Students, teachers, and support staff will celebrate the first school holiday of the year on Monday, Sept. 3 when the local school district dismisses for Labor Day.

Classes will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 7:55 a.m. at both campuses.

The next scheduled student holiday is Columbus Day, Oct. 8, followed by Thanksgiving. Classes will dismiss early on Tuesday, Nov. 20, and will resume the Monday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 26.

The fall semester will end with an early release on Dec. 21 for the Christmas break.

New Tables

With the annual campaign to raise funds for local organizations starting in October, board members of the Albany Chest will meet soon to organize the 2018 fundraising drive and elect new directors.

The meeting is set for Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 5:15 p.m. at The Feed Store.

All current directors are asked to contact board secretary Tisha Wilkins prior to next week’s meeting to let her know if they will be able to attend, as well as acknowledge whether they will be able to serve on the board during the upcoming year.

Moran Independent School District earned a rating of “Met Standard” from the Texas Education Agency, with an overall score of 67 out of 100.

“Because Moran ISD is a very small single campus district, we will not be subject to the new A-F system until 2019,” said superintendent Danny Freeman.

Moran was given “Met Standard” performance rating in all three areas, Student Achievement (70 out of 100), School Progress (69 out of 100), and Closing the Gaps (60 out of 100).

Moran Independent School District started the 2018-19 school year on Monday, Aug. 27.

“We had a great start to this school year,” said superintendent Danny Freeman. “Students and teachers alike were excited to see each other again after a long summer break.”

The 110 students on Monday was down by 20 from the first day of school last year, but only 10 less than at MISD at the end of the 2016-2017 year.

During their regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 20, school board trustees learned that Albany ISD earned a “B” in the state’s new accountability ratings with distinctions given in social studies at the secondary level and science on both campuses.

The board also looked over the second draft of the proposed budget and made plans to act on the numbers at a special morning meeting on Friday, Aug. 31.

Rating System

Albany Independent School District student enrollment number totals for the beginning of a new school year dropped below 500 for the first time since 2014.

A total of 491 pupils were registered for the 2018-2019 term on Monday, Aug. 20, a few more than at the start of 2014, but 18 less than the 509 on the rolls at the onset of school last year, and 27 below the 518 students enrolled at the comparable time in 2016. There were 505 enrollees at the beginning of the fall semester in 2015, 481 in 2014, and 489 in 2013.

Albany city council members worked through several significant agenda items during a meeting on Friday morning, Aug. 17, including proposing a tax rate and setting dates for two required public hearings.

The session had been postponed from its regular time on the second Monday of the month so that more council members could be present.

The elected officials also approved an annexation agreement with Clarke Estate Development.

Low Water Crossing

Proposed budget totals for the Shackelford County Hospital District for 2019 increased about $150,000 more than the current year’s original budget, but that is primarily due to the addition of a new ambulance.

The hospital board worked on budgets for both the district and the clinic at a regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 20, proposing expenditures of $2,972,476 based on the effective tax rate of 20.97 cents, which was also proposed during the evening.

Atmos Energy Mid-Tex Division currently lists half a dozen projects in various stages of completion in Albany, and anyone that has driven around the Kenshalo, Pate, Gregg, Jacobs, and Williams Street areas has probably noticed the crews at work, or at least the construction signs, trucks, trenches, and dirt mounds that are on display during the process.

According to city manager Billy Holson, Atmos is replacing all of their steel gas lines with poly lines.

For the most part, the projects do not involve City of Albany workers.

Local students have several Christian peer groups they can chose between for Bible study, fellowship, and fun during the upcoming school year.

The Feed Store

Tuesday, Aug. 20, The Feed Store served a noon time meal to high school junior and seniors, and they plan to serve lunch every Tuesday throughout the school year with the help of volunteer cooks.