SMITHVILLE I.S.D.

BOARD BRIEFS

SEPTEMBER 17, 2007

 

The Smithville I.S.D. Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, September 17, 2007 beginning at 6:00 P.M.  Items discussed or acted on by members included the following:

 

1.         Communications from the Public – The Board heard from Scott Nichols, senior student at the high school, who expressed his desire to reinstate nominations for Homecoming King and Queen from each high school organization.

 

Consent Agenda – Kamron Saunders moved to approve items 2 through 9 on the Consent Agenda as presented.  Howard Burns seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.  The Consent Agenda included the following:

 

2.         Minutes of the August 20, 2007 regular board meeting

3.         Disbursements for the month of August 2007

4.         Financial Statements for August 2007

5.         Investment Report

6.         Tax Collection Report

7.         Designated and Reserved Fund Balance

8.         MAC Program Participation Documents

9.         Budget Amendments

 

10.       Superintendent’s Report – The Superintendent updated the Board on implementation of the high school surveillance system and received input from Board members for surveillance needs on other campuses in the district.

 

11.       District Technology Report – John Harkrider, Network Administrator, presented the Board with his annual report addressing the status of technology within the District.

 

12.       Present the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas Ratings for SISD – In

compliance with reporting mandates, Rick Boehm, Director of Business, presented the District’s First Rating’s Report to the Board.  Kamron Saunders moved to approve the report as presented.  Brad Hurta seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.

 

13.       Adequate Yearly Progress Report – Under the No Child Left Behind Act, public school

            districts, campuses, and the state are evaluated annually for Adequate Yearly Progress in

Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics. AYP is the accountability measure in the federal accountability system.  Cheryl Burns, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, gave a short report to the Board on the district’s AYP.

 

14.       Certification Status Report – A complete listing of teachers in our district, their teaching assignments, and their certification status was included in the board packet for Board information.  Teachers who are currently enrolled in alternative certification programs or on permits were noted on the list.

15.       Class Size Report – State law mandates that a 22 to 1 student teacher ratio be maintained at the Kindergarten through 4th grade level.  The Superintendent advised the Board that S.I.S.D. is in compliance and within this required limit, and provided a report on current class sizes through 4th grade.

 

16.       CScope Update – Cheryl Burns, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, reported to the Board on implementation of CScope and district wide Kindergarten through 12th grade aligned curriculum.

 

17.       Tentative October Agenda Items – Tentative items to be included on the October agenda are:

            a.  Superintendent’s Report

            b.  Employees of the Month for October

            c.  Outstanding Students for the First Six Weeks

            d.  TASB Delegate Report

            e.  Secondary Campuses Student Council Reports

            f.  Site-Based Committee Membership Reports

 

18.       Investment Policy Review – Law requires that the investment policy and the investment strategy shall be reviewed on an annual basis. According to Board Policy CDA [Legal], the Board must adopt a written instrument stating that it has reviewed the investment policy and investment strategies and that the written instrument so adopted shall record any changes that were made.  Brad Hurta entered a motion to approve the investment policy without changes and to adopt the resolution as presented.  Mike Morgan seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.

 

19.       Review Approved Providers of Investment Training – In accordance with Section 2256.008(a) of the Texas Government Code, the local governing body must approve sources of training relating to investment responsibilities.  Kamron Saunders motioned to approve the recommended independent sources of investment training as presented.  Craig Williams seconded the motion, and it passed 7-0.

 

20.       Consider Revision of Board Policy EIE [Local] – The introduction of an aligned curriculum with performance assessments for k-2nd grade has lead to the review of current grading policies used for promotion.  The Board reviewed the current policy and considered amendments to allow for the use of performance indicators versus grades in determining promotion of students at early grade levels.  The Board also reviewed a preliminary report card that will be used to communicate mastery of objectives for the 1st grade students.  Kamron Saunders moved to approve the policy change allowing for the adjustment to the report card and to review the curriculum annually.  Brad Hurta seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.

 

21.       Adjournment – The Board ended its meeting at 8:28 p.m.