For the second year in a row, the Fort Stockton Independent School District Board of Trustees has earned regional honors. The trustees were recently named Region 18 Outstanding School Board/School Board of the year. This comes on the heels of last year’s honor of Texas Rural Education Association School Board of the Year.

“I am very proud of our FSISD Board of Trustees and the progress they have made in improving our school community,” said Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Zamora. “This is the second year in a row that they are honored for their efforts. To earn Region 18’s honor this year with a chance to compete at the state level is amazing and welldeserved honor for them.”

This makes the FSISD Board the region’s nominee to compete at the state level. Out of the 12 districts nominated, five will be named Honor Boards in early August and advance to the state level to compete to be the State’s 2023 Outstanding School Board.

Zamora said that after being honored by the TREA, the school board doubled down its efforts to continue academic and all-around improvement. With the advent of STAAR Accountability in August 2022, the district’s campuses earned a passing grade for the first time under the A-F system, and the district earned a B rating despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic that year.

Among the district’s accomplishments to earn the honor in 20222023 was the passage of a $103 million bond.

“In 2022, the school board’s relentless efforts to communicate the importance of $103 million bond prepositions resulted in a landslide victory that has spurred even faster improvement in all areas,” Zamora said. “This was accomplished after two attempts to pass bonds had failed in recent years.”

*The board initiated a school supply bulk purchase program; *The board created and approved a revolutionary local pay system that allowed zero-year teachers to earn up to $72,500 salary starting with qualified seasoned teachers earning significantly more. This has been increased to $75,000 for 2023-24.

“This innovative pay system allowed the district to finally staff historically hard-to-fill positions,” Zamora added.

*The board purchased a 19-room hotel that was repurposed to allow for affordable housing for professional staff. The rent was set at $250 per month with all bills paid.

*In an effort to provide virtual instruction and for those that required intensive dropout prevention services, the board spearheaded the opening of a sixth campus in 2022-23. This campus also served as host for the first of its kind partnership between Texas Tech K-12 and a Texas public school where FSISD teachers use the Texas Tech K-12 curriculum to teach FSISD students. This partnership strategy was developed by FSISD leaders, proposed, and finally approved by both respective institutions.

*FSISD trustees remained focused on improving the safety and security of staff and students, approving a “Guardian Plan” for the district, increased the number of School Resource Officers from three to five, installed ballistic film and key card access at all campuses, and upgraded security cameras.

*The district launched Automotive Technology and Cosmetology programs in partnership with Midland College.

*Introduced eSports where junior high and high school teams both placed top five in the Vanta State Competition.

*Football and tennis made playoff runs and six (four first place) state championship medals were earned in track.

“Improvements at FSISD have encompassed all areas of district operations,” said Zamora, who was hired in 2021.

“The accomplishments that this Team of Eight have been able to achieve have been nothing short of miraculous,” he said. “The FSISD school board’s policy sets forth a clear mission for the district: to guarantee access to quality education, essential for Texas’s wellbeing and preserving