The Magnolia Independent School District (MISD) approved a pre-kindergarten flexibility resolution due to recent funding reductions at its regular school board meeting on May 9.

If the resolution were to be made legal through the Texas Legislature, MISD would then be able to change Pre-K class scheduling in order to remove a mid-day bus route.

Currently, Pre-K students are either enrolled in the morning session or afternoon session, which demands an additional bus route at mid-day to transport morning session children home and afternoon children to school.

The resolution would change Pre-K from a half day program to a full day program and cut transportation costs by $241,000 a year on gas, according to Trustee Glenn Addison.

In addition, Pre-K students would not need a five day school week if their schedule changed to full days. Students would attend full day Pre-K classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every other week and Tuesday and Thursday on alternating weeks.

Addison said another option would be to eliminate the mid-day bus route and leave the responsibility of picking up morning session children and dropping off afternoon session children up to the parents and guardians.

MISD is expecting a significant reduction in funding levels for the next biennium. The district is facing a $12 million shortfall after the Texas Legislature is considering cutting education funding by nearly $10 billion in its next budget.

The district has already laid off 115 teachers and support staff, but MISD is continuing to find areas to cut costs. The Pre-K flexibility resolution passed unanimously, showing support from all members.

“MISD is attempting to utilize every efficiency available to maximize available resources for the educations of students in MISD,” as stated in the resolution. “Flexibility in scheduling and attendance accounting procedures could maximize transportation efficiencies and divert extra resources back to the classrooms.”

According to Trustee Deborah Rose Miller, the next step is to submit the resolution to the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). She said they are currently in the process of collecting resolutions.

Other schools will able to view the resolution during this process and support or adopt it as well, creating a larger impact among Texas schools, she explained.

Residents wanting to voice their opinion should contact their state representative or senator. For more information, visit tasb.org.

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