And it all centered around a large three-legged stool.
Officials with the Raise Your Hand Texas organization came to the school Friday with the stool, and the goal, to raise awareness about federal funds released to public schools through the various rounds of COVID-19 stimulus dollars which have occurred.
Skylar Gallop, the Texas Panhandle’s regional advocacy director for Raise Your Hand Texas, said the stool represented the three components needed to ensure a full and robust recovery for the state’s public education system as the pandemic wanes throughout the state, including protecting the funding for House Bill 3, legislation which was passed in 2019, as well as extending hold harmless for public schools.
City reports increase of 45 COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths from Wednesday
The city of Amarillo s public health department reports an increase of 45 COVID-19 cases in Potter and Randall counties from Wednesday in Thursday s COVID-19 report card, bringing the area s total number of cases to 34,246 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Of the total, 481 are active, which is an increase of six net active cases from Wednesday. There have been 33,012 recoveries, an increase of 10 recoveries in the two counties from Wednesday. There have been 753 deaths attributed to the virus since the start of the pandemic, an increase of five deaths from Wednesday.
Right now, major construction has been occurring in the lot along Plains Boulevard, prior to the road’s intersection with Western Street.
In five years, that lot will be undergoing what Rachel Flores, the executive director of the Amarillo Art Institute, calls a leveling-up.
“I think for the sake of the city, it just feels like we are leveling up our community. It feels like the things that (will be) offered (there) are things that are needed,” she said.
“Everything is getting this level up, truly.”
In the near future, that lot will be booming with new facilities from the Amarillo Independent School District, with the AmTech Career Academy; Amarillo College, with its First Responders Academy; and a revitalized Arts in the Sunset facility. Officials from all the entities hope that their relative proximity creates potential for teamwork and cohesion as the facilities are complete.
Over the last two days, boards from various school districts certified the results of the election which occurred earlier this month, electing four open spots on their respective boards for four-year terms.
After the results from May’s election were officially canvassed at the respective board meetings, the results are now final. The elected members of the board are scheduled to be sworn in at a regular board meeting in the near future.
Amarillo Independent School District
Voters in Potter and Randall counties voted to keep the three incumbents on the Amarillo ISD board in office in May’s election.