By Meghan McDermott
"We're at a point, and have been for a while, that we need to start having these conversations," said Tyler ISD Superintendent, Dr. Randy Reid.
Dr. Reid says the timing couldn't be better.
"We're about to enter phase three of our bond planning and as we move into that, if we're going to make any significant adjustments in what we do as a district, then obviously we need to have that plan in place before we start moving forward," said Reid.
He's starting with academics.
"We are improving as a district, our scores are improving, but they're not improving at a rate we're comfortable with," said Reid.
That's because the district is having to keep up with rapidly advancing state and federal standards.
"The bottom line is, we've got to move forward and do better," said Reid.
Financially speaking, Reid says the district is in good shape but they're 'maxed out'-- with a maximum tax rate in place and limited new money coming in.
Monica Orchard has two children at Bell elementary school and is active in the PTA. She sees an easy and free solution to the district's needs.
"Volunteers make a great impact," said Monica Orchard, Bell Elementary PTA President.
She says community member can fill in the gaps at school.
"Just anybody who can drop by and give an hour of their time to sit and listen to a child read or do that extra paperwork that the teacher needs done," said Orchard.
It's just one of many solutions being brought to the superintendent's desk.
"I've heard many times the definition of insanity is to keep doing what you've been doing and expect to get a different result. Time for us to look at some other options," said Reid.
One of the biggest fundamental issues facing secondary schools, says Reid, is the outdated agrarian model.
"We're still structured in a fashion of teaching reading, writing and arithmetic," said Reid.
Reid says that's important, but by the high school years students should be "career path ready."
"By the time our kids get to the secondary schools, they really need to be focused on where they're going to be when they graduate from high school," said Reid.
Extending the Career and Technology Program is one option.
"We have good quality CATE programs, I don't know that we're doing a good enough job of hooking our kids into those programs," Reid pointed out.
Overcrowding and uneven class size is the next order of business.
"Our secondary schools are now the ones that are chalked full of portable buildings and we have significant crowding," said Reid.
Especially in middle school. Reid points out that Hubbard and Moore Middle Schools are near 1,000 students, while the other four range from just 375 to a little more than 500 students.
"We're under court ordered de-segregation order that identifies where our children can go. The federal AYP rules have also hit us hard and create obstacles to us being able to just take a magic marker and change boundary lines," said Reid.
For Reid, no idea is off the table. Even the possibility of an intermediate campus, or a 9th and 10th grade campus, with a separate 11th and 12th grade campus.
"We all grew up in an age where things didn't change as rapidly as they do now. If you set your target on what's need in five years, five years from now things could look dramatically different than they do today," said Reid.
