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Table of Contents
February Teacher Appreciation
Let's start this edition of the Roadrunner Rundown with a beautiful Flower Bar for our amazing teachers and staff provided by the PTA!! Thanks also to our PTA Appreciation Chair, Stephanie Lermer and her team including Emili Krantz for putting this beautiful offering together. The entire Lee front office smelled amazing due to all the flowers and I got lots of happy comments from teachers!
2/20 - Congratulations to the Lee Sings Choir
Join me in sending a huge congratulations to the The Lee Sings Choir!! They performed Brave by Sara Bareilles on center court at the San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns game at the Moody Center this week!
Thank you to Margie Yankeelov, Lee Sings Choir Director for making this dream a reality!! Our Roadrunners did a such beautiful job representing Lee that several of the Spurs staff members who stopped to watch our students as they rehearsed backstage complimented the group and commented on Margie's skilled leadership. It is truly impressive to watch the choir as they perform!
Thank you to our friends at the Spurs Sports & Entertainment for making room for our students on the schedule and thank you to all the caregivers and the Lee PTA for ensuring that every Lee Sings Choir member who wanted to, was able to attend.
Lee Summer Camp!!
The Roadrunner Summer Camp registration is offiially OPEN! This isn't a race, so don't worry—spots will be assigned through a lottery system. After registration closes on February 23rd, we'll take about a week to process everything. Be sure to check out our amazing camp offerings for both Session 1 (6/2-6/6) and Session 2 (6/9-6/13).
All camp proceeds go directly toward supporting the incredible staff working hard at summer camp and contributing to the general Lee student activity fund. Don't miss out—register now!
Check Konstella for or more information
Advocacy Update
By Kelly Griswold, Lee Advocacy Chair
Hi everyone! Never a dull week in the advocacy space - see a recap of this week’s legislative activity below.
Rally Day is Monday, Feb 24!
Join us and other Texas PTAs at the Capitol on Monday to advocate for Texas public education. There is a full day of programming but come and go as your schedule allows. You can see more information on the invite here.
Join our new advocacy group on Konstella!
Things move fast with the Texas legislature in session - so please sign up if you’re interested in getting time sensitive calls to action. We’ll continue to provide weekly updates in the Rundown.
Austin ISD Board Recap - Here
The big news from the board's latest meeting is that the district's deficit is getting bigger - AISD’s budget deficit increased from $92 million to $110 million due to dropping property values, unbudgeted additional spending on items such as special education evaluation contracts and instructional materials, and reduced federal funding.
Read the recap here for a full explainer on why this deficit increased; you can also view the full district report here and see a video of the presentation here
You can find a list of engagement opportunity sessions on the final pages of the presentation linked above - the next one is Feb. 22.
Texas v. Becerra (504 Lawsuit) - Register Your Opinion Today!
Texas is one of 17 states suing the federal government, asking it to declare Section 504 unconstitutional. Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act protects people with disabilities.
In schools, a 504 plan details how a school will remove barriers for a student with a disability so that they can learn in a general-education classroom. (Click here for more details on what Section 504 does. Read more here about the differences between a 504 plan and an IEP.)
If Texas v. Becerra is successful, advocates worry that Section 504 protections will disappear from our schools.
Here's one step you can take: Call or email Attorney General Ken Paxton and register your position on the lawsuit. Contact information can be found here.
Texas House
The House K-12 Education committee was announced this week. You can view these members here.
HB 3 was filed this week in the Texas House. This bill is separate from the SB2 voucher bill that was passed by the Senate. HB3 ties the program’s per-student benefits to public education funding so the amount available to each student would increase when public schools receive more money and dip when public education funding declines. This article has a good run down on where these bills differ.
Hearings could start as early as next week.
Senate
SB 26 was filed on Tuesday - this bill allots for pay increases and a retention program for certain teachers, decoupling this funding from the basic allotment.
By doing so, critics of this bill state that it doesn’t give ISDs the ability to determine where their funds are spent, and doesn’t account for raises of other staff (librarians, counselors, support staff). You can read more about that bill here.
Questions/concerns/venting - reach out to me at advocacy@russellleepta.org.
PTA Exec Board Recruitment 2025-2026
This is your chance to make a big impact on Lee. We're recruiting for the 2025-2026 PTA Executive Board. You can put yourself forward for any position but the highest need is for those that are about to be vacated.
Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest so far! We still need interested parties for two key positions (VP Communications & VP Fundraising) so please reach out today! Both positions are essential for the operation of the Lee PTA. The right person can assemble a team to help support their role... many hands make light work!
President
Vice President
VP of Communications ⭐️
VP of Fundraising ⭐️
VP of Educational Enrichment
Secretary
Historian
Parliamentarian
Send any questions to Kristy Orr, Lee Parliamentarian at parliamentarian@russellleepta.org.
Have a question about responsibilities of open positions? email Kristy or any current board member. https://www.russellleepta.org/ptaboard
⭐️ VP of Communications ⭐️ This role works to streamline communication, improve technology use, and assist the PTA in supporting students, parents, and staff with clear, timely and concise communication. Weekly communication as well as answer questions or steer communication to proper executive board member from the community.
⭐️ VP of Fundraising ⭐️ Coordinate the PTA fundraising efforts among Lee families and corporate partners. Funds raised from the following efforts comprise Lee’s annual philanthropic success, including: Roadrunner Rally, Revenue sharing events/opportunities, Fall Carnival, Lee Live, merchandise sales, securing corporate/local business sponsors, football parking lot (see individual committee listings for roster).
2/27 - 1st Grade SEL Showcase
2/28 - Geography Day - Chile - Call for volunteers
Geography Day is coming together beautifully!! Lauren Ross has been hard at work pulling all the components together that will create an engaging, educational, and fun Geography Day for all Roadrunners! There will be arts and craft, food presentation, and a lecture in the auditorium.
2/27 - Spring Individual & Class Picture Day
Spring individual and class picture day will be on Thursday, February 27th. You can buy pictures online or by completing a paper order form. Paper order forms will be sent out this week.
Individual picture code: SPRING25
Class picture code: PTPGROUPS
Call for Volunteers
Fami-Lee, as we're through half of the academic year, we're making a call for your support. Several Lee PTA and School initiatives need your continued support.
Please consider offering an hour or more of your time to help make things a little easier for our teachers and students this semester:
COPY CATS
Would you like to help teachers directly by making copies and doing other tasks in the workroom? The commitment is 1hr/week. No experience necessary. Please email copycats@russellleepta.org if you are interested.
Lost & Found
Stop by campus once a week to sort, label, and organize L&F items and send a quick snapshot to me for posting... email president@russellleepta.org
Morning Traffic Monitor Volunteers
This is a 30 minute commitment that can be fun and easy with 2 or more people working together! VOLUNTEER HERE| Questions, email caitlin.sileo@austinisd.org
Lee Olympics Chair
Coordinate with the Lee PE Coaches to ensure we have a great event. email president@russellleepta.org
Call for photos
Reminder to send photos of any Lee event to photos@russellleepta.org for use in the Yearbook and/or Roadrunner Rundown. Thank you to everyone who has sent photos so far!
Lee Live Tickets
Let's make this one short and quick. Leave the kids at home and enjoy a night away from it all. Buy those tickets to Lee Live!
Date: Saturday, March 29th
Time: 6-10PM
Location: Shady Springs Party Barn
Your ticket includes dinner, drinks and 4 hours of entertainment. With your help, we can raise over $70,000 for our school. We'll have everything from overflowing gift baskets to birthday party packages in our Silent Auction, ski trips to beach vacations in our Live Auction and Grade Level Art you won’t want to miss.
How to Purchase Tickets:Visit https://leelive.hellofund.io
Interested in Volunteering at the Event for Free Admission?Let us know here: https://shorturl.at/yV1zV
Have a Donation for Auction?Let us know here: https://shorturl.at/x2pdD or Email leelive@russellleepta.org
Get your Yearbook TODAY!!
24-25’ Yearbooks are on sale now!!
Custom pages are not due at time of order. You can go back and complete that step later.
Each book order includes 2 customized pages for your individual yearbook.
If you have any questions please reach out to Selena at historian@russellleepta.org
If you take photos at any Lee event that you think might look great in the yearbook, please send them to us at: photos@russellleepta.org
Lost & Found
Fami-Lee Lost & Found is overflowing! Please ask your Roadrunner to check for any lost items and if you can, please stop by to browse as well.
Lee Calendar
2/24 - PTA Rally Day
2/27 - Picture Day
2/27 - 1st Grade Showcase
2/28 - Geography Day
Thanks for reading this week's Roadrunner Rundown! Have something to add? Share your comments or feature suggestions with Clarissa at communications@russellleepta.org or online here.
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