School Board Meeting: January 26, 2026

001Good evening. I'm going to call this meeting to order. I'm going to start with a regular school board meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Farsaw and Alloway Independent School District will be held on Monday, January 26, 2026, beginning at 6 p.m., beginning at 6.01. PSJA Early College High School Lecture Hall, 805 West Ridge Road, San Juan, Texas. If I can have the pledge of allegiance for Mrs. Quintanilla. 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. We can have a prayer with Mr. Villegas. Please everybody, please bow our heads. Dear Lord, as we deliberate tonight, we ask you that we keep in mind that everything we take action on tonight is for our students

002and for our faculty. and the community as well. We ask that you give us the strength and the courage to deliberate with integrity, honestly, and whatever is in the best interest of everybody mentioned. We appreciate your guidance for this meeting and for any future meeting going forward. We ask this in your name, our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Yes, mr. President we move to recognitions and the first recognition Is a PSJA North Raiders football team and this will be presented by athletic director coach Orlando Garcia Thank you. Mr. President, Dr. Elias, members of the board, we'd like to thank you for giving us this opportunity for recognizing our student athletes. Today we're going to recognize our PSJA North Raider football team who had a tremendous season this year. They set tremendous goals, reached tremendous goals, and

003they've continued doing great things. Let me make sure we set them out. Hey, guys, slide back this way. A little bit more this way. Get back in the picture. Let's get back in the picture. There we go. All right. Perfect. Good right there. We'd like to recognize the PSJA North Raider football team. The PSJA North Raiders have done it again. Six consecutive bi-district championships and four straight district titles. This season was a true testament to resilience, teamwork, and heart. The Raiders finished undefeated in district play, grinding it out. grinding out tough wins against some of the best programs in the Rio Grande Valley and in the Coastal Bend. Offensively, they were unstoppable, averaging over 546 yards per game with a dominant ground attack and an aerial assault. And on defense, our blackshirt defense held opponents

004to just 156 yards per game, the dominance of both sides of the ball. But this is more than the football team. It's a program. It's culture. It's a championship culture built on hard work, accountability, and brotherhood. A culture supported by families, coaches, and the entire PSJA ISD community. And here is something historic that's probably impressive. The graduating class of 2026 is one of the winningest in RGV 5A history with 46 total victories. Congratulations to the PSJA North Georgia. Young man, when I call out your name, please raise your hand so we can identify you. Number zero, Andrew Alvarado. Number one, Darren Garcia. Number two, Drayden Espinosa. Number three, Jason Almanza. Number four, Brian Guerrero. Number five, Ethan Montemayor. Number six, Aiden Garza. Number seven, Jonah Solis. Number eight, Isaiah Garza. Number nine, Cesar Zapata. Number

005ten, Landon Escobedo. Number eleven, Jacoby Herrera. I'm going to jump around here. Number 31, Anthony Alvarado. Number 32, Jeremiah Hernandez. Number 3, Ezequiel Ibarra. Number 34, Angel Garcia. Number 40, Marco Garcia. Number 42, Miguel Leyva. 44, Albert Solis. 45, Jake Brewster. 55, Jay Salinas. 56, Gael Rodriguez. 61, Derek Garcia. 64, Tristan Dandridge. Number 12, Marco Alvarado. Number 13, Mark Quintanilla. 14, Antoine Estrada. 15, Juan Mendez. 16, Ethan Marks. 17, Josiah Solis. 18, TJ McElpine. 20, Aiden Salazar. 21, Ethan Guerra. 22, Blake Sims. 24, Chris Gregosa. 28, Erasmo Guerrero. 30, Luis Alaniz. 65, Aaron Cruz. 67, Dominique Dominguez. 70, Jandel Guzman. 73, Isaac Genojoza. 74, Rain Martinez. 77, Noah Rodriguez. 78, Patrick Johnson. Number 80, Nate Benavidez. 84, Luke Gomez. 85, Jackson Evans. 90, Mike Perales. 99 slash 54, Ray Martinez. Number nine, Nathan Carter. Number

00610, Josiah Reese. 18, Jacob Barbosa. 25, Carlos Martinez. 26, Liam Mendieta. 44, Sebastian Verreal. 51, Jonathan Montes. 53, Victor Perez. 56, Jason Alvarado. 60, Ethan Salinas. 63, Daniel Zavala. 65, Isaiah Franco. 68, Roy Torres. 76, Edgar Martinez. 83, Ryan Pedraza. 86, Mason Garza. 88, Jaden Corvallis. Before I continue announcing the coaches, I tell you what. Just flashback and calling out the names and going throughout that last football game of the season That was just a memorable football game that these young men Gave us every opportunity to have a win and I tell you what anytime you go against a team from the San Antonio area, from that area, it's kind of an automatic loss as a vision that people talk about when you go play those schools. I tell you what, everybody that viewed that

007game knew that game. We had every opportunity. We put ourselves in a great opportunity to win the game. That's because of everything and all the hard work and the program that we've done there at PSJA North. And I'm very grateful for how well they played that night because we're one play away from continuing playing and it was a great season. And I'd like to introduce our head football coach, Coach Marquez-Kaufman. Offensive coordinator, Horacio Garza. Defensive coordinator, Brett Esparza. Special teams coordinator, Gary Lauer. Assistant coaches, Jose Estrada. Crispin Gonzalez. Arian Estrada. Mike Evans, Abel Estrada, Matt Benavides, Bobby Compian, Robert Garza, Andrew De La Sera, Romel De La Garza, athletic trainers John Herrera and Joanna Riggs. Thank you. Congratulations on your season. Thank you. Congratulations everyone, coaches, students, everyone, congratulations. Okay, the coaches in the back,

008find the window. One, two, three. Open your eyes. One, two, three. Thank you. On behalf of the board, I want to congratulate all of you coaches. Thank you for all your hard work. Students, congratulations again. I know you all have been doing very well. I want to commend the coaches because they've been winning numerous times, so I just want to congratulate them on that. So congratulations, coach. Thank you. Moving on to the next item. Yes, Mr. President, we move on to item B, University Interscholastic League Academics, State Qualifiers for Congress, and this will be presented by Mr. Michael Murray. Mr. President, Dr. Elias, members of the board, thank you for allowing the Advanced Academics Department to recognize outstanding student achievement this evening for some of our UL academic students. The PSJ Southwest, I can have

009the students come up and join me, my apologies, from Southwest and T-STEM. Sponsors also. The PSJA Southwest Early College High School and PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School UIL academic students recently competed at the UIL State Congress Meet held in Austin on January 7th and 8th. After advancing through a rigorous district and regional competition, our students earned the opportunity to represent PSJA ISD at the state level. This accomplishment is especially important as it marks the first time PSJA ISD has had two students from two different campuses advance to the UL state level in the Congress event. Congress is a demanding academic contest that models the legislative process of the United States Congress. Students research real-world issues, draft legislation, engage in formal debate, and respond unscripted to opposing viewpoints, all while following parliamentarian procedure.

010These skills reflect critical thinking, civic literacy, and leadership at a very high level. This achievement reflects not only the dedication and talent of our students, but also the commitment and collaboration of our sponsors, coordinators, and campus teams. Tonight, we are proud to recognize our UL state qualifiers. From PSJA Southwest Early College High School, we have Jennifer Cecopiardi and Arabella Aguilar. Their UL sponsor is Jose Alaniz, and their UL coordinator is Sergio Salceva. And from PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School, we have Mariana Martinez, our state qualifier, and the UL sponsor and coordinator is Mr. David Amador. So congratulations to our students and sponsor on these exceptional accomplishments. We are extremely proud of the way you represented our schools and PSJA on the state stage. Congratulations. Congratulations. Students, congratulations again. We're very proud of

011all of you. Continue doing the work. Appreciate you. Moving on to the next item, All-State Musicians. We skipped one, Mr. President. It's gonna be NRC UIL academics advanced placement, the AP honor roll, and these are the campuses that receive this honor. Mr. Michael Murray. Can a collegiate in T-STEM join me? Our administrators and teachers that are present. Tonight, the Advanced Academics Department is very proud to recognize two PSJA ISD campuses for earning College Board AP Honor Roll, the Gold Level Recognition for the 2024-2025 school year. This recognition is very important as it is the first time that these two campuses, that two PSJA campuses have earned this distinction and both at the gold level. We are very pleased to honor the PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School led by Principal Dr. Sandra Garza

012with AP Coordinator Monica Garza and Assistant Principal Monica Flores and their staff. And the PSJA Collegiate School of Health Professions led by Ms. Marita Saenz with AP Coordinator Mario Gonzalez, Assistant Principal Iris Suarez, and their staff as well for joining us today. To earn this distinction, campuses must meet criteria tied to college outcomes for students from the most recent graduating class, which is the class of 2025. These criteria include college culture, where at least 40% of graduates take one or more AP exam, college credit, where at least 25% of their graduating class earns a three or higher on at least one AP exam, and college optimization where students take five or at least 2% of their graduating class take five or more AP exams across the grade level, including early participation in the ninth or

01310th grade. With this gold level recognition, both campuses exceeded the minimum benchmarks in all three areas and performed well above the required thresholds, placing them just shy of the highest designation of platinum. This level of performance reflects intentional leadership, strong instructional systems, and sustained commitment to expanding access while supporting student success. And I know both campuses are shooting for that platinum level next year. This achievement is the result of the hard work of campus administrators, counselors, teachers, and students. As part of this recognition, each campus is receiving a banner, which is proudly displayed here and will be displayed on their campus, symbolizing their collective effort, dedication, and commitment to college readiness. We truly commend both campus communities for this historic accomplishment and congratulate them on this outstanding achievement. Oh, okay. Congratulations. On behalf of the

014board, I want to congratulate both campuses because of outstanding work of this as we keep continuing making PSA shine here in the Valley. So I want to thank you for that. Congratulations. Job well done. Mr. President, we move on to the next item, the All-State Musicians, and this will be presented by Director for Fine Arts, Mr. John Taylor. Mr. President, Dr. Elias, members of the board, thank you for giving the Fine Arts Department this opportunity to recognize the outstanding achievements of our fine arts students. Thank you also for your continued support of our fine arts programs. Earning the distinction of being named to Allstate is the highest honor a Texas high school musician can receive. This year a district record of 20 PSG ISD students advanced through district region pre area and area competitions to

015earn membership in the 2526 Texas music educators Association all state band choir mariachi or orchestra In February these students will travel to San Antonio to attend the Texas Music Educators Association Convention and perform in concert with their fellow Allstate students from across Texas. First, from PSU Southwest, Adam Estrada is a member of the Jalena Band under the direction of head band director Tony Flores. He studies clarinet with assistant band director Willie Cavazos. Congratulations, Adam. Next from PSJ Memorial, Mauro Martinez and Oscar Lopez are members of the Wolverine band under the direction of head band director Ozzy Lopez. Mauro studies percussion with first assistant band director Richard Castillo. Oscar was named first chair clarinet and is a two-year All-Stater. He studies clarinet with assistant band director JC Alvarado. Congratulations, Wolverine All-State musician. And now from PSJ

016High, Trinity Flores is a member of the Bear Mariachi under the direction of Head Mariachi Director Adriana Olivan, with whom she studies violin. Richard Solis is a member of the Bear Orchestra under the direction of Head Orchestra Director Albert Garcia, with whom he studies bass. Liana Gallegos is a member of the Bear Choir under the direction of Head Choir Director Lori Ortega, with whom she studies voice. Daniel Guardado, Diego Nino, Evan Bautista, Jorge Serena, and Sebastian Nava are members of the Bear Band under the direction of Head Band Director John Garza. Diego and Daniel study clarinet with Assistant Band Director Jennifer Garza. Diego is a two-year-old stater. Daniel is a three-year-old stater. Evan and Jorge study trumpet with First Assistant Band Director Steve Gutierrez. Sebastian was named First Chair French Horn. He studies French horn

017also with First Assistant Band Director Steve Gutierrez. Congratulations, Bear, all state musicians. Congratulations. One, two, three. Thank you. And finally, from PSG North, Cielo Tienda is a member of the Raider Choir under the direction of Head Choir Director John McLeod, with whom she studies voice. Caleb Quinones, Cesar Hernandez, Giovanni Guzman, Jesus Gonzalez, Julian Covarrubias-Favella, Noah Herrera, Ryan Guerrero, and Tristan Castillo are members of the Raider Band under the direction of Head Band Director Jeremy Rowe. Julian studies percussion with Assistant Band Director Justin Adame. Ryan studies tenor saxophone with Head Band Director Jeremy Rowe. Giovanni is a two-year all-stater and was named first chair euphonium. He studies euphonium with first assistant band director Pete Guerrero. Jesus and Caleb study trumpet with assistant band director Lucio Diaz. Caleb was named first chair trumpet and is a two-year

018all-stater. Noah was named first chair bass clarinet. He studies bass clarinet with assistant band director Miranda Martinez. Tristan and Cesar study clarinet, also with Assistant Band Director Miranda Martinez. Tristan is a two-year All-Stater. Cesar was named first chair clarinet and is a three-year All-Stater. The Raider Band's eight All-Staters ties the PSJA ISD record and is more than any other band in South Texas. Congratulations, Raider All-State Musicians. Thank you. Thank you, sir, for your belief in these students. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you, ma'am, for all your dedication. Thank you for your commitment. Sir, thank you so much. Thank you, miss, for all that you do. And I'll just be going a little bit more just to let everyone at the end of the room. Ms. Diaz, don't hide. Dr.

019Diaz. Ready? One, two, three. One, two, three. Thank you. I want to commend all the all state musicians, all this honors, all that you got honored. We're very proud of you and all this hard work paid off. So I wanted to commend you for all that. And the instructors also want to commend you also for all your hard work and continuing making PSJA the spotlight in the state. Thank you. Moving on to the next item. Yes, Mr. President, we move on to letter E, Proclamation School Board Recognition Month, January 2026, and award the certificates. Let me go to the podium. So the next item I'll be reading is the proclamation for school month, board member school month, and the proclamation reads. Whereas the mission of public schools is to meet the educational needs of all

020children and to empower them to become competent, productive contributors to a democratic society and an ever-changing world. And whereas local school board members are elected by their community members to do what's best for students. And whereas local school board members work closely with parents, educational professionals. and other community members to create the educational vision we want. for our students and whereas local school board members are responsible for ensuring the structure that provides a solid foundation for our school system and whereas local school board members are strong advocates for public education and are responsible for communicating the needs of the school district to the public and to public's expectations. Now, therefore, I, Dr. Alejandro-Liaz, do hereby declare my appreciation to the members of the Farr-San Juan Alamo School Board and proclaim January 2026 as School Board

021Recognition Month. In January 2026, I urge all citizens to join me in recognizing the dedication and hard work of local school board members and in working with them to mold and to mold the educational system that meets the needs of both today's and tomorrow's children. In official recognition whereof, I hereby affix that with my signature that January 2026 is school board member month. I'll be presenting the plaques here, and this one is for our board president, Ricardo Rodriguez. This next one is honoring Yolanda Castillo. This next plaque is honoring Ramona Barron. This next plaque is honoring Griselda Quintanilla. This next plaque is honoring Ms. Diana Guayserna. This next plaque is honoring Carlos G. Villegas, Jr. And I also want to mention, I know we have a video. We are also honoring Ms. Cynthia Gutierrez. I'll

022go back there so we can take the picture. We'll take a photo of you with your plaques. You can go ahead and stand up. Ready? One, two, three. Thank you. Thank you very much. That's very deeply appreciated. Before we move on, I wanted to make some comments. We still have one more item for the president. I know we're trying to get out of here quick because of the weather, I know. But as we move to the next item, and this one I'm going to ask council to, I don't know, do you have the resolution present? If not, I have it here. But the next item is approve the adoption of the South Texas School Board Association Resolution recognizing School Board Appreciation Month. I have it. If you'd like for me to read it or do

023you want to read it, Dr. Elias? You can go ahead and read it. Okay. Resolution recognizing January 2026 as school board recognition month, rooted in purpose, rising together. Whereas the mission of public education is to nurture and empower every child to grow into a competent, productive contributor to our democratic society and an ever-changing world. And whereas school board trustees are the roots of our public education system, often unseen but providing the strength and foundation upon our schools, students, and communities grow. And whereas local school board members are elected by their neighbors and entrusted with the responsibility of doing what is best for children. And whereas school board trustees plant themselves in purposeful service, attending meetings after long work days, casting difficult votes and advocating tirelessly for students, often without recognition or reward. And whereas trustees

024work alongside parents, educators and community members to cultivate an educational vision that prepares our children to dream boldly and rise confidently into their futures. And whereas... School board members serve as the bridge between our schools and our communities, communicating the needs of our districts to the public and carrying the hopes of families back to the boardroom. And whereas when trustees across South Texas connect their roots, sharing challenges, strategies, and advocacy, our entire region grows stronger and our students rise together. And whereas January 2026 has been designated as the school board recognition month to honor the men and women who dedicate their time and energy to public education. Now, therefore, be it resolved. that the Board of Trustees of the Farsanwanda Independent School District hereby recognizes January 2026. As School Board Recognition Month and Farsan Juan

025Alamo ISD honors all current and former trustees who have planted themselves in purpose to serve the students and families of the district, encourages students, staff, and parents and community members to recognize and thank school board trustees for their dedication and service, affirms that the strength of our schools begins with those who serve as the roots, providing the foundation from which our entire community grows, and commits to the belief that when trustees are rooted in purpose and rise together, students, educators, and communities across South Texas benefit. Be it further resolved that the Board of Trustees of the Farsamhuan-Alamo Independent School District cause upon all citizens to join in recognizing the dedication of school board members and to work alongside them in building an education system that meets the needs of today's children and tomorrow's leaders. Okay,

026right now we can dismiss the parents and the students. Do we need to approve this resolution? No. Thank you. Yeah, because I know she put approved, but it doesn't look like it. Oh, okay. It's just a resolution. It's just a resolution. We don't need to approve it. Oh, okay. Yeah, I know they put approved. Okay. That's good. We can check with council. Council, since it's just a resolution for school board memberment, it doesn't need the approval, right? Correct? No, we could if we'd like to, but we don't have to. We don't need it. We can move on. We leave it up to the board. Okay. Only because on the agenda it says approved. I saw that. Let's go ahead. It's up to y'all. It's up to you. Mr. Rodriguez, because it says approved, let's go

027ahead and approve. Okay. I motion to approve. Okay, because we have it on the agenda as approval, so I'm going to go ahead and go for a vote. All those for... For the approval of the adoption of the South Texas School Board Association Resolution recognizing School Board Appreciation Month. All for it. Raise up your hand. Raise your right hand. I'm sorry. Moved by Ms. Barron. Second. Second by Mrs. Castillo. All those for the approval signify by raising your hand. Okay, unanimous. Ms. Gutierrez. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. We were asking for approval of the adoption. Oh, I voted. I voted. I raised my hand. Okay. Thank you. Okay. That's unanimous and motion passes. Before we continue, I want to set the tone for tonight's meeting. First, the focus is and must remain our students.

028Every agenda item and every discussion tonight should be guided by what is best for students' outcomes, the stability of the district and the trust our community places in us. Second, I'm asking each of us to commit to professionalism and respect. We may disagree, and that is part of governance. But we will do so with civility. Personal attacks, side comments, or remarks that are not germane to the item under discussion do not move or work forward and will not be tolerated. Third, we will conduct this meeting in a strict alignment with our board operation procedures. During deliberation, each trustee will have one opportunity to speak to each item up to two minutes and remarks must stay germane to the motion. The clock will pause while administration responds to questions and once each trustee has an opportunity,

029we will move on and take action. To help us stay on track and to ensure consistency and fairness, I have asked our legal counsel, Benjamin Castillo, to serve as timekeeper. Council will give me a signal when Trustee time is near the limit and when time has expired. When I receive the signal, I will move us to the next speaker or call for the question so we can proceed. Let's work together tonight with discipline, respect, and shared commitment to PSA students and this community. Thank you. We will now proceed with the agenda. We're moving to, do we have anybody for public comments? Yes, Mr. Board President, Dr. Lee, as members of the board. But before I call them, if it's okay if I just read our rules and procedures for public comment? Yes, sir. Public testimony.

030The PSJA Board of Trustees welcome members of the community to speak on agenda items that will be voted on during the meeting. Members who sign up before the 5 p.m. deadline will be asked to speak in the order the form was received. If individuals signed up but are not present when name is called, the submission will be voided. The PSJA School Board permits each person to speak within the established three-minute window. Please remember only items on the agenda may be addressed by the individual speaking before the board. Individuals attending to speak on items not on the agenda will be directed to the superintendent or designee. As part of the process, specific factual information or recitation of existing policy may be used in response to inquiries presented, but keep in mind the board will not deliberate

031or enter into dialogue with members of the public during this portion of the meeting. And with that being said, Mr. Board President, our first speaker. is Ms. Claudia Davila and she is speaking on the grievances on the agenda tonight. And I will keep time. Good evening, Board and Mr. Superintendent. I'm Claudia Davila and I'm an elementary early childhood teacher and a member of the Executive Board for PSJA American Federation of Teachers. I will be reading the following statement on behalf of the coaches in our district. I am submitting this concern on behalf of today's agenda item 8.13, employee complaints or grievances. I would hope today's update addresses concerns, situations, such as the following. In the spring of 2025, my union submitted an association of grievance on behalf of the coaches. regarding the district's administration of

032the teacher incentive allotment with specific concerns regarding the lack of communication, transparency, and resolution throughout the grievance process. After several years of documented growth, my colleagues in the coaching department and I met the established criteria and qualified for the TIA during the most recent eligibility cycle. While the outcome was disappointing, our primary concern has never been solely about the allotment itself, but rather the absence of explanation or guidance from the appropriate personnel. We contacted the individual responsible for overseeing the TIA process and provided screenshots and documentation supporting their qualifications. I requested clarification, either an explanation for why I did not qualify for payment or guidance, or what needed to be improved. The response I received did not address those questions and offered no explanation, effectively dismissing the request. This lack of response carried over into

033the grievance process, which is what we would like you to consider as you make updates to the policy today. The grievance advanced through level 1 and level 2, both of which were denied and installed at level 3. Since last year, the grievance has remained unresolved for an extended period with no updates, communication, or explanation. Meanwhile, I have observed other grievances advance or be addressed while this issue remains unaddressed and effectively ignored. At this point, the most concerning issue is not the allotment itself, but the lack of transparency, responsiveness, and closure. Educators deserve timely explanations and meaningful communication, particularly when a formal grievance process has been initiated. Allowing a grievance to remain unresolved undermines trust in both the process and the system as a whole. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker, Mr. Board President, is

034Ms. Dalia Garcia. Good evening, honored members. My name is Della Garcia, and I am speaking tonight on behalf of the PSJA American Federation of Teachers, where I serve as a building rep at my campus. I am here to provide PSJA-AFT's official public commitment regarding Item A, approval of the adoption of the school board policy. We understand that recent legislative actions require districts to review and revise local policies to ensure alignment with the Texas Education Code and applicable regulations. However, we have concerns regarding several proposed updates under Item A. as well as the limited level of detail and transparency provided on the agenda prior to this meeting. First, we are concerned with employee complaints and the grievance process. At this time, we have members who initiated grievances as early as November 2024. that have not advanced

035to level three. In addition, we have multiple association of grievances filed in spring and again in the fall of 2025 that remain pending at level three, not including two additional unresolved matters. These delays raise concerns regarding compliance with established grievance procedures, adherence to required timelines, and the preservation of procedural due process as contemplated under board policy. As these policies are updated, we ask that the board ensure grievance procedures include clear, enforceable timelines, defined levels of review, and accountability mechanisms to support timely resolution. A grievance process must be implemented in good faith and function as an effective means of addressing concern, not merely exist in policy. We are also concerned with proposed changes related to instructional arrangements and lesson plan requirements because specific details prior to tonight's presentation is unclear at the campus level. We are

036particularly concerned in consist... about the potential of increased micromanagement of inconsistent application, especially in the environment where educators are already experiencing significant workload demands. We also seek clarification regarding the safeguards that will be in place to prevent selective enforcement. materials, book challenges, or politically sensitive topics. Additionally, we raise concerns regarding non-renewals and employment standards of conduct. These policies must be grounded in objective criteria applied consistently across the district and supported by clearly articulating this process to ensure fairness and prevent arbitrary decision-making. As educators, we act in the best interest of students at all times. It is important to recognize that students' learning conditions are directly tied to the educators' working conditions. Thank you. Our next speaker, Mr. Board President, is Ms. Cynthia Flores. Hi, good evening board members and superintendent. I'm Cynthia Flores and I

037am an organizer with Texas AFT and PSJA-AFT. This is my second time speaking on this issue because unfortunately nothing has changed. I'm here again to talk about grievances, specifically how they are handled or more accurately how they are not handled. We have employees who have been waiting months for their grievances to move forward. Some have been waiting over a year. And in many cases, there's been no resolution, no closure, no communication to the person who filed. They are left in limbo emotionally and professionally. And yet, here we are again, watching grievances that were filed recently already being moved to level three and placed on the agenda to be heard. So I have to ask, who decides this? What is the system? What criteria is being used? And why does it appear that some grievances are

038fast-tracked while others are ignored? Because from where employees are sitting, this looks like picking and choosing grievances. It looks arbitrary. And it feels deeply unfair. There's no transparency, no accountability in the process. Employees don't know where their grievances stand, why it's delayed, or who is responsible for the delay. This is not due process, and it's not fairness on the job. And let's be honest, this district has shown that when the rules don't work for you, you simply change the policy. So what's next? Another revision in the grievance policy that conveniently benefits the district's agenda while employees continue to wait? PSJA is asking for very basic things. due process and fairness on the job, accountability from decision makers, a real employee voice, and dignity and respect for every employee. Right now, the grievance process reflects none

039of those values. Employees deserve a process that is consistent, transparent, and timely, not one that leaves them waiting indefinitely while others move ahead with no explanation. So I'm going to continue to watch and document. and I'm not going to stop asking these questions. Thank you. Our final speaker, Mr. Board President, is Vittorio Puente, and he's speaking on board policy, FFA local. Good evening, members of the board, superintendent. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here today wearing my lens as a clinical psychologist and as a licensed specialist in school psychology who works closely with children, families, and school systems, and I want to comment on the proposed wellness policy revision from a mental health and a developmental standpoint. Every January, I watch the same thing happen, both personally and professionally. People commit to change

040with sincerity. They resolve to lose weight, manage stress, and live healthier lives. They download the apps, read the articles, and genuinely believe that this time will be different. But experience teaches us something uncomfortable. Knowing what to do is not the same thing as doing it. Over decades of working in schools, clinical settings, and systems under pressure, I've learned that this same dynamic plays out at an institutional level, especially when it comes to wellness and mental health initiatives. We often get content, the content right. The language is evidence-based. The goals are well-intentioned. The policies are thoughtfully written. On paper, they reflect exactly what students and staff need. But here's the critical deposition. Content without conditions for execution does not produce outcomes. First, initiatives frequently overestimate motivation and underestimate the environment. In a clinical psychology, we know

041behavior change rarely fails because of a lack of desire. It fails because the environment doesn't support the follow-through. Schools operate under time constraints, staff shortages, and competing mandates. When wellness and mental health initiatives assume ideal conditions instead of real ones, they quietly collapse under pressure. Second, responsibility is often diffused instead of anchored. In my experience, programs fail not because no one cares, but because everyone is responsible, meaning no one truly is. Effective systems assign ownership clearly, support it administratively, and protect the time required to do the work. Without that, wellness becomes an extra, not an experience. Third, we confuse compliance with impact. Checking boxes is not the same as changing lives. As a psychologist, I've evaluated countless students and families who technically had access to supports, but functionally did not experience them. Real impact requires

042feedback loops. Are interventions being used? Are staff supported? Are students actually benefiting? This isn't a critique of intention. It's a defense of effectiveness. If we want these initiatives to succeed, we must be willing to move beyond good content and ask harder questions about execution. Not because the mission is flawed, but because it's too important to fail quietly. Thank you. Mr. Board President, that concludes public comment for tonight. Thank you all. Yes, Mr. President, we move to the next item and it's... to approve the minutes, the regular school board meeting minutes of November 17, 2025. Do I have a motion? Move by Deana Serna, second by Mr. Villegas. All those in the motion, signify by raising your right hand. Aye. Ms. Gutierrez? What are we voting on? On the minutes of November 17th. Oh, the minutes?

043Yes. Okay, thank you. Aye. Okay motion passes unanimously. Moving on to the next item. Yes, Mr. President, we move on to Superintendent of Schools presentation on the South Texas Fall 2025 graduates and this will be presented by Mr. Marquez. Good evening Board President, Trustees, and Dr. Elias. Tonight I will be sharing a presentation on the continued success of our dual credit partnership with South Texas College. And I will highlight the remarkable accomplishments of our PSJA students who are earning college credentials while still in high school. This presentation focuses specifically on our December completers. These are students who finished associate's degrees or workforce certificates by mid-year and were able to participate in South Texas College's regional commencement ceremony. This picture captures the heart of our dual credit work. It represents access, achievement, and the power of

044education to open doors. Dual credit creates an early and meaningful connection to higher education. allowing our students to see themselves as college graduates while they are still in high school. For many of our students, this moment carries added significance because they are first-generation college students. Earning a college credential changes expectations within families and across the community. It builds confidence, strengthens aspirations, and helps establish college completion as an attainable goal for future generations. And that is how education strengthens communities and expands opportunity. Our partnership with STC plays a critical role in this process. It creates a clear pipeline from high school to college and career. by providing students with recognized credentials that support workforce readiness and continued education. Associates degrees and certificates earned through dual credit help students move forward with momentum and purpose. This work

045aligns directly with our Opportunities for All vision. We are committed to ensuring that access to rigorous coursework and post-secondary pathways reaches students across our district, including those who have historically faced barriers to college access. So this moment of celebration in this picture reflects the impact of that commitment and reinforces the value of continuing to grow and sustain these pathways for PSJA students. This slide highlights the total number of PSJA students who walked the stage at December commencement. We had 174 December graduates. Each number represents a student who completed an associate's degree or certificate through our dual credit partnership and reached a significant academic milestone while still enrolled in high school. These graduates reflect the strength of our systems and the effectiveness of our collaboration with South Texas College. Behind this total is intentional advising, aligned

046coursework, academic supports, and sustained commitment from students, families, and staff. This slide highlights the success of PSJA's dual credit program relative to the next two highest districts served by STC. PSJA students account for 174 December graduates, placing our district well ahead of the next two highest performing districts in dual credit completion. The gap between PSJA and our peers is significant, as seen in this chart with a lead of over 150 students over the next closest peer. Based on data that was shared with us by South Texas College, PSJA students represent over 80% of all December graduates from all districts in our area combined. This level of separation reflects the strength and scale of PSJA's dual credit program. While other districts are participating, PSJA is producing outcomes at a much larger scale. Those numbers represent students

047who completed associate's degrees and certificates because access was intentional and supports were in place. This level of success positions PSJA as a regional leader in dual credit completion and reinforces the strength of our college and career pipeline aligned to our opportunities for all vision. At this point, I'd like to share a short video produced by our communications team that captures the December commencement and highlights our PSJA students who participated in that ceremony. The video helps bring these numbers to life by showing the faces, families, and moments behind the data. The speed with which this college has grown in just three decades is a testament. to our commitment to serve our communities and our region. It's a district that not only supports students, but also me, I'm speaking as a parent, because this is already two

048years ahead that my kid is graduating with. This was around when I was in school and now seeing this that you're like our new Generation of students get to have a college degree before their high school degree. It just speaks to Wanderford district. I would have never expected it and I'm really proud of my mom because She had to stop school because of us and seeing her complete it is like like a dream This video Sorry this video replays the real impact dual credits It shows how these opportunities reach beyond our standards and extend to their families It reflects the pride, the emotion, and the gratitude from parents who recognize how access to college coursework and credentials has opened doors for their children. This is why this work matters. Dual credit supports students academically. It

049builds confidence and creates meaningful pathways to college and career, while also earning the trust and appreciation of families who see these opportunities making a lasting difference in their children's lives. On this next slide, each year we continue to expand our dual credit work so that more students have access to these opportunities and the supports needed to succeed. This includes strong campus systems for advisement, ongoing monitoring of student progress, and timely academic support when students need it. We're also growing our internal capacity by increasing the number of PSJA teachers serving as dual credit faculty and expanding CTE pathways through our PSJA academies at the Dr. King College and University Center with focused support for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students. I want to recognize and thank our college readiness team, principals, counselors dual credit faculty and

050all staff who support students along this journey if you're here would would you please rise and and be recognized all principals Outstanding outstanding work and I also want to thank our superintendent and board of trustees for your vision Leadership and continued support of our dual credit program and the opportunities that it creates for PSJA students and families None of this would be possible without your support We're proud of the work that's happening and we look forward to continued success and opportunities for our students Thank you so much for your time and attention and I don't know if you have any questions or comments Thank you very much for that presentation. I also want to commend all the administrators and all the principals also for working with this tool credit enrollment. It's just making PSJA again

051shine. The main focus in the state also. We were the ones that had the most students, correct? Yes, sir. So I want to just commend everybody and also congratulate all the students that got their certificate. And again, thank you for everybody that works with the students with this program. I'm deeply grateful and I know it's making a big impact on the community. So I wanna thank you all for that. Thank you for that. I do have a comment. I do want to thank again all the principals, everybody in college and career readiness that made us, even though this month was board recognition month, but you know that all the recognition really goes to all of you. But we were very proud, and I know, Mr. Marquez, you were there as well at the STC board

052recognition. And it felt very good to be there and to know that PSJA had actually the most participants as well as the most money earned. And if I cannot remember, was it 96 million? Almost 100, yes. Yes, $96 million saved by all our students and their families. So thank you. Thank you for making this board look good. I appreciate it. Your hard work is noted and it's appreciated. And thank you to our administrators. Thank you, Member Condena. Thank you. Mr. President, I just have a comment. I truly believe in what's happening and just it's so powerful that we're creating life-changing opportunities for these young men and women. And I'm very proud. Administrators, my hat's off to you. This is just, I feel joy in my heart knowing that We are focused on students and kids.

053And so I commend you for all that you do and for really being just transparent and wanting the best for these students because we're touching many lives. Thank you, Dr. Elias, for really believing in this collaboration. I think that it's just powerful and being that 174 students, that's a lot of students in comparison to other districts. So again, thank you and let's continue increasing that number. Thank you. I want to thank all of you that take part in all of this and it is... Ms. Castillo, it is so true that they didn't even come close. The next school had 19 compared to 174. That really speaks volumes for all of you. And we really appreciate it. And it's just such a proud moment to be a part of all this. So thank you for all

054that you do and keep at it. And I know that this was just fall. I'll tell the spring graduations and that's usually even bigger, is it not? So I can imagine how many we're going to just... pull through at the end of the year. So thank you so much for the halfway mark. Thank you. Okay. Yes, Mr. President, just to make a quick comment. And I know Ms. Serna mentioned right now, the spring right now, we are, you know, with the expectations we have as far as the accountability and what we're looking forward to with our students. We're looking at possibly anywhere from 750 to 800 once we combine the fall and the spring, and that's what we're looking at graduating, God willing, for the spring, altogether counting fall and spring. So that's going to

055be another record-breaking for PSJA. That's great. Yes, Mr. President, we move to the next item, student services, and this is the Texas Education Agency Student Attendance Accounting Handbook. and the Farsan Juan Alamo ISD student attendance percentages and this will be presented by Dr. Nuyola. Hello, good evening Mr. President, members of the board and Dr. Elias. Thank you for allowing me to be here. To go over some items of a student's attendance accounting handbook, it is coming from TEA every year. It's updated. And it's a document worth, I'm going to say, 300 pages. So it's a lengthy one, but it's updated every single year. If we go to the next slide, what is it? It is a handbook that describes the foundation school program, in other words, funding, eligibility requirements of all the students. So it

056tells us... how the students can earn attendance, right? It prescribes the minimum standards for all attendance accounting systems. It lists the documentation that are required whenever the students come in or they're out. There has to be documentation for audit purposes. So we keep everything in file in all our campuses. And also, it details the responsibilities of all district personnel involved in student attendance accounting. So it is from principal, teacher, paras and everybody. So we go to the next slide. This slide tells us when attendance is taken. Usually if you look at it, it's 10 o'clock. And at the elementary campuses, it's the homeroom, middle and high school, it's the third period, T-STEM, second period, CCTA. We have different times because there are students that come in the morning and the afternoon. So it's at 10

057o'clock, at 2 o'clock, and then early start, we have it at 8.45, 10.30, and then 2.30 because teachers move about the daycare centers and things like that. Okay, go to the next slide. So this is just some general attendance taking of rules. This is usually the first bullet there. Students who are on campus and in their classrooms at the time attendance is taken, which is 10 o'clock on an average, must have their official attendance taken and completed by the classroom teacher or paraprofessional that meet the educational aid requirements. So it could be the teacher or the para, and it's during that time. Students who are on campus at that time... but who are not in their assigned classroom are considered in attendance. So they might not be in the classroom, but there might be someplace

058else. And if they are, well, this is what it says. For funding purposes, which is a foundation school, right, provided that they were with a campus official, so that means they probably are with a nurse, they're probably with a counselor, the principal, the librarian, could be with a coach or somebody else. So it says, et cetera. Now it says class admit slips or other documentation. This is where documentation comes in. You have to have documentation supporting where the student is within the campus. Okay. And it has to be retained for audit purposes. We always make sure that it's there. If we go to the next slide. That's the general one. This one, it tells you alternative attendance taking time. Districts may choose an alternative attendance taking time for a group of students that is scheduled

059to be off campus. Students sometimes are not on campus, but they can still be considered present. And it gives us a whole slew of reasons. It says during the regular attendance taking time, such as the following. It's dual credit. We just talked about STC. Some students go to STC, they go to UTRGV, so that's one of the reasons they can be still counted present. Another one, students receiving special ed services through an 18 plus program like we know of PTI, they can be counted present. CTE students who are scheduled to be at a work site if they're working off campus, but they are considered present. Pre-kinder or early childhood students who are reported by a particular campus, like I said earlier, a daycare. They might be at the daycare, but we still count them present

060if they're present over there. So they don't have to be necessarily on campus. If they're off campus, in these scenarios, we count them present. And then go to the next slide. It's a requirement to be considered present as well. They're almost the same. So the student not actually on campus at the time attendance is taken may be considered in attendance for funding purposes if the student is enrolled in or attending off-campus dual credit program courses. Almost the same. Is participating in off-campus work-based learning opportunity, just like what we said, CTE. Is participating in activity that is approved by your local school board. And I believe that's going to be further up in the agenda for tonight. Students that are off, going to a field trip or things like that. They are supposed to be counted

061present. Mrs. School, for the purpose of observing religious holy days, those students also should be included for, and even their traveling time, they should be present. If it's grade 6 through 12 and misses school for the purpose of playing taps at any military honors funeral. Misses school to visit a driver's license office to obtain a driver's license. This had just come up recently for the high schools. If students are out there taking their driver's license, they come back. You count them present. On the next page. It's almost the same. Misses school for the purpose of attending a required court appearance. If they go to court, do count in present. It is in the conservatorship of the... This is... Department of Family and Protective Services and in Mrs. School, also present. Mrs. School due to a

062documented appointment with a healthcare professional. If they went to see a doctor, they bring in the document, counted present. Mrs. School for the purpose of appearing at a governmental office to complete paperwork required in connection with the student's application for U.S. citizenship. If they want to become U.S. citizens and they're not on campus, but they bring the documentation, counted present. Mrs. School for the purpose of taking part in the students own US naturalization oath ceremony as well. And then this last one is one of the latest ones that the state gave us is if there's a student that has been absent for quite some time for a serious or life-threatening illness, we give a doctor a form. that is produced by the state, we put our name in it as well, we give it to

063the doctor, doctor fills it out, says from this time to this time, I'm seeing this student and therefore, you know, he can't go to school every single day but if he's under the observation of the doctor, we can count him present and we keep all of that for documentation purposes. I just give you a few, there's like 20 some reasons, other reasons but these are the most of them. If we go to the next slide, I wanted to also go on to the percentages. These are the percentages for the high schools and middle schools on this slide. It gives you the percentages for six weeks, the first six weeks, second, and then the third, and then the average of the first semester. So if you notice, you know, we have very good attendance. I just

064want to also mention at this point that Dr. Elias has put into place several things so we can have the, you know, highly monitoring the attendance at the campuses. Not only that, the plans, the committees, and I'll let you, that's in another slide, but I just wanted to mention at this point. If you go to the next slide, this is the elementary campuses. They're usually the ones that kind of pick up the rest of the campuses in the upper 90s. Next slide. And this is our average per six weeks because it gives the rest of the elementaries. The first six weeks is 95.03. It kind of dwindles a little bit the second six weeks, 93.90 and then 93.31. Then the overall for the first semester, 94.08. If you go to the next slide, these are

065some things that we put into place as a district to incentivize our campuses and the entire district as a whole. If you see that report that's there, it does give you on a daily basis, that's where we see how well each campus is doing. Are they meeting the goals that are set by our superintendent? If they are, it's green. If it's not, it's a red. That means, okay, we need to work on it. Every six weeks, we rank up the elementaries, how well they're doing, the middles and the high schools, and then if they do very well, we give them a $500 check. That's what you see. So that way they can incentivize the students to come in on a daily basis, and then plus we give them a banner. It says that they are

066the six weeks attendance champs. If you go to the next slide. This is what the elementary campuses do at the campus level. They're supposed to have a campus attendance committee. It has to be comprised of certain people. Not only that, they have to have an attendance plan. And then these are some of the incentives that they do for their students. They give them certificates. They give them hamburger combos, pizza, nachos, and everything else. And those are just some of the pictures that... take place and I just wanted to let you know that we do very well as compared to other school districts down here in the valley that they even get calls and what are you all doing we share a couple of things you know some of these things that we do do so

067but if they're tuning in they can see more of what what we do I just wanted to mention that I don't know if you have any questions on attendance That's very good. Or concerns or comments. That's what I meant. Mr. President, I have a question and a comment. First of all... I mean, we're doing really good. I hope those $500 help. Have you seen the difference once you started awarding the $500 to the different campuses? Yes, we did, because they like it, and they like to save it for other things, like the popcorn machines. They want to save, especially the elementaries, because they want to do more with them. Well, we see the results, not only that we monitor them. Dr. Elias tells us, okay, everybody was sectioned. You're going to go sit in the

068committees, and we've done it in the past, and that's what we do to make sure that all these things are happening. And once we see that, we see the enthusiasm of the committee, of the teachers that want to do stuff to bring in those students. They get all excited. I've sat in them. That's why I can tell you that. And they love it because they're part of that plan. and to be part of attendance to bring in those students. And my question is, thank you. Sure. That really, that helps a lot that you all are really proactive and are present and trying to really. collaborate and be part of those committees. So my second question is, have you studied, are there any difference between the different groups of students like the EBs, students with disabilities,

069low social economic, are there patterns? Do you see any difference between those groups? We were not doing those type of studies, but it would be interesting to go ahead and look into it, right? But I know that the elementaries always do a lot for the students, for all students. And I guess this is what we do. What we do is for all students and not necessarily just a certain category or part of them, but... I'm just curious. Okay. It would be interesting. to note. Is there a difference between the groups? Okay. That'll be something I can start looking into it. Yes. Thank you. Ms. Serna? How long has this been in place, the $500 checks? Because I remember seeing this when I first got on the board. Well, I'm going to say we've been doing

070it, but it wasn't $500. It used to be like $200. But then... We kind of picked it up and then now they're very very It's very encouraging for the schools to get the $500 and it's it's a healthy competition I want to say that they're always saying do can you look at the percentages again? You know and so they're always questioning the the schools because they want to win And I have to comment that right there you said the word competition because I know that I've been to elementary this past week and that's what I tried to instill. You don't want to be the last school, you know, the one in last place. Right. Besides to get $500 for the school and guess who it's spent on? And we all pointed at the kids. the

071child turned and tells the principal, what are you going to buy us this? It was exciting for them. They're going to get something. So it works. It does pitch in as an incentive and it works. And we've been at elementary, middle, and high school, and even the high school, they get thrilled. I mean, they love it because they're getting the little, I guess, recognition, the notice, and the rewards. So everybody likes them. Mr. Villegas? Well, first of all, I want to thank you. Dr. Noyola for the presentation and I want to thank our entire administration at every level because I know that attendance is one of our focus and we've talked about it so many times, Dr. Elias. We sat down numerous times with everything that our administrators and our campus principals have on their

072plate. We have all these meetings as a sidebar to discuss what we foresee as a legislative impact coming down the road and everything is changing and... we seem to be able to proactively look for ways to keep our attendance, which has a direct impact on our funding. But just as confirmation of that, just walking into certain campuses during board recognition month, you know, we're hit with, we're doing 94%. Or another campus will say, we're at 93.5%. So I mean, to me, that... besides the multiple things that they have on their plate, attendance is the focus. And we seem to forget that a lack of attendance hurts our students as individuals. That's right. But it also hurts our district. So I want to commend all of the campus leaders for their continued focus on this because

073it does make a difference. So thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Quintanilla. Yes, once again, I guess I'm pretty much repeating everything. Congratulations. And I did and I have visited some of the elementaries and they have displayed their cases and, you know, of all the things. So one question, the $500, is it designated to kind of go right back into attendance initiatives or, you know, incentives or is it, it can be spent on others? And the other is. I mean, I can see all the work that's being put into this. It's a lot of work. Is there somebody, is there a committee at each campus to make sure that they kind of keep track? Because, wow, all those reasons that you said, like if they were at a doctor's or if they

074were this, I mean, there's got to be somebody. Who do you have at each campus or is it a department that takes care of that? Your first question, to answer your first question right, the $500 is supposed to go to the students for attendance. Okay. So it's specifically just attendance. Perfect. To incentivize them with any type of prizes or food. The second question, each campus has a committee and they're supposed to sit down to look at the attendance. We do tell them to look at it every six weeks. We send them reminders or it comes from our office to say, sit down and look at all your absences. We give them a list of all the ones that have been absent, start looking at them. These are the ones that still have not been coming

075in. Maybe we need to do more with them. specifically a certain group, but it's individually. We're looking at each individual child. And the principals I just turned around, they're all here. They're kind of, that's what they do. And they're supposed to have a plan, look at the plan, and then sit down and see, well, what can we do again to try to incentivize the students? So this is specific, they have this specific role or they have another role and then they are part of this committee? No, the... The campus has, you know, it's a committee. It's comprised of a lot of people. Counselor, assistant principal, it is teachers. It could be even the security. I think I mentioned counselor. But, you know, it is the committee. And in some campuses, I used to be part

076of the right here across. What is it, health professions? I used to sit in there, and it was comprised basically of more teachers than anything else because they know the kids better. They know what incentivizes the students. So they sat there, and they gave a lot of great examples. They would say, you know what, let's go ahead and make a little. What they wanted to do was. like a little fair and let's throw the pie at the teacher, those type of things. And the kids love those type of things. If you have attendance, that's what you get to do for one of your teachers. So there's things that they like to do. And so the committee is the one that sets the plan and then says, okay, this is how we're going to monitor. Everything

077that you are doing, obviously, is working. Yes. They're doing a marvelous job. They're here. I wanted to applaud them as well. Yes, of course. They're the ones that do. A lot of that, and they track the students, the principals. Ms. Gutierrez, you had your hand raised up. Did you want to make a comment? Yes. Good afternoon, everyone. Good evening. I have a couple of questions, Mr. Noyola. So first, and I wrote them down, what training have been provided to principals, attendants, clerks, team staff on the current SAAH, the updates? Well, what we do, Miss, is I train the principals. We train the principals so that way they know. Then the PEMS clerks are actually trained by technology because they're in charge of the PEMS. So they're the ones that give them the codes and the

078different codes that they need to apply to. But we do that for the principals to let them know this is what the SAW is, the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, and these are the regulations by the state. but the ones that actually teach the PEMS clerks are technology. Okay. And do we have a written district attendance manual for procedures? And when was it last updated? And do we keep records in the, or what kind of records do we keep in the schools for all of these attendance records? Yeah, it's every year. There are procedures, and they're trained at the beginning of the school year how they're supposed to take attendance for the first day, the second day, and then every day after that. And that's the one that comes from technology, Missanel. Peña is the one

079that does it mostly every year. And so she's the one that does that. And so that is a manual that they do give out. But we, with the... the student attendance attendance accounting handbook that's what we also do with the principal so let them know this is what should be going on and this is what the peems clerks do what we do as well from our department we go out and do like disc audits we go to the campuses to make sure that the documentation is there to make sure that everything is accounted for So if there was an audit ever by TA or anybody, then we have documentation in every school and you guys keep documentation as well? Yes. And we have never been audited because we, and they do desk audits, but not

080necessarily come down because we do a really good job of keeping documentation. Okay, Mr. Nunez. Thank you so much. Sure. Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez. Anybody else? I just have a question. Just I think Ms. Gutierrez pretty much asked some of those questions. I only had one, and that is how often are these activities done? And my second question is the accountability. Do they send in receipts of what they spend? My third question now is going to be tied up to... If we have, how often? First of all, I'd like to get that answer about how often do we have a monthly, bi-weekly, what is it? Okay, it's every six weeks. Every six weeks. Now, if a certain, this group of kids turn out in this activity the first six weeks, but they don't make the

081attendance for the following six weeks. I know that you have the attendance and I guess we let them know. The kids, are they reflecting that because they were there once and they're not there again? I mean, is that working out? And because we do every six weeks, we send them a list of all the different students by campus and they can see which ones have not come to school, right? And they can see the ones that are. So that way they can focus on them a little bit better. So really it's the campus, at the campus level that do all of that to monitor them even closer. We run reports, we run... Like I said, every day there's a report by campus. So they get to see how am I doing? Did I meet the

082goal for the district or I did not? Then every six weeks we submit to them or tell them, you know, these are the list of students. They can do that also at the campus level. They can do it every single day. How is this student doing? How is that student? To monitor them individually. So every six weeks we replenish those $500? Yes. Every six weeks. Every six weeks we award like maybe eight campuses, I believe, at $500. Because we have the high schools, compare the high schools with the high schools, a special purpose. And then we have like three or four elementaries and the middle schools. And then also we do award and did they improve from one six weeks to the next. So we try to look for those areas as well for improvement.

083And you wanted to know if we keep receipts? Yes. Before they get replenished, you get those $500 receipts. Right. Yes, we do. Thank you, sir. Yes. All right. Thank you, Mr. Ola. Yes, thank you. I guess you have the next item also? Yes. Okay. It's the proposed school calendars. What we did is... Do you need action on the student accounting handbook, sir? I think it was just a presentation. It was just a presentation. Okay, just checking. The next one we have to... Yeah, this one would need your approval. Every year we do propose some school calendars to all the faculty and staff. And if you go to the next slide, this was calendar A, very similar to our calendar for this year. We have 175 days that teachers would start on August 17th. And their

084last day is June 4th. That's 187 days that they need to work. Students start on August 24th and they end on June 2nd. And again, the students are supposed to be in school for 175 days. Then you have the list of all the six weeks from the first six weeks to the sixth six weeks, and it's 175 days. This calendar, again, for next school year is very similar to the one that we have this year. I'm going to say that... We had a committee of principals that got together. We looked at this calendar and they said that they have not heard any complaints really from teachers or staff because they really liked this calendar. Every month there is a staff development and there's our holidays, so they really like that. So this was calendar A.

085And then if we go to the next slide, calendar B, what we did is we took away two days just to make it different from November. and we placed it on October 26th, that was one of the days and then we have to have another day so we placed it in May 10th. So that was calendar B. Again, the same starting days for teachers and the end date and also the students is the same day, starting day and the end day. So that was calendar B. Calendar C. We took away two days from December, so we got to place them somewhere. So I placed one in September, or I say I, but we did, September 28th, and then the other one is in March 29th. Okay, so those were the three calendars right there. Everything

086has to be 175 days, so we just moved a couple of days around. Next slide. So we put it out to vote, and these are the results. For calendar A, there were 1616, 1,616 employees that decided on calendar A. And the green... Bar graph tells you that those were the teachers. Paraprofessionals are the browned with 228. Let me go back to the teachers. 908 teachers, 228 paraprofessionals, 129 clerks, 51 principals, and 300 others, which is the ones that work at least like 226, which is us. Then calendar B, there was 112 persons that voted for that. Can't see it, but I believe it's 63. Right for the teachers 11 paraprofessionals seven clerks five principals and others is 26 I believe then calendar see we had 111 for teachers 23 paraprofessionals ten clerks six principals and

087then 34 others so the one that did earn the the most votes where it's calendar a so if the next slide We're asking for you as board members to please approve calendar A for the next school year. Motion. Second. I have a motion for approval by Ms. Quintanilla, second by Mrs. Barron. All those for the motion signify by raising your right hand. Ms. Gutierrez. I am sorry. We're voting on accepting the calendar A for next year. Okay, thank you. The motion passes unanimously. Thank you, Mr. Gutierrez. We're going on to the next item. Yes, Mr. President, we move to finance. And letter A is approved designation and assignment resolution of fund balance. And this one will be presented by Ms. Gonzalez, Assistant Super Finance. Good evening, Board of Trustees, Dr. Elias. Tonight we're asking that

088a resolution be passed so that we can designate the different amounts for the different categories of fund balances. There are five categories. There's a non-spendable, which is set aside for inventories and other prepaid items. There's the restricted, which required restrictions by law, regulations, or other oversight agencies. The committed, this is the one that specifically requires board approval, amounts for specific purposes imposed by the district's board of trustees. Then we have the assigned, which is an amount constrained by the district but is not restricted or committed. Unassigned is basically the remainder of the amounts that don't belong in the other four categories. Excuse me. A district adopts a resolution delegating authority over committed fund balances because delegation provides a practical mechanism to ensure compliance, audit consistency, timely financial reporting, and proper governance over the fund balance

089hierarchy. So in order to not call another board meeting before our audit is approved, we ask that this resolution delegate the authority of the superintendent. May I ask a question? Okay, so just to for clarification purposes, I am aware of what the purpose of the resolution is What impact would this resolution have on moving forward the presentations on budgets? Is this how they're going this, you know particular hierarchy? Is this how we're going to be presented with that information and I guess that's my question. So once the resolution is approved, we set the fund balances and we give that adjustment to the auditors and they present it with their audit. And we usually do not move the categories within the school year. You will see this again next January. So what is the purpose of

090this hierarchy as it pertains to the board? If the board would like to give the superintendent certain amounts that they would like to see committed, then he can commit those with you all's input. Ms. Villegas? No, go ahead. We're just authorizing our superintendent to go ahead and have that authority. Yes. Obviously, and most probably also in discussing it with him when he brings it to for... for any recommendation or anything like that. Correct. That being the case, I'll make the motion to approve. I'll second. Motion by Mr. Villegas, second by Ms. Kinnan. I'm sorry to get in the middle of the party, but I had raised my hand at the beginning. Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. I apologize for that. Yes, that's okay. So, Ms. Gonzalez, I have a question. This is practice every year? Do

091we do this every year? Correct. Okay, and so this authorizing or giving the superintendent, Dr. Elias, authorization to make these decisions, or you, you know, whichever, because that's on the resolution, how long does it last? Or is it limited to just this one time? Or is it going to be practiced in the future that you're able to move from, you know, one area of the budget to another? Or is it just one time? Correct. It's only annually that we, and it expires annually, so it's only before the audit that we ask that the delegation occur. Okay, so, and when do we get the audit? It'll be in February. The state had to extend all districts' deadlines because of the federal shutdown. It delayed some of the rules and regulations that were supposed to be implemented.

092Okay, so this is self-limited to this occasion. Thank you so much, Ms. Gonzalez, for clarifying. Thank you. Okay. I had a motion and a second. All those for the motion, signify by raising up your right hand. All those against, same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Next item. Yes, Mr. President, the next item is approved use of facilities for the Hidalgo County joint primary election and primary runoff election. Any discussion on that? I'll make a motion to approve. Motion by Mr. Villegas. Second. Second by Ms. Castillo. Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. No, I said second. Oh, okay. I get the second from Ms. Castillo. All right, so all those for the motion. Second by my raising right hand. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Next item. Yes, Mr. President, the next item is under curriculum and instruction, and

093it's... approve out-of-state travel requests for PSJA North, Early College High School, Raiderettes, and their sponsors to attend the national level dance competition in New York City March 5th through the 9th of 2026 to help them compete at a high level while participating in professional master classes led by the industry experts. Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Okay, I got a motion from Miss Quintanilla. I'll go ahead and get a second from Miss Gutierrez. Followed from the motion, I'll take it up by raising up your right hand. Aye. Motion passes. Thank you. The next item, Mr. President, is approve the out-of-country educational trip for 24 students and two staff members from PSJA Early College High School to travel to Salamanca, Spain, July 5th through the 15th, 2026. to attend two-week program that will provide access to

094high quality educational opportunities that extend the learning beyond the classroom. And these are, this approval is gonna be also contingent on, as we know, anything that's happening throughout the world. So if you approve, we still have the option to decline based on anything that's happening throughout the world. I was about to bring that up too. Motion to approve. second i got a motion to approve okay oh okay i got a motion from ms gutierrez to approve second by miss castillo all for the motion to signify by raising right hand hi so viegas yes okay okay motion passes unanimously Next item. Yes, Mr. President. The next item is public hearing on the 2024-2025 Texas Academic Performance Report, known as a taper, and this will be presented by Mr. Marquez and his staff. Good evening once again,

095President Rodriguez, trustees, and Dr. Elias. Tonight we are presenting PSJA ISD's annual report on the Texas Academic Performance Report, commonly known as TAPER. This presentation summarizes district campus and student performance data for the 23-24 school year as released by the Texas Education Agency. TAPER provides a comprehensive snapshot of how our students are performing academically as well as key indicators related to attendance, graduation, post-secondary readiness, staffing, and student demographics. While the full taper document is publicly available, our goal today is to highlight the most important trends, outcomes, and areas of progress for the board and our community. This presentation also fulfills the statutory requirements for a public hearing on district performance and accountability. Before reviewing the results, I want to briefly ground us in what TAPER is and what it includes. The TAPER report is an

096annual report produced by the Texas Education Agency that provides detailed information at the state, district, and campus levels. It goes beyond accountability ratings and offers a broader picture of student performance and system outcomes. Tapered data are disaggregated by key student groups including ethnicity, economically disadvantaged status, emergent bilingual status, special education status. This allows us not only to look at overall performance but also to examine equity, access, and outcomes for different student populations. Throughout today's presentation, we will reference these disaggregated results to highlight areas that stand out. This slide explains why this presentation and public hearing are required. TEA code section 39.306 requires each school district's Board of Trustees to publish an annual report that includes both the full taper document and a summarized annual report that is accessible to the public. The statute also requires

097districts to hold the public hearing within 90 calendar days of the release of the taper to allow for public discussion of district performance and accountability outcomes. And we just received our taper right before Christmas break, so we're well within those 90 days. Following this hearing, districts are required to widely publish the annual report within two weeks, including posting it on the district's website and making it available in other public locations. This process ensures transparency, public access to information, and an opportunity for community members to understand how the district is performing academically and operationally. This slide provides a high-level overview of PSJA ISD's accountability outcomes for the most recent reporting cycle. For the 2025 accountability year, PSJA ISD received a district accountability rating of B, and we call it a B+, because it was a very

098high B, which we presented at our most recent board meeting, reflecting overall student performance, school progress, and closing the gaps indicators as defined by the state accountability system. In addition, the district received a special education determination status of meets requirements. And this designation indicates that PSJA ISD is in compliance with federal and state requirements related to the identification, services, and outcomes for students receiving special education services. These ratings provide important context for the performance data that follows and reflect both academic outcomes and system level compliance. We're going to move now into the highlights and key findings from the 2025 taper report. The section provides an overview of student performance and system outcomes across the district, including star and end of course assessments, progress in reading and mathematics, emerging bilingual performance, attendance, dropout, and graduation rates

099and post-secondary readiness. We're also going to share key student and staff information to provide important context for these results. Together, these data help illustrate both areas of strength and opportunities for continued improvement across the district. And you can keep it right there, Dr. Davalos, on that slide. So state and regional alignment. One of our key findings is that across most assessments and performance levels, district results are closely aligned with both the state and the region, typically within a one to three point range. This level of alignment indicates consistent system performance when compared to broader benchmarks with the region and the state. Another finding is that when we examine results over time, the majority of star outcomes reflect either growth or sustained performance. And I would say it's mostly growth. That stability is important because it

100suggests continuity and instructional practices while still allowing us to focus on specific areas where improvement is needed. A very notable finding is that when state, regional, and district results are compared side by side, the district is increasingly positioned at or tied for the highest level across multiple star indicators. While the state often represents the highest benchmark, we are seeing more and more areas where district performance is part of that top tier. The five-year regional milestone is that this year marks the first time in a five-year longitudinal review that the district leads or ties for the lead in a greater share of indicators than the region. This milestone reflects steady sustained progress over time rather than isolated gains. So in this next slide. This further elaborates that point. When you look at every test and every

101grade level on the TAPER report at the approaches, meets, and masters levels, so you look at third grade reading, fourth grade reading, every single test on the TAPER report, we see that over time, PSJA ISD has steadily increased the number of indicators where we lead or tie for the lead compared to both the region and the state. And just to give you some context, the district began at 0% back in 2020-2021. So during that school year, we didn't have any leads or tie for the leads with the region or the state. In 22 and 23 school year, that's when we began demonstrating measurable growth in the percentage of indicators where the district leads or ties for the lead, increasing to 16%. In 23-24, we increased to 19%. And last year in 2425, we reached 24%.

102That is notable because PSJA ISD has now overtaken the region in this measure, reflecting the strength of our instructional practices, the alignment of district systems, and the collective work of our teachers, leaders, and support staff. So overall, this... reflects consistent progress over time and provides a strong foundation as we continue to build more effective instructional practices and it really shows the hard work that our teachers, our students, our principals and staff are putting in. That is quite a milestone to say that now we're actually ahead of the region in terms of how many subjects and grade levels we tie or lead in. On this next slide, I want to give you some further context for the taper and this is a district comparison across all grades and all subjects. Building on the prior slide, this

103view shifts from year-over-year growth to a regional comparison using a taper measure that aggregates performance across all grades and tested subjects. Rather than looking at individual grade levels or courses, this measure provides a broader picture of overall academic performance across the district. Within this regional comparison, PSJA ISD is positioned near the top of the region, reflecting strong performance across approaches, meets, and master standards when all subjects and grade levels are considered together. This placement reinforces the consistent instructional progress reflected in the earlier trend data. The final two columns add important context by showing each district's accountability letter rating and numerical score. While this aggregated taper measure highlights PSJA's strong academic standing, the accountability results illustrate how that performance is reflected within the state accountability system. In PSJA's case, the data shows that the district performs

104at a high level on this overall academic measure, and when accountability outcomes are considered, We actually lead several of the districts that appear above us in the regional ranking when you look at it this way. So even though you see us there below some of these districts in terms of our all subjects, all grades performance, when you look at our letter and numerical accountability ratings, we actually come in above some of those same districts. So taken together, this reinforces the importance of examining taper performance alongside accountability to gain a more complex and accurate picture of the district performance. So now I'm going to hand over the presentation to Dr. Verna Bassan as we begin implementing highlighted selected star results for grades three through five. Thank you, Mr. Marquez. Good evening, Board, President Rodriguez, Dr. Elias,

105and happy National School Board Month. I hope you've been enjoying it. I will be sharing the academic portion of the taper highlighting the great work across elementary, middle, and high school. This section focuses on areas that stand out in reading, mathematics, and science rather than a comprehensive review of every outcome. The following slides highlight performance across the approaches, meets, and masters standards compared with region and state. So looking at this slide, we're taking a close look at fourth grade. We see a steady improvement across all three performance levels. What I'll do is I'll walk you through from left to right. As you can see, we start with approaches and then meets and then masters. I also want to point out that the circled percentages, they represent where we have matched or outperformed the region and

106state. So from left to right at the approaches level district performance increased to 81% which is aligned with both the region and the state. This reflects continued strength and foundational reading skills at this grade level. At the meet standard, results show notable growth rising from 45% in 2023 to 57% in 2025. This places the district above both the region and the state, indicating progress and more rigorous reading expectations. At the master's level, performance increased to 26%, matching the region and exceeding the state. While this remains an area for continued focus, the upward trend reflects movement in higher levels of reading proficiency. Continuing with fourth grade math. This performance reflects overall stability with targeted growth at the higher performance levels. At the approaches standard, districts results remain steady at 74% across all three years and continue

107to outperform both the region and the state. The consistency reflects a stable foundation and grade level math expectations despite the transition to a new HQIM curriculum. At the meets level, performance increased to 53% in 2025, placing the district above both the region and the state. This growth suggests improved student access to more rigorous mathematical reasoning and problem solving. At the master's level, results rose to 26%, exceeding both regional and state performance. While this remains an area for continued focus, the upward trend indicates progress in advanced math achievement at the elementary. Let me also share that in this case, fourth grade math, we're leading the region and state in all performance levels three back. to back years. I almost sound like North, PSJA North football team. But three back to back years, we are leading the

108region and the state in fourth grade math. The next slide is grade five reading. And here, the results reflect overall stability with some variation across performance levels. At the approaches level, standard District performance remains relatively steady at 78% in 2025, closely aligned with both the region and the state. This suggests consistent foundational reading performance at this transition grade. At the meets level, performance increased from 51% in 2024 to 56% in 2025, indicating recovery and growth following the prior year's dip. While the district remains slightly below the region and state, again, the upward trend is an important positive signal. At the master's level, results rose modestly to 27%. Although performance remains below regional and state levels, the year-over-year improvement points to continued progress in higher level reading skills. We'll move on to the next slide. And

109here I have fifth grade science. We see clear growth and improved positioning, particularly at the foundational performance level. At the approaches standard, district performance increased to 70% in 2025, representing a strong rebound from the prior year and placing the district above both the region and the state. This gain is notable because it reflects improved access to grade-level science instruction and stronger foundational understanding across campuses, despite the implementation of a narrowed assessment with just overlapping TEKS and a new adoption. At the meets level, results rose from 27% in 2024 to 33% in 2025, matching regional performance and exceeding the state. This growth suggests stronger student performance on more rigorous science concepts and application. At the master's level, performance increased modestly to 12%, aligning with the state and remaining just below the region. While this continues to

110be an area for growth, the upward movement again indicates gradual progress and advanced science achievement. And now we'll shift to student performance at the secondary level, focusing on star and end-of-course assessments for grades 6 through 12. As with elementary, this portion highlights selected results that stand out across subjects and performance levels, rather than a comprehensive review of every assessment. Looking at eighth grade math, the results here show a strong performance and continued growth across all three performance levels. At the approaches standard, district performance remained a solid 76% in 2025. While slightly lower than the prior year, the district continues to outperform both the region and the state, reflecting a strong foundational base in middle school math. At the meets level, results increased to 55%, representing steady year-over-year growth. This places the district above both the

111region and the state and indicates improved student success with more rigorous mathematical concepts as students prepare for high school coursework. At the master's level, performance rose to 25%, showing meaningful growth over time and exceeding both regional and state performance. This upward trend highlights continued progress in advanced math achievement at this critical transition point. Again, eighth grade math is leading the region and the state in all performance levels two years back to back. Fantastic job. Next, we'll look at eighth grade science, and results here show meaningful improvement across performance levels, particularly in more rigorous expectations. At the approaches standard, district performance increased to 74% in 2025, rebounding from the prior year and aligning with the state while slightly exceeding the region. This reflects strength in foundational science understanding at the middle school level while implementing the

112new. Again, overlapping teaks that year, but currently the new science teaks. At the meats level... Results rose substantially to 53%. That's a 13-point gain. That's amazing. The district now exceeds both the region and the state at this level, signaling improved student mastery of grade-level science concepts and application. At the master's level, performance increased to 18%, reflecting gradual growth over time. outperforming the region and remaining closely aligned with state performance. While this continues to be an area for development, the upward trend is encouraging. Next slide, we're going to take a look at algebra. Overall performance across subjects generally reflects close alignment between the district, the region, and the state. One area that continues to stand out. is algebra. Across all three performance levels, PSJA ISD consistently outperforms both the region and the state. Again, they're leading

113the region and state in all performance levels three years in a row. The principals are here. At the approaches standard, district performance remains exceptionally strong at 87%, well above regional and state results. At the meets level, results increased to 63%, reflecting steady growth over time and a widening gap between the district and comparison groups. At the master's level, performance rose to 44%, significantly exceeding both the region and the state and highlighting the district's strength in advancing students to higher levels of mathematical proficiency. Together, these results reinforce Algebra I as a sustained area of excellence and a key contributor to college and career readiness at the secondary level. Next, we have district progress. And this section of the taper focuses on year-over-year academic progress in reading and mathematics. What we see overall in close alignment between

114the district, region, and state with the district leading in several key areas. Our goal again is not to present every available metric, but to highlight the most important trends and outcomes that help the board and our community understand how student learning has strengthened over time. District progress at the elementary level for grades three through five demonstrates strong performance in reading and mathematics, with PSJA leading the state in most areas shown. So from third to fourth grade math and reading, the district clearly outperforms both the region and the state. And from fourth to fifth grade reading, PSJA remains at or near the highest levels of performance. While results across the district, region, and state are closely aligned overall, PSJA consistently rises above the state in key grade levels and subjects, reflecting sustained academic progress at the

115elementary level. And this last slide. is from 8th grade math to Algebra 1, and then from 8th grade reading to English 1, from English 1 to English 2. Again, the district progress at the secondary level continues to show strong outcomes across end-of-course assessments. PSJA leads the state in Algebra 1 growth by a wide margin and also outperforms both the region and the state in English 1. In English 2, district performance is fully aligned with regional and state results, maintaining strong and consistent outcomes. Overall, these results reflect a clear pattern at the secondary level, where PSJA not only remains competitive, but leads the state in key EOC areas, particularly algebra, which is the critical gateway course. So as you can see, the taper helps us see notable strengths in areas for continued focus. This concludes my

116part, but I do want to... I do want to thank you. Thank you. Thank Dr. Elias and Mr. Marquez. Also the teachers, the students, the principals, the CNI team that's here. This collective effort is what drives us, right? This is what creates that achievement. Also, a special shout out to my colleagues, the EOs that couldn't make it tonight. Their efforts, their amazing work. is invaluable. So thank you so much. We will have Olivia Martinez to continue with the presentation. Good evening, Board President, Dr. Elias, members of the board. This evening, I am going to talk about our current emergent bilingual students. And so the section that I'm going to focus on is their performance of our current emergent bilingual students across the grade levels. This taper provides this information across all subjects and grades. And

117what follows highlights selected results that help illustrate overall patterns in our student outcomes. Across this section of the taper report that I'll be covering, district results demonstrate close alignment with the region and the state, with several indicators reflecting district strength. These highlights provide context for how the consistent implementation of instructional and language development supports have led to positive academic progress for our emergent bilingual students. Next slide, please. In this particular slide, we're going to highlight math. because it is the area where we see clearer separation from regional and state performance, particularly at the meets and masters levels. When we look across all contents, having said that, for our current bilingual students, emergent bilingual students, their performance in reading, in science, and in social studies remains closely aligned with both the region and the state across

118approaches, meets, and masters. Those subjects reflect study performance and comparable trends year over year. So now our attention in this slide. In mathematics, PSJA emergent bilingual students remain aligned with the region and state at the approaches level, with 72% of students meeting approaches in 2025. At the meets level, performance shows steady growth, increasing from 44% in 2023 to 46% in 2025, positioning our district ahead of both the region at 44% and the state at 45%. The most notable, pattern appears at the master's level, though. In 2025, 22% of PSJA's emerging bilingual students reached master's in mathematics compared to 19% regionally and 20% statewide. This reflects consistent upward movement from prior years and indicates that a growing share of students are reaching the highest performance standards. Collectively, these results suggest that while emerging bilingual performance across

119subjects remains stable and aligned overall, mathematics stands out as an area of relative strength. The gains at the meets and masters level reflect intentional instructional practices, targeted supports, and coordinated system-wide efforts to grow our students beyond minimum proficiency and toward higher levels of academic achievement. I'll now turn it over to Ms. Garcia. Good evening, School Board President Rodriguez, members of the board, and Dr. Elias. I'm going to continue with the taper presentation. In this next section, we're going to shift to key student outcome indicators reported, including attendance, graduation, and dropout rates. These measures provide important context for understanding student engagement, persistence, and long-term success across the district. What follows are highlights of selected trends that help illustrate how students are progressing over time and how district outcomes compare with broader state and regional patterns. Attendance

120remains a clear area of strength for the district. Over the past two years, PSJA has consistently outperformed both the region and the state with year-over-year improvement. In 2022-23 school year, the district posted a 94.4% attendance rate. already exceeding regional and state averages. That momentum continued into the 2023-24 school year with attendance rising to 95.6, further widening the gap between PSJA and the region and state. These results reflect strong systems, campus-level monitoring, and sustained engagement efforts that continue to keep students connected to our schools. On this next slide, the dropout rates remain exceptionally low across the district at both the middle school and high school levels. PSJA continues to outperform the region and state by a wide margin. In grades seven through eighth, the district maintained a 0% dropout rate across both years shown, while regional

121and state rates remained higher. At the high school level, dropout rates stayed at just one-tenth of 1% in both years, well below regional and state averages, which were significantly higher. These results again reflect strong student engagement, early identification systems, and sustained campus and district level supports that keep students enrolled and on track to graduate. Among there is our Countdown to Zero dropout recovery walks that take place yearly each fall and the constant work of our liaisons and campus staff. Moving on to our graduation rates. Graduation outcomes continue to be a clear area of strength for the district. Across three consecutive graduating classes, PSJA's four-year longitudinal graduation rate remains consistently high, well above regional and state averages. For the class of 2022, the district posted a graduation rate of 96.6. exceeding the region by nearly four

122points and the state by close to seven points. That strong performance continued with the class of 2023 at 97.0% and again with the class of 2024 at a 97.6%. Across all three cohorts, 2022, 2023, and 2024, PSJA not only maintains high graduation rates, but also demonstrates steady improvement while sustaining a meaningful lead over the region and the state. These results reflect long-term student engagement, again consistent monitoring of progress, and coordinated supports from middle school through high school that keep students on track to graduate. Part of the taper is also a five-year graduation rate. Looking at extended graduation outcomes, the district continues to demonstrate strong student persistence beyond the traditional four-year timeline. The five-year graduation rate shows PSJA consistently exceeding both regional and state averages across multiple cohorts. For the class of 2021 through 2023, PSJA's

123five-year graduation rate remains near at above 98%, maintaining a clear lead over the region and the state each year. This pattern reflects the district's ability to re-engage and support students who may require additional time to complete graduation requirements. These extended year outcomes reinforce the district's focus on sustained student support, flexible pathways, and targeted interventions that help ensure students remain connected to school and ultimately earn a diploma. Next, we have the six-year graduation rate. The six-year graduation rate continues to reinforce the district's strong commitment to long-term student success. Across the classes of 2020 through 2022, PSJA maintains graduation rates at or above 98%, consistently exceeding both regional and state averages. These outcomes again highlight the district's ability to support students who need additional time to graduate, ensuring they remain engaged and connected through completion. The sustained

124performance at this level reflects effective systems of monitoring, intervention, and personalized pathways that help students persist through graduation. On the next slide, we are going to look at the different types of graduation. This set of results focuses on annual graduation rate for students completing a college-ready graduation plan. These plans include the recommended high school program, distinguished achievement program, foundation high school program with endorsements, the Foundation High School Program with Distinguished Level of Achievement, and the Texas First Diploma with Distinguished Level of Achievement. Over the past three years, PSJA shows a strong upward trend in this area. with substantial gains from 2021-22 through the 23-24 school year. The district moves from the mid-80s into the upper, mid to upper 90% range, reflecting consistent improvement in the number of students graduating under a more rigorous graduation pathways.

125In both 2022 through 2023, and 22 through 2024, PSJA outperforms the state and remains closely aligned with regional performances, indicating again that more students are not only graduating, but doing so with graduation plans that support college, career, and post-secondary readiness. Now specifically on this section focusing on post-secondary readiness, which captures how well our students are prepared for life after graduation. The taper report includes multiple indicators reported and related to college, career, or military readiness, reflecting different pathways students may take after high school. What follows in the next slide are highlights several key components that illustrate how PSJA students are progressing towards post-secondary success. While the taper provides a much broader set of measures, these selected indicators are going to offer a clear snapshot of readiness trends and areas where the district continues to perform strongly

126in comparison to the region and the state. So on this slide, you will see several college career and military readiness outcomes reported in the taper report for the 23-24 school year. Across these highlighted areas, PSJA outperforms both the region and state. Nearly half of PSJA graduates earn dual credit in at least one subject, reflecting strong access to college coursework while still in high school. We also see PSJA leading the percentage of students graduating with an associate's degree and with industry-based level one college certificates, reinforcing multiple post-secondary pathways beyond traditional high school coursework. While the taper report includes additional CCMR measures, these examples illustrate how PSJA continues to expand opportunities that translate into meaningful college and career outcomes for students. Moving on to the next slide. The next section shifts from student outcomes to now student

127and staff information that is reported in the taper. This data that follows will provide important context about who we serve as our students and who supports our students across the district, the staff. These indicators help frame the academic results we just reviewed by highlighting key demographic, staffing, and enrollment patterns reflected in the report. We first have the 2025 taper district student information. This portion is an overview of the demographics and program participation, offering important context for the academic outcomes discussed earlier. The data shows that PSJA ISD serves a predominantly Hispanic student population with a significantly higher proportion of economically disadvantaged, emergent bilingual, and at-risk students. compared to the state. These characteristics help frame the instructional demands placed on campuses and point to the importance of targeted supports and equitable resource allocations across our district. While

128TAPER includes additional demographic indicators, these highlights capture the key significant student characteristics that shape teaching, learning, and student level planning at PSJA ISD. We now have the district information for taper. PSJA's staffing profile closely mirrors the state in several areas, particularly in the portions of teachers, professional support staff, and educational aides. At the same time, the district shows a slightly higher share of auxiliary staff, reflecting the operational and student support needed to associate with serving a large, complex student population. Overall, the staffing distribution highlights how personal resources are aligned to support instructional delivery, campus operations, and student services across our district. This concludes the taper report. If there are any questions, comments, if not, thank you so much for your time. Trying to control myself being all excited because of all the things you're doing.

129It's awesome. Totally awesome. All the staff, teachers, administration, students. I mean, because of all your work, this is why we're getting a lot of attention. not only statewide, also nationally. And I just appreciate all of you. I wanna thank you and I commend all of you for your hard work for making PSJA shine and everybody getting envious because they wanna do exactly what we're doing. So I'm gonna go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez, raise up your hand, and then I'll go to the next ones. Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. Ms. Gutierrez? That was for a previous one. You didn't lower it. You already spoke back then. There. Okay. Okay. Ms. Serna? I wanted to ask. It's very impressive, you know, that the graduation rate just... I mean, we blow people out of the water, you know, at the

130region and at the state levels. So that is amazing. And I have to attribute a lot, Dr. Elias, to that countdown to zero where the liaisons and the staff go out to get them back in, you know. So that has a lot to do with it. I do have a question, and even the CCMR is very impressive also. I do have a question. Are the at-risk indicators the same? Like, I remember... When I was in as a counselor, I remember that there was maybe 10, 12 at risk indicators. Are they the same? They've never changed? They're 13. So that's since, okay. Okay. I just wondered about that. Okay. Thank you. I have a question because I know that each presenter said that this, you know, you have, I think, only highlighted some. It's not the

131complete taper report. Is that my understanding? So you just highlighted certain areas. So where can the public, if they want to see the entire report, where will this be posted? Within the next two weeks, we're required to post the entire taper report as well as this annual report. It won't take that long. Within a few days, we'll post it on our website, and the public will have access to seeing the entire report in its entirety. Okay. And secondly, because this is supposed to have been a public hearing in which parents should have the opportunity to have asked questions, will there be something where... Set up where once parents can see the taper that they will be able to follow through with questions. Are they going to be asked? Are they going to be directed to

132the campus? Are they going to be directed to somebody at its central office? How is that going to be handled? Yes, if it's district information, we're always available to address our parent concerns. If it's specific campus information, we'll direct them to their principals. We can, of course, support the principals in relaying that information. Thank you. Mr. Villegas. I want to thank the three presenters because I know that what you presented made a lot of sense to somebody that's a lay person like myself. Not being an educator, it's pleasing to being able to understand a presentation like this that graphically pictures where the district is compared to the region and to the state. It's notable to thank all of our staff from the administration to our assistant superintendents, executive officers, coordinators, specialists, and then anybody else

133that has a key role in affecting the education of our students, that being also all of our... auxiliary staff, because I'm including nutrition, I'm including maintenance and everybody that has any kind of a role in making PSJA the best district that it is, including all our paraprofessionals and counselors, our nursing staff. So I want to thank each and every one of you for the role that you do. I understood and I understand where we are. And it's, I think, like our president said, it just blows us away to be so proud of PSJA. But I do want to thank you, Dr. Elias. And I want to thank you for this reason, because in working with you, I know that I have shared and all of us collectively have shared. some areas of concern and you've

134stepped up to the mantle and you've proven yourself as a leader. But more than anything else, and collectively putting a team together that has the same vision that the board has. So I want to thank each and every one of you here for everything that you do. I'm excited about where we are and even more excited about where we're going. Thank you. Ms. Castillo. Well, this credit belongs to All of you, the administration, the teachers, and I will echo what Mr. Villegas said, superintendent, CEOs, and all of you. But it just makes me feel good that I'm sitting here advocating for our students and our community. It makes it all worthwhile. So, yes, it's very... It just feels so good to know that we're really impacting students and families and so it feels good. So

135thank you. I do have three things. One, those campuses that did exceptionally well, are we replicating what they're doing? Are we having conversations with them so that we can? replicate their strategies and Yes, thank you. Miss Castillo We do that in several ways. One of the ways we do that is that we have very frequent collaboration and support through our executive officers They spend a great deal of their time working directly with these leaders and their campuses So as they do that not only are they able to guide and support them But they're also able to pick up some great practices that are happening at some campuses that they then go and replicate it at other campuses We also give our teachers the opportunity to share their best practices with each other. Each summer, under

136Dr. Lea's leadership, we've continued with our best practices conference where teachers can present on what they do, what's worked, and that's become something that our teachers really appreciate. So we do support our campuses and learn from each other. the campuses that do very, very well, we tend to give them a little bit more autonomy and just check on them and continue to support. The campuses that tend to struggle is where we replicate some of those practices over. And it's very systemic. Thank the Lord it's been a very good process that we have great teachers with terrific attitudes, great leaders that are very open to feedback and growth. And so that's, I think, a big reason why the district has been successful is because we've had a growth mindset throughout our district that even our most

137veteran seasoned teachers are willing to learn new ways of doing things and open up their own practices and share what they're doing effectively. So thank you for the question. I hope that answered it. Vertical alignment. Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am. And one more. How can we as a board continue to support you, all of you, to get the A, to be able to continue to grow? How can we support you as far as funding, resources? I don't know if there's anything that we can support you all and continue to push. Well, I don't want to say push, but to really be the advocates and with wholeheartedly, you know, continue to work along your side with one focus in mind. Improved student achievement. I think that's anything and everything that we do. That's end goal in

138mind. Improved student achievement. And we're very close to that A. I can almost feel it. No pressure. Good work. Thank you, Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Ms. Castillo. Ms. Barron? Well, I don't want to be the only one not saying congratulations. But really, congratulations to every one of you and all those principals and counselors and all those that are not here today. I think it's something that we all love to hear. And it does take a good leader for us to follow, you know, every time. And I think we've got a very good leader with us. and hope that he stays another 15, 20 years here, even when we're gone. No pressure. But I really and truly, I mean, I've worked with a lot of leaders, and another one of the best ones was Dr. King

139when he was here. You know, Dr. King had a vision. He had a vision. He knew where he wanted to go, and I see a lot of that in Dr. Elias. I see a lot of that in Dr. Elias. And so once again, congratulations for the unity that you guys show us everywhere we're at. We see that you're working together and that's the only way that it can happen and why we're where we're at. So thank you very much and God bless every one of you for the rest of the year. Yes, ma'am. Just one word. Awesome. Totally awesome. So thank you for that. Mr. President. Go ahead, Mr. Lace. Dr. Guss. Yes, just a quick comment. I want to thank the teachers because they're the ones in the classrooms. They're the ones that day-to-day

140deal with the students and they know exactly what the students need. And they're the ones that, they're like the doctors, they're prescribing to the students that intentional focus of the instruction that they need to succeed. And we're seeing that. And again, it's a testament. That's why we have 74% of our teachers on TIA. I mean, that is unheard of. I was looking at the McAllen City. They're going to create this plaza. in an area next to the Plaza Mall. And they're thinking that it's gonna bring in revenues yearly about 47 million. And I'm thinking our district alone with the TIA brings in $31 million. That is unheard of. And that's money that stays within the communities here. And that's how our teachers are giving also back to the communities aside from, you know, Having our

141students to succeed they're having our communities to succeed because of the work that they do and this is well-deserved money that they're getting and I'm a big proponent of it and I see us increasing You know this this turnaround right now. I see us hitting that 80% possibly So I think you know, it's well-deserved for our teachers and this is a testament the taper comes from the state This is a testament saying that our teachers are doing the work and they deserve every cent that they get from the TIA. It's an incentive that they get, but it's well deserved because we're seeing the success. PSJA is wreaking the success. No other district around here competes with PSJA when it comes down to that. And I'm saying we're possibly number one in the state or number

142two when it comes down to TIA. But, I mean, this is something that every teacher out there wants, but yet PSJA is showing that our teachers are getting it, but it's the work, again, that our teachers do day in, day out. And then it goes back to our administrators, our principals who are also at the campuses, all our administrators at the campuses. And it takes everybody. Like I say, it takes a village to have a student succeed. And it takes every single department. It takes 4,600 employees here from PSJA contributing for the success of PSJA. And that's why in unity we find that we are successful because PSJA is a family. And again. Thank you to everyone that makes this possible. Thank you. I'm trying to come down from that real high. All right. Let's

143go to the next agenda item. Human resources. Mr. President, we move to the next item. This is going to be the presentation on Benchmark 1, Assessment Results. This will give us a... an assessment as far as where we stand as far as our benchmarks right now and you know what looks so promising already for the future to come. So this will be presented by our coordinators. Okay, if you were excited, you're going to be more excited. Because it's our turn now. Okay, so we're gonna go ahead and begin. Good evening, board president, board members, and Dr. Elias. Everyone's here? We're ready. It's my pleasure to begin the presentation for the Benchmark One results. My name is Patty Delgado. I am the elementary math coordinator for the district for elementary. And I am here with all

144of our team. So before reviewing the data, I do want to present my team. Our team is, we start with Mirna Martinez. She's the ELA specialist. Carla Rodriguez, ELA coordinator. We have Sandra Salinas, SLA coordinator, alongside Veronica Rios. SLA specialist. And then we have our science coordinator, Velma Sanchez, alongside Sandra Gonzalez, her specialist. And then we have Laura Diaz-Gongora. She's our social studies coordinator with her specialist, Mariela Castillo. So this is our team. Of course, our team has our three great, awesome leaders, two that are not with us tonight, Dr. Gonzalez and Dr. Arredondo, but we do have Dr. Bazan with us today. Okay, so here we go. Today we're presenting our benchmark one results for grades three through five. I do want to note that this assessment was administered in early December. Since that

145time, targeted instructional efforts have been implemented and we are confident that meaningful instructional adjustments are underway and progress is being made. So here we go, looking at our first slide, we have our all student population. and we have several positive trends that stand out. We do have all the content areas there alongside the three performance levels of Approaches, Meets and Masters. So looking at this slide, our fifth grade students, of course, if you see there, they are our strongest performing level. They are already approaching or exceeding the 70% range, which is very strong for our very first benchmark. Our fourth graders are also demonstrating solid performance at the meets levels. Our third grade results do reflect an expected adjustment period as this is their first exposure to a full-length STAR-aligned benchmark assessment. So we anticipate

146continued growth moving into benchmark two and of course ultimately STAR. Okay, our second slide is our reviewing the emergent bilingual data. We do see alignment with our overall student results. If you kind of look at this slide, this slide was very very similar to the first slide you saw. So our fifth graders here again continue to show strong performance comparable to the all student group. All grade levels were one to five points away compared to the all student group. and our third grade remains the primary area of focus for our continued instructional support. Overall, the performance trends for emergent bilingual students closely mirror those of the general population, which speaks to the effectiveness of current instructional strategies. Okay, our third slide is our special education data which reveals both strengths and opportunities for growth a

147major highlight Here is our fifth grade math students where our students are performing particularly well, so Our success in fifth grade math appears to be positively influencing our reading and our science outcomes While there is a noticeable gap between the all student group and the special ed population, it is an active force of our work, focus of our work. We are collaborating closely with our special ed department. We are doing some joint learning walks alongside our special ed director and our instructional team together. We go out to the schools. We do have targeted instructional planning that is using a co-teaching model with the special ed resource teacher alongside our special ed, our regular teachers, regular ed teachers. And of course the implementation of our supply. mental aids and supports. Again this partnership is already strengthening

148our classroom practices and continue to drive improvement. And then our final slide has the benchmark one comparison to our star results from last year. So this one is the benchmark one again is one semester's results and alongside we're comparing it to the star results from the end of last year. So you can see that the overall performance here is very comparable across the content areas. Our science results should be viewed with context again as that assessment now reflects new TEKS rather than the overlapping standards. Again, this comparison is very encouraging. It does show that our student performance at the end of the last year is already evident after one semester. In a lot of grade levels, they're almost the same. Reinforcing our confidence that benchmark two and our upcoming star results will show continued gains.

149These results again are a strong affirmation of the instructional work happening across all of our elementary campuses and just like Miss Yolanda Castillo mentioned, you know, it is our students, our teachers, the ones that are at the forefront here. So we definitely want to, you know, say that. We are encouraged by our progress and we are seeing and remain focused on our continued growth for all of our student populations. I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Ms. Carla Rodriguez, who is going to share our next steps in elementary. Good evening, President Rodriguez, Dr. Elias, and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to share our work in progress and next steps to support our elementary campuses, all centered with one clear goal, student achievement. As we continue to respond to

150student data and evolving campus needs, our work is guided by a continuous improvement framework focused on four key areas. Data analysis, instructional planning, intervention supports, and progress monitoring. Together, these ensure instruction is intentional, aligned, and focused on measurable growth. Our first key focus area is data analysis. It is the foundation of our instructional decisions. We are prioritizing principal and campus data review sessions to identify performance trends and priority standards. Campuses are moving beyond surface level reviews to item analysis, allowing teachers to pinpoint learning gaps, identify misconceptions, and apply prescriptive instructional fixes in real time. These insights directly inform each campus' targeted improvement plan. Importantly, these plans are revisited quarterly using updated data to reflect progress, adjust priorities, and ensure support remains aligned to current student needs. Our second key focus area is instructional planning. With

151a strong commitment to high quality instructional materials, we are maintaining fidelity to our adopted curriculum while making data-informed pacing adjustments. Teachers continue to receive professional learning and lesson internalization support including modeling, instructional strategies, and scaffolding aligned to the rigor of the standards. This support is designed not only to clarify what to teach but also how to teach it effectively. This work is strengthened by district-developed Countdown to Benchmark and STAR review plans which provide clarity, consistency, and strategic alignment across campuses. Academic vocabulary, intentional spiraling, and repeated exposure are embedded within instruction along with ongoing support through campus collaborative learning community meetings. Teachers are also deepening their understanding of assessment expectations through intentional questioning, scaffolding, and differentiation aligned to STAR and TELPA's demands. Our third focus area is intervention supports designed to strengthen learning without removing students

152from strong Tier 1 instruction. Campuses are implemented blended learning practices that strategically complement high-quality classroom instruction. Supports include prescriptive tutorials aligned to skill gaps, instructional coaching and modeling, targeted content support, and most importantly, Tier 1 extensions and interventions embedded with daily instruction. This ensures interventions are intentional, aligned, and focused on accelerating learning. Finally, progress monitoring ensures our instructional effort results in measurable growth. Teachers use flexible, data-driven grouping and leveraging tools such as iReady for reading and math and iExcel for science to provide targeted practices, interventions, and enrichments. The district has created and provided student growth trackers and instructional data reports that allow campuses to monitor progress through ongoing assessments and adjust instruction quickly. These tools support informed decision-making while building student ownership and agency. In closing, these next steps reflect a cohesive, data-driven approach to

153instructional improvement. By aligning data analysis, instructional planning, intervention supports, and progress monitoring, we are ensuring campuses are supported, instruction is purposeful, and student growth remains at the center of our work. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to our students and our educators. Any questions for elementary? I do. You mentioned that you get new teaks in science? Yes. How often? The teaks are usually every like 10 years that they're on a cycle. So if science got new teaks last year, that means they don't get any for next? About 10 years or so. We had overlapping teaks. Monday? We had overlapping teaks. Then now they're going to be adding, well, the third grade will be included. So they add teaks for that level? Right. Sort of. So last year was overlapping year and this year

154is full implementation of those new standards. Now the reading and the math, you don't get new peaks. We will, but in the future. Like right now, we've been... Next year. It could be in a couple of years. There's usually a cycle, an instructional cycle that has when the new TEEXs are coming out. Okay, I'm sorry. Yes, new TEEXs are usually on an instructional cycle like every 10 years or so that the TEEXs get updated. Our MAD TEEXs were from 2013, and we still have them. So they could... They're upcoming, but the legislation, it just depends on the legislation. And you see me grinning because just as we're getting used to the TICS. Right, new ones start coming. Well, we get new tests, a new test. And a new exam. So that makes it really tough.

155Well, congratulations for what we see. And, you know, I'm just concerned with. These sticks that change over and over so that means instruction has to change too and planning everybody has a set curriculum Everybody has a set curriculum Okay except for social studies. Oh don't actually have a curriculum a resource or an adoption but Ms. Castillo and I are doing our best to get in the mic. So for social studies, we do not have a textbook adoption. We haven't had one for several years. But thanks to Mr. Marquez and our executive officers, Ms. Castillo and I have been, for the past three years, creating. With the use of TEKS Resource System, we use Newsela for a little while. We're now using AI Books to create books and curriculum for kinder through fifth grade. But we

156don't have a set adoption if you're asking. But then social studies doesn't get tested until middle school. Until eighth grade, but if you... They do get tested. We don't get tested until eighth grade, but social studies is a great tool for our reading scores. And we need our social studies for not only reading, but for math, science. They all correlate. And I would assume that the reading people see the social studies in there. And the science. And science. And as far as the TEKS, the TEKS for reading for RLA were adopted in 2017, were implemented in 2019. So it'll be a few years before RLA gets new TEKS. Isn't the adoption every seven years? For, it depends. Well, so what happened was a few years ago for social studies, it was, it went to TEA

157and then it was kind of tabled. It wasn't actually, it didn't go for approval of adoptions. I would assume because it doesn't test. Maybe. The priority for the instructional materials review at TEA was math and reading, which is our blue bonnet curriculum. And they're on a cycle where every year they're adding new curriculum supports. So social studies and science. It's until 2029. They're putting them on the back burner? Is that what they're doing? So they don't give anything for the science? Not as an HQIM, which is where they provide the extra funding. but it isn't in the plan. And in our district, we've started introducing social studies TEKS the last two years, introducing students to those topics in fifth grade so that when they get to the eighth grade, they'll at least have a background

158in those topics. So this district is... very good at thinking outside the box and we have great people that write curriculum based on the TEKS. So we're in good shape. We're not counting on the state, but when they do come around and offer something, we'll be ready to adopt. You're all doing some kind of vertical alignment with elementary and middle school for social studies and also for science? Yes. The only reason I'm bringing that up is because... Because I was in the middle school and that was when the elementary kids came up to to middle school they were Struggled because they were used to certain certain strategies and then when they came to middle school and then when they would start implementing the vertical alignment, they would start preparing the fifth graders to come into

159the middle school and so that way they can do, and once they're doing that, they started doing better. So I just wanted to make sure that you see what I'm talking about. And we do. We have collaborated with... Vanessa Garza from middle school, Alicia Alejandro, and Mayra Salinas from high school as far as the social studies coordinators and specialists. Maria La Castillo and I have... have always worked closely with them. We even go out to middle school teachers. We have a very good teacher at Escalante, Mr. Joe Quintana. Joe Quintana, great help to us as far as helping us with the elements. I think the struggle, because I know you taught history, and I think the struggle is not so much the fit to, well, it's actually like... From kinder to eight because they don't

160test at all until they get the grade. So I think maybe that's where the struggle is. Because I was in charge of the history department in middle school and we would have elementary kids. This is many moons ago. I'm not going to say how many. but they were lacking. Some kids didn't even know their continent, didn't even know. So that's why when I took over, I wanted to work together with the elementaries and I would make contact with them. And we would do the same thing, the middle school going to high school. I would tell the 8th grade teachers, hey. There's some kind of the objective they're gonna be used in the high school so that way they can be a little bit prepared and it'll be make it easier for the high school teachers

161to teach so that's why I was big yes, and I'm a big proponent for teaching social studies More than 30 minutes because that's what we get for for elementary, but that's another That's another time I believe somebody asked if we needed resources we need social studies books or some side of the Torah side of you only Yes I don't want to open a can of worms, I'm sorry. But we do our social studies a la reading so that they can actually, we're helping reading. We've also, it ties into science and mathematics as well. We had, I don't know if Ms. Castillo wants to share. We had a student say that they had heard something about maps and... Hold on, Mr. President. If you could help me by keeping it... Oh, yes, yes. I'm so sorry.

162We'll talk later. But we appreciate everything that you do for us. We really do. And thank you, Mr. Muckus. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. But we do want to point out that what the team does to vertically align is we work on a tip. targeted improvement plan together and so they get to work with the grade levels across the district and it's wonderful to see because they have They have great communication. They've been they've been really good at collaborating So you although we we see some you know opportunities for growth we We see social studies throughout the day in elementary schools. We're very proud of that. We're very proud of all that we're doing at the elementary schools. So thank you so much for sharing that, ladies, and thank you for a

163great job. Thank you, guys. As we get set up for the next speaker, Mr. President. Just to reiterate what Dr. Bassan said, the team does a great job of collaborating. They write curriculum together. We set our goals together vertically, and they do inter-visitations together. So like the middle school and high school science coordinators will go to the elementaries and do learning walks, and they'll observe teachers in classrooms. So they're a great collaborating team. Mr. President and Council, verification. There was only one item on the agenda, which was the results of the Benchmark 1 assessment results, and I know that we were allowed to ask questions. Does that mean that the two minutes that were used are already used? I think that's a great question, and we need to figure out the structure. Do we want

164to continue on with just the entire presentation and not break it down by... grade levels or do we want to reset the two minutes after every grade level since we started with elementary? I would recommend reset after every grade level. Okay. Sounds good. Thank you for the direction. Time for middle school. Everyone's favorite. So good evening, Dr. Elias, Mr. President, and members of the board. My name is Jessica Moore, and I serve as the Middle School Science Coordinator. This evening, the Middle School Curriculum and Instruction Team, under the guidance of Dr. Iris Guajardo, will be presenting our Benchmark 1 data. Before we begin, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge our outstanding middle school team, including our coordinators and specialists you see behind me, and thank them for their hard work and continued

165commitment to supporting our teachers and students. And I will take some time to introduce them. Starting over here with our reading department, we have Kimberly Ortega, our coordinator, and Ms. Laura Salinas, our specialist. We also have... Behind me we have our math department represented by Maria Mariscal, our coordinator, and Cynthia Santa Anna, our specialist. And for our social studies department we have Miss Vanessa Garza, our social studies specialist. And someone we don't see here today is my awesome counterpart, science specialist Yomi Garcia-Ramos. So she couldn't join us today, but she is a big part of this work as well. So we will begin by reviewing Benchmark 1 results for all students across all content areas and grade levels. As you examine this graph and the data that follows, there are a few important points to

166keep in mind. The Benchmark 1 assessment for Reading Language Arts was the 2024 star assessment, and approximately 23 to 25 percent of a student's overall performance was derived from teacher-scored written responses. In mathematics, science, and social studies, the Benchmark 1 assessment measured only the content that had been taught up to that point in the school year. In alignment with our district-targeted improvement plan, our quarter 2 goal was for 51% of students to reach the meets performance level across all content areas and grade levels on the Benchmark 1 assessment. When we look at overall performance for all students, we do see some areas of opportunity. However, when compared to last year's benchmark one results, we have observed an upward trend in achievement across all performance levels with an average increase of two percentage points. So that's

167this data you see here compared to our benchmark one data from last year, two percentage points gained. We are especially proud of the growth at the master's level indicated by the green bars. and at the meets level shown in blue. We pay particularly close attention to meets performance, not only for state accountability purposes, but because it reflects students performing on grade level. Now starting on the left side of the graph, you will see data representing our sixth grade students' performance. While this group has historically faced challenges due to the transition from elementary to middle school, we are confident we will meet or surpass prior star performance with our continued efforts and targeted supports. Before moving on to seventh grade, it is important to note that seventh grade math percentages only reflect approximately 60% of our

168seventh grade population. The remaining 40% of seventh grade students are enrolled in advanced math courses, and their performance is reflected in the algebra and eighth grade math data. Trending data indicates that seventh grade math is on target to meet or surpass prior performance. Additionally, seventh grade reading is only five percentage points away from meeting the district goal of 51%. Finally, our eighth grade students continue to excel and remain our highest performing grade level across content areas. In mathematics, science, and algebra, eighth grade students met the district goal at the meets performance level. Additionally, social studies showed notable growth with increases of eight percentage points at the approaches and meets level and five percentage points at the master's level when we compare that social studies data from this year to last year. So we are very

169proud of Social Studies work this year. We can go to the next one. So next we will take a closer look at two high-focus student populations, beginning with our emergent bilingual students. Across most grade levels and content areas, emergent bilingual students are largely keeping pace with the all-students population at the approaches performance level. In fact, gaps of fewer than five percentage points are observed in mathematics across all grade levels, including algebra, as well as in eighth grade reading and eighth grade science. I would also like to highlight that mathematics, particularly algebra, shows strong emergent bilingual performance with meets and masters rates closely aligning with those of all students. Turning now to our special education population, we can go to the next slide. Thank you. Students are demonstrating success at the approaches level across most grade

170levels and content areas. Overall special education performance across all benchmark one assessments increased by four percentage points at the approaches level and by one percentage point at both the meets and masters levels. So looking at this special education population data, overall we've increased from last year's benchmark one. So we are very very proud of that as well. We can do the last slide now. Finally, thank you, we compared 2025 STAR results with this year's benchmark one performance. Although benchmark one was administered at the end of the fall semester, comparing it to prior year STAR data provides valuable insight into how student achievement is trending toward our 2026 STAR performance goals. Once again, our eighth graders continue to show success. When we look specifically at eighth grade math, students met or exceeded 2025 star performance at

171both the approaches and meets levels. And I'm also happy to report that in eighth grade science and social studies, our students also met or surpassed 2025 star achievement, not only at approaches and meets, but at the master's level as well. At this time, I will turn the presentation over to my colleague, Kimberly, to continue. Good evening, Board President, Dr. Elias, and members of the Board. Thank you for the opportunity for our team to share the intentional and strategic steps that we are taking to support our amazing middle school campuses. Our work is organized into four key focus areas, administrator support, teacher support, progress monitoring, and curriculum enhancements. Beginning with administrator support, our ultimate goal is to create a shared understanding of what quality instruction looks like across all content areas. Administrators participated in professional development

172on lesson internalization through the lens of an instructional leader so they can walk away equipped with the tools to better coach their teachers on campus. Our team also coordinated a series of instructional and blended learning walks with campus leadership teams. And during these visits, we are proud to report we observed clear improvements in instructional delivery and importantly, in the use of data-driven differentiation. When it comes to teacher support, we recognize the significant demands on our teachers and our goal is to support them in meaningful and practical ways. One example is the development of personalized learning plans that help students address specific instructional needs based on their benchmark one data. In addition, instructional coaching from support departments such as instructional technology, special education, and dual language provides teachers with valuable guidance to better meet the needs

173of their diverse learners. Monitoring student performance across multiple data sources remains essential to improving academic outcomes. Teachers and students are using data tracking tools to set goals, track progress, and reflect on growth over time. Teacher-student conferencing has also been implemented to deepen student ownership of their own learning and ensure that progress monitoring leads to actionable next steps. Finally, we have strengthened our curriculum with tools and resources that directly support data-driven instruction. These enhancements ensure teachers have aligned materials that reinforce priority standards and provide students with meaningful practice opportunities. Additionally, our STAR-aligned review materials have been updated and refined to better prepare students for state testing and ensure readiness across grade levels. Overall, our next steps focus on strengthening the systems and structures that connect administrators, teachers, and curriculum, ensuring every middle school student is supported

174to reach their fullest potential. Thank you. We weren't going to ask, but anything. Mr. Urias, how do you want us to handle this? Like, we ask all our questions at once? And that way he can time our two minutes. Mr. Castillo? I pause it when they respond to your questions. Oh, you do pause it? I do pause it. When they're responding to your questions, I pause it. I know that in the last round with elementary, I got all emotional with a sting, and I didn't yield the floor, but I know I didn't take the two minutes because there was a lot of pausing. Yes, so if you guys could help me kind of keep track of it, we could go one at a time on the questions, Mr. President. How do you want us to

175do it? I apologize for that, Mr. Castillo. Like Ms. Sandoz said, I was just... I've just been very excited of all these good reports we've been hearing, and so I got a little carried away, so I apologize for that, Mr. Castillo. I'll try to be in line. There you go. Thank you, sir. Any questions? I mean, I have questions, but I don't know if y'all want to go first. Anybody else have questions? I have a comment. Go ahead, call on somebody. Go ahead. At one point in my life, I happened to attend Harvard University. Now I'm bragging. No, I was there for a week. And I went to a session with Richard Elmore, and he is one of the authors of the book Instructional Rounds. And I'm going to read this. And he said that

176improving teaching, it's not just about changing teachers. It requires a system level approach. And then I'm just going to read his quote. I don't want to get too philosophical here. Skill alone isn't enough. Practice must change and the system must support it. And I really feel that all of you, this beautiful group of ladies here, and of course you all, with the guidance of your leaders, of Mr. Marquez, your EOs, everybody. And again, we go back to the teachers. Thank you for all that you're doing. It proves that the research is correct. You are all really doing incredible things, and I think we're way ahead of the game. Thank you for all that you do. At the end of the day, it all goes back to children. Thank you. Well, it's because I want to

177ask each, I'm going to ask a question, and it means it goes to each subject, like science, social studies, math, and reading. Like, one, do your ticks change every year for your particular place? Two, do you have a curriculum in place? The results are amazing in middle school. I'm sure that these people are sitting there all excited because that's where those kids are coming. So it's great. So I just want to know, because there was such a big improvement in some categories, what did you do different that improved it so much? There. Tie me right there. Okay, I can go first. So we do have a brand new curriculum. We are using the Blue Bonnet, which is the HQIM for the state. Last year, Mr. Marquez and Dr. Elias, they bring forth Carnegie Learning, which

178I guess was anticipating what the state was going to offer the students. So we started last year with Carnegie Learning. And yes, we had trouble sometimes, you know, getting the buy-in from the teachers, but with the support of our executive officer and all the stakeholders. which is our principals, they really helped the teachers and the coaching and all the support that we got from our office to be able to buy into it. So the buy-in with the teachers was 100% at the very end from TA reports and everything that we did with our grant. So it was very successful. So this year we're implementing blended learning along with our HQIM, which offers a lot more monitoring, a lot more support for our teachers as well, along with coaching. So I think that's what's really helping

179the... kids passing at a higher level because we saw a higher masters and higher meets even last year with first year implementation. So we're hoping and we already are on track to be able to see those changes in those scores this year. So we already over surpassed our benchmark one scores from last year. Eighth grade is at a 20 percent at the meets level so that's really really really hopeful for us to be able to get where we need to be at the end of the year. Our TEKS have not changed. The only TEKS that were new this year are the advanced TEKS. But with the guidance of Dr. Guajardo, we have selected to use eighth grade. Our seventh grade CP students are using our eighth grade curriculum and the seventh grade students, they move

180on to algebra, but they're using our in-house curriculum that we create and they're doing very, very well. So I think that's the curriculum that we're going to be following. We do have the state TICs, but right now we don't have curriculum for those TICs yet. But I think the plan that Dr. O'Hara had in place from last year to this year, it really has shown that it's working. So I think that's what we're going to continue to use. Thank you. And just so you know, that's the same thing I asked over there. For reading language arts, we have already implemented our textbook adoption study sync for about six years already. So our teachers are very familiar with the program and its materials. But one of the biggest changes that we have implemented this year along

181with mathematics is the blended learning station rotation model. And we were very ambitious. We did not only implement with sixth grade teachers, we implemented with sixth through eighth. So all of our teachers really are embracing that process with time. and getting more familiar with how to effectively implement that model. And in addition to that, we are also a part of the RLA Arby's pilot, the research-based instructional strategies. So TEA does partner with the New Teacher Project and they have been coaching us along the way as we implement those research-based instructional strategies with our teachers as well. and our TEEX have not changed since they were adopted back in 2019, but they are probably coming up soon for us. So for science, we do have new teaks. They were adopted in 2021, implemented in 2024. This

182is our second year of implementation. And I believe, as Ms. Velma mentioned earlier, this is the first year that the new teaks are being tested. So last year was an overlap. It was an overlap of the old teaks with the new teaks. We do have a curriculum. It's not an HQIM, as the state likes to call it, but it did go through a very, very... strict rigorous process of getting vetted and that curriculum that we use in science for sixth seventh and eighth grade is called SAVIS I believe we use it for reading as well at the elementary level so Our curriculum that our teachers implement in the classroom is a mix of SAVIS and then a mix of some district-created curriculum as well, so it is curated in-house. And as far as what did

183we do to see these great results, I would say that it's a collective effort of all stakeholders, starting from our teachers, because they are the ones working day in, day out with our students. So I know my teachers, my eighth-grade teachers, they are the ones putting in a lot of hard work. But it's also a collective effort between our curriculum team as well. And I would say that goes across contents because we all work very closely together setting goals together Hitting metrics together. So so I would attribute it to that. I'll let social studies Okay, so when it comes to social studies, we don't have a An adoption, we have a district curriculum that we've put together. We do have a supplemental resource that we use, Mr. Lohman Education. We got him off of a

184neighboring district around us. They gave us that idea. We looked it up, and their scores were amazing using it, so we kind of pulled with it. Our TEKS are going to be changing coming up. 2030 I believe is going to be the first round of the new teaks. We are changing from US history, which is what we get tested in eighth grade, to now Texas history pretty much. The basics going to be 80% of Texas history that our students will be testing in eighth grade. So that'll be interesting. One of the things that we're implementing this year is a lot of student-centered instruction. It's worked. amazing coming from sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade. The vertical alignment that we're implementing through the three grade levels has been outstanding. And then of course, like Ms.

185Moore mentioned, our teachers are doing amazing buying into it, the implementation that they've been doing. Another focus we've done is our SCR performances. We really looked at the fact that we do get two SCRs. every year in our testing. And so we've realized those are two easy four points. So we are implementing our writing and speaking throughout every grade level from six to eight. That's what we're doing for social studies. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Hedman. We have next high school people. Well, Mr. Rick, if you were all excited before you're going to drop out of your chair when you see our results. I am very excited. Y'all are doing great. Everybody's doing great. I'm real proud of everybody. Hello and good evening, Dr. Elias, Board President, Mr. Rick Rodriguez, and members of

186the board. My name is Alisa Alejandro. I am the social studies coordinator for the high schools. Behind me is our small but mighty team. Maybe they'll give you... Maybe they'll give you a Miss America wave. Here we have Miss Denise Garcia. She's our science coordinator. Right next to her is our social studies specialist, Ms. Mayra Salinas. And then right here is Ms. Cindy Rivera, our ELA coordinator. Not present, but here in spirit is Debbie DeWong for math. She's our math coordinator. And also Ms. Connie De La Rosa. She is the ELA specialist. So here is the team. At this time, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Marquez, Dr. Nora Rivas Garza, and Dr. Linda Uribe Treviño for their collective leadership in supporting our high schools. Most importantly, and it's been said throughout today's meeting is,

187I want to thank and commend our teachers and campus leaders for the exceptional work they have done and continue to do. We have had our principals here. There are four of them over there that have stayed throughout this meeting. So thank you. I also want to take the time to thank our colleagues from elementary and middle school. I especially want to acknowledge the middle school. Their scores are phenomenal. And I want to highlight the social studies, me being the social studies coordinator for high school. Ms. Vanessa Garza, she has been doing awesome. We look forward to receiving the middle school kids. Thank you very much. Our test was done in November. Our first benchmark was done in November. ELA went first in November 11th, ELA 1 and ELA 2, followed by Algebra 1, Biology, and

188U.S. History on November 18th. So our data, just by looking at our data, I'm going to tell you that ELA 1 and ELA 2 was a full-blown test. Algebra 1, Biology, and U.S. History, it was tested up to the ticks that were covered. But just by looking at that you can see that the five subjects tested and also you can see I want to mention that every student that took the benchmark is represented in this particular slide. So every student that took that benchmark one is in this slide. Also, this Benchmark 1 is an early snapshot of what's to come. And we are excited beyond. Look at those bars. I know you see the bars, but just so you can understand, we're in Algebra 1 biology and U.S. history. We're in the 80s already. And

189this is Benchmark 1. We're expecting... Better and greater results in benchmark two and you will see that when benchmark two results come to be reported to you but great strides have been made in LA one and the LA two and Also, if you can just see the green the green represents the mastery level that is what we want our students to be By benchmark two, I guarantee you, put me on the spot next time, you're going to see the green being a little higher, growing more, because by then the teachers have continued to do their job by working hard with the students, tutoring the students, and you're going to see excellent results for benchmark two. But the next slide. is going to be our emergent bilinguals. This particular population is, just to give you a

190little background, our comprehensive high schools, they service between 500 and 700 emergent bilinguals. I'm very happy to report that last year, Miss Olivia Martinez is gonna get excited over this, every high school met the TELPA's target goals. And this is the group that we're focusing on right now. Just by looking at this, you can see that be it the help of Ms. Olivia's department, the dual language department, and also the leadership of Dr. Elias and the teachers differentiating their instruction, we have closed and continue to close their learning gaps with these students. Understand this, that the teacher's job is, yes, teach the content, but they're also having to deal with the language. They're also having to teach those language supports that they need. So these students, I call them gems, because some of these students

191are going to get us to that mastery level that I'm talking about. So I'm going to brag about the telpas. Another thing is social studies. We copied something that Dr. Raquel Garcia School did at Memorial. We copied their implemented telpas in social studies, speaking and writing. We took that, stole it. Ran with it and replicated in the other high schools so that we're hoping will help these students You know reach that mastery level Also teachers are working not only on getting the content across but more importantly building the academic language The academics in ELA looks very different from Algebra I. The academic language and biology, we can't even pronounce some of those words, but it looks very different, and in U.S. history also. So just by looking at this, you can see that these teachers

192are doing marvelous work at the campus level. Next slide, please. This is our high academic needs. kids, the special education population. We are encouraged to see, if you look at the purple, that's the approaches. We're very encouraged to see strong approaches performance across subjects. You get to see the 60s, the 70s percentage, and that's very high. Some of these kids are dual coded. They might be a special ed student, but they're also emerging bilingual. So those kids are gems in the rough for us. And some of these students are capable of mastery level. Just look at Algebra 1, 15% mastery, Biology, 9% mastery. We do have areas of growth, and that is in the mastery level across the board. And that's something that when Ms. Denise Garcia comes and speaks, she'll tell you what we're

193doing and what we plan to do to help these students. But we do work very closely with the Special Ed Department. they are very easily that you can talk to them and they'll come to a PD for these teachers. But we are very confident that by benchmark two, you will see more of the blue, which is the meets and the green, which is the masters with this particular subgroup. And finally, we are very confident. If you look at benchmark one, I'm going to use ELA 1 as an example. ELA 1, right now, it's at 69% as of Benchmark 1. In comparison to the 2025 EOC, they were at 67. So right now, ELA 1 is above. their goal of last year. Look at the meats. This year the benchmark is at 50%. Last year for

194the 25-25 EOC, there were 48. So right there you see that ELA won. It is on trend to get those high scores that we want. Also for ELA2, you can see the same trend. Benchmark 1, they were at 79. They were at 71 for the EOC. Tremendous growth there, and also for meats, 61 to 54. I'm going to brag on biology. If you look at biology... Their meets level is at 58% presently, and their master's is at 26%. If you look at where they were last year, last year they were at the EOC mark. They were at 49% meets. This time around, they're at 58. And also, mastery, they were 11%. Right now, they sit real pretty at 26%. So, yes, there are areas of opportunity, but we are very confident that by benchmark to

195our scores are going to be phenomenal. And also because our teachers. They are very much in the game. We are more of a support system. All the coordinators and specialists that are here, we support the teachers 150%. They ask us for anything, we're there. They ask us for some paper, we give it to them. They ask us for things, we're there. So we are a very good support system and our colleagues will tell you that we are. So Denise Garcia will share on how our collaboration with teachers has strengthened instruction and positioned us on a strong path towards earning that A rating from TEA. So Ms. Denise Garcia. Okay, to follow that. Good evening, Mr. Board President, Dr. Elias and trustees, like Ms. Alejandro mentioned. My name is Denise Garcia and I'm the high school

196science coordinator. Before I share our next steps, I want to begin by emphasizing the work that is truly a collaboration between our special education department, our bilingual department, our curriculum and instruction department, and of course our data support team. This cross-department collaboration ensures that our decisions are aligned, intentional, and focused on meeting the needs of all our students. This evening, I want to walk you through our next steps based on the data that Ms. Alejandra just presented. We recognize that there are areas of gaps, but we're not ignoring that. But our response isn't to slow down or hesitate. It's to move with urgency and intention. Our goal is going beyond just our students passing the test. We're focusing on growing every student from the moment they step in our classrooms while continuing to expand our

197number of students performing at the mastery level. To simply put it, our commitment is twofold. We want to make sure we grow our students and we want to continue to push our mastery level. This work is not about reacting to the data. It's about responding to it in a thoughtful and intentional way. And that work is already underway. We started our next steps the moment we received our data from our data support team. First, we're providing accelerated instructional guidance. What that means in practice is that students are receiving targeted support without losing access to on-grade level instruction. Campuses are using our teacher-created retest during summer curriculum to address the gaps and a teacher-built pacing calendar that prioritizes the most frequently tested standards and a countdown to start approach that keeps focus on urgency high. Vocabulary

198strategies are embedded across content areas and we're using our performance level descriptors that is provided by TEA to strengthen alignment between instruction and assessment. All of this allows our campuses to respond quickly to students' needs while maintaining instruction rigorously and focused on growth. Second, we're investing heavily in our teacher support because strong education starts with empowered educators. Teachers are being supported through planning tools like the Lesson Internalization Guide and Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative, also known as TCMPC, which used to be called TEKS Resource System. along with the data deep dives that help identify trends and guide instructional priorities. We are providing support with blending learning strategies and research-based instructional practices. On top of that, we're providing targeted support for our special education students, content-based newsletters that provide data, best practices, and ongoing professional learning,

199and our two specialists are also providing support for our new teachers. Teachers are also participating in targeted professional development, including the data and least results achieved, which is known as Dura, and our performance level descriptor workshops. This layered approach ensures teachers are supported and not working in isolation. Third, we made intentional curriculum pacing adjustments. This year curriculum is rolled out every six weeks, allowing us to stay responsive to student needs while remaining aligned to standards. We're focusing on during these... curriculum rollouts, item analysis, question stamps, TEAC specificity using the TCNPC platform. The data then guides what standards are spiraled using tools like iExcel, Actively Learn, Gizmos, and our PLD-aligned resources, helping teachers reinforce priority standards while maintaining instructional momentum. And then finally, our last next step. We are using data-driven student grouping to make instructional

200as target, making, I'm sorry, to make instruction as targeted as possible. Teachers are using the level of mastery report, our goal setting sheets, and dashboards to create flexible groupings that adjust as students grow. This ensures that instruction stays responsive and focused to moving every student forward. Together these next steps represent a comprehensive system of support, one that honors the work of our teachers, our campus leaders, our co-teachers in the classroom, and our curriculum department. And with continued collaboration and focused support, we're confident that our students will continue to show meaningful academic growth. Thank you for the opportunity to share our data and next steps with you this evening. Thank you. Do we say that statement in questions and comments? Hi, Mr. President, I have a question. Ms. Castillo. I have a comment and a question.

201Again, congratulations. You're doing outstanding, outstanding. I continue to hear blended learning, blended learning, and you will be very happy to hear that pre-K-3 and pre-K-4 and kinder are doing blended learning to its fullest. I didn't realize that until now we talk about blended learning, but that's what we do in the early grades. Early childhood, it's how blended learnings are, correct? Lady, Ms. Bassan? That's what it is, it centers. And so I am amazed at how we have really transformed our classrooms into blended learning. That's the response answer. I think. Just one thing, you know, you're telling us we're going to see growth, the next benchmark. But one question that I have for you is, how do you measure, how do you track these wonderful things you're doing? I don't want to wait until the next

202benchmark, but how do we get real data? Do we have like a tracking form where we do on, how do we measure all these things are working, which I'm sure they are. But for me as a teacher, How do I see, do I have something to measure it with on a weekly basis? Yes, so I could speak on our behalf on our department and our science curriculum. We do have six weeks exams that we also provide our teachers with to assess their students and their learning. Ms. Sandra Sedna, who is a part of our data support team, provides our teachers with a dashboard. Through that dashboard, teachers are able to identify student expectations that they're struggling with. As soon as they assess, we let Ms. Sandra Sedna know they're done assessing, they graded everything they

203needed to grade. Within 24 hours, she gives the teacher their dashboard. She's very quick about doing that, giving the data back. and putting it back in the teacher's hand so they can respond to that data. So they're able to do that during six weeks exams. And then we also have bi-weekly quizzes that we also test our students with and assess them. That way our teachers can provide interventions as soon as possible, as soon as they receive that data. So we do have other opportunities to assess our students. Thank you. I like that two weeks. Yes. Because, you know, I would often think about... In my time, we used to do Saturday tutoring, and I used to say, why do we wait until Saturday? If I know, if I'm going around doing my observation on individual

204children, why am I waiting until Saturday? If I know that he didn't master or he didn't quite get what I was teaching, let me pull that child and reteach. I guess that's what I'm referring to. But two weeks is fine. And our teachers assess daily in the classroom too, right? That's part of our lesson cycle where they assess maybe not with our platform that we use, but they're able to monitor and adjust as well. So they're already spiraling back standards that they didn't do so well in for Benchmark 1, and they're reassessing our students constantly. Thank you. Just one comment. And this goes to all three groups that presented. Some of you I've worked alongside with. And I am so glad that you are now the ones looking at the data, remember? Instead of having

205me present that data, remember those days? And I want to commend you not just on the work that you do on a daily basis with our staff, with our students, but in putting all this information together. The Benchmark 1 results are looking good. And I'm putting myself in your shoes and I would be just as excited to see this type of data. Well, my first question, when is secondary testing again? When is the second benchmark? Because I know it's different than middle school and elementary. Two weeks before spring break. Oh, nice. Okay. And I don't know if somebody cares to answer when is the next benchmark for elementary. Two weeks. Okay. Great, so that we can look forward to that right after spring break. Okay, and that's it really. Just thank you, amazing job. And

206just to know that we are very, very happy with where the students are going at this point in time. And we will be on the lookout for social studies supplemental information or resources. Thank you. Do we have any more? Presentation and benchmark and test results. That's the end of our presentation, Mr. President. Thank you very much. Okay. I know it was a little lengthy. But I think this is something that the community needs to know that they were advertising all this because now they're gonna know people gonna know Because they're hearing like this is doing great. Now. They're gonna know why so Thanks to everybody everybody doing a great job extremely proud of everybody coming down from you know, the the the custodians all the way up to the superintendent. Extremely proud of everybody. Y'all

207are doing a great job and I'm just trying to control my, because I'm really proud of all of you. Y'all are doing a great job. So thank you very much for everything you're doing. I really, really appreciate all of you. Okay, because we can move on now to the next item. Thanks again, everybody. Thank you. Good night. Yes, Mr. President, the next item is under human resources and it's approved adoption of school board policy update 126 and Dr. Garza from human resources will be presenting. Good evening Mr. President, members of the board and Dr. Elias. Thank you for allowing me time to share with you some of the updates that will be occurring. They were sent to you well in advance. So what I'm going to share with you is basically a quick recap of

208the House bills and the Senate bills that were approved out of the summer legislator that have impact the language in our update. Before I start, let me go. I'm going to skip a few of these slides because of... Can I click this? Okay, before I start the review of our update 126, I wanted to kind of take us back to the summer of where we had our board meeting on July the 31st. On July the 31st, I brought to you update 125. Update 125 were a result of local... policies that were impacted that needed to be approved before the start of the year. And these changes occurred out of the 89th legislative session. And at the time there was just, there weren't that many because they did, there was just a few that needed to

209be approved before the start of the year. So I brought these to you. One had to do with library materials. It was EFB, and this was a result of Senate Bill 13. So you approve this one. Okay, and it was a quite extensive policy. We also had local FM and FD that dealt with extracurricular activities. So those were impacted by update Senate Bill 401 and those had a couple of... a couple of pages there, three pages, and there was FNCE local. This had to do with the communication devices and this was a result of a House Bill 1481. So now at the time I mentioned to you that those were a small snippet of the local policies that have been impacted because of the 89th legislature. And I mentioned to you forthcoming will be update

210126, which would have an extensive impact on our local policy. So here it is now. And the reason why it takes a while is because obviously our, our, the TASB team that oversees our policies will review our policies in a, in a lot of ways. the language so that it's in agreement with the laws, the House bills and the Senate bills. So here I want to start off by saying that again that update 126, our changes, changes in update 126 are based on almost exclusively on legislation from the 89th regular legislative session. So all the changes, for the most part, it's language that is aligned to the 89th legislative session, House bills or Senate bills. So I just did want to point that out. Here, this time, update 126, we have 28 local policies that

211were impacted. And Dr. Leas had requested that I give you ample time to review them because there were quite a few. So these were set. sent to you earlier. So what I want to do is I want to go through the 28th and I'm going to kind of go rather quickly because you've had time to review them. I just want to kind of talk about the policies and what House bill or what Senate bill may have impacted. For example, BE local. It was impacted by Senate Bill 12, and it prompted new language at meetings, place times, indicating the board will be held outside typical working hours. So it basically said, you know, we needed to post three days in advance and so forth. So some of those things that are now in place, this is

212a language that is impacted in BE local. And then, of course, the Senate Bill 413 requires a roll call, a vote. so there was language change there. BED local. This had to do with public participation. And this, again, is a Senate Bill 12 that required language impacted on this policy. CJA Local is dealing with contract services. And this had to do with Senate Bill 12 and the diversity, equity, and inclusion changes that were laws that were put in place. Here you have CJA Local. And then there were no changes made to the local context, language text on this policy, CLE local. There were no changes to this policy, CQB local. The recommendations were made are aligned to put our policy aligned with House Bill 150, and it involves cybersecurity training requirements. CQD Local, this is

213a result of House Bill 1500 and House Bill 150 and it addresses AI, changes training in artificial intelligence. CSA Local, this is the changes result of Senate Bill 8 on second special session prompted the inclusion section of designation use of private spaces. CB local, this one is a result in changes from increasing from 50,000 to 100,000 on competitive purchasing process or the threshold. And DBD local, the language it shifted because of House Bill 3372. DEC local. The language shifted or changed because of House Bill 2 and it prompted some revisions that needed to be included there. DFBB Local, Senate Bill 12, there again, it required language shifting and adjustment. DGBA Local, this includes Senate Bill 12 that included some revisions. DH local, this one is a result of Senate Bill 706 and it had to

214do with handguns and weapons. EEP local, this is a result the language shifted because of Senate Bill 12. EFA local, Senate Bill 12 also impacted this one, the parental request for instructional review material. And EHBAF, this is House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 571 that impacted this policy. EIA, Senate Bill 12, again, that had an impact on this policy. FA Local, Senate Bill 12 impacted this one. FEF Local, Senate Bill 1049 impacted the language in this policy. FFAC local, Senate Bill 920, which required a language shifting there. FFB local, House Bill 2. It talked about inclusion, addressing inclusion. FFF local, House Bill 2 prompted, recommended revision to this policy regarding notifying parents and students with whom there was some services. This one had to do with reporting student safety. FFG, this was Senate Bill 571.

215This also has to do with reporting of abuse or neglect. FNG local, this is a result of Senate Bill 12. Changes to FO local had minor language edits that TASB recommended. GF local, changes were because of Senate Bill 12. And GKA local, these are the revisions were due to Senate Bill 706. So that was primarily the shift. The language, is primarily because of the legislative update. Just like all the language that you approved in the policies that we brought to you in the summer. And those were very timely. So obviously TASB worked on those inherently to make sure that we you would approve them before the start of the school year because they needed to be in place. These have taken a little longer and now we have all of these policies for you to

216review and approve the changes. What they did is they took our policies, the way our policies are, and they made whatever changes needed to be made so that they were in alignment with the House bills and the Senate bills that were part of this 89th legislative session. Questions? Basically, everything was just to align it to the state bill. Yes, Mr. President, I do have I have actually several questions and one of them being is it is it retroactive? I know that we're just barely seeing these policies, but are they retroactively, you know applied going back to September 1st when they were supposed to be in place or are they going to be applied as of today that we are approving them? Go ahead. So on a lot of these things we've already had these practices

217with respect to a majority of them the the policies where we're playing catch-up on along with the entire state is on the timelines with respect to Your grievances your employee grievances your student grievances and your public grievances I know in public comment. There is a concern about time about hearing level threes Well, these drafts all address those. Now you have that 30, 60, 30, there you go, 60, 30 timeline with respect to hearing level threes. And so... As we've been getting grievances this year, we've been trying to accommodate that, even though it wasn't in our local policy. But once this board approves these policies, we have no choice. So moving forward, this is the direction we're moving. So moving forward as of today. So if anybody filed a grievance September 1st through, let's say yesterday.

218you know, January 25th, these rules do not apply? No, I would say that we're going to attempt to apply them as best as we can to be in compliance with policy as it exists today after approval. Then how much time do I have remaining? Okay, so I'm going to read some questions that I had already submitted. Once after your email and then I submitted some questions back to you, but I didn't get any replies. A lot of them, though, however, have been answered throughout the course of today, so I'm excluding those. But some of them have to do because they do impact the way the board operates. And thanks to Ben, he clarified how it applies to the DGBA, FNG, and the public complaints on GF. When we have special call meetings, usually there's three

219days and we have 10 days now that we can submit something to the agenda. But if we have a special call board meeting that is within three days, how can we submit an item if we have a 10-day deadline to submit an item agenda? Can you pull up that draft for special meetings? Because I believe that the inclusion date for a special meeting is a little bit shorter than regular meetings. Do you know which policy that is? It would be B-E. BE local. BE local? Yes. I sent you the full policy. I want to say it's three business days for special meetings. I don't hear, I can go to the, but this won't have a language. In the drafts that I've seen in other districts, and they're pretty much all the same, BE. BE? Yeah,

220BE, not BED, BE. This one? Yes. Did you find the actual policy? Here we go. I think I gave him, I sent the full policy to him, but B. Special meetings. This is the board president should call special meetings at the board president's discretion. on or on request by two of the board members. The board president shall call an emergency meeting when it is determined by the board president or two members of the board that an emergency and urgent public necessity is defined by law warranted by the meeting. So we may want to consider on agenda deadline with respect to the deadline for submitting items for inclusion on the agenda is the 10th calendar day before regular meetings and the 10th calendar day before special meetings to the three business days prior to the special

221meeting before being posted because of that special meetings we don't have necessarily a 10-day window. So yes, I think that's something for the board to consider and we could if the board's okay with that we can make that change and it actually makes sense to lessen that one for a special meeting because you really don't know when we're having a special meeting. All the other posting requirements do apply three business days, all that good stuff. So I think at least three business days, if we're going to have a special meeting, if somebody wants to request an inclusion, we could do that. What's the wishes of the board? So you're recommending that for a special or emergency meeting, we would do three business days? Three business days. Yes, just the required posting. Yeah, this is just

222for special. Your regular is still 10 calendar days. I think that sounds like a fair. And then the 10-day on regular. Okay. So we can adjust that? Yes. If you're in agreement. Thank you, Miss Kington. Yes, how much time do I have left? 52 seconds. DFBB local non-renewal term contracts. I was asked because I know that now we have DEI as one of the areas that we could find a reason for termination. How is this going to impact curriculum, for example, if some of that DEI contact is in the curriculum? And how is the district going to, I guess, make it so that... The teacher is not held accountable because that is part of the curriculum. So that's a good question as well with respect to DFBB. And that is being included in there by

223TASB because of all those new laws that passed. And so, I mean, the way we're going to have to treat it is on a case-by-case basis, just like for every non-renewal that we do for all the other reasons as well. As long as there's documentation, we can't bring a non-renewal with no documentation. And so if the teacher and the evaluator notes it, it's something that we're going to have to consider for a basis for non-renewal and just based on that state law. But again, that's... The actual execution of it is going to depend on the administration, on the campus administration, and then the final decision is going to come before the board. So it's not for sure. I'm trying to answer your question. We have to do it if it's on there. But because of

224the law, it needs to be on there as a basis for non-renewal. How much time do I have left? 21 seconds. Okay. Criminal history background checks and required reporting. What is the process set up? I understand that even if they're just an allegation of improper conduct for a teacher, that there should be a process in place. There's a 24-hour reporting period, 48-hour, and therefore then it gets reported to the state. Do we have that in place? Yes. Yes, when something, any kind of allegation is brought to our attention immediately, we have the campus, generally it's brought forth to us by the campus admin or a teacher that will go to the campus admin immediately. We look and if it's... You know, we'll review the information that's presented. And generally, first step we do is remove

225the employee from that scenario to allow us time to collect information and move forward. And yes, we reported to the TEA portal for misconduct. Yes. Do I have any time left, Ben? No, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for your answers. Thank you. Anybody else have a comment? Okay. So. I do. I do. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. I just saw you. That's okay. Yes. Becky, I mean, Ms. Becky Garza, what is private spaces on CSA that the superintendent can approve private spaces? I'm not even sure. I think what this one has to do with, Trustee Gutierrez, Is designating spaces where there's public forums kind of related to kind of the Charlie Kirk kind of deal of debate, if I'm not mistaken. It's private spaces are any space where a counselor

226may take a student. Oh, you're right. Yes. A private dressing room for a student who may not want to, you know, openly undress in front of others. And I believe the superintendent leads that, you know, making sure that that is available at all campuses. Thank you for the assist, Trustee Nathaniel. Yes, that has to deal with... depending on whether, you know, in certain circumstances where a student may need to, just like Trustee Quintanilla said, needed a private space to undress as far as locker rooms are concerned or whatnot. uh okay and it's kind of uh in response to uh you know the transitioning deal that's going on in the state of texas correct the social social transitioning yes ma'am okay um efa uh it says it's about parents requesting educational materials and it says that

227the school will provide or the district will provide at least two opportunities but it's not limited to two correct if a parent continues to request record educational materials i'm sorry they are able to correct So the state's requiring at least two, but I'm sure that your administration has processes where they get enough time in front of their teacher to get other questions answered. But the state is requiring at least two. A lot of these are in response to specific situations that happen in other places. So I think I'll defer to Mr. Marquez on that one to answer that question more appropriately. With respect to the required teacher meetings for a parent to get information from a student, the policy is requiring that we provide at least two meetings. And I was just deferring to you

228guys as far as, yes, the state might be requiring at least two meetings, but I'm sure PSJA goes above and beyond. They're provided as needed, so there's not really any cap or limit to what we provide. In most cases, parents get the information that they need by calling the campus and setting up a parent conference. trouble communicating with the campus administration or teachers sometimes it escalates and they Address as a central office and we facilitate but we we don't have any cap or limitations sick every six weeks at least We do have a open house and meet the teacher as well Okay, very quickly, I know I don't have a lot of time, so I want to say very quickly, if you can post school board members' emails, the school district emails, because they're no

229longer visible and parents are having a hard time communicating with the school board. We used to have them there. So the next one is DBD, administration and having financial benefits. uh the uh this is where uh administrators and and above do consulting so this in no way can be used uh with somebody else's name or through somebody else's company or being a an employee of somebody else to um circumvent this this this change correct an employee cannot do consulting no matter period and it includes subcontractors if i'm not If I'm not mistaken, and I could also state that PSJA has even a more restrictive definition of that than what the state requires. So PSJA is taking it very seriously, and that's one that we've implemented since the beginning of the school year. Yes. We actually

230added to an addendum to the beginning of the year as they signed their contract, so there is an addendum to that. Okay. The next one is FFAC. The EpiPens is just a recommendation into having EpiPens in different parts of the schools. I know that they told me that they're in the front with a nurse, but in case the nurse, I don't know if that's still the situation. I'm not aware of what it is, but if we can make sure that there are several. And then the two puncture or injection rule, sometimes it doesn't work on the first one. So if you can look into. uh going above uh what we need to comply with and then finally bbd local a team of eight is not a required training uh because it says there uh not

231that i'm gonna travel but it says that um if you do not go to for example team of eight you cannot travel but team of eight is not one of the requirements that that we have as board members correct Yes, it's a statutory requirement, Trustee, but it's not on this update. It's on the next item, or not the next item, but the item after that, and I will address it at that time. By statutory, you mean the law is requiring that we do team of eight now? Yes. We have to do it by December. Okay, so what legislation was that? I don't remember off the top of my head, but it's been on the books for a while. Correct, but does it have to be team of eight, Lone Star, or we can choose any?

232It has to be from a certified team of eight provider. Okay, but it doesn't have to be Lone Star Governors per se, correct? No, ma'am. Okay, thank you so much, Ben. That's it. I made it on time. You still have your hand up, Ms. Gutierrez. Okay, any questions? Do I need a motion to approve? I motion to approve. Motion by Ms. Castillo, second by Ms. Barron. All those for the motion to approve. With the change of the special meetings, right? Yes. With the addition, okay. Yes. All those for the motion? Aye. Signified by raising your right hand. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you. They're going on to the next item. Yes, mr. President we move on to item B discussion and possible action regarding school board policy FFA local student welfare

233and wellness and health services This will be presented by director for nursing them. Good evening. Mr. President. Dr. Elias members of the board So I'm here today seeking approval of local policy FFA along with mr. Contreras Okay, so FFA, Student Wellness Policy, it's a written policy or a policy that you all should have a draft in front of you. I believe we have a separate plan in addition to that policy, and it's, of course, to promote student health and wellness by establishing guidelines for nutrition, physical activity, health, and other school-based activities. So the policy is required to include specific goals for promoting student wellness, nutrition, education and physical activities. The standards also for nutritional guidelines for all foods and beverages and the standards for all foods and beverages that are provided but not sold to

234students and policies for foods and beverages that we're marketing and description of public involvement updates, policy leadership and evaluation of plan. Next slide, sir. Thank you. I think that's the same one. Okay. So we basically utilized the School Health Advisory Council to review, to come up with the plan, and we presented to them on two different occasions on October 29th and again on November 12th. And in addition to that, we also, the shack, which consists of parents, students, and representatives of the district, we had food services, the physical education, the school health professionals. and the school administrators were all able to view it because we have it on a YouTube channel, so it's available for review. And then each campus principal for implementation, each campus principal is responsible for the implementation of the FFA Local

235and the wellness plan as well. including submission of necessary information for evaluation. And it's supposed to be evaluated every three years as required by law. And the district will measure and make available to the public as a result of an assessment of the implementation of the wellness policy. Is it going? Okay. Okay, and so I just put up a couple of examples because the plan is probably like 15 pages long right but the draft that you have in front of you of course is just the policy, but I included a sample of one of the goals from health services, child nutrition and counseling. So for this one, the goal is the district shall ensure that each campus has a current emergency health plan and conduct annual drills for medical emergencies and then we had to

236come up with objectives and then action steps and each campus will review, update and approve its emergency health plan annually to ensure alignment with the district policy and current best practices. The action steps are that we conduct annual review meetings with the campus administrators, nurses, and the safety teams to evaluate and update these emergency health plans and incorporate updates based on state or district health and safety policy changes, new medical guidelines and experience, and distribute the plan to all relevant staff and ensure accessibility to all. And then this one was a goal set by Child Nutrition and that the district shall support school gardens and farm to school programs. And the objectives are that they provide resources and support partnerships for campus-based school gardens. And some of their action steps are the district will develop

237resources to support implementation of the gardens at the campus level. We'll incorporate facility services to encourage consistent and sustainable school gardens and we'll cultivate partnerships for funding and direct services to support campus school gardens. And for physical education, one of their goals is to provide an environment that fosters safe and developmentally appropriate fitness activities for all students participating in physical education classes and it's based on standard-based instruction. and they will deliver age-appropriate standard-based lessons that provide curriculum guidance to support instruction. And the physical education staff will offer professional development training to ensure teachers maintain CPR AED certifications. And physical education teachers will not withhold physical activity or use it as a punishment. And for the guidance and counseling goal, one of their goals is to promote and support mental and emotional wellness of all staff,

238support students of mental and emotional well-being through preventive counseling programs and social emotional learning. And some of their action steps included campus counselors will implement classroom lessons focused on self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. provide small group counseling sessions for targeted needs like stress management, friendship, grief coping skills and the SEL team and campus counselors provide district wellness initiatives such as suicide prevention, bullying prevention and trauma-informed practices. And these were all the groups that were involved in the making of this policy and plan. So in front of you have the policy and which I'm seeking approval. Thank you. Any questions? Any questions? Ms. Cantanilla. Hi. Hi. So it is an amazing plan. First, let me let you know that. And I see that... You mentioned mental health, which is, we know, extremely important. Are

239you somehow coordinating with policy FFB as well, something we just adopted? Are you in working with counseling department? Is there a suicide prevention team? Is there a substance abuse? team, I mean, are you being kept in the loop? Are you part of that as well? So in well, so that policy is apart from this wellness policy, right? So this wellness policy is basically for us to have a wellness plan and develop goals. We can incorporate some of those, but that's we will follow that policy. But in addition to we're going to create goals, which Gina science helped us to create some of those goals, objectives and plans, right? Yes. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Ms. Castillo. I have a question. On student services and wellness. I'm sure we have a protocol with students with chronic illnesses

240that is in place, correct? Yes. Okay. And on wellness? As far as how we get the information from the parent, how we inform the teachers regarding certain conditions, and we give them medical alerts, we meet with them. one-to-one if we need to. And then we have, of course, different other different policies that we follow in regards to certain illnesses, right? And you have all that documented? Yes, we have all that documented. And under mental health, one of the questions that I have is, who is trained on suicide, trauma? to handle those aside from the counselors, is there anybody else that is trained on how to be looking out for or students that have trauma experience, a trauma with suicide one and the other one, do we collaborate with other mental health agencies around the community?

241Yes, so right now there's actually a long place where we have to have so many employees trained on mental health first aid. And it's going year by year, the percentage of how many employees we have to have trained on the mental health first aid. Right now, we're at about 25%. That's what we have to have. And I want to say we're well above that, of the 25% that we're mandated to have. So every year until 2028, where we have to be at 100%. So we're well above the requirement that we're supposed to have right now that are getting the mental health first aid. I know our officers, our police officers, our security guards, our nurses, of course, our counselors, our SEL teams, they all have already gone through that mental health first aid course training.

242And then do we collaborate with other agencies? Yes, we do. And I know that Dr. Noyola has a lot of those contracts in place or agreements in place with a lot of different agencies that we collaborate with. And so the referral process, I would assume, begins at the campus level? Yes, at the campus level. And do we have a lot of parents also requesting for assistance? Not too many I would say. For their children you're saying? Correct. Yes. So no, we do get those calls. We do get calls where they'll say, you know, can you assist my child? Okay. We do. Thank you. Thank you. Good job. Thank you. Anybody else? Do we need to approve? Yes. Can I have a motion for approval? I'll move. Moved by Mr. Villegas. Second. Second by Ms. Serna.

243All those for the approval raise up your approved by facing right hand is Gutierrez Okay motion carries, thank you. Thank you Next item. Yes. Mr. President. We move to item C discussion and possible action regarding school board policy BBD local board members training and orientation Again, dr. Garza And it's going to go over this one So good evening, Mr. Board President, members of the board, and Dr. Ilya. So this board policy is just an addition. To what's already in there, some districts have explored doing this, especially for the Team of Eight training, because sometimes it is hard to get a quorum of board members to get the Team of Eight done by the required time. But in this draft, not only do we address the Team of Eight trainings, we're also placing in here, if

244the board does move forward with the Lone Star Governance Framework, the need to attend for those local governance trainings. And the policy or the policy thinking behind that is they really don't work if we don't have the full board participating. And so what this revision would state is that if one of our trustees does not attend, and there's no valid excuse, then the district will not pay for out-of-travel trainings. that are available to the board. And so there is language in here that allows for exceptions and for doctor's excuses and for any other valid excuse. But this is just kind of a way of the board policing themselves to attend these trainings and so that we move forward with the board professional development. It's also, you get credit also, right? It's a the training there,

245you know how we need to get those some kind of credits and stuff so that we can be in compliance with Yes, sir. So if the board does move forward with Lone Star governance, and I have Dr. Sinto Ramos behind me, he could kind of explain that a little bit further in the next item. Okay. But yes, you do get the required ISO trainings. You do qualify for the Team of Eight training, so we wouldn't have to have another additional one. And so, yes, you do get the credit for your continuing learning requirements that you guys have on a yearly basis. Okay. For clarification purposes, BBD also covers the compliance with the Public Information Act. So this also means that if at any point our district does not comply with PIA, then... So all of

246us, all the board members need to participate also in some kind of public information act training. I know we already do, but I think this one, this will be coming from the attorney general. If we're not in compliance with public information act. Yes, ma'am. So every year, I don't recall if it's every year or if it's when you're elected, you're required to do a public information act training and that's generally by video. and individually. But yes, I mean the reason it's in this specific policy because it has to do with board members training and orientation and but you're correct there is a required public information act training. I don't think it's a yearly requirement if I remember correctly but I know it's at least done when new board members are elected. Okay so on this

247team of eight and I'm And I'm surprised that, okay, so we have BBD local. We're approving, you're asking for a vote on this prior to the presentation on the Lone Star governance. I think it would have been best the other way around. That's the order of the agenda. Yes. And I apologize for that. But if you guys would like, we could table this one until after that item. Yeah, I would recommend it. Okay, so let's just go ahead and table this. We get the presentation and we'll go back to this. Let's do that. Let's go ahead and table this one. That way they can really understand what... Yeah, I agree. So let's go ahead and table that and then... But until after the next... Okay, motion to table item. Second. Or motion. Table item. Second.

248Second by Ms. Castillo. All those for the motion. 65 places raising up your right hand. That's a... Thank you. I have a question. So we're only tabling... The one for Lone Star Governance or which one are we tabling? No, BBD Local, the board policy. Right now, the Lone Star Governance. BBD Local, the team of eight one. Yes, ma'am. We're tabling it because we want to hear the presentation first and that way we'll have a better understanding of what we're going to be voting on the next. That's what we're doing. Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez. I've had concerns with that one because in the past we participated with Lone Star Governance and I was not very happy, at least with the person that we were assigned. So I agree. Thank you so much. Okay. Okay, so then

249we'll move on to the next item then? Yes, Mr. President, we move on to item D, discussion and action to adopt the Lone Star Governance. Yes, Mr. Board President, members of the board, and Dr. Elias. So Lone Star Governance is a governance framework that was created by TEA. I do have Dr. Sinto Ramos, and he will do a much better job than me at explaining this. And so, Dr. Ramos, if you can, you have the floor, sir. Welcome, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, saludos everyone. Dr. Jacinto Ramos Jr., but please call me Jacinto. It's an honor and a pleasure to be with you today. More importantly, I think I had a stump speech, but no point in doing that after the progress monitoring I just witnessed and all the positive momentum and the

250positive news. So if I may just probably connect it that way. what this could look like. Lone Star Governance comes originally from the student outcomes focused governance that was designed out of Washington, D.C. This was way back 2016, 2017. And Texas was the first one to implement the framework and adjusted it to what Texas wanted. We now have other states that are following the lead. Interesting facts for you to maybe know, Texas is one of the few states that actually requires training for board members. I don't know if you know that, but most states require no hours of training for board members. Texas is also one of the few states that makes it a mandatory that every board have at least three goals. Which I don't know if you know that but that's the reason

251why the material that you received tonight was aligned that way and I love the questions the number of you asked I love the engagement that you had Because that's not the norm when academic achievement is put on the table The reality isn't what the research told us was that boards want to celebrate everything else except academics and academics gets put on the background. Watch a random board meeting and see how much time they spend on talking about academic achievement. What is recommended in the research and in the framework is that you try to spend 50% of your time on academic achievement. You ask great questions of your leadership team. What can we do to support you? I got some answers for you if you want them. And we can unpack them as we go through

252the journey. I don't propose that you do anything to check boxes just the way they told you. I don't know if you noticed, but they were telling you how they do what they do. Those screens all look the same. They said that they are data savvy. Guess what? That's one of the eight effective characteristics of effective boards is that you become data savvy. And you are because I'm listening to you and I can tell who has an education background that you're probably even better equipped to be able to lead those conversations and continue to have them. They also talked to you about these high-quality instructional materials. You all said vertical alignment. Everyone's using similar language. What we propose in the framework is that you lead the work, but you lead it by, and I think,

253I think Ms. Quintanilla, I think you asked this question, like, are you going to take this to the community? Guess what? It's your role to do that. They can do it too, I mean, right? But that's one of your biggest roles, and that's one of the biggest roles that most board members leave on the table. You are there to represent, you are here to represent the vision and the values of the community. And the only way you really get to know that is that you go to them, listen to your students, listen to your teachers, listen to your families, listen to your community leaders. There are a lot of districts around you who have been doing that, and they've been getting the information from them. And then what happens is when you get a report

254like the TAPER report or you get these benchmarks, you take it to them. You go to the PTA groups. You go visit with student groups. You could just put it on your website, right? You could lean on them to do it, and they're going to do it. But again, that's a big role that boards tend to leave on the table, not because you don't want to, but usually because most boards don't know. And that's because of the lack of professional development that people around the country don't get to experience. But you in Texas have opportunities in front of you. The data, the benchmarks, that's your halftime score. You got good news that if you play a football game, at halftime, you want to know are we winning or losing? Because if we're losing, then what's

255the plan, leadership team? And I got to give your leadership team a lot of kudos, a lot of credit. And the way that, I got to add this one too, the way you did not beat up on your leadership team is super commendable. Unfortunately, there are a lot of boards around the country that mistreat their staff. And guess what happens? We call that parallel processing. It can have very negative effects on an entire culture. But the way that you responded, and another one, Mr. Villegas, the way you said, I understand the data for you to be vulnerable and say that out loud in a public space, you're modeling for the rest of your organization that it's okay to say I don't know something. And yet today I understood data points. You put the lines. My

256goodness, when I saw all those circles on your data. Another opportunity board, you have the opportunity to go out to your community and say, hey, everyone, we're ringing the bell. Look at the great work that's happening here. And I think the final piece that really jumped out at me is that you all keep saying you want to get to that A. What we know in the research is you're the ones that can help lead the way because you're the one creating the culture and the space in this room, in this organization. You support and you collaborate and you're partnering with your superintendent. I heard you say you don't want him to go anywhere for 15 years. You lead that as a board by setting the systems and processes and you create the common language that

257your staff already speaks. They speak that vertical alignment. That's what we could offer you in the framework if that's something that interests you. I am not the kind of coach that likes to check boxes to do it just because it's in the framework. I'm the kind of guy that I went back to school to look at the research and figure out why that exists there because when I sat in a seat just like you, I wish that someone would have taught me as fast as I could have learned to have been a better board member, to have been a better president, to have been a better servant. And the biggest part that I failed, and I say this all over the state and all over the country, is that I did not understand fully my

258role and the power that I had within me to go and bring my people along with me so that I couldn't leave that to assumptions, but that I, as a board member, I could be the genesis and that I could lead a movement to say we're not going to make those mistakes that other people have made around the country. So you have a lot to celebrate. You are in a huge advantage. And I think that just the pieces that I see and I listen to are some gaps that the framework absolutely addresses. But I wouldn't present them to you and I wouldn't force them on you. It would be of saying, hey, did you read the article? Did you watch this other board meeting? Did you notice some characteristics? Little technical things if you're interested

259in shortening your board meetings down all of those things we can work through there are technical solutions The part that historically has upset people about Lone Star governance is that we will address the mindset And the mindset is key meaning that I can give you all the knowledge and skills But if you don't want to embrace a new mindset to be the genesis, to be the change agents, then the knowledge and skills may not stick. That's what I heard from your leadership team. They are internalizing. They are supporting your teachers. Your teachers are doing the same. They are doing it. Imagine if you're a B now, imagine when you model and you show them how you do that as a board, you get to the A. What questions, thoughts, or wonderings do you have? I

260totally threw my speech out. So I wanted to just show you how everything you're doing tonight, you're well on your way. In relation to what he's saying about what the teams were saying, several of them said the teachers, blah, blah, blah, whatever, they bought in. They said it several times, the different groups. They have bought in and look at the results. One of the things I talked to Mr. Castillo, and the reason I brought this Don't Start Governance, because the district is doing so well. It's doing great. And I just wanted to make sure that we stay focused on student achievement. I mean, we're doing great student achievement, which is one of the components. student achievement. We're doing great already. The district is doing great. So I just wanted to just to make sure that

261we embrace this and to just work well as a team and even bring more recognition to the district. And I just wanted to Just propose this because I think that like I said the district is doing well doing great really and I just want to make sure that we stay focused on and the main objective which is student achievement There's there's there's two key words that this framework pushes for its its focus and it's also discipline and So as your leadership teams have demonstrated their discipline and their focus There's nothing but opportunity here for you to do the same. Leadership is hard. It's really hard. And so the other thing that I don't want to shy away from, and I want to tell you honestly, this work requires a lot of integrity. And I, this

262is an I statement, I get a lot further when I do things with integrity. When what I say I'm going to do, I get done. I model for everyone else. When I lack integrity, I also give permission for everyone else around me to lack their integrity. I'm not the kind of check-in-boxes kind of coach. If you really want to roll your sleeves up and do the work, because there's no shortcuts to team building in governance and boards. There's no shortcuts. If that's something that you desire as a team, to collaborate with your superintendent, I'm willing to have the continued conversation. If not, I didn't want to come here and sell anything to you. I want to let you know that... I truly believe in this work to the point that, you know, I got caught

263in an airport last night. I slept at the airport, but I was committed to be here because I gave somebody my word that I would be here. It's something that I didn't always have in me, but this framework has stirred my soul in a good way that the evidence comes out that when I do things with integrity. wonderful things tend to happen. So I didn't want to shy away from that. I want to let you know up front. Thank you. What I want out of this, if we all agree to go through with it, is to continue building a culture of teamwork and collaboration. And I heard those two words from you. And if this is going to help us do that, then I really would like to be part of something like this that

264is going to really put things into perspective. And I'm sure it's not going to be easy because we have to have an open mind and be able to really be present and want to do it. So thank you. And I don't know how the others feel. We just need to know the logistics, I guess, the times and date. And then the cost, I don't know if this will entail some cost, I'm sure. Yes, it's in your proposal They got right I shared with the superintendent. Yeah, yeah, I can share it with them. I was in a shared with them in awesome I'm familiar with government governor Cinto and I think in reading some of what you've said if you can see where in some areas not at PSJA Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't In

265this way of thinking, initially it's a team of eight going through the vision and going through the metrics that we're going to establish and all that. At some point in time, are we going to be allowed to revisit in additional training by bringing in some other staff outside of the team of eight? or is it just exclusive to the team of eight? Oh, I love that you asked that question because I got so excited of the idea of even being able to bring it. You've got great experts in the room. I was referring to our staff. Yeah, no, absolutely. They are instrumental. If anything, I really would highly recommend that they join us in the two-day training so that they can speak the same language. It is now, it's so much has evolved since this

266first got rolled out in 2017. We now train campus leaders, instructional leaders on the mindset that ABCs of governance is what I call inputs, outputs, and outcomes. You may recall that. We connect all dots for the entire system. But again, they already speak the language. It's the mindset piece that is the game changer because of the opportunity to be vulnerable and honest with one another about what am I willing to do? What am I willing to do is going to be the main question. What am I willing to do to do right by children? And one of the things that I've been quoted saying around the country is if there ever comes a day that I love PSJA kids more than you as a coach, the time has come for us to end our relationship.

267And that's not something I anticipated because of what I just witnessed here. We're here at 1040, and I would dare say that over 50% of your time tonight was spent on student achievement, and you celebrated it. So they are instrumental, and that was not an initial piece in the beginning, but they will absolutely be a key component. Well, I just want to... Agree with you in what I do have a little bit of time right mr. Castillo Yes, you're at 59 seconds. I do Really agree with you and being in some of these sessions that it's an It's an environment where we speak freely on what we feel needs to be incorporated into the district to meet the standards, to set the levels of achievement that we want, and also engaging with our staff. I

268use it to learn from our staff. I never have professed that I'm an educator. I taught early in my career. But there are educators here that have some very good questions. I learned at these trainings, so I'm looking forward to it. Any other comments, questions? Yes, Mr. President, I have a question. I believe we've met one time before I think when we first started and I was very interested in the Lone Star governance and kind of been waiting to see when it was going to come around. However, my question is adopting it at this time with the fact that we've had so many updated policies that have in fact will impact our board operating policies. So therefore, Mr. President, it's... you know, if we adopt it now prior to the information that Dr. Elias is

269going to share with us in executive session, why are we being asked to vote now? as opposed to listening to the costs and to, you know, all the information that comes along with it. Because I'd like to know how is it going to affect accountability benchmarks? How is it going to alter our training? How is it going to be enforced? How is it going to affect the individual trustee compliance with expectations? And is it going to impact our student outcome goals, board goals? you know and well this adoption of having impact on the superintendent's evaluation um that what there's one that we're going to work on uh tonight is it going to have that impact or is this going to be uh in place starting tomorrow in effect starting tomorrow you know so that's and

270i just feel like The sequence of this is just not right for me as far as I would have liked to have heard what Dr. Elias has to say about this prior to voting on it. Well, I think the main... piece of information that Dr. Elias was going to share with the board in closed session was the cost, but I think you can answer those questions and then answer the questions of Trustee Kitania as well with respect to the other ones as well, how it affects the... Yeah, so the price isn't all-encompassing for one year and with the option for you to renew and it's $30,000 because that includes everything, not only in Lone Star Governance, but that also includes Team of Eight and the two-day workshop. The two-day workshop by itself is $5,000. by

271standard by TEA. And so what we put together is just one price package that we don't get billed big chunks and big chunks. And then the hours, like one of the main things that I do in the beginning is I code your board meetings. And then I would eventually teach you how to code your board meetings. I think you ask very excellent questions because there never seems to be a right time to start doing Lone Star governance. We've sometimes started in the summer. We've sometimes started around this time because right now it's budget season. And so questions that I would show you and teach you as we go through the journey is you might want to be asking, how is this budget prioritizing our board goals? How is that coming about? And I'm certain your

272team will be able to do that. Topics like what you discussed earlier tonight about attendance, that's not a student outcome goal. That is, though, what we call a guardrail, and it seems to be a very important one for you, and rightfully so because look at the results that you're getting. The thing when you do Lone Star Governance is you've got to get off the runway whenever that time is appropriate for you and you decide what that is. When you do get these priorities because you do have some student outcome goals, we don't need to change those up. We keep rocking and rolling with those. So there's things that you've already done as a team that you already have that will save time there, but it will give you more time to, for example, tonight when

273you got all that data, there are questions that I'm going to teach you how to do. There are technical, tactical, and strategic. But all of those things don't happen. without us having the two-day training and getting the common language established. And then the last one I'll share with you is the policies. That is the most important one. As you know, one of your biggest roles as board members is to be tackling these policies. What I would ask is, do you believe in your foundation of your goals? And have you established non-negotiables according to the research? What are the things that you don't want to negotiate in pursuit of your student outcome goals? i.e. like attendance. Once you have those two things distinguished, put in writing, you have them printed out in your boardroom so that

274everyone knows what the main thing is, then you can really go tackle your policies in a whole different way. We call that a policy diet at the national level. It means that you extract like you are. It looks like you're extracting operational things in there, and you're adding things that align to your values of your school system. What helps it is the goals and the guardrails. Once you have those, your policy diet gets way easier, theoretically, right? Because you're still going to debate them. But if you don't have those, and we have some policy diets that we can share with you, also have plenty of video and evidence of where this is working and thriving. And superintendents, it's a very clear and easy conversation, especially when you see data like that. When you evaluate a

275superintendent just on the goals and the guardrails, there's no politicking, or should I say politricking. It's just the facts. And you remove the adult behaviors and the adult agendas when you stay focused on students. So I hope that answers your questions. Yes, thank you. Yes, ma'am. I raise my hand. Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. Hi, Sinto. Good evening. We have met in the past. I've been on the board five years, so we met in several other meetings and all that. But anyways, I am not very... keen or happy with Lone Star governance because we already had it here in our district. I want to say three years ago, it was a different composition of school board. And not to mention that we have an election coming up in November. So by August, we should know who's

276running, who's not, who's out. So I agree with Ms. Quintanilla. I don't know why this is a time to come in. And then $30,000 is a lot. I also don't know if the budget permits that amount. But I was very disappointed with Lone Star governance in the sense that... That team of eight, it's only team of eight majority. Whatever the majority, everyone else, please, you know, stand back and just agree with the rest. And it punished individuality. It punished dissenting voices. And as you can see, I'm not even there. So I don't even understand how a team of eight without me would look like. And then given that we have a bunch of grievances tonight. um i i just don't see how we could do a team of eight if it's only a team of

277five does he still have time uh no but he didn't yield i'm glad to make a motion no time he healed the floor no no we're we we got it we got a trustee so cinco i don't know if you want to do your thing or no i don't know mr president mr casino I already spoke about this, so I'm ready to make a motion. Is that okay? Yeah, you can make a motion if you'd like. Mr. President, I concur with your wanting to bring Lone Star governance to the district. If there's discussion already had and action to be taken, I'd like to make a motion that we adopt the Lone Star governance. I have a motion for approval for adopting the Lone Star governance. Can I have a second? I'll second. Second by Ms.

278Serna. All those for the motion, signify by raising your right hand. All those against? Aye. Okay, so motion passes. And that throws us into executive session. We got to take on that policy now. Oh, I'm sorry, go back to the, yeah, you're right. Okay, discussion and possible action regarding school board policy, board members, training and orientation. Dr. Litz? Yes. So we're seeking a motion on that. Okay. So I need a motion for approval. Move by. Mr. Villegas, second by Ms. Quintanilla. No, I'm sorry. I still have a question. Now that we have heard the presentation and we have approved it, how are we going to address the requirement of all seven trustees to attend the trainings and whatever is required that comes with the team of eight? I think we're going to have to have

279a real serious discussion about that, and I think we're going to have to do that. I think the perfect place to do that is when we start doing the mindset discussions and the trainings with Dr. Sink over here. But I do understand your question, and I do understand the concern, and I think we really just need to dive into it once we get into the trainings. There was a motion on the motion by Mr. Villegas, second by Ms. Serna. All those for the motion, second by raising right hand. Ms. Gutierrez? I haven't voted. You said all those for. We're calling for a vote, sir. Right. And so you're voting yes, I'm going to vote no. So I'm waiting for you guys to finish so I can vote. A motion passes with one no. Okay. Okay,

280so now we can go to executive session. Yes, correct. Government Code 551.071 through 551.084. If during the course of the meeting discussion of any items on the agenda should be held in a closed meeting, the board will conduct a closed meeting in accordance with the Texas Open Meeting Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551, Subchapters D and E, for Texas Government Code Session 418.183F. Before any closed meeting is convened, the presiding officer will publicly identify the section or sections of the act authorizing the closed meeting. In all final votes, actions, or decisions will be taken in an open meeting and see the PSA ISD report policy be seen. And we're going to executive at 1051. Okay, we're back from executive session at 1238 AM. Yes, Mr. President, I'm going to refer to council. You don't have

281items A or B, doctor? No. Okay. With respect to item C, discussion of possible action regarding the level three grievance of MF pursuant to PSJA board policy, DGB local, it's the advice of council that the board affirmatively state that no retaliation will be done against this employee for filing the grievance. Is this for? MF. We're taking them individually. So moved. Motion by men baron which one is that one second? I have a motion by the middle. I need a second. I can mr. Viegas follows for the motion six five berries right hand. Okay against nine When against yes abstain abstain, okay Okay, moving on to the next one. Item D, Mr. Board President, discussion of possible action regarding level three grievance of MV pursuant to PSJA school board policy DGBA local. It's the advice of

282council that the board grant the specific remedy requested with respect to non-retaliation against the employee for filing a grievance. So moved. Moved by Ms. Serna. Second. Second by Ms. Castillo. All those for the motion, 65 by raising right hand. All those against? Aye. I'm abstaining. Abstain. Okay. Do you have a abstain? I'm abstain. And Mrs. Quintanilla, abstain. Okay. Next item. Yes, sir. Discussion and possible action regarding the level three grievance of VV pursuant to PSJISD board policy DGB local. It's the advice of council that the board grant the specific remedy requested specifically to non-retaliation of the employee. I move. Motion by Ms. Castillo to approve. Second. Second by Ms. Barron. All those for the motion, signify by raising right hand. All those against? I have abstentions. Abstain. Okay, I have Ms. Gutierrez abstain, Ms. Quintanilla

283abstain, and Mr. Villegas abstain. Okay, the next item mr. Board president discussion of possible action Regarding the level 3 grievance of vs pursuant to PSJA school board policy DGB local the advice of counsel that the board Affirmatively state that the employee will not be retaliated against for filing any grievance a motion for approval Which one was it? Bs yes letter F Have a motion for approval a move by his baron second Second by miss Elena all for the motion 65 by raising right hand. Well, it's against my abstention No, yes, yes, oh Yes, oh I'm I'm a yes or not. Yes. Okay. I'm having abstention I have abstention. Mrs. Quintanilla. The next item, Mr. Board President, discussion of possible action regarding the Level 3 grievance of SS pursuant to PSJSD Board Policy, DGBA Local. It's

284the advice of counsel that the Board affirmatively state that the employee will not be retaliated against. Do we have a motion for approval? I move to approve. Second. Moved by Ms. Castillo for approval. Second by Mr. Villegas. All those for their motions, signify by raising your right hand. Aye. All those against? Abstention. Okay. One against. Abstention. Abstain. Abstain. One abstention and two abstentions. Abstain Ms. Serna and abstention from Ms. Quintanilla. Okay. I think that's it. Right? Mr. President, with your permission, I'd like to offer a brief personal statement regarding the grievance items. Okay. Go ahead. To the grievance, I want to acknowledge that it takes time, courage, time and courage to bring concerns forward, especially in a public setting. Speaking only for myself, I'm sorry for the strain, stress, and uncertainty that this process can

285create. Because these matters involve due process, I can't go into specific details. What I can commit to is following procedures and board policies so we can move forward constructively, focus on students, staff, family, and PSJA community. Thank you. Mr. President. Yes. With your permission also. Yes. And I'd like to make a brief personal statement regarding the grievances heard tonight. to the individuals who filed grievances on tonight's agenda. Thank you for being there and for using the process available to you. Speaking only for myself, I'm sorry for the stress, the distraction, and the uncertainty this situation may have caused you and anyone affected. Out of respect for the process, I won't discuss details, but however, I will do my part to ensure we handle these items judiciously and fairly going forward. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank

286you, sir. I'm moving on to the next item. Mr. President, Mr. President, I have a statement as well. Yes, because of the nature of these grievances, I cannot go into details, but I do want to apologize to the community and to the... the people, the staff that have filed grievances in the past and we have not honored them. I want to apologize to the community who has to witness this political witch hunt and I apologize to all those that are waiting for their grievances, their serious grievances to be heard. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez. If that is the case, can I also say a statement? Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. Ms. Quintanilla. Thank you. Again, obviously we cannot go into detail because we serve as a board and we need to follow rules and procedures

287just like everybody else. And I also want to say that to all our communities, community members, to all their employees, that I hope that the system, especially those items that we approved tonight. are applied fairly and to all of the grievance that have something on file and that we may have not addressed at this time. Thank you. Thank you. Next item. Yes, Mr. President, the next item is discussion and action to update board operating procedures. Motion to table. I have a motion to table. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second. All those for the motion to table signify by raising your right hand. Aye. We got two. All right. Motion dies. Mr. President. Go ahead. I'd like to make a motion to approve. Okay. I have a motion for approval by Mr.

288Villegas. I second the motion. I have a second motion. I have a second by Mrs. Castillo. And all those for the motion, signify by raising up your right hand. Motion carries. uh mr president uh yeah may i uh make uh a comment yes uh give me it's on the one that we just voted i kept uh asking to to say something but um but i wasn't able to get through um So what I want to say is that we are elected officials, not employees. Our speech on matters of public concern is protected by the First Amendment. When a governing body disciplines, restricts, or chills that speech, it is not merely a policy issue. It is a constitutional one. This item we just passed invites arbitrary enforcement. It allows some viewpoints to pass without consequence while

289others are punished. That is the definition of viewpoint discrimination. It is constitutionally impermissible. The message to trustees is clear. Speak freely only if your speech is approved. That is censorship, plain and simple. I have already experienced the consequences of this approach. Censure was used as a punitive tool to silence dissent rather than to address misconduct. Expanding or formalizing that framework only deepens the constitutional risk and exposes this district to legal challenge. My social media reflects my personal views and opinions only. It does not represent official action, policy, or the position of the school board or the district. I will continue to speak out on the board and outside of it when I see something I believe is wrong or when I have questions and concerns. Because transparency and accountability are not optional for elected officials.

290There are already mechanisms in place to address real misconduct. Ethics laws, open meetings requirement. It froze. It froze. into control of speech. Those who are afraid that I will bring up things from the past on my campaign page, forget our constituents, remember everything. Let me also note for the record that I prevailed in court and was granted an injunction. For that reason, I did not support this item. I formally requested that this matter be reviewed. I'm sorry, Ms. Guerra, do you run out of time already? Is that the two minutes? Yes. Okay, the rest will be on my Facebook page. Mr. President. Move on to the next item. Yes, I'd like to make a comment regarding this item. And I understand the value of and the ability to engage in free speech. It is our

291constitutional right to do so, and I think we should be allowed to continue to do so. This in no way reflects an oppression of free speech, rather that it makes sure that we are held liable for any defamatory. libelous and scandalous comments made on a platform, whether we think it's personal or not, but it's still directed at either an employee, the district, or another board member, it has to have consequences, and I think that's what we have agreed on tonight. Thank you. Okay. Mr. President, if I can have my two minutes. Yes, I voted against the board operating procedures because it does contain language that does prohibit some of our freedom of speech and as all my Followers on social media and are aware that I use that platform to keep you informed of what's

292going on Anything that is cut, you know construed to be defamatory or even libelous is goes to in a civil or criminal court It is not up to the board It's not up to this board to decide its merits. So for that reason, as soon as this board operating procedures gets approved, already got approved, but it will be online. I ask all community members to take a look at it and be very familiar. I'm sorry, Ms. Semner, did you want to say something? No. It hurts. Thank you. Oh, okay. Sorry for that. for you all to be able to look at that board operating procedures and you know feel free to reach out with any questions. Thank you. All right, can we move on to the next item? Yes, Mr. Board President, moving on to

293Superintendent of Schools presentation and discussion for approval of Superintendent's evaluation and extension of contract. The evaluation was conducted and the results were presented to you in closed session. My advice is that you approve that evaluation as presented. The emotion for approval do we need to include in that motion the extended year? No, I will announce that right now I'm sorry. I didn't hear so I will announce it right now. I don't have a motion by miss Barron. Have a second Second second by mr. Na all those for the motion signify by raising up your right hand Well, it's against same sign when? Yes, it didn't turn on on time I was for Number four. Okay. Thank you. So we have a 6-1. Motion passes. Next item. Hold on, Mr. Board President. Just as a quick

294announcement, by operation of the evaluation and contract, Dr. Elias' contract is automatically extended from June 30, 2028 to June 30, 2029. So congratulations, Dr. Elias. Congratulations. Moving on to the next item. Yes, Mr. President, it's discussion and action to authorize solicitations of bids for sale of district-owned land. I make a motion to authorize Dr. Elias to do so. Motion by Mr. Villegas. I second the motion. Second by Ms. Castillo. All those for the motion. Six and five by raising right hand. All those against, same sign. Four. Yes. So motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Yes, mr. President this next item Council we missed it since I came outside and Action to approve engagement letter with Thompson Horton. We were gonna discuss it in executive I can just give a quick rundown if that's okay. So Dr.

295Elias and me had a discussion with respect to getting a second law firm for specific projects with respect. any issues potentially with the board because in my position i serve as board counsel it might it may be advantageous and i know all of you guys personally it may be advantageous to have somebody a third a third party with no ties to anybody to give advice on some of those items and so that's why this item is up here for discussion and potential action the engagement letter was shared with you all prior last week for your review. And so it's up for consideration, Mr. Board President. Comments? Being that we've used this law firm before, haven't we, Mr. Castillo? Yes, sir. Okay. And they're reputable based on your recommendation? Yes, they're a reputable law firm. And

296Dr. Elias, you're satisfied with the performance that they've brought to the district before? I was not. Or it was before your time. Yeah, it was before my time, but they will be only in a case-by-case need, and they would be like a retaining. They'll be retained based on your assessment of anything necessary for the district, for legal work as concerned, and you'll bring that to us. I'll make a recommendation to approve, Mr. President. We're not done. I haven't made a motion yet. Hold on. He made a motion. No? Yeah, but I haven't acknowledged. Yes. On this Thompson Horton, and I understand that they have worked in the district before, but I also understand that they were, for whatever reason, let go. What specific projects are you addressing, Ben, that you as an education... lawyer or

297representing a firm cannot handle? Or is this like you're saying because you are being asked to do some things that may not be, you know, you know. Maybe they're not up to what they they want you to do what the majority of the board wants you to do as in in certain cases like I'm saying when I know I requested data from the superintendent the last time that a censure was on the agenda and I have yet to receive a response on why is that so that just goes to tell me that that is something that the board is probably thinking about is that what you're referring to with that the you are We're seeking additional counsel so they can do certain things that maybe you're not, they feel that you're not competent to do?

298No, that wasn't what I was referencing. I was referencing more situations where potentially there's board matters and because of my relationship with all seven of you, it might be advantageous to the district that you get a third party with no ties to anybody to give. legal advice that may not be and I'm not saying my legal advice is affected I've always given straight-out legal advice but or the perception that I'm picking a side Okay. Are these local? Is that local firm? What other districts are they representing? They're out of Houston. They're a local district. They represent La Jolla ISD statewide. They represent districts like Houston, Dallas, Austin, districts all over the state. Okay. So La Jolla, a district that's been taken over by a conservatorship. Okay. It is just my opinion that there is a

299specific purpose and I just want the community to know that there's a specific purpose for the reason that they're deciding to hire an additional law firm. Thank you. Okay, I had a motion by Mr. Villegas. Mr. President. Okay, go ahead. Mr. President, I... Yes. So... This company came from Houston with the previous administration. When I became president back in 2023, we ended our, I guess, arrangement, agreement, contract, whatever it was with them. They did some work for the previous administration. And as you may remember, Dr. Elias, when we did the forensic audit, there were some concerns. So I'm not comfortable with this company. But having said that, Ben or Dr. Lee asked, what was the bidding process or why did we choose this company specifically? Because I remember one of the concerns was the entanglements

300or potential possible entanglements with some board members and with some, with the previous superintendent, prior relationships. What was the bidding process on this or how did we come about bringing a company that was already let go? So as far as Thompson Horton is concerned, the procurement requirement for attorneys, there's not a formal procurement process that is required because it is a professional service. With respect to Thompson Horton in general, they're a reputable law firm. And so that's kind of how that name came up. Me personally. That's the only company or the only attorneys, education attorneys that were out there, the ones that we let go in 2023. You mean to tell me that was the only company that was available? No, but as far as these are concerned, they have a lot of experience dealing

301with school boards. And so as far as I'm concerned, I have no concerns with the board engaging them or any concerns about their trustworthiness or if they will give bad advice. But at the end of the day, it's up to the board. Is there dissatisfaction with your work from, you know, board, superintendent, administration, some type of dissatisfaction to bring in another company? Not that I'm aware of. Okay. I call for the question, Mr. President. Okay, we have a motion by Mr. Villegas. Can I have a second by Ms. Serna? All those for the motion, six and five are raising up your right hand. All those against, same sign. Aye. Thank you. Okay, motion passes. Next item, litigation. Want me to do that one too? Yes. The next item is litigation and its consideration and possible

302action regarding possible resolution of case number C2823-19-J1, styled. Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland et al. versus PSJA ISD and it's a Izaguirre Middle School pending in the 430th District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas. Mr. President. Motion to approve. Motion by Ms. Gutierrez, second by Ms. Barron. All those for the motion signify by raising up your right hand. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. All right, move for adjournment. Move for adjournment. Move by Ms. Quintanilla, second by Ms. Castillo. All those for adjournment. Everybody raise up your hand. Thank you very much. Good morning.