The Killeen school board heard some hard truths during a presentation by Will Hardaway from Gibson Consulting as he unfolded the results of the district’s Student Services Internal Audit during a school board meeting last week.
Some of the key takeaways, which surprised and concerned board members, were the statistics on chronic absenteeism. Killeen ISD has one of the highest rates of chronic absenteeism in Texas, according to the report.
During the 2020-2021 school year, KISD had a chronic absenteeism rate of 25.9%, well above the state average of 15%, according to the report.
The finding: “25 percent of all KISD student are chronically absent, limiting their potential for academic achievement,” according to the report.
At 27% in the 2021-22 school year. Killeen also had the highest discipline record count when compared to peer districts throughout Texas, the audit report showed.
School board member Oliver Mintz introduced Hardaway and prefaced the report with thanks for the hard work it took to prepare the report.
