BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING
CSISD Board Room
July 24, 2007
7:00 p.m.
President
Tim Jones called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
B. DECLARATION
OF QUORUM
President Tim Jones declared
a quorum was present with six members. President
Jones, Secretary Randall Pitcock, Trustees Charlotte Slack, Marc Chaloupka, Garland
Watson and Steve Aldrich were present.
Vice President Mary Broussard arrived at 8:05 p.m.
C. RECOGNITIONS
C-1. Pledge
of Allegiance to the American Flag and the Texas Flag, and a Moment of Silence
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
introduced Catherine George, Director for Special Services and she recognized
students Jeremy Halling and Garrett George who are both Southwood Valley
Elementary First Graders. The students
led the audience in the pledges and the moment of silence.
C-2. STUDENTS
a. National
Skills USA, Media Technology Instructor Scott Faulk
The Media Technology
department at A&M Consolidated High School traveled to Kansas City,
Missouri to compete at the National Skills USA Leadership Conference. Led by Scott Faulk the Media Technology
Instructor, Tom Vestal and Adrian Vasquez de Velasco, two recent graduates of
Consolidated, competed in the national Television and Video Production Contest
against 39 other state championship teams from around the country. The two students compete as a team in which
they are given information on sight and must shoot and edit a video in a given
amount of time. This year the contest
scope was to create a one minute video promoting The National WWI Museum. The teams were bussed to the museum and then
given three hours to plan and shoot the footage for the promotional piece. The next day the teams were allowed three
hours to edit the final product. The
awards ceremony took place Friday night, June 29th, at Kempner arena
where the team of Adrian Vasquez de Velasco and Tom Vestal were announced as
the 1st place winners before a crowd of 10,000. Adrian will continue his study of film and
video next year at NYU. Tom will be
attending UT next fall studying business.
D. BOARD
D-1. Board
Directions and Reports/Announcements/Superintendent Reports
President Tim Jones reminded
trustees about the TASA/TASB Annual Conference scheduled for September 28 – 30,
2007 in Dallas, Texas and pre-registration information looks as if CSISD will
be 100% in attendance and that will continue their streak of 100% attendance.
President Jones also
reminded the trustees about an invitation they recently received to a luncheon
during the week of NTI. The luncheon is
scheduled for Friday, August 17th at noon at Pebble Creek Country
Club.
Trustee Marc Chaloupka
announced that an additional water feature is proposed for the Wolf Pen Creek
area.
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
introduced Jon Hall, newly hired Construction Manager for CSISD.
Superintendent Coulson
invited the trustees to the Administrative Family Dinner scheduled for 8/9/07
at the home of Ron and Katie Fox. More
info will follow.
Superintendent Coulson
invited the trustees to join the entire CSISD staff for the We’re Ready Rally
scheduled for 8/21/07 at 8:00 a.m. at Central Baptist Church.
E. HEARING OF
CITIZENS
Veronica Hart, South Knoll
parent of Joshua, addressed the Trustees regarding her support of the CSISD
Dual Language program.
F. HEARING OF EMPLOYEES
None
G. CONSENT
AGENDA
Agenda Item H - Approval
of Minutes –June 19, 2007 Workshop Minutes, June 19, 2007 Regular Board Meeting
Minutes, June 25, 2007 Special Board Meeting Minutes; Agenda Item I –
Curriculum & Instruction: Agenda
Item I-2: Consider approval of the
Student Code of Conduct for the 2007-2008 school year; Agenda Item J – Personnel: Agenda Item J-1: Consider approval of Resignations;
Agenda Item J-2: Consider approval of Employments; Agenda Item J-3: Consider approval of 2007-2008 Teacher
Observation and Appraisal Calendar; Agenda
Item K – Business & Operations: Agenda Item K-6: Consider
approval of responses to Request for Quotes from Catalog Information Services
(CISV) Vendors for Left Hand Network San Equipment in the amount of $61,632;
Agenda Item K-7: Consider approval of purchase of Calculator Teacher Kits
for A&M Consolidated High School from a Department of Information Resources
(DIE) vendor in the amount of $27,413; Agenda Item K-8: Consider
approval of purchase of food service equipment through the Gulf Coast
Cooperative which is administered by the Harris County Department of Education
(HCDE); Agenda Item K-9: Consider approval of Monthly Financial Reports
– Reports covering the month ended June 30, 2007; Agenda Item K-10: Consider approval of
Monthly Budget Amendments – Amendments covering the period since last Board
Meeting.
MOTION 3797: I move approval of the Consent Agenda, as presented. The motion was made by Trustee Randall
Pitcock and seconded by Trustee Marc Chaloupka.
The motion passed with six ayes and zero nayes and one absence. Vice-President Mary Broussard was absent.
I. CURRICULUM
AND INSTRUCTION
I-1. Receive
Report from Robin Oberg, Director of Special Programs, regarding CSISD Dual
Language Program
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Greg McIntyre who introduced Robin Oberg,
Director for Special Programs. Ms. Oberg
reported that the College Station ISD Two-Way Dual Language program is housed
at South Knoll and College Hills for students in grades K-4. The program integrates native English
speakers with native Spanish speakers and provides instruction through both
languages to both groups of students.
The goals of the two-way program are to produce learners who are
bilingual, with literacy in both languages, and who understand and feel at ease
in different cultural settings.
K. BUSINESS
AND OPERATIONS
K-1. Consider
establishing meeting dates for Public hearing on Budget Adoption and Tax Rate
for the 2007-2008 fiscal year
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Mike Ball who presented information to the
trustees that State Law requires that the District’s budget for the 2007-2008
fiscal year be prepared on or before August 20, 2007 and adopted by the
Trustees on or before August 31, 2007.
The Truth In Taxation Statutes also require that a Hearing be held in
which the budget and tax rate will be discussed. There are two factors that are currently out
of the control of the District personnel that will impact this issue. The Commissioner of Education must approve
the District’s plan to equalize the wealth for the 2007-2008 budget year and
the Comptroller of Public Accounts has not yet released the 2007 Truth In
Taxation Manual. Assuming these two
factors occur as planned; the administration recommends that August 21, 2007 be
scheduled as the Public Hearing on Budget Adoption and Tax Rate.
MOTION 3798: I move approval of establishing August 21, 2007 as
the date for the Public Hearing on Budget Adoption and Tax Rate for the
2007-2008 fiscal year, as presented. The
motion was made by Trustee Marc Chaloupka and seconded by Trustee Randall
Pitcock. The motion passed with seven
ayes and zero nayes.
K-2. Consider
approval of the District’s Wealth Equalization Plan for the 2007-2008 fiscal
year under Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code.
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Mike Ball who reported that based on current law,
College Station ISD is expected to be subject to the wealth equalization
provisions of Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code (TEC) for the 2007-2008
fiscal year. Current law requires that
the District’s wealth equalization plan must be approved by the Commissioner of
Education before the tax rate can be set.
The Bryan ISD Board of Trustees has indicated its intent to participate
in a proposed agreement whereby CSISD would purchase attendance credits in an
amount sufficient to equalize the wealth in accordance with Chapter 41. This agreement must be approved by the
Commissioner of Education.
MOTION 3799: I move approval of the Board of Trustees of the
College Station Independent School District to use either an Option 3 or an
Option 4 agreement as described in §41.003 of the Texas Education Code or a
combination thereof as its wealth equalization plan for the 2007-2008 school
year, as presented. The motion was made
by Trustee Garland Watson and seconded by Trustee Charlotte Slack. The motion passed with seven ayes and zero
nayes.
K-3. Consideration
and possible approval of a Financing Plan to issue $67,420,000 Unlimited Tax
School Building Bonds, Series 2007; authorizing staff and consultants to proceed
with document preparation
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Mike Ball.
Mr. Ball introduced Victor Quiroga, Jr. of Southwest Securities who
briefly presented information to the trustees regarding the financing plan as
it pertains to the sale of bonds.
MOTION 3800: I move approval of a competitive sale of all the
bonds through Option 2 which generates a premium, as presented. The motion was made by Trustee Marc Chaloupka
and seconded by Vice President Mary Broussard.
The motion passed with seven ayes and zero nayes.
K-4. Consider
approval of a Respondent entity to provide Construction Manager at Risk
Services to the District for the construction projects related to the 2007 Bond
Program
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Mike Ball who reviewed the process involved in
the Request for Proposals and subsequent selection process for construction
Manager at Risk Services. Based on the
initial screening and evaluation process, two firms were interviewed on
7/23/07. the firms interviewed were Durotech
L.P. and Pepper-Lawson Construction L.P.
The interview committee included Randall Pitcock, Marc Chaloupka, Steve
Aldrich, Eddie Coulson, Mike Ball, Greg McIntyre, Clark Ealy, Ann Ganter, David
Norton, Mark Pantel, Jon Hall, Royce Thomas and Steve Aloway. After discussion, the committee recommends
Pepper-Lawson Construction L.P. Among
the factors involved in this recommendation are:
·
The
Pepper-Lawson staff has extensive experience working together as a team
·
This firm has
been invited back for repeat engagements with the same school districts
·
The estimating
staff of Pepper-Lawson has extensive experience and a good track record
·
This firm has a
construction superintendent with previous experience on a
“reconstruction/demolition while occupied” project
·
The
Pepper-Lawson firm had prospective construction team members already identified
and present during the interview
·
Pepper-Lawson
has experience and business volume contributing to its ability to secure
sub-contractors in a very competitive market environment
MOTION 3801: I move approval of Pepper-Lawson Construction
L.P. to serve as Construction Manager at Risk for the 2007 Bond Program
Construction Projects. It is further
recommended that the Superintendent of Schools or his designee be authorized to
negotiate and execute a contract to engage Pepper-Lawson Construction L.P. to
serve in this capacity on terms consistent with their response to the Request
for Proposals, as presented. The motion
was made by Trustee Marc Chaloupka and seconded by Secretary Randall Pitcock. The motion passed with seven ayes.
K-5a. Consider
approval of Competitive Sealed Proposals for Property and Casualty Insurance
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Mike Ball who reviewed information with the
trustees regarding Property and Casualty Insurance. Requests for Competitive Sealed Proposals for
the District’s property and casualty insurance coverage were distributed to the
public earlier during the summer. ANCO
Insurance is the only respondent out of three that met the specifications in
the Request for Proposals. Other
respondents either did not provide proposals on all lines of coverage or
provided only proposals for shared risk pools where there is risk that the
losses of other entities could impact the final cost of participation for
College Station ISD.
MOTION 3802: I move approval of appointing Anco as the District’s
Agent and authorize the administration to secure the best value for the
District as it pertains to Property and Casualty Insurance, as presented. The motion was made by Trustee Marc Chaloupka
and seconded by Secretary Randall Pitcock.
The motion passed with seven ayes and zero nayes.
K-5b. Consider
approval of Competitive Sealed Proposals for Student Accident Insurance
Superintendent Eddie Coulson
recognized Deputy Superintendent Mike Ball who explained information to the
trustees as it pertains to Student Accident Insurance. Requests for Competitive Sealed Proposals for
the District’s student athletic and extra-curricular insurance coverage were
distributed to the public earlier during the summer. The proposal from Brazos Valley Insurance
includes a provision for full assignment through the Preferred Provider
Organization. The full assignment
through a PPO group provides students and their parents the opportunity to
receive treatment from various local health care providers that have contracted
to accept the coverage. The contracted
health care providers will not bill the students of more than the benefits
provided in the policy. Brazos Valley
Insurance Group has provided the response that meets the specifications in the
Request For Competitive Sealed Proposals.
Their proposal appears to provide the best value both to the district
and also to the students participating in the extra-curricular activities.
MOTION 3803: I move approval of the Lone Star plan from the Brazos
Valley Insurance Group for Student Accident Insurance, as presented. The motion was made by Trustee Steve Aldrich
and seconded by Trustee Marc Chaloupka.
The motion passed with seven ayes and zero nayes.
L. EXECUTIVE
SESSION
L-1. The
Board will meet in executive session to deliberate the purchase, exchange,
lease, or value of real property. The
executive session deliberations will be held pursuant to the “Deliberation
Regarding Real Property” exception to the Texas Open Meetings Act as set forth
in Section 551.072 of the Texas Government Code.
The
Board went into Executive Session at 8:45 p.m.
The Board adjourned the Regular Meeting at 9:18 p.m. and reconvened the Board
Workshop at 9:19 p.m.
M. OPEN
SESSION
None
N. ADJOURNMENT
Without
objection, President Tim Jones adjourned the meeting at 10:00 p.m.
TIM JONES RANDALL
PITCOCK
PRESIDENT SECRETARY