001I now call this Brian Independent School Board meeting to order. Um, let the record show that a quorum of board members is present, that this meeting has been dually called, and that notice of this meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meeting Act, Texas, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. The time is six o'clock PM. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone here this evening. Um, please turn off your the sound on your electronic devices and let's stand for the pledges. Tonight we have Henderson Elementary students and Sam Houston Elementary students. >> Good evening everybody. Today we have the arts club with us. So I'm going to let Mrs. Ducker introduce everybody and then we'll do the pledge. >> Hi, I'm Mrs. Docker. I'm the art teacher over at Henderson Elementary.
002>> My name is Himea and Himea Eera and I'm in fourth grade. >> My name is Himea Valino and I'm in fourth grade. >> My name is Maline Castanada and I'm a third grader. My name is Hazel Mesoto and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Rodrigo Marcus and I'm in fourth grade. >> Hi, I'm Kylie Lopez and I am four and I am in fourth grade. >> Hi, my name is Faith Hernandez and I'm in fourth grade. >> Hi, my name is Mateo and I'm my last name is Arenas and I'm in third grade. >> Hi, I'm Ezekiel Burns and I'm in third grade. >> Hi, I'm Mariah Sanchez and I'm in fourth grade. Hi, I'm Christina Cruz and I'm a fourth grader. Hi, I'm London Evans and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Leonardo
003Gonzalez. I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Cooper Randall and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Zona Lyman and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Jana Chuga and I am in third grade. >> I'm Trinity Summers and I am in third grade. To the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Hi, and I'm Mandy Wills. I'm the principal at Houston Elementary School. And tonight we have Miss Springer's class with us. And here is Miss Springer. Hello. I will let the children introduce themselves. >> Hi, my name is Kyle and I'm in first grade. >> Hi, my name is Danny and I first >> My name is Canon and I'm in fourth grade. >> My name is Woods and
004I'm in first grade. >> My name is Ellen. I'm in first grade. >> My name is Prescott and I'm in first grade. >> My name is Michael and I'm in first grade. >> My name is Kylie and I'm in first grade. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and indivisible. Great job. This evening we will start. Are we going to take some pictures? >> No. >> Do you want to take pictures? >> We'll get you guys together real quick. Then I'll get Big group. >> Smile. David. >> There you go. lunch. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. Okay, we'll start with our spotlights. Uh this evening we have elementary teachers of the month. Our principal Ramirez Henderson. >> Yes. >> There we go. >> Sounds good. Good evening
005again. My name is Danella Carzares, proud principal of Henderson. And today I have the honor to have Mrs. Netos here uh with me as our teacher of the month. Um there's a lot of amazing things to say about Mrs. Netos, uh she is a third grade dual language teacher. And if you ask any of her students, which about half of them are the ones over here in her classroom, they'll tell you that her classroom is the place to be. whether it's from instruction um getting her classroom ready adapting um for all the things that the boys like big soccer fan in her classroom so the boys are super into it and one of the things that I love about her is that she's a lifelong learner she's been teaching for quite some time but even
006then uh she's always wanting to learn more adapting lessons asking questions always ready to do something better um but what I really really love about Mrs. Neros and everybody at Henderson is that she goes above and beyond for everybody for Henderson. She loves to set goals. So I have told you guys before that Henderson won uh the top spot for UIL and this could not have been without Mrs. Neos. So the past be uh Henderson won first place before in Spanish. Since last year she wanted to win the two trophies English and Spanish. So she has worked super super hard. She recruited herself, teachers, mentors, parents, got everything organized, spent many hours, many, many days being the last one to leave the school. And this happens often. Um, and she's just amazing. Amazing and doing
007everything that she does. And she does it without asking for help. She just wants the best for for the school, for the two, for the students, and she will do whatever it takes. And she will not even tell me sometimes what she's doing until it's done. So, I always appreciate that she takes that leadership to to do everything. Uh she's very stubborn and she likes to accomplish all the goals that she has which I love that about her. Uh and again she's just amazing. She's so determined and I'm always honored to be with her. So thank you Mrs. Neos. I am so proud of you and I appreciate everything that you do and the love that you give Henderson. So very well served. Mr. Alonzo Roblace is here from Truis Bank this evening presenting our
008certificates or our gift cards. I'm Andy Wells. I'm the principal at Houston Elementary School and it is truly an honor to stand before you tonight and recognize Sabrina Springer. She as our teacher of the month. Mrs. Springer serves our campus with a heart that's generous and completely focused on what is best for kids. She does not just teach her students, she invests in them. She truly knows them. She stands up for what they need and she pushes them to be their very best while making sure they always feel confident, supported, and cared for. What Mrs. Springer makes her even more special is the impact she has beyond her classroom. She is one of the most supportive teammates I've ever had the opportunity to work with. She is constantly encouraging others, recognizing their efforts, and celebrating
009their growths. She never seeks recognition for herself. Instead, she shines a light on those around her and lifts her entire team. This year, she led the organization of our steam night, as I shared with you before, which was nothing short of incredible. The level of family and community involvement was extraordinary, and there was a genuine excitement you could feel across the entire building. The success did not happen by accident. It happened because Mrs. Springer worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make it happen and then made sure everyone else was recognized first. Mrs. Springer gives so much of herself to her school every single day. She steps in without hesitation. She supports wherever she is needed and she plays a huge part in making Houston a special place. Sabrina Springer represents the very best of Houston
010Elementary and we are incredibly proud to honor her tonight as our teacher of the month. Yes. >> Congratulations. Our secondary teacher of the month will be presented by Dr. Karen Casper, principal of MC Harris. >> All right. So, yes, I am Karen Casper, principal at MC Harris. And tonight, I get to recognize Clara Hammock, and she is our CTE teacher >> at MC Harris. So, yes, she's like, you know, single-handedly responsible for all those white uh cords at our March graduation. And I really feel like this protocol was meant for me so I would stay on script. I actually wrote things down. Okay. So about we think maybe right after fall break we went to Claire and said, "Hey, so we want to make a change. We know your social studies, but how about doing
011CTE?" And she agreed. and she has just I mean learned everything she can about entrepreneurship, small business certification, learned how to prepare for the test, what to do if the kids's native language is Spanish, there's that option, how to help them pass, what to do if they don't pass the first time. She has done all of it and she has been so flexible and she has persevered and gotten so many kids there. Her work ethic is absolutely incredible. She works with each student, make sure that they get that certification. Um, she has a system in place. She meets every week with the assistant principal and the counselor to go over who still needs to get into her room. She's always I okay, I got to get this kid here now. Um, also she heard about
012the OSHA certification and said contacted Laura King and said I'll do that too. So now she's also learning everything she can about how to get kids to do OSHA certification and you're working with two right now. Two right now. So she just decided to add that to her plate which is very typical Claire. Now service-wise, you all got those little stepping stones. Those came from the garden club, which is what Claire started this year. So she meets with all the kids um every week and they do all kinds of different projects. She also, if you ever go down the hallways, hers is the classroom that everything is always decorated and perfect and very welcoming to for everybody. When it's time for a dance, she's the one telling us how we're all going to decorate so
013it's perfect. Claire takes care of everything. So, we're really excited that we get to honor her. And without her work, I would not be where we are with CCMR. And so I really appreciate everything she's doing to basically single-handedly turn that around for us. So thank you, Claire. Congratulations. Next, we will recognize our auxiliary employee of the month, Mr. Patrick Corbett, uh, executive executive director of operations will present. >> Good evening. I am, it's my pleasure to present Joe Gonzalez as our Brian ISTD auxiliary employee of the month. Joe's been been with Brian ISD for a little over 10 years, and he is always somebody that's willing to help out without being asked. Although Joe's primary responsibility is one of our painters with our with our school district, he has recently stepped up to assist
014our moving crew while one of our employees is out. During the winter freeze earlier this year, Joe was one of the first to volunteer to go out and inspect campuses to ensure they prepared for prepared for school to open the next day. So Joe's impact is defined by his friendly, good-natured personality and his broad knowledge of multiple trades continues to make him a valuable resource to our department and district. Please join me in congratulating Joe as the auxiliary employee of the month. Now, uh, we will recognize one of our SFA teachers, our principal, Becky Luna. Becky Luna will present. I can do that. >> Good evening, guys. It is a privilege to introduce to you one of our SFA 7th grade science teachers, Miss Erica Dugay. Um, it is her first year teaching, and how
015a first year teacher has had time to also mother four kids, be a wife, and write her first book is beyond me. but she has killed it both in the classroom and um in writing her new book which the board is passing around right now. Um the book sat at number one on Amazon for a while and then went down to number three which is still such a huge accomplishment and I think it was really important that you guys knew about this accomplishment and that we recognized her within Brian IC because how lucky are we to have her as a teacher? >> Congratulations. We need to order some of these. >> I'm gonna order something. Congratulations. >> Next, we have recognition of Brian High School's vocal legacy achievement. Uh, Dr. Greg Boise, principal of Brian
016High, will present. Good evening. I'm actually going to speak to you both as the principal um but also give Jacob Justice's words as he's not able to be here as the fine arts director. And I feel that I'm most qualified to do that because I did have a starring role in Cinderella this year. If you weren't able to see it, I I put on quite a show. So, >> we're going to say keep your day job. >> Yes, ma'am. I agree. The dancing was was not very good. >> Just kidding. You you give him a round of applause. >> No. >> Good evening and thank you for the work you do and how you continue to support the fine arts for our students. Tonight, we are here to focus on one of our award-winning programs,
017Brian High School's Vocal Legacy. In February, Vocal Legacy competed in the ICSA Varsity Vocals quarterfinal at Belton High School and placed in the top three groups, which allowed them to advance to the semi-final round. On March 14th, they traveled to Flower Mound and competed against eight other premier ac capella groups from around the state of Texas. Although they didn't advance to the final round, they performed well and represented Brian ISD with excellence. One of our group soloists, Taylor Mvish, walked away with the outstanding soloist award, which was a huge accomplishment. This award is only given to one soloist from the entire competition. Please join me in celebrating this phenomenal group. >> Picture time. >> Y so brightly. Parents, y'all can come up, take pictures if you'd like. Back there in the back. >> So, what
018did he do? >> Great job. Congratulations. Okay, we'll move to public comment on agenda items or non-aggenda items. Citizens may make comments about topics relevant to district business. Topics should be limited to three minutes. Comments concerning specific student or personnel will be heard in close session. We do not have any comments this evening. So, we will move on to the superintendent's report. Uh, Superintendent Ginger Carbine. >> Thank you, Mr. Brian. Uh, so many great things to share. I can't believe we're uh nearing the month of April. Uh, so I'm going to just focus on a couple of very recent celebrations starting with Saturday night. Uh, many of us had the good fortune of attending the Brazes Valley African-American Museum Appreciation Banquet. And I am so proud to share that we celebrated Miss Ruthie Waller, our
019very own board member. a round of applause. Thank you. As an honore that night u and uh she represented our district in in all the best ways and it was so wonderful to be with Miss Waller because she knew most everyone there. She either taught them or went to school with them etc. The stories were just continuous about the impact that Ruthie Waller has had on our district uh in our community at large and our school district as a as a student and a teacher and a uh coach and an admin an administrator and now a board member uh a mother of students who attended Brian IT schools and now a grandparent with grandchildren enrolled. So Ruthie represents our district in all the best ways. Uh, coupled with the excitement about Miss Waller that night,
020we have board members including Felicia Benford is an African-American Museum board member and Dr. Brian Merrill serves on the board as well and Lisa Muton and many others. Honestly, when when I walked away that night, I felt like it was a Brian ISD night because our students were there in full force. We had student ambassadors, we had culinary kids, we had uh our chef, our culinary teacher from Roter High School there. Uh many of the recipients either work for Brian ISD or attended schools in Brian SD. So it was truly a wonderful community night uh with a very bright spotlight on Brian ISD. Just a a great community partnership. And speaking of partnership, I'm very proud to share just one example. Last week we had what we call the STAR Math Collaborative to remind everyone.
021The STAR test is our state assessment. And we know our students are ready because our teachers have uh gone above and beyond the call of uh call of duty to prepare them. Uh but that would not be possible without the the good work of our teaching and learning department. The curriculum and instruction team goes above and beyond to support our staff. So we filled this entire boardroom with uh curriculum staff and principles and school teachers to put the final touches on uh the the approach to the star test. again making sure that they had all the training, the development, the support, the resources, the encouragement, etc. to uh make sure that our kids reach the reach their full potential. Again, this is just a great example of the support for our teachers so that we
022stand united uh to best serve and support the kids to make sure they reach their full potential. Another big celebration, this past Saturday, we had the intermediate and middle school UIL competition. And you can see this is just one small glance of uh grades five through seven participating. We had over 177 students in attendance competing with 13 different events and it was a stiff competition, but DBA Middle School walked away with the overall trophy for middle school and Rayburn Intermediate took home the trophy for intermediate school. Uh congratulations to all of our student contestants and we are so grateful for our staff for making this event possible. Uh, speaking of support and lots of celebrations, again, we're so grateful for the Brian ISD Education Foundation. They announced just a few short days ago that Branch
023Elementary has been selected to receive a new furry friend. U, the new Paws dog will be going to Branch. It's not uh we don't know which dog yet, but they've been uh put on notice that there's one on the way, and as soon as we have the details, we'll invite the board and the community to come out for a welcoming home reception. So again, just much gratitude to our education foundation for their continued support of our school district and our students. So lots of great things. Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. Um item number eight, board member reports. Um we'll start with teaching and learning board committee, Dr. Julie Harland Wolf. >> Thank you. The teaching and learning committee uh met on March 5th at 10 a.m. on Zoom. Those present were myself, uh, David
024Stennis, Ruthie Waller, Dr. Barbara Ibara, Ginger Carine, Tommy Roberts, Angela Barrens, and Jessica Cruz from ESS. Um, we had three topics that morning. The first was substitute usage and our ESS renewal. Mr. Roberts was the presenter and some of our uh discussion on that is that the district continues to monitor substitute usage and explore ways to control cost associated with it. Um information was also shared about the hiring processes, campus placements as well as some of the training. Uh this contract will be presented this evening. And just one tidbit I took away from that is that because we have really high fill rates on our substitutes um thanks to ESS that means that our teachers don't have to use their conference periods etc to cover classes. So that's really good for um our teacher workforce.
025We also heard from Dr. Ibara on the teacher incentive aotment renewal. So, we had to do a five-year renewal. We received an update on that um for our local designation system application. Uh we are also exploring options to further expand the number of subjects and teacher groups included in the system. But my tidbit on that is that Brian ISD is a leader in the teaching teacher incentive aotment in terms of both the depth and breadth of um and number of teachers that receive that. In terms of flexible learning, we received an update on that from also from Dr. Ibara. The district continues to investigate options and arrangements for online flexible learning pathways for students and information will be shared with the strategic planning committee for discussion and feedback. >> Thank you. Next, we'll have our
026finance board committee report, Mr. David Stennis. The finance committee met uh on March 17th via Zoom at 10:00 a.m. Um those present were Ginger Carine, Norma Friddle, myself, David Stazzy, Tim Pavas, and Tommy Roberts. Um some of the items that were discussed during the finance committee meeting were uh development of the upcoming fiscal year budget. Um it's hard to believe, but we're already um basically into April. So, the conversations regarding um budgets given our fiscal year are already ramping up um and starting to come into focus. We also reviewed um and discussed some of the offers that came in on the grounds building there on Highway 21. I believe there's a agenda item for us to talk on that later this evening. Um, one of the other things that were discussed between uh and presented
027by Miss Friddle were and and something that I I appreciate is a month-to-month update comparison of the budget that we set forth and then how are we tracking on a month-to-month basis relative to um the budget that was approved by this board. Um, which I think is a vital piece um of information for us to know as well as the public to know. uh it's kind of hey you know you set your budget how are you doing and where are you compared to that and so I think it's a very uh vital piece of information for us one of the one of the big takeaways from this um and and being a finance guy who who navigates the world of finance and banking and budgets and numbers and all that fun stuff um Norma has
028I've visited with Norma before and in and her team as well but the amount of Excel spreadsheets they have and have to have is is a sight to behold. And so um if anything, I come away from these meetings comforted by the fact that um um I think that there's uh somebody who is keeping a a keen eye on every every penny and dollar that flows through this but this this district. And so um we're we're in good hands with uh with Norma and her team. >> Thank you. Next we'll have the CTE fine arts and athletics committee report. Mrs. Ruthie Waller. >> So our career technology, fine arts and athletics team together and uh each lead person from each of those divisions come together in that meeting. Ruthie Waller, David Stennis, Ginger Carbine, Dr.
029Brian Merrill, excuse me, Coach Derek Rush, once a coach, always a coach. Laura King and Jacob Justice. The first topic was athletic celebrations and upcoming events. And Coach Rush talked about the many different athletic celebrations we have going on. We have swim team that's excelling. Girls basketball had such a good year. Wrestling, girls soccer, and track are all either just finishing up with a great season or still participating. He also shared details about some upcoming athletic events. These are dates to remember. We have our great boy, this is such a tradition. We've had we have our fourth grade track meet Thursday, May 7th. You guys remember that? Except probably then it was fifth grade maybe. >> Yes. >> That was so much fun. Uh so that's May 7th. Next Bron ISD athletic signing day will
030be May 13th. Physical dates for next year 26 27 school year April 15th. Physical dates for Ruer High. Oh, physical date Ruer High School Fieldhouse and physical date Brun High School Fieldhouse. Okay, hold on. There's two different dates on here for physicals. So, >> that's true. They're doing them separately, >> right? But physical dates, it says April 15th and then April 22nd. So, the 15th is Brian High and the 22nd is Rudder. Okay, sorry to be confusing on that. Uh, so then career in technology, Laura King, she noted it continues to build strong momentum highlighted by our CTSO student success expanding programming at Mary Katherine Harris with industry certification and workforce connections as well. And Miss Casper was talking about that earlier, as well as the development of new collaborative programs of study with fine
031arts and athletics designed to increase student opportunities. And that is a long time coming for Mary Katherine Harris. And it is wonderful. We have a staff and a leader over there who's so open-minded and she's a yes person. She says yes and then finds a way to make it happen along with her staff. fine arts. Jacob Justice reported BHS fine arts continue to make their mark locally and around the state. Some notable awards include BHS lost by Kingos. Did I say it right? Hope I did. Competed for their 10th year at state, BHS orchestra, Sweet Stakes, yay. Superior rating at UIL concert and site reading. SFA choir had 23 students and Davlin Middle School choir had one student all make all region choir. Ruer High School band had 18 students receive a division one ranking
032for solo and ensemble. In addition, the band trailers have been purchased and are currently being designed and outfitted for our groups. We're also beginning to look at uniforms to update and equip like our art kills. Oh, and our art killeds made amazing pottery for empty bowls. So, remember that's three groups I just report on. It was a lot, but that's okay. They're great. >> That's great. Thank you. Safety and security committee report. Mr. Tim Pavas, good evening. Uh, our safety and security committee met um March the 4th here at the administration building. In attendance, Mr. Brian, Miss Caravine, uh, Rich Himl, Dr. Merrill, Miss Mononttoya, Dr. Abara, uh, Norma Friddle, Donna Willlet, Miss Holcamp, Mr. Woodall, Mr. Roush, Mrs. Brumfield, and Mrs. Johnson. There was a lot of us in there. Sorry. Um, and so,
033u, Mr. Dr. Haml um went over a lot of things. Our update to intruder and detection audits for 2526 school year, update on lockdown drills and um mandated drills, update on HB33 compliance, and update on upcoming safety and security audit. Uh Mr. Hamill does a great job of keeping us up to date, make sure that we don't have any issues there. So, um but mine was short and sweet. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next we'll have the intergovernmental committee report. >> Good evening. The intergovern committee met on March 16th at 12 noon. Myself, Miss Waller, and Miss Carabine. So this month's meeting was all Texas&M. We had last month City of College Station. This month we had Texas&M. They're talking about their 150th anniversary celebration um that they're planning for. I think Hugo is on
034that team um helping for the district. And so they talked about where they had came from in 150 years starting out with 35 students, six faculty, and today they've grown into 81,000 students, 4,300 faculty. And so just a lot of different events they're going to plan coming over a night at the core. Um they're going to be going around to all of the different entities, commissioners, court, um council meetings, schoolboard meetings, everyone to make everyone aware of what's going to be coming down and how the celebrations are going to be. And so, you know, Ginger and Ruthie and I put our thinking hats on and gave um suggestions of things that we would like to see for our students, for our district. Um and I think Ginger said it best. It's going to be a
035Texas&M celebration, but really Bronn ISD party. So, we're excited to see what's coming up, what's going to be happening in the next few months, and I'm sure Hugo will be coming back um letting us know what we need to do, where we need to be, and what the plans are. So, we're we're excited for that. >> We already have General Ruer's name, >> so ahead of the curve. >> Thank you. Uh number nine, information items. Our first information item is regarding summer programs for June 2026. Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Barbara Ibara, and Director of Talent Development, Shannon McGee, will present. >> Thank you, Mr. Brian. Uh good evening, board. We're excited to be here this evening to give you an update on summer programming for our students. Um, like good stewards of
036taxpayer dollars, every year we look at the model that we're utilizing and we look and see how can we ensure the best efficiency and the best service to our students. Uh, this year, Mrs. McGee has taken it uh a step further as she's inherited this new scope of her position um overseeing summer programs and looking at ways to reconfigure without compromising the integrity of the services provided in summer school. Uh so we have some developments we wanted to share with you this evening and some updates and so I've asked Miss McGee he to come and speak with you. >> Sure. There you go. Hi, thank you for having me this evening. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about uh just an overview of the summer school programs as well as point out some
037of the adjustments that Dr. Ibara just mentioned. So, first there are three general programs that we put things under an umbrella. We have under an umbrella that's special programs which is our special education and our prekk emergent bilingual enrichment program. general summer school. Those are usually kids that qualify because they didn't meet local policy uh to be promoted to the next grade or they have demonstrated they have an academic issue in which they just need some some support before we move them to the next grade. And then at the high school we have three different types. We have credit recovery, credit advancement, and then we also have end of course credit uh acceleration. and that's for kids that need that support in order to pass their EOCC tests. So, I'm sorry. Uh, the first two
038we're going to talk about are special programs which I just mentioned is the bilingual prek enrichment. Again, these are this is an open invitation for anybody that we serve in preKK that's emergent bilingual. Uh, there is only a slight adjustment this year. It is still going to be held at Kemp Carver. It is the dates are the same for summer school. So I'm not going to repeat them every slide, but it's June 1st through June 25th, Monday through Thursday. The slight adjustment is in their instructional day. It's from 7:35. The doors will open until 3:30. It's a 30 minute adjustment and we did that to ensure that we are meeting what the state requires in order for us to continue to fund that program. uh extended year services or we like acronyms here in education
039we call it ESY. Uh it is for our special education students. They are aed that is a committee meeting that they need those extended year services to uh mitigate any learning loss that would happen over the summer or they need that continuing continued learning but there is no changes. It's still going to be held at Kemp Carver and the times are listed on that slide. They're they go from 7:45 until about 12. Uh our largest population by far is in our general summer school K through 8. And it's divided and I have this slide divided for you into three different so that we could look at it in three different ways. Our first is elementary school. Again, dates are not not going to go over the dates. The general time is going to be from
0407:30 until 11:00 a.m. This is our largest um adjustment that we've made. In the past, we've had general summer school for elementary campuses on six different campuses. We are consolidating it down into two. We are still going to serve the same number of kids. We're just consolidating down onto two campuses to help streamline with transportation, with hiring. Did you have something? Can I add one thing? >> You can. Thank you. Uh, you might also be wondering, well, why are you going from six to two? Why did you have six in the first place? Right. Uh, so back during the COVID time period, this federal government gave us additional funding under um >> ESSER ESSER ESSER funding and that funding was utilized to expand summer programs. Most school districts have re turned to prior to COVID
041methodologies and practices for summer programs. Ours is still much more robust than most summers or most summer programs for districts. Uh but two allows us to be more efficient with streamlining as Miss McGee mentioned. Same number of students will still be served just at two locations instead of six, which helps with transportation as well. >> Thank you. Um I don't I think she just covered everything that I was going to say. She's just faster at it than I am. Uh our next level is our inter intermediate level. Again, uh we've we will continue to serve the same students. Uh starting when when Sadbury opened, we ended up hosting summer school for intermediate level on just two campuses, which is Sadbury and Jane Long, but we housed Rayburn at Sadbury. that will continue. The minor adjustment,
042instead of having two facilitators on that campus, we're just going to have one. There's only one needed. Middle school, um the the only adjustment at middle school, it's still going to be at the Davala campus is that our associate principles at the middle school that oversee our discipline uh aspect and a lot of our other um things dealing within discipline, they're going to serve as the facilitators for middle school. and it's within their contract. So, we're basically eliminating facilitator positions at the middle school and going to use uh people that we already have on staff. Uh moving into high school, again, there are three different portions for high school. The first one is EOCC Acceleration. Again, these are for kids that need that extra oomph before they retake the test in June. It's still there.
043The it's still at Brian High School. The dates are still the same. The only adjustment is that we changed the times a little bit to align with the other summer school programs. Um just slightly. The the reason for doing this is we found through attendance that a lot of our kids were not coming to the later sessions because it's much like regular school. We designed a master schedule and kids weren't coming in the afternoon yet. We were staffing and running transportation at that. So, we just shortened it a little bit to be more consistent with what our kids are actually showing us they're going to need and do. Uh, the last two programs in summer school are keeping kids on track for graduation. There's credit recovery and credit advancement. Again, both of those are going
044to maintain at Brian High School. Under credit recovery, there are no changes. credit recovery. If someone needs to recover that credit because they were not successful in the school year, there is no fee. But going to go back to what Dr. Ibara just said after COVID and a lot of things when we moved to credit advancement as a district, we took away fees. We used to have fees in credit advancement and we took it away because the learning loss was so great at that time. However, looking at everything, staying consistent with districts across the state, we are going back to charging a fee for anything that is credit advancement. And currently, if we look at uh districts across the state, they charge anywhere from $250 per half credit to 100. And so we we chose
045the lower base of that at $100 per half credit giving a discount for students that are identified as receiving free or reduced lunch as well as students identified as a dependent of a Brian ICD employee. Um so that is a a change. It's a shift back to what we used to do prior to COVID. And we are transitioning that one as well. instead of having two different facilitators, we're just going to have one. >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. So, um also in the work that Miss McGee has done and truly she's done a lot of work digging into the data to see what um what we budgeted for, what we staffed for, and what was the reality. And oftentimes, we would have students that would sign up for credit advancement and then not participate in
046credit advancement, but were staffed for the number of students. This helps us ensure that the students that are participating are serious about participating and that we're staffed appropriately to serve them. So that's again a change, just a small change um being respectful of the teachers time for a nominal fee uh to help offset the cost of it. It it does not uh break even so to speak, but I do think it helps um ensure that our students and our teachers know what to expect for summer school. Are there any questions that myself or Miss McGee can answer for you? >> So, explain to me about the transportation, >> how we're going to work that out, >> Miss McGee. Uh, I've met with uh Mr. Washington and his team and we are going to it's almost
047dividing the district in half, pretending that say Sadbury didn't exist. All of those kids originally for the majority went to Ravern to begin with. So, we're going to go back to those kind of pre-zones of what it what it is. Kids will go to their zoned campuses. They are still finalizing their list to say these elementary schools will go to Branch and these elementary schools will go to Bonum. What we did do in choosing our locations is Bonham as the elementary school is right next to Sadbury and Branch is right down the road from Jane Long. So that will allow ease in in making that divide, but that we're working very hard to make sure we have a really clean list so that we can communicate with parents so that they know ahead of time.
048It's based on your zone campus and this is where we're going. The whole goal is to try not to have buses crisscross back and forth across the district. >> Are there any other questions? >> I really like the giving the discount to the employees. Yay. Clever. Good. >> I wish I had it when my daughter was No. >> Are there any other questions that I can answer at this time? >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Shannon's done a great job. That's a logistical challenge for sure trying to accommodate every single student at just a few locations. Thank you for good work. Our next information item 9B is budget development series. Uh this will be chief financial officer Miss Norma Fiddle. Good evening, Mr. President, board members, Superintendent Carbine. Um, we are continuing our
049budget development series tonight with a focus on VATRES. This evening, we'll walk through what a VATRE is, why districts consider them, how they're used, and what they can fund. We'll also take a few minutes briefly to revisit the tax rate just to refresh our understanding of the difference between the M tax rate and the INS tax rate. That distinction is very important because VATRE are tied specifically to the maintenance and operation side of the tax rate and should not be confused with the interest and syncing side. So here we are in March moving right along and this month we are focusing on VATRE. So what is a VATRE? VATRE or Vader uh stands for voterapproved tax rate election. It's an election that gives our community the opportunity to decide whether the district can access additional
050pennies on the M side of the tax rate to generate more revenue. In simple terms, it's one of the few ways a school district can increase funding for day-to-day operations, and it's entirely driven by voter approval. Now just a quick reminder from our earlier tax rate discussion. Our tax rate has two main components. Maintenance and operations and interest in syncing. VATRE are tied specifically to the maintenance and operations side. They have nothing to do with de with the debt service portion of the tax rate. And as we shared during our entire bond campaign, our INS or debt service tax rate is set at 27 cents and will remain at 27 cents. So just to be very clear, this VAT discussion is not about debt. This conversation is entirely about the maintenance and operations side of
051the tax rate. Now if you recall our maintenance and operations tax rate is divided into two tiers. Tier one is what we call the maximum compressed tax rate. That portion is driven by property value growth and is set by TEA. This is not something that Brian ISD controls. That makes up the majority of our tax rate. Then you have tier two. This is where the enrichment pennies live and this is the portion of the tax rate that voters can actually influence. This is the part that can increase and generate additional revenue for the district. Right now, Brian ISD has six enrichment pennies in place. In the next couple of slides, we'll take a look at what additional capacity we may have. And on this slide, you can see a visual of the enrichment penny limits.
052both golden and copper. Districts can have up to eight golden pennies and nine copper pennies for a total of 17 enrichment pennies. These are established limits and cannot be exceeded. Right now, Brian ISD currently has six golden pennies and zero copper pennies. So, as you look at this, it's clear that the district has room or capacity if the board were to consider a VAT for additional enrichment pennies, whether on the golden or copper side. So, if the board were to consider a VATRE, how much additional revenue could the district potentially generate? Great question. I was hoping somebody would ask. Just for perspective andformational purposes only, if the district were to access two uh the two remaining golden pennies that are available, uh that could generate approximately $5.5 million in additional recurring revenue. And remember, because
053this is on the M side, those dollars can be used to support day-to-day operation for things like compensation, additional staff, instructional programs, and any and all other operational needs. And if the board were to look beyond those two golden pennies and consider uh copper, each additional penny would generate about a million dollars uh in recurring revenue a after recapture. Just as a side note, this is an important distinction here. Golden pennies are not subject to recapture. So even as property values grow, the district keeps that full amount. Copper pennies, on the other hand, are subject to recapture. So, from anformational standpoint, any copper pennies the district might pursue would add roughly a million dollars uh per penny in recurring revenue. One of the most common questions we get during a VAT discussion is, "What does
054this mean for me as a homeowner?" So, let's walk through a two golden penny scenario uh just for fun. Here's an example. Let's take a home with an appraised value of $350,000. After applying the $140,000 homestead exemption, that brings the taxable value down to $210,000. at our tax rate, our current tax rate of 94, that results in an annual tax bill of about $1,988. If you apply a two cent increase, that would be an additional $42 per year, so roughly about $3.50 per month. So, this gives you a practical realworld example um at what a two a potential two penny increase could mean for a homeowner. So, what can a VATRE fund? A VATRE generates funding once again on the maintenance and operations side of the budget, which means it can support day-to-day expenses, things
055like salaries, contracted services, utilities, general supplies, and uh any and all instructional programs. If you think back to our bond conversations, uh, one of the most common questions we heard was, can we use bond funds to increase teacher pay? And the answer to that is no. Bond funds cannot be used to pay teacher salaries. But with a VATRE, we're talking about M dollars. That's where we can fund salaries, including teacher compensation, uh, along with all of those other day-to-day operational needs. So, a question we hear often is why are school districts across the state still pursuing VATRE after the recent passage of House Bill 2, which made a significant investment in public schools and that's a fair question. At the core of it, the basic aotment, the primary driver of school district funding has not
056kept pace with our double-digit inflation. School districts have essentially been operating under the same funding structure since 2019. To keep up with inflation, districts needed an increase of around $1,300 per student, and instead we saw a $55 increase. Now, House Bill 2 did include targeted funding for teacher compensation, which is incredibly important. Uh, and we are very appreciative of that investment. But much of that funding was specifically earmarked and it doesn't address the full scope of rising operational costs. At the same time, districts are facing significant cost pressures across the board. Uh things like utilities, transportation, supplies, and property insurance. We're also continuing to see unfunded mandates, particularly in areas like safety and transportation where expectation increase where expectations increase but the funding doesn't always follow. And one example of that hits close to home
057for us and that example is around medical costs. Brian ISD operates under a self-funded health insurance model, which means the same dollars we use to pay salaries are also used to cover employee medical claims. With medical inflation also in the double digits, that creates real pressure on the operating budget as well. So, while House Bill 2 was helpful, especially for teacher compensation, it didn't fully address the broader financial challenges that districts across the state are facing. So, one last question here. Um, when are VATREs held? VATRE take place during the November election. And just forformational purposes, if the board were to consider pursuing a VATRE, there are a couple of key dates to keep in mind. Uh July 3rd would be the last days to select an auditor for the required efficiency audit. And August
05817th would be the deadline for the board to officially order the election. And just to wrap up our VATRE conversation, I want to take one more moment to reinforce the key takeaway here. The ATRES are entirely about the maintenance and operations side of the tax rate. They are not related to the debt service portion which is used to pay off our bonded debt. As we've shared before, our tax rate on the debt service side is 27 cents this year and it will remain at 27 cents next year. So just to recap the conversation and any potential VATRE, this is strictly focused on the M side of the house. And here we are continuing to move down the road. We've made some really great progress in the budget development series. So far, we've talked through district
059revenue, school bonds, and tonight VATRE. At our next session, we'll shift gears and focus on staffing. We've made some great strides with our systems. Skyward has been a big help in strengthening our position control and staffing processes and because staff makes up over 85% of our budget. This is a really important part of the bigger conversation. Overall, we've made good progress and we're excited to share more about that work at our next session. I'm happy to take any questions at this time. Norma, can you go back to the slide about the 350 value home? It's kind of way back there maybe. Okay. So, that's kind of I guess middle of the road for many of the families in our district. So for an annual increase, so for a year it'd be $42. >> Yes, ma'am.
060>> Monthly $350 if we're after these two golden pennies. And it's all about our people. It's all about our human beings. >> Yes, ma'am. >> In our district, including the children. Of course, they're human beings, but so it's salaries and insurance, the things that we could not do with the bond. So that's all about our people for $3.50 a month to look for those two golden pennies from the state. And then it goes to keeping the lights on and all utilities. And then for the student programs that we offer, which are a gazillion, which is what we pride ourselves in, >> all that's covered at this value, $350 appraised value of a home for $3.50 a month. >> That's correct. To take care of our people, our children. >> Yes, ma'am. Our staff. >> And
061you are correct. At this appraisal value, that is accurate. I think the previous slide I've got a question about Yeah. Um I think Davidston has asked last time we were on this topic uh for clarity regarding a golden penny versus a copper penny. Um and I'm I'm still trying to get clear as well. A gold. Now a golden penny basically expands our M budget. Correct. So our cup gets larger. >> Yes, sir. >> And if a copper penny is subject to recapture, does that mean it offsets uh revenues received from the state or does it also expand our >> It also expands our cup. the two the the golden pennies will add an additional $5.5 million if we add a copper penny on top of that. Now it roughly becomes $6.5 million. So it adds
062to the golden pennies. And if we were if we reached if our tax revenue reached the level of our allotment, our overall allotment and our copper pennies pushed us over that, they would be subject to recapture. >> The copper pennies through the mechanism of the state funding formula already takes out the recapture after that million dollars. So we net an additional million dollars. >> Okay. >> Did that answer your question? >> Yes. Okay. >> Uh, I'm sorry. I think I'm confused. >> I know. I asked this last time, too. And um, it's funny Joel asked because again, I got confused again. Golden penny, it's not subject for recapture. >> Correct. >> Neither is a copper penny. >> The copper pennies are >> Okay. >> After recapture, they're worth about a million dollars each. So, let's
063say we would let's say we went out for three pennies. We would see an additional $6.5 million. The first two pennies will yield us five and a half. The next golden penny will give us another million. >> Next copper. >> The next copper. Thank you. The next copper. Yeah. Cuz cuz the next in line is the copper. Once we get the two golden pennies, we'll have already maxed out um the eight that we have. So then the next available penny that we're able to get are the copper pennies and each one of those is worth about a million dollars. >> So you get the golden pennies first. >> Yes, ma'am. >> And then copper. >> Yes, ma'am. >> So goldens are worth more. >> Yes. >> Correct. >> Copper is worth less. >> Correct. Golden
064is protected. They can't touch it for recapture and it lives for you every >> right. And I mean, I think I think just, you know, as a public citizen coming into this board and public education, I mean, I had no earthly idea that golden pennies were even a thing or, you know, how all that worked. And so, you know, as as we navigate through these types of conversations and get into M and copper and golden and recapture and all these these words, I think I I just think that and in these presentations are fantastic. >> Thank you. But I do think that it's just important that, you know, there's a clear understanding of whenever we get into um these types of conversations, specifically what um you know, they do. Um because I like Joel, I
065I'd kind of navigated down the pathway of of the cup, right? Like I look at the cup and I'm like, "Okay, well, if our cup is full or if the state uh bridges what our tax values cover, they they cover the rest. Okay. Well, then why do we why do we need pennies?" But I think it's important to note that then you factor in the whole it's not subject for recapture, which is what um what matters. And so, um, again, um, I I I hear it once and then, but I feel like sometimes I got to hear it again. And so, um, I appreciate the slides, but again, I think it's just important that that the public understands kind of the whole mechanism behind, um, the pennies. >> It's a mechanism for sure. >> I
066want to >> Thanks for that. It's complicated. I mean, I've been on the board like 10 years. I'm finally just now getting it. So, and I I may lose it quickly, but um it's complicated. Um I hear sometimes folks say, um those schools, they just, you know, not doing a good job with their budget and they just keep asking for more money. um you know been on the board a little while now and that is not my observation as someone who's who's close to it. You you're now our CFO. Um and what I try to remind folks is that we've not seen a a significant increase in um per student funding since 2019. And even that we don't get all of it. it's based on a percentage of our average daily attendance. So, it's never
067the max. It's always less than that. Um, as we continue to try to do the things that we did before um with all the increases in um on all the things from fuel to just everything um healthcare, it it is challenging. And so when when the community and it's typically not folks in our community, it's other folks say schools just aren't uh why would we need more? Why would we need another five and a half million dollars on the golden pennies? Um I think when we put it into the context of helping our staff um and increasing salaries um that makes a huge difference for people. I I heard a statistic today that new teachers fresh out of the box and some school districts are making upwards of 75K and I just about choked um
068because I know what new teachers make here. And so it's hard to be competitive when when we have not had ways to do that. And so I sincerely hope that the state I I think something's going to have to really break on school funding. And I I sadly I think this may be the year uh with vouchers coming online that something's really going to have to change. So I hope our legislators are up for that task and figuring out how to really fund our public schools. >> Yes, ma'am. >> I've seen where some school districts are charging for students to take the bus to school. I think that's >> right. >> Charging for field trips. I mean they're just desperate for every penny, you know, that they can squeeze. But this is all about the
069humans. The bond is about the buildings. This is about our people. >> Yes, ma'am. Well said. >> And the last time we did a a Vader, a VR A treasure. >> Okay. For one penny. >> For one penny. >> Yes. And we've got more on the table. Yes. >> Don't be surprised if I ask you about Penny's next meeting. >> That's okay. Still waiting for round three. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And I want to applaud Norma's effort with our strategic planning committee. We had a subcommittee, our first one so far dedicated to finance, and she did a great job of explaining the difference between M and INS, golden pennies, copper pennies, etc. So, u she's a great teacher when it comes to the complexities of school finance. So, um I think it's just incredibly important
070to educate our community so they understand um the options that could be available one day. >> Thank you. >> Um >> Thank you, >> Miss Brittle. I think you have the next item 9C, budget development overview and timeline. >> Is that correct? >> Yes. Yes sir, I do. I'm just waiting for the next presentation below. Thank you. Okay. Once again, good evening, Mr. President, board members, Superintendent Carabine. Uh tonight we are continuing to move right along into our budget development process. Uh tonight we're transitioning into our current year budget development timeline and calendar. Um, I'll walk you through the major milestones so that you can see where we are, uh, what's currently underway and what is still ahead. And believe it or not, budget adoption will be here before we know it. We are only
07112 weeks away from adopting our 2627 budget. So this evening is really about grounding us in the timeline and making sure have everyone has a clear picture of the road ahead. So, here is the district's full budget calendar for 2627. And as you can see, we are right in the thick of things in March. For tonight, I have grouped the timeline into two month segments, so it's easier to see the major milestones in each phase. Now, this isn't meant to capture every single detail, just the key steps along the way. And of course, like any budget process, things can shift. Things can shift as we go. But at a high level, this gives you a good picture of what the budget calendar looks like. So to start, January and February are already behind us. Those
072first couple of months are really about getting grounded in our numbers. We spend that time looking at our actual enrollment and comparing it to where we were or or what we projected this time last year. We're also reviewing our average daily attendance and making sure our student data is accurate and aligned. I've been working closely with program directors and our technology team to better understand our PE's data, where it lives, and how we can efficiently pull it into our state funding template. That really sets the foundation for everything else in the budget process. At the end of the day, we're asking ourselves a simple question. Are we where we thought we would be? Because once we understand our student counts, we can more accurately project funding for both the current year and the upcoming school
073year. In February, we also took an important step by sending budget templates out to all of our campuses and departments with those templates due on March 31st. This year, we took a slightly different approach. We incorporated a hybrid of zerobased budgeting along with sightbased budget planning. In simple terms, that means we added an extra step to give us better visibility into our non-payroll spending instead of automatically rolling uh forward last year's budget. We really took a step back and asked ourselves, is this the best use of our funds? We also built in priority levels for each budget line item so that budget managers can identify what's mandatory, what's critical, and what could potentially wait. So overall, this approach gives us greater visibility into how we are spending our money. It helps us prioritize needs more
074clearly and allows us to make more thoughtful, more intentional decisions about how we're using our resources. So moving into March, this is really a critical month in the budget process as we continue uh refining our assumptions and our revenue projections. This is also the time when we meet one-on-one with all of our budget managers. I'm proud to say we've met personally with every principal and every department leader to walk through the new budget approach that we are taking this year. We actually took it a step further and we piloted this process with a handful of campuses and departments dating back to September and October. That gave us valuable insight into where some of the pain points have been in our previous budget process. It also allowed us to gather feedback, understand where uh where there
075may have been some confusion and really emphasize the importance of communication across campuses, departments, and all of our instructional programs. So March has been a very active and important month. And just as a reminder, all budget templates are due March 31st. As we move into April, the conversation starts to shift more toward compensation. Those discussions have been ongoing, but they really begin to take shape in the months of April and May. Another major milestone in April is receiving our preliminary property values from our county appraisal district. This is a key piece in all of this because it really jumpst starts the revenue side of the budget. Once we have those values, we can begin estimating our tax collections, which is a major component of our state funding template. By this point, we should also be
076finalizing our student counts for the current year and possibly for next year. So when you bring those two pieces together, student counts, property values, they really serve as the primary drivers in determining the district's overall funding. So as we move into May, we continue those conversations around budget priorities, and by this point, our revenue projections are much more solid. If there are any staffing notifications that need to go out, this is the appropriate time to do that. Uh, and ideally, uh, we'd like to have our compensation plan approved in May. It doesn't always line up perfectly depending on the timing of decisions, but having it in place really helps the district stay competitive and better positioned for recruitment as we head into the summer months. Then, as we move into June, that really becomes a
077month of final steps and formalities. Ideally, by this point, the heavy lifting has already been done. Our student counts, revenue projections, and key decisions should all already be in place. June is when we bring everything together. We hold the required public hearing to discuss the budget and proposed tax rate. And if the compensation plan hasn't been adopted, it would be adopted alongside the budget. We'll also finalize any current year budget amendments to ensure our budgeted functions are properly aligned and ready for audit. And just as a quick reality check, uh we are about 12 weeks away from budget adoption. So this is the time where final decisions really start to come into focus. And one final reminder for our board is we are in a second year of a bienium. So there is no new
078funding coming our way. We are in a season where some tough decisions have to be made, especially with the impact of vouchers and the declining enrollment that we're seeing across the state. But rest assured, we're committed to keeping you informed every step of the way, seeking your input, your feedback, and your guidance as we move along through the process. So, as we move into July, this is when we receive our certified property values that uh that gives us a chance to compare them to our preliminary values and make any final adjustments and budget amendments as needed. In July, TEA also conducts what's called a local property value survey, which determines our actual property value growth. From that, TEA establishes our maximum compressed tax rate, which drive which drives the majority of our M tax rate.
079So, by this point, we're pretty solid on the revenue side. Any adjustments we make are typically just shifts between local tax collections and state aid within our funding template. Then, as we move into August, once we have the maximum compressed rate, we essentially have everything that we need to move forward with adopting our tax rate. Most districts adopt their tax rate in late August or early September. Uh and if needed, we would hold a public hearing if the adopted tax rate differs from what was originally shared and posted back in June. Be happy to take any questions. >> All good. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Yes. >> Moving to our consent agenda. The board can remove any item from the consent agenda if applicable. If there are none, I
080will entertain a motion. >> I move approval of all the items listed on the consent agenda. >> Second. >> Motion made by Miss Felicia Benford and seconded by Dr. Uh Julie Harland Wolf. Um all those in favor say I. >> Any oppose say no. Motion passes. Let's see. Action item. uh to discuss and consider authorizing the superintendent to negotiate and enter into a contract with ESS South Central LLC for the provision of substitute staffing services for the 2627 school year executive director of human resources, Mr. Tommy Roberts. >> Good evening. Um Clay, this is not this is not the right one. Did I give you the wrong link? >> This No, this is not the right presentation. Yeah. >> Is that okay? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Dr. Mer. So >> is that it? >> Okay.
081>> 26. >> Good evening. So I have here with me also Angela Barren who's assistant director of human resources that helps oversee the subp part of our house as well as Jenna Cruz here from ESS. So I take just a few minutes to talk about our partnership with ESS. Grab my clicker here. Um, so a little bit about our benefits with ESS. So, um, let's talk about recruitment for just a moment. Um, we have an extensive, um, and exclusive focus on Brian ISD. So, we have two full-time recruiters that work on the ESS side to help ensure that our subpool stays very deep and it is a continuous pool, right? That we are actively out hustling and recruiting subs non-stop. Um that work is pro um critical to providing instructional continuity which is what Dr.
082Harlland kind of alluded to earlier with our high fill rate. Um we want to make sure that we have subs available even for those last minute callins when you know as a parent I've been there you wake up a kid's running fever you realize you can't go to work you got to take care of your kiddos so you got to call in at the last minute. So we want to make sure that that subpole is deep there to make sure that we have subs available. And then ESS does a great job of incentivizing um things for their subs, right? So they do um things uh for substitute standouts and campus recognitions throughout the month. Um and they they I mean last month I think that's branch elementary. So that's the famous Penny Burns right there,
083the campus principal or principal secretariat uh branch. Um so they they've done that off and on throughout the months as well. Okay. So let's talk about partnership facts. So, one of the things I do want to it's highlighted in green for you guys because I want to celebrate it. Our fill rate through the fall semester was 91%. And that is very very high. So, I heard um a presentation by another district that their fill rate hovers somewhere in the 60s and 70s. So, I thought, okay, maybe that's just them. So, I picked up the phone and called another district that I kind of collaborate with and asked them the same question like, hey, what's your subfill rate? and they say we hover about the low 80s um on a on a good month. And I
084thought, okay, well, we're we're doing good. ESS is doing good work for us to make sure that that fill rate stays high and our subpool stays deep. You see there are 420 active subs in our pool right now. 14 of those subs are preferred subs. So those are people that are dispatched at a moment's notice, right? So if we have a job that's unfilled in a moment's notice, we pick up the phone, they dispatch their preferred subs, and they try to go fill that job um quickly. um campus subpools. So, we're really encouraging this year our campuses to work um and familiarize themselves with those subs to kind of create a subpool for their campus and kind of a call sheet. So, jobs go unfilled or there's, you know, a last minute need that we
085can pick up the phone and say, "Hey, so and so, you've sub for us, done a great job. We want you. We have a job open. Can you come right now? We'll, you know, we'll wait for you to get here." Um so we're really encouraging um campuses to build that relational capacity um with our subs. Um um the other big thing there is we've hired over 250 subs from ESS to work on the Brian ISD site. So that can be we've hired instructional assistants, we've hired teachers from from there. So since we um have been working with ESS, 250 employees from the ESS side coming over to our side. So that's a huge thing as well because in terms of recruitment um in terms of background checks, we we do all of those things at
086the same level as we do um on the Brian ISD side. So fingerprint, you know, we're checking all of that. We're checking the do not hire registry, all of those things. And another special thing that ESS has done for us in the last couple years is they have done special education training for subs working in our best and sales rooms. So those are our some of our um high knee kiddos. So, we want to make sure that subs are going into those rooms equipped um and trained to best serve those kids. Um so, how does subs get here? So, like I said, they are recruiting nonstop. They are pounding the pavement. Um I believe that they are going to the college of education uh job fair on Monday out at&m. So, they'll be there recruiting
087for us and and they're all over the place. Usually, when we have some kind of event on the district side, they're they're probably there. I think that's one of our I found a picture. That's one of our trunk or treat um things at one of the high schools there. And so they're out recruiting um non-stop for us. U background checks, like I said, we're we're running the same background checks on them as we would our employees um checking uh fingerprints and the do not hire registry to make sure that we're compliant on the Brian ISD side as well as state standards. And then interactive training and onboarding. Um, part of that onboarding and training is online. You know, they go through some modules in terms of classroom management and those kinds of things. And then
088part of that onboarding is in person. So, we actually invite them here. They sit with our team. Um, they are onboarded, you know, some HR paperwork, but also some hands-on training in terms of safety and security as well. Um, in terms of cost commitments, so ESS will continue to hold the contract for Red Rover. Red Rover is our substitute management system um for teachers. So that's where teachers go and put their absence in and subs can go in and pick up the job for the next day. Um operational coverages. ESS covers those costs such as payroll taxes, liability insurance, workers compensation, and then cost reduction with our deficit budget and all things that we're working on. Um I did go um to ESS and ask if they would be willing to negotiate their rate for
089the upcoming year and they said that they would be willing to do that. Um, yeah, that's a huge thing. And then last but not least, the cost of analysis of contracting with the SS versus doing that in-house is approximately $60,000. I did have Norma double check our work to make sure that that is a true statement. Um, and then as a district, you know, Mrs. Carbine has tasked all of us with looking at what can you do to reduce costs um and the things that we can control and substitutes is one of those things, right? So, um, I'm happy to report as of right now that we are trending approximately $90,000 under where we were a year ago today for substitute usage. So, we're monitoring those on a weekly basis. Angela generates reports and send
090those sends those to me Monday morning. I'm scrutinizing those things and then we're working with campus principles as well, making sure that they understand what to use school business subs for, you know, those kinds of things. and we're bringing that to the forefront every time that we meet um with the district lead district leadership team um at the end of every month. So our recommendation at this point is to continue with the SS and not risk um jeopardizing any disruption to campuses and to continue to ensure our instructional continuity um when teachers are absent. So all any questions? >> Tommy, I got a question. >> Yes, sir. Um, and I hope I connect the dots on this. Um, this all looks like it's successful. The question I do have is, okay, the teacher says they're
091sick. They can't be at work tomorrow. Red Rover comes into play. That's where I think the subs then take a take a slot. And I'm sure that ESS has done all their due diligence, background checks, all that stuff. I I guess my only question is is what protocol is in place to ensure that whoever took that >> spot >> is the one that actually shows up at that spot is my question. >> Yeah. So there the ESS subs have an ID, right? So they're given an ID. If they don't have their ID with them for whatever reason, our campuses are supposed to raptor them in. So that's the visitor badge system that our each campus uses. >> Okay. Yeah. And I guess that you know it's okay the front desk you know are they are
092they clued into this sub is coming in this person is with ESS. Um >> yeah. Yeah. I'll let Jenna talk for just a minute. >> Thank you so much. Um I think that's an excellent question and thank you for bringing it up. So, the Red Rover program actually tells a lot of identifying information about the substitute that will be coming, name, the class they're supposed to be supporting, and it actually gives them an identifier. So, ESS gives them an employee ID. When they show onto the campus, they actually have their badge that has that identifier on it and a photo of them. So, it's you can see that that person is who they're supposed to be. All of that information is available to our campus coordinator. So when they come in, as soon as that
093sub selects that job or we place them into that job, the campus already has access to it. So there's no lag time and information. So if it says Jenna's coming in for this assignment, Jenna shows up, I have my ID, they can do a really quick comparison. Um to Tommy's point, if they don't have their ID, maybe they just got hired yesterday, they're still invited to the campus, but they do have to use their government issued photo ID. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Tommy. You mentioned that other districts are hovering some districts you've talked to are hovering around 80%. >> Yes, sir. >> What prior to our u partnership with ESS were we comparable to those? >> I can't speak to that because I was not in this role, but I can tell you from
094the seat of a campus principal, it was not what it is today. I promise you, we struggled to find subs and maintain a sub pool. >> Yeah. from a from a recruiting standpoint. I know that that's one of your initiatives that uh you're you're recruiting and um you know I think we all have a lot of conversations with parents um who have you know have reason to be involved and want to be involved. Is there a is there a point of contact or a place where if we have a parent that is interested in participating in substitute teaching where they can potentially uh apply? >> Yeah. Absolutely. That information is on our website or they can just they can just call the front desk and they'll direct them to our office and we can help
095them. Okay. Absolutely. >> We and we encourage that. Right. The more subs the better. So we're not >> Yeah. >> Great. >> Mr. Roberts, do you want to share just a little bit more about the preferred substitutes? I I'm remembering back in the day when I was an elementary principal and we had preferred substitutes because we wanted people who understood the elementary child and was best suited for that age compared to when I was a secondary principal. We were looking for people that understood the older kids. So the preferred uh method is really important for principles to have that autonomy. So >> Angel talk about that. >> So preferred substitutes all have a bachelor's degree and some have their preferred level to work at. Some are saying, "I only want elementary," or, "I only like
096high school or middle school." Some say, "I'll go anywhere that you need me." The beauty of a preferred sub is those lastm minute fills are the hardest to fill. Statistically, an absence that get puts gets put in the first thing in the morning doesn't get filled. And that's why our preferred subs go wherever we need them to go at a moment's notice. Um, but we do have some campuses have preferred subs that just pretty much go to just that campus. Some will just go districtwide. Um, but they're all dedicated individuals who are more trained. They know a lot more. They've been doing it for a long time. So, they're good people. >> Thank you. >> Any more questions? >> We entertain a motion. I move to super authorize the superintendent to negotiate an enter contract
097with ESS South Central LLC for the provision of substitute staffing services for the 2026 2027 school year. >> Second. >> Motion was made by Dr. Haron Wolf, seconded by Mrs. Waller. All those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed say no. Motion passes. >> Thank you. >> Let's see. All right. This would be 11B. Consideration of and possible action on a proposed contract with BLK Architects. Uh, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Merrill will present. >> I appreciate it. Uh, we've come in, I think it was either last board meeting, the meeting before where we brought in some of at least one of our architects. We'll be back in hopefully at the next board meeting to to bring in the remainder of them and then we're excited hopefully at some point to bring everybody in for
098a meet and greet. So, we appreciate that opportunity. I'd like to point out with the team behind me there in the back back there um y'all met Mr. Griffin and then you know Melissa Martin and that's uh Jody Mumm. He's our uh architect and we just recently hired him. So, you will be seeing him in the boardroom as well. And then as we begin the the design phase of these projects, again, we're so very thankful for the community and the work um and just the trust that they provided and that they gave us. And so, we we definitely want to always treat that very carefully and transparently. And so, again, we are in here all the time sharing. All the information is on the website. So, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to
099ask. And so we're here tonight to look at a couple things. Um some of our major projects, the Brian and Ruer High School, and you see there the estimated amount. Um obviously the the um construction amount is less than that because there's uh percentages of other things. For example, the construction cost FFN, which is fixture, furniture, and equipment, technology, professional fees, and contingency is built into that total amount of the 98 million. So the con the actual construction amount is is less than that. And you can see the again the totals on the left have those same uh percentages, those construction costs, everything else built into them. And so um we you know have anticipated hopefully anything that could come up which would allow us to build these projects. We're incredibly excited about it. Um
100you've you've heard numerous times, you've seen all the presentations. I don't want to bore you at the same time. This is incredibly exciting for us to begin the design phase. When you look at it, Brian High School is uh needing of just quite a bit of renovation, not only in life cycle and priority maintenance, but the kitchen and cafeteria uh CTE renovation and then locker room. It does not have an auditorium that will house even one of its uh classes. It it can maybe pull 200 people and probably you've all been in that room. when I student taught. Interestingly enough, the presentation before I got my start as a student teacher as well as a substitute teacher in Brian ISD um back in I guess gosh in the 90s. Um so I'm thankful for that.
101And then you look at Ruer uh barbering and cosmetology as well as their dance studio and band hall. And there's many things in there. For example, there's some fine arts also included in that auditorium at Brian High. So, when you look at all of these projects, um this is not a totally uh exhaustive list. We just put the the the big items up there. And so, we're asking tonight for consideration for VLK architects. I'll remind you that we went through a lengthy process selecting the architects. Uh we did the RFQ. Um and then we request for qualifications. We selected out of like 20some architects. We whittleled it down to 11. And then we did a face-to-face interview with a panel of of u just a diverse panel of Brian ISTD staff and they not only
102presented for 20 minutes they also answered a set of questions for 20 minutes and then out of that we uh selected the architect uh that you'll see tonight. So it's BK architects. The second architectural firm that we're bringing tonight is uh the rebuild of Brian Collegiate High School and that's PBK architects. It's an estimated 63,171860,000. And again, that entire amount includes not only construction costs, again, the the fixture, furniture, and equipment, technology, the professional fees, and the contingencies are built into that. So, um, you know, as we begin, you never know what the market's going to do. And if all falls right, like we've done in the previous um, bond referendums, we've had money, we've been able to do additional projects because we had contingency built in. So, Lord willing, that will be this way
103as well. And so, I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. Uh, the next one is just questions. >> I know there's confusion in the community just around bonds in general. Yes, ma'am. But I mean, this is these are huge projects. >> They are. Yes, ma'am. >> And it's impossible for us at this point to know all the things, >> Right. So, these are labeled as estimates. >> Yes, ma'am. >> For a reason. And they're the best guest estimate, but >> right >> there will be more details coming later. >> There will. Yes, ma'am. You begin to program them out and so you've got a rough square footage and kind of what the going cost for construction is. As you so well put, it's an estimate. And then we get into the design. We
104do not have these projects designed. Um, you know, there's a lengthy process to go behind the design build and uh to just to seek everyone's input. We are very excited. the same reason that anywhere you go, people are asking when are we breaking ground? What do what do they look like? All of those things. And you know, these are going to be here for 50, 60 years. So, we want to get them right. So, we're going to take uh enough time. Uh at the same time, we work backwards. We know when we want these buildings or spaces to open. Um and so if we start with the back, we look and to make sure that we don't we uh don't disrupt our kids. And so somehow a senior, junior, sophomore gets a, you know, doesn't
105get the same experience, we want to make sure theirs is um great and as as well as those coming up. And so absolutely. >> Yeah. And that's why we hire experts to help us manage those. >> Yes, ma'am. And we've got guys in the back, our our team in the back to just to partner. And so it's the reason you go through the lengthy process of the RFQ, the interviews, and um we're very excited about working with these two firms. Well, thank you for the due diligence on that. >> I appreciate your trust. >> Are there any other questions? If not, I can make the motion. I move approval of the contract with BLK Architects for the design and construction administration services for the renovations at BHS and Rudder High School as presented. >> Second.
106>> Motion made by Dr. Harlland Wolf, seconded by Miss Benford. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed say no. Motion passes. So that was We have two, correct? >> So I move approval Yeah. >> of the contract with PBK for the design and construction administration services for the rebuild of Brian Collegiate High School as presented. >> Second. >> Motion made by Miss Benford, seconded by Dr. Harlon Wolf. All those in favor say I. >> Any opposed say no. >> Motion passes. >> I know Manny uh was with PBK. He was making sure that second one got done. and he was a little nervous about it, I'm sure. Um, and I appreciate you coming out, meaning you did not have to. Uh, we appreciate that. Um, we will have a meet and
107greet sometime in the future where we're going to bring as many of them we as we can. And so, invite the entire community to come out and see them. Uh, meet them and just get to input because again, these are their buildings. Uh, we're we're just excited to get to build them. >> Thank you. Uh, the board will now convene in close session to discuss the following items as allowed by the Texas Government Code, chapters 551.076 and 551.074 and 551.0821 and 551.072. No voting will take place in the closed meeting. Any action the board wishes to take as a result of discussion in a closed session will occur after the board reconvenes in the open meeting. The time is now 7:41 Yeah. The board reconvened in open session >> at 9:31 p.m. >> No action
108was taken in close session. >> Are you ready? Um do we So item number 14, consideration and pos possible action on bids for the sale of real property uh State Highway 21 East. Um, >> I move to reject all bids received for the district owned property at 2009 State Highway 21 East Brian, Texas as presented. >> Second. >> Motion was made by Dr. Harlland Wolf, seconded by Miss Benford. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed say no. Motion passes. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:32 p.m.