001[Music] good evening the Cyprus faank Independent School District Board of Trustees is now convened in a regular board meeting on Monday June 17th in the boardroom of the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District at 6m I'd like to welcome our members of the audience and our online viewers to meaning of the Board of Trustees we here to set goals listen reports approved budgets contracts personal appointments and make policy for the district it's not the role of the board to make dayto operations of decisions the management of day operations the district responsibility superintendent we have policies and procedures in place to resolve concerns and issues this is a public mean the board trustees not a meeting of the public the meeting is open to all wish to attend and hear the matters discussed audience members May may
002not participate in the meeting outside of the designated agenda items for citizen participation or agenda comment disruption of the meeting by any person including the audience is inappropriate and will be addressed by the board's president or the board's councel as a meaning parliamentarian contain to repeated disruption of any board member I mean any board meeting by words or actions may result in a removal part of this meeting board members received information late tonight's agenda items they may not be represented by the items listed in the agenda notice during the course of the meeting the board May determine a Clos session is necessary in that event the board will meet in Clos session for considered matters duly posted for the meeting as permitted by 551.071 through 55108 of the Texas government code these proceedings are airing
003live on the district website they're also available on the district website following tonight's meeting for the meeting to ACC reflect the proceedings I respectfully asked to refrain from talking while others are speaking and that cell phones are turned off or in silent mode thank you for your time and join us this evening your interest in Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District tonight we have uh John Rosenthal State Rep we have uh Grace Hanley for representative Oliver's office and we have elizabth Stinson from sen Senator Benton Court's office at each open meeting of the board patrons who have registered in accordance with the procedures established by bed regulation May address the board for designated agenda comments prior to the board's consideration or action on the item unless the agenda is otherwise rearranged for the board president during
004the meeting agenda comments will be generally taken prior to each agenda item also in accordance with the procedures established by bed regulation patrons May address the board during citizen participation any matters of Interest or concern are not posted on agenda items for detailed information instructions on registering under agenda comments or citizen pation please go to the district website patrons who have Reg speak this evening will see your names on the order listed on the screen before your name is called please move forward and sit on the reserved seats down front when you approach the podium you can see there are two one in my right and one in my left you'll see the monitor inside the podium when your time to begin speaking a digital presentation time will be at the top of the monitor
005the time will be set in accordance with the number of speakers this evening there will be a 30 second and a 15-second warning light to wrap up your comments the invitation for tonight's meeting will be given by Reverend Joseph Camaro senior pastor of Life Family Church Pastor is lovingly called by his church members as a native hisian with a DieHard love for Houston sports teams with the ma and Christian Counseling his studies for the heart of people have led him to counsel many families in Cypress Community throughout the difficult seasons of life he believes that investing in students in our community Through kindness and acts of service produce long-lasting results for future Generations thank you Joseph for being here tonight at this time I'd ask you to please stand for the invocation followed by the
006pledge of allegiances dear loving father thank you for your many blessings thank you for allowing us to gather tonight and Lord we certainly thank you for Willis H carrier the inventor of the air condition and your sacred writings you show us the powerful metaphor of casting and mending our Nets we cast our nets for productivity to receive things that you have been put upon the Earth and in the Earth for us to receive but you also share with us the principle of mending the time of preparation and the time to make sure that we're properly set for maximum efficiency therefore I pray for our superintendent our school board officials and I'm asking you that you would graciously grant them the skills and the wisdom to maximize productivity the strength to do what is right for
007our district and our precious students and staff and the grace to mend the Nets so that we can be good stewards of what you have entrusted us with lastly I ask that you keep the students faculty staff safe at all times and at every occasion in your name we pray amen now the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all now the Texas flag I honor the Texas flag I pledge allegiance to thee Texas one State under God one and indivisible please be seated J hman Now read the district vision and mission statement our vision at cfd is formed from the acronym lead to learn Empower achieve dream lead
008our mission is to maximize every students potential through rigorous and relevant learning experiences preparing students to be 21st century global leaders we'll now proceed with remarks and announcements por of our agenda one a the super make remarks and announcements regarding this week's honors achievements eared by staff and students Dr kilan thank you sir what an incredible school year we've had this year at cfis please enjoy the 2023 24 recap video highlighting how our students and staff brought out their very best [Music] touchdown podcast [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all right um the class of 2024 graduation ceremonies took place between May 28th and June 1st at the Barry Center we had a total of 8,873 graduate graduates from our 12 high schools that walked the stage more than 61,000 guests attended the class of 2024 commencement exercises
009along with 68,4 54 others watching it live streamed um on the on the uh screens at home what an awesome what awesome work by our students um our student services division thank you Deb and her staff also thank you so much to the campus staff for all the preparations and the students the Great accomplishments along with um some wonderful speeches that we heard over the course of those 12 nights or 12 days um in addition to earning their High School diplomas 700 and 65 seniors from the 12 high schools also graduated with their Associates degrees from lonar college uh sfair quite an incredible uh achievement and also Linda thank you um Linda thank you to your staff and also uh for spearheading that U Cooperative agreement with lonar they are great partners and we couldn't
010have done it without you guys um please enjoy this uh brief recap video of our graduation ceremonies it's really wonderful I mean I've been in this District my whole life I've been to five different schools throughout my time here and it's so awesome every single school that I've been to has been a sense of Home in a different kind of community and graduating with my associates is such an honor because I'm the first generation college graduate and I just get to see all my accomplishments culminate into one big [Music] day I just think that graduation is a culmination of all these students work and I just want to congratulate them and make sure that they know how important and how great this day is and I just love graduation it's a special day for [Music]
011[Applause] me your and never forget [Applause] that was fun it really was fun cfis human resources department will hold a PA professional and support staff job fair tomorrow June 18th from 9:00 a.m. to 2: p.m. at the Cypress uh Falls High School we will be hiring for several positions including Paras Community programs maintenance operations nutrition services transportation and cfpd on-site interviews and application assist will be available visit the district website at cfisd.net for more information summer hours cfis schools and Facilities will operate under different hours throughout the uh June and July the district will open Monday through Thursday 7: a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and close be closed on Fridays this week with uh Wednesday being a holiday we are open Monday Tuesday um and Thursday Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the week
012of July 4 through the 8th schools and Facilities will be closed on Thursday July 4th and operate under normal hours 7:30 to 4:30 Monday through Wednesday and Friday um also mentioned uh I need to mention that the district will be closed Thursday July 4th in observance of uh Independence Day the remainder of that uh fireworks are pro reminder that the fireworks are prohibited on District property and cfd police department will Patrol the district's premises during the holiday citizens who observe such violations are requested to contact the sciare Police Department dispatcher at 832 237 2373 also just uh real quick um wanted to thank our operations and police staff for their work and U following the storm um in addition to that also thank our Harris County Sheriff's uh deputies the precinct constables and the ciper
013fire Department along with Centerpoint for their work all around our area as they tireless work to bring our campuses back up and our community back up we really did appreciate that and with that um we recently named three new principles so I will turn it over to Christina Cole for those announcements Christina thank you Dr kilan president Henry and board of TR Board of Trustees I always appreciate this opportunity to formally introduce our new principles to you but also our cair community so our first um principal that I'd like to um introduce to you today is Tracy barow she's our new principal at postma [Applause] elementary Tracy Tracy brings 24 years of experience and education all right here in ciir ISD Tracy's career began as a teacher at Bang Elementary in Samson Elementary where she
014spent nine years serving as a special education Lon and a testing coordinator she then became became a math coach at Hemingway Elementary for one year before being promoted to the position of math and science instructional specialist at Fran Con Elementary a role she held for four years Tracy then spent six years as the assistant principal at Bang Elementary and for the F for the past four years she has served as the assistant principal at postma elementary Tracy earned her Bachelor's in science degree from Sam Houston University and her master's of Education degree from Steven F Austin university the throughout her career Tracy has actively pursued professional development becoming a Quantum learning facilitator and completing the aspiring principal Institute her extensive experience and dedication to education make her a valuable asset to the postma elementary Community
015Tracy and her husband Michael who is an assistant principal at Arnold Middle School have two children her son Marshall graduated from bridgelin high school and will be a junior at Texas State her daughter Allison is also a graduate from bridgelin high school and will be attending Texas State as a freshman in the fall and I think are we are you studying education psychology okay close both of Tracy's children attended the Early Learning Center on Jack Rabbit Road starting at the age of three months and continued on through cyare istd schools in Tracy's spare time she enjoys road trips and listening to music and she's excited to see what the future holds regarding free fre time since she will soon be an empty nester please join me in congratulating Tracy barow on her new leadership [Applause]
016[Music] opportunity thank you Mrs Cole and Dr Killian president Henry Board of Trustees and superintendent cabinet um just thank you for the opportunity to serve as the principal at postma elementary working at postma the last four years I've been a part of an amazing culture and have gotten to see firsthand um what it's like every day when teachers show up for kids and are champions for kids the staff at postma they don't only want kids to have fun at school they want them to love being there and they it's very important to them that their kids are successful so I'm humbled to continue the work that still needs to be done there a few people just to to introduce um Miss Cole mentioned my husband Mike who is always always been my my my supporter
017and just cheerleader the whole way he always says if you're ready I'm ready let's go and um I'm proud he gets to serve the community at Arnold as well and of course Marshall and Allison who you can imagine what life is like when most of your school life your parents are either one of them or both of them have been an assistant principal so um but they continue to make us proud every day um also here tonight are my parents Elmer and Sheila Reed from Livingston Texas and um the only thing that they're prouder of or love more than their four kids are their 13 grandkids and their six great grandkids and if you ask them they'll tell you about that so and then of course my mother and father-in-law are here as well Caroline
018is a retiree from cfd at Cook Middle School um where the year she retired is the same year Mike started teaching and he started teaching in that same classroom so everything went full circle for them so um I started as a student teacher at Hancock and throughout my experiences so many people poured into me so many mentors and colleagues and tonight just to name a few that are here um Evette Garcia um hired me as an assist as an instructional specialist at Fran Con um Barbara levandowski who hired me when I was a baby special ed teacher um and she coached me right up into so many different programs and helped me um grow as a leader as well and then um watching from home is irwan Wilson she chose me as an assistant principal
019at um and just gave me so many skills that I've been able to use in every part of my life and then of course Terry Bell who um she and I started off teaching Quantum learning classes together and we always had this dream that we were going to work at this school together and lo and behold she had an opening as an AP and I applied and the staff chose me at postma and so all of these people have just poured into me I'm so lucky to have had their mentorship but mostly their friendship I I value and cherish that I um have to stop and also recognize the postma staff that came tonight thank you guys you know this is Summer and they're here at a board meeting so I love them that just
020one more way that they show up for not only students but their team and it's evident in everything that they do thank you guys so much for being here um you know I didn't graduate from a sciare school but I like to say I got here just as soon as I could um I'm really fortunate to be here to not only work in a district but to raise my children and my family in a district that believes in opportunities for students and staff so I thank you for this opportunity and I know I will not let you down thank [Applause] [Music] you thank you Tracy next principal we would like to introduce is the new principal at Cypress Park High School Dr Michael contras will you please come [Applause] up Mike Mike brings a wealth
021of experiences his new role H role having spent 29 years in education with 10 of those years in cfd he also got here as quickly as he could might begin his career in San Antonio area teaching as an elementary level teaching at the elementary level in St Angelo ISD for four years and at the middle school level in Northeast ISD for eight years during which he also was an instructional math coach his administrative experience includes serving as an elementary assistant principal in St Angelo ISD and then a middle school assistant principal in Judson ISD Mike moved to Cypress Fairbanks ISD in 2015 and was hired at Cypress Creek High School as an assistant principal then quickly transitioned to the director of instruction ction in 2020 Mike was named the principal of liby middle school which
022is his current position he is well respected by the liby community for his student centered approach and commitment to achieving high standards Mike received his bachelor's of Science degree and his Masters in Education of Education educational leadership from Angelo State University his interest in educational leadership led him to earn his doctorates in K through2 professional leadership from the University of Houston he continues to actively engage in professional development having attendant leadership Partners through the rice business school for Executive Education and nasp National Mentor certification Mike and his Husband Dr hubrick a professor at the University of Houston have two children Dr daughter Elizabeth who is a 2024 graduate from bridgelin high school will be attending the University of Texas in San Antonio in the fall and St Anthony who will be in seventh grade at
023salard middle school next year an education major and an education major she says when Mike is not in work he enjoys running and spending time with his family he's a first generation college graduate and works hard to influence others to achieve their aspirations please join me in welcoming Dr Mike contras on his new role as a side par [Music] principal good evening Dr Killian Board of Trustees I just want to take this opportunity to share with you that I'm truly humbled honored and grateful to serve as the next principle of scy Park High School being the second principal of Cy Park High School comes with a lot of um responsibility but also a lot of opportunity and so I'm extremely humbled grateful and appreciative for this I would not be standing here today if it
024wasn't for the NeverEnding support of my husband Kevin and our two amazing blessings Elizabeth and Anthony Anthony wanted to be sure his name was mentioned got it buddy Kevin thank you for being our Rock and for always believing in me Elizabeth and Anthony your dad and I are so proud of you of all the titles I've ever had being called dad is the one I treasure the most and we love you one of my colleagues recently was named principal of a middle school and he think the dream the dream team of Sai Creek High School and today I'd like to Echo his words while I learned so much in my roles at s Creek I gained friends who have been my biggest cheerleaders Vicki there you told me multiple times your time will come I
025trusted your words and I will forever value you as a leader a mentor and most importantly a friend I'd also like to take just a few minutes um to thank Miss Sue mwan who has served as my coach for the past couple of years your Insight Miss Macwan your example and your prayers are great appreciated thank you for your words of wisdom they have served as a constant lighthouse in my journey and now lieby some of them are here you taught me how to principle you accepted and welcomed me with open arms we developed a team during the crazy days of Co and we grew tremendously you've supported our ideas you've demonstrated the value of being open you aspire to to do what's best for students and each other and above all you are resilient
026I'm so proud of you I love you you are friends who have become family this is not goodbye you have my cell phone and as always I'm a text away and now s Park what an amazing blessing to join the team together we'll build on the foundation you've established with Chris thank you for the warm welcome and while our work will come with challenges and celebrations we will do it together to our s Park Tigers parents and students we commit to providing opportunities for all we will do for our students what we would want done for our own children rise ups Park we got this thank [Applause] [Music] you good evening president Henry board members and Dr Killian after I believe 26 years of the bradan center having the same leader Martha strs I am
027honored to introduce our new principal director for the broam center Mr Craig [Applause] [Music] pliskin Craig has over 17 years of experience in education he began his career as a teacher at Kayla Middle School in 2007 where he also served as a student teacher in 2012 he served as a dean of students at Westside High School in HISD a program that has similarities to the Bradham Center Craig then returned to cfd in 2020 as an assistant principal at Watkins Middle School and most currently at Cyprus Park High School Craig obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St Louis a master of arts degree in counseling from UT Tyler and an MBA from Rice University where he was also a Joan scholar he also served as an AP Mentor for new assistant principles
028in our district Craig and his wife Courtney a math teacher have been married for almost nine years July is his anniversary almost nine years and they have a precious six-year-old daughter who I just met this evening Carson Courtney and Craig actually met while they were both coaching at Kayla Middle School in addition to spending time with this family Craig enjoys golfing every weekend he is also a Philadelphia sports fan go Eagles and he'll introduce a few more Eagles fans in just a moment Craig shared that actually not just Craig but his references that we talked to and Craig both shared that if we had said Craig pick your school out of the 90 plus schools pick the school where you want to be a uh principal and he said he would have chosen the Bram
029Center hands down he has that that same passion that uh m s has for supporting and guiding students to graduation and Beyond and we're excited to see the next chapter and be a part of it for the broam center please help me congratulate Mr Craig [Applause] binskin thank you Dr MCAS for that introduction and the board and Dr Killian I appreciate you letting me uh be up here a lot of times in education we talk about it takes a village and we hear that all the time and usually we're referring to students but in my case we're actually talking about my career uh where I am today and I want to introduce you to some of my Village because I'm fortunate enough to have three of my past principles in this room right now um
030but first I want to introduce my daughter wife if you guys will stand up for me if I got to stand up here you got to stand up too um my mom is recording me she flew in from Philadelphia for this uh my sister's here and and my in-law um are next to them you got to get up too I don't care it doesn't matter um my mother-in-law is a career teacher in kle ISD thank you guys um one of the you know that my in-laws will you know take my daughter so I can go golf on the weekend it's wonderful having them close by um and then my second uh non uh blood relatives family are right behind so um the lozanos and their family my daughter's six she's been here five times because
031if you're friends with the lozanos you come to this room a lot of times for recognition um so it's uh Dr Zano is my principal at Watkins uh his his wife carman's a principal at Andre and then if everybody else down the line will get up my Houston non-blood relatives um Jason Stephanie Shena Pete and Elvis if you guys will stand up and be recognized [Applause] also and uh Mike made reference to where he learned to be the principal at liby but I learn leadership over at Westside in HISD so I have four of my co-workers here including my past principal Peggy Stewart so if you guys will stand up too and let everybody give you a round of applause and I I like how uh SC Park took the neutral like they had the
032Mike's row they had Myro and they went out to the side where no one could say oh wait you're with him we know why you're here it's okay we know you're here to we got you um and then finally to my Broan family who's back here um I'm looking forward to the opportunities to to build on and grow if you're a a leader in cfis I'll be coming to a meeting near you uh High School people to to grow Bram and tout it and let you know what it is that they can do and we can do together to build it and grow so broam you guys get it too come on stand up for [Applause] us and um I just want to close on a on a personal not that it's a little intimidating
033being the only principal that is responsible for curriculum or has to answer to curriculum instruction cuz everybody else is under Christina and I'm by myself and then I have to follow Martha with 20s something years of experience and you know pressure makes diamonds so that's what I'm that's what I'm hoping for so I I appreciate your time and letting me recognize everybody and I look forward to the opportunities that brought again [Applause] we'll now proceed with recognitions portion of the agenda I'm going to hand this over uh to Justin So I myself and Christine come back can we go down front Okay anybody hear me okay great so these are the recipients for bringing out the best June of 2024 our first uh recipient is Mike ston building Foreman at the Mark Henry uh building
034and vpac most people in life want to be the first at everything and Michael ston comes close as the building Foreman Mike is always the first to show up the first to lend a helping hand the first to remember what somebody forgot and always the first to solve a problem and suggest improvements Mike is all Mike is also always last he's last to complain the last to say I can't and the last to expect Applause for a well job done Mike is greatly appreciated for his hard work kind and patient demeanor his craftsmanship and knowledge and making things function properly and for taking the time to make each of us feel like we were his top priority Mike congratulations thank you very much [Applause] sir our next recipient lady Lindsay teacher Bridgeland High School Miss
035Lindsay works with adults there she is Miss Lindsay works with adults with disabilities these life skill students face additional challenges with employment daily living skills communication and are at greater risk for abuse Miss Lindsay builds confidence and confidence in her students and uses her own time to build community alliances that give students student employment students employment opportunities she's a great representation of bridgland high school and cfd as a whole thank you very much Miss [Applause] Lindsay our third recipient of the bringing out the best award is Scotty Stevens supervisor customer care center from the moment Scotty assumed the role of Customer Care supervisor there he is from the moment Scotty assumed the role of Customer Care supervisor he has dedicated himself to ensuring that cfis customers receive nothing short of the best guidance and support
036for the district's technology hardware and software his approach is characterized by profound understanding of the diverse needs of the district Scotty diligently Works to provide all customers with the highest level of assistance and information ensuring that no question goes unanswered and no issue unresolved his attention to detail his commitment to Excellence and his deep understanding of excellent customer service is beyond comparison his tireless efforts ensure that that the operations run smoothly customers are satisfied and cfis continues to thrive thank you Mr [Applause] Stevens thank you Justin we'll now proceed with board comments board members may make comments during the portion of the agenda regarding schools visited meetings conferences attended district and community events initiatives or Contin education the order may not take any actions on items to be discussed uh we'll start to my left
037we'll start with Natalie you like to go first we'll move on down the left L thank you president Henry um uh first of all good evening thank you to everyone um for your interest in the education of our most precious resource our children I appreciate the passion and hard work of everyone who fights for their convictions in the arena of public education um since we last met we've had both A Mother's Day and a Father's Day U so happy Father's day since it's most recent to those who are fathers um both uh family is everything and we celebrate those who are their students first teachers and ultimate decision makers um on May 16th we had a tornado uh wiped through a large spoth of our school district and impacted many families and our district and
038um I'm thankful to God that there was no loss of life in our area and I'm praying for the people as they recover from their damn images um I applaud Dr Killian Matt Morgan and the entire cfd team did an incredible job of making sure that we are whole and the kids could start school um I mentioned um yes uh that was really great we appreciate the good work um the graduations were really wonderful celebration seeing all the photos um just reminded me of what an incredible U effort it took Dr Stuart epia gun and their team and Beth Wade and the Barry center team thank you for truly making um um these honoring ceremonies um for our hardworking graduates and their guests um also the high school teams registar most that's a hard job
039counselors teachers principes I understand the incredible push it takes to get 8,873 graduates across the stage 17 and 18 year olds uh well done um I also appreciate the scier organization they have their spring lunch in and what an incredible Spirit of service and care for each other in that group um I appreciate that their uh community and that way they serve our school district and our systems and if anyone's a retiree I would say look to them because it's much more than an organization it definitely is a place to for people to find a way to plug in um I'm very eager to look at the um data from our graduations um we have a graduate survey that goes out to students to see how well we're doing to prepare our students not only
040for the finish line of graduation which is a huge milestone but also launching them into Career College of military with a plan and preparation to continue their Journey um that is should always be the question we have do we do enough and what else can we do to this point uh when we teach our children um ideas like uncontrolled human population growth can deplete resources just as if a population implosion would be just as dangerous to a society a culture a government in the world it's important that we make sure that we look at what do we know and what is the evidence before us if we were to um take all the voices in science all the peer red articles all the professional J journals um what would you guess um would come out
041of that we would make sure that we saw a balanced view education is supposed to be about providing the very best up-to-date and factual information to our students um and make sure that the students are able to make decisions and be critical thinkers that is what builds our our our students um we are hoping our job should not be our job should always be to make sure we build hope in our students because schools should be factories of Hope and that is why I fight and give my time to serve the students of a district the questions I'm faced with as a trustee I do care much more about any pressure is not it I'm here to make sure that we take care of our students and we build the trust with their parents as
042shareholders in the school district and I'm not um um that's why they call us trustees because we are entrusted to properly Steward the preparation of our children to lead Healthy Families to be healthy members of society to be healthy leaders to following Generations so that is why I look to the survey of our seniors to see how have we done what else can we do and how can we make sure um that we serve them in the best way um as it stands last year we um we uh coming out of covid and all the challenges we didn't end up as an a-rated District if we were to be rated and so I'm very eager to get uh a look at our data from this year it looks like across the state there have been
043some challenges especially in the math area but we are very excited for us to get back at this St to looking at the data to understand student outcomes to see what else can be done to make sure every child in reading a math is able to achieve at the very highest level so that we can indeed um build their hope and make sure they're prepared I appreciate I want to say that I appreciate the leadership of Dr Kean as he's joined our team his incredible um leadership team up there each one is a truly uh hardworking professional very smart top of their game and I appreciate all that they do and I look forward to the continued work and the continued um efforts and the continued uh fight together to make sure that we we
044he hit each hurdle and make sure every student comes out successful thank you so much my apologies I forgot to take a quick break for the guest in the audience um I do apologize for that so I'm going to take privilege to do that now if you'd like to take pictures with the uh our our distinguished guests you may so we'll take about five minutes and we'll continue back and then thank you [Music] board members if please take your seats Lucas Lucas we'll now proceed continue on with board comments 3A Chris uh Christine comach you may go next thank you good evening cyfair elected officials and Community I wanted to say thank you to all of our families students teachers Administration and staff for making May a great month in I fair I was so
045blessed to attend the art at the vpac in May it was so impressive once again to see the creativity of our students and I thank the teachers who encourage their students to challenge themselves and make their Visions a reality thank you to the parents and loved ones who encouraged them and visited as well I was honored to attend lamin Elementary's year- end new arrival Center celebration the students did an excellent job hosting and guiding us through the evening as each student was recognized for their work they put in this year to learn English thank you to principal Brer and her amazing staff for teaching these students a new language I was also thrilled to attend T of the high school graduations for Lakes Ranch Ridge Springs Woods Jersey Village bridgland Langham Creek ciir and S
046Creek it was awesome to see the spirit of each school and how they made their graduations unique and special I want to thank Dr msas for encouraging our students and CTE um and and doing those things that help them to graduate and to get on the path that they're interested in and also making every graduation smooth I want to thank Dr Stewart and her team it was just amazing felt very loved and appreciated and very well taken care of I also had the joy to attend the scier retirees luncheon in May uh it was a Mexican fiesta focus and it was a lot of fun and it was great to meet so many retirees come back and teach in the district as a sub or be a global volunteer and a mentor we need you
047and we love you I also wanted to recognize that may had Mother's Day so happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there those like a mom and those still waiting to be moms and those who've suffered a loss uh we also recognize peace offers Peace Officers Memorial Day and Memorial Day remembering those who keep us safe that have paid the price of freedom and protection with their very lives for us John 1513 thank you to every family who has made that sacrifice along with them when a an a person serves their family serves so thank you I also wanted to recognize Flag Day the adoption of the first flag in 1777 by the Continental Congress and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there those like a dad and those who are waiting
048to be dads and those who've suffered a loss never underestimate the importance of moms and dads in our lives and those also who stand in the gap for them um I also want to recognize the celebration of juneth which commemorates the end of slavery in the USA when federal troops arrived in Galveston in 1865 and I want to wish everybody in advance for a happy independence day since the board will not be meeting in July God Bless America I also wanted to notate I made an error on the posa presentation on demographics and wanted to correct that I had said it looked like there was about an estimate of 35,000 students based on growth anticipated in the 10-year period with the bond that was proposed in 2014 I was looking at the total in enrollment
049which was projected at 131,000 students and we ended up with 118,000 those numbers did adjust as posa continues to work with our district so I did want to correct that error um thank you to Dr msas and her team for working on the curriculum this summer to make sure our students receive all of their lessons with the teaks included I also want to thank Dr Killian um CFO Karen Smith the cabinet the staff and the community volunteers who've worked on our budget this spring it has been a very difficult and arduous process due to the fact that we've had budget cuts and we are not able to meet everyone's request Andor needs this is a heavy burden for all of us we wish we could meet it all we continue to address School Finance with
050our elected officials locally and Statewide and I'm proud that this spring we passed the District of innovation to help meet the needs of our district by his establishing more local control over our calendar and the district's ability to hire teachers and as I've had a number of teachers tell me don't always listen to sound bites and slanted articles I hope that as a community we keep our focus on teachers and students in the district and what doing what we can to support them to improve student outcomes and improve student gaps in our core subjects thank you to all of the teachers in our district you are very important to us and I do want to wrap up by saying we always want to continue to encourage our Cyprus businesses our faith groups our nonprofits and
051our community to support our school district with business advertising Global volunteers and mentoring each of us can continue to make a big difference in cciir if we work together Julie since the last board meeting I attended the final Student Art Exhibit for the year at the vpac attended retirement celebration at Spang middle school and enjoyed career day at matky elementary my oldest daughter and I also volunteered at Wilburn Elementary for their book fair and I attended the side Creek High School wall of Honor ceremony I was able to cheer for students at syid high school who won prizes as part of their PBS program and to celebrate the new arrival Center students um at Thorton Middle School Arnold Middle School Watkins Middle School and lamin Middle School or lamin Elementary sorry about that one of
052my favorite events um is Camp courage that's held at ciir CCI Falls High School brings together student athletes cheerleaders and students with special needs for a fun evening of playing together celebrating each other and building connections thank you to all the cfd coaches who support and make this very special event happen each year I was very proud to um attend the bringham spring celebration of success I'm very proud of the graduates from this program who have overcome incredible challenges to accomplish their goals and to earn their High School diplomas the Carlton Center graduation is one of my favorites and it was the biggest class ever this year it's such a joy to celebrate with students their families and the staff who work so hard for them I enjoyed the cfic all district jazz band and
053all district mariachi band concerts at the vpack a week ago the vpack was packed with families and community members who were enjoying the incredible talents of our student musicians from across the district I attended all 12 High School graduations this truly is the goal providing educational opportunities so that students graduate ready for their next Journey whether it's College the military joining the workforce or some combination it is an honor to be present to watch each student cross the stage and to see and hear the pride expressed by their families with great power comes great responsibility whether you believe that that quote is by voler or Spider-Man's Uncle most of us have heard it before some members of this board seem to have reinterpreted this quote to be with great responsibility comes great power and don't
054you forget [Applause] it a longtime teacher stood before this board last Thursday and was made to acknowledge over and over that this board holds power over her and curriculum and everything in cfd and this made me think about the differences between power and responsibility between control and collaboration between self-serving decisionmaking and servant leadership yes this board has ultimate responsibility but our community assumes and expects that the board will make informed not misinformed or uninformed decisions yes the this board has ultimate Authority per EFA local also per EFA local the board shall rely on District staff to select and acquire instructional materials that meet specific indicators both can be true at the same time one of the indicators per EFA local is instructional materials will present various sides of controversial issues so that students have the
055opportunity to develop under guidance skills in critical analysis and in making informed judgments in their daily lives it doesn't say that if one board member feels that a topic is controversial it should be censored and removed from the curriculum to my fellow board members it's okay to reverse a vote or change your minds based upon factual information that shows strength not weakness it shows critical thinking not group think it demonstrates good governance another saying is that actions speak louder than words words spoken from this dis last week were I believe in a 100% transparency and I appreciate teachers actions from this dis include censoring chapters from science textbooks based upon personal beliefs and disregarding teacher input in a motion made after Community input put was allowed also revising the library materials policy in a way
056that adds bureaucracy and decreases transparency this board has set a precedent for disregarding the input provided by committees made up of parents students teachers and community members this goes to the concept of trust trust and respect are earned earning trust takes time and energy and intentionality as board members I ask are we each individually and as a whole building trust with our community through our actions and if not what can we do differently I suggest more listening more relationship building and less drastic policy changes thank you Justin [Applause] uh okay great um so a couple things I've got two comments this evening first and foremost um graduation I was honored and privileged to attend and participate in 12 High School graduations and when you do that and you tell people yeah I participated in 12
057High High School graduations are like oh my God I'm so sorry but no it's it's extremely exciting it's thoroughly engaging um and the excitement and energy is contagious and so I I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of each one it was amazing to see all the students all the achievements they made um the amount of students who actually got their associates degree through lonar college is absolutely amazing the fact that they're going to be entering into their college careers with such a head start is a true Testament to them their parents their teachers and the District I want to congratulate all the students the teachers the administrators the parents for such a dynamic week in cyer ISD the other topic I want to talk about is actually a topic of policy that is a bit of
058an ongoing concern I know this district has addressed it I know that will continue to address I know it's an issue nationally um and a lot and it came from campus visits one of the best things we do as trustees is as we go on campus campus visits that's where you get a lot of really important information and a lot of Direction on how best to um direct your District uh and talking with one of the principles um she and some of her APS were all just chitchatting and she said uh can you guess what our number one struggle at our school is and we went over a couple different topic she said she said vaping vaping is our number one issue it's not just an annoyance it's not just something that they're struggling it
059is their number one issue they're dealing with on their campus um um so this continues to be a school safety issue a health issue um I would like for cfd to continue to be Pioneers in this you know this is much more than you know kids just sneaking a maror red in a Trans Am in a parking lot right this is serious health issue um it's having a dramatic impact especially with the presence of THC and who knows what else um Julie and I actually kicked the tires on some ideas of um you know things that we could do to prevent uh vaping to discourage vaping um I'd like to encourage cfis to continue to investigate technology that can prevent and discourage vaping use on our campuses uh perhaps we can investigate some pilot programs
060uh this could be something good for the academic vision and Safety Committee to review this fall but we need to stay focused on this is an important issue and an issue that we need to tackle as a district um and as a nation so those are my two comments thank you for your time Lucas thank you I'll keep my comments brief tonight so first on for all of those that participated in the budget process thank you to the entire team it's been a very long road uh that we started once we started with the new year uh we've engaged within our community in our budget review and our prioritization our process has taken months to conclude with the goal of working with within our constraints to achieve and progress towards our goals of a balanced
061budget and meeting our learning outcomes thank you to to the finance and operations subcommittee so I am on that committee alongside Julie and Justin and we have worked with Matt and with Karen and with her team as well as Dr Killian and our goal in that discussion is to make sure that we hear the suggestions and recommendations as they come to the board and we provide feedback and what our thoughts are and the questions that they might receive from the board and help them prepare for a review with the entire board that said the community spent hours and hours and hours and hours working through what are the key inputs what are the priorities and so we listened and so you've heard all of that evidence as we've gone forward tonight we're going to be
062taking steps to Steward our assets and our financial operations no one likes trimming the budget no one likes the fact that we need to trim our bus routes that's not an outcome that anybody desires believe me I don't like it either however we've got to meet our financial obligations and we have to work within the constraints set for us by our state so that said tonight we're going to be concluding with our vote on the budget to make sure that we're taking that step forward towards a balanced budget while meeting our objectives of making our students the best they can be and giving them strong learning outcomes uh regarding visits so obviously graduations and as uh just mentioned it's it's fun to listen to the parents celebrate with their students as their children walk the
063floor that's always it's always amazing I was not able to conduct my visits because they occurred or they were scheduled to occur after the uh what ended up being the doodo storm and tornadoes I was able to catch up with a couple of schools and reschedule so one of those was spending time with Dr ly Turner over at Sy woods and that was a great visit where I I got to know him a little bit better as well as some of the elements of his school and then I went down to S Park and so one of the things that I hope to do this coming year is spend more time floating up for the entire Community some of the stories of the great things that Cipher istd does one of those stories is out
064at scy Park so in my background as a musician I spent a lot of time in drum lines so I understand that space very very very well our students at s Park specifically the drum line went to go compete at a national competition this past spring in Dayton or Kon I think in that competition they're competing at the highest level for those students it was a moment where they're seeing the best of the best Across the Nation they're on the same they're in the same competitive rank as schools that have been there for 20 years and I spent time asking questions of the students they I met the band director I met the progression instructure instructor and I had a chance to sit and quiz the students and it was awesome and so I asked
065the students a few key questions over and over I would go you know around the room student what's your name and then I would ask them what was one of your favorite memories and they all mentioned the feeling that they had when they performed and then I asked them what was truly special about about that for you and they said the most common answer and I asked I don't know 15 kids it was being with my friends being with my student colleagues playing with my team and then I asked them another question did you have any doubt that you're going to have a great show every one of them said no we had zero doubt that we were going to play a perfect show and my comment to them was that's because of your instructor
066it's also because you guys put in the work and I let the students know that their instructor was very special and the program that they had was very special and the look in those children's eyes as they thought about their program and what that team that specific team meant for them in this current school year it's something precious and it changed their lives and then as I got to know the instructor turns out he's a young single man who happens to room with and share an Department with the instruction the percussion director at bridgland high school and so those guys not only share notes but they're both of those campuses bridgland high school and C Park camp High School those drum lines meet each other and they share notes and they look at Best Practices
067one to another and you think about the Dynamics going on there of how they share information and they Inspire one another and it's truly jaw-dropping and that's one of the things I love about sfair so that story is an element where it's teachers in the day-to-day grind not only getting it done but inspiring kids to dream bigger and do new things and I hope that we will in this coming year continue to share more of those stories to make sure that our community is aware of them and share best practices across schools thank you to all the people that have participated in our library committee it's been a long process tonight we'll be also voting on that and congrats to all of our graduates congrats to all of our fathers and uh thank you that's
068it Todd uh first I want to start with the school visits uh unfortunately Mother Nature got in the way of uh my school visit at S Ranch in Pope Elementary School want to let let those folks know uh and obviously uh maybe admin to schedule me uh first semester for for those those two schools first to visit um uh I thought it was more appropriate to to worry about um getting power back on at the schools and being focused on that so so that our kids could uh finish up finish up on a high note um I wanted to also thank Dr Killian for his leadership during that that time I know there are some tough decisions that need to be made and um you know for the first few months of of your tenure
069here I think you've you've handled things phenomenally so uh and Matt you're you and your team uh Kos to you guys um I know you they were they were out working working late and working early every single day and I just really appreciate the time and effort that you guys put in um in addition to that um during the graduations at at the Barry Center um Dr Killian told me um during actually actually let me let me ski the part I was able to attend with one of my colleagues the bringham center graduations that was a a treat uh also got to meet the namesake of of that school um enjoyed enjoyed uh hearing the stories and and hearing some of the uh the comments from the from the students and the uh the staff
070as well uh very inspiring and uh you know some of some of these kids were were um you know in in danger of not actually finishing their High School careers and I just want to uh let everybody know the staff is so supportive and shows so much love and so much kindness to those to those kids and encourag them to to to finish up and I so I just was very very flored and uh you just realize how how special the bringham center is uh in addition to that I I had got a personal invite from my my visit when I was at the Carlton Center uh from Dennis Watkins uh Dennis uh invited my my wife and I to the graduation at the Carlton Center um I I tell you it was it was
071very tough uh one of the toughest things as as at least for for me is to see my my wife kind of welling up with tears and not get emotional um that GR uation had an impact on on on myself and my wife and uh I just want to tell Dennis Watkins that he's doing an incredible job and um I can't uh I can't commend him more for the for for the good work that those folks are doing out there and his staff um in addition to that I was able to attend 10 10 high school graduations um and just seeing some of these kids uh this this was probably the first year I I I for those that don't know me I I did a lot of coaching and uh at you know in
072the youth baseball and this was the first time uh that I mean these kids are seniors uh my my first round around our kids that I was able to coach and to be able to shake their hand uh as they're crossing the stage it was a treat um uh an unexpected treat you know if you would asked me a few years ago if I was going to be doing this um I I I wouldn't know how to to answer that but I I I tell you the people um and the staff were so friendly so kind I wanted to also give a props to Michelle spe uh Dr o ify ogam ogam did I did I pronounce that correctly and Dr Stewart thank you so much for the time and energy and effort that you
073guys put into that and also Beth and her staff at the Barry Center um man I tell you uh the the the talent that they have and how smooth things ran I I was very impressed with the professionalism so um thank thank you um but out of the 10 uh uh high schools that I guess maybe you're not supposed to have a favorite but I got to tell you the sil Lakes when that kind of hit home uh and I think we we saw a a clip of Mr Wells and that that uh ending speech that he had it was a great finish um and I couldn't think of a of a better send off for the graduates of cakes High School um you know that we we are Sparta that was I mean I
074was I was moved by that I got goosebumps is pretty pretty awesome so uh so the to the high school graduates to the families to the uh to the staff uh it it it took everyone's effort to get get these these these kids across the finish line and I just want to let you guys know that uh I appreciate uh every every one of the staff members and and and people that helped uh make this happen um it is certainly a team effort to do so and and La last I one one of the graduations I was asked to be a board representative at the cipher uh baseball game um so I went down to I guess where the Space Cowboys play and caught the game for cyfair high school they were playing perland High
075School uh they won that game but unfortunately Lost the series um but uh to kudos to the cyfair high school uh coaching staff and uh and the players I mean they they they had quite an effort and uh they they can they can hang their hat on a great great season uh I also want to recognize bridgelin High School uh they lost to the eventual state champions the Tomball Tomball High School um and just so if if folks aren't uh aren't aren't in the know there's a little bit of a competition between uh Dallas and Houston uh it it extends well beyond you know back in the oiler days and cowboy days um there's a lot of trash talk on some of these some of these uh baseball groups that we have and you know
076they were they were talking a lot of trash as far as Dallas Dallas being better than Houston and I and I will say this just to kind of get give kudos to the Greater Houston area we had a Land versus Tom ball um state championship and Tom Ball eventually again won that as well so just wanted that's a neighboring District wanted to give give kudos to the Tom Tomball High School and there those folks as well so um and that that's that concludes my comments for tonight congratulations again to miss Lindsay from bridgland High School Mr St Mr Stevens for winning our board Awards we will pick those back up at the beginning next year also congratulations to our three new principles it's such a great feat and we look forward to working with you
077you in the future we've been hearing lots of Reflections on our graduation ceremonies and it is truly the highlight of the year for many of us it's a ceremony it's beautiful combination of all the years of hard work dedication and and perseverance of our students one of the most inspiring moments that event was a speech delivered by one of the students I'd like to kind of talk a little about that briefly the words of importance of leaving the mark deeply resonate on everyone present it reminds us that the legacy is not defined by titles or accolades but by the positive impact we make in the lives of others they challenge the fellow graduates to think about the mark they will leave on this world encouraging them to produce passion Embrace kindness and strive to make
078a difference as a student said our names will be remembered not for the awards we win but for the hearts we touch and the lives we change this powerful message underscored the value we hope to instill our students kindness compassion and commitment to making a positive difference in this world the success of the graduation ceremony was a was a big effort I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved from the from the meticulous planning of our Administration team to dedication of our teachers and staff and unwavering support of our parents and community members was truly a team effort as we reflect on these ceremonies it's important to remember that true leadership is not about pleasing everyone it's about making profound decisions that make a lasting change impact leaders leadership is often messy it's
079challenging but it requires to navigate through complexities and uncertainties our goal should not to be seek approval from all but to act with purpose ensuring our decisions lead to meaningful progress in a better future we'll now proceed with citizen participation on the agenda and I'll now turn this over to our board secretary Justin ready to continue as per bed local patrons May address the board during the regular board uh board meeting under s thank you for your patience uh just for the record there is a new link on Facebook since we had to stop the other one um so ifone wants to look at there is a new link being posted on Facebook these are the current lights we have because we're under generator power so um please be careful as you walk around and
080please do not to use the elevator because there's apparently only one so uh be careful we'll now continue uh with agenda item 4 a per bed local patrons May address the board during the regular board meeting under citizen participation on any matters of Interest or concerns that are not posted agenda items individuals may only register to speak one time per meeting and must register in advance just a reminder patrons who have registered to speak this evening may see the order of names listed on the screen behind me before your name is called please move forward and sit in one of the two reserved seats on the front row each speaker will have one minute this evening the first speaker is Christina Milan transparency is not just sharing information when it suits your agenda or when
081defending yourself after making a questionable decision it's about sharing information even when you may face criticism BBF local outlines the ethical standards each member must adhere to I'll remind you of a couple I will base my decisions on fact rather than supposition opinion or public favor I will tell the truth as the May 6th board meeting Dr blasen game indicated that quote the comments and revisions are based on deep dives into the online curriculum that we were all given access to at the June 13th work session Dr Blas and game asked if she could have the opportunity to review materials that included the state's edits Dr msas clarified she had access via online textbook links and Dr Blas andame said quote I did not because I know that right now in order to get it
082I would have to write to the Publishers to get a link for it end quote so which of these is the truth Dr glassing game Jennifer [Applause] shenet the destruction of public education the injection of Christian nationalism basically you want to groom and indoctrinate cfd that is the endgame but have you thought ahead we will no longer be a destination District but you will still be living in it what will happen a property values Todd lives in bridgelin Lucas lives in Town Lake maybe you hope to create some cult-like Utopia like wakeo Jonestown heavensgate I mean you're already happily drinking the orange Kool-Aid dispensed by a convicted felon but who will be in charge of this Utopia because we all know that Natalie wants to be I know Bethany has baptized people in her home
083bathtub just think about it she could now use the lazy river in Town Lake instead of a runby Fring like in Mrs Doubtfire it could be a float by baptism everyone can line up in their tubes and be dunked and find Salvation religion does not belong in public education Cults do not belong in public education Cummings appalled by our six Christian nationalist trustees treating cfd like their cult will buckle up buckaroos because they're just getting started their decision to censor textbooks based on recommendations from Monica Dean is unacceptable those six wouldn't know an objective fact if it jumped up and bit them and it's clear that they desperately need the very Science Education they censored pending their decision on item 8h I intend to file a formal grievance and I encourage every single parent to
084do the same the grievance policy and form are available on the district website if you can find where they buried it and you have 15 days to file let's not forget General Council Marne Sim's reference to Jesus as rationale for the proposed Library policy she told me that in her role she does not have the luxury of personal opinion I'm sorry but your but what are your religious beliefs if not the luxury of personal opinion not to mention that religion has no place in District policy bring on the Grievances lawsuits and federal complaints that'll be a great use ofch taxpayer money Ginger Patel I've come directly from work today as a nurse practitioner I'm here to speak about the removal of chapters from the health science textbook used in the course principles of Health Science
085this is a required prerequisite course for the practicum in health science and also health science theory these classes prepare students to enter the workforce as pharmacy technicians certified nursing AIDS EMTs and Registered Dental assistance in my 18 years of experience in the medical field I know firsthand how these professions provide important Health Care to our community if the school board wishes to prepare career ready students removing this information Gravely affects Cypher ISD students ability to pass the certification courses required for these careers I recommend as a healthc care professional to reconsider the removal of these chapters because they are vital to Preparing the future Healthcare Workforce per Patel as an incoming freshman to Jersey Village High School I find the actions of the six board members that removed important material from the textbooks appalling these
086textbooks were already approved by the state and a committee of Educators from cfd I asked the board members that voted to censor these chapters what is their expertise in these subjects I provided a list for the reference so they can respond one topic that was censored hits close to home for me and my peers six board members removed chapters in the Biology book discussing all infectious diseases and all vaccines this information needs to be left in textbooks because uneducated students will lead to the spread of misinformation and may cause people to stop receiving vaccines and Medicine in the principles of education textbook They removed chapters about teaching special education and cultural diversity first Ed future Educators need to have this information so they know how to properly teach students with these differences ask the board
087members that voted to censor these chapters what is their conflict to Educators knowing about these subjects in addition these textbooks are already approved and paid for although I'm only 14 this seems like a poor financial decision by those six board members I urge the board to take action to reverse this decision my ude your remarks thank you meline Henry my name is meline and I'm a fourth grader at Hamilton Elementary my purpose for speaking is because I'm trying to change your mind about taking climate change out of textbooks kids that are interested in climate change and want to help make earth better won't learn about it because it won't be in textbooks to study and how are kids learning about changes on Earth such as global warming dangerous or inappropriate it's not the first reason
088why it's important to read about climate change is so you understand it for when you get older older the second reason why it's important is because kids might make up ideas to help solve climate change when I grow up I want to become a scientist but how will I know about climate change if it's not in textbooks so please don't take climate change out of textbooks kids need to learn more about climate change thank you Brian [Applause] Henry hello my name is is Earth I'm getting warmer and my climate is changing due to human activity none of this matters much to me because I'll go on living until the Sun dies but I'm surprised that you would want to hide information about me from your students isn't censorship something more common in countries like China
089Iran and Russia if you let your students learn the truth about me then maybe they will fix the problems they've inherited from previous generations like me their science instruction should be well-rounded but that doesn't mean denying facts just because some people believe I flat doesn't mean that students should be taught both sides of the issue it's important to acknowledge empirical evidence and it's okay to promote solutions to problems for example you could use Earth Day which means the world to me to celebrate conservation efforts and renewable energy lastly as you consider whether to censor textbooks about me May the forest always be with you Megan Costello good evening my name is Megan Costello two months ago I was honored by you with this bringing out the best award today I stand before you as a
090former teacher of this District that I grew up in and dedicated 21 of my 26 years of teaching to I left because of you you let me down and you let down our students when you voted to Omit chapters from the science and C te materials you showed that you do not value my expertise as an educator nor as a scientist I served as a member of both the curriculum writing and instructional materials committees your decision to ignore our recommendations was a slap in the face your um lack of transparency and obvious lack of content knowledge showed that you had already made up your minds in order to further your own agendas your repeated assertion of ultimate Authority has dismantled the strengths of this District do not patronize these teachers with your disingenuous appreciation your
091thanks hold no value when you continually undermine your time is up please conclude your remarks show your true appreciation by trusting them reinstate the omitted chapters thank [Applause] you hello all right uh thank you I want to take this moment to read a message that I sent to address certain individuals uh and and they know who they are um it reads it is sad that this has become once again a partisan playground instead of a space for open ADV advocacy it's outrageous and disheartening there are folks in here who have gone out and called people horrible things simply for having different ideology beliefs things I wouldn't even utter out of my own mouth as a 16-year- Bo a boy I have seen more respect for fellow human beings at high school football games inside of
092the o line trenches this is supposed to be a space for constructive dialogue not destructive criticism or a playground for insults where we uh for insults we are here for me and my fellow classmates education not your driving political agenda that you want to enforce into our classrooms nothing to do with true classroom education we can and I will make sure that we will do better thank you Wendy Cen I'm here again to share my concern about the decisions being made by our School District administration and school board I previously requested that parents and Educators be included in discussions but I'm disappointed to see that our board continues to disregard parental and educator input I have a child that loves steam especially art Math and Science and she loves competing in Science Olympiad I'm deeply
093concerned about the impact removing chapters that include te items from the state approved textbooks will have on her future the 118,000 students in this District deserve comprehensive and factual textbooks we should be focusing on educating critical thinkers that can evaluate and process the information they are provided please reinstate the chapters previously removed at the last board meeting and honor the textbook committee's recommendation to approve the State Board of Education approved textbooks I want to again implore the board and administration to please stop politicizing our schools and put our children and the education professionals above personal beliefs and political agendas thank you for your time Debby Black Shear good evening you know as a Board of Trustees this board is supposed to be nonpartisan and politics should not play A Part in your decisions you say
094you want transparency you talk about parent rights but yet you take actions that show just the opposite of what you say our students we developed our portrait of a graduate and we want our students to be critical thinkers we want them to prepare them for the next step in life and if you're omitting uh passages in a book you are not doing that you are harming them and not helping them thank you Kira Becker I am here to comment on the curriculum changes made at the May 6 board meeting by voting to remove sections from the science and teaching textbooks the board defied the district's Mission and violated its code of ethics I urge the board to reverse this decision the district's mission is to prepare students to be 21st century global leaders yet the
095board removes scientific discoveries from previous centuries how can our students become global leaders without the same knowledge as their peers not teaching on topics like climate change and cultural diversity does not mean that they cease to exist your code of ethics states that you will base your decisions on fact rather than supposition opinion or public favor but this decision was based on your opinions that is outside of your role on this board I respect your beliefs I assume you had a chance to listen to different perspectives and decide what you believe I ask that you let our students do the same Kevin Hawkins this is Kevin Hawkins right that's okay sorry um Dr bosen gam said tonight which uh which is did we do enough and what else can we do I come to I
096come to you tonight as a published scientist I've worked both in the academic sphere as an evolutionary biologist and Industry science sphere and biotechnology I'm also a cfd teacher I teach dual credit biology and AP biology I am here to advocate for my students as a scientist and a teacher I'm severely appalled by the decision of this board to remove select topics from the science curriculum the decision to remove uh this decision to remove these topics displaces our students and makes it much harder for them to catch up as they pursue College um many of them many of the removed topics will be discussed in college um if we remove those topics they will fall behind okay if I take my phone and I let it go what is it going to do it's going
097to fall right due to gravity we know this the topics that you are removing from the top from the science curriculum are that simple please reinstate them Ashley Buckner [Applause] as the community has inundated you with concern and worry regarding your handling of the budget Librarians textbooks and curriculum removal of bus service and the new library policy and their concerns have been met with derision delusion callousness and Flatout lies I have 100% confidence saying your behavior is an embarrassment to this District you do not care about or respect the teachers and staff of this District if you did you wouldn't have your campaign workers friends and family members calling them groomers online you wouldn't be making them attend pointless trainings or not preparing them with curriculum because you're offended by the polio vaccine you do
098not care about the safety of these children it's evident that you want to wait until the last possible moment to cut bus service and are going to make our children walk miles alone in the nation's capital for human trafficking that is a safety concern for our students not the crusade of a few books in libraries none of you are science or Healthcare experts Todd I want to make people aware that you have absolutely no education or experience in healthare you have no business spewing your internet theories about vaccines I will finish my statement on the Facebook group Lisa [Applause] abuka Todd if you believe that autism is caused by vaccines why didn't you man up and just say it very cowardice of you to not say what you believe loud and proud you're wrong but
099since we live in America we're given the freedom to say so to compare 1960 technology and scientific knowledge to 2024 is just dumb we haven't we hadn't even been to the Moon yet if you believe Neil Armstrong anyway but it sounds like Infowars is your Source one of our Librarians should teach you about trustworthy sources sounds like you have lots to learn Dr Dr Cleveland Lane Jr [Applause] greetings um I'm a see C cciir ISD parent 21 years for 21 years biology Professor for in higher education for 27 years as we prepare for to celebrate juneth National Independence IND Independence Day I want to stress the importance of maintaining unbiased and incredible information it took over two two years years before Texas freed enslaved Africans by controlling information so with understanding of the control of
100information and removing chapters from a book this is another way of controlling our children and our parents to have them to look for sources that are over 10 years old that does not help our teachers our teachers know where current information is the Committees came together the state of Texas came together you need to take and leanan on the professionals that have looked that have looked in and up the information time is up please conclude your remarks thank you Austin [Applause] mcgallen uh thank you I'd like to address mainly the parents and Educators and anyone else in the district watching this online or from in this room something I need you to understand about this board is that that they do not respect us they think we are stupid discussed today will be the library
101materials changes these changes give the board the power to ignore the reconsideration committee's determination on challenged books this is a direct attack on the parents whose voices are heard through that reconsideration committee the board aims to take away the power of parents and vested in themselves because they do not respect you discussed today will also be the instructional materials changes where the book where the board has Chen to censor materials from your students textbooks when confronted by an employee they lied about the policy's wording claimed it did not say the things they did and changed their stories about how things were reviewed they did this all live on tape they did it while you were watching because they do not respect you they think you are stupid thank you Jill Center thank you for this
102opportunity to speak in response to statements made during the board work session on June 13th regarding instructional materials policy I begin by recognizing that within board policies the trustees claim ultimate Authority which is granted to the members in final approval of instructional materials however to speak with authority but without knowledge or experience is at the very least unkind and to many harmful the trustee who spoke of a relationship between the prevalence of autism and the schedule of childhood vaccination spoke with authority however he did not speak with knowledge or experience correlation is not causation as an autistic individual and a parent to neurodiverse children who have graduated from and currently attend Cypress Fairbank schools I am repulsed by the idea that a person in Authority sees my children as damaged and that blame must be
103placed for their identities and experiences how can this District serve with Equity when the students who require services are dismissed by those in Authority for who they are thank you [Applause] Scott zaha Scott Blaha Blaha Scott we have a Scott Blaha here is that Scott Scott Blaha Blaha okay John Rosenthal good evening uh and thank you for the time to speak my name is John Rosenthal I'm the Texas state representative for district 135 and I would like to use this time uh to comment on funding for public education in Texas and right now I'm calling on all Texans that can hear my voice to take action regarding the current underfunding of our Public Schools uh our neighborhood schools in Texas some districts are closing campuses some districts are going to 4-day instructional weeks our district
104here is struggling with massive financial problems uh the state all while the state sits on a massive budget surplus we have $5 billion appropriated from the current budget that's yet unspent and uh $18 billion in Surplus sitting right now that state com control or Hagar projects will be over 21 billion by the time your legislature convenes in January so you may not want to blame a single individual but there's only one person who can call the legislature and session to uh to fund our schools and that's the governor of Texas so I'm just asking you all to contact the governor and your legislators and urge them to address this problem we have the money we can totally do it all we need is the will so thank you very much for this [Applause] time Suzanne
105body Suzanne B body body Suzanne body good evening my name is Suzanne body I'm a retired cair ISD physical education teacher and a resident of the school district it's my understanding that you're going to cut additional Elementary physical education teachers due to budget cuts while I totally understand that funding is an issue you need to understand that each action has a reaction and make um each of you aware that our and our community aware of what is expected now that you're making these decisions you're going to be placing over a hundred kids in a mini gymnasium that is not much larger than a volleyball court under the direction of one teacher that teacher you're expecting them to do Fitness testing on each student while maintaining class sizes and maintaining instruction with those kids this this
106is absolutely impossible um not only that but you're going to increase discipline issues by putting that many kids together one time you also do not have a certified physical education teacher as the curriculum coordinator for physical education you have a music teacher thank you very much Grayson [Applause] Williams my name is Grayson Williams and I'm a senior at Cypress Woods I stand before you to express my deep concern over the proposal to eliminate bus transportation for certain students many families in our community rely on bus Transportation sorry removing the service would disproportionately impact those without the flexibility or resources to drive their children to school this impractical decision also poses significant safety risk particularly for students traveling from CO's Crossing to Spain or Cypress Woods the route from C involving walking along bar of Cyprus
107and Jarvis which are heavily trafficked due to the schools bus barn and stud be new hospital expecting students to navigate these conditions daily is not only unreasonable but it is irresponsible The Scorch ing Texas heat and inclement weather would exasperate these dangers it will only be a matter of time before an accident occurs potentially resulting in serious injury or Worse the safety of the students in our district must be your top priority I plead with you to reconsider this proposal and to keep student safety a priority for the sake of us and the future of our community please work together to find viable solutions that prioritize safety and ensures that every child has access to the education they deserve without risking their lives thank you for your time idy Rothchild Heidi rothshild there you are
108good evening um thank you for this opportunity to speak uh I'm a retired sciare teacher and counselor and I'm speaking tonight to protest the removal of chapter 15 technology for instruction from the CTE textbook teaching I have limited time so I'm going to focus on just how essential one area of that removed chapter is and that is the section on all online research activities pretty obvious from the discussion tonight that this is an area that we need to address in our classrooms 21st century teachers must teach their students how to evaluate the flood of information that we find online but learning to evaluate media is not easy uh even educated adults are influenced by questionable online sources the censored textbook chapter has an excellent graphic that clearly outlines the steps you would take to follow
109and evaluating a source withholding it from our students does them a disservice and I urge you to reinstate the censored materials thank [Applause] you Russell is it campy Russell while he's coming up I was just going to tell you that we're we're dealing with a a power issue and Center Point's working on it Daniel Buckner how I do not want any of you or Monica Dean pushing my agenda pushing your agenda on my child I'm the parent of my child not you it is my job to censor things for my child not you if you don't like like that take your agenda elsewhere how about Natalie's employer that Christian Charter School in Dallas public education should be public these children deserve a proper education that means all information available to learn critical thinking to be
110a productive member of our society that is your job to run the district with that as a mission thank you Jeremiah [Applause] Becker good evening my name is Jeremiah Becker I'm going to be a junior in high school next year and I'm homeschooled I'd like to start off with a little story today last year before the wrestling season started I went to my local high school and I asked the wrestling coach if I could join he gave me a physical form to be filled out by my doctor which I got filled out and I turned into him but then later I found out that it is in Cipher's ISD policy to not allow homeschool participation Texas House Bill 547 stats that it is up to the school board to decide whether homeschoolers can participate in
111UIL activities or not I have many friends that go to cciir ISD schools and they are all in support of the inclusivity of homeschoolers in UIL activities homeschooler families still pay thousands of dollars in taxes to Public Schools even if their kids don't attend therefore I urge the board to change the policy a change in this policy would bring forth more inclusivity and more opportunities thank you your time is up please conclude your remarks thank you for your time Bob [Applause] cvy our practices at home and I know no doubt that this is going to go over a minute so I'm just going to pass around what I have to say I've been a 50-year Republican and now I'm considered Rhino pretty much not because of the way I look but because I don't necessarily
112follow the support and the conservatism I see in the alter Republican party I'm going to glance over some of what I have here and just go to Natalie and Natalie I will tell you you and I have had a number of discussions even six years ago and you told me at that time you wanted to bring the Bible into this classroom and that was your ultimate goal that's what you wanted to do I'm telling you that I do not want the Bible in the classroom because I want that being taught in the home and in the church that my grandkids will go [Applause] to I also uh understood and read that a republican Precinct chair shared the spirital model for the newly elected board members this past November which include renaming the Mark Henry building
113your time is up please conclude your remarks that's it don't do that don't do anything that she said and let me also say you said that you wanted to Cease the sixh hour meetings I don't see that working for you guys de deborra Z MO good evening my name is Deborah Zamora and I've been a cciir patron since 1992 I'm here to speak about my concerns with the deletion of te's relevant chapters from the textbook selected for the 20 2322 or 2024 20425 school year I'll begin with the book chosen for the health science clinical the class is limited to Juniors and seniors in the CTE program as mentioned by Ginger Patel earlier in the evening uh it's part of curriculum leading to a Capstone course which is dual credit with lonar college and serves
114as a prep class for not only for future Physicians Armen and surgeons but also for registered dental assistants pharmacy technicians and certified nursing assistants it's my understanding that the latter three require passage of an exam to procure Texas certification pharmacy technicians can't Legally Legally work in state at all without a certificate many of these students want to get tested and start working in these careers right out of high school Staffing these positions is important right here in the district we have a number of Elder Care Facilities within our boundaries as well as several hospitals plus the Methodist hospitals your time is up please conclude your remarks okay CNAs are important because they stop a lot of our elder care so once again uh there is a new link for the live stream someone tell your
115friends and family and we'll now continue on with the with comments our next speaker is Angela Martin Greer good evening I'm a long-term sciare resident and my son attended sciare schools with so many facets of our educational system being misrepresented and politicized our students and teachers are caught in the crossfire I'm concerned ered about and disagree with the school board removing several chapters or sections of material from textbooks for the upcoming school year especially science textbooks these textbooks have already been reviewed amended and approved by the tea with several of the new topics being tied to STAR testing benchmarks it is vital that our students and teachers have access to all available resources in fact materials reflecting different points of view should be introduced and discussed if the motivation is to assist students in developing
116critical thinking skills then allow them to have access to all materials including those that may differ from your personal beliefs to make logical informed assessments and decisions thank you Dave Mahan good evening board my name is Dave man I am a ciare resident and parent you know there's a a school district in a metroplex to the north of us that was considering the idea of teaching both sides of the uh the Holocaust as if there were such a thing I'm wondering if that's the direction we're going when we talk about teaching both sides of a question one based in reality and one based in nothing comments by two board members this past Thursday are emblematic of the Crux of the problem this District faced under the control of this board Mr Ray made a point
117of flexing Authority and Mr LMP made despite persist attempts to redirect him public statements um that were specious at best and which he was unqualified to assert this is what we're trying to avoid in education we want our kids to learn reality and make good decisions in the future a future most of us aren't going to be around to see but they're going to have to deal with so leave bias leave politics leave religion out of it teach them what the science says we can know not what we want to know but what we can know based on the evidence thank you thank you all the reports and public hearing portions of the agenda will present on Thursday we do have one speaker for 6A under public hearing for this evening Rosemary Wilson good evening
118I'm Rosemary Wilson from Feast Elementary I'm back again to explain how important Librarians are I started reading from a young age and I live in a family with many well- read people many kids my age struggle to read as well as I do yes we have reading tutors in the schools but we won't have enough for most of the kids in our district kids like me and ones who need more help all deserve the engagement of a librarian they give us a lot of the life skills we need they teach us how to use a library and read a book without the skills kids are not only bad at reading but their grades will drop they might not succeed in future grade levels leading them to possibly not have the choice to go to college
119please help us truly bring out the best in our students don't get rid of our campus Librarians thank [Applause] you we now proceed with a consent agenda items 7 a the board considering prence minutes from May 6 7B the board consider budget amendments from period April to June 7 C the board considers approving the resolution for the commitment of the district's fund balance 7D the board consider approving a list of qualified financial institutions Brokers dealers investment pools investment advisers 7e the board consider approving resolution for the district's investment policy and strategy the officers for the district 7f the board consider authorizing the superintendent execute a memorandum of understanding with Charlton State University 7g the board will consider authorizing the superintendent to execute on an agreement of Ming of understanding with Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
1207h the board consider authorizing superintendent execute the interlocal agreement with Harris County resources for children and adults 7i the board consider approving a memor understanding between Harris County Juvenile board and Cyprus Fairbanks ISD 7j the board consider authorizing a superintendent execute on memor standing for University of Houston Victoria uh 7K the board will consider request for tea M school days waiver 7 L the board consider approving a request for the Texas Education Agency waiver to allow District staff for various uh education strategies 7M the board will consider approving the attached list of facilities for off-campus physical education 7even in the board will consider authorizing a superintendent to execute the renewal of the interlocal agreement with Harris County and academic Behavior School 70 the board consenter authorizing the superintendent to execute the renewal of the interlocal
121agreement with Harris County School based Therapy Services 7p this board will consider granting a temporary construction easement with the North Harris County Regional Water Authority and authorize them to negotiate final terms 7 Q The Bard consider approving the interlocal agreement with Harris County MUD 364 and 365 in Harris County to install plag rment at Samson Elementary 7R the work consider approving the Centerport energy Houston electrical blanket agreement maybe we shouldn't do that uh provide the electrical services at Jarvis Transportation Center and authorizes superintendent designate negotiate final terms 7s the board will consider approving the granting a temporary workspace for easement to Exon Mobile pipeline company in Danish Elementary 7t the board consider approving and granting the temporary workspace easement to Enterprise at Danish Elementary 7u the B consider approving construction proposals and contracts paid from
122bond funds uh 7 UI 2023 maintenance and operations Renovations 7v the board consider approving bids contracts authorizing purchase orders I'm not going to read through those are all in your agenda but 7 V1 through 7 v19 if any board member wishes to remove one or more items for further discussions may do so at this time um Mr Henry I think we did have one speaker oh I'm sorry I miss you wasn't in my list I apologize oh there was I'm sorry I missed that 7A you may go ahead Miss Williams hello president Henry Dr kellian members of this of the board and guests I'm tens Nik Williams president of cyer tsda cyare ISD is a public school district that is supposed to be dedicated to teaching the truth to all its students regardless of how
123painful some truths may be to some people the school board's decision to Omit chapters from State approved textbooks is an attemp ATT to deny the truth about cultural diversity climate change and the effective the effectiveness of of vaccinations among other topics it is censorship that practice undermines our educational system and our way of life cultural diversity ma' your your your item was on the last board meeting not this board meeting so that was not even on the agenda of that meeting are you yeah is I correct Mar this this is not on the consent agenda I so we can I I asked could I move it up but we can move it to the other one if You' like would it be you're speaking on what was the agenda item the board for minutes from
124May 6 May no that's not appropriate comment on the minutes it could be if you had a revision or if you felt something but not about the content of what was discussed at the last uh board meeting sorry okay thank you once again if any board member wants to remove one or more items for further discussion may do so at this time seeing none at this time entertainment motion to approve the consensus items as recommended or amended I move to approve the consent agenda may I get a second second all those in favor s by raising your right hand as unanimous we'll now proceed to non-consent agenda items 8 a the board consider approving the engagement with wheeler and Tidwell perform energy audit Services may I get a motion please I move that the board
125improve engagement with Weaver and Tidwell LLP to perform efficiency and audit Services you have a second second are there any questions I know we discussed this last time we'll now take a vote all sign by raising your right hand and is unanimous Holly 8 B the board consider approving the district's hazardous traffic conditions resolution as required by tea to Reed supplemental transportation funding we have three speakers our first speaker is Brandon Lee Dawson Marsh yes thank you hi everyone my name is Brandy Lee Dawson Marsh and I am a parent of a rising sixth grader at Spain a prek teacher at Robinson Elementary and the vice president of the Kohl's Crossing HOA board thank you for having me tonight to speak I'm here to speak about the lack of infrastructures in the surrounding communities that
126need to be addressed in order to maintain Safe Transportation to and from schools for all students in Kohl's crossing without sidewalks on Spring Cyprus and Jarvis students coming from Kohl's Crossing will be in danger also has the district ordered and installed bike racks at spal lane or sigh woods with all of the new bike traffic that could be happening when the time change and it is dark without these infrastructures of our bordering sidewalks the addition of Lights potentially added police students are not only at risk of being hit by cars but also being snatched from those areas and then nefarious and malicious things happening to them or Worse being kidnapped and potentially sex trafficking and finally with regards to the traffic patterns at Spain and Sy woods these schools both start at the same time
127without added infrastructures and with the increased traffic flow how are parents supposed to drop off students at one school and then navigate the traffic to drop off a student at the other how is this going to work with rainy day dismissal and the extra extra extra traffic what about traffic from the new hospital that's going to be extra extra added traffic I implore you to reconsider your TW mile radius decision and take into account these lacks of infrastructures in these neighborhoods and schools thank you so much for taking my comments under advisement Rachel Harris is our next [Applause] speaker Rachel Harris Lindsay Wilson next speaker good evening as a parent I have concerns about how the new Transportation plan is going to play out however I would guess that the majority of cfis families are
128unaware of the significant change looming in the near future the PowerPoint slide presented at the May meeting describes situations in which students will be losing bus service if this plan is approved while I've read the parameters carefully I am still unsure of whether my own Elementary School child will have bus service to her school which sits on the opposite side of West Road from our home the existence of a crosswalk or traffic light on a road like West does not ensure a safe walking path and so many families affected by this change will need to drive their children to school this will increase car traffic around all campuses the issue of safety must be considered will the reduction of bus service increase or decrease safety for students and residents in the district families are going
129to need time to prepare for the loss of bus service the additional removal of late buses will limit some students ability to participate in after school activities I am requesting clear and prompt communication on the following questions what percentage of students in the district will lose their bus service in the fall please make this number public to cfis stakeholders what date will the district be contacting those families who no longer have bus service with definitive information please do not wait until August to put this information out I want to remind cfis families and voters that we wouldn't be in this budget situation if Governor Abbott would fully fund public schools unattached to his voucher scheme Texas school districts are going broke because of his obstructionism in Austin community members please contact the governor and ask
130him to fully fund our schools so we have transportation for all students thank you on 8 B uh may I get a motion please I move that the board approve the district's hazardous traffic conditions resolution may have a second second this time there any questions discussion uh seeing no we'll now take a vote all those in favor pleas might raise your right hand is unanimous 8C the board consider adoption of the 2024 2025 budget including the staff Compensation Plan we do have two speakers um Miss Williams you up on this item as well followed by Rosemary Wilson May begin okay I'm speaking on raises is this the appropriate time okay I'm just making sure we'll give you time now go ahead all right ladies and gentlemen of the scir istd school board I stand before
131you today to to address the critical issue of teacher compensation and advocate for a well-deserved pay increase for dedicated Educators as a concerned member of the community I strong strongly support the Texas State teachers association's call for higher salaries for teachers in Texas and I would like to highlight the key points they have raised first and foremost raising teacher salaries is crucial to attract and retain High quality Educators and an increasingly competitive job market offering competitive compensation packages will help us secure and keep the best teachers in our district this in turn will lead to improv student outcomes and overall success furthermore providing Fair compensation for teachers will help address the issue of teacher turnover low salaries often Force talented teachers to seek employment elsewhere causing instability and disruption in our schools by offering better
132pay we can create a supportive environment that encourages teachers to build longlasting careers within our district while the district's plan addresses numerous important aspects it is imperative that a portion of the funding is allocated to teacher compensation our Educators have gone above and beyond these challenging times adapting to new teaching models and supporting their students social and emotional well-being recognizing their extraordinary efforts with a pay increase is not only fair but also Al a Strate a Strategic investment in the future of our district as I conclude I urge the cciir istd school board to seriously consider the need for a pay increase for teachers by raising salaries we will attract and retain high quality Educators reduce turnover support professional development address Equity issues and ultimately enance ultimately enhance the success and well-being of our students
133thank you Rosemary [Applause] Wilson not here at this time I'll take a motion for I move I move that the board adopt the 2024 2025 budget including the 2024 2025 staff Compensation Plan may I get a second a second are there any questions or discussion yes go ahead thank you um I just had some thoughts I wanted to share about this budget that we are that we must pass um one of the the one of the of the main responsibilities of a board is to pass an annual budget I've read that a budget is reflection of your priorities and I think about this a lot when we have to make this budget vote tonight I've shared that in my four years on the board I've always voted for a raise for teachers I wish that
134it could be more so that all that serve our students in classrooms could be fairly compensated for the great work that they do while I prioritize a raise for employees there are other aspects of this budget and the administrative decisions that it is driving that I do not agree with the elimination of full-time Librarians at every campus the reduction of College and Career Specialists campus counselors Behavioral Management professionals behavioral interventionists youth service specialists maintenance workers and Par professionals the reduction in bus transportation especially for students needing tutoring or participating in after school extracurricular activities is especially concerning I understand and acknowledge that all these reductions are due to the lack of adequate funding funding from the state legislature despite all these things we have to make a decision tonight and vote for a budget for
135the school year I am very proud of the financial Effectiveness and efficiency of our school board and appreciate the incredible work of our highly qualified an exceptional CFO Karen Smith and her team any other questions say no may I get a motion please for eight SE I'm sorry already made that I'll take a vote apologize sorry all those in favor see by raising your right hand vote is unanimous 8D the board will consider approving on first reading additions revisions and deletions the district policy 81 efb local instructional resources 82 gkd community relations 83 FDA admissions there are six speakers we'll start with the first Speaker Tara Cummings spearheaded by the likes of Todd LMP Bethany scandin and Monica Dean an extremist minor has been making outlandish claims of pornography in our schools they accused the
136District of violating their parental rights they demanded a new book policy and they succeeded our previous board voted unanimously on a policy that resulted in thousands of hours of additional work by already overburdened teachers and Librarians so you would think the extremists would be satisfied alas here we are the current proposal would further burden our dwindling Librarians and teachers and would delay and make much more cumbersome the process of adding new librarian materials worst of all the proposed policy would place the final decision for Library materials in the hands of the board so much for parents rights I mean tell us you don't care about running off more teachers and Librarians without telling us tell us you fully intend to make cfd part of your cult tell us you hate queer kids kids of color
137kids from diverse cultures kids whose parents aren't Christian nationalist white supremacists tell us you're afraid of ideas tell us your AOK viol VI ating the First Amendment surely y'all have seen the recent fifth circuit decision which found that Yano County violated the First Amendment and ordered them to return band books back to the shelves so surely you must know that this policy will result in costly embarrassing litigation and federal complaints and you will lose tell us you intend to waste ta taxpayer money on this extremist poppycock and in the middle of a catastrophic budget crisis I mean the hubris we are not afraid of ideas we're not afraid of you our kids aren't in your cult and we won't take this lying down Jennifer [Applause] shanet our parents have always been able to talk to
138the school librarian but in August of 2022 a new policy was voted on which placed unnecessary stress on Librarians and teachers roughly 1.5 million books had be categorized plus the books in over 13,000 classrooms parents have to opt their child into a higher reading level parents also have the choice to opt their child out of the library completely but that wasn't enough for the extremists Bethany scanland Todd and his wife and Monica Dean all submitted book reconsideration forms to our schools after the new policy was voted on because they will never be satisfied and guess what Bethany and Todd then made it on to the library materials committee now we have a new rule being voted on tonight that says that this Board of Trustees will have a say over any new library books being
139purchased for the district so we have lost over half of our Librarians the remaining ones will float from campus to campus and now they have to wait for a blessing from the board in order to do the job they are highly trained for I didn't realize that all of you have a master's degree in library science I would love to see your diplomas Thursday night's discussion about this policy was atrocious Natalie claimed someone handed her the information on the handmaid's tail uh her bestie Monica Dean submitted reconsideration forms to eight of our high schools on that book alone back in December of 2022 since the meeting the other night Bethany has chimed in on social media media saying I am # team Marney exclamation point I didn't realize it was team Marney versus Team Julie
140Marne defended the placement of Bethany on that committee I guess a new friendship has blossomed mentioning Jesus getting nailed to the cross just gave you 50 extra bonus points with Bethany legal council's personal religious views have no place in public education membership in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg fan club has most certainly been revoked after that behavior and now I have grave concerns about ethics Jill Center I have always seen the library as Central to whatever Community it serves they are repositories of Learning Centers for literacy and safe havens for people to explore their unique experiences and identities when untrained individuals want to censor or control access to materials gathered and cultivated by educated and trained professionals it it says time expired I'm sorry I just want to make sure doesn't do that keep going um
141um I worry that students are the ones damaged my questions tonight are in regard to the efb local policy for both informal and formal reconsideration of materials in the policy campus Librarians are listed as team members in this process um with the reduction in staff of Campus librarian positions will this policy be able to be implemented as written especially at the informal level will the policy be circumvented in the absence of Campus Librarians with the current climate I ask for the trustees to address this issue with transparency and timeliness to provide opportunities for accountability to all stakeholders Additionally the proposed changes to AFB local also include each acquisition list shall be provided to the superintendent and the Board of Trustees at least five days prior to posting on the district's website for 30 days if
142it it is not too great a leap to have concerns that a group that has the oversight and ultimate responsibility for the inclusion of Library materials might vest themselves with the ability to sens works from the acquisition list prior to public posting when that right and act are not specifically prohibited within the policy that gives them such overreaching Authority additionally there is no clarification if the trustees are individually invested with this power or only collectively clarification of procedure and investure of powers within the policy would assist in establishing transparency trust and cooperation with the stakeholders thank you Austin mall I believe that this change violates the collection development standards that the policy is meant to reflect the state collection standards require in section F that the responsibility for the selection and acquisition of Library materials
143be carried out by a certified librarian to give that ultimate authority to the boards of Trustees is not only contrary to State Standards but internally inconsistent with the policy itself the policy states that the reconsideration committee decides if a book is removed or not which means the board does not have an ultimate power of reconsideration as they are not actually involved in that process at all there is no process or method outlined in the policy for them to exercise this power a policy that isn't internally consistent with itself should not be approved but they have shown us with the textbook changes that they have no problem lying about and wielding powers that they do not have this text was added to the policy not by the policy committee but by Marne who spent last week
144lying about its implications Marne claimed that this is how it's always been but that isn't true the previous policy draft gave all this responsibility to library Librarians as required by law Mar claimed that this is how other districts do it but that also isn't true I checked the policies of Humble ISD Houston ISD KD ISD Klein ISD leaport ISD spring ISD aaf ISD and Lamar Consolidated isds and none of them have this language additionally Marne has added a 5day boardon sneak peek for Library materials selected with for pre slated for pre-purchase review she assures us that this 5-day period will not be used for nefarious ends but this board has proven through its previous actions that they have no problem abusing their power and lying about it to the faces of parents and Educators in
145this district there is nothing in this policy to prevent abuse of this preview the policy change is non-compliant with State Standards likely illegal and designed to lead the district into lawsuit after lawsuit in a time when we are trying to cut spending and why to remove parents from the process do they truly hate us this much thank you [Applause] Woods the movie and book zone of interest is a fictionalized story of Nazi commandant Rudolph hos and his family theirs was a fasile and Abundant Life in a home whose property adjoined the outwit death camp from the compound they could hear people being shot and see the smoke that billowed day and night from the ovens where the bodies of Jewish people were incinerated books tell our history including atrocities like the Holocaust some people like
146to hide from history and the truth even when it's right there in their own backyard others like to hide history and the truth from those they are obligated to educate about it the sorted six are attempting to do just that with the latest version of a library policy which is actually just an attempt to place books on a board approved burn pile you say you don't trust Master degreed Librarians to do their jobs but there are members of this board that don't have college educations and somehow you are now an authority on literature to the sorted six we know what is happening on your side of the fence and we won't stand for it you do not own our children you do not own literature or this school district in the words of Martha and
147Alito [Applause] Bonia if you want to censor and ban books move to Iran North Korea or China if you want to limit exposing children to adult content keep personal electronic devices out of schools but once children are home home they can access anything there's this thing called the internet you can literally get anything on it The Bluest Eye it's an Audi book on YouTube for a ninth grade English class for all the world to see just because I don't like something that you like doesn't mean I have the right to stop you from enjoying it and I think that is something Jesus would agree with would Jesus approve of banning a book that a child would find interest Comfort or answers in no he wouldn't would Jesus agree with limiting a child's potential to succeed
148no he wouldn't would Jesus agree with your plan to stop children from being critical thinkers no he wouldn't what you are doing in the dark of night and behind closed doors is not the behavior of a Christian so shame on you for writing a policy where the power lies with seven apparently infallible people and not with 42 imperfect Librarians the proposed policy does not follow established case law and will again get Cipher ISD sued which is not in the budget Librarians are the ultimate Authority on Library materials not politicians on ad May I get a motion please I move the board approved their first reading additions revisions deletions or deletions of District policy efb local instructional resource instructional resources Library materials we have a second a second any questions this time have questions I'm sorry
149what go ahead oh did I read the wrong one read all give me some clarification what motion I make those iner Mary can you give some clarification on just made the motion on ad as you just made the motion on ad and you can do them separately we were just indicating that if you want to uh approve all of them on first reading you can read them all together or you can do them separately so just seeking Clarity okay you have a motion in a second yeah we have a motion in a second are any questions this time yes thank you um I do have a couple of questions regarding the revisions to efb local my first question is for Dr msas um Dr msas can you share with the board what is the current
150process for acquiring new library books so currently the process begins at the campus level the campus uh librarian sometimes the Librarians work together to actually talk about uh different books or different collections but the campus librarian would put together her her collection or her books that that he or she wants to purchase and uh do the purchase order all that for it and then last year was it last year when we did a revision on on the policy or last year uh we added that we added that the campus principal would sign off on on that list so before prior to last year the librarian ordered it and went through the process and they got they got sent to the library we added that the campus principal needed a sign off on anything that the
151librarian was ordering are books uh that are listed on acquisition request reviewed and approved by the district librarian supervisor or no not at not not at this time okay I have um some questions regarding the 30-day um the section that was added regarding a 30-day um posting of books that are under request to be um acquired um this language um appears to add more bureaucracy to a process that seems to already be functioning perhaps it could be improved by adding the library supervisor the district librarian supervisor to the process that would be one way to um improve the process without adding additional bureaucracy I do have a question um as actually for Todd since he was the chair of the board policy sub committee and that subcommittee added this language regarding the 30-day and the
1525-day process to the proposed proposed revision to our policy so Todd is this language required by state law you need to direct a question to me to preside an officer not the individual board members please okay Scott is this language required by state law or t slack standards I don't know the answer that question but we can ask Marne Marne is that I don't know a 30day is a 30-day required by law talking specific Julie just make sure I clarify your question are you asking specifically about the 30 day and the five day and the five day is that required by T SL neither of those are required by T um where did this language this new policy language come from I thought it came from the policy committee I thought that's what was shared
153but yes we discussed that in the policy committee I did some research also did some research on some other um school districts and I found similar language in two other school districts however in those two school districts that have similar 30-day posting revisions to their library book policy it does provide more transparency to the public by requiring a vote of the entire board so one board member cannot make a unilateral decision as to whether or not a book is available to cfic students so my next question is if a board member reviews the list of Library materials being considered for purchase by the district and objects to a particular book will the board memb objections be treated in the same way as objections from a District Parent employee or resident and subject to the same
154procedure as outlined in efb regulations meaning they submit the same form as required by parents or residents indicating that they've read the book in its entirety what their concerns are and what they should be believe should be done with the material yes if there is our current regulation that's proposed of course it can't be finalized until after the policy is finalized but it would be if there were a concern it's not limited to parent or student if there were a concern we would have a process to review prior to removal from the acquisition list okay so I'm just I'm just to make sure I'm clear if a board member objects to a book on the pre-screening list will the does the board member follow the same process as a parent or a district resident we
155have a form that we would complete and we would review it and we would do the same review and what are the concerns if it's a review prior to acquisition because it is actually a different standard prior to acquisition than postacquisition but we decided to based on feedback we decided to create um a process to review that was similar and that was based on the library policy um Library materials excuse me Library materials committee feedback okay with that said I believe it would be appropriate to state in efb local that questions or concerns raised by a board member regarding Library materials proposed for acquisition shall be addressed in the same manner or in the manner provided in the efb local what I'm trying to say is now it is not clear what you if you're
156if you're saying that the that the board a board member had that has a question about purchasing a book about a book on the list to be purchased that we will follow the same process as anyone else in the district that needs to be stated in efb local that would be a board decision I'm fine supporting that thank you okay thank you Luke um if the process is to be the same I would I would suggest the um proposing these following revisions to efb local one no individual board member has the right to remove to require removal of any Library materials from the acquisition list prior to the posting of the acquisition list on the district website that means that no books can be removed in that special 5day time period um between the time
157when the board is notified of the list and it is publicized on the website and no Library materials will be removed from the acquisition list before the acquisition list is is posted on the website based upon questions or concerns raised by an individual board member two any board member requests for removal or reconsideration of any Library materials on the acquisition list must be made by submitting to The District Library supervisor a completed request for reconsideration using the same form that District students parents employees and residents are required to use such board members completed request form will be provided to the entire board upon submission by the board member three the acquisition list for Library materials will be presented to the board for approval at the first regular board meeting of the board following the 30-day
158posting period at such meeting no board member May request removal of Library materials that ensures a transparent process four after the reconsideration process has been completed with respect to any request for removal or reconsideration by a board member and a determination has been made that the library material will be removed from the AL list the removal of the library material from the acquisition list must be voted on by the entire board at the next board meeting after such determination next no Library materials will be removed from the acquisition list solely based upon the ideas contained in the material the Identity or personal background of the author or the personal background of the characters of the material the major Criterion for the final decision on removing of Library materials from the acquisition list is the appropriateness
159of the material for voluntary inquiry or self- selected reading to encourage student reading and enrich and support student learning finally regarding formal reconsideration committees no spouse or family member of a board member or any other individual who cannot be employed by the district under the nepotism policy in dbe legal will be appointed to any reconsideration committee related to proposed acquisition material or Library materials already in the library collection a lot are you questions yeah um so I have I have some prepared comments but let me go ahead and address uh Julie's proposed amendments um in their entirety there's definitely some things worth looking at I'm not prepared to act on those this evening however I highly recommend that you submit your recommendations to the policy committee for further revision I'm I'm prepared to vote for
160it as it is this evening I'm open to further amendments but I'm not I'm not ready to make a a vote on amendments this evening however I would request that the policy committee give that due diligence and actually take it into consideration and and bring back any revised revisions based on uh trustee hinman's recommendations and and that's and we sometimes do that between first and second readings so that's why I was was trying to make some notes but if you can email those to me um you know we can do that but that's kind of the point of first and second reading and that's a good point Mr Ray thank you yes thank you and so for clarification then rather than voting on this approving this version I may I may make a motion or
161that that we table this until we can have further discussion well as as a point of order we do have a motion in second we'll have to act on this Motion in second before any other motions are made that is correct true um I would also like to comment um I do agree with transparency I felt like several ideas there were strong but it um there were few too many also to consider but I'm also concerned or questioning which would be in regulation versus policy and so again I would support the idea of it going back in um in between first and second reading um to look at policy committee uh for policy committee to take a look is the policy committee meet uh meeting between now and when is when would we be voting
162on this in August is the policy committee meeting between now and then I believe there is a July meeting I believe yes okay I have one additional question but well I wanted to continue my comments early so I want to kind of just one of the things that I think is lost in a lot of this discussion is just talking about the overall um justification the reason um and what this whole Library policy seeks to accomplish first of all revising a library policy is is is a reasonable Endeavor um it's something that boards need to do that the community wants a board to do that parents in the community are asking a board to do you know there's a lot of concern and and I've seen a lot of comments saying you know uh about
163the placing the ultimate authority over Library mats in the hand of a school board you know the school board is the elected representatives of the community the board of the representatives of the community and our best position understand the values of the community parents across the parents across the country are asking their elected representatives to be involved in the library policy it's true that's why a lot of parents come out and vote that's why there are votes that's why people are elected they want their elected representatives to be involved in the process it is a collaborative process but they want their elected representatives to be involved in the process this so a couple of observations from this policy and some of the changes that it makes or some of the things that IT addresses it
164protects from obscene and pervasively vulgar materials that shock the conscience of the cair community that's a supreme court standard that's what that's what parents in this community are looking for this District to take leadership on the selection materials can include input from parents community members teachers Librarians selected as we've discussed and I'm sure there there might be some revisions on it selected Library mats be made public for an extended period of time time for review and comment that's adding transparency not decreasing if there's any interest in removing M this is this is something that strikes to the heart of a lot of the comments and it's it's actually spelled out in the language of the proposed policy if there's any interest in removing material there are protections from that prohibit removal on the basis of
165ideas or personal beliefs of the author so there's Protections in place but this is also a library policy that many of the parents and the stakeholders the Fair Community are asking their board to do um and it's something that we need to do so I consider all these changes uh common sense and reasonable policy changes and uh we very we very well we very well may look into more changes as a result of the policy committee that's it you have another question julan I do thank you um and uh based upon the court case that Justin repres is um just mentioned based upon the Supreme Court decision and Pico Library materials that are already in the library collection cannot be removed based solely on the ideas contained in the material or the personal background of
166the author or characters in the material that is for that's those are for Library materials that are already in the library my question is can Library materials be excluded from the acquisition list based on the personal background of the author or characters in the material I think the policy needs to be clear about that can Library materials be excluded from the acquisition list based upon the IDE ideas contained in the material we've already seen this board vote to remove chapters from textbooks based upon facts that some members deem to be controversial ideas such as climate change or vaccines what's to prevent the board from voting to remove books from the acquisition list due to a mere reference to climate change vaccines covid Etc I'll leave it at that any other questions so what I'm hearing
167consensus wise is we you have some changes you like to get made we can then look at those in the policy Committee in July and take those on their invis uh the only comment I'll say is um go ahead um my comments were after first vote um we typically have a first reading and second reading so I'm I want us to vote tonight um I I would I'm interested in seeing transparency added in some of the items but I definitely want the policy I would like it to keep moving forward um and Marne could you address like is that exactly the process of why there's first and second reading can you tell me what that typically looks like yeah it is it is the purpose of having the first and second reading we bring the
168the first reading we get feedback if I get feedback from the board um that they would like to see additional language or different language we now have the benefit of a policy committee that we can also uh utilize and then we bring those changes for the second reading so that is how the practice the of the policy development is supposed to work um with that I'm prepared to vote on the policy all right um I was just informed that the uh the motion is incorrect in the board books whether they is one at a time um so we are now voting on only 8 D1 efb local instruction materials may I uh get a vote please so by raising your right hand to vote for this policy it is five and then all those against
169and one against all now I'll get a motion for 8 D2 six or six for and one against did I say five yes I'm sorry I can't count uh 8 D2 may I get a motion please I'll just make the motion I move oh go ahead I move that the board approve um the uh on first reading um policy gkd local correct thank you gkd local community relations non-school use of school facilities may I get a second second any questions on this policy see none Let's uh signify by raising your right hand if you would like to approve this as unanimous uh 8 D3 FDA admissions introduction train transmission enter District Transit transfers Revis may I get a motion I move that the board approve on first reading policy a FDA local admissions interd District
170transfers revised I gu second second all those in favor see by raising your right hand and that's unanimous 8e the board consider approving on second reading additions revisions and deltion the following policy 8 E1 DEC compensation benefits leaves and absences 8 E2 dfbb term contracts 8 E3 e Eed uh inter uh interstructural um Arrangement student services in a E4 ehab basic instruction program required instructions Elementary may I get a motion to approve all four of these items I move that the board approve on second reading additions revisions or deletions to District policies de local compensations and benefits leaves and absences revised dfbb local term contracts non- reveal nonrenewal revised Eed local instructional Arrangements student schedules revised and ehab local basic instructional program required instruction and Elementary revised Mega second second any question discussion on this
171side see um I signifi by your right hand you approve that is unanimous 8f The Bard consider approving the 2024 2025 cyer SP Banks Independent School District student code of conduct may I get a motion please I move that the board approve the 2024 2025 Cyprus Fairbanks ISD student code of conduct make a second second any questions seeing none we'll now take a vote all those in favor see by raising your right hand I believe unanimous 8G board consider nominations for Region 4 position F Lars District member seat I did not hear if anyone anyone like to put their name on this list okay we can always bring it up another more beeting as well if you'd like to show interest um 8h the board consider a level one complaint file by an employee regarding
172the adoption of science instructural materials this item was discussed in close session 551 1.71 we do have 19 um 19 speakers so that we'll only fortunately be one minute each our first speaker is Jennifer CET and just so everybody knows I've already received two harassing emails to my work email since I spoke tonight uh home Quest Foster Han and Walker those were my high school science teachers I would never profess to know more about science than them unless I myself had a degree in that field Natalie wants to remove 13 chapters from our science textbooks books that have been approved by staff from the State Board of Ed she took it upon herself to decide which chapter should be removed well she had help from Monica Dean I guess Monica double majored in college in
173library science and maybe biology Natalie and Todd want our students to be critical thinkers that doesn't happen when you take chapters away Natalie ask why we can't just write our own curriculum she can save that for the Christian charter school she works for Newman International Academy they filed for incorporation as a nonprofit in Florida in 2022 but they are based in the Dallas Fort Worth area Natalie is listed as one of the six owners it all smells pretty fishy it makes me think pyramid schemes and Shady dealings but it's all in the name of Jesus so I guess it's okay Christina [Applause] milum I am a parent of two children in cfis and I care about the quality of their education it's why we move to this District I am disheartened by last month's decision
174by six members of this board to censor critical topics that are essential to for students understanding of the world what message does it send to Young Minds when controversial subjects are erased from the educational landscape ape rather than empowering students in their pursuit of knowledge the removal of vaccine related content is deeply troubling vaccines have saved countless lives throughout history this is not an opinion it's a fact suppressing this information and making decisions based on misinformation undermines scientific progress J jeopardizes public health and endangers lives I urge you once again to reverse this decision and move to approve the textbook selected by the highly trained Educators without modification our children deserve accurate information to become informed citizens thank you Brian [Applause] Henry last month this board voted to censor textbooks Mark Twain said that history
175never repeats itself but it does often rhyme the tune you're playing isn't new history textbooks are full of partisan hacks conspiracy theorist and religious zealots history is also a stage but we can't pick the production we're born into we can however choose the part we play I believe some of you privately feel you have followed a particular trustee down a road you wish you hadn't but perhaps you're too stubborn or embarrassed to turn around don't be it would be more embarrassing to stay the course just turn around listen to your teachers don't allow yourselves to be cast as villains choose to play a different part your community will commend you approve the textbooks in their entirety doing so will be a win for this board this District its teachers and its students Verona Veronica [Applause]
176SOA this coming school year I will be going into 8th grade in soon High School me and many other students in the district are expecting a complete education to prepare us for the rest of our lives that means that I was upset to hear that sections of our textbooks are being removed removing these chapters will be taking whole chunks out of resources that students use to learn there are many down to this decision including that students will easily be able to learn about things that will allow them to make positive differences in the world it will also be forcing already busy teachers to find new ways to teach these subjects please do not remove important topics like climate change and vaccines cf's goal is to lead every student into success for that we need a
177complete and uncensored education Nina s [Applause] good evening and thank you for having me my name is Nina signs I'm a parent and a sustainability and climate expert working in the energy industry with a spirit of collaboration I'm going to share some Industry facts that might compel you to reconsider your perspective on how we teach sustainability and climate and sciare I would love nothing more than to discuss the science but alas my time is short that said I'm happy to support those conversations at another time on your handout and forgive me I'm clearly not a graphic designer you'll see a list of the 26 forun 500 companies that are headquartered right here in Houston and some statistics about their sustainability programs I don't have time to read the stats but the takeaway is that companies
178investors and government institutions are already well the effort to transition to a low carbon future but plainly when we work our climate education down to the bare minimum we put our students at a completely avoidable disadvantage against their peers as they enter the workforce I know that every single person oh I'm so sorry I know that every single person up on that dis and here in the audience wants the best future for our kids so let's work together to provide that Martin scoda Houston is Space City we might as well be called science City we have NASA we have the medical center we have nationally re renowned universities and museums and so censoring science is a bad look for us especially in the region in which we live I'm a parent to two children attending
179sciare schools and I would like to have my parental rights respected we have textbooks materials that have been vetted by the state and vetted by our science teachers and bought by parents and people in our communities and it is our right as parents to have all of those materials available to our children you guys cited Conspiracy Theory science denial and fear as reasons to censor these books and yet you have so many excellent resources in Houston if you ever have questions about science please respect science and the textbook process Please Release those materials in their entirety to the students of Cipher iy Lauren long board members I'm a cfd parent 26e District resident and 30-year petroleum engineer in watching the hearing of Miss Royer's complaint last Thursday night I was amazed at the legalistic responses
180to her plea from some on this board standing behind a rigid self-serving reading of the law to justify censorship is that the kind of leaders you want to be playing the tired old because I said so card I'm here to urge you to take a step back pause the censorship and do what you should have done all along consult with the teaching experts in this District on what should be in those science textbooks you should take the time to listen and learn from our our teachers what this District needs are true leaders who are open-minded teachable and courageous enough to change your minds what we don't need are culture Warriors jamming their fanatical quasi political religious political agenda down our children's throats driven by fear and paternalism now is the time for each of you
181to step up and be the humble servant leaders this community needs thank you Center [Applause] one reason that has been put forth for the censorship of chapters is that the instructional materials must present a balanced View and the trustees of this board claim to speak on behalf of all parents but is it each parent has a voice for their own children or am I to concede my voice because I say the educational experts in each field should be trusted to provide appropriate instructional materials for my child's classes I moved my family into this School District 5 Years Ago by choice for the opportunities and supports that were available and offered I have followed every opportunity to choose to opt in or opt out to allow my children access to materials for their education this includes
182the planning of their course loads as a parent I voiced my support for my children taking appropriate academic classes and electives including extra science and CTE courses in the course of censoring instructional materials the trustees have diminished the scope and sequence of approved in appropriate materials and threaten to damage the quality of my child's education as a student of Health Sciences preparing to pursue a medical career his education is now at risk all but one of the textbooks being censored is an elective or CTE course please return the chapters thank you Amanda canwell my name is Amanda kwell I'm a Bachelor of Science in biomedical science with a minor in Psychology and a masters of education and curriculum and instruction I've been teaching science in the state of Texas for 15 years 12 of which
183have been teaching physics from on level to AP dual credit here in cfd during this time I've been involved in curriculum writing projects with the goal of improving first time instruction in physics classrooms across the district I feel that some clarification can be given to a statement made during the June 13 work session where it was said that maybe that's what happened the way science is being taught is maybe a little bit more about phenomenon and opinion instead of facts and data phenomena can be defined as observable events that occur in a natural or design system the high school science teeks adopted in 2021 specify that science is taught in such a way that Learners are investigating these observable events and that the teacher is a facilitator in tying the observations to establish scientific principles
184for example students in physics might look at a collision between two objects to investigate conservation in systems to clarify using phenomenon based instruction does not mean that we are teaching science based on opinion Science Education is still very much grounded in the usage of data and facts we are just using research varified best pedical practice in Student Center classrooms to allow Learners to make meaning from data and facts thank you debie blacker [Applause] board meeting after board meeting I have heard this board talk about the value of our teachers in sfair we employ the best of the best from the superintendent to the cabinet board down to the classroom and to just uh dismiss all the work that these teachers put in to uh reviewing uh the material is just inexcusable able they are the
185professionals they are the ones that we need to listen to and I will tell you that um you can't have it both ways say you value the teacher and then you just point your finger at them or dismiss them with comments it took a lot of Courage for Miss Royer to come and file that grievance and I really applaud that she did so but we have to protect the Ed education of our children we have the to give them the opportunity to become critical thinkers and um if everyone on this board read every textbook and review then all I have to say is you need to get a life John Rosen Paul thank you for again allowing me this time uh now I Rise to urge you to reverse what I consider a grossly irresponsible
186removal of sections from State approved science books and I decry the opaque and underhanded tactics that were employed by six of you to remove those chapters as a science-based career professional and a state rep who values and supports public education I'm appalled as far as I know none of our board members has a background in science professionally or as a science teacher and yet five of you voted with trustee blasing game who selected textbook sessions to admit by apparently phoning a friend who didn't even review them all without public comment or private or prior notice if you did not actually violate the open meetings and Records act requirements you certainly subverted the intent of that law please wrap up I'm sure six of you will ignore my request to reinstate and so I'll just say
187keep doing what you're doing the find out part will come later Jared [Applause] Barton Jared Burton McKenzie Bach there we go okay good evening board my name is Jared Burton and I'm a student KD ISD another Greater Houston area school district that has come under Fire due to book Banning and anti-diversity sentiments school is primarily an educational institution but it is a social one at the same time they are interlined and like you learn in math what you do to one side always has an effect on the other by compromising these students educations through censoring factual textbook information because you don't like what it has to say you are not only hurting their learning but you are also stunting their growth as people the int the introduction of new ideals is what sparks growth in
188people either changing their beliefs or reinforcing their old ones no matter what access to these differing perspectives is integral to this process I urge the board to reinstate these textbook chapters and to cease your attacks on intellectual Freedom if your morals and your constituents won't stop you from maintaining these Bands please let let what is happening in kdd be your motivation students are entitled to the right to read let's keep this childish behavior on the playground and out of this room thank [Applause] you good evening I'm a mother of two and I have a PhD in epidemiology I'm here to voice my concern over the censoring of science textbook materials related to infectious diseases and vaccines I applaud the board's desire to promote critical thinking among our students however since ing these materials will only
189dampen their ability to think critically and will harm them in the long run as they learn how to function in society children get sick they deserve to understand how and why they get sick they deserve to understand why it's important to wash their hands why they get shots at the doctor's office and why they should wear bug spray before playing outside everyone from the governor to the cafeteria workers and School nurses follow policies that help keep us safe from infectious diseases is it's important for children to understand the reasons behind these policies equipping them with this knowledge now will help them make more informed decisions in the future I implore you to not allow politics to dim the educational opportunities for our children please adopt these materials in full thank you aosta mcal I want
190to talk to you about how a book goes through the State Board of Education approval process first a publisher submits the book and then is open to the public in its entirety to review any factual errors or vagueness as Miss blasing game is concerned with are pointed out to the Publishers and they make changes or they defend those those statements in court in a due process public hearing by saying that these books are bias or the information is not factual you're basically committing defamation you're looking n in the face and saying even though everyone else in the state has already agreed that this book is fine we don't think it is and it's going to be a very easy case for them to win if they want to because the whole state board of education
191has already said that their book is okay this is just another way to open us up to more and more lawsuits and toss us more and more money my prepared statements were originally about the policy itself but I feel like we need to highlight how much this board is opening us to to lawsuits because they're going to start coming and Disney owns NATO you don't want to mess with the mouse Christina [Applause] Woods Dr blasing game you wanted to SL science curriculum it couldn't be bothered to do your own research so you formed it out to Monica Dean who's not a district employee or an educator but she shares your Christian supremacist views then you said you did you did read all the books and it took you a month but wait then you said
192you didn't even have access to the books until May or was it March Dr msia said at the June work session that you did have access to the textbooks because once they were edited by the state they were available online you said that you couldn't even access those links as of that meeting yet the curriculum were supposed to be approved by the April board meeting although you delayed it until May anybody confused why are you disputing Miss Warrior complaint when you've got zero proof of the science denying nonsense you claim in the textbooks humans are bad where did that come from and where is the support for teachers that you promised in your campaign oh and science is not an all-side subject that is the racist State CRT law and as of today science is
193not included in that law stop blaming Dr msas the state the their curriculum companies and the UN for your sloppy efforts to Rob our kids of learning science as required by the text take responsibility for eliminating those chapters your anti-science and anti-public education own it or reinstate the chapters KET [Applause] comms go ahead and turn the mic on on the podium that's it go thank you I haven't done this before okay I'm uh Janet comes I'm a geoscientist degrees from LSU U ofh UT Austin I have 50 years experience in the global petroleum industry and some in the groundwater business I've lived in the cciir ISD for 29 years so I've paid a lot of fees for y'all but I'm an active volunteer in the Houston Science Museum now and I'm also active with the
194Houston Geological Society especially the educational Outreach committee which is active in many stem events across the city I want to express my strong disagreement and that of multiple hgs members who could not come tonight but we disagree with the elimination from the curriculum of three chapters of the earth science textbook Earth Systems and Cycles chap one chapter is basic to the understanding of geology from groundwater and petroleum to local rivers and drainage mineral and energy resources is critical for energy transition knowledge your time has expired please wrap especially for the upcoming need for Rare Minerals and climate change science needs to be taught to everybody car [Applause] Cummings LM spoke about vaccines and autism I'm a licensed psychologist and peer-reviewed public scientific researcher LM owns a pest control company he questioned whether vaccines save lives
195unequivocally when was the last time you had small pox never thanks to a vaccine L comp said that the childhood vaccine schedule includes over a hundred vaccines it's 30 either he lied or he can't count worst of all lmpt implied that vaccines cause autism that myth has been thoroughly debunked for decades autism is a neurodev developmental disorder that cannot be acquired by by anything including vaccines fearmongering places the public especially those who are unable to be vaccinated at Great risk you are welcome to be laughably wrong in your personal life but from the dis in your role as a trustee you may not be so flagrantly dangerously wrong it puts our entire District at risk do better clevel Lane [Applause] turn it off it was on there you all right um one of the things
196that as an educator you're passionate about what you do and when you're in front of your your teach your students and one of as being teaching for 27 years my my child my children come home still and say my teacher said it and if we're not going to give the teachers the tools for them to be experts and and what they're teaching and giving to our kids then we're setting them up for failure small poox measles menitis we all know back in the day how menitis affected many of our children but now that we forgot about it we said okay well we don't need to learn anymore our students still need to learn our kids need to learn so by the time they get to that higher education they'll be able to have that conversation
197and build from that learning and not wondering well what did I miss when I was in K through [Applause] 12 policy EFA states that the Board of Trustees Authority is for curriculum and instructional program not for instructional materials are to be selected by professionals not by the Board of Trustees you violated your own policy and then somehow get to be the authority on an appeal about it that's rich you're not experts in these fields three of you allegedly don't even have bachelor's degrees how would that make you a district professional Todd doesn't know that 30 is not close to 100 Natalie doesn't know the difference between sexual harassment and discussing a book so no no your censorship will not stand especially in a court of law there isn't money in the budget for your foolishness
198reverse course immediately on anha May I get a motion yes I move that the board uphold the level one grievance and reinstate all the omitted chapters from the board's adoption of the 2024 2025 instructional materials turn a motion may I get a [Applause] second may I get a second I actually actually according to Robert's Rules of Order a second is not required procedure in small boards section 4919 in a board meeting where there are no not more than about a dozen members the rules governing such meetings are different in the following respects number two motions do not need to be seconded [Applause] in this board our operating practices we've always had a motion and a second that's what I will share and this and may I may I please in this the board's practice has
199always been that the board has adopted instructional materials recommended by Ed Educators in our district that's it's not Germaine but which rules of Robert's Rule where I've asked for this twice that the Roberts Rules of Order that we are offering under be posted on the district website they are still not there we thought by email they're an addendum to the um board operating procedures so I believe they're posted no they're not there Mr President as a point of order is uh is it your ruling from the chair that a motion requires a second that is General customary of this board for the last years that I've been here as well so we would need a second for this motion so the president of the board has ruled and and the presiding officer's ruled that a
200second is required if anybody wants to challenge the ruling of the chair they may do so but that is the ruling of the chair as it stands not getting a second on this motion may have another motion please is this subject we can have discuss no not we're upholding a yeah I'm confused how to say it right here because it's not a I'll make a motion I make I make a motion to deny the the level one complaint filed by the employee Royer regarding the adoption of science instruction materials me gu a second I second are there any questions [Music] get you need to please be quiet or we will take a break and we'll continue on without you questions yes let me let me uh let me go ahead and address a couple of
201things real quick um once again please order if you can't do this we will we will clear the gallery not a problem please please be quiet if you have questions you had plenty of time we gave you ample opportunity we were quiet for you please be respectful so first the formal stuff and I've seen a lot of um discussion about some of the formal discussions we had at last Thursday so the grievance and we can't discount the formal basis of the grievance okay the grievance is based on the assertion that the school board exceeded its Authority by voting to remove chapters on approving textbooks the griev alleges the board violated EFA local by not relying on District staff to select and acquire instructional materials when pressed in our in in the U discussion last Thursday
202the griev conceded that EFA local does give oversight and ultimate approval of instructional materials to the board without having to consult with any other party such as District staff so the concession eliminated the grievance written formal basis for the grievance so when we're discussing this whole oversight this isn't some board flex and you know this isn't some this isn't some [Music] Flex please let him speak do not talk do not address the board unless you're in public comment or agenda comments please so you may disagree but the truth of the matter is that was not some sort of power Flex by the board that was in response to the formal written complaint by the grievant which said the board did not have the authority to do so which it clearly did EFA and the grievant
203even agreed with that during her oral arguments and her attorney okay so that's the reason why that whole discussion took place because that was the formal grievance and the formal assertion okay but in oral arguments the grievant the grievant did pivot to a different basis claiming that the removal of textbook chapters restricted her access to materials to teach okay this is a more straightforward grievance and it does Merit a discussion so my take on that is very simple and straightforward throughout this entire process District administrators have been clear that with the removal of these chapters teachers will receive the resources they need to teach to the te this board has no desire to ask teachers to do without adequate resources and we're committed to providing those okay that's never been an issue this board this
204board is asked if if the teachers will have the resources they need in light of the acceptance of this new policy so and here's the thing look we're all people here and as a personal note I can sympathize I've been an employment please please do not address the board unless you're in public comment or agenda comments as a personal side I can't sympathize you I've been in employment situations where you know I've not had the resources I need to do my job it's frustrating but this is not going to be one of those situations okay guys many of you know I'm married to a teacher I have three kids in the district and I'm fully invested in our Educators having the resources that they need and we'll make sure whether this PO whether this grievance
205prevails or this grievance is denied we will make sure teachers have the resources they need to teach to the te and educate the children of cyfair so with that uh as I mentioned I made the motion and I do support denying the grievance and letting the approved material stand as amended other questions I go ahead Nelly Dr Maas um is there would there be based upon this decision a diminished scope and sequence that will be taught to students of C cfic so it is our job to ensure that we teach the text the te and so we will make sure that we provide materials to um adequately provide the te some of the material is is books are 10 years old but we are look we have pulled other materials from other textbooks and still
206looking for other material to be able to cover the teaks so I I guess I'll ask this question you already said it is there any curriculum or any tis that are being removed yes or no by not having I'm Sorry by we pass this policy yes or no will there be any curriculum or any te that will be removed we have to teach the teaks so so no none will be removed no we have to te the tis corre be remov okay so no tis or no scope and sequence are being removed okay then um please Dr Messias is there an entire chapter on vaccines in the biology textbook that teaches all of the required tis and do you have staff ready that could share I believe it's investigation 12 if I remember because we
207removed 13 but is there can you come and share about what vaccines and what content is taught in that investigation prior to the one so I think it's 12 I'd like to know about polio what are those things covered can we please have a survey or an overview of that chapter every te is related in there in a teaching on vaccines do you know which chapter I'm discussing I may be able to do you have your content expert here I I do have my content expert here however the chapter 12 was not one of the ones that or investig no it's okay is there a chapter prior to the one that was removed that absolutely discusses vaccines in great detail many of the ones that have been mentioned tonight and teaches every single teak related
208to vaccines that is still left in our textbook for our students in the school district Jamie can you come forward please I'm sorry I don't have the information for for she may know thank you I apologize that's a complex question but I think it's very important because I do that is part of why the that the that chapter was not necessary to teach the te I think there was a chapter quite thorough on it first it's an investigation I believe it's called Thank you in the biology textbook please we have officers in the back if you need help need assistance they more thank you for coming forward can you please tell us the contents of the investigation 12 I believe it is it's 13 oh thank you so uh it's called investigation 13 13 in
209this uh particular publisher um it covers te's 5D the student is expected expected to compare the structures of viruses to cells and explain how viruses spread and cause disease it also covers teak uh 12a the student is expected to analyze the inter interactions sorry I'm not reading glasses uh that occur among systems that perform the function of Regulation nutrient absorption reproduction and defense from injury or illness in anal animal so those are the content tis we also have uh scientific engineering practice tis which are new to secondary science um coming next year as well so those are not included in that but this chapter is wrapped around a phenomenon as uh Amanda canwell spec spoke to as well and that phenomenon is the challenge of disease and so the chapter focuses on the defense against
210injury as the te mentions and it also Works uh excuse me uh goes around the uh teak of the viruses so the whole chapter itself is focus on the challenge of disease so those tis remain in the textbook that's going to be taught correct I'm only looking at investigation 13 but those are the tees that are covered within that investigation so all the tees related to uh vaccines and protection of that phenomena and the newti are covered in the existing chapters that still remain in the textbook they they may be pie pieces of it but so the book is built on being uh excuse me the the it wrapped around so that it builds so our our standards aren't just like a oneandone situation my question I was when I made a phone call to
211long before the vote and I first of all did have access to every link of every textbook Linda is that correct I was asking last week about any once new changes from the State Board of Ed and you clarified and were correct that the links that I reviewed were actually the ones that had the State Board changes in so um so we did have access to all the links and then in the the pursuant discussion we were able to clarify that all the teaks were taught in the chapter prior to the one that we recom or the investigation prior to the one that was recommended to be removed it covered it went further than the teeks to cover Co and other topics is that accurate what I was told on the phone is that correct
212Jamie so vaccines themselves aren't necessarily addressed in an onlevel biology classroom however most of the time students have questions because in when we're talking about viruses and we're talking about bacterial infections right and my questions clear where all the I called and I found out information were all the teaks that needed to be taught on that topics in the topic in this chapter still remaining in the book without that extra one that was asked to be removed by this Poli this um this action the for uh those two standards that I gave you uh three excuse me 5 5D and 12a there are pieces of it in other investigations chapters um we would have to as a curriculum writing team we would have to ensure that the seeps those scientific engineering practices were uh captured
213correctly and making sure that that standard was or those standards are addressed uh we do cover pieces of these tis and other investigations correct um but there are pieces that we could potentially be missing um when we take a deep dive into these is the polio vaccine covered in what's currently left in the textbook sorry is the polio vaccine covered in there already does it discuss left in the textbook the covid vaccine is mentioned I'm talking about the chap prior the chapter that's um that is about um H I don't have the um I can't pull up right here on this computer the textbook um so my question is being Linda do you remember our discussion I can pull it I don't think you weren't there I think you weren't at the office at the
214time it was someone else so that's so I feel like I'm so sorry I want to put you at a disadvantage and answering you've done a great job of answering about the teaks Dr blasting game let me let me pull up the chapter because the chapters the links have been are still alive are still alive in the yes I just can't get to my email right here on this computer let me let me pull it and that way I can let Jamie look at it biology Jamie do you want to go see if you can pull from there seriously totally understand wow clear okay go ahead I'm sorry so we're looking at the chapter that is included you're looking at the chapter before the one that you removed is that correct chapter I me uh
215investigation 12 yes oh shoot sorry not my computer trying to not touch screen ayj why am I okay so you're asking about investigation 12 the one prior yes that's exactly what I'm talking about can you please tell us the content that the different vaccines the tees everything that's covered in there I'm pretty sure all but the next chapter really was just Co this one was almost every vaccine that's been mentioned as eliminated so in chapter 12 it does address T 12a which was the second standard that I read to you and this one is focusing more along on like the other part of the standard so the function of Regulation nutrient absorption uh reproduction and then I'm still scrolling and that's it it does not cover the defense from injury or illness I'm sorry can
216you go into the content area like the lessons and talk about to see what um vaccines are covered in the chapter there are no vaccines covered in chapter in excuse me investigation 12 because it's not addressing viruses and it's not addressing defense from injury or illness the illness part Natalie I'm not sure where we're going with this but um okay um the yes get to the point sorry thank you I I do apologize I apologize for having you have to be on the spot about that but the information um is uh I'll have to go back and I'm at a little bit of a disadvantage because I don't have it here on the screen but I appreciate that thank you so much you're welcome investigation 12 is a war animal systems animal systems corre investigation
21712 is on animal systems I can read we're g to move along since the relevance has kind of moved off um now I going to take a vote all of those I have I have another question please thank you um to the point that um Justin made about the grievance um reading the grievance as written by Miss Royer I don't see that she was questioning the board ultimate responsibility she says I'm filing this grievance for a violation of policy EFA local which states the board shall rely on dist on District professional staff to select and acquire instructional materials may I may I answer that Mr President the paragraph right the paragraph right before that said nowhere during our curriculum review was there ever mentioned the possible removal of the parts of the material during the
218meeting Dr bazen game mentioned rewriting the teaks at the local level I do not believe they have the authority to do that that is correct the board cannot rewrite tees tees are written by the the State Board of Education she the the assertion we don't need to relitigate this but the assertion was the fact the assertion was the fact that the board went outside of the scope of its Authority by not accepting completely uh the uh recommendation and violated EFA local by doing so no rewriting the tees the tis are written by the State Board of Education not the board these are two different two different aspects she said nowhere during the curriculum R was there ever mentioned the possible removal of the parts of the material I do not believe they have the authority
219to do that you you skip the sentence during the meeting Dr blasen mentions rewriting the teaks at a local level I do not believe they have the authority to do that rewrite the tees that's a miscommunication she was saying that what we were saying is the tees were going to be covered by those chapters because state law requires it we cannot deviate from that that's the issue they are they're not going to miss the teaks the te are going to remain and so what we were saying was that even though that chapter may be omitted the students are still going to receive content that's going to cover the te so they don't miss the tis period so as I read the complaint that violates the policy EFA local because the board does not rely on
220this Personnel instruction do not have approval to do this so that's the decision we're making on and that's what we're the vote is on at this point we're now going to take a vote on this matter you may not talk Mr Cy you are you are out of order you're out of order you're out of order we we're out of order you're out of order Mr cvy you're out of order Mr govy [Applause] there's been a motion there been a second I'll take a vote all in favor ra by raising your right hand all those against we have one against 64 8 a 8 I the board not consider making determination that good cause not exist for required by law for the individuals listed here for respect to resign their Employment contract this item was
221discussed in close session pursuant to section 551.074 may get a motion please I move that the Board of Trustees render a finding under Texas administrative code chapter 24917 D that good cause did not exist as required by Texas Education Code sections 21.15 C 21.1 160c or two 21.2 one0 C4 the individuals listed to resign their respective employment contracts and notify these employees in accordance with the law that the district is submitting a complaint to the State Board of educator certification for contract abandonment May gu a second second we'll now take a vote all those in favor second by raising your right hand that is unanimous eight J the board will consider level four appeal of level three decision this will be disclosed in slow session this evening uh the following addendum was posted to June
222meeting I'm sorry did we already discuss that AJ AJ I apologize may I get a motion on HJ HJ please I move that the board uphold the level three decision made by the administration make it a second second we'll now take a vote all those in favor see by raising your right hand it is unanimous thank you the following addendum was added to June meeting on Friday June 14 2014 1A the board will consider appeal decision deny an interdistrict student transfer request this item will be disclosed in close session following tonight's meeting we'll now proceed to information items board committee updates we are three speakers first one is Tara Cummings our six Christian nationalist extremist trustees campaigned in part on transparency yet we have these new board committees which utterly lack transparency when do the
223Committees meet who attends them where are the minutes what are they addressing no one knows even the people on the committee that doesn't sound very transparent to me I personally just file the public information request for dates attendees and minutes of all board committee meetings to date as well as all trustees personal notes and Communications to and from trustees and any other individual regarding board committee business the district has has quoted me $72 to obtain that information another public information request cost me almost $100 I know many other community members have dipped into their bank accounts in pursuit of public information from this board and District community members should not have to submit formal public information requests to receive information that ought to be readily available to us and we certainly shouldn't have to Shell
224out cold Hard Cash to Simply stay informed I formerly request that for all board committees the following be posted on the district website and updated in a timely manner meting dates times and locations attendees agendas and minutes and video recordings of all the meetings just as occurs here I mean if nothing nefarious is happening in those meetings why not be fully transparent you promised you would be if you got elected it's time to make good Christina [Applause] Milan the teacher retention committee an ad hoc Committee of the cfd board was quote created to Rev riew ways to enhance hiring processes to attract exceptional Educators and address teacher burnout with a specific emphasis on supporting special education staff the committee will also explore strategies to improve Outreach and inreach initiatives to encourage our students to consider
225teaching as their career path end quote and yet last month six board members voted to remove four chapters from a textbook used for the teaching and training CTE of particular note chapter 18 was seemingly removed due to a perception of bias Dei and its impact in the classroom educators are entrusted with fostering growth and creating safe spaces for all students by ensuring access to Quality resources we Empower Learners regardless of their background abilities or socioeconomic status to ensure they receive Equitable education inclusive teaching is the antithesis of bias it is about adapting to meet individual needs with whether it's accommodating learning styles providing language support or celebrating cultural differences the cfd student body is diverse embracing this diversity creates an environment where every student can feel valued and heard diversity is a strength when there
226is a shortage of teachers entering the profession and we struggle to retain them why is this board unwilling to equip them with all the tools they need we don't just need them to succeed we want them to thrive and on an added note when my 9-year-old tells me that she wants to be a teacher my heart hurts for her teachers are not respected in this district and it is sad so do better thank you why aren't all five board committees listed on the agenda to expect a report out as Julie warned this has become governance without transparency did the academic safety vision and planning committee meet before censoring textbooks has the finance audit and Technology committee suggested how to let parents know they are losing their bus service or is it just going to happen
227when they register in August what decisions are being made in the dark without public knowledge do these committees meet on a regular basis is it published when they are meeting so I can hold my elected officials accountable this lack of transparency is a problem and you need to fix it are there any board committee Updates this time yes um I'm bringing an update from the ad hoc teacher Recruitment and Retention committee and uh we in the initial meeting we did a squat analysis for strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats and we looked uh we pulled out opportunities that we've been exploring over the series of meetings I want to thank the administration they've been very um uh very on top of uh really acting to make sure that we have the right data to decide and
228to explore opportunities the opportunities included benefits and values of the profession teachers as ambassadors of the profession external survey query left um like those who left our district why they left population Trends versus the data retire rehire of title one uh in rehire and retire in Title One um looking at different incentives across the system for hard to reach and hard to teach U places marketing campaign training and support and um calendar and daily schedule as um items that would uh were opportunities we also had a teacher vacancy um task force report that looked at um what teachers shared as their as critical and had cited in the study um compensation of course came up and that was the increase of overall compensation enhancing total compensation package and providing incentives for hard staff areas training
229and support for the next area improving Pipeline and uh pre-service preparation and expanding training and support for teacher mentorship and uh teacher leadership opportunities and then working conditions um what came through was demonstrating value and respect for Teacher time and schoolwide culture and discipline support U there was also teacher Time study data that was shared uh we had a teacher time stud Capstone report and we still getting more data um the tasks um looking um some of the issues that were cited are tasks outside of providing direct instruction to students current challenges and areas in need of support related to non-instructional activities and key difference in perception across and within instructional groups we seen um so there's more data that will be shared around that so the minutes of the last meeting um given on
230June 3rd um the uh uh we had a report from um the administration on the new teacher Institute and mentoring program supports incredible work being done um by in order to really uh make sure that we have different series of really highly professional high quality series for all levels of growth across our system we looked at a key principles of the induction program um The cfic MENTOR handbook the CF leaders the cfic Leadership Institute series the uh NTI new teacher in um new teacher Niti new teacher Institute thank you um info flyer that's um available and then new teacher hire newsletter and then PA to teer newsletters and a new hire newsletter um so really concering all the different groups that they get um a welcome into the system and an onboarding onto the system
231we just and some of the discussion at the committee was waste enhance the parir to teacher pipeline um and our HR representative explained um a partnership that's currently going on with the University of Grand Canyon University that has 46 participants in order to have that pipeline up for our very highly valued PA of professionals um we discussed avenues for financial aid for PA of professionals that may be interested in in a teaching degree we also reviewed the SWAT um for uh those opportunities to see what other generate ideas have been generated the marketing campaign about our Noble profession of purpose and meaning um and discussed and develop of developing a structured teacher ambassador program which we discussed the student educator prep program look for ways to expand opportunities for students to learn about pursuing a
232degree in teaching um uh we were have a referral over to the governance committee um to see if they would focus on the legislative action to change the TRS search charge law so that we could maybe access retired teachers in our system without a large search charge and we discuss College Academy offering a pathway for an associates and teaching leading to a bachelor in education partnering with the University of Houston also discussing with Sam Houston State University and I think another one that Linda is working on um so that they're more accessible local bachelor's programs in education we also looked at the uh teacher vacancy task force presentation of PowerPoint um some items highlighted and discussed on that and I'll open that separately um um actually I'll go there and now let me see if
233I can open give me one section um Teresa can you help me with which piece which one is titled that document thank you yes so we have an entire study that we're still pursuing we're waiting on more data um the hand but there is a uh at the next meeting our topic will be to reiew the Capstone report of the teacher Time study we had um is that the one that had 1,093 teachers participate yes yes there was a survey of 1,93 1,93 teachers they gave us incredible feedback of about how we use time in the system and so it it gives um different categories of teachers and so that will be the future meeting topic uh we also um had we did not hear but will be the next meeting the board monitoring system
234goal three board report um we also looked at retirement and resignation data so far in the district and we're going to have an update in August to see how that looked for the season so we can understand what we can do to continue to attract and and what we and we have data I thank the HR team for everyone who comes and goes we have dat from them to see what it is that made that decision happen we also looked at the status of the excess staff in the system um based upon our budget reductions and we had only three yet to be placed and um I'm not sure if there's an update we uh everyone was um we had an update on those who were um unfortunately in those budget cuts and finally there
235was a status of the retention stien bonus we're looking to really um and the potential in the future with when budget um WS or less hopefully be able to really look at how we draw and high quality Educators to our very most difficult or most remote or most challenging schools um so that we can make sure that we can maintain them there and that they do are able to stay there and continue to get EX um give an excellent service to the children at their schools and that's the topics of the meeting and uh we will be meeting again either late this month or in July I ask a question um nalie you uh said several times that your you're waiting for more data um regarding the the Handover report and study done the final
236report was emailed to the board on April 13th so I'm unclear on what more data you are waiting for is a Capstone can you explain Teresa uh the data that she's referencing we uh convened a small group of teachers and campus principes uh to review the Capstone report and then just to kind of get their insights on maybe how we can address some of the the key recommendations that Handover recommended or pointed out in the report so our next step is to obviously share that with the um the committee but we first wanted the opportunity for Dr msas and then Christina to to kind of go to principes to curriculum coordinators and start looking at some of those areas specifically in the area of compliance documentation in ways that we can be compant with the
237law but maybe ensure that we do not have additional steps and requirements in place so it's that kind of work and information that we're still working on and want to bring back to the committee great thank you that's that's very helpful because that really goes to something that principal had asked me about like will there be an action plan from this Committee in place by the start of the school year in August absolutely and that's important to us that we take action after we solicited all of that feedback great thank you any other committee updates yes I have one from the finance and operations committee so I just wanted to address some of the comments that I just heard about whether or not anything was done in the dark so I want to speak to
238that directly regarding the finance and operations I'll tell you exactly who was in every single meeting it's the same people myself Justin Julie and then we have Karen and then we have our senior manager operations leader mat so sorry I'm so tired long night and then occasionally when we have to discuss it we have Paula and I think that's it and every now and then Dr Kyan C KY missed one meeting he was there the second one in this last month um and Teresa Hull usually shows up so that's the attendance regarding the content that's discussed every single presentation that this community has received regarding the budget is what we review initially and the goal is that we would look at it as board members and then we would ask questions so that the rest
239of the team can understand what questions do they think are coming from the rest of the board no decisions are made in the finance sub commmittee at all in any scenario so as an example we heard from Matt the first time you mentioned the audit that we will be that we voted on tonight and that we will be conducting and so myself Julie Justin we ask questions what is the audit how does that work what are we getting from that why is that valuable okay Matt make sure you bring up points one two three in open discussion when we talked about the uh budget uh the uh transportation and the the notion of zerob based budgeting I made sure I brought it to Matt Matt make sure you talk about why Z based budgeting is
240important so the goal of the finance and operations subcommittee is to give the rest of the administration a first pass at the board members to understand what questions might be coming so that they can better prepare for discussions with this entire board and have those answers already available last point the second we convened I made a comment to the entire team the trustees and all the administration if one truste is on an email we're all on an email so you can p to your heart's content we're all and that's fine and all you're going to see in email is a copy of the presentation that you have all seen already and maybe an earlier draft form that might have one or a few words different or a few slides different based upon feedback that we
241gave them and other than that we're scheduling when we're going to meet so in open discussion I'm asking a question you guys disagree with anything that I said okay uh I do not not anticipate that we will be meeting before our August meeting but if any of us expect that we do need to have a meeting great but I don't see a need to do it Karen Matt do you guys see a reason to meet before August okay so I don't expect to have a meeting for the rest of the summer item 9B recap of V member information request hold on I had some I'm sorry apologize for academic safety planning and vision we have not had a meeting since the last board meeting meeting and so there is not an official update I was
242sick and traveled out of town we will be scheduling a meeting here soon um near the end of the month or at the beginning of July and we'll have a report that we will share in August I do have a question for Christine uh as chair of the academic safety and vision planning committee at any time or place did this committee work together on reviewing recommended instructional materials for Science and CTE classes no the only thing that I sent out was I sent out an email to the entire board to give everybody access for the login to review the books and encouraged everybody to look and review the books personally but as stated from the Das this committee did not meet to review materials correct thank you um thank you um the I am a
243member of the asvp committee and therefore felt responsible as an individual member of this board to read and look at curriculum items 9B we do have one speaker Lisa bua since this a agenda item has been showing up has anything been reported I don't believe there has been why is that I'm sure this group of people have been requesting information Natalie just said on Thursday that she Rec requested information about before she censored a textbook we see you not being transpar why is this an agenda item if no if there is no intention of it being used or is this your attempt to silence a board member all right we do have one more item it's going to be in closed session at this time i' like to thank everyone for being here tonight may
244have get a motion please to move into Clos session so moved second second all those in favor raise your right hand we're now on Clos session we'll return in about 5 minutes for Clos session while we set that up can I get a motion to move out of close session oh sorry I move that we come out of close session second all those in favor we are now a Clos session make sure I get the right item number [Applause] apologize uh item one a the board will consider appeal of decision denying an interdistrict student request this item one's disclos and close session pursuant to 55108 21 may I please get a motion a motion that we uphold the position of the district I don't have it in front of me so I can't read the
245rest uphold the decision of the district to appeal uh decision uphold the position to the inter District student request that clarify enough may I get a second to deny I'm sorry to deny the request is that what you're saying correct request yes thank you thank you so start over you start over I move that we uphold the district's decision to deny the transfer request the interdistrict transfer request right may I get a second a second any questions on this see none may I get a vote please second by raising your right hand it is unanimous may I get a motion to uh adjourn so moved second those in favor we are now adjourned