July 13, 2026 Board Meeting Recap
The Wylie ISD Board of Trustees honored a longtime district leader, took the first formal step in the search for Wylie ISD’s next superintendent and approved several items in preparation for the 2026–27 school year during its July meeting.
District Honors Craig Bessent’s 44-Year Career
(L-R) Craig Bessent and Ricky Bacon
The meeting began with a special recognition of retiring Assistant Superintendent Craig Bessent, who concludes a 44-year career in public education, including 34 years of service to Wylie ISD.
Board President Miller Loudermilk read a commemorative plaque honoring Bessent’s leadership, commitment to school safety and role as a pioneer of the Texas School Marshal Program. The plaque describes his service as “a legacy of leadership, commitment and unwavering care for students and staff.”
Bessent helped Wylie ISD develop a comprehensive approach to school safety before many of today’s statewide safety requirements were established. District leaders also recognized his guidance during some of the most challenging periods in the district’s history, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Superintendent Joey Light reflected on the many times the district relied on Bessent’s experience and steady leadership.
“We’re still going to be asking him questions for quite a while,” Light said. “We appreciate you, and dare I say, we love you, Mr. Bessent.”
Bessent will receive a copy of the plaque, and another will be displayed at the One Wylie Training Center in recognition of his lasting impact on the district and school safety throughout Texas.
Region 14 Selected to Lead Superintendent Search
The Board selected Region 14 Education Service Center to assist with the search for Wylie ISD’s next superintendent. The action follows the Board’s acceptance in June of Superintendent Joey Light’s retirement, which will become effective Sept. 30, 2027.
Region 14 representatives Steve Post and Alan Ritchie previously met with trustees to outline the services and guidance the education service center can provide. The process is expected to begin in August and will include establishing a search timeline, developing a profile of the qualities and experience trustees want in the next superintendent and determining opportunities for staff and community input.
Light noted that the district’s advance planning provides the Board with time to conduct a thoughtful and thorough search.
“It’s a big step for every school district when they replace a superintendent,” Light said. “This gives you time to do that thoroughly.”
Board President Miller Loudermilk will serve as the primary point of contact between the Board and Region 14 as the process moves forward. Additional information about the timeline and opportunities for participation will be shared as those details are developed.
Transportation Route Review Continues
Assistant Superintendent Ricky Bacon updated the Board on the district’s ongoing transportation route optimization study. The review is approximately three-fourths complete and is examining morning and afternoon routes on both the east and west sides of the district.
Preliminary work indicates Wylie ISD may be able to operate four to five fewer routes while continuing to meet student transportation needs. District leaders emphasized that addressing the shortage of qualified bus drivers is the primary reason for the review.
Using a comparison provided by another growing school district, reducing five routes could potentially represent approximately $300,000 in annual operating costs. However, the exact financial impact for Wylie ISD has not been finalized.
Bacon said the district’s immediate focus is preparing routes for the 2026–27 school year. Any larger changes considered in future years would be discussed with trustees and communicated to families in advance.
“We’re going to have to change a little bit the way we do business on the transportation side,” Bacon said, adding that the district will work to ensure there are no surprises for the community.
Financial and Bond Updates
Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Bristow presented the district’s monthly financial reports and highlighted several June expenditures, including:
Approximately $3.37 million in payroll
$393,302 for the district’s newly adopted math curriculum
$27,810 for replacement kitchen equipment, including steam wells and warmers at Wylie High School
$25,000 for transportation route optimization services
$4,410 for Perry Weather monitoring and notification services used by athletics
The Board approved payment of the district’s June bills.
As of May 31, the district had received approximately $48.4 million, or 85.93% of its budgeted annual revenue. Expenditures totaled approximately $42.8 million, or 75.97% of the annual budget. Bristow said expenditures remained below revenue and that the district was still positioned to add to its fund balance as the fiscal year closes.
The district reported approximately $32.26 million in cash across all funds as of May 31. Funds held in the Lone Star Investment Pool were earning 3.61%, and the district had sufficient debt-service funds available for its August bond payment.
Wylie ISD spent approximately $6.84 million in bond funds during June, one of the district’s higher construction-spending months as multiple projects continued simultaneously. After June activity, approximately $115.02 million remained in the district’s Series 2024 bond funds.
Meal Prices Remain Unchanged
The Board approved maintaining the district’s current student meal prices for the 2026–27 school year.
Prices will remain:
Breakfast, PK–12: $2.75
Lunch, PK–4: $3.35
Lunch, grades 5–12: $3.75
District leaders credited the Food Service Department with managing expenses and maintaining a financial position that allows prices to remain unchanged.
Teacher Appraisal System Approved
Trustees approved the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System, commonly known as T-TESS, as the district’s teacher appraisal system for 2026–27.
The approved appraisal windows are:
Fall: Sept. 8 through Dec. 4, 2026
Spring: Jan. 5 through May 7, 2027
The Board also approved the district’s designated appraisers and the use of appraisal results in contract-renewal decisions.
Required Staff Training Plan
The Board approved the district’s required training plan for teachers, instructional aides, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria employees, maintenance personnel and office staff.
Training assignments vary by employee role and include topics such as suicide prevention, child-abuse recognition and reporting, confidentiality, harassment and discrimination, human trafficking, seizure awareness, bullying, trauma-informed care and emergency response.
In-person training includes Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, Stop the Bleed and Youth Mental Health First Aid. Selected employees will also complete EpiPen instruction, UIL safety training and cybersecurity training.
Policy Update 127
Trustees approved TASB Local Policy Update 127. The update aligns district policy with recent state legislation and includes several administrative revisions.
Changes include:
Increasing the capitalization threshold for individual district assets from $5,000 to $10,000
Updating statutory reasons for the nonrenewal of a superintendent
Removing an obsolete policy concerning hunter-education courses
Clarifying that gifted-and-talented identification criteria may not be based on race, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status or disability
Reorganizing and clarifying several personnel-related policies
District administrators described the update primarily as a cleanup and reorganization of the district’s existing policy manual.
Senate Bill 12 Certification
The Board approved Wylie ISD’s annual certification of compliance with Senate Bill 12 from the 89th Texas Legislature.
Beginning with the 2026–27 school year, school districts must approve the certification during a public Board meeting and submit it electronically to the Texas Education Agency by Sept. 30.
No members of the public addressed the Board during the meeting’s open-forum period. Trustees also approved the minutes from the previous meeting.
