The Azle ISD community voted to pass this year’s bond on Nov. 7. This bond is meant to improve the district in multiple ways, including updating existing facilities, new schools, new grade realignments and upgraded safety and security across all campuses.
This year, the district had a 3.25% growth rate and it is only expected to rise. Superintendent Todd Smith said one of the goals of this bond is to help combat district enrollment growth by increasing class sizes and schools.
“Class sizes back in the 1950s were generally and typically a lot smaller because there were not as many students in Azle ISD,” Azle Junior High principal Brian Roberts said. “So, our teachers and our students will be awarded the opportunity to be taught and learn in a larger classroom with more space.”
To improve alignment with the state’s standard curriculum, this bond also includes plans to rearrange grade configurations. The district plans to make schools Pre-K through 5th grade, 6th through 8th grade, and 9th through 12th grade.
“We see some of our academic gaps happen at those transition years,” Smith said. I think one of the biggest opportunities with this bond is the opportunity to eliminate one of those transition years. We may possibly still see a dip in test scores in that 6th grade year, but we’re at least eliminating one dip in students’ education.”
Grade reconfigurations also bring more opportunities for students going into sixth grade. Because they will be on the same campus as seventh and eighth graders, they will no longer have to share coaches and educators with another school.
“We’re going to be able to have more continuity,” Roberts said. “We’ll have our band directors here all day rather than shared with another campus and we’ll also have our coaches here so they can do pre-athletics with our sixth-grade students which will just make the transition for them into seventh grade easier.”
As a result of the previous 2016 bond election, recent schools that have been built in Azle ISD contain additional safety measures such as storm shelters and fewerless exterior doors. With the 2023 bond, Smith said he plans to increase safety even more across all schools.
“We have addressed safety and security as far as the best practices,” Smith said. “But, we’re always constantly looking at things.”
Smith said one of the most significant parts of this bond is how junior high students are going to benefit from staying at one school for three years instead of going to two schools for four years.
“So, you’ve moved campuses three times after you’ve been at one campus for five years,” Smith said. “So, it’ll help eliminate that transition and I think that will see some gains academically and there’s some benefits to our fine arts and athletics.”
