The Tioga ISD school board opted not to set a daily prayer time and scriptural reading period at its Monday meeting.
Multiple members said they feel the district offers opportunities for students to practice their faith without persecution in school.
“I don’t really see why the state feels they need to mandate that we set aside time for people to pray, because the God I serve, you can pray any time you want to,” board President Dallas Slay said. “You don’t need permission. I also don’t feel like state-mandated religion is religion.”
Slay shared his observations, including his concern about the possibility of students having other beliefs pressed upon them.
“The state has made a very strong push over the last couple of years, specifically the last year, to mandate Christian beliefs onto every student, which I understand as a Christian maybe it’s weird for me to stand against that,” Slay said. “But, when the state’s telling you what you can and can’t believe or what you are supposed to believe, there’s red flags there. Read the Bible. It tells you exactly why it’s a terrible idea.”
He referenced the first amendment, saying “every person in America is entitled to the freedom of their religion.”
“Why do we have to continuously impose one specific religion on everyone, despite the fact that it is my religion that is being imposed?” Slay said.
Slay added that he believes, “Jesus is here whether we mandate this.”
Referencing issues in Wy- lie ISD without going into detail, board Vice President Trina Colteryahn also said that the wording in Senate Bill 11 that says “any religious text” gave her great pause.
“I say let other districts kind of test it out, see how it goes,” she said. “But we do offer faithbased opportunities.”
Those include the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and having approved Bibles in the Classroom previously.
“I don’t feel like we stifle it,” Colteryahn said.
Billy Smith agreed that the district does not “need to make a period for it.”
“We’re opening the door for other things, I feel like, if we go with it,” he said.
Superintendent Josh Ballinger said TISD, like all districts statewide, have a moment of silence daily for students to be able to use how they see fit, including prayer.
The board voted unanimously to decline the adoption of designated prayer and scripture time.
Also at the Monday meeting, Tioga ISD approved its 2026-27 calendar, which will look much like the 2025-26 option.
“That was pushed out to 100 staff members, and the result was 76.2% for Draft 2, which is what we do now,” Ballinger said.
The alternative draft would have frontloaded the five-day weeks in the first semester with the second semester having the bulk of the four-day weeks, but that draft was not selected.
TISD will also stick with Monday as its off day in its four-day weeks, piggybacking off of Monday holidays such as Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day to increase the opportunities for families to spend those days off together, Ballinger said.
With enrollment continuing to fall short of the expected numbers, Tioga ISD is keeping an eye on the difference between what the state is sending to the district and the amount the current enrollment accounts for.
“We’ve lost about $142,000 so far,” Ballinger said, adding that number will likely change based on the ADA numbers. “… The whole point is, don’t spend the money, even though they’re sending it to you.”
The district also asked the state for a waiver for three of the five snow days taken because of Winter Storm Fern in late January.
Following an executive session, the board opted to approve extensions for all three campus principals, Athletic Director Zach Birdwell and Ballinger for an additional year.
Johnny Smotherman and Rickey Kemp were critical of Birdwell during the public comment section at the top of the meeting.
Tioga ISD eighth-grader Grace Norwood grins as her STEM teacher, Steven Stadler, describes her wins in the classroom as well as in athletics.
