001We are here to provide local citizen governance and oversight. The management and day-to-day operations of the districts are the responsibility of the superintendent. This is a public meeting of the board of trustees. School board meetings are open to all who wish to attend and hear the matters discussed. Audience participation is limited to the public comment portion of the meeting. These proceedings will are recorded and I respectfully ask that you please refrain from talking while others are speaking. Thank you for taking time during Thank you for taking time this evening to join us for your interest in the Brenham Independent School District. >> Uh Justin Collie will lead us in the pledge of allegiance followed by the invocation given by Bonnie Brmar. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to
002the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Heavenly Father, thank you for being with us today. Thank you for watching over us as we make decisions that follow your will. keep us respectful and grateful and with our actions. Let us be respectful and grateful with with all we do. We work with our students and those who look after them. We appreciate them, their parents, their teachers, leaders, and all others in our community. Bless all of us, especially Lord, those with special needs, physical, mental, and emotional. and help us to find your healing and your strength. In your name we pray. Amen. >> Okay, we're going to go directly into special recognition. First is our campus spotlight. Uh Sarah Cook. >> Good evening. uh school board
003president, board members, um superintendent, we would like to recognize um some special people from Krowy Elementary School. So, we would first like to start with our teacher of the month, Mrs. Stephanie Kaylor. Mrs. Kaylor consistently brightens our campus with her warm and genuine smile, greeting everyone she sees each day. not only her own students but other colleagues and every other student who walks past her room. Also, her kindness and positivity create a welcoming environment that sets the tone for learning and connections. She is deeply committed to her student success, always ensuring that they stay on the right path both academically and personally. Whether it means going the extra mile to support a struggling student or celebrating their achievements, Mrs. Kaylor does whatever it takes to help each child thrive. Beyond her classroom, she serves as
004a true leader among her peers. She is dependable and inspiring member of her team, consistently moni modeling professionalism, collaboration, and dedication. Her willingness to step up and contribute to the success of our campus does not go unnoticed. She embodies the values we um strive to instill in our students every day, and her impact reaches far beyond her own classroom walls. We are incredibly fortunate and grateful to have her as part of our KES family. So, congratulations. Next, we would like to recognize our para of the month, Mrs. Crystal Sapata. Miss Sapata is such an important part of our school family. She supports both students and staff every day with so much care, kindness, and a smile that really brightens the room. No matter where she's needed, she always is ready to jump in and help
005and does it with a positive attitude to lift everyone around her. She goes out of her way to build great relationships with her students, making them feel comfortable and supported and ready to learn. At the same time, she is there for staff, too. Whether it's helping out, offering encouragement, or just being someone to count on, Miss Sapata truly goes above and beyond, and she makes our school a better place every day. And finally, we'd like to recognize our student of the month, Raiden Montes. Raiden is an outstanding third grade student who shows responsibility, respect, and a positive attitude every single day. He comes to class ready to learn. He works hard on everything he does and always gives his best effort. Raiden stands out as a natural leader, setting a great example for his classmates
006through both his actions and through the way he treats others. He actively participates in class, stays focused, and is always willing to help anyone who needs it. His kindness and willingness to support others makes a big difference in his classroom. Raiden's strong character and dedication to doing what his what best sets him apart from others, and he is very deserving of this recognition. Shake hand. So I was already Sean. >> Okay. One, two, three. Good job. Congratulations. >> Okay, next we have uh Travis Gonzalez will come up and talk about the CTE uh department's accomplishments this year. There we go. All right. Good evening everyone. Uh, so they asked me to come talk about a little bit about CTE this month. Um, so I'm going to talk a little bit about numbers and then we're
007going to talk about the kids cuz that's what we're here for, right? So, uh, CTE enrollment, uh, we are atund I mean, 1451 students, um, individual students. Then our seat hours for kids who take multiple courses were up to, uh, 2348 students altogether in CTE. Um, as far as right now what's going on CTE, we're starting our certifications. Um, we have 71 kids who've already passed industry based certifications already and we're looking at testing about another 300 to 350 students between now and the end of um or the middle of May. Uh, so we have a lot of things going on. Um, let's see here. Uh, CTSO engagements, so our student organizations. Uh, we've been really proud of what's been going on there. Uh just some numbers for you. Um FFA right now we have
008active roster of uh 765 kids. HOSA has 82 kids. Uh they are actually going to their state contest today. So they left this afternoon. Um and then Taffy, our teacher association will be here next month actually to talk about their trip to nationals uh this July. Um and there's 106 members there. Uh Skills USA is one of our newest members. Jody Finkey's been heading that up. But um already in in its first full year, uh we have two kids that qualify to their state contest, one in masonry and one in their healthcare program. Uh so we're really really excited there. uh you know, CTSOs really give kids a chance to uh participate and actually have hands-on uh learning and uh demonstrate their skills that they've learned in the classroom uh to take um into the
009world of work. And so right now we have uh 959 kids in all of our student organizations. That's a extremely large number especially for a school even our size. Uh so I'm really proud of that and our teachers um that have been going. But you know with that comes a lot of travel uh different things like that. Um in the last year we've uh participated in about 150 contest um traveling to 100 to 115 um unique events that we go to. Um not counting stock shows and and egg shows and stuff like that. So So our kids are traveling, our teachers are traveling. Uh we're always busy. They're doing a really great job. Um and then you know basically our program is just designed uh to give opportunities uh to students in leadership development uh
010technical skills and uh real world work across multiple pathways um you know traveling wise we're traveling 25 to 30,000 miles a year um all over Texas everywhere from Lik to to Kingsville and and St. Angelo to to Commerce. So, um, you know, our kids are are really doing a lot. Our teachers are doing a lot, and I'm really grateful for, uh, y'all support, um, anything that we need. I'm really grateful for our teachers and our kids. Uh, this evening, we're going to have, uh, two groups of kids. Um, the a science fair students, um, Avanor, Katie, uh, Allen, and Ellis Shiel. Um, those are the kids that actually, uh, participate under me. And um and Ava was uh this uh this past week at Rodeo Austin. Uh she was actually won her division and then
011she was reserved overall um in the egg science fair. And then I'll let them come up in a little bit and tell you all about that. But uh another group that I'm really excited about um and I'm going to introduce Miss Bailey Adams. She's one of our uh new a teachers. But, uh, she had students participate in the Houston Livestock Show, uh, rodeo, wildlife poster contest, and video contest. And, uh, they did extremely well. So, I'll let them come up now and tell you about their projects. Uh well, first of all, I thank you for um having us here and a little bit uh to share a little bit about what we get to do out there in the A building. Um so for me today, um I have four of my five individuals that
012were finalists for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Um they have a special committee. They have several committees obviously, but the wildlife committee does some really cool events. They do like a ski shoot, um an archery contest, they do a expo, a wildlife expo on site. Um but then they open the contest statewide to students um focused on wildlife conservation in the state of Texas. You can do it as a poster board um which is going to look similar to like those a science fair projects out there. Or you can do a video um and you have to pick a topic um you have to recognize um how um its impact on the environment, how you can help it um and general things like that. So, I have some pretty cool topics today, but um
013this is open to kids statewide. Um so, in the poster board contest, we were really fortunate to have two individuals out of the top 12. So, I only picked 12 and there were 50 entries. I don't remember how many. There were like 150 entries statewide and we had two of the top 12. So, that was pretty incredible. Um and then in the video contest, we actually had three out of the top 10. Um and this is a phenomenal contest. Um, starting with, um, I had a ninth place, they get $300 all the way up to first place was $2,000. Um, so I'll let the students kind of tell you what they won from it. Um, but a really cool project. Um, so we're really excited about that and look forward to doing it again next
014year. >> So, tell them your name, your project, and what you won. >> Okay. Hi, I am JC Hager. I did a poster board for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and I chose to do it over a Houston toad. They're just a really endangered species. I just talked about like what you can do to save them, what you can do to help them, like little things you can do at home, and overall just help them learn about the species in Texas Parks and Wildlife. Okay. Hi, I'm Bailey Rogers. Um, I did my video over snag preservation. A snag is a dead tree that birds live in. And um, I also had the opportunity to go and interview a park ranger at the Texas A&M Forest Service and I got eighth place. Good evening. My
015name is Katie Allen. I did Agri Science Fair. My experiment studied how increased exposure to agricultural education. So, our CTE courses down in the A building affected students perceptions of uh careers in agriculture and just overall stereotypes. And I did a survey between freshman and seniors and the data indicated that increased exposure to agricultural education leads to more want to go into agricultural careers and just less uh reliance on common stereotypes. >> Hi, my name is Ellis Shiel and I competed in both these contests. for aggra science fair. I did what are the perceived limitations to buying organics in Brenham, Texas. Um I started with knowing that organics are not often purchased among most consumers in Brennham. And so I created a survey and did an observational study to find why people don't buy organics.
016And what I found was perceived price, perceived knowledge, and perceived distance were all barriers to people not buying organics. In addition, I also created a video. And for my video, I studied bob white quail. I learned about what they eat, where they live, and how we are um to preserve them in the future as their populations are declining. Hi, my name is Aanor. I was in both the HLSR Wildlife Video Contest and Agri Science Fair. For the video contest, I did it over backyard pollinator gardens. Right now, we have a big food insecurity crisis, and so an easy way to grow food at home is through backyard pollinator gardens. bringing in bees, butterflies, birds, and that kind of thing. And then for agri science fair, I did my project over the effects of growing media
017on roquette arugula. I tested this so that we could see what would grow best hydroponically. I used rockwool, pete, moss, potting soil, and coconut core. And I found that potting soil was in fact the best growing media. Thank you. Well, I just I just wanted to point out for the community listening, we have roughly 1,600 kids at the high school and 1,450 of those are participating in our CTE program to see how massive this program is and how many kids are actually involved. I just want to make sure the community understands that. Like it's amazing things that they're doing on a shoestring budget and they continue to stretch it and they continue to support all the kids in the community. Just thank y'all so much for all y'all's work. I think I made a volcano
018when I was y'all's age and it didn't even work. I mean, everything y'all were saying was amazing. So, just just keep at it. Y'all are amazing. I'll give you all the pictures in Google Drive. >> Okay. Okay. I'd like to ask uh Christy Shernado to come to the front to recognize the spelling be winners. >> All right. Am I on? Okay. Good evening. I'm excited to take a moment to recognize our Washington County Spelling Bee Champions. This year marked the 70th annual spelling bee. It was held here at Brigham High School where students from nine schools across our county competed. It was a great night and we are especially proud to share that all three of our top finalists are from Brennham Middle School. Yay BMS. The final rounds were incredibly competitive. Um, after our
019third place finisher went out on the word gallion, the two top spellers went back and forth for several rounds. When the word fissurers was missed, it all came down to one final moment. And our champion correctly spelled discipline and then scurrying to secure the win. Our first place winner will go on to represent Washington County at the regional spelling bee this weekend. And we're excited to cheer them on. At this time, I want to recognize our spelling be coaches from Brennham Middle School, Amy Avant and Bana James um for the time and dedication they've poured into preparing these students. All right, I'm going to let them introduce our winners to y'all. Hi, I'm Amy Avan and it's a pleasure to introduce these three amazing students, especially my first year as a math teacher sponsoring a
020spelling bee. So, I'm very excited about that. So, at this time, I would like to introduce our third place winner is Everett Westfield from in sixth grade. Our second place winner is Luke Leckler, fifth grade. He's off to a baseball game right after this. And our champion for the whole district that's going to be representing and winning on Saturday and going to Washington DC is Cash Crarampton, another sixth grader. Congratulations to these three young guys. Get in there. Yeah, get in there. We would have been there to see the spelling be except we happened to have a meeting that night. So we were so excited to hear the news. >> But don't worry, we heard Miss Tibido from the auditorium over here. So she was very very very proud of y'all. Okay. So, next I'm
021going to ask Brooke to stand up and talk about a proclamation that we're doing recognizing 2026 March of 2026 as arts and education month. >> Good evening board. Tonight, we are proud to recognize March as arts and education month in BamiD. This recognition is more than about celebrating programs. It's about recognizing the impacts arts have in our students every day. Fine arts educations helps develop creativity, confidence, communication, and connection while also supporting student engagement and academic success. March is nationally recognized as arts and education month, also known as youth art month, and includes theater in our schools month. It provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of visual arts, music, dance, theater, and all the creative disciplines across our district. This recognition also has a meaningful story behind it. The idea was originally brought forward
022by Brham High School student leader Satie Royer, who advocated for us to recognize theater in our schools month. Satie was recently recognized by the Brennham City Council for the same effort, and she represents Cub Company and Texas Sespians, the largest chapter in the nation of educational theater association. Sades initiative reflects exactly what we strive to develop in our students. Leadership, advocacy, and the confidence to use their voice. After visiting with district leadership, we expanded this recognition to arts and education month so we could celebrate the full scope of fine arts across the district. Tonight, we have a student representatives from several of our fine arts program who will share what these experience mean to them. We will begin with theater where this recognition first took root. Satie Good evening everyone and thank you Brennham School
023Board for this opportunity. My name is Satie Royer and up here are also some of our officers from our cub company troop troop 1315. Um and we also represent Texas Thespians as mentioned the largest chapter of the educational theater arts association. So, we are not only here to accept the possible approval of the proclamation for our school board for theater in our schools month, but also put a spotlight on theater arts and its importance in our lives. Theater is extremely vital for a student in their academic career, but also in their life. I know for me personally as well as all of these people up here, theater has had some positive way of impacting our lives. Whether it be our thinking, critical thinking skills, advocacy, leadership, or any other opportunity that you can think of,
024theater has allowed us to travel for its cause, uplift others in society, and most importantly, educate everyone like we are able about the importance of theater in our schools. Theater is unfortunately shadowed by many electives. I know for an example, we live in Texas and we do love our football. But if we maybe paid as much attention to theater as we did to our sports, I wouldn't have to be up here right now. That's the kind of attention that we need to shine on not only fine arts and theater, but any art within our school. Unfortunately, right now within Texas schooling systems, there is conversation about eliminating theater as a required art and instead earning it in junior high and middle school instead. This is less funded. This does not give a student as much
025access to theater as they would in the high school level. On another scale, floral arts and other classes are seen as foundational where whereas theater in some places is not. Theater should not be skipped over as many students do. A lot of people take theater as a blowoff class or just to get their art credit. And unfortunately, this is due to the lack of education and the lack of spotlight that has been put on theater. There is data from the American Alliance for Theater and Education that states that students involved in drama performance coursework or experience outscored non-art students on the 2005 SAT by an average of 65 points with 34 in the math and 65 in the verbal. The data does not stop there. Theater students have seen to have more attendance, more engagement
026within their classes and improved grades. All of these things seem so wonderful for our communities. And if we made that more aware in our schools and our city, and even our state, I believe that it could enhance our community much more. Not only can theater help us with those things, but building painting, emotional vulnerability, creativity, empathy, advocacy, and so many other things. Theater has allowed me to stand up here, wear this sash, and represent Texas thespians as one of 12 statewide student ambassadors. I'm allowed to represent my city and my troop and speak for people who do not have a voice within theater. I hope that this knowledge goes with y'all and that you take it wherever to share the importance of theater whenever you are able. Thank you. >> Next up, we'll have representatives
027from our high school choir. Howdy. I'm Michaela Millard and I'm the president of the Brennham High School choir. I've been in the Brenham ISD choirs for 5 years and I've been a part of the varsity choir for four. I have been a singer since I could talk and choir has provided me an outlet to express myself creativ creatively. Choir has also pushed me to become a great leader and has helped me to step up to take decisive action to help fellow classmates. Fine arts is important to me because it has given me the opportunity to express myself comfortably and shape me into the person I am becoming. Thank you so much. Next we'll have representatives from dance. Oh boy. Oh fre. Okay. Howdy y'all. We are representing the Brennan Bells today. I'm Carolyn Zint and
028I am honored to be the captain of the team. >> I'm Haley Paul and I'm the lieutenant of the Brennan Bells team. Um before we want to jump into anything, there's a few or a couple um shout outs we want to give to. First is our coach. There is absolutely no way that we would have got to do anything that we've done this year without her. And she unfortunately was not able to be here with us due to having her precious little baby. But um uh we just thank her so much for everything that she does and like the tireless nights and very early practices. Um, and yeah, and then the second shout out we wanted to give to was the Boys and Girls Club for being able to let us practice at their space
029because we have not been able to have a space at the high school, but they were so for not forgiving. Yes, they were so Thank you. They were so generous to let us use their space in the morning and there's no way we could have gotten through any of our performances and practices without them. So, thank you for that. Um, now I will jump into it. Um, being a part of Brennham Bells is such a rare experience. It shapes you from being like from the inside out. You meet people you don't just you meet people you don't just cheer on in practice but walk with you throughout life. These are the friends you understand who understand your drive, who stay late practicing with you, who laugh until they cry during bus rides, and who hold
030your hand through the tough seasons. This organization changed me as and many others in ways I never expected. It taught me discipline, confidence, and how to push past my limits I didn't even know I had. It gave me a place to belong and a place to grow and a place where I learned what it means to show up for myself and for others. This team hasn't just made me a better performer. It has made me a better person. And I'm going to carry the lessons, the memories, and the people with me for the rest of my life. >> Thank y'all. Next we will have A Avery Dupont representing Brennham High School band. Um good evening. So just a little introduction um for myself. I am a senior this year. I was also elected as this
031year's band captain in the fall. Um, and so I just wanted to take a second to share some of the lessons that I've learned these past four years. Um, band for me has been so much more than just learning music or a show on the field. It's been a place where I've really um, grown as a person. Uh, for starters, band has taught me discipline, showing up every day ready to practice even when you really don't feel like it. Um, especially in July. Um, it's taught me responsibility knowing that every person out on the field matters and that the group depends on you. Um, it also has taught me patience and hard work. Um, not everything sounds right or looks right the first time, but if you keep working, it will come together. A little
032motto that we have in the Cub band is that the juice is worth the squeeze. And so, you know, if you're willing to put in the work, you will have the outcome that you want. Um, more than anything, band has shown me teamwork, um, and the importance of it. When we perform, it's not just about you. It's about all of us working together to create something bigger than ourselves. And that's something that I'll carry with me far past high school. Um, I'm so beyond grateful for the friends and memories that I've made in band. I know when I leave, I will look back on high school and band will be it will be there. It will be the thing that I think of. Um, and so I also want to give a shout out to
033Mr. Reggig back there. Our directors, I mean, this program would be nothing without them pushing us even when we don't want it. Um, so thank you. Last but not least, uh, we have representatives from our visual arts program here at the high school. Hey y'all. I'm Mr. Henry and that's a microphone. So, you know, I've got to do something with it. I want to preface these kids by by make a little introduction announcement first. Um, every year Livestock Show and Rodeo, over 30,000 students in our region of the state, they submit their stuff. You know, they work hard on it and uh they hope for the best. They hope just to get in to to be part of the show at all. But out of those 30,000, there's less than 100 that get chosen for
034the auction. And not for the first time, but the second time in a row, this young lady here, Katherine Androsa, she nailed that. She got in the auction again and she sold her piece for tens of thousands of dollars. So anyway, I'm going to introduce Katherine and then Carell. They're just going to, you know, we don't have the fancy words that, you know, the choir and the theater do, but we're going to do our best and just tell them what art has done for you and means to you. Thank you. >> Hi, I'm Carnell. Um, a little background to me, I'm a kid who was raised by my grandmother and we kind of live off a social security check. And growing up, I grew up with her and she passed away as I started high
035school. And when I started high school, at first I was into sports and I did art on the side. And growing up, uh, art became an output for me as she passed away. Mr. Henry became more than just a teacher. He was more of a mentor, advisor, a guer department in general. I was really shy, timid. I would cry at the sight of like talking to anybody. Like if I was standing up here now about four years ago balling, okay? But it changed me uh being in this art department. And I did more CTE programs like Skills USA. But it gave me courage. It taught me not to fear many things but to rather express and indulge in it. Everything is a new experience on its own. Gaining a new perspective. And I thank art
036for that. And I thank Mr. Henry every day. Um art itself, I love creating everything I can. sculpture, writing, music, anything you name it, I can create it and I will create it. And this department itself has done many wonderful miracles time and time again. Even though it's hard sometimes, you know, you get discredited if something's not how you want it to be or perfect, it constantly encourages you to pursue more. You know, this is not the end. You know, you have a better insight than what you think of right now at the moment. for example would be last year or year before when I went to the education foundation live auction my police sold for $900 and it kind of bum me out cuz three digits come on it was just 100 off um
037but it encouraged me inspired me to go better so I did a deeper dive which I would never do I I would be a couch potato watching cartoons every day but it encouraged me to actually try for something rather than give up and cry pride and just sitting alone on the trus of unattrusive corner. And that's just like one of the many examples art has done for people does for me. I mean I'm able to teach and guide people in my classes. They come to me many people I don't even know honestly coming to me in the hallways like carno da da da da caro did this all kind of art started that and this is a spark for many and it's a spark for me. Me personally, I find myself engaging in the community
038after this once I graduate as today, well, this year is my senior year, but I would love to engage in this community. I would love to offer more and um maybe one day come back as a teacher and just give the hope that I was given even when times was really rough for me. I don't want to go too deep because I might start crying. But yeah, but thank you Hi, I'm Katherine Instrosa. Um, I'm also a senior this year. Um, I might not have as much as words as Carnell did, but I do want to say that I am very grateful for art in general. This program has um brought so much to me and it's kind of given me um an outlet to kind of express yourself. And I think that's a very
039beautiful thing because um I've always been kind of reserved, but I've always been a hands-on person. So, I always keep busy with my hands. And I think um painting in general or art in general has given me even more like it's not just oh um even being recognized for it. Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Uh even being recognized for it, it's just it's it's something that I never thought would have happened. Um but yes, I'm very very grateful for it. And again, I'm very grateful for my teacher. Mr. Henry has pushed me past my limits. Um and he's ve a very encouraging person who um who I'm very grateful for. and I don't think I would have been here without um his guidance. Um yes, I'm super grateful for it. So, thank you so much.
040Okay. So, before we move on, I'm going to read the proclamation that is being presented from the board. Whereas March is nationally recognized as Arts and Education Month, also known as Youth Art Month, a dedicated time to celebrate and advocate for visual arts, music, dance, theater, and other creative disciplines in K through2 schools. And whereas this this observance highlights the importance of fostering creativity, improving student engagement, and ensuring equitable access to art programs, all of which contribute to academic achievement and workforce readiness. And whereas fine arts programs including choir, theater, visual arts, dance, band, and other creative disciplines enrich the educational experience and contribute to the intellectual, emotional and social growth of students. And whereas participation in the art strengthens creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication skills, confidence, and self-exression. And whereas theater in our school
041month celebrated each March highlights the powerful impact of theater education and developing leadership, storytelling, teamwork, and artistic excellence among students. And whereas Brennham Independent School District is committed to providing highquality fine arts opportunities that allow students of all backgrounds to explore their talents and contribute meaningfully to their school and community. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the board of trustees of Brennham Independent School District hereby proclaims March as arts and education month in Brennham ISD and encourages students, staff, families, and community members to recognize and celebrate the vital contributions of choir, theater, visual arts, dance, band, and all fine art programs across the district. I make a motion to approve the proclamation recognizing March as arts and education month as presented. >> I second it. >> Okay. Kelvin Raven has made a motion seconded by
042Bonnie Brinkmire to approve a proclamation recognizing March as Arts and Education Month as presented. All in favor? >> All opposed? Motion carries. Congratulations, guys, and thanks for all y'all do. Hey, before we move on, can we have all them come up and take a photo? Uh, >> they'll be Yes, they'll be after this. Sorry. Photo, too. >> Okay. >> Do you want to do >> You want to do both? >> Yeah. Let's do them separate. >> Let's have Let's Anybody that's left from the the fine arts, if y'all can come up and then we'll do we'll do another one with that if y'all can stick around for both of them. >> And Mr. Ratig, Mr. Henry, any other sponsors or teachers that are here? Y'all, y'all join in, please. >> Y'all squeeze it anywhere you
043can. >> Oh, hell no. >> I was stumbling there. Great job everybody. Great job. >> If y'all wouldn't mind sticking around for just another minute. >> I wouldn't go back. Okay. Next, uh Broo Tran is going to discuss the donation for the Texas Arts and Music Festival. >> Yes. Good evening again. So, as we continue celebrating arts and education month, we are also reminded of the strength of our fine arts programs at fine arts program is made possible not only by our educators and our students, but by the support of our community. We would like to take a moment to recognize Texas Arts and Music Festival or TMF for their continued partnership and investment in Bernham ISD. TMF is a nonprofit organization with a mission to showcase Texas artists and musicians while giving back to
044the supporting arts and music education right here in Washington County. Through opportunities like their annual student enrichment day and festival participation, many of our students have been able to experience arts beyond the classroom and engage with professionals in meaningful ways. In addition to those experiences, Texas Arts and Music Festival has consistently supported our district through annual contributions to our fine art programs. As a former art teacher included here in Burnham ISD, this work is especially meaningful to me as I have seen firsthand how access to the arts can impact students in a powerful and lasting way. Tonight, we are grateful to share that Texas Arts and Music Festival has generously donated $3,500 to the Brennham High School art fine arts department supporting art, band, choir, theater, and dance. This contribution directly supports our students and
045aligns with our commitment to providing high quality enriching opportunities across all fine art areas. >> All right, I'll go ahead and make a motion to accept the $3,500 monetary donation from the Texas Arts and Music Festival as presented. >> I'll second. Okay, Justin Collie has made a motion, seconded by Kelvin Raven, to accept a $3,500 monetary donation for the Texas Arts and Music Festival as presented. All in favor? >> All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you'all again so much for supporting everything that they do for us. I mean, amazing. Every year they do this. Hey, if y'all could stick around a little bit longer, we just want to make y'all finish the meeting. Thank y'all for being here. Okay, next we have the superintendent's uh monthly update. Superintendent Gill Time. >> Uh yes. Well, good evening.
046Um I could definitely take this time to talk about all the many things going on in the spring. Uh you just got a glimpse of some of those uh this evening. Instead, I'm going to talk a little bit about the strategic planning committee and our next phase of work that starts tomorrow evening. What a great uh great leadup to that seeing all the kids tonight. And I'll tell you why. Really the phase one uh of that committee was focused on the successful passing of the 2025 bond and Vader. Uh because of that strong foundation. Uh we were of course able to to pass both the bond and Vader. Uh tomorrow evening will be phase two. Phase two is really much more about a a focus on what you saw tonight. How do we end with
047that great product, right? With that great product in mind. And CT is a wonderful example uh with with such an interest in CT in this community. Um what does that facility need to look like to support the number of students that Jared recognized tonight? Um that's really the work of phase two and uh the work we're excited to jump into. So, as you know, of course, uh we've moved forward in uh in in conversation with our uh program manager and of course a pool of architects. They'll be a part of this process too. But tomorrow, phase two, we address the third tier that the board was asked to address and that's what are we going to do about the learning space of the junior high? How do we address the learning space of the junior
048high? because the strategic planning committee did not feel like it currently supported the student product that you would like to see uh in 2026 2027 um etc etc etc. So excited to jump into that work tomorrow evening and we'll keep you and the community um you know apprised of that information as as we move forward. So that's my that's my update uh for this evening. Okay, next we have board member reports comments. Start on this side today, Mr. K. >> All right. Um had the pleasure of being in several our schools and also a bunch of our events. Um got to sit in with the ultimate PTO the other day and was incredibly impressed by what's happening uh within our schools and the action points that are uh happening just just by uh parents and
049people who care about uh our kids in our schools. Um raising monies for sun shades and otherwise. And um I think it's it's an offer. It's a really great opportunity for someone who wants to get involved in our community. Uh strengthen numbers. Uh join the committee, jump on board. It doesn't all lean on you. Uh but I'd highly encourage uh folks who are interested in being a part of our schools, join one of the PTO's and uh be a part of that change that's going on there. I know we have some very very active ones. Uh again, a shout out to uh Alton PTO. Just got to see what they're doing and how they're raising uh not just money, but also just the spirits of our kids. Um, the second thing was just being able
050to be at the athletics. Uh, and you know, my office gets to overlook the, uh, the athletic fields and be able to watch our kids out there competing, uh, when there's not even an opponent, meaning they're out there practicing, working hard, grinding, getting after it. And I'd love to see that competitive spirit. But I want to give a special shout out just to our coaches. Just watching them day in day out, showing up early, staying late, the ones out there picking up after all the kids have gone, uh going that extra mile uh at our track event on Friday, just watched everything that they did to make that day. But the beautiful part was this was the interaction with our kids and it wasn't just a a coach and an athlete. It was someone it
051was a mentor and it was someone who come alongside uh who they really cared about and that is a a wonderful thing. And I think sometimes uh our coaches sometimes uh uh you know get I want to say overlooked but I think it's their the importance of their job is incredibly important of what they're doing. And so just a special bit of love for them because love seeing the mentorship and the extra time and I do see after dark when no one's there and they're up there uh making it all happen early in the morning. So just uh we just have a great group out there making it happen. So I just wanted to say shout out to our coaches Alton PTO all as well. Uh, thanks Sean. Um, kind of following up that as
052well, I I did have the opportunity to uh to read over at the ECLC at Read Across America Week, which was a lot of fun. Um, uh, I have a unique opportunity to to work at with KBHI and and I took one of the radio DJs in there to read to some of the students as well, and he had a fantastic time. So, it was just kind of unique to to take somebody else in there and, uh, and and show, you know, have somebody else show love to the students as well, uh, in the classroom. So, it was it was a lot of fun. Um, obviously I've been to a lot of sports games and we went to the blue body relays this last Friday and and saw some of the athletes competing out there
053at the relays. Um, I want to bring a couple of big events coming up this weekend. Obviously the baseball team's uh in competition tomorrow night away and then Friday night's youth night at the field. So I want to make sure the community is aware that Friday night bring your kids out there in Jersey and I believe they get in free uh for youth night at at Fireman's Park which is the most beautiful stadium in the state of Texas uh for high school baseball. And then on uh Saturday afternoon, um a a very unique opportunity for Burnham High School to host the uh United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants concert will be here at the high school uh at 3:00 on on Saturday. So if you are available, you do have to book a
054ticket. Tickets are free, but you do have to book a ticket online through um through their website. There's links out there uh on social media on the Bernham social media and the Brennham band social media pages. you can get get to that link. But the United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants will be a fantastic concert um that I encourage everyone to get here and and participate in that event. Again, it's a free event. They're doing this uh uh travel series across the state of Texas uh or across the southern US. Um so, it's going to be a very unique opportunity. Um and it's right here at Brennham High School. So, uh take take part in that. So, I look forward to seeing everybody out there Friday night and then um come come enjoy
055that concert on Saturday. Um, I know there's so much going on and we have so many different events that students can participate in and I'm not going to go list them all because I see Mr. August starting to fall asleep. So, uh, I just I I just want to remind everybody that we have nine weeks to go and April and May are full of STAR and EOC and universal screenings and so on. So, uh, let's bear with our kids and give them a little pep talk when we can and teachers, too. Uh, there's a lot going on and I pray that everyone does really, really well. Thank you. >> Um, reiterate sports. I mean, having two kids school age right now, that's pretty much all we do is that. So, soccer and track, but I
056wanted to just say again a shout out to the coaches that are there every morning at 6:00 a.m. 6:30 before the kids get there, letting them in the locker room, and thank you for letting this be the last week of 6:30 a.m. practices. Really appreciate that. But, uh, other than that, it's been great. I just I can't say enough for these coaches and the impact they're making on the kids. So, really appreciate the hard work. >> I want to give a shout out to the cafeteria. I had the opportunity to go to uh high school and those crispos. Oh my goodness. let her know I'm coming back again. But they were outstanding. Thank you. So, I think all of the bases have been covered because I was the last one to go, but as everyone
057else said, there's a lot going on in Cub Universe. So, show up, be around, be out, and support the Cubs. Thank you very much. Okay, next we will have our financial update. Mr. Sinclair, the only time you're on the agenda today. >> Good evening, board of trustees. I do have our uh usual reports that we uh review each month. Starting with our budget versus actual numbers as usual. We'll start here with the revenues. Uh you'll see that we have collected the uh majority of our revenues already both in state and local resources. Uh, our tax collections, which we'll get more to in a second, are about where they should be this time of the year as far as the percent collection. Our state revenues from TEA, uh, right where they should be for this time
058of the year. So, nothing out of the ordinary there. And you can see there our expenses uh, compared to the the budgeted expenses compared to the actual expenses. Again, uh, for the most part, at this point in the year, this data is through the end of February. February is the midway point for the fiscal year. So, we're six months into the 12-month cycle. And for the most part, uh, we are right on track with expenses. As we've discussed a few times before, there are few functions that are appear to be a little over spent from the halfway point at this point in time, but a lot of that is due to expenses that come earlier in the year that are one-time expenses that kind of skew the data a little bit until we get closer
059to the end of the year. But for the most part, uh we're running at or below 50% expent uh expenditures on most budgets right now. uh the investment information there. Uh as you can see, the interest rates are still holding pretty steady. In fact, uh comparing to last month, we only see about a 0.03% drop in the text pool rates, about a 0.05% 05% drop in the Texas class rates and depending on which uh which actual account you're looking at either 0.06 or 003. So pretty close to those other two as well. So not much of a change in the downward direction. Um as you probably have heard you know rates have been declining lately. I believe the last thing I heard is that there's not another anticipated rate drop for a while. So, we're
060hoping that these rates will stay pretty steady and and not drop much further for the next several months. And just as a a side note, and I'll get a little more information to you about this at the very end, but since we are talking about investments right now, we did receive our uh proceeds from the bond sale. We received those last week on Tuesday and that money is in the bulk of that money is in our uh Texas class construction account. So I will start including that when we get to this report next month. So you can see that as well uh separated out and then uh like I said the bulk of it is there. I'll give you some actual numbers here in just a second. that money has been received and is already
061earning interest at a pretty decent rate I might add. Um then finally uh tax collections here again we've collected the bulk of our current year taxes I believe about 91 point I think it was 2 or 3% so well over 90 90% at this point um and as I have mentioned before you know current collections start slowing down from now until the end of the the summer but delinquent collections typically start picking up and so we will continue to increases in both current and delinquent collections as we go on uh throughout the summer, the spring and the summer. Okay. Then the last thing I wanted to again mention a little more detail about um our bond proceeds, excuse me, we did receive a total of 39 million768 in three different uh three different deposits, three
062different accounts that was deposited. Of course, the bulk of that went to the construction account Texas class like I just mentioned that was over 38 million 38 million 638ish. Uh we did have about 767,000 that went directly to our INS account. Uh we will have a payment due in August. Bond payments are normally done February and August. We missed the February because we didn't have the proceeds. The sale wasn't complete yet, but we will have a small payment to make in August. So that money went to that account to cover that payment coming up on these new bonds. And finally, we had about $363,000 that was deposited directly to the operations account as reimbursement for those expenses which we mentioned I believe the last meeting and maybe the one before that for expenses that we
063incurred prior to well back I guess all the way back to June of last year uh 60 days prior to the resolution that that you approved in August of last year up to the the last couple of weeks, uh, we identified expenses that would have been covered under bond money if we'd had the bond money to pay for it, but we didn't at the time. So now we can reimburse ourselves for that. And also, we did have as part of that was our u our deductible on the helltorm damage that we paid for again within that time frame. So we were able to actually see that money go back to the general fund. So when you add all that together, it was uh 39,768. And if you take out the INS part portion of that,
064almost exactly 39 million went into construction and and general operating, $39,1,500. So within about $1,500 of the target amount that uh our financial advisor uh was shooting at. So $1,500. >> 1,500 off. And that's that's our actual receipts. That's not counting the fees that we had to pay for the other the the processing of the bond sale and all the other fees. So, that that was on top of that. So, >> hey, now I just want to quickly say thank you to Daryl and his team. That was a lot of forward thinking and a lot of research to be sure. Uh Justin, I believe you asked about that last couple of months that $363,000 are going back into our uh well, essentially our eventually our our fund balance uh because we were able to reclaim
065that that money. So, thank you for that work. >> You're welcome. >> I I do have one question. Um where are we right now with our current ADA? Are we on target to hit what we budgeted for? Okay, I just updated the finance template about two, three weeks ago and right now we are running I don't remember the exact amount but we are running very close when I say very close uh I believe it was within 40 or 50 maybe $60,000 of the nearly 20 million that were due to get total. So I consider that very close uh percentage- wise extremely close to uh what we are predicting that we should get by the end of the year. Uh of course we'll keep updating the numbers. Uh probably do another update later this well probably
066next month, April. Uh just keeping an eye on the uh the attendance data and the student population counts. But yes, right now we're looking very good on getting the money that we budgeted to get uh at the state level. Would would you mind bringing that to us at the next meeting? Just having a quick slide over what we budgeted ADA, what our current ADA is, and what our enrollment is. I think I think we haven't really talked about it in a while. That'd be okay. >> Very helpful for us. And also to let the community know where we stand. So, if if you don't mind, just a real quick slide on that. That'd be great. >> No problem. >> Thank you so much. >> Any other questions about any of this this information? >> Thank
067you for your hard work as always. You and your team are great. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Next we have the consent agenda. We can pull any items individually or we can approve the whole thing as presented. >> I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Justin Collie made a motion seconded by Kelvin Raven to approve the consent agenda as presented. All in favor? >> All opposed? Motion carries. Next, we have monthly reports forformational purposes only and uh we will not be going into executive session if the board would like to take action on the following item which is uh consider possible approval of contracts for directors, principles, assistant principles and coordinators. >> Yeah. Would you motion on this one? >> You want it?
068>> It doesn't matter. >> I don't care who does it. >> All righty. I make a motion to approve a one-year contract extension for directors, principles, assistant principles, and coordinators as presented. >> Second. >> Okay. Body Brmmy has made a motion seconded by Kelvin Raven to approve a one-year contract extension for directors, principles, assistant principles, and coordinators as presented. All in favor? >> I. >> All opposed? Motion carries. Good job. We got them all back for another year. That's awesome. Okay. Uh with