Grapeland ISD New Superintendent Works on Salaries for District
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Independent School District (GISD) held a board meeting Monday, April 10 at the junior high library. The new superintendent, Dr. David Maass presented the board with his preliminary thoughts after his first week on the job and discussed leveling out district salaries to keep the district competitive.
During the public comments, a local resident asked the board to reinstate a bus stop near her house which was recently moved further down the road. She told the board the walk home now was dangerous for kids but understood the bus route had been changed because of the state of the road and the ability of busses to get in and out of the area. The long time bus driver of the route spoke and said he had run that route for years and could pick up the kids and drop them off no problem. The board promised to get the matter taken care of.
The Messenger also reminded the board of the candidate forum for Grapeland ISD it will hold with the Grapeland Chamber of Commerce at The Station, Monday, April 24 at 6 p.m.
Candidates for Grapeland ISD school board:
Position 1 – Brad Spisak (I), Travis Brown
Position 2 – Twila Ibarra, T.C. Howard
Position 5 – Josh Goolsby (I), Cannon Vickers
Questions for each person running for the school board:
1. Please tell us about yourself and your background.
2. What do you consider the greatest challenge facing Grapeland schools and what would you do to improve it?
3. How do you think you can best assist the new Superintendent?
4. How can Grapeland schools better prepare our kids for the modern workplace?
5. How do you think the new four-day school week will affect education and performance at Grapeland?
6. Why you? Why now?
Dr. Maass then presented a study of GISD’s salary structure showing teachers who have been with the district longer tend to make more than similar and local districts, while some make less in the short term. Maass told the board he would like to make a plan to modify this and added the district has almost completed filling open positions for the new school year.
The board announced upcoming events such as the GISD band concert to be held Friday, April 21 at the Shoultz Auditorium at at 6 p.m. along with a fundraising cake auction. The concert is titled “Friday Night at the Movies.”
The next school board meeting will be Monday, May 8 with a special meeting the next day to canvass the votes from the May 6 election.
The board finished by giving Dr. Maass authority to hire personnel through August 2023, arguing this would allow him to hire quicker, give security to teachers wanting to come to Grapeland from other districts, allow him to go after more certified and better qualified candidates and sign contracts faster.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
