001It is now 6 0 3 I call this meeting the shaylan independent school district to order let the record show that a quorum of board members is present and that this meeting has been duly called and notice of this meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act Texas government code chapter 5 5 1 Board members that are present today forming a quorum are David Keith Megan Sullivan Hector Rivera Julio Cerda Dr. Oliveira and myself Marita Vanessa We will now move on to item number three, which is invocation to be read by Mr. Julio Cerda. If we could remain standing after the invocation for the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Karime Mireles from Sherry Elementary and Robert Julian Saldana from Warnecke Elementary. Please bow your heads
002and pray in your own way, please. The Almighty God, we come together for good of our children in our schools. Give us your wisdom as we make decisions that affect them today and in the years to come. Help us to work well together, recognizing that each of us, students, parents, educators, and community members are here because we love children and we want what's best for them. We ask for your blessings and your guidance. In your name we pray. Amen. Good evening, Madam President. Mrs. Maritza Bencian, members of the board, superintendent of schools, Dr. Howard, and our Sherrilyn family. My name is Robert Julian Saldana from Morneke Elementary. And I'm Karima Mireles from Johnny Sherri Elementary. We are very excited to be here tonight, and we want to thank you for everything you do for our
003schools, for us, and for our community. We see the two... The dedication and hard work you put in the day in and day out, we are truly appreciate it. This evening it is our honor to lead you in the pledges. At this time we kindly ask everyone to please stand up for the pledges. 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. Honor the Texas Pledge. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible. Thank you. Thank you. We're on to item number five, Sherrilyn Student Spotlight. Miss Nancy? Good evening Madam President Vanessa superintendent dr. Howard esteemed Board of Trustees and distinguished guests We just heard from two remarkable
004students cutting men me Dallas from Johnny Sherry and Robert Julian Saldaña from Donna Warnock elementary Their voices reflect the promise talent and bright future of our Sherry land isd students both cutting May and Robert were selected as students spotlights for their leadership character and the way they represent the very best of our district Tonight, we are proud to celebrate them publicly and honor their achievements. First, we recognize Karime Mireles. Karime is a shining example of dedication and school pride. She inspires her peers and reminds us of the power of positive attitude and a strong spirit. Please roll the video. The Sherri-Land ISD Student Spotlight, where students believe, shine, and inspire. Hi, I'm Karina Nunez-Lelis, a sixth grader here at John A. Sherry Elementary. I'm proud to support my classmates, cheer on my school, and always
005do my best to lead with kindness and humility. I love encouraging my peers and helping whenever I'm needed. I served as class representative and now I'm excited to run for student council. Cheerleading is one of my favorite ways to show school pride. Whether it's sunny or raining, I'm always ready to represent my school with spirit and heart. I'm also part of Radio Club and I love bringing my classmates the daily news. Outside of school, I love helping my parents and helping my brother with his business. I love supporting my family. Thank you Sherryland ISD. I'm proud to be a Diamondback and to represent Johnny Sherry Elementary. Next we honor Robert Julian Saldaña from Warnecke Elementary. Robert is an outstanding student who demonstrates leadership, kindness, and a commitment to excellence. His example shows us that even
006at a young age, students can leave a lasting impact at their school and their community. Please roll the tape. The Sherri Lam Dryas D. Student Spotlight, where students believe, shine, and inspire. Hi, I'm rapper Julian Saldana, a sixth grader at Donna Wernicke Elementary. I love learning, creating, and finding new ways to challenge myself both inside and outside of school. Music has always been a big part of my life. I play the piano and I recently performed with a full band, learning the importance of teamwork and staying in sync with others. At school, I'm part of the UIL Music, Memory, and Chess teams. Competing and practicing with my teammates has led me to believe that I don't have to be the best, but I can still give my best so our team can succeed. I also
007had the chance to be the spotlight manager for our school's annual variety show. It was exciting to be behind the scenes supporting others on stage. Outside of school, I'm learning to cook, exploring coding, and dreaming of becoming an engineer one day. Most of all, I try to be kind and genuine to everyone around me. Thank you, Sherryland ISD. I am proud to be a Diamondback and represent the spirit of Warnakee Elementary. We invite both of our student spotlights along with their families, teachers, and administrators present to join us on stage to be recognized. Great job students and at this time we also invite our team of eight to please come forward so we can begin commendations right after this. While they pose for their picture and they're getting congratulated by our team of eight before
008we begin with commendations We also want to take a moment to recognize some of our most important guests here tonight our parents and guardians Families, thank you so much for being here Let's give you a round of applause and give yourselves a round of applause for your support and encouragement for Julian and Karime All right, our board stays up here. We have four accommodations this evening. Thank you. Thank you very much. As we continue our evening, we are now. We move on to item six, board commendations. As we proceed, I invite each student group and staff honoree to join us on stage when you hear your name called for recognition in photos. Please be assured that our communication team will capture all official photos and share them on our social media channels, but you are
009more than welcome to take your own pictures as well. We begin with SISD's spectacular series, Death and Hard of Hearing Awareness Month. Tonight is especially meaningful as we launch a new series within our board commendations, the SISD Spectacular Series, designed to shine a light on the heart of Sherrilyn ISD, our students and staff. At Sherrilyn ISD, we believe that every ability matters and every student regardless of circumstance has unique gifts worth celebrating. Each month this series will highlight excellence in all its forms, raise awareness and honor achievement across our district. To kick off the series we proudly recognize Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Month. Tonight we celebrate students and staff who exemplify courage, communication and connection every single day. Their stories remind us that differences do not divide us, they enrich our community. In
010September, we honor this great awareness. A remarkable group of students has joined us tonight to represent their campuses, showcasing resilience, talent, and determination. We also extend heartfelt appreciation to Ms. Ludy Contreras, whose dedication helps students grow in language, communication, and confidence, and to Dr. Vanessa Leal, SISD Special Education Director, for her leadership and support for all our special education programs. Together, family, staff, and community partners, they exemplify collaboration, compassion, and the excellence that defines Sherryland ISD. While they take a picture, Can we have another round of applause? Thank you students for being here present this evening and thank you to Ms. Contreras for shining this light on this special awareness. Up next, we have a staff recognition, Sherrilyn North Junior High Athletic Game. Next, we recognize the outstanding service of our staff during a recent
011Sherrilyn North Junior High Athletic Game. On September 16th, SRO Eric Perez, Coach Mario Garza, and Security Officer Deandre Castillo provided immediate assistance to an injured grandparent after the game at Pioneer High School. Their professionalism, compassion, and quick action ensured the safety and well-being of all involved. We are grateful for their dedication and proud to highlight their exemplary service. Just one more way that SherriLand ISD goes the extra mile, our staff, our community, all working in unison for the betterment of our entire community. we have our Purple Star designation from Sherri-Land Pioneer High School. We are proud to recognize Sherri-Land Pioneer High School for earning the 2526 Purple Star Campus designation from the Texas Education Agency. This honor highlights their commitment to supporting military-connected students. and families. This recognition celebrates not just the school but the
012families themselves. We invite the families that are present here for military connected students at PHS to please join us on stage. We did extend an invitation but we do know that they have very busy lives but I also like to shine a light on Principal Erica Julie Carranza as well as to AP Andres Benitez to please join us on stage for this designation. Families if you're present please join us on stage as well. The designation is a testament to the teamwork and dedication of the Sherrilyn Pioneer High School staff, leadership, and student ambassadors who worked tirelessly to implement programs supporting military-connected students from transition programs to appointing a military liaison and ensuring professional learning for staff. We especially recognize all the hard work behind the scenes that took place to ensure that this designation was
013received by PHS. Last but not least, last item on the agenda for commendations is the NASA Aerospace Scholars from Sherrilyn Pioneer High School. We are proud to introduce two outstanding seniors from Sherrilyn Pioneer High School, Ismael Rios and Robert Zuniga, who participated in NASA's prestigious Texas High School Aerospace Scholars, also known as HAAS, Moonshot Program. Nominated by their state legislature, they were selected from over 750 students across the entire state for this unique opportunity. Throughout the year, they competed in a rigorous 20-week online STEM curriculum, and this past summer, they worked virtually with NASA experts, participated in briefings and tours of the Johnson Space Center. We are so immensely proud of them. Let's hear it once more for them. This concludes our commendations for this evening. Thank you so much to our Board of Trustees
014for recognizing our students and staff. To the families here present, thank you for inspiring your children to believe in themselves, dream boldly, and pursue a future full of hope. Your love and guidance makes moments like this possible. Thank you for believing in Sherrilyn ISD. For the record, Board Member Andrew Riddle arrived at 613. And now we will move on to item number seven. Oh, I think we are on item number seven. Yep, item number seven, public comments. No public comments. Item number eight, mission statement to be read by Mr. David Key. Yes, thank you. Shailen ISD's mission is to inspire, educate, and empower all students to reach their full potential and become leaders of the highest moral character. Thank you. On to item number nine, board reports. 9A, board subcommittee assignments 25-26. And item B,
015selection of TASB board delegate. Okay. So on to item number 10, superintendent reports. 10A, special ed program evaluation. Madam President, in the spring of 2025, we as a district partnered with Stetson and Associates Consulting Group, Educational Consulting Group, to conduct an entire program evaluation of our special education program. Tonight we have with us Dr. Cindy Short, who will be sharing the findings of her evaluation, as well as providing us some insight into community and stakeholder feedback that was part of that evaluation process. Dr. Short? Thank you, Dr. Howard. Can you hear me okay? Thank you all for letting me come and join you and be able to share a little bit of the findings from the report and some recommendations. And it's always exciting to get to come and give the feedback and then certainly
016want to open it up to questions that you might have for me. So just to begin, you know, there we go. Really the purpose of the program evaluation was to look at supporting students with disabilities here and improving outcomes. And that's something that we look at across the state is improving outcomes for our students that receive special education services. So when we look at a program evaluation, we couch it under the framework of quality standards. And so what do quality standards mean? And these are the components that we looked at. Leadership, instruction, staffing. capacity building as well as family engagement and so what do we when we talk about leadership we talk about casting a clear vision for students that have disabilities and is that clearly communicated throughout the district throughout the schools throughout the
017community and then do we communicate that clearly and consistently so those are just key components in the provision of services for students with disability we look at instruction and instruction begins with quality tier one instruction for all students. Because if that's not in place, then our students with disabilities don't have access to that as well. So we look at quality tier one, high standards. for all students and then we get into those components of quality services for students with disabilities whether that's an in-class support setting inclusive practices or in a pull-out setting like an early childhood special education setting or a life skill setting so capacity building is all about what's professional development is out there for the teachers and the pair of professionals and the administrators in your district and is it strategic in
018the work that you're doing as well as the resources that teachers need to to have in their classroom in order to provide those services. And then lastly, we do look at community and family engagement, partners with parents and guardians, and that's a critical component of quality services for students that have special education. So the methodologies that I used, and we used our firm, were a number of different areas. I did a comparable district study looking at five district different districts and a number of components and we look at the state we look at the region one and we look at those comparable districts just to see how sherry land is is functioning in comparison to those in from that those districts we did a series of surveys and both the instructional staff as well as
019parents. We had about a 40% return rate for instructional staff and about a 15% return rate for parents. So we just asked a series of questions plus some open-ended responses. Key staff interviews, I came in and interviewed superintendent, chief. academic officer, HR, director, special ed coordinator, just getting a sense of what the main issues are and what their concerns were and what was working and what wasn't working. Did a series of focus groups. I think I had 11 focus groups of about 85 staff members throughout the district to include a really very well attended focus group with a group of parents and guardians. And so again, just listening to what their concerns were and what were the positives and what were the challenges. a lot of data. Oh, we did classroom observations at about six
020canvases, about 40 classrooms we went into. We have a very structured observation protocol. Looked at data, looked at special education folders, and just kind of tried to get a big picture of the district. So in a snapshot of services, of the services, and this is again all in the report, I don't want to spend too much time, but it just talks about you all have about 10.5% of your students in the district that require special education services. That's lower than the state, and that is lower than some of the other districts in comparison. So we did find a higher percentage of students that had other health impairments. We also found learning disabilities and autism, those were higher than, again, the state and some of the other districts. And those things all just impact how you're
021you provide services. And I know you all know this in terms of the star test, the three through eight didn't meet the state standards. So we see that across the state. Our kids in special education are just not meeting those benchmarks that we want them to. But the good news was that your EOCs Three of the four were ULMET standards, except for English 1 and 2. So that's a positive. Graduation rate is higher than the state. The special ed has a TEA. The special ed department has a TEA determination. of meets requirements, which is always a positive, but they look at compliance and many other factors as well. There were some things about least restrictive environment, the early childhood special education and percentage of times that kids are being pulled from that gen ed setting.
022And then lastly, there was a little bit of information about disciplinary removals of students with disabilities, which leads to a determination level of two, and that's something you don't want to do. You don't want to get there for very long because that can impact how you spend your your federal dollars. So let's look at some of the findings from a leadership perspective. Certainly, again, you have all this information from interviews and focus groups and surveys, and then you go out and look at some things as well. So certainly the district level leadership really does support a strong commitment to special education services, focus groups and surveys. echo that as well. Most faculties and parents responded positively across all grade levels about services, about that common vision. However, there were some comments in focus groups that
023did not support, which just tells me while there's some great conversation, it's not getting down to all the stakeholders within the district. When we hear things like, I think we pull kids out of classrooms and then we forget about them along those lines. So just being aware that there are some concerns even though the data supports that good strong vision and a belief in inclusive practices that there's still some work to be done in that area. And the last bullet on this page is like while most faculty believe that students benefit socially in inclusive classrooms, only 76% believe they benefit academically and almost half think that students, general ed students suffer because we have kids with special education needs in the gen ed setting. So certainly something to be to look at that from a
024perception of what's happening. 80% of the faculty and 84% feel supported by their campus principals, but there was a pretty significant concern, 66.8% did not feel supported by the department. And so again, when you look at all the components that our special education teachers and paraprofessionals need, as well as gen ed teachers and staff, that both campus and district level support. There were suggestions for improvement about better communication and lastly on this one, while the district has operating guidelines which are required by the state, that handbook that just really details the step by step, the day by day, what do I need to do, was just not apparent in any conversations or even looking at the data. So when I look at instruction, So again, we talked about Tier 1. We did see some components
025of good quality Tier 1 instruction, but again, it's not reflected in statewide assessment, and that's where we need that to translate. And only 64% of the staff that... were surveyed felt like they had the strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners in their classroom. And diverse learners doesn't mean just kids in special education, but across the needs of all of our kids. I'm not going to go over the table that I just included in there because I think you all have the report and have seen that but you know it does show that these are quality components of tier one instruction that we're looking for and you know some of them one the one that pops out to me is instruction is differentiated in content and I we saw that only in 32% of
026the classrooms that we visited and again that's not just about meeting the needs of kids in special education but all students that differentiated instruction MTSS, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, is a huge component of any school. I think there's some framework is what we were hearing, but it's inconsistent in the implementation of it. So while you may have some things in place, it's still being viewed as a pathway to refer kids to special education as opposed to a system of interventions that we want to put in place to improve outcomes for all of our students. So we have a good academic. I heard a lot about not having the behavioral RTI or MTSS, and that's not an uncommon statement that we're hearing. across schools that we go to. Again, MTSS is really being perceived as a
027pathway to a referral for special education. 60, almost 70% of faculty agree that they offer a range of options effectively, while only about 65% that they're consistent across different campuses. And again, that's a quality indicator of services for students with disabilities. Students across the district have opportunities to access the services that they need. Quality services again for students with disabilities specifically, 87% believe they receive their services based on their needs, not a label. However, there were some comments in focus groups that really did contradict that. Such as we're not providing adequate services, we need a class between gen ed and life skills, which tells me you're making some decisions based on not the needs, but a place. And again, we say that so often, special education is a service, not a place. So the fact
028that there's that thinking is we need another place out there is really concerning in terms of how we're staffing and programming. A lot of conversations about we don't have a resource at our school, but we have resource at this school. We used to have co-teaching, and now we don't have co-teaching. So that's that continuum support of services that is. is not as defined and clearly articulated as we would like for it to see that. One comment was every student on this campus gets the same amount for math and ELA, everybody gets 30 minutes, regardless of what their needs are. So while the survey says we're making decisions based on individual needs, I think there's still some practices that don't support that. I won't go over those two tables in there, and you can check those
029out. So staffing, that's always a huge issue when we come in and do a programming evaluation. And almost universally, there's a belief that we don't have enough special education teachers in the district and paraprofessionals. So in looking at the data, there is some data that would support. you have a lower percentage of special education teachers compared to the state and compared to the region and other districts. However, when you look at the percentage of students that receive special education services, that ratio of students with disabilities to teachers is lower than across most of the rest of the state. And we know that numbers are not the only way that we need to look at Staffing, but that's the only way we can compare across other districts. It's just some numbers. So that's a starting place
030for Getting and looking at staffing so while the district again employs a lower percentage of students They really do have that student to teacher ratio is lower and but so comparative data when you look at this information I look at ratios that was provided that were provided by the district in terms of all those schools and all the programs and what we see across the state and really across the United States. The district has sufficient staff in terms of special education teachers and paraprofessionals. However, what impacts that is we look at not just sufficiency, but are we using our teachers efficiently? Are we using them? Are they effective in what they're doing? And are we working with them in an appropriate manner? Do we have the right teachers in the right place with the right
031certifications and the right training? And are we giving them the skills and the resources that we need? And a big component that goes along with staffing is the whole scheduling. The decisions that are made. prior to building out that master schedule that if they're not strategic, then it's going to appear that you don't have enough staff. So really making those decisions about how many groups or units I know units is a secondary word but how many teachers do we need or how many sections do we need of an ELA block or a math block and assigning the teachers to those needs rather than making decisions about the adults and then trying to find a way to fit the kids into that master schedule and if you don't do those decisions first and you build out
032a master schedule you're not being efficient in the use of your staff and then it will appear that you do not have the amount of staff that you need. Another big issue that we heard about a great deal and Dr. Howard and I already spoke about this was the use of coaches. We see that all over Texas. But be strategic about it because if you've got coaches that are in classrooms and they're gone for athletic events and all the things that our wonderful coaches do, that really could impact the services. for our kids in special education. And it makes it again appear that we don't have the staff that we need because there's people are not in the classroom where we need them to be. I did some looking into some Salaries and again comparative
033data does show that your salaries across the board for really all of the components, the teachers, the educational aides, paraprofessionals, your appraisal staff is lower than the state. And I'm sure that's probably not new news so I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on that for you, with you. But something to be to look at I know there's a stipend system in place I did hear that the district was considering looking at some of the structures and looking at all those things So I will just leave that to you all in terms of the you know the south the salaries are there But we do like to look at that because that can impact attracting and retaining a good quality staff, so Let me look at capacity building. I skipped over a
034little bit about the appraisal part, which your school psychologist and your educational diagnosticians, you know, it looks as if, from what I'm seeing, and it's hard to do comparative data because comparative data doesn't address contract people, contract services for those school psychologists and speech pathologists and diagnosticians, but it looked like there was a lower ratio of appraisal staff than some of your other districts. and better higher SLP so just something to be looking at and again part of that can be the efficiencies and how they're assigned and and again whether or not you have additional staff that is contracted and as I recall I don't think there's a good number of contract services within the the world of SLPs correct school psychologists and that's a huge credit to the district because that's There's a lot
035of reasons that you want to have your own folks if you can possibly get them. So just something to be looking at. And then let me just look at capacity building, just that need for really a systematic training plan so that you can get the support services out there for the teachers and the paraprofessionals. A lot of comments about behavior, which is not uncommon these days, but only 52% believe that they had this. the training that they needed to really deal with those behavioral issues in that classroom. We talked a little bit about diverse learners and only 60% felt like they had the strategies they needed to do that and only about 60% think the paraprofessionals have the staff and the training that they need. And we also know that there are huge barriers to
036getting teachers and pulling them from classrooms and paraprofessionals, but it's just so critical to, I think we're having to get a little more creative about how we can have access to our teachers and do some training. Let me move on to family engagement. In general, again, we had a wonderful representation of parents, probably about 20 or 30 parents here, and guardians came and really engaged in the conversation. And so you can... see there is a real high satisfaction with about the quality of services their child's considered a full member of the student body they enjoy attending their IEP meetings and experiences have been positive I think a lot of conversation I heard from the parents was that inclusive environment, not just in the classroom, educationally and academically, but also social inclusion. And I heard some
037mixed things about that, where some teachers were saying that they do a really great job, and then other teachers felt like our kids aren't being included in some of those things like opportunities at the secondary level. So just... Understanding that and again coming from the parents the fact that they that's a desire from the parents and Community is about those socially inclusive opportunities. I don't put it on the slide, but we had a great deal of information about positive about yours that speducator and I've heard that, saw that on a slide a little while ago. So really great things going on in that regard. But you know, communication was cited as a positive and it was also cited as a need. So we can always certainly improve those areas within communication. So I'll just go
038briefly over compliance. It's just the world that we live in in special education and there were some areas in the folder review that really needed to be addressed in terms of present levels. goals and objectives, making sure accommodations match what the students' needs are and not just a checklist, along with just some technical issues. And sometimes they're just clerical, but sometimes they're just not a deep understanding of what that really needs to look like. So some priority actions that identified from the program, really the program evaluation really looked at from a leadership component, ensuring that there is a clear vision. for students with disabilities in the district and that it's consistently and clearly articulated throughout the district. And secondary to that is a handbook. Really a need for a handbook that spells all that out
039so that teachers in Paris have an opportunity to go someplace and see these things in writing. The second one would be your MTSS systems. Just continue to strengthen those and ensure that it's an understanding that This is about intervening and improving outcomes for all kids, not a pathway to special education. Probably the biggest chunk is the third bullet about implementing quality inclusive practices and just that understanding of a continuum of services. and that we need to make, we need to provide services based on students' needs, not based on what programs we have or what disabilities they have, but really looking at that continuum services and with a focus on what does quality in-class support look like, whether you call that co-teaching or collaborative teaching or in-class support. Now, one classroom that I went into that
040had a special education teacher in it. did I see that special ed teacher engaged in the presentation of content. They were really focused, they were really working more primarily as a paraprofessional and supporting. mainly students that had disabilities, not even working with all students. So that understanding about what does that mean? If I have a special ed teacher and a gen ed teacher in the classroom, how can we be more efficient with them and therefore more effective? And then lastly, that understanding and implementing specially designed instruction. That's what's so special about special ed. And if we're pulling kids from the gen ed setting and putting them into a self-contained setting, what are we doing there that's... unique and special and individualized for those students and do we have those same high bar and high expectation
041in our life skills classrooms and behavior classrooms in a resource settings at any kind of time we pull kids out of the gen ed setting so those were the four big chunks and then I've kind of given a set of recommendations for each of those findings and I can pass on those if you want me to just or I can spend time what do you think dr. Howard Go ahead and pass so we can ask some questions. Okay. They're in there, and they're really just, those were the four big chunks, and this is not all the recommendations that were in the report, but I felt like they were ones that kind of rose up. And so many of them are interchangeable. So absolutely, open to questions. I know that was very fast, but I'm here
042to answer anything I can. Okay, I'll start. I very much appreciate all of this information. conveyed very clearly. When you were speaking with staff and parents, did you speak with staff, with teachers, paras, assessment? I did not speak with paraprofessionals, but I did speak with principals, gen ed teachers, special ed teachers, appraisal staff, speech pathologists, your SLPs. related services and instructional staff. OTPT. OTPT, deaf ed, all of those folks. And then parents, yes. Okay. Tried to get a picture of everybody's voice. Right. And I assume that was at elementary and secondary. Yes. Okay. And we had good representation. We had kind of a random selection. Somebody from every school was represented from the teachers and the administrative perspective. Fantastic. Any questions, guys? Madam President, I would like to share that now that we have presented
043this information to you as a board, we will share the information out publicly as well. So our special education families will all receive a copy of tonight's presentation in addition to the actual evaluation itself. I feel like that's an important start to the process of addressing. all of our wins and things that we need to be doing better. Additionally, we are under Dr. Liao's leadership, we'll be partnering with Stetson in the building out of an action plan that will address specifically some of those high flying areas, those four areas, critical need areas and some of the recommendations she has. She'll be coming in and spending a few days with us to assist us in that process of writing it with the team. So we will be calling upon some of our administrators, our teachers, our
044paras. our itinerant staff to be a part of a committee that will help us to map out what moving forward looks like. I think one of the most valuable things that we can do in a situation when we make the investment to have an evaluation like this is actually use it as a tool to inform the decision making. to celebrate the good things that we're doing. So principals, I challenge you to take the good things that you can see in these findings and make sure that they're being communicated back to your staff, but also to let them know that there are next steps. This is where the work actually begins. And so I'm excited that we will be able to continue a path of improvement for the program. and also to bring people to a
045better understanding and knowledge of the type of work it takes to educate our uniquely abled students in the day and age that we live in. So it's a big deal. Any questions for me? I actually, you reminded me of another comment I wanted to make. I was really very pleased to see that the parents... Although they said they didn't feel the support from the service center, that they did feel support from their campuses. And that, to me, says a whole lot about our principals, the teachers, what our kids are experiencing day to day. And that when all is said and done, that is really the most important. So that is happening at the campuses. What we need to do now is help support those helping the campuses and to do that most effectively. Thank you.
046That does speak to the relationships that the schools have with the families. Yeah. And special ed is nothing but relationship building. Yeah. I appreciate all the information and Dr. Howard for having this kind of self-assessment done. I know it's a lesson in vulnerability for the district and it's not always easy. So I appreciate the work and I appreciate you presenting it publicly for all of us to know, like what Dr. Howard said, where the work begins and that we are doing a lot of things right and there's some room for improvement. And I think it's important that we acknowledge it the whole way around. So thank you. Can I add something? It was really good to be able to hear from parents and staff members, whether they be positive or negative. I encourage all staff
047and all parents to feel that this is an opportunity to express what they've seen or what they think. And they may be one-off situations where something was missed at that point, but like Dr. Howard said, I think these shine the light on areas. that may have been missed previously. So these kinds of audits and these kinds of investigations and sharing are extremely important for growth. Some of the comments were tough to read for me, but I understand and those are the kind of comments that we need. If that's what they saw in their particular situation, that's what needs to be shared and that's what opens up collaboration and communication. for improvement. And so thank you so much for sharing that. Seems like you did a very intense job and got as much as you could
048get. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you again for the opportunity. Thank you. And I'll be back next month. Okay. Before we move on, I want to circle back to 9B, which is board report selection of TASB board delegate. Ms. Megan Sullivan represented Sherryland at the State General Assembly as our TASB delegate, and I wanted to kind of open the floor for some feedback. Okay, yeah, I attended the TexEdCon conference and went as the Sherryland representative, and we helped shape the... although the legislative season just ended, we're now gearing up for two years from now, kind of shaping where we want public education to focus to be on. And so we all gathered and came together as districts from across the state, from all the regions, and did that on Saturday, last Saturday. So that
049was great. And that was... that followed immediately after my Leadership TASB experience that I had the opportunity to join. What was that? Your session one. The session one, yeah. So I didn't know if this is when you wanted me to say, okay. So I had an incredible opportunity, the honor of being accepted into the leadership TASB cohort for 2026. And I headed off on my first session not knowing what to expect, other than it's a competitive program. It's designed to bring trustees from around the state together to collaborate and learn from each other and from the districts nearby. I arrived, I started meeting some really amazing leaders from around the state and started to recognize this is not something I've done before. This is really an exciting opportunity that was going to challenge me to
050grow as a trustee to help Sherryland maintain its history of being a regional leader here, but also to show the state and even beyond what Sherryland is capable of. Additionally, I learned that there's going to be a very complicated research project that my team and I will be responsible for developing and presenting at the state conference. So no pressure. And I'll be calling you, Jaime. We did district visits and having the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a lot of superintendents and trustees and districts that are a lot bigger, a lot smaller, or very similar to us, provided a really comprehensive perspective for me of where we excel and where we still have opportunities for growth. Sherrilyn has a long, really proud history of success in academics and UIL and ag. and band and everything and
051so much more. But what I encountered through the leadership TASB was an opportunity to witness how others are facing the same challenges we do and making some same and some different choices. Some of those districts share our history of success, but there were a few that really didn't and actually had to turn things around or risk falling behind and failing their students or even worse. dreaded TEA takeover. I didn't expect it, but my biggest takeaway from last week was that change is needed here to not be left behind. There's a famous saying by an American inventor, Charles Kettering, the world hates change, yet it's the only thing that brings progress. I spent a lot of time last week realizing how fast, how rapidly the world was changing and how rapid change can be scary for
052us, for the teachers, for the families. So it's imperative for us as a board to be intentional and deliberate with the decisions we make for the district and to be thoroughly informed on the processes behind each of the decisions. There's no arguing with what I had the opportunity to experience. Without some changes to our existing systems and programming, the things that traditionally have made Sherryland successful and stand out, we risk our students not remaining competitive in the future markets. Competition today is global, with so many markets being mobile and remote opportunities every time you turn around. We can't be satisfied with being the best in Region 1. or the best in South Texas when we can leverage the Sherryland way to maximize positive outcomes from changes we dare to make. But powerful and sustained change
053requires constant communication, not just at the planning and initiation, throughout the process, every step. Communication has to be clear, consistent, and never ceasing. We talk a lot about stakeholders and the importance of every stakeholder having a voice. Personally, I firmly believe it, but it can't just be words that we say. It has to be intentional actions that we all choose to make every day. That's what I learned last week. Thank you. If I may, just a little comment, Megan. I want everybody to understand the importance of what Megan's out there doing. You know, she's engaging with other districts. She's learning what they're doing, so we're not having to do this on our own. It takes time and commitment. see a conference come up and Megan's the first one to jump at it because she wants
054to get out there and learn what else can we do how can we do better her dedication to the district is just I mean I commend you for that I think that's your greatest value is that you're out there learning what everybody else is doing bring it at home to us and just informing us so I appreciate you doing that thanks Megan, thank you so much for taking the time away from work and life to go represent us and learn more and bring back more. You and I had a conversation earlier, and we did, we recognize as a board that change is hard, and people don't like change, but change is bold, and fortune favors the bold. So ideally, we move forward with... new and inventive ideas and what Megan's bringing back. I'm really excited
055to hear all about it. So thank you, Megan. Thank you, Megan. Okay, so now we're going to move on to item number 11, which is consent agenda. Does anybody want to pull anything out of consent agenda before I go through it? Okay. I'm sorry. F, please. You're going to pull that what? F. F. Okay. I move to approve to... I got to read it. I got to read it through. You can still make the motion, then you can read it. Okay. I'm going to make a motion. Okay. I've got a motion to approve consent agenda. A through E and then G through R. A through E and G through R. Okay. I've got a motion by Julio. I'm going to now just kind of run through it really quick consent agenda item 11 11 a
056August 20 25 month and bills be August 25 tax collection report see August 20 25 investment reports D budget amendments d1 general fund d2 debt service fund e previous meeting minutes E1, regular board meeting August 25th, 2025. Item G, approval to renew RFP 2425-1, athletic supplies and equipment. H, approval to renew RFP 2425-2, fire extinguisher hood cleaning suppression systems. Item I, approval to renew RFP 2425. Dash three awards incentives and printed materials J approval to renew RFP 2425 dash for charter bus services K approval to renew RFP 2425 dash 5 career and technical education supplies and material and related materials L approval to renew RFP 2425 dash 6 general merchandising M, approval to renew RFP 2425-7, travel agent services. N, approval to renew school links using a state cooperative approved vendor. O, approval to sole
057source purchase of advanced placement exams. P, approval for identification of advanced courses from FM local exhibit. Q, approval of agreement for use of mission CISD facilities aquatic center with sharing on ISD4. school year 2526 and approval of shared services agreement with McAllen ISD original day school program for deaf program and the tuition of deaf or hard of hearing students. I've got a motion by Julio Cerda. Second. Got a second by Dr. Olivaida. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify, we'll applaud if it's, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 7-0. Now we'll go back and circle back to item 11F, approval of delinquent tax collection report for July 1st, 2024 through June 30, 2025. David, would you pull up page 98 for me real quick? And
058Jaime, I just wanted to go over something with you real quick to get clarification. A little bit further down. There we go. Jaime, if I'm reading this correctly, we have 155 accounts over a $5,000 mark, more or less. Yes, sir. Can we get with Limeburger and see what their plan of action is on that as far as collecting on that outstanding? We can. Yes, sir. Yeah, just to see what the strategy is going to be on that. And then another number that stuck out to me while I'm here, can we go to page 99? So we've got $621,040 in collections, you know, in our base collections, correct? Yes, sir. Okay. And then our tax levy, $3,579,679. If my math is correct, if I divide those two together, I get 17%. That's what we're collecting on
059our delinquent tax. Is that correct? Looks like it. Yes, sir. Historically speaking, would you say we're a little higher? A little what? A little higher than that. I'd have to go back and double check, sir. Okay. Yeah, if you would, please. I can double check with you. All right. Thank you. Any further commentary on item F? Motion to approve that is ready. Okay. I've got a motion to approve item F. Second. By Dr. Oliveira and a second by Julio Cerda. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed same sign. Motion passes 7-0. We're now moving on to item 12 which is closed meeting to be. Madam President, if you don't mind, I'm sorry, I'm not here 100%. I just got notice from a friend of mine that his son.
060He's going to have to make a decision here in the hospital soon. I'd like just to see if we can just get a moment of silence for a minute, if you don't mind. Absolutely. Okay, prior to going out, we're going to observe a moment of silence. It's now 6.58. Thank you. Thank you. We send our prayers and wishes to the Escamilla family. Thank you. We'll now move on to Item 12, which is Closed Meeting. Let me read through. Discussion and closed meeting to be discussed in closed meeting 12 a person personnel matters Texas government code five by one point zero seven zero seven four a one resignations a to employment of personnel a three HB 33 72 approval for administrator extra external employment a for discussion of employee public officer and or board member A,
061five, deliberation regarding appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, and dismissal or proposed termination of a district employee, public officer, or employee pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.074. Item B, student discipline. C, deliberation regarding security devices or security audits, Texas Government Code 551.076. D, deliberation regarding real property, Texas Government Code 551.072. And E, consultation with attorney regarding A, pending or contemplated litigation. B, a settlement offer. Or C, a matter in which the duty of the attorney of Sherryland Independent School District under the Texas disciplinary rules of professional conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with Chapter 551 of Texas Government Code, Texas Government Code 551.071. I will now entertain a motion to go into closed session. Yes, so moved. Second. That was you, Huck? That was you, Dave? Okay. I've got a motion by
062David Keith, and I've got a second by Dr. Oliva. Any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying aye? Motion passes 7-0 We will now go into executive session at 7-0 1 8 0 6 we are now back in open session Item 13 a discussion and possible action on closed meeting items I'll make a motion to approve the administration's personnel report including the assignment of certified staff resignations and employment contract recommendations for the 2526 school year Second second by Julio said that any further discussion all the favor signify by saying aye All right, I'll post same sign motion passed 7-0 we go on to item 14 business business Oh, I'm sorry. We still have one motion to approve administrators who seek to engage in external employment Contingent upon verification that such employment does not
063conflict with the requirements of House bill 3372 or any related district policies I've got a motion by Andrew riddle Second second by Julio said that any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying aye aye all opposed same sign motion passes 7-0 Now we can move on. Oh, I'm sorry Doctor doctor no No, oh, I'm sorry 6-0 motion passes 6 6 0 Okay, now we can move on to item 14 business 14 a discussion and consideration to approve resolution of Board of Trustees of Sheridan ISD to designate an officer to calculate in an R and DTR Madam President, Dr. Howard, members of the board, in order to comply with state law, administration recommends the board approve the resolution designating the chief financial officer to calculate the no new revenue tax rate and the voter
064approved tax rate. Resolution was reviewed by the tax office and by the legal team. Again, this is just putting on record. I'm usually the one that calculates that tax rate. And so this year is just a requirement that we officially designate the individual. And again, just for the record, I do work with our state consultant, Mo Casey. I also work with our financial advisor, Estalia Nojosa, and also with the tax office. Make a motion. Okay, we'll make a motion to designate Jaime as the officer to calculate. We've got a motion by Andrew Riddle and a second by, was that you, Hector? Yes, ma'am. Okay, and a second by Hector Rivera. Any further discussion in this matter? All those in favor say no, I say aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 6-0. On to 14b,
065discussion and consideration to approve an order authorizing the defeasance and redemption of a portion of the district's outstanding and limited tax bonds and approving an escrow agreement and all other instruments and procedures related thereto. Madam president once again, this is an item that we did discuss at the BOF administration recommends approval of the resolution This would be the third year that the district decides to do a defeasance on bonds Resolution was prepared by bond counsel Rick Perez also reviewed by our financial advisors I will now entertain a motion Friday 14 B Okay, I've got a motion I'll second that by Hector Rivera and a second by Andrew riddle any further discussion All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. I'll oppose same sign. Motion passes 6-0. We're on to item C, discussion and consideration
066to approve no new revenue tax rate and voter approval tax rate for tax year 2025 for the Shireland Independent School District. Once again, in order to be in state compliance, we, administration recommends approval to accept the no new revenue tax rate and the voter approved tax rate for 2025. The Hidalgo County Tax Office assisted with the calculation of these. tax rate worksheet is attached and basically all we're doing here is if you look at the agenda item this year's no new revenue tax rate uh indicates point eighty six oh four twenty three and basically all that happened here was that because of the new exemptions uh the homestead exemption going from a hundred thousand to one forty the over sixty going from ten thousand to sixty thousand basically what we're doing is calculating what the
067tax rate would have been this past year if we had used the same values and even though our tax rate for this year was 0.9575 in order to compare tax rate uh the the the worksheet calculated 86.4223 and you'll see why that goes into play with the next agenda item okay uh hyman just to just to clarify you know it's more of a reporting formality Yes, sir. And, you know, it's definitely not a tax increase, so I want to clarify that to the public. That is correct. All we're doing here, again, the exercise was just to come up with a tax rate, because when you compare tax rates, you always compare two years, right? So in order to compare apples to apples, this would have been the tax rate for this current year, even though
068the tax rate was .9575. Perfect. Yeah, I know the terminology is sometimes a little confusing, but I just want to reassure all the taxpayers out there. Thank you, Jaime. Jaime, by any chance, and I'll ask you again on the next item, by any chance do you know the savings that the people got on the homestead exemptions? Don't have yeah, I don't have that number sir. No from 40 Yeah, so the savings would have been on the property value. Yes, sir. We're going up from 100 to 140,000 That's fine. But there's a substantial amount of savings for the people that we have. Yes, sir. Okay on the property values and Yet we kept the same We're going to yes, sir With that I'll make a motion mr. Second Second by Megan Sullivan any further discussion all
069those in favor signify by saying aye all opposed same sign Motion passes 6-0. We move on to item D, discussion and consideration to adopt tax rate for 2025-26. Okay, so here is the tax rate. Administration is recommending to adopt the tax rate of .9575. For M&O, the tax rate would be .7552. And for INS, the tax rate would be .2023. Once again, this was presented at the BOF. And again, working with our state consultant, Mo Casey, and the Hidalgo County Tax Office. That's the tax rate that we're going with for this year. And David, do you want to go to the actual presentation? And just to show you this compared to last year, what the tax rate looks like. Madam President, I'd like to make a motion to approve the property tax rate to be
070increased by the adoption of a tax rate of .9575, which is effectively 11.29% increase in the rate. I've got a motion by Hector Rivera. Second I've got a second by Julio said that any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying aye all right all opposed same sign motion passes 6-0 Thank you for that. Yes on to item e discussion a consideration to approve to renew RFP 2425-9 employee insurance voluntary products mr. Mark madam president Dr. Howard, board members, so we are here asking for approval for the second year of our employee voluntary insurance. So these are products and the vendors that we are currently in contract with. Our plan year runs from January 1 through December 31. So we're asking for approval. There is no rate increase on any of these products. Well,
071now entertain a motion. Make a motion. Okay. Second. I've got a motion by Andrew Riddle and a second by Julio Seda. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 6-0. We're on to discussion and consideration to approve to renew RFP 2425-10, Employee Medical Group Health Administrative Services Organization, ASO, Third Party Administrator, TPA. Yes, ma'am. Again, this is the – we're in the first year right now with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. And I can say without any doubt our employees are very happy with the service. I know we're happy with the pricing that we're getting. As part of year two agreement, they are asking for a 3.5 percent increase. Of course, we're still in, and it's just straight administrative costs. So when
072we do the calculations, we calculate that to be about $18,000 increase. But again, it's just straight on the administrative costs. The discounts we're getting are definitely helping our plan out. And the service that our employees are getting is outstanding, and that's why we're recommending for year two. That's good to hear. Oh, now in routine of motion, write a mess. I'll make the motion to approve. I'll second that. Okay. I've got a motion by Julio Cedras, a second by Andrew Riddle. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 6-0. On to item G, discussion and consideration to approve to renew RFP 2425-11, pharmacy benefit management services. Yes, ma'am. Again, this is year two of the pharmacy benefit management company that we're going with. They have kept
073their costs or their pricing, administrative pricing, the same for year two. So we're asking for approval of that. Okay. I want to understand a motion for item G. So moved. Second. Okay. I've got a motion by David Keith. I've got a second by Heike Rivetta. Is there any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say aye. Motion passes 6-0. On to item H. Discussion and consideration to approve to enter into an agreement with Unifers for auxiliary employee uniforms and custodial supplies. Yes, ma'am. So we are asking for the approval to We've been using a universe. We're happy with the service that they've been giving the employee So we're asking to extend it for one more year and the price that we're looking for It's for uniforms and for custodial supplies that they
074help us with. That's one hundred six thousand five forty two I want now in training a motion for item H make motion to approve I've got a motion by Andrew riddle and a second by mr. David Keith. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye I'll post him sign motion passes 6-0 we're on to item I discussion and consideration to approve to purchase a 12 passenger van for the special education program from Silsby fleet Yes, ma'am. This is we're coming to the board asking for the approval to buy a 12-passenger van for our steps program This vehicle will be used primarily for the steps program and it'll be so we can take our students out to the different job locations that We hope that they get in the near future
075as well as take them out shopping and to do different things We have checked with our insurance provider 12 passenger fan is fine. It's safe uh we are also asking this because we don't need a commercial driver to drive this so the teachers the aids they can drive it around we do think that there will be a lot of use so we do know that there will be a lot of use for this vehicle so we are asking for board approval okay i'll make a motion to approve for 12 ends Or 12 passenger van. Oh, I was like, excuse me? We will be buying one van. Just one, not 12. We'll be getting the one 12 passenger van. Who was welcome to donate the other 11. No, I'm not. I'll second the 12 passenger. It
076was a 12 passenger van just to make sure. Yes, the motion was for approval of one 12 passenger van by Puyo Cerda, and I have got a second by David Keith. Is there any further discussion? I have a question. Is that, this is, Dr. Leal feels that this is necessary already? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Yes, ma'am. Instead of, I know there was concerns with space, like there was talk of portables possibility. So in order to facilitate the rotation that we're doing, so we're doing groupings. So students. We need to be able to take students out. Out, yeah. And so we don't have an overpopulation at one time in the building. So this will facilitate students being able to be dropped off and picked up at locations either in the district or outside the district for their
077job assignments throughout the day. There will be groups that go in the mornings, groups that go in the afternoons, but then also to use it to take students that, so part of their skills training is healthy living and so that they can do grocery shopping, go to the library, things like that, so doing their student activities. It's really going to help us so that it doesn't burden our transportation department. Our current white fleet of vehicles are suburbans that don't necessarily transport, and these are adult-sized learners. to be able to transport them. Any student that still requires medical equipment will still be transported with our specialized school buses. Okay. No, I don't question the need for it or the use. I think it will be well used. More so now that we have an actual built
078out schedule and grouping that would require that students are moving in and out of the facility. I knew there was some. Yeah, some anxiety, figuring that out. That is now resolved. It is in place, in effect, and working well. Going well? Yeah. Good, okay. This will be the bridge or the instrument that will allow them to, we can really start working towards out-of-district placements. But even for our in-district placements where students are working at our campuses, it's going to be a little more fluid that we don't have to wait for transportation or secure school bus to be moving them between campuses. Okay, any any further discussion on item I okay all those in favor signify by saying aye aye opposed same sign motion passed 6-0 come on to item J discussion and consideration to approve
079to purchase school bus engines from Holt truck centers Yes, ma'am. So we are requesting the permission to buy five engines for our 2014 fleet of school buses We would like to do that. Normally we set aside money to buy new buses But this year and talking with the transportation, mr. Mata, we think that money would be better spent on replacing these engines The buses themselves physically are in great shape. So it would definitely expand the lifespan of the buses so we figure that we can get five to seven buses uh taken care of in the next year or two and that will really help us out a lot help keep the fleet uh current and healthy i know we discussed this in bof you said it could add an additional five years ideally right with
080a new engine placement yeah okay i think it's a great idea i'll make motion to approve okay got an approve i got a motion by andrew riddle second second by david keith is there any further discussion mark can you can you get back with me When we do the first bus and see how much we spent for on a per bus basis. Okay. Yes, sir. I will get with you. Thank you. Okay. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. I'll oppose same sign. Motion passes 6-0. We're on to item K, discussion and consideration to approve to enter agreement with Joe W. Fly for H. Back filter services. Yes, ma'am, so this is the filter services that we replace where we place filters throughout the district and all our HVAC units
081It's a monthly service that we have Worked with Jill fly in the past and we are requesting to keep that service going again It's to help keep the filtration system and the air as clean as we possibly can and we're using the highest Level of filter that we can at this time Okay, I know we discussed this also in BOF. You described that it is too tedious and too repetitive of a job that we're doing it too often for us to do it in-house. Yes, ma'am. So it's a better investment for us to have Joe Fly come in and do it, correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Question, Mark. Yes, sir. The two quotes that were provided on the agenda, are those just like monthly quotes that they charge, or does it vary by month? No, those
082are monthly quotes that they charge, roughly. Yes, sir. So it's like this quote times 12. Well, the first page. The second page, if... i think it's every it's every two to three months on the second page the the one for 20 2300 i believe oh okay on those but the first page is definitely every every month so there's some of them are staggered i'm sorry some of them are staggered yes ma'am some more staggered i just couldn't come up with a 127 282 but i guess that answers it where the second part is quarterly or something yes sir okay okay thank you i will now entertain a motion for item k Okay, I've got a motion to approve item K by who do I say that? Okay, Andrew riddle I've got a second by Andrew.
083Is there any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying aye All opposed. Same sign motion passes 6-0 on to item L discussion and consideration to approve final payment and change order for CSP 2425 dash 8 guards of paving improvement project to United Builders Yes, ma'am, so this is the Retainage well, it's only one payment. They only gave us one invoice For this project, but this was the parking lot repayment project that we did at Oh Garza Elementary And we did a month of July so we are asking for payment of 301 120 320 we were able to save the betterment fund so we're getting that cash back to us Okay, I will entertain motion for item L Second second by David Keith any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying I
084All opposed same sign motion passes 6-0 Madam president. Can I add item 15 to the agenda? sure adjournment But that's okay, I will now entertain a motion for item 15 our adjournment I have a motion by Julio Cerda. Do I have a second? No, we're staying here? Okay, great. Second. Okay, I've got a second by Megan Sullivan. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion passes 6-0. It is 8-25. This meeting is officially adjourned. Thank you.