KINGSVILLE, TX — The Texas Education Agency has placed Kingsville Independent School District on accredited warning status due to its F-rating, but another South Texas district's successful turnaround demonstrates that recovery has been achieved before in the region.
KISD faces the possibility of probation or revoked accreditation if academic performance doesn't improve. Premont ISD faced similar circumstances just a few years ago and successfully turned its situation around.
Steve VanMatre, current Tuloso-Midway ISD superintendent, led Premont ISD's recovery when it faced similar threats from the state education agency.
"It's incredibly hard work," VanMatre said.
The stakes couldn't be higher for small communities like Kingsville and Premont.
"If you lose your public school, particularly in a community the size of Premont, you lose your town," VanMatre said.
VanMatre said Premont faced facility, academic and financial issues similar to what Kingsville is experiencing now.
In a district of about 2,500 students, this ends up impacting the entire city. Kingsville Mayor Sam Fugate acknowledged the district's long-standing challenges.
"It's painful. You know, a big part of our community is our school district" Fugate said.
Fugate adds that its a problem they have identified for many years but has hope for current leadership.
"I think this board has hired a really good superintendent... I got a lot of confidence in her," Fugate said.
Former Kingsville ISD teacher James Davis said parents being more involved in their children's education can help the district.
"Keep them off their phones, keep them off the video games, and show up to PTO meetings and get involved with the school and that will definitely improve everything at KISD," Davis said.
Kingsville ISD is not the first school to be in this position, but for districts like Premont, being successful doesn't happen overnight. VanMatre advised that regardless of what has happened in the past, it is important to rebuild trust in the community.
"The future is worth working for because we're in the kid business and is there anything more important than being in the kid business?" VanMatre said.
KRIS 6 News has reached out to Kingsville ISD for a response, but they were unable to meet. We will follow up with them to get more answers about their current and future plans.
