New IISD Superintendent takes the reigns July 1

By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer
Much was accomplished at the April 10 meeting of the Industrial ISD Board of Trustees, from graduation plans to the hiring of a new superintendent.
The board voted to officially hire Paul Darilek of Stockdale ISD to take the place of Tony Williams, who will retire at the end of the school year. Darilek will begin his tenure on July 1. Also hired was coach Kayla Neel, who will coach at Industrial Junior High.
The board stepped closer to making a plan for graduation, since the stadium is not yet ready to accommodate guests.They juggled ideas like having graduation at a different school, having it in the auditorium and handing out a limited number of tickets per student, or moving the graduation to a parking lot or other makeshift “stadium.”
While they didn’t pick a location on campus, they did decide to keep graduation at Industrial and outdoors if possible, aiming for 1,800 seats, the same seating that would be offered in the old stadium.
The scholarship portion of graduation will be moved to a separate ceremony to be held before but separate from baccalaureate. At 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 21 the scholarships will be presented, followed by a 15-minute intermission. Graduation will be held on Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m.
The board also honored the Industrial High School Academic UIL team for their Region 4 win. The team came in first place over 57 other teams.
Devon Castleton gave a presentation regarding saving money through cutting costs. Castleton’s employer, McKinstry, works primarily with academic institutions, helping them to fund projects they might otherwise not be able to by cutting electricity and other utility costs. The board will look into those options.
The district received donations from Battle Sport Science and Alamo Concrete.
Industrial ISD Board meet again on Monday, May 8.