Richardson ISD Trustees held a regular meeting the evening of Nov. 7, with a variety of topics on the agenda. Highlights included:
2025 Legislative Priorities Adopted
In advance of the 89th Texas Legislative Session, expected to begin in January, 2025, RISD Trustees discussed and adopted the district’s legislative priorities. The priorities will be shared with the elected legislators who represent RISD, and can serve as guidance for formal district positions on legislation as the 89th session progresses. RISD legislative priorities include:
- Legislation that modifies the Discipline Code (TEC Chapter 37) to allow local school districts to more effectively handle student discipline
- Legislation that fully restores House Bill 3 (2019) funding levels and that will increase the basic allotment
- Legislation that provides funding to address student needs and higher costs due to inflation that includes:
- Special Education
- Student and School Safety
- Workforce Development
- Pre-Kindergarten
- Operations expenses
- Legislation to address recruiting and retaining teachers
- Legislation to improve the state’s testing and accountability system
Learn more about RISD’s 2025 Legislative Priorities
Positive Annual District Audit
RISD trustees approved the results of the annual comprehensive audit of RISD finances after a presentation by the district’s external auditors, Weaver LLC.
State law requires all school districts be audited annually. The audit evaluates RISD’s internal controls over critical areas as well as compliance with laws and regulations. Some of these areas include human resources, payroll, procurement, accounts payable and information technology.
The audit, known as the annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR), shows RISD received an unmodified or “clean” opinion, meaning all “financial statements are correct in all material aspects.” Auditors found no material weakness, no significant deficiencies, nor any instances of noncompliance. “We’re pleased to share these results, and commend the hard work of RISD’s business services team,” said audit partner Sara Dempsey.
Watch the ACFR presentation and discussion
Leadership and Professional Learning Update
Trustees heard a comprehensive report from the Leadership & Intervention team about the district’s ongoing professional learning and leadership development efforts for employees. As directed by the district’s North Star Goal, RISD takes professional learning and employee growth very seriously, offering more than 700 professional learning sessions to staff so far in 2024-25, tailored to employees across a wide variety of different district roles. Efforts begin each summer and extend throughout the school year, focusing on timely, relevant, and applicable learning to help employees excel in their duties to support and drive student achievement, and reach individual growth goals.
In addition, the L&I team offers a variety of opportunities for employees in the development of leadership skills to help equip and prepare them for growth opportunities and advancement within the organization. Leadership training cohorts range from paraprofessionals to executive directors, with an emphasis on continuous growth and improvement.
Watch the Leadership and Professional Learning presentation and discussion
