screenshot of Harvey Oaxaca speaking  while standing in the Central Office boardroom


McKinney, Texas — Hello! My name is Harvey Oaxaca, and I serve as a McKinney ISD School Board member. Each month, after our board meeting, we will provide our community with a brief summary of events and items covered during the meeting.

We started the August meeting with celebrations and recognitions.

Dr. Javetta Jones-Roberson, Coordinator of Advanced Academics and Collegiate Partnerships, was selected to be on the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented Board of Directors.

Cockrill Middle School received the National School to Watch Award.

We honored five middle school students who were named as 2024 Baylor TIP Scholars. TIP stands for Talent Identification Program.

The McKinney ISD Visual Art Department received the Texas Art Education Association “District of Distinction” award.

Congratulations to:

• Dr. Jared Critchfield, Director of Fine Arts,

• Christine Biscarro, District Team Lead for Elementary Art,

• Shannon Kessler, District Team Lead for Secondary Art,

• and the other 41 art teachers and more than 13,000 students who contributed to this tremendous honor.

An honor that only 5.5% of districts in Texas receive.

Jenny McGowan was named the new Senior Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning.

We then moved into the presentation portion of the meeting.

Angie Bado provided an informative presentation and overview from the McKinney ISD PTA Council.

Michael Garrett, CEO of Trusted World, shared more information about the non-profit organization and the resources that will be provided to our students and families as a result of the partnership between McKinney ISD and Trusted World. This alliance provides McKinney ISD with 830 more community partners to help serve our students.

Becky Jackson, Director of Data and Analytics, gave a presentation on 2024 Accountability. She provided an “A through F” framework overview, including specific details about each domain within the framework.

Dr. Amber Epperson, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, gave the first 2024-2025 school year strategic planning update for the Teaching and Learning department, which is pillar #2.

In the discussion & action portion of the meeting, Dr. Dennis Womack, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations, requested that the board consider adopting a resolution calling for a long-range facility planning committee. The Board approved the presented proclamation, and the district will begin the process of convening a long-range planning committee.

Marlene Harbeson, Chief Financial Officer, reviewed the proposed tax rate for 2024-2025, and the Board approved the proposed tax rate.

The Board recommended Stephanie O’Dell to serve as the Delegate for the 2024 Texas Association of School Boards Delegate Assembly.

The Board recommended Larry Jagours to serve as the Alternate for the 2024 Texas Association of School Boards Delegate Assembly.

Those are the highlights from this month’s meeting. Thank you for watching, and we look forward to bringing you the highlights from our next regularly scheduled board meeting on September 23rd at 6 p.m.