Dr. Scott Niven of Friends Consulting Group gave an update to Elementary No. 5 during the Aubrey ISD school board meeting on April 15.
He shared that with the guaranteed maximum price of $42,394,710 established at last month’s meeting.
“What that allowed us to do is start expediting contracts and buying out the contract,” Niven said. “They have a budget, and then we go through and start buying out, and so we ended up with 411 vendors on this job that had put a bid in for various parts of it. For the majority of it, the significant majority now is bought out.”
Niven stated that the project is “right at budget” at $41,183, and he added that the team consists of high-quality subcontractors that the consulting group has worked with before.
Niven also discussed the high school road, which includes an extension on Highmeadow to connect to the road behind the parking lot. Construction plans to start before June 1 and be finished by Aug. 1.
Director of Special Programs Karen Wright gave a report on the special education program district-wide that serves early childhood through 12th grade and offers an 18-plus program.
“This is the first year that it's been in-house because we are no longer a part of the Denton County Special Education Co-op,” Wright said.
Just over 20% of the district is in special education, and the program has increased over the year from families moving in and because dyslexia is now included in special education.
Wright shared that because of House Bill 2, districts would receive $1,000 for each initial special education evaluation completed, starting with the 2025-26 school year.
Also in the bill, certification and exam fees for special education teachers were waived to encourage more people to enter the field.
“We've had some people take advantage of this this year,” Wright said.
Additionally, more families are accessing the Parent- Directed Special Education Services, which provide a one-time $1,500 online grant to support a child’s educational needs.
Assistant Superintendent Eric Hough explained that contracted services have increased because of the cost of substitutes needed to fill vacant positions or cover teacher absences for school business and because special education is now being provided by the district, among other factors.
“We always have contracted services,” Hough said. “It's just, as it gets more difficult to find certified personnel, we rely a little bit more heavily on contracted services to make sure we're still meeting all the needs of our students.”
Brockett Elementary School Principal Lindsey Girlinghouse provided stats on the school.
There are 521 students, with around 8% in gifted and talented, 129 in special education and 34% economically disadvantaged.
Attendance is around 95%, she reported.
Girlinghouse shared that this year’s academic goal is to improve math scores on performance assessments to prepare for the curriculum changes set to take effect next year.
She added that teachers use student data and performance assessments as a guide and host monthly math-specific Professional Learning Community meetings.
Brockett has several active clubs, including Elementary Beta Club, UIL academics teams and choir.
Another focus is on teacher connectedness and family engagement events such as Grandparents Day and open house.
“We want the school to feel like a community hub,” Girlinghouse said. “It's important to me. It's important to them because a lot of them, this is their community, and we want it to be kind of a focal point.”
The board also approved the districtwide purchase of the Math Bluebonnet Curriculum for kindergarten through algebra 2.
The board approved several other agenda items, including increasing the available sick leave pool from 30 to a maximum of 60 days for any one condition for teachers out because of a catastrophic illness.
Also at the meeting, the board approved “the purchase of band instruments from FFE for Owens Middle School” in the maximum amount of $273,768.
The purchase is intended to support the growth of students participating in the band by replacing old instruments.
The board also renewed the Durham School Services contract for bus transportation for the 2026-27 school year.
“We currently have 38, but we're budgeting for as many as five additional routes over this current school year [with] the yearly cost of 41 routes, including funds for adding additional routes during the year if needed due to growth,” Director of Operations Matthew Gore said.
