The Blanco High School baseball field will be dedicated in honor of Coach Bryan Wyatt after a unanimous vote by the Blanco ISD trustees last week.
A moving presentation by athletic director Jamie Dixon told board members of Wyatt’s 39 years of service with the school district. His baseball feats in clude 793 wins, 23 district titles, 84 playoff victories, three state tournament appearances and two state finalist appearances. He is currently ranked fourth in wins among active baseball coaches in the state.
Wyatt has taught world his tory for 41 years. He’s well respected among the students, being named teacher of the year, Dixon said, and invited to be a commencement speaker multiple times. Dixon acknowledged that naming a field after an individual can set a precedent. He added that the district could find a way to honor remarkable former Panthers by way of a wall of honor, including national sports figures, a Pulitzer Prize winner and others.
A review of the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) for 2023-24 was presented by Assistant Superintendent Brad Kinney. The report contains a range of information on performance of students on each campus and district in Texas. The report includes information on performance broken out by ethnicity and low-income status. Teacher experience and compensation (excluding individual salaries) is also included in the report, as well as student profile information. At Blanco, 45.8% of students in the district are identified as economically disadvantaged, special education students make up 15.2% of students, and 37.3% of students are categorized as at risk, meaning these students are likely to struggle academically or drop out of school. The full report is available online at https:// blancoisd.com/accountability.
Trustee Aaron Lux expressed his opinion that attempting to measure a student’s “full knowledge based on one day in a single test on a computer” may not be the fairest or most accurate way to evaluate schools or teachers, but it’s “what we have”. He asked what these findings can tell the district about ways to improve. Some new testing strategies have been undertaken in the last year, as well as some additional certifications and course work that may help address the test performance.
The tax sales excess proceeds in the amount of $12,721.52 was presented to the board after a presentation and explanation of the process by attorney Carrie Pickering of Linebarger law firm.
The Blanco Sheriff’s Office gave an update on the school resource officer program, which has hired three SROs in the six-month period since the partnership between Blanco ISD and the department began. A presentation of the financials included an overview of the basic allotment, which is set by the Texas legislature. The allotment was $4,765 in 2009-2013 and has been fixed at $6,160 since 2019. Insurance, utilities, fuel and SROs are general fund items which have steadily been impacted by inflation, which has increased by 22%. Texas ranks 46th in the nation for per pupil spending. The national average is $17,277. Texas ranks in the bottom 10 in spending at $11,833. The in-depth presentation also explained tax history, enrollment data, payroll and staffing and more.
A bond election is set for May and community meetings will happen before then, likely in April. The 2025-2026 school calendar was approved, as was a large cumulative purchase for fencing projects around the district. The projects were funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) grants. The three places (5, 6 and 7) on the board that were up for election were uncontested so the trustee election for May 3 has been canceled.
Recognitions of students of the month were Lillian Gomez for Blanco Elementary School, Piper Russell for Blanco Middle School and Landry Meyer for Blanco High School. The teacher of the month was Teresa Hawkins, and Vance Loggins was the staff member of the month.
