SMITHVILLE I.S.D.

BOARD BRIEFS

MAY 21, 2007

 

The Smithville I.S.D. Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, May 21, 2007 beginning at 6:00 P.M.  Items discussed or acted on by members included the following:

 

1.   Oath of Office for newly elected board members – Denise Behrens, acting in her capacity as

notary, issued the oath of office to Brad Hurta, Place 1, Mike Morgan, Place 5, Samella Williams, Place 6, and Howard Burns, Jr., Place 7 who were elected to serve on the Board of Trustees at the regular election held on May 12, 2007.

 

2.   Reorganization of the Board – Board policies BDA [Legal] and BDA [Local] specify that the

Board will elect a president, vice-president, and secretary at the first regular meeting after the election and qualification of Trustees.  Kamron Saunders nominated Craig Williams as president.  Mike Morgan moved that nominations cease, and Howard Burns seconded.  Mr. Williams was elected president by acclamation.  Craig Williams nominated Kamron Saunders as Vice-President.  Mike Morgan seconded.  Howard Burns moved to cease nominations, and Mike Morgan seconded.  Kamron Saunders was elected vice-president by acclamation.  Michael Goertz nominated Mike Morgan as secretary.  Craig Williams seconded, and Howard Burns moved that nominations cease.  Kamron Saunders seconded the motion, and Mike Morgan was elected secretary by acclamation.

 

3.      Recognition of Junior High Student Council and State Qualifiers for UIL Literary Events – The Board congratulated representatives from the Junior High Student Council for being chosen as Outstanding Student Council for the 2006-2007 school year by the Texas Association of Student Councils.  They also recognized Kelley Harris and Lili McEntire for advancing to state competition in Literary and Persuasive Speaking, and Iann McKee, Lauren Clark and David Weir for advancing to national competition in debate.

 

4.   Outstanding Students for the Fifth Six-Weeks – The Board recognized the outstanding students chosen from the junior high and high school campuses for the fifth six-weeks.  Jaycee Dawson was the junior high selection, and Kala Brock and Dustin Leiferman were the high school selections. 

 

5.      Employees of the Month for April – Staff members chosen as Employees of the Month for April are Philip McAdam, a teacher at the Junior High, and Linda Kellar, principal’s secretary at the high school.  They were present at the meeting to receive recognition from the Board.

 

6.      Communications from the Public – Mr. Tony Quitta addressed the Board to welcome new board members to service.

 

Consent Agenda – Kamron Saunders moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.  Michael Goertz seconded, and the motion carried 6-0 with Brad Hurta abstaining.  The Consent Agenda included:

 

7.      Minutes of the April 16, 2007 regular board meeting

8.      Disbursements for the month of April 2007

9.      Financial Statements for April 2007

10.  Investment Report

11.  Tax Collection Report

12.  Bank Depository Bids

13.  Band Uniform Bids

14.  MAC Program Participation Documents

 

15.  Superintendent’s Report – The Superintendent updated the Board on important issues involving Smithville ISD, including an invitation to Board members to attend Project Graduation, procedures for the upcoming graduation ceremony, results of Texas school bond elections, and upcoming training for new Board members.

 

16.  Preliminary Spring TAKS Testing Report – Cheryl Burns, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, presented a comprehensive report on TAKS Testing results from tests administered on all campuses in Smithville ISD in the spring of 2007.  This report allows the district staff to disaggregate the data by sub-groups, grade levels, and subject in order to plan for improvement in the future in the area of student performance.

 

17.  Telpas Report – The Texas Education Agency has implemented a new monitoring system of English Language Learners (ELL) in response to No Child Left Behind law.  This is a test that is administered to ELL students and reported to the Board on an annual basis.  Cheryl Burns presented to the Board a power point presentation on how SISD ELL students performed on the 2006-2007 TELPAS.

 

18.  Tentative June Agenda Items – Tentative items to be included on the June agenda are:

a.       Superintendent’s Report

b.      Board Self-Evaluation

c.       School climate survey report

d.      Review Board Operating Procedures

e.       Recognition of Outstanding Students for the Sixth Six-Weeks

f.        Superintendent’s Formative Assessment

g.       Review and approve District Crisis Management Plan

h.       TPRI Results

i.         Set Transfer Tuition Limit

j.        Annual Maintenance Report

k.      Review and approve campus handbooks, Student Code of Conduct and Athletic Handbook

 

19.  Consider Proposal Options for Surveillance System for SHS – This item was tabled until the June meeting pending additional options for surveillance coverage to be provided by Wildcat Ventures.

 

20.   Delegate selection for the 2007 TASB Convention delegate assembly – The TASB Delegate Assembly is a crucial component of the Association’s governance structure.  Each active member (school board) of the Association is entitled to have a delegate and an alternate attend the Assembly and cast our district’s vote on action items coming before the Assembly.  The TASB Convention this year is September 27th – 30th, and will be held at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.  The 2007 Delegate Assembly will meet on Saturday, September 29th.  Kamron Saunders nominated Mike Morgan to serve as delegate from Smithville ISD.  Howard Burns seconded the motion.  Craig Williams moved that nominations cease, with a second from Kamron Saunders.  The vote was 7-0.  Craig Williams volunteered to serve as alternate.

 

21.  Parent Request to Review Board Policy FMH [Local] Regarding Graduation Ceremonies – Current local board policy requires a student to pass all areas of TAKS and to complete all coursework in order to participate in graduation ceremonies.  This year, SISD has four students who have completed coursework, but have not passed all sections of the state mandated TAKS test.  Those students and their parents are petitioning the Board to change local policy to allow them to walk with the SHS Class of 2007.  After discussion, Kamron Saunders moved to allow seniors who have met all graduation requirements except the passage of TAKS, or any future state mandated tests, to walk with their graduating class and receive a Certificate of Attendance.  Brad Hurta seconded, and the motion carried 4-3 with Michael Goertz, Craig Williams, and Mike Morgan opposing.

 

22a.Resignations of Certified Personnel – Mr. Sage informed the Board of the resignations of Maurie   

      Hazlewood, Melinda Waldrep, Leona Jones, and Doyle Rogers.  No action was required.

 

22b.Employment of Certified Personnel – The Superintendent recommended employment of

Maryellen Sherrod as a speech therapist at Brown Primary, Candice Parsons, Lisa Maresh, Kelli Kellar and Virginia Marek as a teachers at the Junior High, James Thompson as a teacher at the high school, and Jason Jones as a teacher/coach at the high school.  Craig Williams moved to approve employment of the recommended personnel for the 2007-2008 school year.  Howard Burns seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.

 

23.  Adjournment – The Board adjourned its meeting at 9:23 p.m.