001Good evening. It is 6.03. I call this meeting of the Sherryland Independent School District to order. Let the record show that a quorum of board members is present, that this meeting has been duly called, and that the notice of this meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. Establishing a quorum today is Julio Cerda, David Key, Hector Rivera, Andrew Riddle, Megan Sullivan, Dr. Rivera, and myself, Maritza Venezia. We are now going to move on to Item 3 and 4, which will stay standing for the Pledge of Allegiance after the invocation led by Mr. David Key. Our Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Sherry North Junior High Student Council Vice President Emma Guevara and Member Sofia Castillo. Good evening, everybody. I want to start this invocation
002actually with a moment of silence. This moment of silence and recognition of lives lost and those that grieve lives lost. Students, former students of Sherryland ISD, both recent and past, we pray for them, pray for their families, but we recognize a moment of silence now. Heavenly Father, we come together for the good of the children in our schools. Give us your wisdom as we make decisions that will affect them today and in the years to come. Help us to work well together, recognizing that each of us are students. Parents, educators, and community members are here because we love children and we want what is best for them. We ask for your blessing and your guidance. In your name we pray. Amen. Good evening, Superintendent Dr. Howard, Madam President Venezia, and esteemed members of the Sherryland
003ISD School Board. It is a privilege to be here before you at this month's board meeting. My name is Victoria Parra, and I am honored to serve as a representative of the Student Council at Sherryland North Junior High. Good evening, my name is Emma Guevara, and I also proudly serve Sherryland North Junior High as Student Council's Vice President. I am honored to stand alongside Victoria tonight in welcoming you. On behalf of the entire Student Board of Sherryland North Junior High, we extend our sincerest gratitude and appreciation for your unwavering support of our students, staff, and administration as we continue the tradition of excellence at Sherryland North Junior High. At this time, we respectfully ask you to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance to be followed by the Texas Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the
004flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Now the Texas Flag. Honor the Texas Flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible. You may now begin your presentation. be seated we are now going to move on to item number five Nancy with Sheridan students spotlight good evening madam president Vanessa superintendent dr. Howard esteemed Board of Trustees and distinguished guests tonight we proudly recognize two outstanding students who exemplify leadership positivity and a commitment to Sheridan ISD excellence first up congratulations to mr. Rio Alvarez a remarkable sixth grader from Wernicke Elementary his dedication and inspiring spirit shine both in and outside of the classroom we commend Rio for his achievements and thank principal
005Lila Culberson and the Wernicke Elementary team for fostering students success roll the tape the Sheridan ISD student spotlight celebrates students who exemplify leadership service and the highest standards of moral character hi I'm Rio Alvarez a sixth grader at Dona Wernicke Elementary I like to stay active and take on leadership roles and learn new skills whereas on the field a classroom or in the livestock showroom I am the vice president of the student council I really enjoy working with my classmates to help make our school even better I also played the oboe in a school band and it's fun to express myself through music and be able to play something that sounds amazing when we all play together I also complete in livestock show with my lamb and heifer and I also participate in horticulture and
006photography Thank you Sheridan ISD I'm proud to represent Dona Wernicke Elementary and my community Accomplished. It's time we're going to invite Rio and his family, teachers and principal to join our team of eight on stage for this very well deserved recognition team of eight I'm gonna call you up and down a few times this this evening but for now we're gonna come up then we're gonna take a seat and then we'll finish off commendations all right Rio come this way! way and as you can see Rio is very brave. We want to thank Rio's family for making it out this evening as well as his team of educators and principal for being present for this recognition. Rio we are so proud of you and let's make let's make sure that we pose for tonight's photographs
007and principal is gonna help him hold that up. There we go. All right big smiles everyone back straight. Big smiles. Big show on ISD. Round of applause to Rio. All right Rio thank you so much for making it out this evening and thank you for sharing a little bit of your world with us. Up next we would like to give a big Sherrilyn ISD congratulations to Mr. Eli Seringin, a remarkable third grader for Martinez elementary. Eli's commitment and uplift . presence make a remarkable impact both inside and outside of the classroom. We celebrate his accomplishments and also express our gratitude to Principal Deanna Ramontes and the entire Martinez Elementary team for their continued dedication. So roll the tape. The Sherryland ISD Student Spotlight celebrates students who exemplify leadership, service, and the highest standards of moral
008character. Hi, I'm Eli Swearington, a third grader at Martinez Elementary. I love to learn, try new things, and stay active. I'm part of the Robotics and Engineering Club and I also compete in UIL Spelling and Math. And I even got to be in the Spelling Bee. I like challenges that help me grow. I also love reading. I've read over one million words this school year and earned more than 250 AR points. Outside of school, I stay busy with music and sports. I play the piano and I'm on teams for flag football, basketball, baseball, and swimming. I'm proud to be a part of Martinez Elementary and Sherryland ISD. I'll keep learning, helping, and doing my best every day. Congratulations, Eli! Thank you, Sherryland ISD. I'm proud to represent Martinez Elementary and my community. And outside of
009school, you make us all proud. All right, congratulations to Mr. Eli. Eli, I'm sure that you and I can probably switch roles in a very near future. And Eli, we're going to invite you, your family, your principal, and your school to join us. You're welcome. And if you're available to join us on stage to take a picture with our team of eight this evening. Let's give him another round of applause, Sherryland family. Great smiles, everyone. And just a reminder, all the pictures that are taken throughout the evening today will be posted on all of our social media channels. One last round of applause for Eli. Team of eight, thank you for allowing the space and your support in celebrating our in our student achievements and fostering success, I am gonna ask you to please stay
010up front. We're going to be recognizing a lot of special individuals this evening, not morning anymore. But before we get started, let's just take a moment to recognize some very special individuals. And if you are a parent or a guardian of a student, can I please have you stand? Can you please stand if you're a parent or a guardian supporting your kiddo today? Please stand. Woo-hoo! Thank you so much for everything that you do. Thank you for believing in your kiddos, for believing in Sherrilyn ISD and bringing them to us every single day. So without further ado, we are going to move on to commendations. I'm going to ask everyone to please sit back, relax, and enjoy tonight's program. We have 14 commendations with Teachers of the Year and Staff of the Year. So we're
011going to get started with our commendations. Teachers of the Year, we can . There's no place like Sherrilyn ISD. Let's hear from them directly. Every great school begins with great teachers. And at Sherrilyn ISD, our educators do more than teach. They lead, they inspire, and they create a home for learning. Honoring our 2025 Teachers of the Year. Because here at Sherrilyn ISD, there's no place like home. These educators are the best. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love teaching at Sherrilyn ISD, because we believe in excellence in everything we do. We celebrate traditions, but we also create new ones together. I've taught at other places, but nowhere feels quite like Sherrilyn ISD. There is no place like Sherrilyn, because here every student is family. Being a teacher here means being part of something bigger
012than yourself. from the Sherryland community, parents and staff makes this place feel like home. Our students are our why and Sherryland ISD gives us a platform to help them shine. I'm proud to be part of a district where teachers are valued and students are empowered. Every morning I walk into my classroom knowing I get to make a difference. The connections I build with my students go beyond the classroom. Here we don't just educate, we inspire the future. There's no place like Sherryland because of the people who make it feel like home. There's a special kind of magic at Sherryland ISD, one that takes learning into a lifelong journey. Sherryland ISD is where passion meets purpose. These educators don't just teach lessons, they shape future leaders and future generations. Congratulations to our Sherryland ISD Truths of
013the Year. The hope of our Sherryland ISD family. Right, we're getting to a really exciting part. We're going to be a part of the Sherryland ISD. We're going to ask our teachers of the year, when we call your name, to please join us on stage so you can join our team of eight to take some pictures and so we can celebrate you. But before we begin with that, we're going to give you a little bit of background on our teacher of the year process. So the process begins at the campus level and after that they go through a very rigorous interview process with a committee that evaluates what they do at their campus, how they serve students. And then they select a secondary and an elementary teacher of the year. From there they advance to
014the region one, region level, and then they have the opportunity to go to the state level and to the national level. Now this would not be possible without the help, the support, the time of our Sherryland ISD Education Foundation who is here present to assist today with providing the checks and the yard signs, the beautiful yard signs that they're going to receive. So if I can please have them stand and be acknowledged as well. Thank you. Thank you so much to our Sherryland Education Foundation. After we finish a portion of this presentation, we are going to have a representative that is going to join us to give us some insight as to what they do, how they do what they do, why they do it, and their passion for it. So without further ado, we're
015going to get started with our presentation. First up we have Eliud Hernandez from Sherryland High School. Please join us. Get your yard sign and your check and then we'll get started. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And now please join us on stage. Next up, Alexis Pena, Sherryland Pioneer High School. Up next, Isaac G. Petersak, Sherryland Advanced Academic Academy. Next, Jesus Rodriguez, Sherryland Alternative Education Center. Up next, Mr. Marques Buehle, B.L. Gray Junior High. And last but not least, from a secondary teachers, Maria P. Padilla, Sherryland North Junior High. We're going to do a pause right here so we can take a picture with our students. Hi, everyone. Hi, I'm Maria P. Padilla, Sherryland North Junior High. with our secondary teachers of the year and then I'm going to ask you to please
016remain on stage for elementary teachers of the year to join you all right big souls with that sign held proud looking right there in the middle just of the year please remain on stage for our set for our elementary teachers of the year to join you so please remain on stage all right we're gonna get started with our elementary teachers of the year first up is he's led me to be medrano Lloyd and dolly Benson elementary next janita Rodriguez Ruben enojosa elementary next Diana d García Chapa romulo d Martinez elementary Jacqueline Bermudez harry shimatsu elementary none T pettis or libero garza senior elementary eliza sanchez jesse genes Jensen Elementary. Alyssa Lee Garza, John H. Sherry Elementary. Gina Valdez, Donna Warnecke Elementary. Our Elementary Teachers of the Year, we're gonna have them pose for a picture
017with our team of eight and then we're gonna ask our Secondary Teachers of the Year to please join them for one big group picture. Maria Farias. Big smiles everyone looking at the center. All right now we're gonna have our Secondary Teachers of the Year join them so we can have one big Sherry Latte ISD Teacher of the Year photo and at this time I'm gonna ask our Education Foundation members to please join our Teachers of the Years on stage to honor them as well. Once again thank you so much to our Sherry Latte ISD Education Foundation for everything that they do for their time, their commitment, their labor of love in recognizing different programs including our Teacher of the Year program for Sherry Latte ISD. Thank you Sherry Latte Education Foundation. Foundation. Now I'm going
018to ask everyone to please do a drum roll on your lap please and now we are going to announce our district secondary and elementary teachers of the year. All right first up our secondary district teacher of the year is none other than Isaac G Petersack from SA3. Congratulations Mr. Petersack if we can have you come to the front please. Our teachers of the year if we can have you step a little bit to the side. On behalf of the district we also have a check that we're going to be awarding you. Elementary teacher of the year is none other than Jacqueline Bermudez. Please come on up. Ms. Jacqueline Bermudez and Mr. Petersack are not just receiving a check from the Education Foundation they are also receiving a monetary check from Sherryland ISD. Round of applause
019for Ms. Sherryland. To all of our teachers of the year and then our district elementary and secondary teachers of the year. Let's hear it once again please. Our PR team is asking for one last picture with our district teachers of the years in the center and then everybody else around. We want to make sure that we get all the photographs that we can so we can make sure that we share this with media and press and give you the recognition that you deserve. Perfect. One last round of applause. Before we now exit the stage before we get started with the support staff of the year presentation for this evening of first for Sherryland ISD I am gonna give an opportunity for Ms. Lisa Salinas on behalf of the Sherryland Education Foundation to give us a
020few words of wisdom and a few words from her heart as to their impact with these programs. Well I don't know if I have words of wisdom but thank you Nancy. Thank you for having us here today on behalf of the Education Foundation everything that y'all have done for us. Thank you. Thank you for all the our leaders that have supported us and as we see it and the fact the work that they all do and bring for us daily just you show it in our kids you see it in our staff you see it just the love when you walk in here so thank you. In 2018 the Education Foundation changed the way that we handled the Teacher of the Year. We took some responsibilities away and gave it to the people that knew
021more and since then we've had two teachers go on to win we have now decided to start awarding support staff because our support staff They're the backbone of our campuses. They're the bus drivers. They're the janitors. They're the food servers You know, they're the front desk that deal with all the parents So today I am very proud of the Education Foundation and our school board members for allowing us to do Support staff so we're gonna go ahead and proceed with our support staff recognition All right, we do have some Individuals that may not be present this evening Nevertheless, we still want to give them the space and recognize them The majority of them will be making it out as I call your name Please join us on stage as well get your yard sign so
022we can give you the recognition that you deserve First up is any that I didn't from Sherrilyn high school Mr. Shawn most from Sherrilyn pioneer high school next Mary Sherrilyn Advanced Academic Academy Blanca cruise from Sherrilyn alternative Education Center Javier arechiga Beale grade junior high Guadalupe Caballero junior Sherrilyn North junior high One me Ty that can pull Lloyd and Dolly Benson Elementary Erica Danielle got a sub Ruben Enojosa Elementary Emma Torres D Martinez Elementary and a nice Harry Shimatsu Elementary Yeah, Gutierrez Olivera Garza senior Elementary new pittance on the white Jesse Jensen Elementary Victoria Rene Valdez Johnny cherry Elementary Pano aka Yoli Donna Warnock a elementary He said I got a child nutrition department David Martinez maintenance and operations knees transportation department Gloria Montoya's service center All right now do we have everybody? We have
023two more that are joining us on stage Okay, we're gonna ask our PR team to please give directions to all of our individuals that are on stage We're gonna do two rows just to ensure that everybody is in the picture a few of you to the front Miss Ellie that you can come to the front There we go Mary all right everybody find a window So if somebody's in front of you make sure that you're in between heads This is going to the news and on social media Ask you to stay put I'm gonna ask you to stay put no Stay put and now with further ado. It is my sincere pleasure to introduce the district support staff of the year Emma Torres Emma if we can have you come to the front Yalpen Trenes
024Emma Emma Torres And if we can have everybody kind of huddle around her Dr. Howard if you can please join her. Yes, and Everybody around her. Oh, can we open up her check dr. Howard? Oh Alright So before I let all of you go, thank you from the bottom of our hearts Our support staff for some of the most important people in our district without them we would not have Just beautiful facilities and classrooms and people who greet us at the doors and people who serve our principals so well. This is a very special group of people. This year we did some things different to honor the vision of our school board to make sure that our employees are valued and recognized for everything they do. Our teachers of the year that just left the
025stage left the stage with a check from our foundation and they amount to $250 a piece. I'm sorry $500 a piece going once going twice. $500 a piece. I'm so honored to be able to say that this year the district also gave a monetary incentive to these folks in the amount of $1,500 $1,500 so they walked away $2,000 to their benefit. Tonight our support staff of the year will be leaving with $1,000 because you are just as important as a teacher in this district. Thank you so much for everything you do. Thank you. Let's pose for another picture with that big old check. And thank you to all of our staff members of the year. We are now going to have our Education Foundation join this group as well so we can get them in
026the picture. We can have some of you on the other side. On the other side. We have some space on the other side. Everybody big smiles to our support staff members of the year for your labor of love and for your love for Sherrilyn ISD. Well that was a great story. Thank you. So I am going to start to our commendations this evening. Now we are going to get started with our student recognitions. Student groups, please make sure that you are ready to go as we call you, please make sure to join us on stage with our board members, so we can recognize you. For those already following our social media channels, please make sure that you are following us on Facebook, Instagram, X, so you can get all pictures of today's evening. Right away.
027Next up, from Harry Shimatsu Elementary, we have the Shimatsu Elementary Texas Youth Creator Awards. On April 3, 2025, the Harry Shimatsu Library participated in the Texas Youth Award competition. We had 10 students participate and two advance to place as state finalists. We have Daniela Ron and Austin Liu. Sponsors, as you come up with your students, please make sure that you join us on stage as well so you can be recognized. Students, congratulations. Next, on March 29, 2025, the Sherry North Junior High TMSCA team participated in the 25 TMSCA state competition in San Antonio, Texas. We had one elementary student from John H. Sherry Elementary participate with our team. And sorry, that was Sherry Elementary, not Sherry North Junior High. Let's hear it for these students. Right in the center. Next up, Sherry North Junior High.
028On February 7, 2025, the Sherry North Junior High Math Counts team participated in the 2025 RGV Regional Competition. We had four students participate and four advance to the state math counts competition on March 8, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. Let's hear it for these students. All right, some of these students are going to be recognized once again. On March 29, 2025, the Sherry North Junior High TMSCA team. Participated in the 2025 TMSCA state competition in San Antonio, Texas. We had 10 students participate and two students placed in the top 20 in the entire state. Let's hear it for these students. All right, big smiles. Let's make sure we have certificates up the correct way. Big, big smiles, everyone. Find a window. Have some parents getting some pictures. Thank you, parents. Now we're going to transition to
029Sherry Land High School. On April 10, 2025, the Sherry North Junior High TMSCA team participated in the 2025 TMSCA state competition in San Antonio, Texas. On April 3, 2025, the 11 students from SHS and SA3 were honored at the Texas Library Association Conference in Dallas, Texas. We had 17 students participate in the Texas Youth Creators Award and 11 were state finalists, including one project winning to the Bob Bennett Best in Show Award. This is the sixth time that the Sherry Land ISD has earned this Best of Show recognition. Sherry Land High School has earned it four times. And they are joining us on stage now. All right. So this one and the next few slides are all the same Texas Youth Creator Awards. You can see their names depicted on the slides. And they're coming
030on stage now. They are joined by their sponsor, Ms. Nicole Cruz. Up next is our AP Spanish Literature and Culture. The 2024-2025 academic year recognition of the AP Scholars Advanced Placement Spanish Literature and Culture for Outstanding Achievement is up next. And you can see the name on the slides. And our students should be joining us. AP students, are you present in the audience? All right. Our students were unable to join us this evening, so we're going to go on. Oh, we do have one. Woo! Let's hear it for our students. Man of the hour. We're going to have him stand right in the center so we can celebrate him and his spears. Congratulations. Up next, Texas University. Texas Best Conjunto State Competition. On April 5th, the SHS Conjunto Grupo Sherry competed at the Texas Best
031Conjunto State Competition, where they earned a Division I Superior rating. Additionally, the following students received an Outstanding Performance Medal. Andres Treviño on bass, Leonel Saldivar on vocals, Hector Alslatley on drums, Gael Cavazos on accordion, and Abraham Barrera on bajo set. Next. All right. Big smiles, everyone. Here's the Grupo Sherry. As they exit the stage, we're going to call our Rattler Creative students. On April 2nd through the 5th, 2025, Rattler Creative students participated in the SkillsUSA State Competition. We had 20 students participate. Our Career Pathway team placed third. We also have seven students receive the Superior Award for the Best Conjunto. This is the highest award they can receive in their competition. Let's hear it for Rattler Creative. All right, students. Big, big smiles. Hold those certificates. High and proud. And let's hear it for our
032sponsors as well. We have some proud parents getting some pictures. And from this same team, we have a few students that are going to remain, that are going to stay behind for the next award. On February 27th, 2025, our Rattler Creative students participated at the UIL State Film Festival Competition. We had four students participate and advance to the state finals in Austin. Those are Ana Lucia Garza, Victoria Barrera, John Paul Caldillo, and John Kidd. We're going to have the sponsors stay as well. And if there are any students that were not on stage already for this award, please join them on stage. All right, here we go. Big smiles, everyone. Let's hear it for Rattler Creative. Congratulations. And last but certainly not least is Pioneer High School. They have three recognitions this evening. On December
0332024 through March 2025, the SPHS Mock Trial Team participated in the Dallas Bar Association Regional and State Mock Trial Competition. We had 11 students participate and 11 advance to state. Our students are joining us on stage now, and you can see some of their pictures from competition. Congratulations, students. Let's get that trophy. High and proud. And open up those certificates. Principal moment. Let's give another round of applause to these future attorneys. Up next, on April 4th, 2025, Alisa Cedillo participated at the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in Customer Service Competition. Alisa competed against 20 plus of the best competitors within the state of Texas and was able to capture first place in her respective event. She will now have the opportunity to compete at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference on June 23rd
034through the 27th, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Let's give it up for Alisa Cedillo. Congratulations. And to wrap up this evening, on December 14th, 2024 through February 22nd, 2025, the SPHS Criminal Justice Club participated in the TXPSTA. We had 38 students participate and 24 advance to the state. The Criminal Justice Club has not only competed but has participated with the community in many different ways by providing support to all sports, clubs, organizations, and participating in many events and activities within the school and community. Congratulations to these students. You can see them in action in their pictures. And we are so immensely proud of you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you for your service and for keeping our schools safe. Thank you so much, students. Congratulations. Students, guardians, thank you so much for being here this evening. Thank
035you, sponsors, for doing a great and excellent job. And remember that these pictures can be found on our social media channels later on this evening. Okay. Before we move on to our next item, I just want to congratulate all of our teachers of the year on behalf of our board. Thank you, guys, for not only showing up but for giving us a chance to do this. We appreciate it. Thank you, everyone, for going the extra mile. And to our support staff that's still here. You put the extra and the extra special in all of our campuses, and we appreciate you so much. And last but not least, to the foundation for just working with us and partnering to be able to do this for our employees. So thank you so much. Congratulations, guys. We are
036going to move on to item number 7, which is public comments. I believe we have one public comment. Where is my public comment? You're not there yet. Okay. comment sheet. Okay, public comment, you can come forward. Before we start the public comment, I do have to read something really quickly. So audience participation in a board meeting is limited to the portion of the meeting designated for that purpose. At all other times during a board meeting, the audience shall not enter into discussion or debate on matters being considered by the board unless recognized by the presiding officer. No public comment presentation shall exceed more than five minutes. Any disruptive behavior by any member of the audience or speaker may result in the audience member or speaker's removal from the meeting. Please be mindful of using names
037or personally identifiable information as there is no immunity from defamatory comments while participating in public comment. I also want to let you know, just because I feel like you should know this, we welcome your comments on any item listed on the agenda. Unfortunately, we do not have time for any more questions. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the Q&A box. And unfortunately, we cannot enter into discussion with you after. So I just want to let you know that before we get started. So right before we get started, if you could just state your name and address for the record, and then your five minutes will start. Awesome. Thank you. My name is Daisy Quintanilla. I'm at 2217 East 29th Street, Mission, Texas, 78574. I come on behalf of
038TexPrep as parents and students. We are respectfully writing, we did send an email with the letter and an attachment with the PDF information for you. So we do have that. We are respectfully writing to request of reconsideration and reinstatement of financial assistance for district students as well as school transportation for the UTRGV TexPrep program that occurs during the summer. Sherryland ISD has been funding for the past couple of years, which has been found to be very beneficial. This year, parents were notified that Sherryland would no longer be providing school transportation and would only fund those students that are continuing the program. So we are very grateful to the UTRGV TexPrep program and not any new students. The attached, the PowerPoint attached in your email was provided by Dr. Jesus Gonzalez. He is the director of
039TexPrep, describing the program's TE-accredited curriculum and the benefits of this program to students since 2006. As the mission indicates, it prepares middle and high school students for success in advanced studies, leading to careers in STEM. In addition, the vision indicates that it can only do this with the collaboration of partner school districts. The mission is to follow in line with the vision and statement of Sherryland ISD that proudly upholds Sherryland excellence is our tradition and to inspire, educate and empower all students to reach their full potential and become leaders of the highest moral character. Unfortunately, recent funding cuts suggest that this is being compromised for our students. TexPrep provides the following benefits, exposure to college life, its curriculum is aligned with TEA, Tex, and supports the efforts of Sherryland to meet the star assessment. Provide
040personal development and leadership, communication, exposure to different STEM fields through career awareness. The TexPrep alumni pursue higher education at significantly higher rates than regular high school graduates in the Region 1 area. TexPrep students score higher on placement tests and earn high school credits. TexPrep is an investment in our students. Decreasing funding and school transportation for the program contradicts our mission and sends the message that financial concerns outweigh the development of students' excellence. This is evidenced by the number of students attending. In 2023-2024, we were at 88 students enrolled in the program. We are now at 36. While other districts have already committed to funding a larger proportion of students. It is important to recognize that the program is not just a program that is designed to be a tool for students, but also a tool
041for the students themselves. It is important to recognize that the program is not just a tool for the students themselves, but also a tool for the students themselves. It is important to recognize that high-caliber universities where students thrive, the ones who lead are those who are engaged in extracurricular activities beyond the curriculum, who sought out challenges, competed in academic contests, and aimed higher. These are precisely the kinds of opportunities that will be taken away by removing the support for our students to attend TexPrep. By not providing school transportation, many families may choose to no longer enroll the students since they cannot provide the support they need. This is a challenge that we face. We are not the only ones who are struggling to do this. As we leaning toward retirement, approximately 50% of our staff
042are такого slaves. By no longer providing funding for new students to enroll, many are not signing up due to potentially funding resources. If Sherriishan wants to empower students to be leaders of strong moral character, they must be given the tools, space, and encouragement to grow beyond the minimum. The growth often happens outside the classroom and in the programs at risk. We respectfully urge the Board to reconsider these cuts and improvements needed for all those students, urge the board to reconsider these cuts and realign actions with the stated vision excellence is not achieved through austerity it is achieved through the investment in our students passion drive and potential let us reaffirm our commitment to not only educating students but inspiring and empowering them just as promised dr. Gonzalez is always available for further conversations about the
043program as Sherri land parents as well as Sherri land parents and guardians and I did CC dr. Gonzalez but only as a resource for you to have with his contact if you need anything to contact him he is always readily available thank you thank you okay we all will now move on to item number eight which is our mission statement read by dr. Noel Aliveta Sherri land ISD's mission is to inspire educate and empower all students to reach their full potential and become leaders of the future of education and the future of education and the future of the highest moral character thank you dr. now on to item number nine board reports nine a legislative update yes there are a few the basic allotment was increased in the house going to the Senate and then
044next to governor Abbott's desk for signature so it it's expected we were hoping those who are advocating for a basic allotment increase that's the amount of money that school districts receive from the state per student the the goal was an increase or the hope was an increase of up to fourteen hundred dollars which would get us back to the last time there was an increase kind of with the inflationary adjustments but what was given was under four hundred dollars it's something but hopefully they'll be more coming the good news is that there will be increasing the basic allotment every two years automatically so going a stretch like this of six years without any increase shouldn't happen again which that is that's a really good thing and there's a whole lot of bills being debated over
045the next couple weeks but that those are the really important ones that are impacting us right now okay any discussion okay thank you thank you so much we're on to item nine B committee reports okay I'm Okay, and on to item number C, which is the announcement of board member continuing education credit hours. The State Board of Education requires the district to announce the name of each board member who has completed the required continuing education hours, who has exceeded the required hours, and who is deficient. Maritza Vanessia, President. Hector Rivera, Vice President. David Keith, Secretary. Megan Sullivan, Assistant Secretary. Dr. Noe Aliveta, Member. Andrew Riddle, Member. And Julio Cerdada, Member. All board members have completed and exceeded their requirements for the continuing education hours requirement for 24-25. Congratulations, guys. Thank you all. So next we're
046on to item 10, which is the superintendent reports. They've got no reports tonight. On to consent agenda. Consent agenda 11A, March 2025 month-end bills. March, I mean, sorry, 11B, February 2025 financial reports. 11C, March 2025. Financial reports. 11D, March 2025 tax collection reports. E, third quarter investment report for March 31st, 2025. F, previous meeting minutes. F1, regular board meeting March 24th, 2025. G, approval to purchase K-5 science experience refill kits using a cooperative approved vendor. Item 11H, approval of service agreement for facility condition assessment with Alpha Facility Solutions. 11I, approval to purchase floor finish. Wax and floor stripper firm cooperative approved vendor. Item J, approval of resolution to join source well purchasing cooperative. And item K, approval of out-of-state educational travel to Washington, D.C. Would anybody like to pull any of the items from the
047agenda? Letter H, please. Letter H? Okay, perfect. I will now entertain a motion to pass the consent agenda as read without item H. I so move. Okay. Got a motion. We did discuss items G through K extensively at our meeting. We did discuss items G through K extensively at our meeting. Okay. We'll pull out H and we can discuss it with. So then we've got, I've got a motion by Julio Cerda. Second? Second. Second by Megan Sullivan. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. We will now discuss item 11H, approval of facility service agreements for facility condition assessments with Alpha Facility Solutions, LLC. Yes. You've always got my support. Know that. Looking at this item, I'm going to say, you know, I'm
048going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to say, you now can review the budget for the loan. And so on, you know. All those in favor. αι Yes. I've got to ask the reason for the assessment at this time, if you don't mind. Absolutely. Madam President. I'm sorry. I didn't hear. Oh. The reason for the assessment at the moment, just further explain and reiterate, the expense on the assessment alone is quite large, and without a doubt, there's going to come back with some items on the assessment, which are going to incur more costs. Should we go down the road
049right now, I guess, is a question of getting that assessment based off the current proposal. Thank you for asking this question. It's a great question, Mr. Riddle. As you all are aware, or may not be aware, that the district has not had a comprehensive facility needs assessment in over several decades. Actually, I don't believe we've had a comprehensive assessment done ever in the district. This assessment will be an evaluation of all facilities and properties of the district, including all exterior structures, interiors of all buildings, top to bottom. This will allow us to put. Into place a long range plan for the district that will be able to speak to budgeting needs both today, current and future. We also have to determine based on these types of assessments, the prioritization of work in the district that
050would need to be done in order to maintain the district and or if necessary to bring before you request to do significant improvements with or without the help of the community. So this type of assessment is one. It's always good. To have somebody on the outside come in because they're looking at our buildings as trained experts to look at facilities, not just for aging, but for any type of safety concerns, structural concerns with the changing, ever changing needs of technology to also be able to speak to that as well. So though this is a large ticket item, the return of the investment to have this type assessment will prove well worth it for many years to come. Well, you or Hector, I want to add to that. I know we discussed it in B.O.F. I
051think it's something that's very much needed, something that needs to be done, kind of give us a professional opinion on what all our campuses are lacking, what they need for maintenance and all that. I do know it's usually a standard price per square foot and I believe they are servicing 1,852,277 square feet is the approximate square footage. So that covers every single building. I think it's every campus. That is within our district. Every inch of our property. Yeah. So approximately a little under $10 a square foot. Who do you have anything to add for that? Yes. No, to add, as a professional engineer, I would love for somebody to come in and tell us what's really good about our buildings and what's bad. Being proactive with our buildings would basically help us to make sure
052that our structures are okay. There's going to be all kinds of people. A structural engineer, a construction engineer, a construction engineer, a construction engineer, a construction engineer. There's going to be engineers, architects, foundation engineers, all kinds of engineers that are going to be doing the, well that's what I'm expecting. You are correct. For them to do the review. It's a, this. And it's not a, your typical inspector will come in and look at cracks or anything like that. I think they'll look at the overall building itself and make sure that it's intact and see what the needs are. I mean that is something that we really need from Mark's perspective. Yeah. I think it's going to be, on a day-to-day basis, we're, we're reactive. That's all we do is basically react to, to the calls
053of our principals, of our custodial staff, of basically everybody, the coaches and so on and so forth. At this point, this is the point that we are allowing for us to go above them and basically say, let's take care of you before you take care of us because they, their number one thing to do is basically to teach. They're, they're, they're not here to, to check on our buildings. check on our building. So that's my personal opinion is we need this. Yeah, by having them come in Andrew, I feel that it's going to add a lot of clarity and a lot of foundation to shed light on all the needs of the district and the buildings. And there's a lot of things that we think the buildings need, but we could be overlooking quite a
054few. You know, once a construction process gets started, sometimes it gets expensive with things that pop up. And I think these people do a good job kind of coming through and shedding light through to all the needs of the district and the facilities. Yeah. And I come from the school of thought where there are no dumb questions. And so I'm asking this question for anybody that has an answer to it. What's the other option? I mean, if there's, if we hire this and it's a big ticket and I'm at $10 a square foot, what's the other option? Is there a way to continue doing to answer real quick? It's just to continue doing what we're doing. And I think I know the answer and, but in just general, but go ahead. I think to answer
055your question, because I know everybody's waiting to get out of here before nine o'clock, is basically to continue doing what we're doing, being reactive and just react to situations on buildings and react in situations on our structures that are the football fields, the baseball fields, and so on and so forth. Because there's a lot of things that we're missing. Why? Because we leave the baseball fields towards the end until the day of, you know, the game day and just review the baseball field. I'm just giving you an example, Chief. Don't, don't, don't, don't go check the baseball fields right now. But it's not until it happens that we say we should have. And I think this is a good opportunity for us to do this. And I think we should put it on the plan
056for every 10 years. I think it should be every 10 year program where we go back and review every single building that we have. The reason I ask is for the taxpayer, the taxpayer to understand. For those people that are paying yearly, that they see the big ticket item and the reason for it. It's necessary to assess. Truly assess from an expert perspective to come in and see what is truly the issue. Because as much as I was a basketball coach and I saw issues with the HVAC in the gym, that might be not the only issue. That it be a different issue that needs to be found out. It could be fixed. So that's something that could be fixed long-term that may cost heavy money in the near future to do it, and then
057move on to the Friday and Good Fridayultura program. beginning or in the initial piece but save money in the long term I think that's that was my point to get to and I think you hit the nail on the head I mean that's where I was headed to. I think for me Andrew after this last storm Dr. Howard went out and we looked at some of the campuses like during the storm as it was coming in and definitely I think that a process like this will allow us to prioritize mitigating risk moving forward right so if somebody comes in and says hey you know it may not have failed in the last storm but it will in the next because it's sustained damage it's not something that we're trained to look at and from the
058last like the last storm I was pretty surprised at the amount of water that the buildings held and you know you went to school at SHS and this hasn't been done since you were in school there so our facilities you know by nature they they fail and I think that for us to mitigate future risk it's important to do it for the professionals to tell us how we need to fix things or what's coming up and then allow us to prioritize it within our budget and have a long range facilities plan but without a true priority list we're prioritizing things as people who are not professionals to understand you know our facilities so I'm on board with it too I think it's really important. I can get on board with it because your last comment
059not only because you're like on but the longevity planning if they can identify weaknesses that haven't yet happened structural engineers and they can identify that we can turn around and give that to Hyman let him budget that for three to five year plan I can get on board with that. I think that's where we're at with it. I would also like to comment I know that the the in the past different repairs or or structural changes that have been done leave other campuses or other sections of campuses untouched and that's one of the things I hear from teachers all the time well how you know they got a new roof new air conditioning whatever and we have fill in the blank problem still and this is kind of taking a bird's eye view of what
060is taking a bird's eye view of the district of the entire footprint and I think we will be a said about the it should be part it should be part of our plan I know years ago there I would hear parents say what why do I care what the high school looks like my kids in kindergarten you know well in a few years don't blink because your kids going to be at that high school or you're going to have another kid who's going to have another kid and you're not going to have another kid you're to come up and suddenly you're going to need kindergarten again. And it matters. It matters to the families. It matters to our community. And not just at the individual level, but at the community level. And that's our job
061as the board, I think, to make that long-range plan and to implement steps so that no matter who's sitting up here over the next 5, 10, 15 years, that the foundation is laid to keep our facilities safe, sound, and appropriate. Thank you for asking. That was a really big ticket item and we didn't pull it out. So thank you for asking so that we're allowed to really discuss it. Thank you for answering. Madam President, if I can just mention, it is 75 buildings they're going to look at. It's huge. It's a lot of buildings. I bet many don't realize that we have 75 buildings. It's huge to look at. You think of our campuses and that's it. Yeah. And I think the square footage is the one that just opens everybody's eyes. Yeah. And I
062think it was nothing. For a million, yeah. Thanks, Dr. Okay, guys. Any further discussion? Thank you all. Okay. I'll now entertain a motion to pass Item 11H, Approval of Service Agreement for Facility Condition Assessment with Alpha Facility Solutions. So moved. Got him. Second. Motion by Julio Serra and a second by David Keith. Any further discussion? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. We'll now move on to Item 12, which is Closed Meeting. Before we go into Closed Meeting, I'm going to have to read a couple of things. Possibly to be discussed in Closed Meeting, Item 12A, Personnel Matters, Texas Government Code 551.074, 12A1, Resignations, 12A2, Employment of Personnel, 12A3, Consider Superintendent's Recommendations Regarding Employment and Contract Status of Classroom Teachers and Other Non-Administrative Professional Personnel. Item
06312A3A, Renewal of Probationary Contracts. B, Renewal of Employment of Term Contract Employees. And C, Renewal of Employment of Non-Certified Contract Employees. Item 12A4, Discussion of Employee Public Officer and or Board Member. 12A5, Deliberation Regarding the Appointment, Employment Evaluation, Reassignment, Duties, Discipline, or Dismissal of Proposed Termination of a District Employee, Public Officer, or Employee Pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.074. 12B, Suicide. Student Discipline. 12C, Deliberation Regarding Security Devices or Security Audits. Texas Government Code 551.076. 12D, Deliberation Regarding Real Property. Texas Government Code 551.072. Item 12E, Consultation with Attorney Regarding. A, Pending Contemplated Litigation. B, Settlement Offer. Or C, A Matter in Which the Duty of the Attorney of the Sherryland Independent School District under Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with Chapter 551 of Texas Government Code. Texas
064Government Code 551. 12B, Discipline. 12C, Discipline. 12B, Discipline. 12C, Discipline. 12B, Discipline. 12C, Discipline. 12B, Discipline. Motion to take a short recess and then go into executive session. Second. I've got a motion by Dr. No and a second by, is that you, Hector? Yes, ma'am. By Mr. Hector Vibanda. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. We are now going into closed session at 7-15. It is now 8-33. We are back in open session. Item 13A, Discussion and Possible Action for Closed Meeting Items. I move to authorize the superintendent to approve the resignation discussed in closed meeting that may require board approval. Second. I've got a motion by Andrew Riddle and a second by Dr. No. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify
065by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. Second motion. I move to approve the superintendent's recommendations as discussed in closed meeting regarding approval to renew and employ the probationary term. End of discussion. Non-certified contract employees for the 25-26 school year. I've got a motion by Andrew Riddle. I've got a second by Julio Cerda. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. Thank you for that. We are now on to item 14, business 14-8, discussion and consideration to approve resolution to compensate employees from the weather event. I move to approve. I discussed that thoroughly, too, so I'll just make the motion to approve. I'll second that. Okay, cool. We've got a motion by Dr. No. We've got a second by, was that
066you, Andrew? Andrew Riddle. Andrew. Any further discussion? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. Item 14b, discussion and consideration to approve resolution to identify Purple Star campus designation. This is an awesome program that Mr. Hedalia, thank you so much for getting in there. Good evening. Thank you. Please give us some more information on it. It is phenomenal. Absolutely. Good evening, everybody. Madam President, esteemed board, and Dr. Howard. I'm here tonight to share with you. I'm here tonight to share with you some information about something we're very excited and something near and dear to me. I know we have a veteran on the board as well, Mr. Keith. And this is something that I believe is going to not only add another facet to what our schools offer
067to our families. But also a support system for parents and families and students who are transitioning, military connected families. But I want to introduce to you Mr. Benitez. Andres Benitez, he's been spearheading this initiative alongside his amazing lead team there at PHS. And he's already conducted several initiatives, I would say, student driven. But he's got a lot more information to share with you. And we hopefully, you will approve the program. And I hope that you will join us for the next proclamation for us so we can move forward with a purple star designation. But Mr. Benitez. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, board. Community members, not that many. So we're here to talk to you about this group of students. It's a group of students that really embody resilience, adaptability, a real sense of patriotism.
068Military families are highly mobile. So therefore, they experience transitions, transitions of schools, transitions of curricula, social environments. So because of that, they have their unique set of challenges. And as a district, our responsibility is not only to ensure that we welcome these students, but to provide the support and resources that they might need to thrive. That is the reason why we would like to ask your support in approving a resolution. We would like to. We would like to establish some peer support programs, some academic support, implement training for our staff, and designate a point of contact in each campus for all these military families. I'm proud to say that, by the year, we have already been working in a lot of these initiatives. And with the support of our webmaster, student services, the superintendent, we
069are basically ready to apply for a team. And we are going to be the first campus to be able to be a part of the PEA's ProvoStar recognition and be the first campus at Sheridan ISD that holds that recognition. But moreover, we have been taking good notes. And we would like to help every other campus achieve that, hopefully next year. This recognition not only brings an enhanced reputation, but it also increases our visibility. There's a lot of communities near bases that are not able to attend these schools. And so we are going to be able to help them to be able to attend these schools. And choose to relocate near these schools to be able to attend to these schools. Not only that, definitely this will strengthen our community ties and relationships, which I'm sure
070we all would like to do. I don't really have any more. Some of these children could even come from overseas and maybe learn another language. But I think that's a really good program. I've looked into that. So I'm so glad. The Purple Star campus designation, those campuses are campuses that are mostly located near military bases, let's say. So it's campuses that provide extraordinary support to military families. OK. Because I know in this case, we do have a lot of families that are coming to the area that are working the wall. Mm-hmm. I see a lot of families. I see a lot of them here, whether it's temporary or not. And maybe their students are enrolling here. I don't know that. I don't know how many students are actually enrolling here. In terms of students currently
071attending and deciding to go to the military, are those students being supported also when they come back kind of thing? Is that part of the Purple Star? That's not necessarily part, but we do, for example, I'm going to name two of our students ambassadors for next year. Part of the supports that we provide is making sure we give a tour to these students, making sure somebody sits with them during lunch. And so what I'm trying to do is just go a little bit extra, right, and get a military-connected kid to actually do those tours for those students, right? Part of the supports that you do on all of these peer-led programs is have those same students provide these things. Yeah. Right? Connect them, right? And so what you really need to do is bring them
072together and make sure that they're the ones that are going to understand each other, right? As much as we would want to, even from veterans like yourselves, you can relate to their real-time challenges. And so having the support system, right, of the community. I love it. I love it. And I think it's fantastic to get that designation also. I think as a piece to that, just this is what popped into my head when I saw it. I was pretty successful. I'm not bragging about myself at all. I'm very didn't study, 86 kind of student, you know, didn't really put anything into it and wanted to play basketball. I went to the Army, broke my mom's heart. Family was like, what are you doing? And I took off. I wasn't the kid that was going to
073go to the military. Didn't have to. Apparently we had a ranch, cattle. Didn't have to go, and I took off because I saw friends going and wanted to go to Iraq. I wasn't the typical. But what I found when I got back is that you, you know, you're not the only one that's going to be there. You're the minority. You're a very small portion of the people at your school. And it's not like everybody's waiting for you to come back. Say like, hey, there's that guy that went. You're almost like you don't want to talk about it when you come back. And my son has some friends that left. And my son wants them to come over and they hang out at his house or his apartment because we live in a fourplex right now
074and he's across in their place. They come over and I get to talk to them now. And like we make a connection now. But that's, I think, a new thing. And I think that's a unique piece of it also maybe that somehow can extend to that. But I love the Purple Hearts designation. I think that's fantastic. And for it to be, I don't know how many other Purple Heart designated schools are down here, but that's neat that you found it. I think that's amazing. Purple Star. Purple Star, sorry. Purple Star, excuse me. And there's definitely minimum requirements to have this, but not, there's no cap. So we would definitely welcome your feedback and see how to incorporate that for sure. Good job, Anne. Madam President, I would like to add that the next phase of
075this type of recognition would be to encourage our district to become certified to participate in the Chapter 35 Military Benefits Program. That program basically is a program that will allow any beneficiary who's enrolled in our school district, and notice I use the word beneficiary in the sense that their parent has died while serving for the United States. They have access to special monies that they could potentially even access as early as a junior who may be taking trade skills classes or early college. And so in order for those students to be able to access the money, we have to have certified counselors in our district. So next year, I will be asking members of our counseling staff to step up and become certified so that students in our district, whether we know that they are
076there or not, if they want to access the Chapter 35 benefits, they would be allowed to. So this is a stair step, and I was so thrilled. I do want to say that Mr. Benitez took this initiative up on his own, demonstrating his leadership as our assistant principal, and now looking at the potential of what we could do for the other campuses to also follow in those steps. Having been in a city where we were surrounded with military bases, I like to see this level of service that we have. I like to see this level of service to our community. So thank you, Mr. Benitez. Thank you. Really, there's been a lot of people helping with this, our librarian, the counselors, everybody. And there's a lot of stuff that we're already doing in our schools.
077So we're really that close. And so, you know, it's just a small tweak. Make a motion to approve. Yeah. We're grateful for your passion and the follow-through. So thank you. I'd like to make a motion to approve. Okay. Well, I've got a second. Give me a third. I've got like five. Five motions. A fourth? A fifth? So. Take them all. It's a unanimous motion. I'm going to take it. It's a 7-0. But I'm going to go ahead and give Dr. No the motion. And then I'm going to give David Keith the second. Sorry, Hector. Is there any further discussion? Perfect. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes. Thank you. 32-0. Thank you again, gentlemen. Good job. 7-0. Thanks, bro. Appreciate it. We're on to
07814C. Discussion and consideration to approve certification of provision of instructional materials. Good evening, Dr. Howard, President Vanessia, members of the board. This is an item we bring to you annually, but the name has changed and the format has changed a little bit. This is actually what we would used to call our TEKS certification process. And really, this is where you as a board certify that our instructional materials cover all elements of the TEKS. And we have implemented measures to prevent any access to obscene or harmful content. And a lot of that is through our filters on our internet. So we're going to go ahead and approve that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
079Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Ourthank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you. Mr.케이? Yes. This is an item we will use for our reintroduction. Yes, thank you so much. No options are a lot, different suggestions are harmful content, and a lot of that is through our filters on our internet access and things of that nature. But once again, this is something we bring to you yearly, the name has changed, but this is once we turn in the certification to the state, then we will get access to our EMAT monies and be able to, excuse me, our IMA moneys through EMAT and continue to order instruction materials for next four years. Mandated by TEA, right? Yes, by TEA. Yes. So I'll move to approve. Got a motion by Dr. Lovato. Second by
080Andrew. No, yes, Andrew Riddle. Sorry, Julio. Is there any further discussion? Aye. Perfect. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. I am now accepting the final motion for adjournment. So moved. I've got a motion by Dr. Olivedo. Julio. Julio seconds. Second by Julio Cerda. He was quick to that. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. We are now adjourned at 845. Thank you.