Dear Aledo ISD Community

Dear Aledo ISD Community - 

The Aledo ISD Board of Trustees took the second of two important actions in the last two weeks on Monday regarding the Texas legislature and fighting for Texas public schools. We believe this is very important for our community to know and to follow along with as the Texas Legislature will be meeting in a special session beginning October 9 that will likely be focused on public schools and could have a significant impact on Aledo ISD.

During a special called meeting on Monday, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to join a lawsuit with more than 100 districts statewide over TEA ratings, and on September 19, we unanimously passed a resolution against taxpayer-funded private school vouchers.

The lawsuit, filed initially by Kingsville ISD, is in response to the TEA substantially changing the accountability rating system, making the 2023 ratings based on a different set of rules than the 2022 ratings. The measures and methods used to rate school districts has yet to be finalized and therefore wasn’t - and still hasn’t been - provided to school districts before the 2022-2023 school year, which is a violation of state law. In addition, state law requires the Texas Commissioner of Education to release state accountability ratings for districts and schools by August 15 of each year, which did not occur.

The TEA was set to release the 2023 ratings on September 28 but announced on September 12 that they would delay their release “to conduct further analyses of the growth data” and make adjustments as necessary. Aledo ISD and districts across the state may see their ratings significantly change this year despite seeing growth in student results. 

“In my eyes, what the TEA is doing is misrepresenting the performance of our students and the work of our teachers,” Board President Forrest Collins said. “While this is a specific lawsuit targeting [accountability], for me it’s about so much more [including] the loss of control we have over our independent school district because the state is taking that control. To me, it’s: enough is enough. We have had enough.”

We made it clear on Monday that our district and staff as well as the Aledo ISD community hold very high standards for how Aledo schools serve children. That’s what we call Growing Greatness. 

Jennifer Taylor said at the meeting, “We don’t shy away from high standards and we’re not scared to raise the bar on our students and how they perform,” she said. “That is how we’re growing greatness here in this district. What we don’t do is expect our children to perform to an invisible standard, one that doesn't exist yet, and we don’t want to do that to our teachers either.”

During the September 19 regular board meeting, Trustees passed a resolution against taxpayer-funded private school vouchers. In the resolution, we point out as reasons we are against vouchers: 

Private schools are not required to meet the same academic standards as public schools, and they do not report test results, graduation rates and other performance measures to the public.

Education savings accounts and other voucher schemes eliminate public accountability of schools and tax dollars.

Texas parents who accept a voucher would lose out on a long list of important parental rights outlined in the Texas Education Code and in federal law, especially protections for students receiving special education services.

Diverting funds away from an already-underfunded Texas public school system into a voucher system will have a ripple effect on our Aledo schools in many ways. We urge you to stay aware as the work of lawmakers in this special session unfolds.

We have been and will continue to advocate for our school children and staff in Aledo ISD. We hope you will join us in making sure that we all have the ability to continue growing greatness in this community. 

All in, 

Forrest Collins, Board President

Jessica Brown, Board Vice President

David Lear, Board Secretary

Jennifer Loftin, Trustee

Jennifer Taylor, Trustee

Zach Tarrant, Trustee

Hoyt Harris, Trustee