Lake Travis ISD Matters

In this episode of Lake Travis ISD Matters, we discuss changes to the STAAR test, how the changes affect our students, and family resources. Our guest is Kathy Burbank the LTISD Director, Accountability & Assessment.

This year, the STAAR has been redesigned and is much different from previous assessments. One of the major changes is that multiple choice questions are now limited to not exceed 75% of the test. Accordingly, students will now see questions that ask them to:

• choose the two best answers, versus one best answer
• graph problems
• “drag and drop” responses to a given area
• type a brief string of text to answer questions

Additionally, the Reading Language Arts test at all grade levels will have a written response section. As a district, we have administered two interim assessments this year, providing our students with opportunities to become familiar with these changes.

Resources:

In this episode, we will be discussing all things mental health with our guests Jennifer Lyon, LTISD Director of Health & Social Emotional Learning, Lace Branker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Rachael Macomber, Licensed Masters of Social Work, and two students from Lake Travis High School Breathe Initiative club. We will be covering student, parent and staff support for mental health in Lake Travis ISD.

On this episode of Lake Travis ISD Matters, we’re talking bond election with Superintendent Paul Norton and C.F.O. Pam Sanchez. We cover general information about the election propositions as well as address some common questions and concerns. 

Early voting will occur Monday, October 24 through Friday, November 4. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.

This is a preview for our second episode of Lake Travis ISD Matters, the official podcast of the Lake Travis Independent School District. 

On episode 2, we are talking bond election with Lake Travis ISD Superintendent Paul Norton and C.F.O. Pam Sanchez. We cover general information about the election propositions as well as address some common questions and concerns.

A Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, or VATRE, is set for November 2, 2021. Lake Travis ISD is asking voters to consider increasing the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) tax rate while simultaneously decreasing the Interest & Sinking (I&S) tax rate by the same amount. Specifically, Lake Travis ISD would move two pennies to the M&O tax rate by taking those same two pennies from the I&S tax rate. As a result, the total tax rate would remain the same $1.2301 whether or not the 2021 VATRE is approved by voters. However, Lake Travis ISD could see an additional $3 million annually in operating revenue. The VATRE will appear on the November 2, 2021 election ballot.

In this inaugural episode of our Lake Travis ISD Matters podcast, our host, Marco Alvarado, speaks with the Lake Travis ISD Superintendent of Schools and Chief Financial Officer in detail about the VATRE and its effect on LTISD.

This promotional audio clip introduces the inaugural episode of Lake Travis ISD Matters, the official podcast of the Lake Travis Independent School District. 

In our first episode, we talk to Paul Norton, LTISD Superintendent of Schools, and Pam Sanchez, LTISD Chief Financial Officer, about our upcoming Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE).

Lake Travis ISD Matters is hosted by the Marco Alvarado, LTISD Executive Director of Communications & Community Relations.