Enrollment Report
Preliminary enrollment numbers for the 2023-24 school year dropped by 27 students since last year to 800. After the first week of school, that number dropped to 796, and since then, five more students have withdrawn, bringing the enrollment number at the end of August to only 791. Dr. Pulliam said enrollment at Canadian ISD reached a peak of 1,033 students in 2015, and dropped to 1,017 in 2016. “Historic enrollment numbers…helps with the perspective of where we’ve been, and the cycles we’ve been through,” he said. “In 2002, 2005, we were in the 600s. There have been bubbles of classes when they were large and job situations were good.” Pulliam said he hoped the district would pick up some new registration after Labor Day.

Auxiliary Gym Report

Work began on repairs to the auxiliary gym at Canadian High School last month, and in their Aug. 24 meeting, board members reviewed and approved a $407,805 proposal from Amarillo’s Panhandle Steel Buildings for site revisions and gymnasium wall repairs to correct problems with the original building. Panhandle Steel will be mobilizing and setting up to start construction defect repairs in the next couple of days. The contract specifies 60-75 days to complete the work. The board also approved two 2023 budget amendments, including $10,000 in construction legal fees, and $100,000 for construction. Trustees have requested that Dr. Pulliam prepare and maintain a separate spreadsheet for all expenditures on the auxiliary gym repair project, including a line item for legal fees.

Other Capital Improvement Projects

Dr. Pulliam reported on September 1 that paving on the track at Wildcat Stadium was complete, and the Hellas would be on site this week to check and correct any grade issues, and complete pavement preparation prior to starting application of the new rubberized track surface on Sept. 16. In addition, resurfacing of the BES Cafeteria driveway and the CISD Business Office parking lot was complete.