By Dr. James Wilcox
Superintendent of Schools
With the start of another New Year, I cannot help but look back on the previous year and everything that's occurred.
There are always so many amazing accomplishments by our students, staff, and the entire district in 2022, that I could fill up an entire edition of The Longview Voice just listing them one by one! But in the interest of time, I'll just hit a few of the highlights...
Board approves pay raises for teachers, staff, and custodians
The Longview ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved salary increases for district teachers and staff during their May 9 regular meeting. Included in the pay bump is a signing bonus of $1,550 to returning employees on the teacher scale, which will be paid out in the September and December pay periods.
Later, during their July 11 regular meeting, the board approved setting the minimum wage for hourly employees at $15 per hour. As a result of this new minimum, hourly wages for Longview ISD staff will be adjusted district-wide for all hourly workers. All hourly positions will be reviewed and equity adjustments will be applied as necessary or as needed.
The district raised the minimum wage for all hourly employees, with the provision that the administration would begin negotiating a pay increase for Service Solution Corporation (SSC) employees. The Dallas-based company has handled janitorial services throughout the district since 2014. With an increase of $457,494 to the total $3.1 million annual contract, legacy employees will see an increase to $15 per hour, and current full-time staff increased to $12 per hour.
Every single person who works for Longview ISD is vital to the educational success of the students in our care.
Community Relations earns statewide honors
Our district Community Relations department was recognized with 13 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Star Awards presented by the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA).
Recognizing work produced during the 2020-21 school year, this year’s Star Awards were announced at TSPRA’s 60th annual conference Feb. 23rd in Round Rock.
Longview ISD Community Relations earned eight Gold Star Awards, four Silver Star Awards, and one Bronze Award. The department earned top honors in the Live Video Event, Live Video Event (Spanish), Original Art, Published News, Video Promotion, and Writing categories.
In addition to these honors, Community Relations staffers presented six different professional sessions during the conference, the most of any single school district.
Community Relations presentations competed with all districts across the state of Texas with 15,000 or fewer students. That means we are competing with many schools that are almost twice as big as Longview ISD.
Winning these honors shows the high quality of professionals we have at Longview ISD, the commitment and excellence they show on a daily basis shines forth in everything they do. Not only do we—here in Longview—recognize it, but communications professionals from across the state.
Teachers earn $5.1 million incentive pay
Longview ISD awarded more than $5.1 million in incentive pay for achieving teachers, with a few of the very highest-performing teachers receiving more than $30,000 extra in their December paychecks!
The goal of the district in starting the program was to maintain our most successful and effective teachers in the regular classroom. We could not be more excited to see our teachers receive these dollar amounts, but our students are the real winners.
Longview ISD schools earned 53 total distinctions on accountability ratings, according to the Texas Education Agency. An increase from the 51 distinctions earned a year ago, and yet again one of the highest numbers of distinctions for any school system in East Texas.
Campuses are awarded distinctions for achievement in several areas based on performance relative to a group of 40 other campuses in Texas (campus comparison group) that are of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics. Districts and campuses that receive an accountability rating of A, B, C, or D are eligible to earn distinction designations. However, the only distinction a district may earn is postsecondary readiness, which Longview ISD received.
Longview ISD campuses earned 52 out of 70 possible distinctions, as well as the district-wide distinction in postsecondary readiness, bringing the total number of distinctions to 53.
Longview High ranked among highest in East Texas
According to a national ranking, Longview High School ranked as one of the best high schools in the East Texas region... for the fifth year in a row.
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best High Schools list ranks LHS as the top campus in the Longview and Marshall metropolitan areas, and among the top five campuses in the entire East Texas region.
A global authority in education rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranks more than 17,800 public high schools throughout the country, measuring how well schools serve students from various social and economic backgrounds.
The demographic data is a vital component to these rankings.
It’s no great accomplishment for a highly-selective school to attain high honors, but when you help every student succeed regardless of their socio-economic challenges, that’s saying something. It just goes to show the quality of the educators we have in Longview ISD, and what a tremendous community of families and local stakeholders that makes this possible.
District adopts balanced budget, lower tax rate
The Longview Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a lower property tax rate and new district budget for the 2022-23 year during a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 31.
It marked the fourth-straight year of the property tax rate being reduced for Longview ISD property owners.
The district has been cutting the tax rate in recent years, after keeping the same rate stable for nearly a decade. The board maintained the same tax rate of $1.5130 from 2010 until 2019 — when the district reduced the rate to $1.4430 — and we've continued to reduce it each year since. This illustrates how Longview ISD has worked to offset the sharp increase in property tax valuations that are well beyond our control.
Lobo Band earns 73rd straight First Division rating
The Longview High School Lobo Band earned a First Division rating from the entire judging panel to bring home its 73rd consecutive SUPERIOR University Interscholastic League marching contest rating. With the top honor, the Big Green Marching Machine maintains the state record for consecutive superior ratings in a state contest. LHS has been ranked First Division since the inception of the UIL in 1949.
Longview High School's Lobo Band (nicknamed the "Big Green Marching Machine") specializes in military-style marching that has distinguished them from other bands and has been a local tradition for more than 80 years.
In addition to the various group events, Longview High School band members compete at UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest and also audition for The Texas Music Educators Region, Area, and State bands.
District gets perfect score for fiscal accountability
With a perfect score of 100, Longview ISD has received an "A" on its financial rating, among the highest in the state of Texas. Since the creation of the program, Longview ISD has received a superior rating almost every single year.
The Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) was created by the Legislature in 2001 and was designed to encourage public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
Since the creation of the program, Longview ISD has received a superior rating almost every single year.
Trustees expand bus access for student safety
According to state guidelines, students are only eligible to use the bus if they live beyond a two-mile radius of their school. However, Longview ISD is taking a more common-sense approach to safety, granting an exception for students forced to cross dangerous roadways in order to walk to their campus.
The resolution approved by LISD trustees during their March 21 regular meeting includes Bailey (formerly South Ward), Bramlette, Everhart, Johnston-McQueen, Ware, and Williams elementary campuses, as well as Forest Park, Foster, and Judson middle schools. Longview High School, with its campus surrounded on three sides by major roadways (Loop 281, Hawkins Parkway, and Judson) and the main entrance on high-traffic Airline Road is also included in the resolution.
Ray, Pope, Williams named 2022 Distinguished Alumni
Longview Independent School District on May 6 honored three accomplished former students during the annual Distinguished Alumni ceremony and luncheon: Mrs. Kay Ray (Class of 1970), Mr. Rogers Pope, Jr. (Class of 1985), and Mr. Trent Williams (Class of 2006).
Distinguished alumni typically have excelled professionally, in addition to serving the communities in which they live. Honorees are nominated at-large and chosen by a committee of previous honorees, volunteer Distinguished Alumni Committee members, and the district’s Community Relations office.
Whew! That might seem like a lot, but it's actually just a sampling of the many great things happening at Longview ISD. Our district continues to be the best school district east of Interstate 45, and it's all because of our people: our students, our staff, our parents, and our many community partners.
Thank you all for a wonderful 2022, and my prayers are with you for an even better 2023!
It's a great time to be a Lobo!
— Dr. James Wilcox has served as Superintendent of Schools for Longview ISD since 2007. During his tenure, student enrollment and test scores have continued an upward trend, while the district has continued to expand its academic and extracurricular offerings. LISD is widely recognized as one of the most innovative school districts in the state.