Maintaining a healthy account balance is the hallmark of financial responsibility, especially when you’re a school district spending taxpayer dollars.

Online testing and the district’s growth were at the forefront of the Princeton ISD Board of Trustees meeting, Wednesday, Dec. 15.

The board also received updates on active COVID-19 cases and enrollment, authorized the purchase of various items, and approved the financial audit for the past fiscal year.

The auditor, Steve Davis, said there were no major issues identified in the audit, adding the tax collection rate is in a “healthy range for a district of that size.”

Additionally, secretary Chad Jones, who also serves on the Economic Development Corporation, briefed the board on the EDC’s latest developments as it tries to attract more businesses.

Jones said the EDC is continuing to explore incentives to bring in more restaurants.

“We’re discussing some possible grants that can help entice some of the bigger restaurant franchises to town,” Jones said. “It seems that we’re on the threshold of roofs and businesses, and we’ll need the population to grow a little more in order to attract them.”

The EDC will continue to have conversations about attracting new businesses, Jones said, and he will keep the board updated on future developments.

In other business, Superintendent Donald McIntyre updated the board on enrollment. He said the district will likely move up to 6A status with its current growth without adding students to the 2021-2022 student population.

The next school board meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24, 2022 at the PISD Administration Building.