One re-elected trustee and one newly-elected trustee took the oath of office at last Monday’s Whitesboro ISD school board meeting.
Shannon Blake and Eddie Wood were both sworn in by Sandra Lloyd, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent. The board then voted on its officers for the coming school year.
Wood moved to nominate Blake for President while Kevin Hartless moved to nominate Jeff Patterson for President. Hartless, Michael Hinsley, Austin Miles and Aaron Park voted in favor of Patterson, with Wood and Blake voting in favor of Blake. Patterson was elected as Board President for 2025-2026 school year.
Hinsley moved to nominate Hartless for Vice President. No other nominations for Vice President were made, so Hartless was elected unanimously as Board Vice President for the 2025-
2026 school year.
Wood moved to nominate Miles for Secretary. No other nominations for secretary were made and Miles was elected unanimously as Board Secretary for 2025-2026 school year.
Next, the board discussed continuing plans for the bond projects. Mike Allison with Red Tree Investments presented information to the board regarding bond investment funds. He recommended the district approve a contract with Ehlers Investment Partners, in the amount not to exceed $25,000. The board unanimously agreed to approve a contract with Ehlers Investment Partners for investments in State Local Government Securities.
Then, the board voted to consider all matters incident and related to the issuance of and sale of “Whitesboro Independent School District Unlimited Tax School Building Bonds, Series 2025.” This includes the adoption of an order authorizing the issuance of such bonds, establishing parameters for the sale and issuance of such bonds and delegating certain matters to authorized District officials.
Robert Black, senior estimator with WRA Architects, shared information with the board during a workshop on the bids received for the Auditorium, CTE wings and site projects with a total amount of $41,360,982. A motion was made by Park and seconded by Wood to delegate the Superintendent and board president to enter into contract negotiations with selected contractors, finalize the terms and conditions of the contract and to further authorize the Board President to execute the contract on behalf of the board and the district. The motion carried unanimously.
The board also voted to authorize WISD Superintendent Ryan Harper to send a letter on behalf of the district to Pentex Utilities requesting that the ECC fall under the utility jurisdiction of the City of Whitesboro leaving the Ag barn and high school additions to remain with Pentex. The motion carried unanimously.
The board also approved the following:
- Updates to the teacher pay scale that was approved in May 2025.
- Updates to the small inclusion playground at Hayes Primary School in an amount up to $30,000.
- Updates to the HVAC unit in the sixth grade hallway at Whitesboro Middle School. (The maintenance department has already purchased a part to fix the system, however if it does not solve the problem. The board needs to approve up to $300,000 to replace the system.)
- A teacher contract for Brett Brooks at Whitesboro Intermediate School for the 2025-2026 school year.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Grayson County for the services of Ad valorem tax assessing and collecting.
Additionally, a motion was made by Hinsley and seconded by Park to publish the proposed tax rate in the Whitesboro News-Record on July 31, 2025. The motion carried unanimously.
The board also unanimously agreed to set the budget and tax rate hearing date of August 11, 2025.
The board unanimously agreed to cancel the regular scheduled July board meeting.
Monday’s meeting ended with campus and department updates from principals and administrators.