COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING
CSISD Board Room
October 20, 2009
7:00
p.m.
President
Charlotte Slack called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with seven members
present.
B.
DECLARATION OF QUORUM
President Charlotte
Slack declared a quorum was present with seven members. President Slack, Vice President Randall
Pitcock, Secretary Valerie Jochen, Trustees Paul Dorsett, Mary Broussard, Carol
Barrett and Garland Watson were present.
C.
RECOGNITIONS
C-1. Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag
and the Texas Flag, and a Moment of Silence
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Forest Ridge Elementary Principal, Terresa Katt. Mrs. Katt introduced 4th Grader
Christopher Whitley, 3rd Grader Lauren Livingston, and 2nd
Grader Audrey Whitley. The students led
the audience in the pledges and the moment of silence.
C-2. Students
a. National Merit Semi-Finalists
Sixteen
College Station Independent School District seniors were named semifinalists in
the 2010 National Merit Scholar Program.
The 16 CSISD students are in a pool of approximately 16,000
semifinalists nationwide and are competing for 8,200 National merit
Scholarships worth up to $2,500 each.
About 90% of the semifinalists are expected to be named finalists and of
those, around half will win a National Merit Scholarship and earn the
prestigious Merit Scholar title. The
semifinalists are: Kyle Chapkin, Saumyajyoti
Chaudhuri, Michael Dror, Elizabeth Haberl, June Kang, Rajeev Kinra, Catherine
Koola, Yifan Liu, William Lynch, Allison Pearce, Alexandra Popescu, Alexander
Reese, Detian Shi, Dustin Williams, Chen Wu and Sallyann Zhou.
b. American Junior Golf Association Scholastic
All-American
Casey Grice
has been named an HP Scholastic Junior All-American by the American Junior golf
Association. Sponsored for the 15th
consecutive year by HP, the 2009 team consists of 12 young men and 12 young
women who demonstrate the ability to excel both on the golf course and in the
classroom.
D.
BOARD
D-1. Board Directions and
Reports/Announcements/Superintendent Reports
Vice
President Randall Pitcock reported that the Finance/Facilities Committee has
met and all of the items discussed are on the board agenda tonight.
Trustee Mary
Broussard reported that DEIC has met and several of the items addressed at the
committee meeting are on the agenda.
Calendar options are being discussed.
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson reported that the Board will be involved in CRSS training
beginning in February 2010.
President
Charlotte Slack reported that the TASA/TASB conference was so energizing that
the Trustees have met for an extra meeting to share what was learned.
President
Slack also announced that Administrative Leadership Institute is scheduled for
November 18, 19, 2009 at the Hilton.
Chuck Norris is the speaker.
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Ann Ganter, Director of Public Relations and the
Education Foundation, who is retiring this month. Dr. Coulson introduced Teresa Benden, the new
Director of the Education Foundation.
The Foundation’s Walk our Walk event is scheduled for 10/26/09. The High School Transition Team is scheduled
to begin meeting on 10/26/09. CSISD now
has a Facebook Fan Page. CSISD 2nd
graders are being treated to “hard hats” for “little heads”, a program in
conjunction with Aggie athletes that provides safety
information and bicycle helmets for all 2nd graders in the district.
President
Slack welcomed all of the students in the audience.
E.
HEARING OF CITIZENS
(Non-Agenda Items/Agenda Items)
None
F.
CONSENT AGENDA
Agenda
Item G – APPROVAL OF MINUTES – September 15, 2009 Board Workshop Minutes,
September 15, 2009 Public Hearing Minutes, September 15, 2009 Regular Board
Meeting Minutes ; Agenda Item H –
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION: Agenda Item H-2: Consideration,
discussion and possible action related to the TAKS Testing Waiver – annual
approval – allows AMC High School to modify their schedule during testing days
; Agenda
Item I - PERSONNEL: Agenda Item I-2: Consider approval of Resignations; Agenda Item I-3: Consider approval of Employments;
Agenda Item J - BUSINESS: Agenda Item J-5: Consider approval of an Interlocal
Purchasing Agreement with Texas A&M University; Agenda Item J-6: Consider approval of Monthly Financial
Reports
MOTION 4153: I
move approval of the Consent Agenda, as presented. The motion was made by Trustee Mary Broussard
and seconded by Trustee Garland Watson.
The motion passed with seven ayes and zero nos.
H.
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
H-1. Receive Report related to Head Start and
Pre-Kindergarten Services
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Director for Head Start and Pre-K, Sharon Jackson, who
reported that Early Childhood Services include Head Start, Pre-Kindergarten, Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities, Bilingual
Education, Inclusion Services, SMILE, and ABC classes. The mission statement is that The CISSD Early
Childhood programs exist to work effectively with each child and family to
create positive experiences that are success based and appropriate so that each
may be productive, responsible and independent.
Head Start Program components include health, nutrition, education,
social services, mental health, family partnerships, and community
collaborations. Pre-Kindergarten
performance data includes:
Self
Assessment Results include:
transportation of students within a two mile zone, additional
administrative staff for disabilities, consideration of “overflow” children,
family partnership goals with shorter term and life skills focus, process for
assisting families with Medicaid lapses, and translation for languages other
than Spanish. Program Challenges
include:
I.
PERSONNEL
I-1. Receive Report regarding Highly Qualified
Requirements
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Director for Human Resources Glynn Walker who reported
to the Board regarding Highly Qualified Requirements as they pertain to the No
Child Left Behind Act.
The NCLB Act of 2001 requires that all teachers of core content areas
and instructional paraprofessionals at
Title I
campuses, are highly qualified and that districts publicly report the
findings. The processes CSISD uses to
insure compliance are:
For the
2009-2010 school year, 100% of the CSISD teachers
teaching in a core academic area are highly qualified.
For the
2009-2010 school year, 100% of the paraprofessionals with instructional duties
in programs supported by Title I funds are highly qualified.
J.
BUSINESS
J-1. Consider approval of an Order authorizing
the issuance of College Station Independent School District Unlimited Tax
Refunding Bonds, Series 2009; Establishing procedures for the sale and delivery
of the bonds; Levying an annual ad valorem tax for the payment of said bonds;
Approving an official statement; and Enacting other provisions relating to the
subject
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Chief Financial Officer Amanda Dotson who reported to
the Board of Trustees regarding a Bond Refunding Opportunity. The District’s Financial Advisors, Southwest
Securities, have monitored the status of the district’s outstanding bonds for
opportunities to lower the total debt service requirements. The market conditions are currently favorable
for $5,290,000 in debt from the 1999 bond issue to be refunded with a new
present value savings exceeding 7%. The
recommended transaction provides a total cash savings of approximately $450,000
over ten years with a net present value of just over $400,000.
MOTION 4154: I
move approval of an Order authorizing the issuance of College Station
Independent School District Unlimited Tax Refunding Bonds, Series 2009;
Establishing procedures for the sale and delivery of the bonds; Levying an
annual ad valorem tax for the payment of said bonds; Approving an official
statement; and Enacting other provisions relating to the subject, as
presented. The motion was made by Trustee
Paul Dorsett and seconded by Trustee Mary Broussard. The motion passed with seven ayes and zero
nos.
J-2. Consider responses to Bids for School
Buses RFB #10-002
Chief
Financial Officer Amanda Dotson reported that the 2009 Bond program provides
$2.5 Million for the purchase of school buses.
CSISD Purchasing and Transportation Departments have solicited and
evaluated bids for the school buses. The
district received three responses. Five
different types of buses were included in the bid specifications: 24-Passenger Bus, 53-Passenger Bus,
77-Passenger Bus, 77-Passenger Bus, and 84-Passenger Bus. One vendor did not bid items 1 and 5. One vendor provided the lowest price for
items 1 through 4, but did not meet the specifications of a front air
suspension system for item 5.
MOTION 4155: I move approval of the bid from Longhorn Bus
Sales for items 1-4 and reject all bids for item 5, as presented. The total of the 25 buses to be purchased,
with accessories, is $2,081,759. The
motion was made by Trustee Mary Broussard and seconded by Vice President
Randall Pitcock. The motion passed with
seven ayes and zero nos.
J-3. Consider approval of Monthly Budget
Amendments
Superintendent
Coulson recognized Chief Financial Officer Amanda Dotson who reported to the
Trustees regarding Budget Amendments.
The proposed amendments to the General Fund Budget include routine
transfers proposed by various programs, and incorporation of a grant received
from the American Alliance for Health, PE, Recreation & Dance. The largest portion of the amendment between
the General Fund and the State Fiscal Stabilization fund represents the portion
of our regular operating budget that the State of Texas is funding through
their share of the State Fiscal Stabilization funds made available by the ARRA
federal program. The proposed amendments
to the Head Start, Homeless Education, and Advanced Placement fund budgets are
to set up the 2009-2010 budgets for these grant programs that have recently
been approved by the granting agencies.
The proposed amendments to the Campus Activity Fund budget are routine
transfers due to PTO donations at various campuses and to set up a budget for
AMCHS to serve as the host district for UIL competition.
MOTION 4156: I
move approval of Monthly Budget Amendments, as presented. The motion was made by Secretary Valerie
Jochen and seconded by Trustee Paul Dorsett.
The motion passed with seven ayes and zero nos.
J-4. Consider authorization of purchase through
the Texas A&M University Master Agreement for Audio/Visual Equipment of
Smart Interactive Whiteboards for various campuses
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Chief Financial Officer Amanda Dotson who reported to
the Board that the district’s long range technology plan calls for Smart
Interactive Whiteboards to be placed in all the remaining instructional rooms
that have not already been outfitted with the technology. Interest earned on 2007 bond proceeds, along
with other project savings from the 2007 bond program allow us to complete this
project with the remaining 2007 bond funds.
Quotes were obtained from MicroAge, a vendor that has worked closely
with the other district installations of this product. This district receives a discount off list
pricing by utilizing Texas A&M University’s Master Agreement through an
interlocal purchasing agreement the district has with the University.
MOTION 4157: I
move approval of the purchase through the Texas A&M
University Master Agreement for Audio/Visual Equipment of Smart Interactive
Whiteboards for various campuses, as presented.
The motion was made by Vice President Randall Pitcock and seconded by
Secretary Valerie Jochen. The motion
passed with seven ayes and zero nos.
K.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
K-1. Consideration, discussion and possible
action related to the Interlocal Agreement pertaining to Broad Band Spectrum
Channels
Superintendent
Eddie Coulson recognized Deputy Superintendent for Administrative Services
Clark Ealy who reported to the Trustees regarding an Interlocal Agreement with
Texas A&M University.
The Federal
Communications commission (FCC) assigned some broadband spectrum to colleges,
public education entities, churches, and other non-profit organizations back in
the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that was to be used for television broadcasts
by the owner entity for instructional or educational services. These are called Educational Broadband
Spectrum (EBS) channels. New FCC rules
dictate that 5% of the EBS channels must be used for educational content. The new rules applied by the FCC back in 2004
has opened the door for wireless companies to approach owners of this spectrum
with long-term lease offers that would allow marketing of commercial broadband
wireless services within a geographical service area. This spectrum is now in high demand because
of uses and compatibilities for enhanced broadband wireless services, namely
WiMax. CSISD has 4 channels and has been
reviewing our options for the past two years.
We must
either lease the channels or deploy them for our use by May 1, 2011, or the FCC
will reassign them to another entity.
The district has met with other educational institutions that also have
EBS channels to determine if the value of the channels will increase if we
partner via a RFP process. We’ve met
with educational entities in our area including Texas A&M,
Blinn College and Bryan and Somerville ISD’s.
At the March
13, 2009 Board meeting, we discussed the following three CSISD options:
The Board
decided in March to move forward with the RFP with other local educational
institutions.
MOTION 4158:
I move approval of the Interlocal Agreement pertaining to Broad Band
Spectrum Channels, as presented. The
motion was made by Secretary Valerie Jochen and seconded by Trustee Paul
Dorsett. The motion passed with seven
ayes and zero nos.
L.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
L-1. The Board will meet in executive session
to conduct a closed meeting to deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or
value of real property because the deliberation in an open meeting would have a
detrimental effect on the position of the District in negotiations with a third
party. The executive session
deliberations will be held pursuant to the “Deliberation Regarding Real
Property; closed Meeting” exception to the Texas Open Meetings Act as set forth
in Section 551.0742 of the Texas Government Code.
The Board
went into Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. for discussion.
M.
OPEN SESSION
The Board returned
to Open Session at 8:48 p.m. No action
was taken.
N.
ADJOURNMENT
Without
objection, President Slack adjourned the meeting at 8:48 p.m.
CHARLOTTE
SLACK VALERIE
JOCHEN
PRESIDENT SECRETARY