School Board Meeting: March 30, 2026

001A regular school board meeting of the Board of Trustees of San Juan Alba Independent School District will be held Monday, March 30th, 2026, beginning at 6.04 p.m. at PSA Early College High School, Letcher Hall, 805 West Ridge Road, San Juan, Texas. If I can have a pledge of allegiance by Mrs. Quintanilla. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I can have the prayer by Ms. Barrow. Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity you have provided each one of us to be here today. We come before you seeking your guidance and strength. Grant us the wisdom to prioritize our tasks. And to focus. To complete them with excellence. Help us to manage

002our time wisely and to work diligently so that our efforts may bear fruit. May your presence inspire us to be productive and efficient in all that we do. In your mighty name, we pray. Amen. Thank you. With that, we're moving on to number three, recognition. Dr. Lias. Yes, Mr. President. Under recognitions letter A, we have a PSJA career and technical education program, state and national qualifiers, and student organizations. And this will be presented by Dr. Uribe. Good evening. Good evening. Today, we'd like to recognize our PSJA ISD career and technical education students from various student organizations. Each of these organizations grant students the ability to further their knowledge. And skills by participating in various activities, events, and competitions. These events help students develop college and career readiness skills. As a whole, the involvement in our

003CT student organizations allows students the opportunity to gain academic, workplace, and technical skills. The students presented today with the guidance of their sponsors each competed at the regional level and advanced to compete at the state and or national level individually. Or as a team. And as a team. And as a team. And as a team. And their respective organizations. We are very proud of their hard work, and we are very thankful to everybody that supports them, including our CT director, CT coordinators, CT advisors, CT support staff, their teachers, the parents, and of course the students themselves. But this wouldn't be possible without the support that we get from our superintendent, Dr. Elias, and the entire PSJA ISD school board. So at this time, I will begin to recognize all of our students, beginning with Audie

004Murphy Middle School. So we'll have the students come up. We have a lot of students, so we have a little system going here. So we'll start with our students, and they'll stand behind me. And their sponsors. When I call your name, students, please raise your hand to be recognized. We want to make sure everybody knows who you are. So we will start again with Audie Murphy Middle School. All of these students participated in the Future Business Leaders of America, starting with Nayela Alegría, Digital Citizenship State and National Qualifier. Sofia, Future Business Leaders Exploring Accounting and Finance State and National Qualifier. Estela Favre, Agribusiness State and National Qualifier. Camila De Leon, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Usted Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Alia Lopez, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Science

005Exploring Computer Science State and National Qualifier. Isa Redondo, Exploring Economics State and National Qualifier. Exploring Economics State and National Qualifier. Lisa Rodríguez, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Camila De Leon, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Camila De Leon, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Camila De Leon, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Camila De Leon, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. Camila De Leon, Exploring Business Concepts State and National Qualifier. exploring FBLA state and national qualifier exploring leadership state a national qualifier exploring personal finance state a national qualifier exploring professionalism state a national qualifier interpersonal communication state a national qualifier exploring leadership state qualifier exploring professionalism state a national qualifier exploring professionalism state a national qualifier Thank You Audie Murphy students. Job well done. And now we will continue

006with pe� ね 100 investigation妳 thumb up. Let the department take that off. PSJA Early College High School. These students are being recognized for SkillsUSA and all of the students that I'm about to mention are state qualifiers and then I'll differentiate as we go. So students, please raise your hand and be recognized. When I call your name, we wanna make sure that everybody sees you. So let's scoot over a little bit. We're so happy to have so much participation in these programs. So I'm gonna go ahead and get started. Christina Guerrero, Occupational Health and Safety, State Qualifier. Matihella Ibarra, CERT Community Emergency Response Team. Madison Bruna, CERT Community Emergency Response Team. Gabriela Montevalles, CERT Community Emergency Response Team. Alexandra Maldonado, CERT Community Emergency Response Team. Jessica Rivera, CERT Community Emergency Response Team. Renata Yonoco-Soria, CERT Community

007Emergency Response Team. Kipsel Morales, Health Knowledge Bowl. Jimenez, Health Knowledge Bowl. Diana Jimenez, Health Knowledge Bowl. Kiana Martinez, Health Knowledge Bowl. Kayla Lopez, Health Knowledge Bowl. Yaritzel Tijerina, Health Knowledge Bowl. Beatriz Cantu, Health Knowledge Bowl. Renata Tinoco-Soria, Health Knowledge Bowl. Jesus Morales, Welding Project. Anthony Ramos, Welding Project. Angelina Longoria, Welding Sculpture. Victor Hernandez, Advanced Welding Competition. Jonathan Falcon, Team Welding Project. Kevin Mata, Team Welding Project. Indro Mata, Team Welding Project. Rudy Bernal, Team Welding Project. Juanjo Rodriguez, Welding Project Single. Giovanni Sanchez, Automotive Team Project. Maribel Sanchez-Carabajal, Automotive Team Project. Henry Vera, Automotive Team Project. Sergio Benavidez III, Automotive Team Project. Tiffany Nicole Carcamo, Automotive Team Project. Mia Alavaceres, Job Development. And I'm going to hand it over to the next panelist, who is going to be presenting the results. Thank you. Thank ya. Thank ya.

008Thank you. Thank ya. Next efforts in line. I'm going to go to this panel. We're almost half up here already. I'm willing to hand it over to ify to go ahead with that. Shea Ballas Fringe. Yes, Miss Ballas. Yes, Miss Ballas. Yes. Its different price sizes from mine to Beginning-Ganar Elians. Can I have a look at these puis? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Its right there, I think. Yes. Yes. Any concerns or concerns? Male Speaker B tienes el espacio. Me no. Male Speaker B. Have you guys seen that video of Susie and Sophia missing? No. They were taken from the Out last week. Yes. We're moving into our state qualifiers. Leah Munoz, Advanced Desktop Publishing, state qualifier. Kaylee Garcia, Economic Research Team. Chava Garza, Economic Research Team. Alessandra Negrete, Economic Research Team. Natalia Plasencia, Economic

009Research Team. Lidia Guerra, Presentation Team. Allison Gutierrez, Presentation Team. Marivy Quintero, Presentation Team. Alexandra Treviño, Presentation Team. Edo De La Cerda, Economic Research Team. Abigail Luna, Economic Research Team. Miguel Maynez, Economic Research Team. Isaac Dominguez, Health Administrative Procedures. Isabella Dominguez, Health Insurance and Medical Billing. Andres Flores, Computer Networking Technology. Ruben Santiana. leadership development event public relations. Chava Garza, leadership development event public relations. Aubrey Rivera, leadership development event public relations. Jalen Morales, leadership development event public relations. Our amazing sponsors, Rebecca Medina, Gina Hernandez, Carlos Samaniago, Nesto Vargas, Ana Elizondo, Bianca Gonzalez, Elizabeth Gonzalez, and Marissa Martinez. Thanks to all our sponsors, Dr. Quintero, Javier Martinez, and Santana Garza. Thank you so much PSJA High for all your accomplishments. And if we can have Dr. Vela and our high school eel. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations.

010Thank you so much. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, PSJA Early Conference. Thank you so much. And now we will continue with PSJA Memorial Early College High School. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For PSJA Memorial Early College High School, we have some students that are currently in competition in Galveston. So we definitely want to recognize them and everybody that's here. So PSJA Memorial Early College High School, these are all state qualifiers. We're going to start with Ulises Cubas, Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Ivan Cantu, Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Ivan Cantu, Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Joaquin Palacios, Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Joaquin Palacios, Team Welding Project,

011Barbecue Pits. Joaquin Palacios, Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Joaquin Palacios, Team Welding Project, Barbecue Pits. Josephine Valdez, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Josephine Valdez, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Josephine Valdez, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Sophia Rosales, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Sophia Rosales, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Leila Flores, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Leila Flores, Career Pathway Law, Public Safety and Security Contest. Sofia Rosales, Career Pathway Law Public Safety and Security Contest. Leila Flores, Career Pathway Law Public Safety and Security Contest. Giovanni Cantu, Business Law and Ethics. Joe Escobedo, Personal Financial Management. Ricardo Escobedo, Advanced Accounting. Antoinette Labuz, Python Programming. Janely Maldonado, Advanced Interview Skills. And our amazing sponsors, Ramiro Mesa, Jeremy Garrett, and Michael

012Sandoval. Thank you for everything that you do, Memorial Early College High School, and we want to see your barbecue bits. Go ahead and come around. Congratulations. You're going to have a business, right? You're going to have a business, right? You're going to have a business. Congratulations. Thank you for all that you do. Slow it down. Come on. Ready? Ready? One, two. In Castillo. A little bit to the left. Perfect. One. Nope. I still can't see. A little. In the window between that. You know what that's? That's the last one. Right. Perfect. One. In the barron. That's it. One, two, three. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Memorial Early College High School. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And now we're going to move on with PSJA North Early College High School. When I call your

013name, students, you can raise your hand to be recognized. So all of these students are state qualifiers, also for SkillsUSA. Alacea Garza, Exhibit Projects, Flat Nail Art. Camila Fernandez, Exhibit Projects, Flat Nail Art. Leslie Manilla, Exhibit Projects, Flat Nail Art. Garitza Villarreal, Exhibit Projects, 3D Nail Art. Valentina Belmontes, Exhibit Projects, Fantasy Hairstyle. Leslie Gonzalez, Exhibit Projects, Fantasy Hairstyle. Angel Martinez, Exhibit Projects, Fantasy Hairstyle. Romina Zuniga, Exhibit Projects, Braiding Style. Admarie De Leon, Exhibit Projects, Photo Panel. Sarah Rodriguez. Health Science Display, Panel Job Exhibit. Grecias Montesinos, Health Science Display, Panel Job Exhibit. Ivan Perez, Health Sciences Display, Panel Job Exhibit. Trinity Perez, Health Science Display, Panel Job Exhibit. Jaden Mendoza, Fingerprint Analysis. Emily Aguillon, Medical Death Investigation. Catherine Martinez, Medical Legal Death Investigation. Joel Solis, Crime Scene Investigation. Yaretzi Solis, Crime Scene Investigation. Emma Robledo, Crime

014Scene 3D Model. Dominique Cantu, Crime Scene 3D Model. Grecia Castro, Crime Scene 3D Model. Grecia Montesinos, Jose Research Poster. Allison Casas, Rose Legacy. Camila Contreras, Rose Legacy. Jonas Velasquez, Rose Legacy. Ryan Vargas, Rose Legacy. Jayden Dominguez, Exploring Administrative Careers. Gabriela Treviño, Exploring Non-Course Subject Teaching Careers. Ayari Cantu, Creative Lecture. Emily Ramirez, Exploring Support Services Careers. Stephanie Gonzalez, Children Literature. And their amazing sponsors, Griselda Tobar, Nicole Renteria, Jose Guerra, Karina Casares. Castillo, Erica Costa, Sonia Hinojosa, and George Rodriguez. Great job, students. We're going to go around and then take a picture. Shake our hands and take a picture. Thank you. Thank you so much, PSJ North. And now we will continue with Southwest Early College High School. We're so excited to have so many students to celebrate. It's beautiful. I'm going to start with the state

015and national qualifiers. And students, when I call your name, please raise your hand to be recognized. We'll start with Rafael Carvajal, Broadcast News Production Team. Bianca Cuellar, Broadcast News Production Team. Broadcast News Production Team. Romina Martinez, Broadcast News Production Team. Rosalino Castillo, Advanced Word Processing State Qualifier. The rest of the kids will be state qualifiers. Sherry Isaias, Basic Office Procedures State Qualifier. Christopher Lockhart, Fundamentals in Spreadsheet Application. Please advance spreadsheets. Fernando Castaneda, Video Production Team. Thank you. Joelyn Cazares, Video Production Team. Marla Rojas, Video Production Team. Isaiah Villarreal, Device Configuration and Troubleshooting. Dana Lee Martinez, Nutrition and Wellness. Angela Pulido, Nutrition and Wellness. Jasmine Garza, Nutrition and Wellness. Melissa Garcia, Promote and Publicize. Benjamin Alonso, Promote and Publicize. Felipe Alaniz, Promote and Publicize. Padre Garcia, Professional Presentation. Anuar Garcia, Professional Presentation. Omar Moran, Professional Presentation.

016Hayley Garcia, Sustainability. Camila Barroso, Sustainability. Veronica Gutierrez, Sustainability. Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales, Public Policy Advocate. Javier Marquez, Public Policy Advocate. Alexa Martinez, Career Counselor. Natalie Torres, Career Connection. Gisselle Zavala, Career Connection. Rafael Castillo, Welding Project Team A. Derek Borarrubias, Welding Project Team A. Jesus Medina, Welding Project Team A. Jorge Gutierrez, Welding Project Team A. Elidoro Agwinagua, Welding Project Team A. Miya Vera, Welding Project Team B. M абelín Gutierrez, Welding Project Team C. Julia Rosales, Social Science Adjuvant. Jonathan Perez, World Team Project Team C. Zahid Santiago-Garcia, World Team Project Team C. Giovanni Avila, World Team Project Team D. Everardo Torres, World Team Project Team D. Emmanuel Vazquez, World Team Project Team D. Hiram De La Cruz, World Team Project Team D. Miguel Barron, World Team Project Singles. Tatiana Messer, Job Skills Demonstration. Juliet Vega, Job Skills Demonstration A.

017Robert Martinez, World Team Sculpture. And their amazing sponsors, Mark Flores, Adriana Pena, Rebecca Aguilar, Daniel Hernandez, Michael Reyes, and Elia Hernandez. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you, circle. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. There's a high five here. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Sure. Okay, everyone, you're going to look over here. So shift your bodies this way if you can, please. Find a window. Make sure people smile. Or more when you smile. Find a window in the back as well. There's a young lady that I can't see. I'm not supposed to be that way. Look this way. Ready? One, two, three. One

018more. Open your eyes. Wide. One, two, three. Thank you. Great job, PSJA Southwest Early College High School. And now, we're going to have a little bit of a break. We're going to have a little bit of a break. We're going to have a little bit of a break. We're going to have a little bit of a break. As long as it's a break, I love your outfit. I love your outfit. And now, congratulations. And now... Congratulations. And now, we'll continue with PSJA T-STEM And now, we'll continue with PSJA T-STEM Early College High School. Students, when I call your name, please raise your hand to be recognized. We got everyone. So the first ones that I'm going to, the first one I'm going to be calling out as a state and national qualifier, Sierra Allen, C++

019programming. All the following students are state qualifiers. Juan Almaraz, administrative support research project. Paloma Cedillo, basic office systems and procedures. Amanda Martinez, JAVA programming. Daniel Martinez, C++ programming. Caleb Martinez, intermediate word processing skills. Gabriel Mata, JAVA programming. Caimara Pena, ethics and professionalism. Aaron Guentes, small business management team. Leah Treviño, small business management team and presentation individual. Adalemi Uriegas, economic research individual. The following students are state and VEX worlds. Yandel Torres, VEX V5 robotics competition. Rogelio Martinez, VEX V5 robotics competition. Camila Guerrero, VEX V5 robotics competition. Daniel Martinez, VEX V5 robotics competition. Alia Cantu, VEX V5 robotics competition. Martina Martinez, VEX V5 robotics competition. Adrian Hernandez, VEX V5 robotics competition. Kiyoshi Ido, VEX V5 robotics competition. V5 Robotics Competition. Jarez, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. Jayden Barza, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. Juan Mase, Vex V5 Robotics Competition.

020Following students are state qualifiers. Aiden Cantu, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. Dominique Rojas, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. Jorge Ramirez, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. Pedro Rojas, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. Omar Cano, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. David Almia, Vex V5 Robotics Competition. And their amazing sponsors, Yvonne Chamblin, Adan Salinas, and Victor Salinas. Congratulations, students. We're gonna go around to shake our board members' hands and then take a picture. I love the posters. Keep them open for the pictures. Thank you. Thank you. Stay here for the posters. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do you want me to stop? You're gonna face that way. Yeah, for sure. Like that. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, because we're all in one picture. . Yeah, we can . You can have some come over here. . Over here?

021Over here. . . You can't be . . You all can move. . There you go. . There you go. Get over here. You all, get over here. . . They are. . We still have some . . All the way down. They are all very tall. They're deep and like tall. Find a window. Find a window. There you go. And then put some tights. Ready? Everybody? Big smiles. Okay, sit down. And then wait. Everybody sit down. Leave those on the outside. Wait then, guys. You want everybody to come up? Right there. Ready? Big smiles. Open your eyes. One, two, three. One, two, three. Thank you. Congratulations, T-STEM. What is your name? Next, we have PSJA Collegiate School of the Arts. Thank you. And then we have the School of Health Professions. Students, when we

022call your name, please raise your hand. We're going to start with our state and national qualifier, Edward Marquez, Computer Modeling and Computer Animation Team. Following students are state qualifiers, Jorge Cantu-Alvarez, C++ Programming, Christian Salas, Computer Modeling and Computer Animation Team, Diego Flores, Fundamental Spreadsheets Applications. Javier Venceria, Health Insurance and Medical Billing. Rosemary Davila, Medical Coding. Victoria Rodriguez, Python Programming. Edward Marquez, Computer Animation Team. Raul Gonzalez, Computer Animation Team. Angie Salceda, Computer Animation Team. Matthew Castillo, Advanced Spreadsheets Application. Ricardo Gutierrez, Banking and Finance. Taira Gonzalez, Computer Modeling. Diego Bocanegra, Computer Modeling. Sofia Anglero, Digital Media Production. Alessandra Ibarra, Health Administration Procedures. Guadalupe Portillo, Health Insurance and Medical Billing. Kayla Padilla, Health Insurance and Medical Billing. Azul Cuevas, Esilade Business, Banking and Finance and Computer Animation Team. And then we have the School of Health Professions. Paola

023Cantu, Computer Animation Team. Faith Springgob, Fundamental World Processing and Administrative Support Team. Leilani Cortes, Health Administration Procedures. Alexa Garcia, Integrated Office Applications and Administrative Support Team. Nathan Lopez, Integrated Office Applications and Administrative Support Team. Kaelen Ramos, Integrated Office Applications and Administrative Support Team. And then we have the School of Health. Kaylin Ramos, Intermediate World Processing and Administrative Support Team. Jasmine Gonzalez, Interview Skills. Johnny Yochum, Python Programming. Jimena Montes, Computer Animation Team. Paula Rubi Martinez, Computer Animation Team. And their wonderful sponsors, Lisa Garcia, Jose Gilings, and Ashley Rodriguez. Congratulations, collegiate. We're going to go ahead and go around to shake hands and then take a few questions. We'll have a quick picture. Come on, Luke. No? You're going to look over here, okay? First you're going to look over here, and then you're going to look

024over there. One over here. Ready? One, two, and three. One more. One, two, and three. Okay, now you can look over there. Congratulations, collegiate. Thank you. Congratulations. Next, we're going to be presenting our students that attend our PSJA Academies at the Dr. Daniel King College and University Center. So these students. Once we call your name, please raise your hand. Okay, so we'll get started. Alexis Garcia, first place district individual skill and technical competition in HVAC. Ed Escobar, second place district individual skills and technical competition in HVAC. First place welding project. Ernesto Garcia, first place welding project. Ruben Treviño, first place welding project. And our wonderful sponsor. Our sincere thanks to our mentors, Jose Guerra and Alberto Solis. Thank you, students. If we can come around to shake hands, and then we're going to take a

025picture. And if our principals can come up with their students. Congratulations, of course, please. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Congratulations. Thank you, sir, for working with our students. Thank you, sir, for all that you do. Thank you again. Thank you. Thank you again. Thank you. One, two, and three. One, two, and three. Thank you. Thank you students. Again, this wouldn't be possible without first and foremost, the work that the students put into it. Their sponsors, our principals for being so supportive, our superintendent, Dr. Elias and the board. Thank you so much for the opportunity to recognize our CT students. Thank you Dr. Uribe. Just wanted to congratulate all the students. Believe we had 250 students. I believe. Ms. Uribe, did we go and dominate the competition or what? Always, sir. Right? Yes. That's the goal.

026Congratulations to all the students. Very proud of all of you. Thank you. Yes, Mr. President, we move to the next recognition. PSJA North Lady Raiders basketball team, district and by district champions. And this will be presented by athletic director, Orlando Garcia. Mr. President, Dr. Elias, members of the board. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to recognize our student athletes. Today, we're gonna start with recognizing our PSJA North Lady Raider basketball team. If I can have the team and the coaches please come join me. Please. We'd like to recognize the PSJA North Lady Raider basketball team. This incredible group finished with an impressive 30-8 overall record with a 14-2 district record and captured the 31-5A district championship. They continued their post-season run as by district champions with a big win over Brownfield Rivera and advanced

027to the area championship where they came up just a little bit short in a hard fought battle against Florid Bluff. Thank you. in a hard fought battle against Florid Bluff. Their resilience, teamwork, and commitment represents the very best of PSJA ISD. Congratulations to our Lady Raiders, their coaches, and their families on a phenomenal season. Ladies, when I call out your name, please raise your hand, please. Freshman, Carly Sanchez. Freshman, Isabella Gonzalez. Junior, Giselle Talavarez. Junior, Alexandra Gonzalez. Junior, Melody Ramos. Junior, Chloe Badillo. Junior, Madison Stanfield. Senior, Anais Batista. Coaching staff, Daniela Azuel, Angel Alonso, Emily Azuel, Eric Salceda, and RJ Garza. Congratulations, ladies. Thank you, thank you for whatever you're doing today. Congratulations. Congratulations. One, two, three. One, two, and three. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. I want to congregate. PSJA North, Lady Raiders basketball

028team, I'm getting district and by district. We're a part of all of you. Good job. Next item. Next item is, Mr. President, wrestling program, PSJA Early College High School and PSJA Memorial Early College High School. And again, this will be presented by Orlando Garcia, director for athletics. Yes, sir. Continuing, if I could have the PSJA Bears and PSJA Memorial wrestlers and their coaches that are going to be recognized, please join me. We're proud to recognize our UIL district champion wrestlers and our UIL state qualifiers, athletes, who have shown exceptional dedication, toughness, and commitment throughout the season. The sport of wrestling demands an uncommon level of mental toughness, physical resilience, and personal commitment. These athletes have embraced early mornings, late practices, challenging tournaments, and the constant pursuit of improvement. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr.

029President. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. Your accomplishments reflect not only their own hard work, but also support of their coaches, families, and community. A little note on wrestling, if you haven't paid attention, it's a very contact sport. Our wrestlers are on a strict diet. They've got to stay within their weight limits, and there's so many UIL guidelines behind them. And they're very, very, I mean, they're very, very tough athletes when it comes into it because in a tournament, you just don't go wrestle one match. They've got to wrestle, take a break, and follow the tournament bracket. So they're probably wrestling three or four matches a day. So if you follow wrestling, it's pretty competitive. Starting out

030with PSJ Bears, Justaya Maya, 10th grade, 120-pound champion. Justaya wrestled in the 120-pound weight class and won the district championship and advanced to the UIL regional meet. Verida Martinez, 10th grader, 100-pound weight class. She was the district champion in the 100-pound weight class regional. Champion and won all four matches by fault, and she advanced to the UIL 6A UIL state meet. Her head coach was Javier Rendon. Representing PSJ Memorial, 10th grader, Zacharias Reyna. He wrestled in the 120-pound weight class. Zacharias earned second place at the district meet, fourth place at the regional tournament, and he advanced as a 5A UIL state qualifier. His head coach is Bruno Alvarado. Thank you. Congratulations. Coach. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Coach, thank you. Thanks again. Thanks again. Congratulations. Director, say you want to stand by your school. Try to find

031you. Ready? One, two, and. Thank you. Again, congratulations also for our champions here. Good job. Great job. Coaches, good job. Thank you. Next item. Yes, Mr. President, we move to the next item, item D in recognitions, University Interscholastic League State Mariachi Contest First Division Groups and Outstanding Performance Medalists. And this will be presented by Fine Arts Director, Mr. John Taylor. Mr. President, Dr. Lias, 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. This year, the PSJA High, PSJA Northwest, and PSJA Southwest mariachis earned first division ratings at the UIL Region Mariachi Contest, qualifying them to compete at the UIL State Mariachi Festival, which was held February 19th through

03221st at Sagin High School. Tonight, we recognize those who earned awards at State. The PSJA North Early College High School Mariachi Malosos del Norte earned a first division trophy. Members are Sophia Acosta, Leonardo Ceja-Lopez, Naila Cesar, Jacqueline Chavez, Eli Cortez, Mariela Esquivel, Nicolás Flores, Gavin Garcia, Viviana Gomez, Jesus Gonzalez, Angel Herrera, Andres Huitron, Scarlett Lewis, Oscar Motel, Lisa Tello, Jeshua Olivares, Noemi Ortiz, Alessandro Paredes, Caleb Quinones, Mark Quintero, Leila Rios Herrera, Andrea Robles, Samuel Rodriguez, Raquel Rosado, and Megan Vazquez. Directors are Head Director Mary Echeverria and Assistant Directors Michael Barrera and Eddie Echeverria. Congratulations PSJ North Mariachi, . . . Are you looking over here? Perfect. Everybody ready? Big smiles. Everybody, one, two. . Ready? One, two, and three. Thank you. . Congratulations. Thank you. . Thank you. . Thank you. . Congratulations PSJ North

033Mariachi. . Thank you. For the 넘. . . . . . . . . . And the next one. . . . . . . And then, I will tell them. . . . And then they have, another. . . . . Is the UIL. . . Mariachi Maravilla de San Juan earned a first division trophy for the sixth year in a row. Members are Consuelo Alvarado, Evan Bautista, Juan Briseño, Noah Castillo, Trinity Flores, Clarissa Garza, Jasmine Iturralde, Leonardo Mendez, Matthew Prince, Emiliano Riquena, Jorge Sanana, Ailene Cifuentes, Richard Solis, Kevin Tovar, Bella Vives, Fatima Munoz, and Denise Cavazos. Directors are head director Adriano Olivan and assistant directors Albert Garcia and Steve Gutierrez. Congratulations PSJA Early College High School Mariachi Maravilla de San Juan. Thank you sir. Congratulations. Congratulations. Six times. Six times, right? Empress. Congratulations.

034Congratulations. Congratulations, sir. Thank you, thank you. Can we get everybody out of the way now? So we're going to have you right now for a photo. We definitely want to see the trophy. You're going to be looking over here. Find a window. On the back. Yeah. Miss, can you see the girls? Now they can switch with the book. I can see, but there's definitely space. Should you have you have some all the way down? Especially... Perfect. If you can't see the camera, the camera can't see you. So find that window and relax your face. Smile and open your eyes. One, two, and three. No mas. No mas. One, two, and three. Thank you. Outstanding performers. Thank you. We brought a few students back up. The highest UIL award a Texas music student can receive is

035the Outstanding Performer Medal. Four mariachi singers from PSJA ISD earned this coveted award. They are Megan Vasquez from PSJA North. Jesus Gonzalez from PSJA North, earning his second Outstanding Performer Medal. Trini Flores from PSJA North, earning his second Outstanding Performer Medal. Again, that was her second Outstanding Performer Medal. And Sofia Acosta from PSJA North, earning her third Outstanding Performer Medal, which ties a PSJA ISD record. Congratulations to UIL mariachi Outstanding Performers. That's a big medal. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. So amazing. Thank you, thank you. That's amazing. Congratulations. That's so awesome. So awesome. That's amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Awesome. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Can you look over here. Thank you. I deeply want to congratulate. Are you done? Go ahead. No, go ahead. We have film students coming up. You

036can do the mariachi. Okay. I wanted to congratulate Mariachi Maravilla and Mariachi Maloso del Norte. I've heard you all, and I'm just very, very impressed. And I just want to thank you for everything that you do, to go and perform at the campuses. You always sound real good, beautiful, as a matter of fact. So congratulations again, and I'm really proud. On behalf of the board, we are very proud of your accomplishments. So I thank you again. Mr. President, we move on to Item E, under recognition still, and it's UIL State Film Festival Award winners. Okay. Again, Mr. Taylor will be presenting. PSJA ISD theater students from PSJA High, PSJA Jefferson, PSJA Memorial, PSJA North, and PSJA Southwest produced films which advanced in UIL competition. Film entries advanced through multiple rounds, finally advancing to the State

037Film Festival, which was held at the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center February 25th through 26th. Only 24 films advanced in 5A competition, with four of those 24 representing PSJA ISD. Tonight, we are recognizing PSJA ISD theater students who placed at the UIL State Film Festival. PSJA Southwest film, El Museo 956, earned the second place UIL State plaque for 5A documentary, and a UIL State silver medal for filmmaker Santiago Martinez Alvarez. PSJA Southwest theater directors are head directors, Sergio Salazar. and assistant directors, Charlie Palacios and Megan De La Rosa. Congratulations, PSJA Southwest theater, UIL State Film Festival Award winner. That's all me. Congratulations. Thank you for . That's amazing. That's fine. Ready? Let's see you. Okay. One, two, and three. One, two, and three. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. North film. PSJA North theater had

038three films placed. Vampires Will Never Hurt You was awarded the fifth place UIL State plaque for 5A traditional animation, and UIL State medals for filmmakers Devin Demerson, Eva Garcia, and Ana Rios. Stories We Tell, Saving the San Juan Hotel was awarded the fifth place UIL State plaque for 5A documentary, and UIL State medals for filmmakers, Sophia Salazar, and Maria Ramos. 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. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Naomi Salcedo, Deandra Garza, Victor Salcedo, Ana Rios, and Riley Leal. Your reality earned the second place UIL State plaque for 5A digital animation, and UIL State silver medals for filmmakers Mariela Esquivel and Joshua Benitez. PSJA North theater directors are

039head director Brian Honnell and assistant directors Jackie Cepeda. And Fatima Flores. Congratulations, PSJA North theater UIL State film festival award winners. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for inspiring these kids. Thank you, Mr. Hanna. Thank you for inspiring these kids. Thank you, Mr. Hanna. One beautiful line. Just sit down a little bit more. Ready? One, two, and three. One, two, and three. Congratulations. Congratulations again to all our UIL, I'm sorry, yes, Tate Field Festival Award winners, and to our Fine Arts Department, all the theater, good job. Thank you. Thank you. All the theater, good job. Yes, Mr. President, we move on to the next recognition, letter F, and this recognition is for PSJA ISD Communications Department, personnel recognized with 24 state awards, Texas School Public Relations Association, and this will be presented by Executive Director

040Claudia Lemus. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. President, Dr. Elias, and members of the board. Hi, everyone. I want to start by saying that it's really, really hard to come after our students. That's a really hard act to follow, but they definitely keep us busy, and all the accolades that you hear today makes us really proud to be able to share those stories with our community, and they make our work that much easier when we know there's amazing things happening in our district. And with that said, we are incredibly proud to share that our Communications Department has recently been awarded numerous state awards from the Texas School Public Relations Association, for our work in school public relations, in video, in marketing, in graphic design, in numerous categories. And the awards were announced during the state annual

041conference that was held in February in Galveston. And I have the honor of having some of the team members join us here today. Excuse us, because we're camera shy. We're always behind the scenes. But it is an honor to be here today. The Texas School Public Relations Association, is a state professional organization that's dedicated to improving public education in Texas. It provides effective public relations practices and professional development and the improvement of communications across school districts in Texas. Each year, the organization hosts the TSPRA State Awards, recognizing work in over 40 categories that cover a variety of media. Out of thousands of entries, every single year, received from public school districts across Texas. We compete from the big districts in North Texas. Our Communications Department is proud to share that we earned 16 gold state

042awards, seven silver and only a bronze this year. The award highlights our district's leadership in bilingual communications, visual identity, crisis preparedness, digital engagement, and compelling multimedia storytelling. We earned awards in the gold category in numerous categories, including program, poster, handbook, manual, original artwork, including the beautiful art walls that you see at central office. We did get a gold for that one. We see the pride whenever you all visit central office and just really proud of the team for making that happen. We got eight gold with our videos, and these videos range anywhere from video news package, highlighting our partnership with SDC for Baloo, the documentary that we did after last year's storm that affected us in the spring, that one got a gold, for telling the story of our e-school sports tournament last year. Just

043telling numerous stories all the time, and so really proud of the work of our video team for their storytelling. Our podcast also earned a gold star award. The PSJA Tri-City Talks podcast, our website for the PSJA Family Shop was another one, and our efforts in social media, working with our high school students. The PSJA Tri-City Connect is an initiative where we mentor high school students to become student content creators, and that initiative earned a gold award, and we're really, really proud of that. We did earn silver awards in different print materials, including the invitation for the PSJA Young Women's League of the Year, the PSJA Young Women's Leadership Conference that we worked with, College Readiness, and a lot of our work, we take pride in supporting our departments and supporting our schools behind the scenes

044with their needs, and obviously getting recognized for this work at the state level means a lot to us, so we're really proud of that, as well as special events. So our second annual trunk or treat also got a silver award for the impact that it had on the community, and we just take a lot of pride in that. And so being here today, following our amazing students is a huge honor for us, and we really want to thank you. Earning these awards and recognitions, like I said, show the high quality work and storytelling that happen every day at PSJA, but we want to emphasize that what we do would not be possible without the trust and ongoing support of our superintendent, his administration, and you, our school board, who believe in what we do and

045allow us to have the creativity to bring forth new ideas, new ways of storytelling, one of the newest things that we're launching, you may have seen our footage, right, with our glasses and just getting the kids in action, and we're always looking for new ways to highlight our PSJA family. So we want to thank you for letting us be here today, and I want to congratulate my team and thank them all for their work every single day, and thank you all for your support. I'll leave you guys. Students. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations,hall. Congratulations. Congratulations. Why am I not surprised? Why am I not surprised? Hector? Hector's tired enough to help us with the funds. Find a window. Oh, okay, all right. Ready? Ready, one, two, three.

046One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Got it. Thank you. Just want to congratulate your departments, campus, super job. I'm already getting comments from other districts that's complimenting you all, I know of your work. And I want to just say that you're the envy of the Valley right now because of how well your department is doing. And you deserve all these awards, so I want to congratulate you on that. Thank you, on behalf of the team. Mr. President, I'll go ahead and make a comment also. My comment is, we have an amazing communications team. It goes beyond my thank you. My thank you goes beyond because any time that there is a crisis or there's a positive event, I mean, they're the first ones there. They're the first ones to

047answer those letters that need to be put together so that the communication can go out to our parents, to the community, and letting them know what's happening throughout the district, if it's positive or even if it's negative. We always have to face everything and they're the forefront for everything. If there's events, on Saturday, on Sunday, on Sunday, on Sunday, we're going to be able to get them to come out and say, we're going to be able to get them to come out and say, we're going to be able to get them to come out and say, on Saturdays, they're the ones that are out there. When there's games, they're out there. Any event, to me, it's, you know, the media is always out there. And then, those, that coverage that we get at the football

048games, it's like you were watching NFL, and that's what's being video streamed, and you know, we have the best. And I know that I've made those comments with our director for athletics, Orlando, and he gets a lot of comments, a lot of compliments of our media department, our communications department, because nobody does the work that y'all do. And I know that even to think of any of y'all, and y'all better not think of that ever leaving PSJA. PSJA's family always remember that. But, you know, we're next to none. We are the best out there, and that's what makes PSJA so strong. And the communication that y'all put out there is exceptional, and that's what keeps all our parents informed of everything, and the thousands of followers that come through our webpages and everything. So again,

049thank you. Thank you for the work that y'all do. Do we have any public comments? Mr. Ward President, there are two signed up for public comments. Before I ask them to come forward, I would like to say that on behalf of the PSJA Board of Trustees, members of the community are welcome 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 their name is called, the submission will be voided. The PSJA School Board permits each person to speak within an established three-minute window. Please remember that only items on the agenda may be addressed by the individual speaking before the board. Individuals intending

050to speak on items not on the agenda will be directed to the superintendent or designee. As a 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 or enter into dialogue with members of the public during this portion of the meeting. If a member of the public causes disruption by his or her words or actions during the meeting and continues to do so after at least one warning, the presiding officer may request assistance from law enforcement officials for the individual to be removed from the meeting. The first person signed up for public comment is Vittorio Puente. Mr. Puente, will you come forward? Good evening, Mr. President, Mr. Superintendent, and the school board. Today, well, I'd like

051to comment regarding item 8A on Clover Elementary Target Improvement Plan. So when I was looking over the agenda for today, I, you see, I like numbers. And so I saw that Clover, was on the agenda, so I decided to look into the scorecard and looking at the numbers, and three numbers stood out to me that I wanted to be part of the record. And the numbers were number 38, because that's the percentage of students at Clover who transferred in or out last year. The state average is 16. That means more than one in three children at the campus did not finish the year where they started it. I have not read the improvement summary plan, so I don't know it directly, but I wonder, does it direct, does it directly address mobility? Because no curriculum

052intervention, no outside vendor, and no distinction designation fixes a campus where the student population is constantly in motion. The second number is 4,800. That is how much less per student this campus receives, compared to the district, district average. At the same time, Clover spends more on school leadership per student than both the district and the state average. A campus on a target improvement plan is under-resourced overall, but top-heavy administratively. That is a resource allocation problem that an improvement plan document may not solve. The third number is 43. That is the percentage of students at the campus who actually meet grade level. Not the minimum bar, actually meet it. Yes, the school earned a B, yes, growth is real, and those teachers deserve all the credit. But a B rating and five distinctions should not obscure

053the fact that fewer than half of these children are working at grade level. I'm not here to criticize teachers or staff. I'm here to ask the board to approve an improvement plan that addresses root causes, not just academic interventions. These 378 children, 95% of them are economically disadvantaged, 42% emergent bilingual, they deserve a plan built around their actual reality. Three numbers, 38, 4800, 43. I hope this board keeps them in mind tonight. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ms. Cynthia Flores, please come forward. Good evening, board members, superintendent, board president. I'm Cynthia Flores. And I am a union organizer for Texas AFT, American Federation of Teachers and PSJA-AFT. I'm speaking today in reference to agenda items related to personnel matters and human resources. I want to bring attention to a growing concern within the district regarding

054employee retention and workplace conditions. While the district continues to move forward with hiring and employment approvals, there are ongoing issues that are not being addressed at the human resources level. As a union organizer, I regularly hear directly from employees across the district about their experiences. Many have shared concerns related to workplace harassment, inconsistent accountability, and a lack of follow through when issues are reported. What is especially concerning is the level of discouragement that employees feel. Many have said that they are not able to meet the needs of the district. Many have said that they are not able to meet the needs of the district. They hesitate to come forward because they believe nothing will be done. In recent days, I've personally accompanied employees as they attempted to seek help through multiple channels, including local law

055enforcement agencies and district safety departments. In each case, they were ultimately directed back to human resources. The fact that employees feel the need to escalate concerns to that level should speak to the seriousness of this situation. When those concerns are returned to a system that employees feel is not responding effectively, it creates a cycle where issues remain unresolved. This is not an HR issue. This is a personnel issue that directly impacts staffing, morale, and ultimately student success and student safety. When experienced and dedicated employees leave because they do not feel supported or appreciated, the district loses valuable people who are difficult to replace. When experienced and dedicated employees leave because they do not feel supported or appreciated, the district loses valuable people who are difficult to replace. As you consider personnel decisions today, I urge

056you to also consider the conditions that employees are working under. Hiring new staff is important, but retaining the ones you already have should be a priority. It was said today, PSJA is family. Never leave us. Those were comments just now. Just spoken minutes ago. Accountability, transparency, and timely responses to employee concerns must also be part of that process. I respectfully ask the board to take a closer look at how employee concerns are being handled and ensure that systems are in place to support, not silence, the employees who serve your district every single day. Thank you. Those are all the public comments. Yes, Mr. President, we move to item five, minutes, and to seek approval for the regular school board meeting minutes of February 23rd, 2026. Do we have a motion for approval for the minutes?

057Oh. Moved by Ms. Barron. Can I have a second? Second by Mrs. Castillo. And I have a comment, Mr. President. I want to go ahead, as I reviewed the minutes, and I know that there has been some new Senate bills that call for transparency regarding our agenda, making sure that we are as transparent as possible for the community to know what it is that we're voting on. As I reviewed the minutes, I did notice that there was no mention of the superintendent's presentation that was done. I mean, it was a presentation done. There is no mention of it. And the minutes are not in the minutes. Okay. Thank you. So we're moving to item five, minutes. Second, I know that I had several questions, and there were no questions. There was not even a summary

058of the questions that were asked. According to Senate Bill 1018, you know, there needs to be clear documentation of board actions tied to the agenda items. The minutes must clearly align with the agenda structure and actions taken. So I just wanted to put that on the record. I don't have a problem with approving the minutes because we do have a recording that does exist. But I think that moving forward... We should just be more careful with our agenda structure and the minutes that we approve. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Quintanilla. We have a motion and we have a second. All those for the motion, signify by raising your right hand. Aye. Okay. Motion passes. Thank you. Yes. Next item. Mr. President, we have the next item, item six, presentation, approve the Texas Association of School

059Boards resolution nominating Dr. Alejandro Lira. Superintendent of Schools for the Superintendent of the Year Award. This is a nomination. I think the entity still has to award, correct? This is just a nomination. So I'm going to go ahead and read this. On behalf of the PSJA ISD Board of Trustees... Mr. President, I'm sorry to interrupt. It says on the board packet, let me check again. I think... Oh, you're just reading the resolution. There's no presentation? No. It's just... No. Okay. Okay. Okay. We recommend that the Board of Trustees approve the submission of Dr. Alejandro Lira's nomination for the Task Force Superintendent of the Year Award on behalf of the PSJA ISD. This nomination reflects the board's collective confidence in Dr. Lira's leadership and the measurable progress the district has achieved under his direction. The Texas

060Association of School Boards... The superintendent of the year program honors superintendents who demonstrate excellence in leadership, governance, instructional oversight, fiscal management, and community engagement. The recognition highlights leaders whose work produces meaningful and measurable outcomes for students while strengthening the integrity and effectiveness of public education. Dr. Alejandro Lira was named superintendent in June 2023 after serving as interim superintendent. Since his appointment, he has led with a disciplined focus. He has focused on student achievement, operational clarity, and expanded access to opportunity for all students and families across the district. Under his leadership, PSJA has reinforced a culture centered on high expectations, safety, and accountability. Beginning in the 23-24 school year, the district launched the PSJA Guardians Initiative of Elementary Campuses to strengthen school safety through trained, armed personnel working in coordination with the PSJA Police Department. This

061proactive approach reflects a commitment to secure... learning environments while maintaining academic rigor. Under his tenure, the district sustained our 97% four-year graduation rate, demonstrating consistent success in supporting students through completion. Instructionally, Dr. Lira maintains a strong emphasis on performance and continuous improvement. Beyond accountability ratings, he has strengthened the district's nationality, recognized college-going culture by expanding early college pathways. In 2024, PSJA celebrated a historical milestone of 715 early college students identified as prospective South Texas College graduates. Additionally, most recently, more than 180 early college students completed graduation requirements in December 25, reflecting sustained year-round completion pathways and embedded post-secondary attainment with high school experience. Dr. Lira has also prioritized educator effectiveness and retention. The district received approval... for 2024-2025 teacher incentive allotment designations based on 23 and 24 data, positioning PSJA to recognize and retain high-performing

062educators aligned to student outcomes. Beyond academics, Dr. Lira has expanded opportunities that serve the whole child and the broader community. Under his leadership, the district created and expanded the PSJA Building Blocks Academy to strengthen early childhood learning experiences and ensure students enter kindergarten prepared, to succeed. He supported the opening of the PSJA Family Shop, a student-led retail enterprise operated by students in the Pathways Toward Independence program, providing meaningful real-world job training and life skills that prepare students for greater independence. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community members, reinforcing the district's commitment to wellness and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community members, reinforcing the district's commitment to

063wellness and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness

064Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. The district also opened a PSJA School of Community Wellness Complex, offering pickleball and tennis courts to families and community engagement. the auditorium, scheduled to open in the fall of 2026. This project will provide a premier venue for fine arts, academic showcases, and district events, creating a space where students across all campuses can shine on state and share their talents with the community. From a fiscal perspective, Dr. Lee has aligned the district budget with strategic priorities, including instruction, safety, facilities, and student support. He has strengthened systems for grant acquisition and oversight to ensure resources directly expand student opportunity while maintaining transparency and accountability. These accomplishments represent only a portion of the significant progress made under Dr. Lee's leadership. The PSJA School Board of Trustees recognizes

065the breadth and depth of his impact across academics, safety, early childhood education, workforce preparation, facilities, and community engagement. Okay. Okay. Now I need a vote for approval. Yes, I need a motion. I motion to approve. I move to second. Motion by Ms. Castillo, second by Ms. Barron. Mr. Rodriguez, I'd like to. Go ahead, Ms. Yes. I'm going to read a statement. I appreciate the work that has been done in the district and respect the nomination process. However, due to prior professional differences and after considering legal guidance, and current legal matters related to the district, I do not feel I am in the best position to evaluate this nomination objectively. With the upcoming board vacancy expected to be filled, I believe this is an opportunity for the board to move forward in a productive direction. I

066remain committed to working with our trustees and Dr. Lee as in a professional and productive manner for the good of the district, our students, and our community. Therefore, I will be abstaining from this vote. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez. So we have a motion and a second. I would like to also make a comment. Go ahead, Ms. Coutinho. There's nothing that would give me more pleasure than to have one of our superintendents be not only nominated, but actually, you know, to win this honor. At this time, though, I do feel that Dr. Lee has started in June 2023. He has not had three years and there's no requirement. There's no time requirement, but I feel that he has not had the time to really uh prove himself. There have been some concerns expressed

067not just on my behalf, but the community, two of which they just spoke right now. And I'm still very concerned about, you know, the fiscal responsibility and the accountability that was presented at our last board meeting. So for the past two years, we've had to dig $26 million from our budget, from our fund balance. And we are having to cut into that. And we're still moving forward with a $5 million, you know, fine arts. Well, we have custodians that are asked to work 40 hours and spread them out into six days. We are asking principals to come in past their contract days without pay. We have some custodians that have been accused of theft and there has been no process and they just get reassigned or moved to other directions. We still have issues with

068nepotism with either board... family members or compadres of board members the superintendent who get high paying jobs without the right qualifications i for that for that matter um you know i am pro i'm also going to abstain at this time okay thank you miss continue now net mac uh okay i certainly want to appreciate the comments made by my colleagues uh and we have uh and reserve the right to offer opinions in whatever manner we we choose to however uh you know just something that was said and not enough time to evaluate whether we should nominate for for superintendent of the year mine is the contrary mine is that i've worked with five different superintendents uh and never in such a short period of time have i seen the progress in a district the maintenance

069of the district the belief in our district there were some comments that were made regarding as a family we should take care of our own and we do because it shows that we have one of the fewest or one of the lowest retention rates uh with any region uh and all the districts in the region especially heartwarming to me is uh the way that we live uh and all the districts in the region especially heartwarming to me is uh the way that we live for enhancement for our staff with whatever resources we can find and i've got to applaud dr elias for uh looking out for our staff for all every campus uh and uh so going back to how short a time he's been here minus on the contrary i think i think he's

070worked miracles in such a short time we're not closing campuses we're letting our staff know they've got a job secure at psja we we treat them well we're one of the highest paying district in in the state and certainly in the region so i want to applaud you especially for maintaining what you have done dr elias congratulations and i'm proud of you thank you secretary of the district thank you jim 내�ities thank you may i make a comment the reason i feel and i made a motion to approve dr elias has consistently demonstrated a clear forward thinking vision for the district aligning academic goals with student success and staff development under his leadership the district has shown measurable improvements in student achievement including higher test scores graduation rates and college readiness indicators instruction, and foster

071critical thinking creativity and social-emotional learning. Dr. Elias is committed to closing achievement gaps among diverse student population. He advocates for equitable resources, ensuring that every student, regardless of background, has access to high-quality education and opportunity. He maintains a strong relationship with parents, community leaders, and local organizations creating partnerships that support both students and families. He's transparent communication, style, fosters trust, collaboration across the district and community. Dr. Elias invests in professional development, mentoring, and recognition programs for teachers and staff, cultivating a culture where educators feel valued and empowered. He actively promotes teacher leadership and innovation within classroom, encouraging excellence and creativity. He has shown resilience and decision and decisive leadership in the classroom. He has been a leader in the classroom during challenges, including navigating educational disruptions and ensuring continuity of learning for all students. His

072proactive planning and problem-solving skills have strengthened the district operations and community confidence. I stand strongly in my motion to nominate him for this award. Thank you, Ms. Castillo. Go ahead, Ms. Barron. Yes. In my strong belief that we have strong leadership, and it goes back because most of you know that I previously worked with a different superintendent, okay, who oversaw as strong as I see now the issues and concerns and the needs of PSJA. Since then, you know, I've been here two years, and it doesn't really take a rocket science to see when things are improving or not, you know. If it was, if there was so much truth to, to the non-nomination, you know, I'd like to see that. Because every single day in our calendar is full of accomplishments. We're being invited from

073one accomplishment to another, and that shows me that we're not faking those accomplishments. They're coming from somewhere. Somebody is acknowledging, somebody is recognizing us, and somebody is highlighting us, you know. So once again, I mean, it doesn't take that much, to realize we're not in a deficit. We're not in a deficit. When we have so many kids coming up front, it takes money to send them places, to buy them what they need to get, to get those accomplishments. It doesn't just happen and somebody opens the doors and they just take off and go and get those, those things so that we can recognize them for. So once again, you know, I mean, if there is any truth, I'd like to see some of that. And I sit here and I listen and I don't see

074it. I don't see it, you know. But I think based on the unity that's in this public school district, you know, the unity, the accomplishments, the recognitions, I mean, people coming in from outside, just to tell us that we're doing the best work that we can. And once again, I thank you for the time and I stand to feel that we should recognize him today. And we should nominate him. Thank you, Ms. Bellano. Okay, so I have a... Mr. President, can I make a quick comment? My comment is more, you know, I'm humbled by the nomination. But at the same time, I didn't ask for a nomination and I don't want to sound disrespectful to any of you. I'm not a member of the board members. But, you know, to me, it's always been about

075the students and the staff. And I don't really care for being known. I don't care for, you know, any spotlight on me. It's always about the students and, you know, to see all those recognitions today, that's what brings joy to me. And I know that's what brings joy to many of our board members. But at the same time, you know, when do we get to see the truth? When do we get to know the truth? When do we get to know that the truth is being spread out there through our media? Because they keep saying that our retention rate is low, yet we have a 98% retention rate here at PSJA. So we're not letting go of people like other districts. We are not in a hard situation. We are the highest paid district at

07659,300. We just clarified that with the TIA, 82% of our teachers are receiving TIA well deserved for those 82% because they deserve it. They're the ones in the classrooms making the difference. We're an 87% ranked district. If you look at the rankings, go out there and look at the rankings, and I challenge the public, you know, it's out there in TIA. It's free information. Look at our district. Compare us to other districts out there. To have an 87% in the accountability system, that we have nowadays, that is very challenging. And I thank our executive officers again because they're the ones. They're the ones out there in the classrooms talking to the principals, our coordinators, our specialists. It's a huge district, and they keep saying top heavy, yet we've cut down in our administration level. But

077yet we still have over 29,000 students. We still have close to 1,000 students. We still have close to 4,600 employees in this district. It's a big district. It takes a lot of people to be able to manage this district. It takes a lot of work to get 29,000 students to turn and to be an 87 ranked district. We're actually in a movement where we can possibly be an A district this year. So where are we going wrong? We're going back to TIA. 82% of our teachers well deserve because if you correlate 87% to the 82%, there's a correlation there. There's validity there. But yet, if the state wanted to make it a salary for 100%, then they would have made it a bill that gives everybody the same amount. But yet, no. This is based

078on your evaluation as a teacher. And teachers well deserve it because, well, they've proven it and it correlates with their scores. So to me again it's about the teachers, it's about the students and the students are the ones making us shine. The students are going to are going to be the ones that put PSJA again on the map if we get that A or we come very close to that A and it's the hard work that every employee is doing in this district. And again TIA I know we put out there 35 million that's life-changing but yet we were wrong because Dr. Garza said 42.3 million. So 42 million is what the district is going to have to pay out and that money comes from TIA from TA that money we don't receive till September

079but yet our teachers deserve it ahead of time in the summer and we're going to make sure that they get it. It doesn't mean the district's going to be in a deficit all it means is that we have to take it out ahead of time and we'll get it in September but well deserve you. So we're going to be doing that for all our staff, all our teachers. They're the ones in the forefront and to me you know it's an honor. We are looked at. I went and did a presentation to Region 1 on what is it that we're doing with our enrollment because our enrollment hasn't failed as much as other districts and I'm not putting any other district down but we are being very proactive. We have our Building Blocks Academy we just

080opened. We're the only district here that opened a virtual school. It's really great that we've opened that up for the PSJA-ILearn. That's been very successful again under the leadership of Dr. Noyola. We have a lot of systems in place that are helping our district to succeed. It's going to continue to succeed because those systems are there. Everybody sees the vision. Everybody sees the initiatives and everybody's following. So I think you know this is a great district that I know we're going to step up to the plate and whatever challenge comes our way we can conquer it but it takes an army it takes the whole district and i keep saying family because we are family we don't let go of people here we work together and yes there's initiatives that need to be followed there's

081expectations there's accountability because that's what ta puts forth but at the end of the day psja is very successful and it's not one person it's everyone and again thank you to the board for always being there being supportive for setting those goals for our district but again you know i i respectfully thank you for for the nomination to everyone but you know i feel that if it's going to hinder the district we don't have to go there i'd rather you know the district keep moving forward and to me that's my whole goal that's always been my goal and if anybody has questions when it comes down to transparency i'm only an email away so or ask me to come present i can come present here in front of the board but and you know at

082the end of the day it's it's a district that's doing well and it's because of the staff here so again thank you thank you definitely congratulations dr elia mr president is he talking is he talking again no he's he's making them okay sorry for the motion okay i have a motion in a second all those from the motion six by by raising your right hand all those against and all abstain have two abstentions two abstentions okay motion passes um then i'll just read the rest of the resolution of the texas association of school boards superintendent of the year nomination the first one element independent school district for the trustees on this date march 30 2026 resolved to nominate alejandra leah's superintendent of schools for his exemplary and visionary leadership toward improving student performance in our

083schools everybody's name on it okay yes mr president we move to item seven under superintendent of schools and approve the interlocal cooperative agreement and business associate agreement between psj isd and hidalgo county for continued collaboration and public health preparedness and emergency response if there's any questions i know that director for health services sulema will be presenting i have a question dr elias yes okay uh mr president is there a presentation or is it straight to questions she has a present you have a presentation correct yes trustee wanting your comments for after the presentation otherwise i'll start your time is is it in reference to this item we just presented we right now? Ms. Gutierrez? Yes, I was just going to ask Dr. Elias, is this for Operation Border Health? No. No, it's not. No, it's

084the MOU that we do with the county where we, in case of an emergency, that we cooperate. Right. Yes, and well, I'll wait then. Thank you. Okay. Good evening, Mr. President, Dr. Elias, members of the board. Like Dr. Elias mentioned, it's an interlocal cooperative agreement and business associate agreement between Hidalgo County and PSJA ISD. This agreement allows PSJA and Hidalgo County to continue working hand-in-hand in public health preparedness. It ensures that during an emergency, whether it's an infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or bioterrorism threats, we have coordinated support from the county. The renewal keeps us compliant with state and federal health regulations and strengthens protections for our students, staff, and community. Next slide. Okay, so this agreement, the purpose is to support the county-wide efforts such as mass immunizations, medication distribution, and rapid emergency responses.

085It ensures that PSJA follows all required state and federal health guidelines. Next slide. So the original agreement was approved on March 9, 2021, and this collaboration is authorized under the Texas Interlocal Cooperative Act. It supports a wide range of emergency functions back in 2021, the COVID pandemic, right? And the business associate agreement ensures federal compliance for privacy and security of health information. Next slide. So some of the key responsibilities for PSJA ISD are to provide school facilities as the points of dispensing when needed. We also participate in county drills and exercises to ensure operational readiness. Our emergency management team maintains the ICS, the incident command staff system training, personnel, and up-to-date coordination rosters. And our principals as well are encouraged to take the incident command courses, and they continue to take them yearly because there

086are several of them, so every year we just encourage them and we keep a roster of the principals and assistant principals as well. We continue to follow the state requirements for disease reporting under the Texas Administrative Code Chapter 97, and so our school nurses report almost on a weekly basis communicable diseases. We ensure privacy compliance with HIPAA, HITECH, and the Texas House Bill 300, which is like a super HIPAA. And we also supply staff and volunteers when available to support our county operations. And some of the key responsibilities of Hidalgo County are to provide medical countermeasures such as vaccines, antivirals, antibiotics during emergencies, and they supply us with materials, forms, equipments from the Strategic National Stockpile. The county also provides preparedness and response training to our staff at no cost. They coordinate all mass immunization

087and public health operations, such as with COVID. And importantly, they handle the disposal of all medical waste after the events. As far as the medical waste, we provide medical waste after the events. We provide medical waste after the events. We provide medical waste after the events. This is a business associate agreement. This ensures strict safeguards for all protected health information sharing during the emergencies. And it outlines the privacy, security, and breach notification requirements. It limits how health information can be used and disclosed. It ensures any subcontractors also comply with the federal regulations. And it also ensures that the information remains in effect even after the event ends. And so for the term and renewal, the next slide, sir. So it's effective. The agreement went into effect in 2021. It was established for a five-year term.

088So we now have the option to renew for another five years, covering March 9, 2025 through March 8, 2021. And either party may terminate within a 30-day notice. And renewing now ensures that there's no lapse in emergency preparedness collaboration with the county. So the recommendations, next slide, sir, are that our administration and the county administration recommends approval of this five-year renewal. And the renewal strengthens our capacity for public health preparedness and emergency response. It ensures we remain ready to safeguard the health and safety of PSJA students, staff, and of course the community. Seeking approval. I've seen the works. I'd like to thank you for always being there because in times of needs, again, it takes a village, but you're at the forefront. You and your staff, to make sure that our students are safe, protected.

089A lot of times you're kept out of the elements when we expect something to get rough. And all of the other stuff that you're aware of and taken care of during the pandemic was a reflection of how PSJA did so well on that. So I want to congratulate you and your staff for everything that you do. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Sulema, I know that this is a renewal of the five years, right? Yes. So within the last five years, have we had any issues that we should have addressed in this renewal? Any issues that needed to be included or that you might have had during the last five years? No. So every year we've practiced with Operation Border Health. So that's been one of our practices that we have with the county. They offer

090needle stick, HIPAA compliance training for us. And so we've never had any issues. Anything else that we ask for, you know, they're pretty compliant and ready to work with us. And it's been working as far as... Yeah. Even immunizations for our kids that can't afford them. They work with us and, you know, even seeing our kids with medical needs sometimes. They work really well with us. Great. Thank you. Mr. President. Go ahead, Ms. Otero. Yes. Sulema, I just want to recognize you publicly. You don't need to. But I want to recognize the great work you did six years ago through the pandemic. And I think that's something that we need to continue to do. And I think that's something that we need to continue to do. And I think that's something that we need to

091continue to do. And I think that's something that we need to continue to do. And I think that's something that we need to continue to do. Your team was the first one to respond throughout the county. And I know that it's because of Operation Border Health, previously known as Operation Lone Star. And I'm really hoping and looking forward to having the operation again this year. And I really want to thank you for that. I know that you deal on a daily basis with all kinds of COVID-19 cases, and I know that you deal on a daily basis with all kinds of COVID-19 cases, and I know that you deal on a daily basis with all kinds of COVID-19 cases, and I know that you deal on a daily basis with all kinds of COVID-19 cases,

092and outbreaks, and issues in public health, and also in preparedness. And so thank you so much for everything that you do, you and your team. I am not sure if everyone is aware that we were the first ones that purchased refrigerators to have vaccines and vaccinate, compared to the rest of the school districts. And our district was the first one to host a vaccine clinic back in trouble during COVID. And you're going back toThat in a little while. It's interesting because I know a lot of our students taking a week class. So we did a research and they're gone, but we know in this time, when the vaccines barely came out. So it was a tough time. I think Carlos was on the board at the time. It was challenging. And I want to thank

093you for saving lives, for taking the leadership on that, and for ensuring that not only our staff and our children, but our community was safe and you continue to do that. So I'm happy that we're going to renew this contract. I know firsthand what it entails and how much it helps us. There's no cost, correct? That's correct. Okay. So thank you so much, Zulema. And even though I can't see you in person, you know that I support all of these initiatives 100%. Thank you so much, Zulema, and your team. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. I need a motion for approval for the enrollment. Motion to approve. Okay. Motion to approve. Okay. I got a motion from Mr. Villegas and a second from Ms. Gutierrez. All those for the motion, signify by raising your right hand.

094Aye. All those against, same sign. Okay. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay. Next item. Yes. Mr. President, we move to 7B, out-of-state travel request to attend the National School Boards Association 2026 annual conference scheduled for April 10 through the 12th in San Antonio, Texas. Or the National Association of Latino and Elected Officials, NALEO, 43rd annual conference in Los Angeles, California, July 14 through the 16th of 2026. Mr. President, I have a question on that. Go ahead. Go ahead, Ms. Yes. Has anybody signed up? And also, this is the second year that I see that we include NALEO on the travel. NALEO is more for political, you know, let's call it socializing rather than for education. That's why we've always gone to the TASB conferences. So has anybody signed up for NALEO?

095NALEO is not related to education. And that's why I'm curious to see. Nobody has signed up because of Ms. Gutierrez. I'm sorry to interrupt. Nobody has signed up because there hasn't been approved yet. So when one thing is to get it closed down. But usually people send emails and request. If it's going to be in April, by now, there should be already hotel accommodations and everything already worked. This is not a conference. It's a national conference. It's one where you make arrangements months in advance. So that's the reason I'm asking because by now we should know who is going. Yes. The NALEO one is going to be in July. The other one is going to be in April. Right, Ms. Right. And again, why NALEO? That one is not, like I said, in relation to

096education, especially if it's out of state. I think the school district, the board members are allowed one out-of-state conference. We can only go to one. We cannot go to two. Correct. Right. But my question is TASB separated from NASBA or the national. But it's still one that is out of state and it would make more sense to attend that one. I'm not saying that people don't go. I just think that we should put our resources into conferences that talk about education and where we attend and learn, you know, the latest. The latest initiative legislation and what's going on in relation to education in other places. Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you, Ms. Rodriguez. Okay. So. Mr. President, I guess. Can I ask a clarifying question because I'm still confused. So it says out-of-state travel, but

097the national one is in San Antonio. Why is it being treated as out-of-state? Ms. Ms. Can you remember you explained to me about. Why does San Antonio when it's also considered not a state. The national school board conference is out-of-state. Every year it's in different states. This year it turned out to be in the state of Texas. So it is still considered an out-of-state trip. And that's is that in writing somewhere. Yeah. Is that in policy somewhere. Well, that's the out-of-state travel for the national school board. Is it in writing somewhere. I have no idea. So then where are you getting this policy from. Because it's all the policy is there that you can only go to one out-of-state trip. That I know. What I'm saying is why are we identifying it as an out-of-state.

098I would. I would think it would be best if we can attend a national conference as one of our local. It's at San Antonio. And then still have the opportunity to attend another out-of-state. That would be more conducive to what our school board does as opposed to now. Leo. I've never been to one. I do like their topics, but like, uh, like trustee Gutierrez said it. It's, um, it's more involved with politics, you know, in general politics, which may include school board. But I want to know my question is why is the San Antonio conference considered a national? I'm sorry. An out-of-state travel, even though it is. I understand that. I understand the concept. I understand it. I just don't see why we we would allow it to be considered an out-of-state. Um, and, uh,

099I mean, I just want to see is it in writing somewhere. And if it's not in writing somewhere so that, um, you know, we can look it up and maybe we can bring it back later. I just have that question. So as I understand the policy and correct me if I'm wrong, but, uh, and for the rest of the board members, we approved that we were going to be allowed one out-of-state travel. Right. I think that the item as it's on the agenda, it just gives us permission if we select to go to San Antonio, well, we're not going out-of-state. We're going to the NEO conference in California that's out-of-state. I think this agenda item is allowing us to go ahead and approve the travel should we decide to go to either one of them.

100And I think that's the way I'm reading it. To be selected. To go to either or. Mrs. Quintanilla wants to know if we go to both of them. Why can't we go to both of them? Why are we considering it an out-of-state? And I think if I understood, uh, Trustee Villegas, let's say, let's say that we elect to go to NEO, which obviously somebody requested it, right? Somebody on the board requested it. And they obviously want to go to Los Angeles during July. And. I would like to go, let's say, to the one in San Antonio, but I think it should also leave, uh, or any other board member that chooses to go to San Antonio, it should also leave it open to attend another out-of-state conference. And I know that if I come back

101and bring it up, because it requires board approval, everybody's going to vote it down like it happened the last time. So I need clarification on this item. Okay. I'm asking the board president. Okay. You have the floor. You're done? Yes. Yes, sir. Go ahead. I just, just, uh, as long as we get an understanding here, I don't think anybody has signed up for any travel. Is that right, Ms. Garza? They can't. No one has signed up for any. I think we're just asking for approval. Should we decide, do we want to go ahead and select one or the other? That is correct. And that approval is there. One is in-state, the other one is out-of-state. Yeah. The board is allowed to go ahead and choose which one they want to go to. Right. Uh, but.

102But I think that that's all there is going on right now is approval. Should we decide to go to one or the other? One is in-state, the other one is out-of-state. Is that correct? Dr. Elias? Yes. Correct. Okay. Okay. So, uh, need a motion? Can we ask council to, to, um, to, you know, chime in and, and, and look at the wording of, of the agenda item and, um, and I totally understand what's happening. I, I get it. I get it. I get it. I get it. I don't need it to be, for it to be like mansplained to me. Um, I just don't understand why we're including a, a conference that takes place in San Antonio in an out-of-state, um, yeah, in an out-of-state category. Honestly, I think we should be able to attend

103both. So if the question is for council, the, if the question is for council, the wording does state out-of-state travel requests to attend either or. So I think if the board is intending to. State that both of these would count as out-of-state. I think it just needs to be made clear on the record. If you intend as a board to count both of these as out-of-state travel requests, or if it's just an either or, and the out-of-state travel, um, is not necessarily part of the election. Um, if you have a separate process for identifying whether or not one or the other is going to count for out-of-state travel, just state that clearly for the record, um, before you, before you take your vote. Um, state that clearly in your motion. Yeah, the, um, uh, and

104I was going to mention that because it says national school board and they, they have in different states. So I'm assuming because it's a national organization and that, uh, that's, it's considered an, an, an out-of-state, but I also, uh, agree with Ms. Quintanilla if it's in Texas, it's not, we're not traveling out-of-state. You know, it's considered in-state. So that's, that's where I, I'm a little confused also that. So if the, if the purpose of your out-of-state travel limitation is just, you're not going to leave the state physically more than once per board member, then I would say just make that clear on the record, right? Even though it's a national conference, it is being held in state. So as a board, you are, you're putting on the record that you're not going to count it

105towards out-of-state travel because it's not technically out-of-state. Obviously, you're not going to be able to count it as out-of-state travel. So again, if you just want to make it clear in your motion, um, that the election is, uh, that the motion is to approve either one and that the election of, you know, out-of-state travel or not is going to be left up to the board members at a later time, you know, to designate this is my out-of-state travel choice. Um, just, just make that clear. Okay. So, uh, do we need to put that in, in the motion? I think if you, if, if you want to leave it for a later date to make it more clear for the agenda item, if you want to take action on it now, then, um, I would just

106say the motion is to approve the request to attend either or, uh, the national school board association or the national association of, uh, Latino and elected officials. Okay. Well then that's how it should be worded because we have the option of either or. Yes. Right. Okay. Well, it is worded. Okay. So I had a, had a motion. Was there a motion? Was there a motion? Second. For approval? So the motion to, to approve, I'm going to just state for the record would be subject to the clarification that the, uh, national school board association conference is considered in state travel because it's located in Texas and the, uh, Naleo conference is considered out-of-state travel. So any motion to approve is subject to that clarification for the record. So technically you can, you can go to both.

107Yes. If, yes. If that, if that's the board's, uh, action on this item. Yes. Motion to approve. Okay. Moved by Ms. Quintanilla. Can I have a second? I second. Second by Ms. Castillo. All those for the motion is signified by raising your right hand. Aye. Aye. Aye. All those against, same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Next item. Yes. Uh, Mr. President, under 8A, under curriculum and instruction presentation for approval of the 2526 target improvement plan for Vida and Clover Elementary School. Mr. Marquez. Thank you, sir. Good evening, President Rodriguez, members of the board, and Dr. Elias. Tonight we are here to present an update on Vida and Clover Elementary, including the progress the campus has made following its designation for targeted support and improvement. Thank you. At the end of the

10823-24 school year. We will also be seeking your approval of Clover's targeted improvement plan as required by the Texas Education Agency. To ensure full compliance with state accountability expectations, we are very proud of the work that has taken place at Clover. The campus has demonstrated meaningful progress, and we look forward to sharing both the growth that has occurred and the systems now in place to sustain continued improvement. Before passing the presentation over to Principal Dr. Christine Garza, we will begin with a quick overview of the identification and the context. So Clover Elementary was designated for targeted support and improvement by TEA at the end of the 23-24 school year, almost two years ago. Under state criteria, a campus is identified for TSI when a student group misses the same three indicators for three consecutive years.

109For Clover, this applied to our emergent bilingual. Student group across several components within the closing the gaps domain of the state accountability system, including academic achievement in math and reading, reading growth and student success. Since that identification, the campus has made significant progress. Clover exited TSI status in 2025 as a result of the strong gains in student achievement and growth. This progress is reflected in the campus accountability ratings increasing from a. 74 or a C in 2024 to an 88 or a B in 2025, marking a 14 point overall gain in their accountability rating plus five distinction designations in just a one year period. Based on current performance trends and interventions that are in place, the campus is projected to be very successful and possibly reach a 90 or a rating in 2026. And this

110reflects the focused efforts of the campus and district team. And this reflects the focused efforts of the campus and district team. And this reflects the focused efforts of the campus and district team. And this reflects the focused efforts of the campus and district team. And this reflects the focused efforts of the campus and district team. And the impact of targeted supports aligned to student needs. The campus leadership, its teachers and the students have done a remarkable job in turning the campus around. And I'm also very proud of the support which our district leaders have provided. I want to just say quickly about the question of on grade level performance at Clover Elementary. That Clover Elementary, as are all of our schools, is a work in progress. and to us, on-grade level performance is a must-have.

111That being said, the sad reality in the state of Texas is that throughout the state and the region, half or more of the students enrolled are below grade level across all subjects and all grades. This is just a sad reality. It's not acceptable to us, and we're not sitting tight. We're doing everything we can to improve that, and that is our goal not only at Vida Clover Elementary but throughout our district. Having said that, I'm going to turn over the presentation of the Clover Targeted Improvement Plan to Dr. Christine Garza, who will give you more detailed information. Thank you. Hi, everyone. Good evening, Mr. Rodriguez, Board President, our esteemed board members, and Dr. Elias. I am Dr. Christine Garza, the principal at Vida Clover Elementary. I should say the proud principal at Vida Clover. I

112am here today to present an overview of Clover Elementary's Targeted Improvement Plan and the implementation of the LASO Cycle 3 grant, as well as highlight the progress that we have made and the systems we are putting in place to sustain and strengthen student achievement moving forward. For the slide that you are looking at right now, this slide shows the 2024 Federal Accountability Chart published by the Texas Education Commission. It reflects Clover Elementary's federal accountability results across three years. If you notice the chart, it's from 2022, 2023, and 2024. The blue column on top identifies the student group being reviewed, and the shaded sections identify the accountability indicators or performance areas in which the student group is measured. These federal targets are set by TEA. And campuses are expected to meet each target within each student

113group. As you can see in the chart, Clover Elementary did not meet the federal targets within the Emerging Bilingual Student Group in several areas. These areas included academic achievement in reading and math, academic growth in reading and math, and student success. A campus is identified for targeted support or improvement when one specific student group, in this case our Emerging Bilingual, does not meet federal targets in three indicators for three consecutive years. This chart helps explain why the campus was identified and why focused action was necessary. In response, during our 24-25 school year, we implemented a targeted comprehensive improvement plan focused on strengthening instructional presence, instructional practices, and student outcomes. This included strengthening our PLCs, implementing tiered interventions, increasing instructional coaching, and using data-driven decision-making. In addition, there was a targeted focus on supporting our emergent

114bilingual student population. This included professional development for teachers, district and campus walkthroughs with aligned feedback, targeted district and campus activities, district coaching, and continuous monitoring and adjustment of student data to ensure progress. Through strong collaboration between our campus and our district leadership, we built a culture of accountability and alignment to our TEKS, which directly contributed to improved student achievement and our successful exit from the targeted improvement plan. Here you will see the 2025 federal accountability chart published by the Texas Education Agency. I would like to direct your attention to the 2025 school year data. This reflects the progress made through intentional systems, strong instructional practices, and a collective commitment to student success. This is a significant accomplishment and reflects the collective efforts of many. It would not be possible without our continued support from you,

115our school board, our district leadership, our school community, our parents, and most importantly, this is a direct result of the hard work, dedication, and commitment of the Clover Elementary teachers and staff. This milestone demonstrates the strength of our systems at PSJA ISD and our shared focus on student success. While this reflects significant progress, it's important to note that we were awarded the LASSO cycle 3 program and it was awarded for the 25-26 school year prior to us meeting the targets. We are now using this opportunity not for remediation, but to sustain, refine, and accelerate our strong systems that we put in place. The LASSO cycle 3 grant, in partnership with Region 1, we've implemented a structured system of professional development and coaching throughout the 25-26 school year, which is our current school year. This has

116included leadership coaching, classroom walks, continuous learning cycles focused on high-impact strategies such as aggressive monitoring. I do want to add a side note that because we received this grant at Clover Elementary, we were also able to add other campuses in some of the professional development that we have been able to do for this grant. So other schools have also benefited from the grant that we were awarded. These efforts ensure that teachers are consistently tracking student understanding and adjusting instruction in real time to meet our student needs. Finally, our focus moving forward is sustainability. We are embedding these systems into our daily practices through ongoing PLCs, instructional planning, and coaching cycles. By continuing to prioritize high-quality instruction, data monitoring, and collaborative planning, we are ensuring that the progress achieved is not temporary but long-lasting. We are

117building teacher capacity and strengthening systems that will continue to improve student outcomes year after year. In closing, Clover Elementary has made significant progress with the support of our strong district leadership, including Dr. Elias, Mr. Marquez, our elementary executive officers, Dr. Claudia Gonzalez, Dr. Susana Arredondo, and Dr. Virna Bazan, as well as our district directors and coordinators successfully moving from our targeted improvement to meeting federal expectations. With the support of the LAASO III grant, we are not only sustaining this success, but we're continuing to build stronger instructional systems for all students. I want to thank you personally for your continued support, and I want to thank our students, our community, and our teachers for their hard work and dedication. This concludes my presentation. Thank you. Thank you. I have a question, Mr. President. Dr. Arzak. Yes.

118In the latest benchmark that we just had, do you see huge progress, or do you see progress per se in these three areas? Right now, our benchmark results, they're comparable to what we're seeing across the district. I wouldn't say we're seeing huge results yet, because it's a comprehensive benchmark, which was a test given to students prior to them learning all of the standards. So we take that into account. But we are very hopeful, as Mr. Marquez has mentioned, that we're on the path, hopefully, to get the A. I will guarantee that our teachers are working very hard. We are looking at that data and disaggregating that data and using it to drive our further instruction. But to answer your question, again, it's not like we see that it's huge gains at this time. But we

119are moving, and we are comparable to what everybody else is showing as well in the district. Be sure to... We really need to thank your teachers, your staff. It's not easy to be under an improvement plan, and it takes a lot. And I know that your teachers, I know they have to be working really hard. And so I think that we really need to applaud their efforts. And it's just... It's hard. But thank you for really taking it, moving it forward, and really just focusing and making sure that we are doing all these wonderful things. All these best teaching practices will pay off. Thank you. I appreciate your words. And I know my teachers will truly appreciate that as well. My teachers and staff, they are very hardworking. I'm sure. Thank you. Thank you. Mr.

120Roby. Dr. Goss, when did you start at Clover? I started in the 23-24 school year. All I can say is congratulations on your amazing progress. Thank you. In such a short time. Thank you. I truly mean it when I say that it cannot be done without the support of our board, without the support of our district leadership. Mr. Marquez, visit our website. Thank you. I said that at our campus several times. And we did visits, especially with our dual language classrooms. Just making sure that we're putting systems in place, monitoring. It takes a village. At the end of the day, we do acknowledge that our teachers are the ones in front of those students and I commend them that this is all them. We commend you and your team. Thank you. And of course, you're

121executive officer. Yes. ladies, I know the work that you do, and I really want to commend you. Just last few minutes. Thank you, Trustee Castillo. Your time is elapsed. Ms. Gutierrez had a question. Yes. Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. Yes. Ms. Garcia, so you started 23-24. Do you remember what the rating was at the time for the school when you took over? When I started, the campus was at a 67, at a D. Okay. And then we got some cleaner ratings, and it went up a little bit. My first year, after my first year, went to a 74, and then this last year we went to an 88. You went to a what? An 88, with five distinctions. Okay, five distinctions. Yes, they rolled that, and so you're at a B? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Well, you

122know, I recognize that there's work to do. I wanted to go back, just so that you can explain, because it's, I have to say it's amazing, Ms. Garcia, that you've gone 23-24 from a 67 to an 88. You and your staff, and obviously the parents, have a great play, a great part. But what are all those, I know we don't have a lot of time, what are all those zeros that are in red? What are those zeros? What are those zeros? That means that those, those were improved, or, because I saw that we had more zeros on the second, and pardon my ignorance, I'm not a principal or a teacher anymore. So can you explain those? Because in the first image, we had more numbers where the zeros, for example, under Hispanic and under the

123economically disadvantaged. But then if we move on to the second one, where you left or were taken out of the, the, the designation of the needs improvement, I noticed that there's more zeros. Can you explain that just for clarification, please? And then I know I'm going to run out of time, so congratulations on having improved that campus. It's only a few years. I look forward to you and your team continuing to bring it up. But if you could clarify for me, I would appreciate it. Thank you so much. Okay. So if you look at the chart, the 2025, if I chart that we're looking at right now, you'll notice that there's red. Most of those reds are 23, 24 red. So that's why I wanted you to look at the 2025 data. So you're going

124to see that there's a number three and number two, a one and a zero. So if we, right, if we hit the three, the number three in the column, it means that we met it. We met the there's three, there's different levels of meeting the target. So if you hit three, that, if you fully have met it, you know, there's certain percentages for each one. I don't know. Dr. What had to correct me if I'm wrong, but so if, if you have, if you hit a zero, you haven't met your target, then a one will be like a zero is like you did. You, you didn't meet it at all. Like you were really off of the target. A one is a little closer, too closer. And a three, a two and a three, you

125get credit. If you look at it, you get credit for those that you, you met. And that's the way federal accountability system was created. And so we, we typically will look at those numbers to determine whether or not we, we really fully met that, or we still have some work to do, but if you have a two or three year out and then they would start over. So we're completely out of there. So if you, if you look at it, you, if you don't meet that federal targets, it's because you didn't meet it three consecutive years for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, for, So if you just look down our, our, our, um, emergent bilingual population, you'll see all the areas that were read

126in 2023, 2024. But now if you look 2025 is white. So that means we're out of that. We're out of that, uh, accountability. We're no longer a target in those areas. And you get partial credit, Dr. Gutierrez for making progress towards the longterm goal or the interim goal. So that's what those numbers signify. Okay. Okay. I hope that. Thank you, Ms. Garcia. And again, congratulations to you and your, your staff. Good job. Dr. Thank you. Thank you. I need, it's if I can just go ahead and yeah, I just want to congratulate you. Um, I know it is hard. Um, and I have a question. I don't know if you may ask if you can answer it or maybe Mr. Marcus. So because of the fact that you made that progress and, but you're, you're

127still qualified for the, uh, grant, um, you said that now you are able to help other campuses. Um, Mr. Marcus, what, uh, other campuses do we have at a currently at a D or C rating at the elementary, our only D rated campus for the 2025 school years, uh, three new elementary. Uh, we have, uh, I believe six C campuses and the rest are A's and B's. So from those campuses that are benefiting from this grant are among those campuses who are C's in that one D. Okay. That's, that's what I wanted to know. I just wanted to make sure that they were specifically targeted to those campuses that, that hopefully will, uh, uh, improve just like yours has improved and, um, and congratulations once again. Um, and, and, uh, having worked, uh, as Dean

128of instruction and that being my specific goal when I was there was to, um, work with our special pops, um, all power to your teachers and, uh, the best of luck this school year, uh, with all your testing and hopefully, you know, we get that at, yes. Thank you so much. And just to, um, let you know, this is a two year grant. So, um, we, we are awarded this grant for two consecutive years. So this year we're, we're working with region one and we're supposed to work with them again next year. Um, Mr. President, I wanted to make a comment. First of all, thank you, Dr. Versa, because you truly changed that campus. I know when I barely came in as superintendent, I know that campus needed some attention and especially the culture. You've

129turned it around. I've been out there and I've seen the students very engaged with, with their bare city. And I know even the mayor and other people have gone in there, our chief, we've sworn in some, some of the students and those are great experiences, not just for the students, but also for the staff. And you truly turned it around and positive culture gives you those results. And I think you've really managed it well. Now, again, I just wanted to make a quick comment that it takes a lot of work, takes a lot of work to turn a campus. And especially to look at this, these indicators and, you know, to the gentleman that he didn't stay here, the gentleman that did the public comment, he should have stayed here to hear the actual results.

130You know what you've done as a principal and how you've turned it around, not just come and make a negative comment and then leave and not wait for results. You know, to me that says he was invested in what he commented on. So again, congratulations and thank you for the work. Thank your teachers on my behalf. Thank you. And you know, keep on doing what you're doing because our students are very successful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I also want to thank personally Dr. Gonzalez because she's right there with me side by side the whole way. Um, so it's really nice to have a support system like that. And like I said, Mr. My guest too, he's, he's been around several, several times. So thank you so much. Thank you. Sure. Mr. Marcus, the

131strategies that she used to, to, to improve her campus. Can we somehow give staff development to these other campuses that need that, that help also that are being targeted? Yes, sir. Mr. And we do. And that's the reason why we have, um, sustained success and comparable success at several of our other campuses. We've had, you know, quite a few campuses that have had double digit gains from one year to the next. And that's what happens when we, um, you know, every year, regardless of how successful your district is as a whole, you're going to have a handful of campuses that struggle. Yeah. And so every year we turn our attention to those campuses and implement those same common sense practices. We're not reinventing the wheel. We're not doing anything that's out of the ordinary. We're

132just being very targeted in one, uh, like Dr. Leah's mentioned with Dr. Garza's, uh, leadership, um, working on the culture and the climate of that campus, you know, making our teachers feel supportive. Uh, valued and providing them all the resources and tools that they need for the students to be successful. And two is being very data driven. So looking at, as Dr. Garza showed, looking very carefully at the data where the improvements are needed, and then using our experts and specialists and coordinators to provide the, that guidance for targeted instruction. So, uh, we do, um, we do a lot of work with the district and every campus, whether they're an A or a D is, uh, asked to develop a, not just a campus improvement plan, but a targeted improvement plan that lists what areas

133they need to focus on each year. And so, uh, that's, I think the reason why in the past several years, we've had sustained growth every year and we have become, and are set to become one of the highest performing districts, not in our, just in our region, but in the state. And so, uh, we're very proud of, and this is something we're very proud of. Like Dr. Lee has mentioned that it's public information. Anybody can search it up on TEA. You can download a, um, Excel spreadsheet of all of the rankings by not just an overall accountability, but by domain. And especially if you look at it longitudinally over the last few years, you will find that PSJA is a district on the rise and is consistently, and has always been a high achieving district,

134but it's consistently at the top of the, of the rankings. And that's because every district, every district is different demographically. There's we're, we're not the same as a Loretto United, a South Texas ISD, yet we are consistently, um, near their performance levels. So yes, we do replicate those practices. Mr. Rodriguez. Hope that answered your question. May I elaborate or I ran out of time? You are out of time, Trustee. Thank you. Okay. Uh, so I need a, we need to approve it, right? Yes. Yes. Correct. Okay. So the next item is item two, 2000, sorry, 2025, 2026 target improvement plan for Vita Clover Elementary. Can I have a motion? So moved. Moved by, I make a motion. Moved by Ms. Gutierrez. Second by Ms. Castillo. All those for the motion, six in favor, raise your

135right hand. Aye. Motion passes. Aye. Motion passes, United States. Thank you. Okay. Next item. Uh, yes, Mr. President, we moved to item B, presentation for approval. The instruction partners on the leadership and instructional foundation of Texas, which is the lift grant through the last full cycle for from May 2026 through August 2027. And Dr. Iris will have the will present on that one. Thank you, sir. I also wanted to publicly congratulate Dr. Garza and Clover, uh, Vita Clover Elementary because she just was an example of success that we can have through some of these grants. She got the last full cycle three grant, has done a lot of work and the students, the staff and the students have done a lot of work and have had success. And so you asked President Rodriguez and you

136asked also Ms. Quintanilla, how do other schools also get support? And so it's a great segue into this next presentation. Good evening, uh, President Rodriguez, Superintendent Dr. Elias, and of course our esteemed members of the state. On behalf of our academics team and our grants team tonight, I'm bringing forward for your consideration, a proposed partnership with instruction partners as part of the leadership and instructional foundations of Texas or lift grant. This initiative is focused on continuing to strengthen instructional leadership across our district, fortifying systemic practices and ensuring that all students are able to continue to learn and learn. Thank you. And as you can see, our students have been away for 36 hours. All students have access to high quality rigorous instruction. Before I go into the proposed scope of work, I want to briefly

137provide context on the LASO grants. Lasso stands for the Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities grants. They are state funded initiatives designed to support districts in accelerating student learning and strengthening instructional systems. Grant operates in annual cycles. So districts must apply each year to access funding aligned to these five state priorities that you see here. Strategic planning, curriculum and instruction, education and training, more time, or innovative school models. And there are grants under each of these five priorities. They are focused on these that I mentioned. And since LASSO's inception in 22-23 school year, that was LASSO cycle one, our district has secured multiple grants from each of these cycles for LASSO that have supported key initiatives, including Dr. Garza just mentioned, she was eligible, her campus was eligible because they were in school improvement. We applied and

138they got it. But some of the other key initiatives. Have been including the development of math and reading instructional frameworks two years ago when we received LASSO cycle two. The implementation of HQIM also with LASSO cycle two. Funding for high impact tutoring and the launch of blended learning with LASSO cycle three. So several of these initiatives have come about with LASSO cycles. In cycle four, the one we applied for 26-27. School year. We are proud to share that PSJA ISD received seven grants and allotments with the most significant being this one, the leadership and instructional foundations of Texas or lift for a total of $1.5 million. Just this one graph lift is specifically designed to strengthen instructional leadership systems that support. Teaching and learning and the use of high quality instructional materials. It strategically combines

139these three state initiated legacy programs that have been around that are state initiated for several years. The strong foundations, the Texas instructional leadership or the Texas led his lesson study and lift now is taking the strengths of these legacy programs programs and combining them. into a unified and comprehensive leadership development model designed to strengthen the entire school systems. The first thing we're going to talk about is the development plan. Because PSJA ISD is already currently implementing blue bonnet for mathematics across all of the grade levels elementary middle and in high school. Our development plan will focus on the. These are examples here of the different pathways. So it could be. A district that's barely going into new implementation but ours will focus on the deeper implementation and ensuring also long term sustainability. This next slide

140highlights the key supports provided through the lift grant through this initiative our district will receive comprehensive system level support. We will partner with an approved provider. Ensuring high quality. Research based guidance. Both district and campus leaders will engage in high quality professional learning to strengthen instructional leadership. And we will receive instructional systems support helping align practices across all of our campuses. In addition principals will participate in monthly classroom observations with expert support. So classroom observations that we already have. And we will also be providing. A lot of support. For the next slide. And for the next slide. So these are some of the supports that are already commonly do. But with expert support. District and campus leaders will receive monthly leadership coach coaching. Focused on improving instructional practices and that's district leadership. That would. Receive

141some of this leadership coaching and finally we will have. Access to customize technical assistance tailored to our district specific needs. supports are designed to build capacity, strengthen consistency, and of course improve students outcomes for all of our students. On this next slide you will it shows how lift will directly support educators at every level in our district. The district level principal managers has or EO's executive officers here in PSJA is what we call them and of course our assistant superintendent for academics will receive coaching and strategic planning support while school leaders, campus principals, and instructional coaches strengthen observation, feedback, and campus systems. So through our executive officers to our campus principals and of course campus leaders to their teachers and specialists they will benefit from ongoing support in their CLC's and programs. Our district has

142a number of different activities tied to blue bonnet implementation, ensuring strong instruction that also meets the needs of all learners. Overall this work builds capacity across the system to support successful and sustainable implementation. There were several approved providers that are available through the lift grant each offering different approaches and supports. providers by either examining their websites or having experiences that we've already had with certain providers through their resources or areas of expertise. And we also interviewed a select group of providers to ensure we chose the partner whose services best align with the needs and priorities of PSJA. And so this brings us to the proposed partnership under the lift component of this grant. Participants in the work will include again our assistant superintendent for academics, our executive officers, and our campus principals. They are the

143ones directly getting professional development through this technical provider. By focusing on both the district and the campus leadership, we are building capacity at all levels to ensure alignment, sustainability, and long-term impact. And this is all of our executive officers in the academics department, our assistant superintendent, and all of our campus leaders, elementary, middle, and high. The total cost of this partnership is $1,050,000. These funds are fully covered through the LASSO cycle four. And I just want to... Okay. Okay. Okay. Make sure that we all know that this is part of the grant requirements. At least 70% of the funds for this grant must be used with a single approved provider. So we are not making the determination on the cost. That is the requirement of the grant, that it is at the least 70% of

144the 1.5 that we received. But again, and instructional... So the construction partners is one of those approved providers. And in a diplomatic approach, the team decided that this is the one we'd be bringing to the board for approval. But there is no impact to the district's budget for this contract. This partnership represents a strategic investment in strengthening instruction, developing leadership capacity, and improving outcomes for all students. It also aligns directly with our district program. Okay. priorities and our commitment to providing opportunities for all. So at this time, we as a team respectfully request the board approval to proceed with the contract with instruction partners. Ms. Fajardo, the provider would be Region 1? No. We are requesting that we contract with instruction partners. Instruction partners. Ms. Rodriguez? Go ahead, Ms. Gutierrez. Ms. Fajardo, good evening. Good

145evening. What was the name? Instruction partners? Yes, correct. Instruction partners. Okay. Maybe this is something, Dr. Elias, that you can answer or maybe Becky. Is this bound by the requirements of a I know it's a grant, but I know grants are subject to the same state and federal requirements for purchasing or going out for bids. Or is this considered, Iris, a sole vendor, a specialized? I don't know who they are. I'm just saying that there are laws that need to be followed when finding a company. Yes, ma'am. I understand. Through the NIFT grant, there is an approved providers list. So that same vetting of different companies or different organizations gets done through the PEA and the list gets shared with the school districts that are awarded the grant. So all of the Okay, so in

146other words, in other words, they, Give you a list and you can choose any one of those. Correct. And as I mentioned, we did review multiple providers by examining either experiences that we've already had with some of them. We looked through their websites, through their resources, areas of expertise. And then we even had a few that came and did an actual interview with us or a presentation with us. And as a team, our assistant superintendent and the academics executive officers selected that we would contract with instructional partners. Yes. Legal or Becky, is there any concerns, anything here? I know that TASB sends the list. Are there any opposition to this? Yes. And I'm... I'm glad that you're getting this money, Ms. Guajardo. I just want to make sure that we follow everything that, you know,

147the purchasing is... There are serious things. So I just want to make sure that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. Thank you. So there's a rule that says that the granting agency can declare sole source and they've declared these vendors as the providers for this grant. It's an exception to the rule. That's... That's what I thought it would be. Just wanted to put it on the record that on occasion, you can grant a contract to when there is specialized work or there is already a vetting process and all that. Thank you so much, Ms. Gonzalez. Thank you, Ms. Guajardo. Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez. Okay. Ms. Castillo. This is very exciting. I think... I think that this is a great opportunity to align and to really create a system of continuity and consistency in

148the area of leadership and instruction. And this is... I'm very excited for this. Now, my question would be, from what I see here, it's one year. What do we do after that? How will we... How will we sustain? So, if we go back, Dr. Davalos, to a couple slides on the examples part... Another slide. Another one. Right there. Okay. There we go. Right. You will see that part of the work, and I mentioned this as I was speaking to this slide, that part of the work that we do with the provider, knowing that it's only a grant that lasts for one year, is that we do a lot of work with the provider. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right.

149Right. Our district will be focusing on this deeper implementation work because through Lasso Cycle 2 and the strong foundations that we got last year, we already implemented Blue Bonnet. And so, some of the focus areas and the support within the first column, that implementation, we've already done. Lesson internalization. the RBS research based instructional strategies training created an instructional framework all of that is already done in our work so the technical provider would support our district in systems across for deeper implementation and as you mentioned Ms. Castillo sustainability I would like to see in writing how will we continue after this year there's a lot of power to this and yes I see here sustainability new focus areas evaluation and incentives system alignment all that is good but what is the vision after that sir I

150really would like to see almost like a plan if you will I don't know if I'm making sense you know just because this is something I think this is because it's such a short time and there's a lot of power to this and so I would really like to see like a plan to maintain how do we continue to move forward in these practices now I don't know whether we can continue applying for this grant or this is just the end of it yes there are annual cycles of LASSO opportunities okay there we go okay then we're good okay thank you and one of the first tasks that this provider technical provider would do for our district is develop a needs assessment or conduct a needs assessment very complete and so it will be something

151in writing for all of us thank you so much it's amazing to see that we're moving forward with a lot of the latest in instruction and messaging practices and going back to staff development and building capacity from within thank you yes so again I second what Ms. Castillo is saying and just wanted to make sure so the campuses have been identified I'm reading that the lift already you already did the needs assessment no it has not been conducted it says that reveals no prior that this technical provider if it gets approved tonight that's one of the first things they do in these next couple months because the grant is really not until summer through the next of school year the next school year okay okay it's because I am reading it it says already it's

152an example pathway three because already implementing so this is what it would look like right okay got it and so which campuses are your priority campuses? all of our campuses will be included and I understand that but priority campuses yes we do have ten priority campuses that we will be identifying based on data from the 2026 school year that we will go a little deeper in we have had that conversation with the interviews that we did on the presentations we did with several providers we talked about having a model of really prioritizing some of our campuses as well yes because I would look forward to that let's say those ten campuses that are priority to see them as success story just like we did with clover and being here next year at this time and

153just seeing their progress and the other thing is so I noticed it was all 35 campuses were going to be involved it was going to be seven including Dr. Mr. Marquez as well and I think that was my only question if it did thank you Dr. Guajardo thank you thank you Ms. Kutini thank you Ms. Guajardo thank you all OKAY any other ... comment OKAY OKAY SO I NEED MOTION FOR APPROVAL AYE AYE MOTION MOVED BY MS. CASTIO SECOND SECOND MRS. GUTIERREZ SECOND grip ALTHOUGH FOR THE MOTION SIX TO FIVE I WAGE IT WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND motion passes SURE UNANIMOUSLY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU WE NEED TO GO TO THE NEXT ONE FINANCE MR. PRESIDENT UNDER FINANCE LETTER A APPROVE THE CONTRACT TRAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN the SJISD and South Texas College for

154the EKG technician, the phlebotomy, welding, and pathways towards independence courses for the 25-26 school year. And the estimated cost is 36,443. Motion to approve. Second. Yeah, I have a motion by Ms. Gutierrez and I have a second by Mr. Villegas. All those for the motion signify with your right hand. Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, everyone. Yes, Mr. President, we move to item B under finance, approve awarding a proposal for stage theatrical lighting curtains for the PSJA auditorium, the Osso Dome. And this will be under the assistant superintendent for operations, Mr. Rafael Gonzalez. Good evening, Mr. President, Dr. Elias, members of the board. I do not have a president or a chair for the presentation, but I couldn't help but with all the students that were here with the fine arts, and I

155thought, man, what an opportunity that we're gonna provide for them as we continue to build on this dome. And as we continue to build the infrastructure, we're at that, again, that juncture where we need to procure our lighting and the curtains for inside the dome. So we're asking that we, or we're recommending based on our, based on the committee that we award Texas Scenic to be the company to provide the lighting and the curtains for the dome. Motion to approve. Moved by Ms. Gutierrez. Second. Second by Mr. Villegas. All those for the motion, six and five are raising up your right hand. Motion passes unanimously. Aye. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gunther. Next item. Yes, Mr. President, item C. Raul. I am seeing discussion and action to renew agreement with Purdue, Brandon, Fidler,

156Collins, Mott for property value study and taxable value audits. I make a recommendation to table due to, on the commission there was some numbers that were not correct, so I wanted to make a recommendation if the board could table this item. Okay. So moved. Okay. Motion to table the item. Okay, I got a motion by Ms. Barron to table, I got a second by Ms. Gutierrez. All those for the motion, second by raising your right hand. Aye. Aye. All those against? Aye. Okay, one against. Okay, motion passes. Yes, Mr. President, we move to technology. Letter A, approve awarding a proposal for enhancement for network infrastructure, which is E-Rate, and this will be presented by Dr. Davalos, Assistant Superintendent for Technology. Good evening, Board President, President Rodriguez, Dr. Elias, and members of the Board. With me

157today, I do have our technology directors. We have Mr. Hector Rodriguez, Executive Director for Technology, Mr. Adam Parker, Management Information Systems, or MIS Director, and Ms. Melissa Marvin, Instructional Technology Director for Secondary Campuses, and the reason why they're here is because they've been integral in the work of coming to this point. They really helped put our request for proposals together. They helped analyze and review those proposals, and they're here with us because they were part of this process as we make this recommendation to the Board. So I'll get started just by simply reviewing what E-Rate is. This is a cyclical program. It's a five-year program. Basically, it provides discounts to eligible entities, schools, school districts, and libraries. It funds things such as inter, or, internet service provider. It also funds our network infrastructure improvements, and

158our basic maintenance. And how is E-Rate funded? So the Universal Service Fund funds four programs, E-Rate being one of them, and E-Rate stands for education rate. Like I mentioned earlier, we get discounted rates. And the way it's funded, I don't know if you guys have looked at your phone bills, you'll have an FCC charge, right? So the FCC says, this is the rate that these telecommunication companies pay, and that money gets collected nationally. So everyone that pays their cell phones and their home phones pays this fee. It gets collected, and then the FCC assigned the Universal Service Administrative Company to manage this program. So when we apply to E-Rate, we're applying in the portal that USAC provides. So that's kind of where the funds come from. And like I mentioned earlier, this operates on a

159five-year cycle. The last time that we came to the board to seek approval was in 2021. And obviously because of the things with the pandemic, some of these items didn't get implemented until 2023. But now this is the start of the new five-year cycle. And it basically covers two categories. Category one is a yearly thing. So we use these funds to pay for our internet service provider. We get 90% of the discount. So we pay around $200,000 for the internet service. Or it costs about $200,000, but of that money we only pay around $20,000 per year for our internet. And that's category one. And that's uncapped and it's every year. Category two funds our internal connections, our network infrastructure. And that is based on a $200,000, and $1.57 per student for five years, which for

160us comes to around a $5.8 million amount. And PSGISD is funded at the maximum 85%. So for every dollar that we get, it's as if we're spending 15 cents. So we're spending 15 cents on the dollar. So in terms of our focus for this request for proposals, we are prioritizing the $1.57 per student. We are prioritizing our switches. So if you see that picture, that's a closet. And every one of those cords, every one of those cables is connected to a port on a switch. So the ports, I mean so the switches, they're able to, every one of those cords, they'll go to the classroom and it'll be in the drop. This is what you connect to your printer, what you connect to your phone, what you connect to these access points that are here.

161So that cable connects back to a switch. So when a student, for example, has a computer, is typing a question on Google. The switch knows how to direct that traffic. It's like a traffic controller, and it's able to tell it where to go and how to respond back. So those are the switches, and this year we are prioritizing our secondary campuses, really our high schools, because in our last round, there's quite a few switches on the high schools that are aging, and those need to get replaced. And just as a side note, what we do with the things that we replace that are still in working order, we utilize those. We don't throw them away. We don't get them recycled. We put them in a storage facility, and then if we have, because E-Rate only

162funds our campuses, it doesn't fund secondary, like our maintenance department or, you know. Auxiliary. Auxiliary sites. Thank you. So we utilize those things, and then if they're still in working order, we reuse them. In addition, we are, we're focusing on wireless. The last rate, we did around 3,000 access points. So those that you see here, those went into the classroom, so those are still good. However, we realized that in some cases, in the libraries and the gyms, when we tested, because we only had one or two, it wasn't really conducive to online testing, because we could have like 50 or 60, and it was too many computers for one access point. So we identified, and we are asking to increase the number of wireless access points for high density areas, such as our libraries or

163gymnasiums, and also our outdoor classrooms. One of the things that we haven't been able to do is provide connectivity to our mini stadiums, and obviously that's like a, you know, there's students out there, that's like a classroom as well. So we are, in this solution, we are going to be providing, if it's approved tonight, we would be providing those, um, um, services to those mini stadiums and outdoor areas as well. And then lastly, is what we have, uh, consider interruptible power supplies. In the event, so for example, in our, in our district, in our network operating center at the district level, we have batteries. So we have a, if the light goes out, it doesn't knock out our internet that we provide to the, to the campuses. Um, and that's really good so that we

164don't lose, you know, we don't lose time, et cetera. So, in the case of an emergency, what we will want to do is to ensure that at the campuses, specifically at the main district, at the, at the campus, um, offices, the main office, that if we do have a power loss, that they're able to call, uh, for emergency services, that they're able to utilize their phones. So the re, the way to do that is to, um, uh, include, um, uninterruptible power supplies to every campus on the closets that power the main offices. Where they provide the connectivity to the main offices. So that's, those are the three areas that we're prioritizing. Now, do you have a question? Do you have a question, Ms. Gutierrez? I, I thought he was done. No, I'm gonna wait until

165after. So now, um, we have, as we've reviewed our requests for proposals, we included, um, quite a bit of requests, um, because since we only, since we qualify for five mil, 5.8 million, what we wanted to make sure is that we included enough so that we can choose, right? We already knew what we wanted to prioritize. And, um, what we are able to do through this RFP is choose up to that, uh, award amount, right? After what the E-rate is going to fund us. So for all of the items that we had in our, in our, uh, request for proposals, we had two companies that, um, responded. We had several others that walked the, the, the facilities when we did our walkthrough, but not all of them were able to complete it. And we had

166these two that did. So we have Telepro Communications at 14,000,000, 835,000, um, and that's in network, uh, solutions at 20,205,000. Um, and like I mentioned earlier, since the district is only allocated $201 per student, we're really only considering 5,861,050, um, and $50 with 89 cents. So when we only consider our allocated amount, we went and compared apples to apples. Uh, the difference between the vendors is of what you see there. So Telepro Communications, uh, came out at 4,461,000. Netsync Network Solutions came in at 5,870,000 with a difference of a million, uh, 1,408,607. So out of that difference, um, the million you would, if you multiply that by 15%, the difference to the district would be $211,291 with 12 cents. So for our, our, our, our, our, um, for this request for proposals, um, this is

167the, what it costs by item, right? When we only consider the 5.8 million. So the switches comes out around $3 million. The wireless access points and the increased access points for the high density areas is 1.3 million and are uninterruptible power supplies. Um, is that around 1.5 million for a total of 5.8, 7 million out of that. The responsibility for our district, we would pay 880,000, right? That's 15% of the 5.8 million. And we, as a, we, we, the, the people that you see here behind me, uh, they were, they were part of the committee. We also had five others. We were nine on the committee that evaluated this request for proposals. I know it's in, it's in your packet. Um, so we are recommending that we go with Netsync and the reasons are, um,

168because, um, the other company, um, the other company provided, um, um, switches and access points that are incompatible with our network. So those, those, we wouldn't really be able to, to utilize them. And, and our recommendation is that the, uh, the board award, the request for proposals to network to Netsync network solutions. I now have a question. Yes. Yes. On our packet. Um, it shows 20, 20 million, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, 205, it says total up to 20 million, 205,000, 116 and 30 cents. Right. Um, but since we're, you're seeking approval approval for the 15%, which is 870,000, um, it's 15% out of the 5,000,000, uh, 800. Why does it say up to, uh, 20 million? So I'm sorry if I was unclear, we're really asking the board to approve 5.8, 5,000,000,

169870,000, 253, 33 cents. No, um, we included more items in the request proposals because we didn't want to be in a situation where we leave money on the table. Um, we could only utilize, I, I, we're only asking for $201 and 57 cents per student for the five years, which equals this amount. So out of the 20 million, we're only considering 5.8 million. So I'm just asking for the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000, the 5,000,000. Are we considering 5.8 million? So then, so then, um, that's where it's getting confused. Let's clarify. And I don't want to run out of my two minutes. So right now we're approving 5.8 million. That is correct. And the responsibility from the district, what

170we would have to pay is 880,500 and $37.99. That is the federal government will pay the rest. Right. It says $870,000. All right, thank you. Okay, $880. Was that a typo? It could have been. So it's 15% of $5,870,253. Okay, because it's not rounded here. It just says, I mean, it's rounded here, $5.8 million, and then 15, it says $870. I like to, let me see, lower. I like to see those numbers reflected so that we specifically know how much. I know it's ballpark. Let me see over here, $5,870,000. Okay, no, it is disclosed at the bottom on the last page, $5,870,253, correct? Correct. That is time for Trustee Gutierrez. Thank you. That is correct. Okay, and so it's $780, whatever that I don't see here. That is time for Trustee Gutierrez. Thank you. Okay,

171thank you. I have a question. Okay, on one slide, you have PSA responsibility of $880,000. This is a slide. The next slide, you have that the responsibility, or that's the difference in $211,000. Right. I'm saying that the difference between, so when we consider what we wanted, right, what we're prioritizing, when we compared apples to apples, telepro communications proposal is a $4,461,000. $4,461,645 with $0.85. Netsync Network Solutions is $5,870,253 with $0.33. So the difference of those two proposals is $1.4 million. We wouldn't be responsible for utilizing the entire amount of that difference because we would only do it at 15%. That 15% is $211,000. That's just for your review. And the reason why we are doing that is because we are doing it at a $1.4 million. So we are putting this up for what we

172wanted to be, you know, transparent is because we are not recommending telepro communications, even though they were cheaper. We're recommending Network Solutions because Netsync Network Solutions, because they provided the equipment that actually is compatible with our network. And one of the things that we did so that you guys can kind of see why we didn't elect the Netsync Network Solutions, we did it because we wanted to be compatible with telepro. And we got to see what kind of nauchery and how foolproof this was. Kbruacle was the other vendor. The other vendor provided Fortinet switches. So Fortinet switches are not compatible with our network. So we would have to replace our access points. And we had in our last E rate round we purchased 3,436. We would have to replace those to be compatible with the

173switches that Telepro proposed, the Fortinet switches. We use Cisco switches now. I probably make a lot of mistakes but we did get stock on those. Takis been showing us some way that we are paying for, but we're show will be available to everybody because we have come here and invested and we'reẽ relief that script days. So they discourage you from connecting with this on a must-do list to continue working without telepro circumstances. We will not blessed to be connected with Telepro. We'll see how that fits. switches they propose for the net. And if we were to replace them, it would come at a cost of $2,137,947.92. And that is based on 2021 pricing at around $600 per access point. Obviously the access points are more expensive now, so this number would probably be larger. And

174then in addition to that, we have district wireless controllers. So these wireless controllers are what we use to manage all these access points and the rules that we set to ensure that we have healthy internet traffic. We would have to replace those as well. And we are not able to replace them because E-Rate says that if you have it in place for at least five years, because once you put in a network equipment, you're going to have to replace it. And so we would have to replace those as well. And we would you cannot take it out for five years because E-Rate doesn't want for you to buy it, use it for two years, and then do something else with it. So those are the rules. This is a requirement from the E-Rate. It's a

175requirement from the E-Rate guidelines, so we wouldn't be able to remove our wireless controllers. And then the other thing that I didn't include in here, but we have a new mandate with the silent panic alert technology. And we're utilizing our phones like we mentioned here before. it has an action button, and that is managed by Cisco. It's our Cisco call manager, and obviously that wouldn't work with Fortinet. So when you're a Cisco environment, you really could only rely on Cisco equipment. So that's the reason why we're recommending NetSync Network Solutions. Mr. President. Go ahead. And excuse us for not being tech nerds. So I'm still trying to figure out the math, and you've done a good job of explaining it. Okay. So because of the amount per student that we have allocated, then if you

176multiply it times whatever student, it gives you an amount. Correct. So you want to maximize that amount we're getting. Right. So which puts us a little bit over what, not, NetSync is the price they're giving us. Because you said that overall, they kind of gave us a 20 million point something. That 20 million is the cost of everything. It's because we. And the 5 million is what. So to, I'm sorry. I know. There's a lot of numbers there, and we can't understand. Well, I know why this is, I can see why. Okay. So if you look at this sheet, we requested proposals and services for all of these things. We requested switching for all the elementaries, as you can see here. We requested wireless for all the elementaries, as you can see here. We requested

177cabling for all of our campuses, as you can see here. We requested UPSs, or uninterruptible power supplies, for all these things here. So when we got the 20 million, right, we said we can't afford 20 million. So we're going to prioritize on the things that we can afford up to the 5.8 million. So as you can see here on the elementaries, now you don't see anything from Anaya down to Trevino, because we said, okay, we gave switches to the elementaries in our last round. We don't need them on this round. We're going to prioritize our middle schools, and that's for the switch that's going to connect the mini stadiums. And we're going to prioritize our, for comprehensive schools, because those are the ones that in the last E-rate, they didn't get the course switches that

178they needed. So that's why, that's why that amount is less, right? So if we were to have done every single thing here, it would be 20 million. But when we come and only, you only consider the things that we prioritize, it goes to the 5.8 million. Okay. I'm clear. Okay. Okay. Motion to approve. If nobody has questions. Hold on. Trust me. I still haven't used up my two minutes. So I think now I'm clear on the numbers. And so my next question is, has E-rate evolved? Do we not get laptops also on a certain cycle? I know I've been out for a while. And because I know that as I visited some campuses, that has been a concern like laptops. So I'm not too sure what we're doing, with, with that function. At some point

179E-rate, we would get, you know, it would be like certain elementaries would get it one year and then middle school and then high school. And then they weren't a kind of rotation basis. E-rate does not provide funding for, for personal, for student computers. Okay. So what would we, what was the district doing in the past? That they would get computers? We didn't use computers in the past, but we used to, we used to fund a lab computer replacement. So every three years, I don't know if you remember, we used to, campuses would get one lab and then another year, they would get another lab. So we didn't have a one. We, for the computers that we, prior to ESSER funds, Trustee Gutierrez. We did not have a one-to-one. So campuses utilize their local budgets to

180buy computers for their students, like laptops. And some campuses prioritize that more than others. So some campuses, you know, they utilize their title one funding and some other, local funding for their devices. So then we don't have the lab replacement cycle going anymore. We do not have the lab. No. The campuses utilize their funding to replace those labs. Okay. Thank you. Mr. President. Go ahead. I too do not understand. And so I thank you for that explanation because it's, it's a little bit more clear. My question to you, sir, is there a recurring cost? With E-rate, I'm thinking that licenses and stuff like that. We know. So, so even though there may be some licenses, some licensing, we usually do not, you know, we do not renew licensing until the next five year cycle comes

181around. So, so that you guys know, E-rate pretty much provides everything that we use for our network infrastructure. We, we hardly use any local funds. We try to be very strategic and, and choose, okay, this, this, this cycle, we're going to do the access points in the switches. The next one, we're going to do high density areas and we're going to do the additional switches we didn't miss in the UPS. This next year, we might have to replace our access points. So that's going to, but we can already know. Um, and, and all those, all of the E-rate funding that we utilize is strictly what we use for network infrastructure upgrades and basic maintenance. Do we have, uh, I'm sorry, then do we have, uh, we have a grant writers from the district, right? I'm

182sorry, grant writers. Yes, we can. Can, uh, can we maybe ask him to look into some grants to get some computers for the, for the, for the campuses that are like, how we have, we've been looking and looking and looking. We actually applied to a grant. Um, and then it was just, it was one of the departments that was, um, we just, we never heard from them again. I think it was one of the departments that were, um, can you give us Dr. Lavanos next? Yeah, I think that's an example of the lifespan of our middle school, our elementaries, and then where we're at, because I know we've talked about this and every year principals know that they need to meet with you and they need to propose of how they're going to use their

183budget and some of it is put away for devices for the students. So at this point, the devices that they're getting, the lifespan is still functional. Am I correct? It is still functional. The ones that we're, you know, addressing, um, we're going to be addressing next year is going to be our high school devices. We're going to do a round of devices for that is our proposal. That is our proposal. We're going to utilize our technology budget because we've been using our technology budget to purchase equipment right in the last two years. We used it for our second, our elementary two years ago. It was for elementary teachers. We provided new laptops this this year. We provided it for the secondary teacher. So that's why you see those big, laptops that are really nice. 32

184gigs. They're very, very, very, very good computers. And can you give us an example of what it cost us per year? What we're budgeting for devices? You're putting me on the spot, sir. So, so this last one, it was, we got a very, very good deal on our computers. It was around $800 per device. It's a 16 inch computer that's touchscreen and it has the numbers light up. So that times 2,250. It was how many million? I don't remember. Maybe about 1.2. It was more than that. It was, I remember that the board approved on that and it was like close to two million. Yeah. So, so the teachers have the, so we wanted to make sure that the teachers had and, and that's why we don't do the labs anymore because we needed the

185money for them for the teachers. And also next year we're going to do that. And where I'm trying to get to is because, you know, people keep throwing out there that the devices and the devices, but, but yet we're on a rotation. These devices, the lifespan is four to four years, four years, four to five years. So when we know we're getting close to it, that's when those talks start with each campus. If it's going to be elementary or middle schools or high schools, and then we develop that plan and we help as a district, but it doesn't mean we go and replace the whole district. That would not be adequate, you know, financially for the school. So we're going to be, we're going to be, we're going to be, we're going to be, you

186know, financially for the district to go do something like that. When you still have devices that their lifespan is still in a functional way. And I will say that the campuses have done an amazing job. They really have. Because when we first did this, when we were looking at the replacement rates from other districts and our, our teachers and our students really do a great job at taking care of those devices because we still have, we still have them. So our, our goal is next year is to replace our ninth grade devices with Chromebooks. And we'll follow that. We'll follow that. That the plan. And like Dr. Lee has mentioned, we'd already met with our title one director and we're out. We're currently reviewing their allotments for next year. So as soon as we, we

187get that from them, we're going to meet with, with their principals and our executive officers and identify the funding that they could utilize for, for additional devices. Okay. And then, and then we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll be up there to service those kids. Okay. Thank you so much. Abg. Do we have any more. 議 했어요 Ma'am, Hidalgo County Precinct 2 to establish a public park, cross-country trail park at the PSJA Early College High School. And this will be presented by Rafael Gonzalez. Hello again. Again, we don't have a presentation. This is just an outright approval, request for approval. We do have a map that we attached there. I don't know if... I don't know. Okay. If we can put that one up. Now,

188Mr. Gonzalez, because I know you said you don't have a presentation, but what is the cost to the district as far as this park? Right. So, no, there's no cost to the district with this. And so, this is just an interlocal. The county precinct 2 will be the ones that will take on that financial burden, right, to create this running park that benefits not just the district, but... Well, really, it's a campus, a district, and the community. And so, what I was going to outline with that map... So, during school hours, the campus will be able to utilize it for athletic purposes. Absolutely. Based that it's going to be more of a trail hike. So, there's going to be hills and the walkways for the students to be able to use. And then after hours,

189it would be used by community members or staff. Right. So, we do have set times that the community would be able to use it. And then, of course, the district can use it. Okay. by hosting different cross-country meets and so on. But yeah, I mean, again, I'm not sure if you were able to get that map up. Dr. Davalos. I have a question, Dr. Elias, for you. If your case is there's no presentation, we saw the map. The areas that are not being utilized, if in the future we needed to build or put any type of structure or anything, those areas, even though we're going into an agreement, we can still use them, correct? Yes, correct. And the way we formalized the agreement, we cut down on the years and then we also put a

190stipulation there that if we notify them within a 60-day span, then we can undo the agreement in case we need it for a future structure. Yes. In case of selling it or any of that. And then the other, the other question that I had was, so it's just parameter. Does it interfere at all with the marching band? No, ma'am. No. No, as you can, y'all can see on the map, it's clear. And also for our soccer area, our softball, second softball field, because we have two of them there. It wouldn't interfere at all with any of that. Yeah, it was designed around. Well, one more extra, well, one more area, extra area to take my dogs, to walk. What is the, the, the measurement of the perimeter? Do you know, Dr. Elias? Like how, in

191other words, I know that the bike trail, when I go not run, but walk, it's about a mile for, for the San Juan area. Do you know how long this trail is? Like if I wanted to go walk there, how long is it? One mile, two miles, three miles. How much are we occupying? So there's two trails. I don't see, if you see the map, they're the, the shorter one is a half a mile and the, and the longer one is a mile. So, you know, you have the option of doing either one. Do they have like the bike, the bike trail, the little canopies and water stations? No. So the only additional that we're going to get to, so a lot of this is, is, is more for walking and running. There's going to

192be hills. So it's, it's more like a cross country trail. Yes, ma'am. And so the only, the only thing that they will be adding is a parking. I don't, I don't know if you see that off to the, on the left of the map there, there's a yellow shaded area where they're going to add a parking area for, for, for the community. But there will be no additional structures other than, like I said, it's more of a trail with hills and, and, and no restrooms. Are they thinking of putting like they did at the bike trail at the beginning, some portables? Probably we could, we can have those talks with them and, and that way they can provide at least some, some type of restroom area. Right. Because before we build the, the, the restrooms

193there across the street at, at, uh, uh, in the old bears, uh, area parking lot, uh, they, they used to have, I believe you remember some portables, you know, throughout. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Yes. Yes. Yes. We will, we'll have those talks with them and they can provide at least portables there. Mr. Viegas. Just one question. Uh, maintenance. Uh, so our district will be maintained, meaning the grounds like we do now already. So really, this is just an add on to, to, uh, to, um, to that open space, but we will be providing the, the, uh, maintenance of the, uh, trails and the county construction. We, we provide the maintenance. Yes, sir. Thank you. I only have one question. Um, then I'm not sure if it, I read on it or not, but for

194how long is this, this agreement? It, it's for, 20 years. 20 years. I know he had asked for 30, but we went 20, but we have that plus in there where if we give them 60 days notice, we can, this, undo the, the agreement. Okay. I'm okay. Okay. I have a motion for approval by Mr. Viegas. Mr. President, I still have, I have a question. So I understand that, and I see it in the map that, you know, we're going to have the, the football field is going to be, still be there. And like the band is still going to be able to use it. And then, um, so we're approving that we're going to lease, um, that area for the next 20 years at a dollar a year. And they're going to construct this

195trail. And so they're leasing it, but yet we're responsible for maintaining it. So that's the, so it is for our use. So during the school day, it's our use. Yes. Right. During the school day. So it's much like the parks that we have, uh, um, interlocals with cities. We, we do the maintenance on, on, on all those parks. So kind of like what trustee Gutierrez said, like just suppose she chooses to walk her dogs and they do their business in that area. And this is happening after five o'clock or after our school, um, you know, students are not using it. So then it is up to our maintenance. Department to go and clean up all of that because our students will be using that, um, certain areas for practice. Well, I'm not sure about, uh,

196specifics with, with dogs, right? Specifically. But, um, again, any park that we have, we, we maintenance it and that, that entails, you know, whatever trash, you know, uh, grass. Um, but, but again, we'll maintain it because it will be used by our students during the day. So we'll make sure to keep it, uh, um, uh, tidy, and, and safe for students to use during the day. And has, um, and I know most of the neighborhoods in that, and, uh, you know, the surrounding areas will probably welcome something like this. Um, what cost, um, or how does it affect the value of the properties, um, in those areas? I see some homes across, across the street over here. has anybody, did we look into that? Was that provided, uh, in the proposal by the, the precinct

197too? Uh, no, we didn't look at that, but, uh, any time you add something like that to, uh, you know, uh, a space for, for physical fitness like we do, you know, on, on the north side of the campus, uh, over there by collegiate, um, again, it just, it's not a, um, it's not something that's going to affect our, our, our, our properties around us. It's just, again, it's something that the county is going to come in and so that we can use it during the day. For our students, right? And again, after school for our cost, our cross country teams, uh, it's again used for the district. So any, any campus can come in and use this, uh, um, uh, the facility. But I, I just don't foresee any of that affecting any, any,

198um, values either up or down for houses that are surrounding that area. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Motion to approve. I really had a motion from Mr. Villegas. I have a second, but I'm, I'm just continuing all those from the motion. Six by raising your right hand. Uh, I motion passes. Thank you. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. So item, Mr. President, there's no item for executive session. Well, there isn't. No, sir. Mr. President, I get, I guess I also, I, for clarification purposes, if there isn't anything, I think there should be noted, um, legal because right here, um, it, I think we allowed somebody to speak. Earlier on personnel matters, which wouldn't have been allowed had we been, um, not have the executive session on, on the agenda, uh, and all the other, um, items.

199I'm just, uh, for future, uh, purposes. If there isn't anything on the agenda that goes into executive session, should it, should it be noted on the agenda? Um, so I think these are left in as placeholders, right? In the event that something is needed, I think it's always best to err on the side of, let's have it there so that you don't have to wait for the next meeting to be able to have the discussion if you need to. Um, I definitely see your point about it does, you know, invite additional, um, public comment. Um, but I, I think the, the benefit of keeping it on there in the event that it's needed, um, I, what I would be that more often than not. Can I ask you to, um, look into that with any

200of the new, uh, the newer Senate bills that, that for transparency purposes and, um, and, um, just kind of give us some feedback just to make sure that, that we are in compliance. Yes, absolutely. And we do always review your agendas with you, um, prior to posting just to make sure that anything that's on there is on there because it needs to be, or because it benefits you to have it on there. Okay, thank you. Thank you. I need a motion for adjournment. Moved by Ms. Barron. Second. Second by Ms. Castillo. All those for the motion, second by my original right hand. Thank you very much. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you.