EARLY – During Monday night’s meeting, two new members took the oath of office and joined the Early ISD Board of Trustees.

Jonathan McCullough was voted on May 4 to take over Place 1 from Chance Barr, while Larin Hair was voted to supplant Robert Wade for Place 2.

After the new additions were sworn in, a vote was held to determine new officers. Sandy Benson was voted as the new President, Christina Pruett was voted Vice President and Rob Welker was voted Secretary.

Barr, the former president of the board, and Wade were presented plaques for their service before exiting their positions.

Also during the meeting, the Board approved posting a recommended tax rate of 0.7925 – the same as the concluding school year – and an Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rate of 0.3350 for the 2024-25 school year.

The board also determined June 12 would be the date for a budget workshop, while the next meeting of the board on June 10 will serve as an opportunity to interview candidates for the Superintendent position, which is currently being occupied on an interim basis by Lloyd Treadwell.

During the Athletic Director’s report, outgoing head football coach and athletic director Daniel Price announced that four coaches have been hired for girls athletics. The names of the new coaches were not revealed during the public portion of the meeting.

The meeting began with the UIL Class 3A state champion One-Act Play being recognized by the Board of Trustees, who presented certificates to each member of the cast, crew, and staff.

Following the recognition of the One-Act Play, the floor was open for public comments where Kristie Speck addressed the board regarding classes that are no longer being offered due to a teacher shortage and how that will impact Early’s academic record. With some advanced classes being eliminated, that would adversely affect students’ abilities to enter colleges and universities in a better standing that recent graduates of Early High School have experienced.