Date: September 22, 2011 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: G. L. Wiley 1030 E. Live Oak, Waco, Texas

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1 Date: September 22, 2011 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: G. L. Wiley 1030 E. Live Oak, Waco, Texas Call to Order: Pat Atkins, Board President, called the meeting of the Waco Independent School District Board of Trustees to order at 7:10 p.m. He stated that a quorum of Board members was present and that notice of the meeting had been posted. Closed Meeting: No closed meeting was posted. Members Present: President Pat Atkins, Vice President Allen Sykes, Secretary, Angela Tekell, Cary DuPuy, Norman Manning, Larry Perez, and Alex Williams Pledge of Allegiance: North Waco Elementary students Ashley Arocha, 4 th Grade and Deoveyea Jackson, 5 th grade. Principal is Debbie Sims.` Special Recognition: Sylvia Conaster, student at Tennyson, was recognized for her academic accomplishment for being a candidate in the Duke Talent Search which identifies academically talented students throughout the country who are invited to take the ACT or SAT college entrance exam as seventh graders. She scored at or above the national average of 11 th and 12 th graders and recently received a commemorative medal at a special ceremony at Texas A&M University. The District has more than 190 Adopt-a-School partners on our campuses and they will be recognized at Board meetings throughout the year. Partners of the Month for September are: Columbus Avenue Baptist Church Kid s Hope and Brook Ave. Elementary HEB, North 19 th Street and Cedar Ridge Elementary L-Trek and G. W. Carver Academy Texas Life Insurance Company and Sul Ross Elementary Audience for Guests: Joe Miller addressed the Board regarding solicitations from outside-ofschool tutoring companies, stating that he knew the District was not responsible. Other concerns include student cell phone usage and the dress code at A. J. Moore Academy. Dr. Cain directed him to Jerry Gibson to discuss his concerns. X. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve Minutes: 1. July 6, 2011 Special Called Board Meeting 2. July 21, 2011 Workshop 3. July 28,

2 B. Approve Budget Amendments Amendment 001 Lake Air Intermediate, Fund 199 Amend the budget $15,000 for instructional supplies Amendment 002 State and Federal Programs, Fund Amend the budget $40,120 for funding AVID Program C. Approve 4-H Resolution D. Approve Sidewalk Easement for Kendrick Elementary School E. DesignateVehicles as Surplus Property F. Approve Local Policies 1. DEC (Local) 2. CRB (Local) 3. DFE (Local) 4. Update 90 G. Approve National Board Certification Stipend H. Approve Hiring an Employee Related to an Administrator I. Approve Sole Source Affidavit from Euphoria! Inc. J. Approve Contract for Training with paxunited K. Approve Sole Source Affidavit from GG Consulting, LLC Mr. Atkins requested that Item F.4., Update 90, be pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion. Mr. Manning made a motion, seconded by Mr. DuPuy, to approve the Consent Agenda with the exception of Item F.4. The motion carried 7-0. Action on Items Pulled from the Consent Agenda F. Approve Local Policies 4. Update 90 Mr. Atkins stated that he had no problem with changing the wording in the first paragraph of FMH(Local) and proposed that the Board adopt TASB s recommendation to change the first paragraph but that the remainder of FMH(Local) be left in the policy as written. Mr. Atkins made a motion, seconded by Mr. Sykes, that the Board approve Administration s recommendation (to adopt Update 90) but, with respect to the first paragraph of policy FMH(Local) as set forth in Update 90, make the changes recommended by TASB and leave the remainder of the policy as originally written. The motion carried 7-0. For clarification, Mr. Atkins said that legal policies are published on the website as a statement of TASB s interpretation of the law and are used as a guideline for updating local policy which is adopted by the Board. Dr. Cain said the District has many unique local policies that will be brought to Board in the future for review, beginning in November. 24

3 IX. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION A. Consider Gifts/Grants to Waco ISD Amber George reported that the District has received a $10,000 grant from State Farm Insurance for the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at Waco High and the District s Student Management Department received 1,920 backpacks of food and school supplies valued at $73, for students in need. Mr. Sykes made a motion, seconded by Mr. Manning, to accept the gifts and grants to Waco ISD for the month of September. The motion carried 7-0. President Atkins stated that Item X.A. TASB Salary Survey will be moved up on the agenda. Dr. Cain introduced TASB consultants Ann Patton and Dee Jeter who presented the results of a salary study of all employee categories. The compensation plan objectives include insuring the District has competitive salaries and jobs are internally equitable based on skills and positions; the District has smart hiring practices with a systematic method of providing pay increases in order to retain good employees; and the District has a system for the Board to control salary expenses. Discussion included project scope, market comparisons, salary structure, pay grades, and having a centralized location for salary administration. Mr. Atkins asked about instructional aides salaries and the consultant replied that data was available for specific positions and that salaries for instructional aides in the District were at or above market rates. Mr. Williams asked if other districts are looking at reducing stipends and the consultant replied that at this time districts are retaining the current teacher stipends but they are currently being reviewed by TASB. A study is conducted in early spring, and the District will be informed of the results. Mr. Atkins asked, due to budget limitations next year as we look at retention and recruitment of qualified teachers and prepare to adopt salary schedules, whether the District will have the opportunity to consult with TASB to insure that the District remains competitive. Ms. Patton replied that it is an ongoing process for TASB to help maintain the compensation plan. IX. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION (Continued) B. Consider Construction Delivery Method for Middle School Science Lab Renovations The agenda item was pulled by Dr. Cain and will be placed on next month s agenda. C. Consider Options for Conducting Local Board of Trustee Elections Dr. Cain stated due the McLennan County Elections Office not being able to conduct the May City and School Board elections, the Board is being asked to consider options for conducting future elections and approve a methodology in order to develop a plan and obtain pre-clearance. Mr. Atkins stated that discussion has been held at previous 25

4 meetings and that the City has a plan in process for conducting the election in the current cycle. Because voting locations are being combined, pre-clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice must be obtained. He asked if the Board was ready to make a decision to contract with the City of Waco or if the item needed further discussion. Mr. Perez asked if consideration had been given to having the election in November. Ms. Davis said the City cannot move their election to the November County and Federal Election without a Charter election. Mr. DuPuy asked about future elections, and Ms. Davis replied that the decision before the Board is for one year only. Mr. Manning asked about the cost, and Ms. Davis said the estimated cost of $127,000 will be shared by the entities and will not impact the budget since it is about the same as in past years. The cost varies, depending if an at-large position is up for election. McLennan Community College will not have an election in 2012 since their Board election is held in odd-numbered years. An effort is being made to combine voting locations and the voting equipment will be leased rather than purchased because of uncertainty of what the Legislature will do regarding future elections. Due to pressure from the municipalities across the state, the election date may be changed. Ms. Tekell made a motion, seconded by Mr. Sykes, to join with the other political subdivisions to conduct the election and retain the current terms and election date. Voting yes were Mr. Williams, Ms. Tekell, Mr. Sykes, Mr. Atkins, Mr. DuPuy and Mr. Manning. Mr. Perez voted no. The motion carried 6-1. D. Consider Nomination of Candidates for McLennan County Appraisal District Board of Directors Dr. Cain stated that every other year in October the District submits nominations for the McLennan County Appraisal District Board of Directors. Voting will occur at the November Board meeting. Mr. Manning made a motion, seconded by Mr. Perez, that Billy Hubert and Allen Sykes be nominated as candidates for the McLennan County Appraisal District Board of Directors. Mr. Sykes abstained. The motion carried E. Reactivation of the Intergovernmental Committee Mr. Atkins stated the City of Waco has asked the District to reactivate the Intergovernmental Committee, which committee was dissolved during the time that the Board discontinued having standing committee meetings. Regarding the function of the committee, Mr. Williams, who served on the committee, responded that it involved discussion of common interests between the City and School District. An example given was the issue on having a closed campus at Waco High. The committee has no decisionmaking authority. 26

5 Ms. Tekell made a motion, seconded by Mr. Sykes, to approve the reactivation of the Intergovernmental Committee with the City of Waco. The motion carried 7-0. X. REPORTS AND DISCUSSIONS B. TAKS Campus Performance - Magnet Schools Dr. Cain stated the report is in the Board packet and questions may be addressed to Jennifer Womack. Next week a report will be given on University High feeder schools. Dr. Cain thanked Ms. Womack and is excited about the new model being used in reporting the data. C. Board Operating Procedures Dr. Cain stated she has met with the consultant and revisions have been made to the Board Operating Procedures. A copy of the revised and updated Board Operating Procedures is included in the Agenda and will be discussed at the October workshop to receive feedback from the Board. The document will be voted on at the October meeting. D. Report of Cooperative Fees Paid by Waco ISD Dr. Cain stated the report was for information only. No questions were asked. E. Report on Purchases between $25,000 to $50,000 Mr. DuPuy asked for a brief synopsis of the purchase from Eduphoria! Inc., and Dr. Cain responded that the purchase is another component for the software package currently used in the District. The software is used to analyze student data, is a resource for teacher lesson plans and is a test question data base. F. Report on No Child Left Behind Supplemental Education Service (SES) Providers. Mr. Atkins had a concern regarding the parent s complaint to the Board about the SES providers and asked if any quality control or feedback from the campuses existed. Ms. Womack said that the services were negotiated between the parent and the provider. Mr. DuPuy asked for an explanation of the procedures. Ms. Womack replied that the Texas Education Agency rates all campuses and decides which are low-performing and are eligible for the services. Based on a formula from TEA, principals prioritize at-risk students on their campus and send letters to their parents with a list of the TEA-approved providers. If the District receives a complaint, it can be filed with the State Federal Programs office and it is passed on to the State. Ms. Tekell stated she was glad to know that parents have a process to file complaints and asked that this information be passed on to parents. Dr. Cain stated that a link would be available for items such as this when the new website is operational. 27

6 G. Spotlight on Success Dr. Cain reported that Dr. Cecelia Boswell, Director of Advanced Academics, has recently co-authored two books. Response to Intervention for the Gifted Child and Effective Program Practices for Underserved Gifted Students. Her recent endeavors reflect favorably on Waco ISD. VII. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Tekell made the motion, seconded by Mr. Williams, to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. 28