Naming of auditorium, field on board agenda
Mar. 28—The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees will consider naming the Blackshear Elementary School auditorium and Bonham Middle School football field after local legends at their 6 p.m. meeting today.
The meeting will be held in the first-floor board room of the administration building, 802 N. Sam Houston Ave.
If approved, the Blackshear auditorium would be named for Frizella C. Whitiker. Her name would be placed on a sign near or inside of the auditorium, supplemental agenda material said.
The naming policy states that recommended names shall be submitted to a committee. The committee shall be
chaired by the superintendent or a designee. The committee shall submit to the board one or more recommended names for each facility to be named, the material detailed.
The committee for Blackshear auditorium included Valerie Rivera, Chair and members Renee Earls, Marcia Cleaver, Eddy Spivey and Gilbert Vasquez.
Supplemental agenda material said the committee met March 4 and unanimously decided to accept the recommendation to name the Blackshear Elementary School Auditorium after F.C. Whitiker.
Whitiker was born in Greenwood, La. She grew up in Austin and graduated from Samuel Huston University in 1950, now Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, the material said.
After graduating, Whitiker moved to Odessa to teach at Ector County Independent School District at Blackshear High School, now Blackshear Magnet Elementary.
"She was a vital part of the Blackshear High School
choir. She later taught at Ector Junior High School as an English teacher. She retired from teaching in 1986. In Odessa, Ms. Whitiker has been a sponsor and board member of Head Start for over 40 years, as well as a board member of the Black Cultural Council of Odessa. She has also been a leader of Mackey Chapel of the United Methodist Church," the material said.
The Bonham football field, if approved, would be named for J.T. King and his name placed at the bottom of the new scoreboard placed at the bottom of the new scoreboard that was recently installed at the field.
The committee for this naming included Co-chairs Tracey Borchardt and Juan Dominguez; and members Rene Earls; David Simpson; Dr. Dr. Donald Hembree; Terectica Deary and Melissa Ruiz.
The committee met on March 8 and unanimously decided to accept the recommendation to name the Bonham Middle School Football Field after J.T. King.
J.T. King "Coach King" was born Jan.19, 1924, in Tahoka. He graduated from Williams High School in 1941 and attended Texas Tech before marrying the love of his life, Brownie Lancaster, in San Diego, Calif., on July 22, 1943.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943, serving in the Pacific Theatre and the post-war occupation of China as an exemplary member of the world's "Greatest Generation," the material said.
King returned home to graduate from Southwest Texas State in San Marcos, under the G.I. Bill, where he played football and tennis. Upon graduation, he moved his family to Odessa in the late 1940s to work for Shell Oil Company.
King was then hired by ECISD to coach and teach at Crockett Junior High thereby fulfilling a lifelong dream and passion, the material stated.
He became the head coach at Bonham Junior High in 1959 and spent the next 25 years at Bonham.
King's record at Bonham was 150 wins, 43 losses, and 6 ties. At one time he had a 36-game winning streak; and eight Odessa-Midland Championships.
King was instrumental to the 11 District Championships and three State Championships won by Permian High
School from 1964-1980. The material said he was also an integral part in the feeder system of many young men who attended not only Permian High School, but Odessa High School.
"The profound impact of his positive influence will never be forgotten. Coach King officiated many high school play-offs and college games after the conclusion of Bonham's football season. J.T. King coached and taught in the community he loved for 33 years before retiring in 1985," the material detailed.
King died Sept. 3, 2004.
>> The board will also consider a UTPB STEM Academy performance agreement. The material said ECISD and UTPB STEM have completed the contract negotiations allowing UTPB STEM to partner with ECISD beginning July 1, 2022.
The board also will consider approving the District of Innovation plan through spring 2027.
House Bill 1842, passed during the 84th Legislative Session, permits Texas public school districts to become Districts of Innovation and to obtain exemption from certain provisions of the Texas Education Code.
In the spring of 2017, ECISD Board of Trustees voted to become a District of Innovation (DOI) and adopted an innovation plan to begin with the 2017-2018 school
year. The plan submitted terminates at the end of 2021-2022 with the option to include amendments, items to rescind, or to renew, the agenda material said.
ECISD followed TEA's process for renewing the District of Innovation Plan which is up for approval tonight (March 29). If approved, this new plan will be in place through spring of 2027.
The board will also consider a resolution to nominate Superintendent Scott Muri as Superintendent of the Year.
Each year the Texas Association of School Boards recognizes a select group of superintendents for exemplary and visionary leadership.
One of these administrators will be named the 2022 Superintendent of the Year at the txEDCON22 TASA/TASB Convention, the material said.
Special presentations at the meeting will include:
>> Recognition of Odessa Student Crime Stoppers State Board Ambassadors.
>> Recognition of Nationally Certified School Nurses.
>> Introduction of Scripps National Spelling Bee qualifier.
>> And announcement of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 16 winners.
