Carter and Burgess, Inc./Jacobs Engineering. Dr. Durrant holds a B.S. degree in Manufac-turing and Industrial Engineering Technology with a minor in Math from Midwestern State University. He earned his M.Ed and Ed.D. in Educational Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University. Dr. Durrant, whose first day in MISD was Monday, will oversee operations in the dis-trict’s STEM program which is currently in its fourth year. The program began at the former South Marshall Elementary in 2014, but has since expanded now to the newly renovated Sam Houston Elementary and is currently in its first year of implementation at Marshall Junior High School.

MISD TRANSPORTATION

Breast cancer survivorshonored with receptionMarshall ISD’s Transportation Department took some time recently to

honor survivors of breast cancer during a special reception held Oct. 27. The event included words of encouragement from Dr. Jerry Gibson, MISD Superintendent; Hutcherson Hill, MISD Assistant Superintendent; Sellanise Sherman, MISD Director of Transportation; Curla Holmes, Maintenance Sec-retary; and Pastor Kenneth Adams. Merita Dunn sang a solo of “Wind Beneath My Wings,” and following the lighting of candles the event culiminated with a special balloon release.

MHS Debate brings home awardsfrom Carthage HS InvitationalMarshall High School’s Maver-

ick Speech and Debate team brought home several top honors from a competition held this past Saturday in Carthage. Marshall’s Regina Murry finished second overall in Poetry, with Ishme-rai Gonzalez bringing home a third-place finish in Persuasive Speaking. In Cross Examination Debate, Haley Hurd and Cloe Carter finished sixth out of 24 competitors, and Ilse Torres also finished sixth in both

Prose and Informative Speaking. “It was a great weekend for a lot of our young competitors,” said Mar-shall coach Kenneth Adcock. “I was incredibly pleased with the showing not only from my young students but my returners who know what is expected of the team when we go to contest.” Marshall is scheduled to compete at Lindale High School on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Gifted/Talented referralprocess now underwayMarshall ISD is looking for children in grades K-12

who are ready for advanced work, who perform at an outstanding level, and who exhibit unusual thinking skills as the district kicks off the Gifted and Talented referral process this month. Parents who would like to provide their students with the opportunity to be considered for MISD’s Gifted and Talented (G/T) program, referral packets are available at each campus. Referrals for kinder-garten will be accepted Nov. 1-Dec. 2, with referrals for grades 1-12 being accepted staring Nov. 1 until Dec. 22. Testing for kindergarten students will begin in January, and students who qualify will begin re-ceiving services by March 1. Testing for students in grades 1-12 will begin in May and the qualifying students will begin receiving services in August. For more information regarding the MISD G/T program, contact Mrs. Lauren Thrasher, MISD RtI, Intervention and Advanced Academic Coordinator, at 903-927-8700.

HURRICANE RELIEF HOT TOPIC

School districts ravaged by Hurricane Harvey still need thousands of textbooks, dictionaries and other instructional resources, so the

Texas Education Agency is borrowing a page from the wedding indus-try to help cover the costs. TEA has modified its textbook ordering system to create a “wed-ding registry” of sorts, where districts can list the textbooks they need to replace those damaged in the storm. Textbook publishers, individuals or organizations can then donate the books, as can school districts that have excess inventory. “It was very clear that a lot of people lost a great amount of instruc-tional materials, including textbooks,” Education Commissioner Mike Morath said. “If you consider the scale of Harvey, (the registry) is not solving everyone’s problems, but it is helping in places.” The registry is meant to match districts in need with those willing to donate, and officials say those donations will free up money to cover other costs, such as rebuilding schools. But the chairman of the House Public Education Committee ques-tions the approach, expressing concerns over delays in instruction as schools wait for the textbooks to arrive, and the impact that will have on student learning. “If we had books that have been destroyed, then the state needs to step up and take care of that problem,” said Chairman Dan Huberty, R-Humble. Commissioner Morath informed legislators about the registry, and how it works, at a recent committee hearing. “Have all the districts’ needs been met?” Chairman Huberty asked. “No,” Commissioner Morath said, noting that many school districts are filing insurance claims and working to obtain books and instruc-tional materials from other districts. “Hold one second, you are talking about instructional materials that we need to teach the children what they need to learn today,” Chair-man Huberty said. “The schools are making insurance claims, but to date they don’t have those materials.” Chairman Huberty commended Commissioner Morath for his efforts to help districts affected by the hurricane, but he said the state should “go buy the books and send us the bill.”

STILL HOLDING OUT HOPE

The Vidor school superintendent remains hopeful that the Texas Ed-ucation Agency will ease its accountability standards this year—at

least for those students whose lives have been disrupted by Hurricane Harvey. Superintendent Jay Killgro says tackling state achievement stan-dards remains secondary to many Vidor students, in the aftermath of

hurricane damage.

“They’re out of their homes; they’re stressed out; they’re living with family, many of them; they’re displaced,” said Dr. Killgro. Hurricane flooding has shut down two Vidor middle schools, as repairs continue to be made. “To expect them to perform at those high expectations during such a stressful year just seems too much,” says Dr. Killgro. Dr. Killgro says that he’s having ongoing dialogue with TEA officials about the pressures Vidor students are facing in preparing to take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness next spring. He’d like to see modifications to the way that student test scores on STAAR are counted—if they are counted at all. So far, Education Commissioner Mike Morath has refused to budge on requests by local school officials to relax the state accountability standards for 2018.

NO MEANS NO

The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont has denied a request by the Kountze school district to reconsider its earlier ruling that its cheer-

leaders’ displaying Bible verses on banners at high school football games is constitutionally protected speech. Kountze’s cheerleaders prevailed last September, when the appeals court ruled that the Bible verse banners were protected personal speech. Attorneys for Kountze asked the court to reconsider its decision, claiming the nearly five-year-old case became moot on March 24. That’s when the last of the seven cheerleaders represented in the lawsuit failed to make the 2017-2018 squad. The girl is expected to graduate in May 2018. Since none of the girls will ever cheer for Kountze again, the dis-trict’s attorneys argued the issue is no longer valid. Kountze attorneys also argued that the appeals court made a mistake when deciding the cheerleaders’ run-through banners are not government speech under previous rulings in 2015 and 2000. “The court’s opinion, that the run-through banners are neither government speech nor school-sponsored speech, leads to absurd results,” argued the district, unsuccessfully, in its court filing. But the appeals court decision stands—for now. A group of cheerleaders in 2012 began painting Bible verses on their run-through banners at high school football games, prompting the Freedom From Religion Foundation to file the initial complaint with the Kountze school district. The cheerleaders and school district have spent the past several years going back and forth about who is responsible for the Bi-ble-based messages, and whether it’s legally permissible.

November 2, 2017 • By Andy WelchA Service of the Texas School Public Relations Association

FACES IN THE CROWDA “Wizard of Oz” theme for Homecoming definitely proves “there’s no place like home” at our new

Marshall Junior High School!

ABEAUTIFULDAYINTHENEIGHBORHOODPrice T. Young Elementary staff participated in their Neighborhood Walk to visit the homes of students on Oct. 11. The staff introduced themselves and spent time with the families of our students while talking about upcoming

events and what parents can do to help their students.

CHOICESCHOICESSam Houston Elementary counselor Lula Waskom planned an amazing College and Career Day for our students!

The students rotated to stations and heard about various career opportunities and participated in special activities. A special thanks to all community members who particpated!

The Marshall ISD Department of Financial Services oversees the operation of all financial and business affairs of the district, including accounting, payroll, purchasing and accounts payable. MISD is dedicat-ed to providing our stakeholders with a clear and consistent financial picture of the district. MISD has consistently earned a Superior rating in the annual Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) report by the Texas Education Agen-cy. As required by law, the district held an annual public hearing to publicize the most recent School FIRST rating on Dec. 19, 2016. The district has also received a Gold Leadership Circle from the Texas Comptroller’s Office for financial transparency.

TAX RATEThe Marshall ISD Board of Trustees annually adopts a tax rate which can be broken down into two separate rates: a Maintenance and Operations rate (M&O) and an Interest and Sinking rate (I&S). On August 31, 2017, the Board of Trustees adopted a tax of $1.33 per $100 valuation for the 2017-2018 school year. This tax rate was broken down as follows:

• Maintenance & Operations ($1.04) • Interest & Sinking ($0.29)

Although these rates are combined to arrive at the total tax rate, the rates are set for very specific and different purposes. The M&O portion of the rate is set to provide funds for the maintenance and operations costs of the district. Maintenance and operations costs include things such as:

• Compensation and wages paid to employees • Supplies and materials needed in every function-al area of the district • Maintenance and repairs to facilities, equip-ment,vehicles and any other property owned by the district • Payments for utilities such as electricity and

water • School buses and fuel to transport students • Technology and computers used by staff and students throughout the district • Library books

The I&S portion of the tax rate provides funds for principal and interest payments made on the debt that financed the District’s facilities. For more information on these specific tax rates, please contact the Department of Business and Financial Services at 903-927-8708.

BOND PROJECTS School bond elections are held for voters to consider proposed construction and capital im-provement projects. Similar to a family’s mortgage, school districts issue loans, known as bonds, to pay for capital expenditures such as buildings, buses, technology improvements, etc. The district pays back the debt long-term, similar to a home mortgage. Like a mortgage, bonds allow the cost of facilities to be paid for over a timeline that approxi-mates the useful life of the facilities. Bonds are sold by a school district in the public securities markets to raise funds to pay for the costs of constructions, renovations and equipment. Most school districts in Texas utilize bonds to finance renovations and new facilities. Districts repay the bonds through revenue generated from a debt service property tax. A district’s voters must approve capital improvement bonds issued by a school district. Under Texas law, bond funds may only be used to pay for non-recurring expenditures for items with a useful life of more than one year, such as new buildings, additions and renovations to existing facilities, purchasing land, and equipment for new or existing buildings. Bond funds CANNOT be used for employee salaries, operating costs such as utility bills, supplies, fuel, and insurance. The Marshall In-dependent School District, like all other districts in Texas, uses its Maintenance and Operations (M&O)

budget to fund salaries, curriculum and other oper-ating expenses. The M&O budget includes annual expenditures such as payroll, utilities, supplies and other costs as-sociated with the ongoing operations of the school district. While districts may be able to address smaller capital items using the M&O, or General Fund, school districts do not receive enough fund-ing to cover the cost of large construction and/or renovation projects like those proposed in a bond program. On May 9, 2015, voters in the Marshall Inde-pendent School District approved a bond package totaling $109,210,000. The bond package funded the construction of new schools, renovations and grade-level realignment in the district. This bond allowed MISD to build a new junior high school to serve students in grades 6-8; three new elementary schools to serve students in grades K-5; and provide renovations to repurpose the current Sam Houston Middle School into a grades K-5 STEM Academy. All projects in this bond program were com-pleted and are now in operation for the Fall 2017 semester.

Mrs. Kristin ByrdAssistant Superintendent for Business and Financial Services903-927-8708byrdk@marshallisd.com

Did You Know?Each month the Maverick Insider will highlight a program, organization or initiative in MISD or an issue facing Texas public

education to educate our community!

Financial Services

CONTACT

Five Marshall High School Lady Mavs have been named to the 2017 All-District 16-5A team released Nov. 1.

The team was determined through nominations and voting by dis-trict head coaches. Senior Gabby Moore was named first-team all-district after a sea-son that saw her post a team-high 207 assists to go along with 101 digs and 29 aces. Sophomore Chloe Buchanan earned second-team honors after posting a team-high 261 digs.

Junior Kiari Johnson was named honorable mention all-district after finishing tied for the team lead in kills with 85 and also led the Lady Mavs with 24 blocks and 31 aces. Freshman Emily Ellenburg and sophomore Elizabeth Palmer were also named honorable mention all-district. Moore, Buchanan, Johnson, and Palmer were joined on the District 16-5A All-Academic team by sophomore Cate Truelove, sophomore Maycee Griffin, junior Keara Irving and senior Jasmine Mitchell.

Five Lady Mavs named All-District 16-5A

FACES IN THE CROWDHomecoming at MHS is always a special time in the life of all Mavericks, and 2017 was no exception.

PERFECTDAYArison Neighbors, Christopher Ventura and Yonathan Martinez had fun celebrating perfect attendance at William B. Travis Elementary! Thanks to our friends at Mobberley Baptist Church for helping us celebrate!

The award-winning Wiley College Debate team, home of the famous “Great Debaters,” visited Marshall High School’s Speech and Debate team to begin actively working with and mentoring MHS students in the art of debate! MHS Debate coach Kenneth Adcock expressed his appreciation to Wiley’s debaters for their willing-ness to come and work with his students.

**GIVE THE GIFT OF WARMTH**

DONATIONS CAN BE DROPPED OFF AT THE LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER OR TAKEN TO ANY CAMPUS OFFICE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT KASI BURGES IN THE SPECIAL

PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT AT EXT 1035

COOLBREEZES

Bo Carroll, Nichole Hastings, El Carroll & Christian Mills enjoy a cool crisp morning before school at Wil-liam B. Travis Elementary!