Sylvia Wood

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Articles

Report: Many Mandates on School Districts Don't Address Funding | TASB

Jan 14, 2025 | tasb.org | Sylvia Wood

A key takeaway from TASA | TASB’s updated Report on School District Mandates: Cost Drivers in Public Education is the number of laws and regulations that govern how public schools operate, from instructional programs to parental/student notifications and public notices. The biennial report was recently published on TASB’s website, after including new mandates passed during the 88th Texas Legislature that ended in 2023.
Attendance drives student success and state funding

Jul 31, 2024 | tasb.org | Sylvia Wood

As the new school year kicks off, there’s not a public school district in Texas where administrators won’t be carefully tracking student attendance. Not only do higher absences equal poorer student outcomes, but they also amount to fewer dollars for school districts – often, more than $45 per child for every day missed. “People think that a few days missed here and there doesn’t really matter,” said Jamey Hynds, Katy ISD assistant superintendent of Finance.
Supporting Public Schools

Jun 28, 2024 | tasb.org | Melissa Roberts |Sylvia Wood

As important as public schools are to the students and families they serve, they also play an enormous role in the Texas communities where they are located. Just as each Texas town is unique, so is the local district and what it means to its residents.
Check Out TASB’s Toolkit for Strong Budget Discussions

May 22, 2024 | tasb.org | Sylvia Wood

In this current financial environment of stagnant state funding and inflationary price increases, the work of adopting a budget is expected to be more challenging than ever with many school boards in Texas having to make tough decisions about staffing and programs.
Rapid evaluation of habitat connectivity change to safeguard multispecies persistence in human-transformed landscapes

Nov 24, 2023 | biorxiv.org | Jacqueline Oehri |Sylvia Wood |Brian Leung |Eluna Touratier

AbstractProtecting habitat connectivity in fragmented landscapes is essential for safeguarding biodiversity and nature's contributions to people. Following the Post-2020 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) there is a clear science-policy need to assess habitat connectivity and track its change over time to inform conservation planning.
Districts Face Rising Property Insurance Costs

Nov 2, 2023 | tasb.org | Sylvia Wood

by Sylvia Wood First, high winds blew off a cafeteria roof at Hearne ISD. A hailstorm later caused significant damage, followed by a flood in the high school caused by Winter Storm Uri in 2021, and then another costly hailstorm a year later. “We get real nervous around here when the sky gets dark,” said Jay Davis, Hearne ISD executive director of operations. The district, located about 20 miles north of Bryan-College Station, isn’t alone in worrying about what the weather can do to property.
TASB Gives Practical Guidance on New Laws

Aug 10, 2023 | tasb.org | Sylvia Wood

by Sylvia Wood With the new school year fast approaching or already underway in some districts, school boards may be wondering what they need to do to be in compliance with all the new laws passed during the 88th Regular Session that impact school district operations. The timing of regular and special sessions of the Texas legislature leaves a narrow window for districts to digest and implement the new laws.
New Program Seeking to Bring Increased Cell Connectivity to Texas School Districts

May 16, 2023 | tasb.org | Sylvia Wood

The Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. (TASB) announced a new wireless infrastructure program from TASB exclusive provider Diamond Communications, a private wireless infrastructure company, with the goal of bringing increased cell connectivity to Texas public school districts.