Council, school board moving forward
HUTTO — The city and the Hutto Independent School District are mending fences after dissolving an interlocal agreement late last year when a spat over a bus barn and other issues boiled over.
Mayor Mike Snyder made an appearance at the Jan. 29 school board meeting to recognize trustees during School Board Appreciation Month, then shook hands with board President Amy English.
In the meantime, school board members approved their support of the city’s Brushy Creek wastewater project, which involves several parcels of land needed by the city for construction and easements but owned by the school district.
“The school district and the city have to work together for the betterment of the community,” said trustee Terrence Owens.
Tensions ran high at the end of last year with disagreements between the city and Hutto ISD’s culminating in the City Council canceling an interlocal agreement with the school district.
The council demurred on approving a specialuse permit for a Hutto ISD transportation hub in a busy neighborhood beset by cut-through traffic.
Hutto ISD learned about the move later that evening during a board meeting.
Recently, the council directed city staff to work with the school board on the bus-barn issue and appeared open to a resolution.
And with January’s board meeting, both the city and the school district appeared ready to let bygones be bygones.
Dustin Barton, assistant superintendent of Hutto ISD operations, presented plans for how the school district will support the city’s Brushy Creek wastewater interceptor project.
The city will compensate the district for the easements and Barton said the work would not impede campus operations. He recommended the board approve the arrangement.
English asked if the situation would pose a safety issue to students. Barton said it would not.
He did acknowledge steps have been taken to ease traffic concerns prompted by construction in front of Howard Norman Elementary, 101 Llano River Trail.
“We have provided pickup and drop-off times (for the school) and respectfully requested (construction) vehicles not travel down the road at those times so we don’t have a conf lict,” Barton said.
In other business, trustees after an executive session voted to extend a contract with Superintendent Jeni Neatherlin. She was hired August 2024 for a salary of $247,000 after leaving the same job with the Granger Independent School District.
The next board meeting is Feb. 26 in the Administration Building Board Room at 200 College St. The The open meeting begins at 7 p.m. after the board’s closed session at 6 p.m.
Meetings can be streamed live or watched at a later date at huttoisdtx. new.swagit.com/videos.
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“The school district and the city have to work together for the betterment of the community.”
— Terrence Owens, Hutto Independent School District
