School Changes Spouse Employment Policy
At a special meeting July 3, the GCISD School Board eliminated the district’s policy of not hiring the spouses of administrators. The vote was 5-0, with board member Mike Hillger abstaining and board member Cecilia Schwartz absent. The policy had been in place for approximately six years, and applied to the superintendent, both principals and the school counselor.
The board also changed the school calendar, moving the Oct. 23 in-service day to Oct. 2 and moving Spring Break to March 12-16 to be in sequence with Howard College’s distance learning program.
Randy Gartman was hired as a science teacher, and the board approved the resignation of band director Lance Johnson. Gartman is a graduate of Angelo State University, with a major in animal science and a minor in chemistry. He will be teaching under an alternative certification. From 1996 to the present, he was assistant vice-president and loan officer at the Robert Lee State Bank, and was youth director at the Robert Lee Baptist Church for three years. He and his wife, Shay, have two kids, ages 5 years and 22 months.
The board also voted to allow student absences for extracurricular activities in accordance with state rules, and to allow a maximum of 10 additional absences with the approval of the principal, if the student has an overall grade average of at least 90.