Marble Falls Independent School District

By Richard Zowie

Highlander Sports Editor

This appeal has been denied.

Marble Falls High School was one of 10 schools that were scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 20 at the Austin Marriot North in Round Rock to request a relcsssification and realignment of its assigned district for the next two years.

Grocery giant H-E-B is recognizing Marble Falls ISD as one of the top school districts in Texas, naming MFISD one of only three Small District Finalists for the prestigious 2018 H-E-B Excellence in Education district award.

Winners will be announced at an awards presentation at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Houston on May 6.

Marble Falls High School’s thespian troupe qualified 11 students competing in the Texas Thespian Festival in Grapevine during the Thanksgiving break for the National competition at the University of Nebraska in June 2018.

The Nov. 18 Texas Thespian Festival featured 8,000 theatre students from around Texas competing in group and individual Events.

“We are so excited about our performance this year,” said Jon Clark, MFHS Theatre Director. “Our set design team comprised of Ben Goad, Connor Bingaman, Finn Fischer and Rowan Grossman placed second in the State. This is a first for an MFHS team to place a team in the top three in the state!”

Judges ranked 11 of the 28 MFHS students competing in individual events as Superior, qualifying them for National competition:

The Marble Falls Independent School District Pep Rally and Senior Bonfire have been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, in the field at the end of Colt Circle, behind the MFISD Central Administration Buildings.

“We would like to thank the City of Marble Falls, Marble Falls Fire Rescue, the Marble Falls Police Department, and the PEC for supporting the rescheduling of the MFISD Pep Rally and Bonfire,” said MFHS Student Council sponsor, Molly Heath. “The students appreciate the efforts to hold the Senior Bonfire, which is a long-running community tradition. It is appropriate that the Senior Bonfire has been rescheduled to Thursday Nov. 9, since the game the next evening is Senior Night and the last district game of the season.”

Everyone in the community is invited to the free MFISD Pep Rally and Senior Bonfire.

The Pep Rally will start at 5:30 p.m. with the Senior circle and lighting of the bonfire immediately following.

This year, Veterans Day, a national holiday celebrated each Nov. 11, falls on a Saturday.

To honor local veterans while students are in school, Marble Falls ISD campuses have scheduled special Veterans Day celebrations this Friday, Nov. 10

The Veterans Day celebrations help deepen students’ civic understanding that Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the United States Military — both in wartime or peacetime.

Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served—not only those who died — have sacrificed and done their duty.

MFISD Veterans Day Celebrations

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

Marble Falls Independent School District earned high marks from both the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) and from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) accountability ratings for 2016-2017.

This and the district’s campus improvement plans were also discussed at the Sept. 18 school board regular meeting, highlighting what they’re doing to help students become better learners.

District, campus improvement plans

Wes Cunningham, PhD, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, and the various campus principles presented their campus improvement plans for this year.

For 2017-2018, MFISD has 4,142 students (an increase in 1.89 percent) with its type of families described as “lower to middle class.”

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

The State of Texas has implemented new laws for public schools — including rules on school buses, bullying and graduation requirements — and area schools are working to get them implemented.

Burnet County is home to two public school districts: Marble Falls Independent School District (MFISD) and Burnet Consolidated ISD.

MFISD Superintendent Chris Allen, PhD, provided updates on the different laws implemented:

* New school buses must have shoulder-to-lap seat belts for all riders (SB 693). “We are in the process of gaining approval to purchase four new buses, and they will have the required harnesses,” Allen said.

* With the help of a measure dubbed David’s Law, school officials hope they will have more tools at their disposal to fight cyber bullying (SB 179). The superintendent said they have aligned rules, expectations, documentation, and training to the new requirements.

The Marble Falls High School Student Council and National Honor Society students have adopted families attending schools in Bay City Independent School District (ISD), following news that many of Bay City ISD’s families lost their homes following a mandatory evacuation order during the Harvey flooding and devastation this week.

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

The Texas Education Agency released its preliminary 2016-2017 financial accountability ratings, and Marble Falls Independent School District scored an A.

Created in 2001, the school Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) encourages public schools to improve how they manage their finances to allow for the best allocation for direct instructional purposes.

MFISD was among the 853 state-wide public school districts that received a superior rating.

One hundred and twenty-one schools received a B “above standard achievement,” while 43 received a C and “met standard.”

Five schools received F grades for “substandard achievement.”

“We also received clean audits form our external auditor as well,” said Dr. Chris Allen, MFISD superintendent.

In the 2017-2018 budget, the district adopted a balanced budget with no projected surplus.

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

A new trustee took his seat on the Marble Falls Independent School District (MFISD) Board of Trustees on Monday, July 17, while the trustees voted for a student drug-testing plan that will save the district almost $3,000.

A business office employee also received special recognition at the meeting.

Drug-testing program

The trustees approved using Southwest Consortium as Marble Falls ISD’s drug testing provider for both the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years. It was one of two companies that submitted bids.

SWC’s cost of $41,840 is almost $3,000 less than the current provider, Forward Edge, which would’ve cost $44,560.

Marble Falls ISD officials contacted officials at Lake Travis ISD and Dripping Springs ISD and (which were not on Southwest Consortium’s reference list) but still received “glowing references.”