LEAD Academy High School -

Longview ISD is preparing for a significant UIL safety change that will likely affect athletics, marching band, and other outdoor student activities.

Coach King told trustees that the UIL Legislative Council is expected to formally require Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) monitoring for outdoor activities.

The system measures temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation to determine safe activity levels during extreme heat conditions.

“I talked to Ray Zepeda, the athletic director of the UIL. The UIL Legislative Council vote is going to pass because it's a safety rule,” Coach King said.

Longview ISD has already been following the recommended guidelines and tracking weather data in preparation for the anticipated rule change.

“We have not had any issues with heat-related illnesses with our kids,” Coach King said.

He noted that the new standards could affect football, cross country, tennis, marching band, and other outdoor programs during periods of extreme heat.g

Budget Proposal Balances New Funding, Staffing Investments, Future Growth

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Wayne Guidry presented the district's first major budget update for 2026-27, outlining how Longview ISD plans to use new state funding while preparing for future operational costs.

Dr. Guidry reported that House Bill 2 will provide approximately $6.4 million in new revenue to the district.

“The majority of those funds were allocated by the legislative session, which gave districts very little flexibility on how we adjusted our budgets,” Dr. Guidry said.

District officials intentionally used conservative enrollment projections because of uncertainty surrounding Texas' new school voucher program.

“We know that 295 students from the Longview area have been approved for vouchers,” Dr. Guidry told trustees.

He said departments across the Education Support Center reduced budgets and staffing allocations by approximately $2.4 million.

“If you want to give raises, you better find a way to give the raises through cuts,” he said.

District leaders are also preparing for the operational impact of multiple new bond-funded facilities expected to open during the 2027-28 school year.

“Before we start reducing services, let's try to find a way to increase revenue,” Dr. Guidry said.

Culture and Climate Survey Establishes Baseline for 2030

Trustees also reviewed results from the district’s 2026 Culture & Climate Survey, establishing the first formal public-sentiment baseline tied to the district’s Elevate 2030 strategic plan.

The survey generated 1,367 total submissions, including 827 staff-only responses, giving district leaders a broad first-year view of how employees, parents, students, alumni, and community members currently perceive Longview ISD’s culture, communication, customer service, student support, staff support, and overall direction.

Chief Strategic of Initiatives Matthew Prosser said the purpose of the survey was not simply to collect opinions, but to convert those opinions into measurable baseline data.

“This survey gives us something more useful than vibes,” he said. “It gives us a starting line. If Elevate 2030 is going to be a real strategic plan and not just a document on a shelf, we have to know where we are today, where we want to be next year, and whether the numbers are actually moving.”

The district’s first annual customer service and responsiveness score was calculated at 58.4%, based on 794 favorable responses out of 1,360 valid core responses. That score will serve as the district’s formal Year 1 benchmark.

Prosser said the number should be read carefully. It is neither a crisis point nor a victory lap.

“A 58.4 baseline tells us two things at the same time,” Prosser said. “First, there is real goodwill toward Longview ISD. Second, we have work to do in making the experience of dealing with the district more consistent, more responsive, and easier for families, staff, and community members.”

To reach the district’s stated goal of 70% by this time next year, Longview ISD would need to improve by 11.6 percentage points. Using the same response count, that would require roughly 158 additional favorable responses, moving the favorable total from 794 to about 952.

“That is the value of a real baseline,” Prosser said. “We are not just saying, ‘Let’s get better.’ We can actually define what better means. At the same response level, getting to 70% means moving about 158 people into the favorable column. That is concrete. That is measurable. That is the kind of target a district can organize around.”

The survey also showed significant strengths. More than 80% of staff respondents reported that they understand the district’s goals and objectives, including 82.2% who indicated they understand Longview ISD’s priorities. Prosser said that finding is especially important because staff alignment is often one of the hardest conditions to build inside a large organization.

“That number matters,” Prosser said. “When more than eight out of 10 staff members say they understand the district’s goals, that means the mission is getting through. We are not starting from confusion. We are starting from alignment. The next question is: what supports, systems, and tools do staff need to carry that work out at a higher level?”

Staff feedback also identified a clear next step. While staff understanding of district goals was above 80%, the survey showed 66.6% of staff respondents felt they had the tools and support needed to do their work effectively.

Prosser said that gap gives district leaders a practical leadership target.

“The staff data says, ‘We understand where the district is going. Now help us get there,’” Prosser said. “That is a very useful message. It points us toward training, communication, systems, customer service expectations, and internal support. Those are things we can act on.”

The survey’s broader indicators showed a district with meaningful strengths and clear room for growth. Overall survey snapshots showed approximately 64% favorable responses in communication, 62% in culture and climate, 62% in staff support and workplace culture, 61% in student safety and learning climate, and 58% in customer service and responsiveness. Department-level service averaged approximately 66% favorable.

Prosser said those scores show why Elevate 2030 needs annual measurement rather than occasional reflection.

“If every category came back at 95%, I would question whether we asked the right questions,” he said. “This is a real baseline. It shows strengths, it shows friction points, and it gives us a way to check whether our work is actually improving the experience of people we serve.”

The survey also measured overall confidence in the district’s educational quality. Respondents reported 65.3% satisfaction with the quality of education provided by Longview ISD, including 45% satisfied and 20.3% very satisfied. Another 22.1% were neutral, while 12.5% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

On recommendation, 62.1% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend Longview ISD to families and community members. Another 25% were neutral, while approximately 13% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Prosser said the neutral responses may be just as important as the negative ones.

“The neutral group is where a lot of the work lives,” he said. “Those are people who may not be against the district, but they are not fully convinced yet. That is a communications opportunity, a service opportunity, and a trust-building opportunity.”

When respondents identified the district priorities they considered most important, staff support and retention ranked first with 422 selections, or about 31% of all priority responses. Student safety and wellbeing followed with 296 selections, or nearly 22%. Academic achievement ranked third with 250 selections, or about 18%.

Other priority areas included customer service and responsiveness with 112 selections, facilities and operations with 105, college and career readiness with 93, and communication with families with 88.

Prosser said those results align closely with the logic of Elevate 2030: student outcomes depend on strong staff support, safe learning environments, clear communication, responsive systems, and public trust.

“The public did not give us a random list,” he said. “They gave us a strategic map. Support staff. Keep students safe and well. Raise achievement. Improve responsiveness. Communicate clearly. Those are not separate ideas. They are connected systems.”

One of the strongest findings, Prosser said, was the continued pride respondents expressed in Longview ISD.

“People are proud to be part of Longview,” he said. “People are proud to be Lobos. That matters because pride is not something you can manufacture with a slogan. It comes from identity, history, tradition, and belief in what the district can become.”

Prosser said the next phase will be turning survey findings into action through the Elevate 2030 scorecard process, annual reporting, internal improvement targets, and clearer customer-service expectations across the district.

“The fastest way to improve public confidence is not to tell people we care,” he said. “It is to answer the question, solve the problem, return the call, explain the decision, and make every family feel like somebody owns their concern.”

District leaders said the survey will be repeated annually, allowing Longview ISD to measure year-over-year progress and track whether strategic-plan implementation is producing measurable improvement.

Prosser said that annual comparison is the real power of the survey.

“The first year gives us the baseline,” he said. “The second year tells us whether we moved. By 2030, we should be able to look back and see not just what we said we valued, but what actually improved.”

In other Business

During the course of the meeting, the Longview ISD Board of Trustees also:

APPROVED the addition of two bad weather days to the 2026-27 academic calendar;

APPROVED a new Magnet Schools Assistance Program support pay rate of $35 per hour for approved grant-related activities performed outside normal work hours;

APPROVED the Longview High School band trip to London, England;

APPROVED renewal of charter partnership agreements with Texas Council for International Studies and Longview Educates and Prospers; and

APPROVED the district's 2026-27 compensation plan, including one-time retention payments for eligible employees.