Somerville ISD Superintendent talks safety, TEA ratings and teacher pay raises

Somerville ISD is preparing to welcome back students for the 2019-2020 school year. Tuesday, Superintendent Karla Sparks appeared on Brazos Valley This Morning to talk about school safety measures, a D rating from the Texas Education Agency and new funding for teachers.

In the previous school year, Somerville brought on a new school resource officer. Sparks says the district has also installed new security cameras and will implement new safety plans.

The Texas Education Agency has released new ratings for school districts across the state. Somerville ISD received a D rating. Sparks says she and other educators have already begun working on ways to improve.

"We kind of knew that we were in trouble, probably in March," Sparks said. "We've sent many teachers to a reading academy in Beaumont, we spent a whole entire week working on reading, had several math teachers come in through the summer working on curriculum. So we do have some systems in place and we know we need to improve."

Somerville iSD has also hired a new athletic director and a new nurse. The two will join a school district that has more state funding than it did last year, thanks to new legislation from Texas lawmakers.

Sparks says that in Somerville, the new state funding will allow them to raise salaries for teachers and staff. Higher salaries are expected to help Somerville compete with larger districts for more qualified teachers.

The first day of class for students at Somerville ISD is Wednesday, August 28.