Superintendent gets pay raise
Board awards first increase since original contract signed
By LISA CARNLEY Staff Writer

Apparently pleased with how Superintendent Dr. Brant Myers has handled the district's affairs, the Board of Trustees of the Lampasas Independent School District on Monday unanimously approved an increase in Myers' salary, pro-rated back to July 1.

Myers will receive $118,400, up from the $105,000 he previously earned.

In January 2007, trustees extended the superintendent's contract to June 30, 2010, with no raise attached.

The increase granted Monday is the first for Myers since his hire in October 2005.

In other business, board members got a bond project update from the superintendent, who noted the field house structure at the new high school campus site will undergo changes from its initial design.

Myers and Athletic Director Joey McQueen recently traveled to Austin to visit with architects to discuss athletic facilities needs. Modifications were made to the field house to separate boys' and girls' dressing rooms in the approximately 16,000-square-foot metal building.

It will feature a training room, dressing rooms for a number of individual sports, storage, coaches' offices, restrooms and a weight room.

Trustee Andrew Irvin offered to install the metal building at no cost to save the district money, said Myers. Irvin also made the same offer for several other metal building.

"If we save money on installation, we could possibly have larger buildings," said the superintendent, who noted that Irvin will have to bid competitively for the projects against other bidders.

In campus reports, Kline Whitis Elementary Principal Mitzi Stripling said her school is very full, with the most recent enrollment at 790.

"The crying has just about stopped, and the teachers are doing a great job," she said.

Traffic continues to be a challenge. "We have difficulty getting parents to follow the prescribed traffic pattern, but it is getting better."

Mrs. Stripling said she appreciated summer work done on the campus, which included new floors, painting and addition of a firstgrade playground.

At Hanna Springs Intermediate, Principal Nancy Yeary said school is off to a great start. Enrollment, at 1,037, equals that of last year, and all the classrooms are very full.

New traffic routines have worked well, Mrs. Yeary said, and have helped alleviate some of the past student drop-off problems in the morning.

"We are working on attendance, and are letting parents and students know how important it is to be at school every day."

Dwain Brock, principal at Lampasas Middle School, said enrollment is up 28 students from the last day of classes at the end of the 2006-07 term. There are 545 seventh- and eighth-graders in the school.

Brock, who said his campus encourages extracurricular activities, has 317 boys and girls -- 60 percent of all students -- participating in athletics, and 132 -- or 25 percent -- in band.

At Lampasas High School, Principal Brandon Stiewig said his campus has 1,103 students, with sophomores nearing 300.

His campus has 450 student athletes -- up 40 over last year, and the Career and Technology program has increased by 513 students from the 2006-07 term.

Stiewig thanked board members for approving an additional counselor at his campus.

The superintendent said he has fielded only positive phone calls and comments since the school year started. "That's a tribute to our administrators who worked hard behind the scenes prior to the start of the year, and to our teachers and students. We look forward to a great year."

In other business, trustees were asked to consider specific-use permits adjacent to school property. Near the high school, Jim Finley plans to purchase a parcel of land to relocate Lampasas Rentals from its Key Avenue site.

And Aubrey Glosson is asking for approval from the city's Planning and Zoning Commission for a final plat of Eagle Valley Estates, a housing subdivision to be located adjacent to Kline Whitis Elementary.

Board members asked Myers to send a letter to Lampasas City Council members noting that though they don't want to discourage anyone from going into business, school district trustees have some safety concerns they want addressed.

And an additional teacher was hired at Lampasas Middle School. Sheila Martinez was offered a oneyear teaching contract for this school year.