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Laredo Independent School District is a public school district based in Laredo in Webb County, Texas (USA). The district serves the south central portion of Laredo. In 2009, LISD was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.
Contents
- Map of Laredo Independent School District Laredo TX USA
- Elementary Schools Grades PK5
- Middle Schools Grades 68
- High Schools Grades 912
- Magnet Schools
- Other Campuses
- References
Map of Laredo Independent School District, Laredo, TX, USA
In 2007, LISD administrators began removing some seven hundred children from special education after the Texas Education Agency declared that the district had too many in the program because only 8.5 percent of the pupils enrolled could receive such special services. According to Maricela Gonzalez, an elementary school speech therapist, "We basically just picked kids and weeded them out. We thought it was unfair, but we did it." Other Texas school districts also reduced their enrollments in special education. However, federal law requires public schools to provide special education to all eligible pupils with disabilities. LISD has been investigated to make certain that needy students can enroll in special education. In LISD, some 60 percent of pupils speak Spanish as their native language.
In September 2014, LISD superintendent A. Marcus Nelson (born 1972), a native of San Antonio and a 1994 graduate of Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, was named "Superintendent of the Year" by the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Texas Association of School Boards at the annual convention of the two groups held in Dallas. Nelson, who took the Laredo position in August 2009, beat out four other contenders for the recognition. With a salary of $206,000 annually, Nelson's contract expires in August 2020. He is the ninth highest paid superintendent in his Region 1 Education Service Center.
Twelve LISD schools in 2014 fell short of minimum state standards and werer placed on the Public Education Grant list. These institutions include Martin High School, J. W. Nixon High School, and Cigarroa High School, as well as several middle and elementary schools. Five schools in the United Independent School District, also located in Webb County, fell short in standards, including Lyndon B. Johnson High School.
In July 2013, LISD trustee Rick Garza proposed the return of corporal punishment into the code of student conduct. "I hear time and time again that the teachers are losing control of their classroom," Garza said. Garza said current disciplinary methods are too lenient, exhaust district resources, and fail to control rowdy students. Superintendent Nelson said that paddling could be re-instituted by the board but would require parental consent and could not be used until a third offense. Nelson said the district will poll teachers anonymously to see if they support the return of the paddle. "We live in a litigious society ... They [parents] are looking for reasons to file litigation ...," Nelson added.
On November 5, 2013, district voters in a low-turnout election handily approved a $47.17 million school bond issue to refinance previously issued revenue bonds. The tabulation was 1,944 (73.1%) in support to 716 (26.9%) in opposition.
From 1947 to 1970, Laredo Community College, then known as Laredo Junior College, was during the tenures of its first two presidents, W. J. Adkins and Ray A. Laird, under the jurisdiction of LISD prior to becoming a separate governing and taxing body.