Like every school district in Texas and throughout the nation, the Bridge City Independent School District (BCISD) has been battling the Coronavirus over the last two years. School Superintendent Mike Kelly is seeing some progress in Bridge City with the curtailing of COVID-19.
In the last two weeks the BCISD has made some great strides. Kelly reported that during that period the COVID numbers on the various campuses have gone down to include only few new cases. District wide 1.9 percent of the staff and students have active cases of the Coronavirus.
The superintendent is pleased with the great improvement over where the district was considering the numbers from local school districts and schools all around Texas that are battling the same invisible beast. Kelly replied, “It’s starting to feel a little bit more like normal, and that’s our goal we can’t wait to feel normal.”
The wearing of masks on Bridge City school campuses has been optional according to Kelly who has been encouraging mask wearing for teachers and students. The superintendent indicated plenty of staff and students are wearing masks on the campuses.
With the recent lawsuits filed by the Texas Attorney General on school districts that did issue mask wearing mandates Kelly said the Bridge City School District is not requiring the wearing of masks. Kelly stated, “We’re following the governor’s advice, we’re following CDC, and TDA while keeping a close eye on all that stuff. We meet almost daily about COVID and health in general, so we are doing everything that we can to keep our students and staff safe.”
Kelly has been the district’s superintendent at Bridge City about six months. Kelly wants to improve the district’s facilities while also not asking the citizens to pass a school bond because the school district has a good fund balance to do the improvements.
A number of facilities starting with the Bridge City Elementary School need expansion. That campus currently has a number of portable buildings which Kelly wants to replace with a more permanent structure.
Several athletic structures need upgrading. These include the tennis courts which are asphalt and the track at the football stadium is in bad shape. Kelly is looking to give both of them a face lift in an overall proposed improvement project.
Kelly hopes to include the building of a new Career and Technical Education Building with those projects. “All that stuff are in the plans outside of a bond and outside of any extra burden on our tax payers,” Kelly promised.
A new Career and Technical Education (CTE) facility for the Bridge City schools will be well used by the district. Superintendent Kelly said the district is working closely with Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) to promote career and technical classes for students in Bridge City.
Bridge City Schools have expanded its CTE the last couple of years. Students in Bridge City have the opportunity to explore careers in 18 different paths. There are over 200 students in the welding and construction program while health science and engineering programs have well over 100 in each of those programs.
Many of the students will finish their four years of high school with an industry based certification in partnership with LSCO. “We’re looking to build our program and do it with an incredible college right down the road, so we’re grateful for that opportunity,” expressed Kelly.
Superintendent Kelly has worked in education in different district across Texas with a variety of school boards. “This is the best board I’ve ever been a part of, I can’t imagine a better board. It doesn’t matter where you go our board members are going to be there. They support the students and the staff a hundred and ten percent,” Kelly concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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