The Dec. 15 Quitman school board meeting was a full house.

At least 45 people packed the QISD administration building for two reasons: first, because the Top Dog Award was given to the Quitman Elementary School Parent/Teacher Organization, so parents and their kids came. The award was given on the basis of all the organization does for the school, which includes a Christmas store fundraiser, a celebration of teachers and more.

Kids and parents also came for the elementary school student showcase. For her 2025 class, elementary teacher Jenny Howle has opted for a new “choice-based” art system, where kids are given general guidelines and a wide variety of media, rather than a specific “step-by-step” list of instructions – an “art studio” like opportunity, she noted.

“You can put your feelings into art, and I learned that from Miss Howle,” said student Ava McClain. “It makes you just have your own freedom, and there’s not something certain you’re ‘supposed’ to do…. In my opinion, she’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

Three of the seven students in the showcase said they wanted to be art teachers.

Superintendent Chris Mason gave an update on the bond process. Bids came in on Dec. 11; construction manager at-risk Jackson Construction will spend the next few weeks breaking down the bids by project so that the school has an itemized list of costs for each item.

Mason noted that “right now, the numbers look really, really positive” as far as staying on budget. The board will give maximum amounts they’ll pay for each item at their January meeting.

The board also has seven properties in their district that are foreclosed for owing taxes to the school; they voted to take these to tax sale. Although QISD would normally have to have all other taxing units in the trust sign off in the case of a private bid, taking the properties to tax sale negates the sign-off. Taking them to tax sale helps to “clean up those properties that aren’t generating any revenue for y’all; they’re just sitting there,” according to attorney Patrick McArthur.

“The most important thing is not how much we generate at a tax sale; the most important thing is to get it back on the tax roll,” said McArthur. 

The approved resolution applies to the current properties and any future tax-foreclosed properties with the same issue. Four of the current properties are in the Holly Lake subdivision, and the other three have “weird title issues,” according to McArthur.

The board also approved employee compensation for Nov. 11, when classes had an early release due to having no water, and Update 126 from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Changes to note in Update 126 include when the board has to post their meetings, that they have to record their meetings, when they post minutes, an update on the grievance process, etc.

Pledges were given by junior high student Kaleb Pearsall.