BOARD OF TRUSTEES WORKSHOP MEETING
Administrative Conference Room
October 16, 2007
5:30 p.m.
A.
CALL TO ORDER
President Tim Jones called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m. with seven
members present.
B. DECLARATION OF QUORUM
President Tim Jones, Vice
President Mary Broussard, Secretary Randall Pitcock, Trustees Charlotte Slack, Garland
Watson, Marc Chaloupka, and Steve Aldrich were present.
C. WORKSHOP SESSION
C-1.
Consideration, discussion and possible action related to Board
Priorities
President Tim
Jones welcomed everyone and recognized Superintendent Eddie Coulson who led
discussion regarding the process for approving Board Priorities. The District Improvement Plan aligns with the
Board Priorities. Discussion occurred
regarding removing the year from the Board Priorities because the priorities
not simply for one year. They are
on-going; a work in progress. Trustee
Randall Pitcock expressed the need for “simplicity”. Trustee Charlotte Slack desires more emphasis
on “safe” and “healthy”. Trustee Marc
Chaloupka reported that the only priority could be to “educate”; all other
aspects are legislated. Discussion
occurred.
MOTION 3824: I move approval of the Board Priorities as presented. The motion was made by Trustee Charlotte
Slack and seconded by Secretary Randall Pitcock. The motion passed with seven ayes and zero
nos.
C-2.
Consideration, discussion and possible action regarding the CSISD
Communication Plan
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Ann Ganter, Director for Public Relations and the
Education Foundation who reported regarding the communication efforts framework
of CSISD. One of the goals of the effort
is to promote trust among constituents.
Trustee Garland
Watson questioned use of PTO to recruit more parent involvement. Superintendent Coulson reported that
representation and meeting times for PTO is a concern for Principals and an
on-going effort to reach all parents.
Trustee Marc
Chaloupka expressed concern for Campus websites. A standard format for all campuses is
desired.
Trustee
Charlotte Slack expressed desire to broaden our communication efforts to
include retirees and other community members who do not have children in school
through a newspaper mail-out. Discussion
occurred regarding partnering with the City to include district information
with annual report mailings, electric bill mailings, etc. to citizens.
President Tim
Jones mentioned the possibility of broadcasting board meetings live.
Trustee Steve
Aldrich mentioned that in a world where we expect to be entertained, we should
tap into our students for creative, entertaining ways to tell the CSISD story.
C-5.
Consideration, discussion and possible action regarding Technology
projects included in the 2007 Bond Program
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Clark Ealy, Executive Director for Accountability
& Planning, who reported to the Board regarding Technology Related Bond
Purchase Plan. In May 2007, the voters
approved $2.6 million in technology purchases.
These figures are for two main projects: reconfiguring and updating our
network AND providing classroom projection systems for classrooms on our
current campuses.
Most of the
CSISD Network infrastructure is approaching the end of its useful life. The increase in enrollment and uses of
technology in the classroom will require an improvement in our overall
architecture. Our network will need to
be scalable to meet our technology needs for the next 7-10 years.
Over the past
few years, we have outfitted over 100 classrooms with AV projection
equipment. In following the Long Range
Technology Plan, the district would like to complete the installation of AV
projection equipment in the rest of the classrooms in the district.
C-7.
Consideration, discussion and possible action regarding the purchase
of a portable building for Forest Ridge Elementary School and the lease of
portable buildings in support of the Athletics Complex construction project
Deputy
Superintendent Mike Ball will discuss these items in the Regular Board Meeting.
The Board Workshop was recessed at 6:44 p.m.
The Board Workshop reconvened at 8:08 p.m.
C-3.
Consider setting a future time for CSISD Board Planning to include
the TASA/TASB Convention
President Tim Jones led discussion among Trustees and scheduled a
Board Workshop on Thursday, November 1, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. to discuss a
Guaranteed Maximum Price issue, the recent TASA/TASB Convention in Dallas, and
an agenda for the 11/6/07 meeting that will be scheduled for Board Planning.
President Tim Jones led discussion among Trustees and discussed
scheduling a Board Workshop on Tuesday, November 6, 2007 from 4:00 p.m. until
8:00 p.m. at a location to be determined.
C-4. Consideration, discussion and possible
action regarding Update 81
Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Greg
McIntyre reported and led discussion as it pertains to Update 81. Administration plans to ask the Board for
approval at the November 2007 Regular Board Meeting.
Update 81 is drawn almost exclusively from the actions of the 80th
Legislature, which passed approximately 200 bills with school-related
provisions. While not all of the new
laws are cited in legal policies or generate changes to local policies, the
number of bills that impact the manual make this a lengthy update. Modifications to district practices appear in
all seven sections of the manual: Board,
Finances, Operations, Employees, Students,
C-6.
Consideration, discussion and possible action regarding the 2008-2009
Calendar Adoption Process
Superintendent Eddie Coulson recognized Executive Director Clark
Ealy who reviewed the calendar adoption process briefly. A brief discussion occurred to give board
direction as it pertains to setting a calendar that goes into June 2009. Trustees desire to end the school year prior
to June.
C-8.
Consideration, discussion and possible action regarding Texas
Property Tax Code Section 11.253 and its applicability to College Station
Independent School District as it pertains to a potential property tax
exemption for certain goods in transit
Dr. Coulson recognized Deputy Superintendent for Business and
Operations Mike Ball who reported regarding legislation whereby a statute
requires that a school district hold a public hearing to publicly state that they
will not grant exemptions for ad valorem taxes under the Freeport
exemption. If nothing is done, then the
exemption automatically goes into effect.
This statute should be implemented by January 2008 – the first of the
calendar year.
D. ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, Tim Jones adjourned the workshop meeting at 9:16
p.m.
TIM
JONES RANDALL PITCOCK
PRESIDENT SECRETARY