Education

Odessa College invites the public to join them for the 15th anniversary of the annual Odessa College Drive to Success Finale at 5:30 p.m....

[email protected] ANDREWS Andrews ISD voters approved a $156.7 million bond package Saturday, based on unofficial results, a news release stated. The bond included Propositions A, B and C. Results will become official once they are canvassed. “I want to thank our dedicated school board, committed staff and the Andrews community who did vote in support of Bond 2023,” Superintendent of Schools Bobby Azam said. Taxes are frozen for people 65 and older. Andrews ISD’s total tax rate is $1 per $100 valuation. That includes 86 cents for maintenance and operations and 14 cents for debt service. If the bond passes, the total tax rate would be $1.06 per $100 valuation, Azam said in a previous interview. The 14 cents is due to a 2018 bond. Once it is paid off in 2035, that 14 cents would come off the tax rate. Proposition A was approved at a 71.7% passing rate (unofficial results until canvassed). Totalling $108,820,000, Proposition A will address renovations and additions to the main high school building. >> High School Main Building Remodel >> New High School Science Wing >> New High School Administration Wing >> New High School Choir and Band Rehearsal Spaces >> New High School Career and Technical Education Facility - Industrial Arts, Cosmetology and Barber spaces >> Little Theater Updates >> Additional Locker Rooms >> Revised Parking >> Campus Entry/Fencing Proposition B was approved at a 56.3% passing rate (unofficial results until canvassed). Totalling $35,835,000, Proposition B will address athletic upgrades. >> Additional Tennis Courts >> New Softball Complex >> Baseball Field Remodel >> Multipurpose Indoor Training Facility >> Lighting for Discus Field >> Golf Locker Rooms Updates >> New Middle School Practice Field Proposition C was approved at a 55.7% passing rate (unofficial results until canvassed). Totalling $12,075,000, Proposition C will address renovations to the Mustang Bowl. >> South endzone turf >> Home side press box >> Home side restrooms >> Home side elevator >> Home side seats Visitor side press box Visitor side restrooms Visitor side seats Stadium lighting

[email protected] The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees race Saturday resulted in upsets for the incumbents with Wayne Woodall beating longtime Position 3 incumbent Donna Smith and minister Bob Thayer defeating Dennis Jones for Position 7. For the Ector County Hospital District 2 spot, Will Kappauf beat incumbent Mary Lou Anderson, according to unofficial results. Just 673, or 1.98 percent of people in Ector County voted out of a possible 34,031 registered to vote in these races. Woodall got 161, or 69.10 percent, to Smith’s 72, or 30.90 percent. Thayer received 196, or 61.83 percent; Jones got 107 votes, or 33.75 percent; and John Rabenaldt got 14, or 4.42 percent. In early voting, out of 110 votes cast early in the Position 3 school board contest, 63, or 57.27 percent, voted for Woodall and 47 or 42.73 voted for Smith. For the Position 7 spot, an unexpired term, there were 142 votes cast with 80, or 56.34 percent, going to Thayer; 58, or 40.85 percent for Jones; and 4 or 2.82 percent for Rabenaldt. Woodall, 45, is the lead Life Skills Teacher at Midland High School. His father is former board member Doyle Woodall and he has not run for school board before. His father, Doyle Woodall, was forced to resign from the board following a controversy over social media posts he made. ”I am running for School Board because I believe being a teacher who is still currently working with students on a daily basis gives me a real life common-sense perspective that the current board is lacking,” Woodall said. Thayer is the lead pastor at Odessa Bible Church. “I have a desire to do my part to help our community be all it can be. When I think of how I can help Odessa be better, serving on the School Board seemed like a natural progression. I have worked with kids for a very long time. I’ve been on campuses leading after school programs on two of our elementary schools and I’ve volunteered at Reagan and STEM,” Thayer said. He added that he works with youngsters in his church and has gone to camps, coached teams and was a board member at Jim Parker Little League. Kappauf got 102 votes, or 84.30 percent to Anderson’s 19 votes, or 15.70 percent.

ABILENE Four Texas State Technical College students in West Texas claimed gold medals at the recent SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary State Leadership and Skills Conference...

Ector County ISD will host a “mayday” press conference on Monday, May 1, that will include superintendents from other West Texas school districts. The press...

Candidates for the two Ector County ISD school board spots up for election May 6 covered topics ranging from why they are running and...

University of Texas Permian Basin is looking at adding programming to its residence hall that would help first-year students make the transition from high school to college easier.

The public is invited to attend the Odessa Chamber of Commerce’s Inaugural National Civics Bee Saturday in Cooper Hall at the UTPB Science and Technology Building.

UT Permian Basin’s Undergraduate Research Day is today (Friday, April 14) in the Library lobby and Library Lecture Hall.

First 5, a collection of early family support services, focuses on building healthy families, getting children ready for school, and partnering with parents on their path to be their child’s first teacher.