Vivian Baker: Belton ISD’s Talented Superintendent Chats About the Tussles Faced by a Rapidly Growing, Low Wealth District
By staff. Filed in BISD, Belton Independent School District, Equity Center, Equity Center Radio, ISD, Independent School Distict, News & Talk Radio, Tax Ratification Election, Vivian Baker, Wayne Pierce, economics, education, school district budget |Tags: Belton Independent School Distict, equity, Equity Center Radio, equity finance school, politics, public schools, radio, school district budget, school districts, school finance, State Taxation, Vivian Baker, Wayne Pierce
Equity Center Radio | April 14, 2010 | A Discussion with Vivian Baker, Belton ISD’s Dynamic Superintendent of Schools About the Struggles of Maintaining High Academic Standards in a Fast Growing, Low Wealth School District
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Today, our host, the Equity Center’s Executive Director, Wayne Pierce, interviews Vivian Baker, the Superintendent of Schools for Belton Independent School District (“BISD”).
Today’s guest is Vivian Baker, currently the Superintendent of Schools for Belton ISD. Belton is located in the heart of Central Texas, just 60 miles north of Austin and 40 miles south of Waco on I-35. Belton ISD is located in the county seat of Bell County, has over 15,000 residents and is a historic downtown district that surrounds the county courthouse and Mary Harden-Baylor University campus. BISD has two high schools, two middle schools and eight elementary campuses.
BISD is a very fast growing school district, which has a proud tradition of excellence in education, but, because it is also a low wealth district, faces numerous challenges as it tries to ensure that every child within its boundaries achieves maximum educational potential. In spite of its meager resources, for 2009, Belton ISD was rated Academically Acceptable by the Texas Education Agency based on students’ performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Four elementary campuses received an Exemplary rating; four received a Recognized rating; Belton High School a Recognized rating; and the remainder of its campuses were rated Academically Acceptable. Many campuses received Gold Performance Acknowledgments for individual subject areas.
Equity Center radio is happy to have Vivian talk about the struggles she faces as she fights to provide an education that challenges all of its students to excel and maintain the district’s high standing in the education community.
Belton ISD’s per pupil expenditure is $6,645. The District’s budget for the 2009-2010 school year is $65,087,240 with a total property tax rate of $1.41 per $100 valuation.
Vivian Baker
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