Long Gets Raise; Hoch New Hire

                 Meeting in regular session Jan. 11, the GCISD board gave Superintendent Steve Long a $2,500 raise and extended his contract two years. His salary will be $84,500 and his total contract is for three years.

                The board also hired Amy Hoch as a math teacher with coaching duties, according to Long. He said that for this semester, her coaching will mostly be assisting with girls’ basketball, tennis and track. Hoch is a 1997 graduate of Garden City High School. She has a B.B.A. in marketing from Texas A & M (2001) and gained teacher certification in math from Texas Tech (2005).

                Hoch taught math and coached at New Deal ISD (2003-04) and at Tahoka ISD (2004-05). She taught world geography, American history and speech, along with coaching, at Petersburg ISD (2005-06) and has been a math teacher/coach at Permian High School in Odessa from 2006 to the present.

Another Bond Election Possible

                The board discussed the possibility of another bond election, but no decision was made. A bond referendum of $12 million failed in May 2009.

                Board members agreed that the school staff has done great work in making improvements to the physical plant, but much more needs to be done. Board Member Doug Jost said the big items which are needed haven’t gone away, and Long mentioned the need for at least two new route busses and replacing some other high-mileage vehicles which are used to transport kids.

              The board wants to take a walk-through of the entire campus before deciding whether to call a bond election.

                Elementary School Principal Randy Gartman said the first grade is now up to 23 students, with the cut-off number being 22 in grades four and under. He suggested, rather than splitting the class, that Cassie Jost continue to co-teach it with Tanya Multer, like they did in the fall when Jost was student teaching. He said this would satisfy state requirements without actually splitting the class into two groups. Jost finished her degree at U.T.P.B. in December, is now certified, and most recently has been substituting for Phyllis Byrne. The board agreed that sounded like a good idea.

                Long reported that someone with the school’s Austin legal firm of Schwartz & Eichelbaum is working on an oil and gas lease form for the school and she will negotiate it with Laredo Energy.

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