Texas Long Range Plan

The infrastructure for Shallowater ISD has made considerable strides towards fulfilling it's obligation to the Texas Long Range Plan. It appears that Shallowater will be on track to meet or exceed the goals for the plan by 2020. Something that concerns me at this point is the looming budget crisis that the education system is facing. It would seem apparent that if these budget cuts come to pass that technology funds would be one of the first areas that districts would pull back from. If this is the case then the progress that Shallowater has made will be negated as further progress is hindered. The infrastructure improvements that our district has made are substantial and enough to serve our district adequately for a year or more. But as the district continues to grow it is evident that our technology services will continue to need expansion as we look at adding more classes. This is factual even if we don't improve on our existing technology capacities. We will need more internet connectivity and computer access simply by the growth that we are expecting to receive. My recommendation to the district is to find ways to protect the budget that we need for these technology services through cuts in other areas. I realize that cuts are going to affect someone, somewhere but perhaps we can find an area that isn't as educationally relevant. We have some of the most beautiful grounds that you can find in West Texas. Perhaps the time has come to let the grass get a little brown so we can provide the technology needed to ensure our students are at the forefront of being provided with their educational needs.