Lovejoy ISD is closely monitoring the 88th Legislative Session that is well underway in Austin. As part of this effort, members of our Board of Trustees and I have visited Austin to engage with our elected representatives. Like many other Texas public school districts, we are extremely concerned about our District’s financial sustainability after the 2023-2024 school year if our Legislature chooses not to adequately fund public education.
Even after implementing significant financial efficiency measures over the last 24 months, we are facing an estimated budget shortfall of $2 million in fiscal year 2025 and $4 million in fiscal year 2026. This can be hard for taxpayers to understand when rising property values have resulted in them paying a higher amount each year in school district taxes. The state currently has a $33 billion surplus, the largest in Texas’ history. Most tax payers are unaware that a portion of this surplus is recaptured local taxpayer dollars from school districts, including Lovejoy ISD. Lovejoy ISD's recapture amount in 2021-2022 was $349,644. Our recapture amount rises to approximately $1.7 million this school year and $8 million in 20252026.
Additionally, inflation has gone up significantly since 2019. The Legislature needs to add approximately $14.5 in new public education funding just to address inflation. Currently, they are considering just half of that amount. This also does not address the $1.8 billion special education funding gap. Without needed funding, public school districts like Lovejoy ISD are going to be faced with making extremely difficult decisions that impact student programming, educational opportunities, and personnel.
The Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees and I have communicated directly to our elected officials that not increasing the basic allotment up from 2019, to reflect current, local adjusted costs to educate students will have serious implications for Lovejoy ISD.
The decisions made during the 88th Legislative session will impact our children, educators, district, and community. If you would like to learn more or to contact your elected officials directly, information is provided below.
Legislative Session Information and Contacts
Lovejoy ISD 88th Legislative Session Information including Legislative Priorities
Our State Senator
SENATE DISTRICT 8: Senator Angela Paxton
Capitol Office: 3E.2
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0108
Capitol Address: PO Box 12068, Capitol Station, Austin TX 78711
Email: angela.paxton@senate.texas.gov
Member Page
Committees: State Affairs - Vice Chair
Education
Finance
Local Government
Nominations
Our State Representative
HOUSE DISTRICT 89: Representative Candy Noble
Capitol Office: E1.414
Capitol Phone: 512-463-0186
Capitol Address: PO Box 2910, Austin TX 78768
Email: candy.noble@house.texas.gov
Member Page
Committees: Human Services
Ways & Means
Brandon Creighton, Chair brandon creighton@senate texas gov 512-463-0104
Donna Campbell, Vice-Chair donna.campbell@senate.texas.gov 512-463-0125
Paul Bettencourt, Member Paul Bettencourt@senate texas gov 512-463-0107
Brian Birdwell, Member Brian.Birdwell@senate.texas.gov 512-463-0122
Pete Flores, Member peter flores@senate texas gov 512-463-0124
Phil King, Member phil king@senate texas gov 512-463-0110
Morgan LaMantia, Member morgan.lamantia@senate.texas.gov 512-463-0127
José Menéndez, Member jose menendez@senate texas gov 512-463-0126
Mayes Middleton, Member mayes.middleton@senate.texas.gov 512-463-0111
Tan Parker, Member tan parker@senate texas gov 512-463-0112
Angela Paxton, Member angela paxton@senate texas gov 512-463-0108
Drew Springer, Member Drew.Springer@senate.texas.gov 512-463-0130
Royce West, Member royce west@senate texas gov 512-463-0123
Brad Buckley, Chair brad buckley@house texas gov 512-463-0684
Alma Allen, Vice-Chair alma.allen@house.texas.gov 512-463-0744
Steve Allison steve allison@house texas gov 512-463-0686
Charles Cunningham charles.cunningham@house.texas.gov 512-463-0520
Harold Dutton harold dutton@house texas gov 512-463-0510
Cody Harris cody harris@house texas gov 512-463-0730
Brian Harrison brian.harrison@house.texas.gov 512-463-0516
Cole Hefner cole hefner@house texas gov 512-463-0271
Gina Hinojosa gina.hinojosa@house.texas.gov 512-463-0668
Ken King ken king@house texas gov 512-463-0736
Oscar Longoria oscar longoria@house texas gov 512-463-0645
Matt Schaefer matt.schaefer@house.texas.gov 512-463-0584
James Talarico james talarico@house texas gov 512-463-0821
It is with great sadness that we share that Alis Brantl, a beloved member of the Hart Elementary School front office team, passed away Sunday, April 9th after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Alis was known for her warm, loving personality. She made your day instantly better with her smile. Alis will be deeply missed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband, Craig, and their two boys, Caden and Carson, our Hart Elementary school students and teachers, and the Lovejoy community, who loved Alis deeply.
Visitation: Friday, April 21, 2023, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Turrentine Jackson
Service: Catholic Mass - Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 2 pm St Jude Catholic Church
1515 Greenville Avenue, Allen
Please note the burial service will be private for family members only.
Alis' Caring Bridge Website (with fundraiser links)
Lovejoy ISD offers a variety of summer activities including summer enrichment and athletic camps for children entering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Enrichment and athletic camps are offered in weekly sessions with morning and afternoon options available.
Lovejoy ISD Summer Activities provide many benefits for children including opportunities for:
Academic Growth: Reinforcing skills learned during the school year.
Socialization: Developing important social skills such as teamwork and communication, as they interact with their peers in an engaging environment.
Exploration: Trying new activities and exploring areas of interest which can help them discover new passions and talents.
Access to Resources: Interacting with resources and learning opportunities that may not be available to them during the regular school year.
Skill Development: Reinforcing previously learned skills as well as developing new skills necessary to excel in each activity or sport.
Healthy Habits: Promoting a healthy lifestyle and the importance of physical activity.
Lovejoy ISD is proud to celebrate World Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month throughout April. Today, society has a greater awareness of autism than ever before; however, students and families affected by autism also need our Lovejoy communities acceptance, inclusion, and strong support systems. Please join us in celebrating the differences and abilities of our neurodivergent students and community members.
If you would like additional information on autism awareness and acceptance, our campus counselors are excellent resources.
G/T Awareness Week, observed during the first week in April each year, was created to increase awareness and encourage support of gifted education in Texas. There are more than 445,000 students receiving G/T services in Texas and over 800 in Lovejoy ISD.
The Texas Education Code (§29.121) defines a gifted and talented student as a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environments and who:
Exhibit high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area; Possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or Excels in a specific academic field.
G/T services are designed to meet the unique nature and needs of high ability learners. Opening conversations and dispelling myths about G/T services helps to create a better understanding of the purpose of gifted education.
Mr. Miles Knight, Lovejoy ISD G/T teacher writes, “Gifted and Talented programs matter and impact students in a variety of ways. Our gifted students all possess unique and special aspects that make them individually successful. A gifted program allows each student to find a niche that inspires them, challenges them to think deeply about themselves, the world and the content and realize that they are not alone on their journey. The gifted program has allowed my students to pursue their love of mathematics and challenge them to think more deeply on how they learn.”
As part of G/T Awareness week, Lovejoy ISD participated in/observed the following events:
April 3-7: Social Media Takeovers by Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT)
April 3-6: Classrrom activities, discussions, writing and presentations
April 4: Free parent webinar presented by TAGT
April 5: Multi-Campus G/T Student Showcase
WHAT CLASS INSPIRED YOU THE MOST?
AP Seminar.
WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER(S) AND WHY?
Mrs. Anderson because she challenged me to think critically.
WHAT ACTIVITIES WERE YOU INVOLVED IN? DID THEY IMPACT YOUR CAREER CHOICES?
Baseball, Student Government, Joint World Affairs Councils (JWAC), UIL Accounting. Yes they did.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES FROM LISD?
Inspiring teachers.
WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATION?
Indiana University; Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Finance and Business Analytics and a minor in History
APRIL 2023
April 22
April 24
Lovejoy High School Prom
Board of Trustees Meeting - LCDC Library
The Board will convene in open session and then move to closed session @ 6:00PM in C113. The Board is expected to reconvene in open session at approximately 7:00PM.
April 27
Community Coffee Talk
8:00 AM to 9:00 AM at Hart Elementary School
Administrative Professional Appreciation Day
April 29
STEM Fest
Congratulations to the following boys soccer players for receiving All District accolades for 2023.
District 13-5A Boys All District Awards 2023
District Superlatives for 13-5A
Midfield of the Year - Will Drescher
Co-Goalkeeper of the YearNoah Nguyen
Coach of the Year - Alex Duran
First Team All District:
Will Drescher, Noah Nguyen, Caden Carlock, Hunter Reck, Aidan Battelle, Cameron Garcia, Connor Nowak, Cameron Morelli
Second Team All District:
Nick Terranova, LJ Burkhardt, Matthew Huettner, Matthew
Huitson, Cooper Ryan, George Salcedo-Garcia
Honorable Mention:
Adam Greenwald
Congratulations to the boys soccer team on an outstanding season and winning the District Championship!
The Lovejoy Orchestra performed at the Texas State Capitol Rotunda on Thursday of this week. We were honored to have Senator Paxton sponsor our orchestra for this special performance. Senator Paxton, Representative Noble, and SBOE representative Pam Little stopped by to say hello and take pictures with the orchestra. The
orchestra attracted a large audience on all the levels of the rotunda and capitol floor.
The chief of staff for the Governors office watched the performance and stopped to tell Representative Noble that is was one of the best orchestras he’s heard in the rotunda!
Under the direction of Jennifer Vanhook and Mary Winkler, the group performed a variety of music. From an arrangement of Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran to Ashokan Farewell from the PBS mini series the Civil War. Senior violinist, Javkhaa Altansukh, played a violin solo accompanied by Neola Edwin on harp.
Fela Mathy, Fine Arts Director, assisted the orchestra with the trip and took pictures and video of the performance. Thank you to all the parents and grandparents that came to watch and support!
It was amazing to to have our orchestra program in the spotlight at our Capitol!
The AT&T Metroplex High School Hockey League, celebrated four Lovejoy Varsity Hockey players named to the Academic Honor Roll, Samuel Chen, Christian Giordano, Jake Schuler and Nicky Terranova). Additionally Jake Schuler was named on the Top 10 Academic Honor Roll and was honored on ice by the Dallas Stars on April 6th. Congratulations to these students on their academic and athletic accomplishments.
AT&T Metroplex High School Hockey Press Release
Monday, April 10th at the Tom Landry Scholarship Banquet Texas athletes were honored for their dedication and hard work toward their sport and academic achievements. These scholarships are awarded to student athletes all over Texas for their commitment to academic excellence, leadership among their peers, and service to their community.
In other words, their character closely emulates that of Tom Landry.
Congratulations to Taylor Reiner and Brianna Siddall for this great honor. We are #lovejoyproud of these Varsity Senior Cheerleaders who were honored tonight as recipients of the Tom Landry Scholarship.
On Tuesday the LHS Aerospace participated in the third annual rocket launch of rockets designed and built by the students in the class. It was a successful day ending with a new LHS roof decoration and a tree decoration
Wishing our 4 Leopard Fishing Angler teams the best of luck as they head into THSBA Regional Tournament on Saturday, April 15th on Lake Ray Roberts.
The LHS Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony performed brilliantly yesterday at the Region 25 Concert and Sightreading Evaluation at Allen HS on Thursday April 13. All six judges from around the state gave both groups unanimous Superior Ratings on the groups' very challenging works. We are so proud of all of the hard work it took to get to this level of performance. They did it!! Bravo, band!!
Quotes from our Lovejoy judging sheets included:
"Wonderful musicians"
"This ensemble performs with such transparency, you can hear so many wonderful colors"
"The band is full of very fine players with a high level of awareness of balance and control"
"Percussion was especially musical and very tasteful today"
"You played with strength, finesse and maturity"
"Students are masterfully demonstrating superior commitment to excellence in individual sounds, section work, and ensemble skills"
" There are some amazing performers in this ensemble and they've handled the most challenging moments in the program with absolute professionalism and fluency"
"A very musical performance that showcased hard work, dedication to fundamentals, and an ensemble awareness and understanding rivaling that of a collegiate ensemble"
Lovejoy ISD is committed to providing consistent, transparent communication with our community and employees. We hope this meeting summary will support you in staying connected and informed.
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Additionally, Regular Board Meetings and Workshops are now recorded and archived on the Lovejoy ISD website. You can access recordings by clicking the picture to the right. Passwords are noted below the recording links.
LOVEJOY LINKS
THIS WEEKEND! MAJESTICS
NEW! LHS CHOIR POP SHOW: DECADES
NEW! LOVEJOY SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION OPEN
NEW! APRIL STUDENT NUTRITION
RESCHEDULED!
KINDERGARTEN SNEAK PEEK
ORCHESTRA
BOOSTER AT STIX
04/19/23 3-9PM
VOLLEYBALL CLINIC FUNDRAISER
VOLLEYBALL SPIRITWEAR
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION OPEN
CHILDCARE & PRE-K REGISTRATION
The Lovejoy ISD Community News website is intended to facilitate connections and raise awareness of local events, activities, fundraisers and organizations that might interest Lovejoy families.
The information featured on the Community News website is submitted by community members. Lovejoy ISD is not affiliated with the organizations and does not claim to endorse them.
The Texas Department of State Health Services released new guidance for the 2022-2023 school year regarding Covid-19 and schools. LISD Health and Safety Measures are posted on the District website, linked below.
