The Princeton High School Class of 2024 celebrated their graduation. File Art

Princeton ISD board members wrestled with the same growth problems facing the city as a whole as the district opened two new elementary schools, struggled to find enough teachers and adopted a 2024-2025 school year budget increasing expenditures by 15% to $144.6 million.

In November, PISD voters returned Trustees Carlos Cueller and Duane Kelly to the school board, adding longtime district volunteer Bianca Washington. 

As the new school year began, there were 9,141 students starting classes, up 986 students from the first day of 2023. 

“Fortunately, we opened the two elementary schools [Green and James, each with 427 pupils] which should alleviate the pressure on most elementary campuses this year,” Superintendent Donald McIntyre said in August. “But, as of right now, our growth is exceeding current projections. So, it is good that we have four additional construction projects underway.”

As of Dec. 13, the district had a total of 10,088 students enrolled, up 1,333 from the previous year.

A demographic report from Zonda Education said PISD had 29 actively building subdivisions and 12 future subdivisions in various stages of planning. Groundwork was underway on more than 4,100 lots within 13 subdivisions and 848 lots were delivered in the second quarter. 

Commencement for 511 members of the Princeton High School Class of 2024 was held Thursday, May 23, at the Credit Union of Texas Allen Event Center. 

PHS Principal Richard Boring said some class members were fourth-generation Princeton graduates, while others were the first in their families to complete high school.

Boring said the graduates included 173 with honors and a dozen students received associate’s degrees from Collin College. Thirteen grads were joining the armed services and at least 313 career and technical education students earned industry certifications. In addition, members of the Class of 2024 were awarded more than $4.3 million in scholarships.

Next year’s PHS graduation will be held Thursday, May 22, also at the Allen Event Center.

The board had looked into moving commencement to the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, but the cost was expected to top $100,000 compared to the $30,000 to $35,000 for the final year of a five-year contract with the Allen event center.

To help students stay focused in class, the school board spent $64,390 to purchase cell phone security pouches for all middle school students, who now must lock up their phones at the start of the school day. 

Elementary students must put their phones in their backpacks and place their packs in their cubbies. High school students retain possession of their phones and may use them outside of class time.

To recruit and retain the best teachers, trustees gave educators an across-the-board $1,000 raise. 

The increase was in addition to the normal step already built into the salary scale for years of service, making the range of the increase between $1,500-$1,600. PISD teacher pay has increased $8,500 over the past four years.

“Salaries in surrounding districts have risen, and I praise the board for recognizing the importance to remain competitive,” McIntyre said. “We want to do whatever we can to keep the best teachers in Princeton ISD.”

In addition to the raises, 50 teachers will be getting thousands of dollars in bonus checks for the next five years under the Texas Incentive Allotment approved by the Legislature in 2019.

Top educators were designated as “recognized,” “exemplary” or “master” after being graded on teacher observation, student growth, leadership and attendance.

Princeton ISD had eight campuses with teachers who qualified this year, with nine teachers earning the master’s designation, 31 as exemplary and 10 as recognized.

The amount teachers received varied based on the socioeconomic levels of the campus, as well as schools considered to have students with high needs.

“Princeton typically has qualified in a range of $3,000-$16,000, Deputy Superintendent Jackie Hendricks said.

Construction was continuing on new campuses with the Canup Early Childhood Center and Jaguar Daycare on track for completion in April. Foundation work was continuing at the new administration building and warehouse just north of the present admin building with completion scheduled for August. 

Work has also begun at Tom Banschbach Middle School and the expansion of Jackie Hendricks Stadium was expected to be finished by the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

The year was not without controversy. Two nonprofits supporting Princeton’s LGBTQIA+ community were permanently banned from holding or attending events on school property.

In a marathon special meeting lasting nearly five hours, trustees denied grievances filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas on behalf of PTX Diverse and Color Splash Out.

Both groups had sought to hold June pride events that were canceled by the superintendent, who cited violations of the district’s Facilities Use Policy.

For the 17th year, the district worked with the Lions Club’s Angel Tree program to assist less fortunate Princeton ISD students during Christmas. In 2024, the program served at least 304 families and 854 children, Lions Club President Casey Gunnels said.

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