On this week’s edition of The Tawakoni Current we celebrate the Nation’s 250th birthday, take a look into QISD’s budget for the upcoming year, acknowledge the local food pantry’s need for volunteers, take a look at the Quinlan trustees meeting, discuss the recent Quinlan FFA Booster Club concerns, and get an insider scoop into Lone Oak ISD principal experiences!

Additionally, here are the fireworks shows/celebrations in the area!

Which county has the smallest amount of shoreline around Lake Tawakoni?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter!

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July Meeting Schedule

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July Meeting Schedule

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July Meeting Schedule

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July Meeting Schedule

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Psalms 34:18 NIV

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

These are the events in the area this week!

Additionally, you can find our google calendar that we have created, in case more events appear during the week, here!

From your local TBC Animal Rescue:

Meet these three little firecrackers ready to light up your life this Fourth of July!

These adorable 3-month-old Labrador Retriever/Border Collie mix brothers may have had a rough start after being found wandering a neighborhood with their mama, but today they’re safe, happy, and bursting with puppy energy!

Just like fireworks, these boys are full of excitement, personality, and nonstop fun. They’ve been lovingly raised in a foster home, have learned to use a dog door, and get along wonderfully with kids, dogs, and cats. With their first round of vaccinations complete, all they’re missing is a family to celebrate life’s biggest adventures with.

This Independence Day, skip the sparklers and bring home a little spark that will brighten your life all year long.

Happy 250th Birthday America!

Tel. 214-535-5230

It starts today when Quinlan kicks off its annual Fourth of July celebration at Quinlan Community Park at 6 pm. There’s food trucks, vendors, and music to get everyone fired up for the fireworks show. Justin Ross & Deadwood Revival will be on stage, entertaining the crowds with their brand of celebration music.

Then, Friday evening, it starts up again, but this time at the West Tawakoni City Park. There will be food, shopping and vendors of crafts and other items. The West Tawakoni birthday party for America starts at 6 pm and goes on through the fireworks with an estimated ending at 10 pm.

The concert lineup at West Tawakoni includes Michael Summers & Cody Crewsswell, Martin Antonio & Brayden Stewart, followed by the Zach Romo Band.

Lone Oak will have its “Red, White and Boom!” on Saturday, July 4, starting with their annual parade at 10 am, followed by “fun on the square” from 2 to 8 pm with vendors, food, a DJ, bounce house and more family fun activities, plus fireworks at dark.

In addition to area cities celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday on Independence Day, there will be activities around the lake, at veteran’s service clubs and many backyards.

The Tawakoni Current wishes everyone a great birthday celebration and please be safe.

FHS state fishing team has raised the bar for future Panther Anglers.

Quinlan trustees approved the 2026-2027 budget last week to the tune of $50,387,372 in estimated revenue and projects expenditures of $48,661,671.

Those numbers were presented by Chief Financial Officer Becky Pfeil, who said the revenue figures are based on last year’s tax rate, as the new tax rate hasn’t been finalized by the county appraisal district.

Based on the estimates, there should be $!,725,701 in surplus. Trustee Billie Miller made the motion to approve the budget, Dale Chreene seconded. It passed 6-0. Trustee Todd Darter was absent.

The CFO also gave the budget report for this month, as well as the investment report and offered the budget amendments.

Under Superintendent Jeff Irvin’s report, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Courtney Painter and Deputy Superintendent John Michael Milton gave accountability projections from STAAR testing, although the final results have not been given to the district.

She said preliminary indications are that many areas have gone up in most subjects. Ms Painter said Butler Intermediate and Thompson Middle School scores don’t look like they’ll be out until July 31 from the state.

In other business, trustees renewed the Special Education Retainer Program with Walsh, Galleo, Kyle, Robinson & Roalson, P.C.; approved the innovative course for Emergency Medical Technician - Basic; approved local board policy updates; approved the appraisers and appraisal calendar for next year.

Lake Area Shared Ministries put out an urgent need this week, seeking folks who can put in a few hours helping those in need.

“We’re calling all volunteers. We serve 200 clients a ay and we direly need the community to help us serve those without food,” said a volunteer. “We have positions for everyone. We have jobs for those who need to sit down and work; standing jobs, inside and outside.”

She said many of the food pantry’s volunteers have disabilities, and they all have a job to do. “We also allow those needing to work off community service hours, if they have a non-violent offense.”

Just show up weekly at 8493 Hwy 34 South in Quinlan. They are open from 9 am to noon Monday through Wednesday and on Fridays.

Quinlan ISD board of trustees has called a special meeting today (July 2) at 6 pm. at the Joe Martin Administration Building, 401 E. Richmond St.

Trustees are scheduled to consider and approve a bid to repair the Ford High School front parking lot.

Following that action, there is an executive session scheduled, if needed.

Following last Thursday’s regular school board meeting, trustees at QISD accepted four resignations and hired 17 new employees.

Resigning were Mindi Vick, Melanie Lim, Diana Sanchez and Weston Wolfe.

New hires included Christina Iserman, Kindergarten position at D.C. Cannon Early Childhood Center; Kellie McPherson, Kindergarten position at D.C. Cannon Early Childhood Center; Keely Chamberlin 1st grade position at D.C. Cannon Elementary; Amy Cummings Kindergarten positionat D.C. Cannon Early Childhood Center; Laurie Daniel Nurse Position at A.E. Butler Intermediate; Nicholas Helge Special Education Special Education co-teacher at A.E. Butler Intermediate; Jennifer Helge Special Education co-teacher position at D.C. Cannon Early Childhood Center;

Also, Jeffery Warmath Chemistry position at Ford High School; Karen Hemmi 7th grade Math position at Thompson Middle School; Kimeberly Howard Dyslexia positionat D.C. Cannon Elementart; Nedal Jarbou Special Education position at Thompson Middle School; Stephanie Geer Diagnostician position; Emilty McGee 5th grade position A.E. Butler Intermediate; Darlene Hewitt Dyslexia position at Thompson Middle School; Douglas Barncastle Assistant Principal at Ford High School; Sherin Richardson Speech Language Pathologist Assistant position; and Lisa Shores Principal at D.C. Cannon Elementary.

QISD is reducing the number of shows FFA teams will participate next.year.

This action brought out FFA boosters to last Thursday’s board of trustees meeting to seek a resolution to the changes for 2026-2027 school year..

Speaking during the open forum were three concerned citizens. Input from the board was not given, since it was not an action item on the agenda.

Ford High School Principal Jason Wallen sent a letter out to FFA parents recently, informing them of next year’s show participation policy. “In the upcoming year, QISD will be reducing the number of shows that we travel to under the QISD FFA Charter,” wrote Dr. Wallen. “The selected shows QISD will attend are the Fort Worth Stock Show, Houston Stock Show, Hunt County Fair and San Angelo Mech and Metal Show.”

He said the reason behind this change “surrounds the importance of instructional time in the classroom.” With teachers out with show teams, it leaves substitute teachers to carry the load in the classroom for students not on the show teams. “This is extremely important as we work to help our students gain industry based certifications in our multiple agriculture pathways,” said the principal.

As an alternative, Dr. Wallen said QISD has a partnership with Hunt County 4-H. Those students wanting to participate in additional shows, he said, could look to 4-H as another option.

Bre Fouse said, “I would like to have a meeting to discuss ways we could keep the FFA plan in place that we had last year.” Others seeking to keep the old policy in place and stressing the importance of the show team experience as part of their education were FFA Booster Club President Brittany Luna and businessman Jason Steedman.

Lone Oak High School Principal Shannon Wilhite and Assistant Principal Lindsey Buhler were presenters at the annual Texas Association of Secondary School Principals summer workshop recently.

They were able to share their experiences with fellow secondary educators from across Texas. The theme of the workshop was “leadership in a changing landscape.”

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