School Board Meeting | June 1, 2026

001Good evening. I call this meeting of the Casper Independent School District Board of Education to order. Let the record show that a quorum of board members is present, that this meeting has been duly called, and that notice of this meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551. As a reminder, we are here for what is best to pro promote and encourage achievement for every student in our district. Right now, we will have our invocation. You might don't mind standing with me. [clears throat] Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to serve this district. Thank you so much for the people that serve this district. Thank you so much for those people who sacrifice their time and are willing in some cases to sacrifice their

002lives and their their riches to serve our community. We ask that you bless them and bless those that who did who did this for our community and our state and our country. We ask that you bless us as we go through tonight. Give us wisdom. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. [clears throat] We appreciate everyone being here this evening and we always welcome communication from citizens of our district. Individuals who wish to participate during the portion of the meeting designated for public comment shall sign up with the presiding officer or designate no later than 1 pm to uh the day of the board meeting and shall indicate the agenda item or topic on which they wish on which that's a tongue twister on which they wish to address the board. Uh Miss Branch, do we

003have anyone who wish to speak to the board tonight? No, we do not. Thank you, ma'am. Item four, Miss Smith Faulner. Were there any questions called in regarding the consent agenda? Uh there was uh there were some questions on the compensation plan, but they're going to be answered later in the presentation. Okay. On that uh note, we will jump from 5A to 5B. Uh the May 2026 star results. Uh Mr. Hutchkins. Uh, good evening, Board President Toiver, Superintendent Smith Faulner, and board members. I'm elated to speak with you about the 2026 STAR scores this evening. Um, a little bit of information. These are just our first look raw scores that we have for you tonight. Um, so these are not what we're going to see on that accountability reports that we'll get a little bit

004later. Um, also these have not been uh filtered down by that snapshot based on our student enrollment in October. And this also does not include those star alt 2 students. And so, um, as we look at that taper report a little bit later in the year, we may see some discrepancies, but this is just your first look. And I'm going to compare first look last year, first look this year to give you all the best picture of kind of what's going on. Um to kind of give a very brief overview, every slide is going to have a continuum from that darker red up until that dark green um representing the amount of growth from year to year. And so once again, we're looking at first look last year, first look this year. And so without

005further ado, let's jump into the numbers. Um we're going to start things off on third grade English. And so on each of the slides are going to look very similar. Um we've got the state of Texas last year, but you'll notice we do not yet have the state scores this year. And so we're not able going to be able to make those comparisons yet. Um when we get that information, we'll certainly dive in. You're going to see Castleberry ISD last year to Castleberry ISD this year. And then the breakdown by each campus. Um and so immediately we see lots of growth, lots of green across the board, some double digit green in meats, which is just outstanding. Um I also want to draw your attention to some green check marks. Um we always kind of

006use that state performance as a baseline. And so when we look at meat at 26% that was actually higher than the state scored last year. So while we don't know this the narrative for this year to see them performing at that level is just absolutely outstanding. As we look over to Joy James um [applause] it's so fun to have a real audience. This is amazing. This on your toes. I know right. Now Joy James we never like to see red. That's not a situation we like to be in. But recall last year that Joy James significantly outperformed the state um across the board. That was a team that got to loop with their kids. And even though they are a little bit behind where they were last year, they're performing right in line with the

007whole rest of the district. Um and so overall, no reason for them not to keep taking a step forward and not a major concern for that grade level. As we look over at third grade, Spanish, amazing, amazing work. We got double digit gains in so many areas. As you look at where the state was performing last year, nearly every category, every campus was outperforming where the state was. Um so exceptional exceptional work across the board. Um great to see that not only are we serving those kids on the English side, but Spanish as well, performing ex exceptionally well. Looking over at fourth grade, the [applause] looking over fourth grade. Um, really nice growth in approaches. Um, we did have a little tiny decline in meets and masters. Um, this is the same situation as we

008look at AV KO. Last year, Avo significantly nearly doubledigit outperform the state. They're still the strongest performing campus, but just a little bit behind where they were. So last year, so overall it looks like we went in a bad way, but still performing very very well and even outperforming where the state was last year. Um C had a little bit of a challenge with some scheduling, but that has been addressed this year and moving forward. Um and so we we've addressed all those things and so no reason why we're going to see any red moving forward over on the fourth grade side. Uh double digit gains across the board at at Joy James. the district overall. Now, we did see a little bit of red at AV KO, but as we dove in a little

009bit more, of those seven students, I believe four or five of those are newcomers. Um, and so those are students that just need a little bit longer in the Castleberry system to see that success. Um, and so even though we, like I said, never want to see any red, um, it's it's specific to that group of kids, and as they work through our system, we'll continue to see their growth and support. Moving over to fifth grade. Wow. WOW. [applause] I GOT TO STAND IN FRONT OF THIS GROUP last time last summer and and have a similar conversation, but it was not nearly this positive. Um, outstanding work across the board looking at where the state was. So many places that were performing well above where the state was last year. Double digit growth in a

010lot of different places. A lot of great things happening in fifth grade. And so it's exciting is that has been a very big focus on the RLA side. Spanish tells a very similar story. Look at that. Across the board meets double digit gains in all areas. And even though we saw a tiny little red with six students, that's a difference of one or two kids. We're talking a very small population. So once again, exceptional work on the RLA side. So So very, very amazing. Very fun to celebrate and see that great work there. So congratulations. [applause] Moving over to third grade math. third grade math was a big district priority. A lot of work, effort, and energy went into. And so the very first most important thing to start with is looking at that meats

011goal because we've been talking meats all the way. Meets has been a big focus. Well, lots of growth, lots of gains in meets um in that third grade group that was forming a little low at Joy James on the reading side. Also is not quite as strong a cohort on the math side. So we know moving forward in fourth grade that's going to be a target area. That's going to be an area of support. But across the board, lots of good success, lots of growth in component scores looking great everywhere. Over at fourth grade, once again, across the board, very nice gains meets across the board. We're seeing those increases. So, great things happening there. Um, a tiny dip on the master side, but um, good things happening. And those strong cohort from, uh, third

012grade last year is performing well in fourth grade over at Joy James. So, they're seeing that cohort continue to move and be successful. And then finally over at fifth grade, um double digit approaches, gains, double digit gains, nearly double digit double digit gains performing where in line with the state. Um we had a couple of challenges in some staffing had to make some changes over at Joy James, but um to still see those students meeting that passing standard increasing. So, exceptional work on the MAT side because that has also been a big district focus this year. So congratulations on that elementary math as well. [applause] [applause] Science. Then there was science. Everything's going good. Um I I looked at the calendar a little earlier today. Our students in the district took this test six weeks

013ago. So the state of Texas has had the results. They know if they're right or wrong for six weeks. However, the state is still unable to determine what passing what meets what masters is um for our students in science. Um and so they have told us hopefully within the month um but I'm unable to report to you until the state can determine what is that passing threshold. So unfortunately don't have a lot of information to share with you on science because the state has yet to determine what those standards are. Um and so it's going to look over the same on the fifth grade science or Spanish as well. So now shifting over to the middle school. Is this the first year? This is thought we're still missing one part. We can get that clarification.

014I thought we're still missing one piece of the transitional. So we can we'll get that 30. Um, now before we actually jump into our middle school scores, I want to pull back this slide that I shared with y'all last year. When we looked at fifth grade RLA last summer from 2024 to 2025, we saw huge dips in approaches, huge dips in approaches across the way. This was a cohort that we understood going in was going to be a challenge. Um, and so we knew um they had extra work on ACE to support that. There was a lot of targeted interventions, but we understood that in looking at this cohort, we had some challenges in front of us. And so, as we look over at the sixth grade scores this year, we came in just a

015little bit behind on approaches nearly identical in meets and actually maintain masters with a group of students that were coming in significantly weaker. Um and so I think that is a celebration of sorts in the fact that they were able to close those academic gaps for these kids coming in at a significant different place to start the year. The big highlight for me at seventh seventh grade seventh grade last year was not a positive situation. We had significant drops. Um however the performance this year 20% gain in approaches. That's 20% more students meeting that passing standard. Nearly 20% meeting grade level expectations and doubling the masters from last year. And if you look at those scores, that's above where the state was for approaches, meets and masters last year. Exceptional, exceptional work. And I know

016one of those teachers just walked in [applause and cheering] ecstatic about that. So, as we play the accountability game, not only do we have to outperform where we were last year, but we can't forget about these kids we knew were struggling. We knew that those kids going in had had kind of a tough seventh grade experience. However, through the work of some outstanding eighth grade teachers, they took a group that was at 60% approaching grade level passing to 75%. They took 38% to 49%. They took 13% to 18%. So across the board, exceptional exceptional work there working with a group of kids that had some challenges, made it happen, made made some great things work. So exceptional work across the board on the RLA side over at the middle school. [applause] [applause] Now, fifth grade

017math, that's the same sixth grade cohort right now. fifth grade math coming in. We knew we had some challenges. That group came in 10% lower in approaches, nearly 7% lower in meets. We knew that this was a group of kids coming in that needed some extra support. Um we've had two targeted ACE teachers from some super veteran, the best that we got in the district. Um and we had a very uphill battle with this group of kids. Um and so as we look over at the data for sixth grade, similar to what we saw on English came up just a little bit approaches nearly completely closed the gap from last year from where they were. Um, and we're able to just come in behind on masters, but once again, a lot of work went in.

018We knew the story. We knew the kids. We knew what had to happen. Um, and the fact that we got this close to where we performed with a much stronger cohort just says a lot about the work, the dedication that that made it happen to to make sixth grade work over on eighth grade. Now, if you look at these eighth grade scores last year, we went from 60 approaches to 71. We went from 35% meats to 44% meats. That's a pretty neat story. That's a pretty solid growth. We're pretty happy with that. But you may recall when I I shared some information with you is we're trying something new in Castlebury where we're trying to say, "Hey, we want to give more kids an opportunity to try algebra 1 to be on path to algebra

0191." So when we tested this year, we had almost 200 additional students taking that advanced test. So we added 200 onle students and still saw these exceptional gains. And so that could not have been done without that team working hard every single day. Um and so just absolutely amazing. And then you look at where the state was at 69% meeting that approaching standard with all students combined. We're actually outperforming where the state was last year. So just across the board exceptional exceptional work there in M [applause] I'm not allowed to make a joke about TA being busy in the area, so I'll just keep on going. Social studies has certainly been a district priority. We've been talking about it a lot. I was very pleased to see some nice growth and approaches, meets and masters.

020So, across the board, good component growth. So very very nice to see that we we've starting to make some positive trends and we've made some changes at the campus that I think will even make another big step forward for this next year. Um so excited to see that we have some good growth over there in social studies. [applause] Finally over at end of course US history is typically an area that we've been very very successful. We did see just a slight dip on the approaches level, but the meat's numbers with near double digit growth and then masters more than doubled. Um, exceptional exceptional work over there. And if you look at overall accountability, we've talked about y I heard y'all went through a training about accountability. And you you're looking at component scores. Well, that

021component score when you average approaches beats masters went from 49 to 55. So nearly a six-point gain. When you talk about THE HIGH SCHOOL [applause] AND YOU TALK ABOUT the high school representing 40% of our overall district accountability and we see that type of growth that has significant impacts on the overall district accountability. Um so that's very very exciting to see. Even reach seeing some really nice growth. They don't always work with the the best and brightest. They're working with students that may have had to retest students that are trying to get their credits taken care of. And so to see those really nice gains across the board as well, very very nice for reach. Over at biology, um very very similar story, just barely behind on approaches, but then nice growth in meets and

022masters, double digit growth across the board. Um so exceptional exceptional work on biology. Um with the middle school, this is our 31 STEM kids that are involved trying to accelerate into that biology program. Now when you put numbers up like 100 139 that becomes very challenging to beat. How do you go up from there? But um veteran teacher t recognized um knocked it out of the ballpark. Took 139 to 158% meet. So exceptional exceptional work over there. Great things [applause] happen. Once [cheering] again nice gains all the way across her reach. So good things happening there making those kids get what they need to take care of it to make that happen. Looking over at B algebra algebra algebra algebra last year was not our best year. We had some red across the board. We

023were not performing like we have previously done. However, you're seeing double-digit gains in approaches, double-digit gains in meets, and nice gains in masters for a component jump of 12 points, directly positively impacting that district overall score. Also, like we talked about verbiology, we have 89 students that have been accelerating and taking that early, and they saw gains in meets and masters um and improved overall accountability. and you'll see where the state was last year. Lots and lots of check marks where they're performing at or above that state level, which is exceptional. Reach had two students hit meets. Exceptional work there as well. Um, so just across the board, some great things happening. Um, we've been talking Oh, one last note there. Um, we've been talking a lot about retesters. Retesters were district focus. When I

024presented to y'all last summer, we had 93 retesters for algebra 1. through working the system, through having those targeted intervention plans, we've gotten that list down to three students remaining from that original 93. So 90 students were REMOVED [applause] [applause] and that couldn't be done without uh targeted tracking, the intervention plans the high school carries out. Um, and because of this huge growth in approaches, we've now started this year with only 43. So we've removed 50 to start with. Um so just in a much much better situation moving forward. Um and so overall just really great things happening on the algebra side. Um now before I talk about English, um English is can be a challenge. Um we had a new coordinator come in. We've had to do some staffing changes and so we've had

025a lot of new members on that English team. We had to implement a brand new AI um program because our original adoption wasn't quite meeting the needs. So, it's been a Europe change. However, if we look at this next slide, they knocked it out of the ballpark. ABSOLUTELY. [applause] We have 16% more of our English one students that are on track to graduate now than last year. Um, we have nearly doubledigit gains or more than double digit gains on meets and we saw an 11 point component jump on English one. Furthermore, um, approaches, we're now performing in line with the state, and that's not always a conversation we get to have in English. Exceptional, exceptional work. Um, amazing what's happening there. And just one more layer, we talked about the the retesters. Last summer, I

026told y'all we had 157 retesters, kids that were not on track to graduate. We worked the plan, worked the system. We have whittleled that down to 20, which is exceptional work. A lot of people in the room were very involved in making that happen. But through that huge increase in scores, we now have 54 less retesters to start the conversation with at this point. Um, and so just exceptional work, great things happening. Um, and just exceptionally proud of all the work that's going into that. Um, English two tells a very similar story. [applause] Nice little approaches game, very nice meets gain nearly across the board. Great things happening. That retesters that started at 131 and is now at only 27. We've reset the clock and we're starting with 100. So 31 less retesters to start

027the conversation with now working the plan, working the system and keeping those students at a forefront. Um no reason not to continue to see some great great things. So overall exceptional exceptional work from everyone in the room that made this happen because this is pretty darn exciting to see. Um and we're about to see the the this turn into accountability which is just exceptionally exciting because I think we're going to see some great things very very soon. [applause] NOW, UM I could show you my co color coordinate and I could put the things together, but when we're getting recognized from local authorities or even Harvard and um Stanford and Dartmouth, I did a little more research. Um education scorecard analyzes 8,000 uh schools across the nation every year that have standardized test data that they

028can look at. Um, and so they realized that there's some pretty great things happening at Castleberry to the point where we made their top 108 list. Um, and so um, in reading when they analyzed who was making the most positive trends and the positive growth, Castleberry ranked in the top 5% or the 95th percentile in the nation for the amount of growth happening in Castlebury. um exceptional. [applause] Then they took it a step further and they looked at all schools that had more than 1,200 students that serve as Hispanic students. We're actually the top 30 out of 1,400 schools as far as the growth of our Hispanic students in reading. So exceptional exceptional work each and every day. And this was before all of these green scores that I've just shared with y'all this evening.

029And so this is just from 2022 to 2025. And when you look over in math, it even gets better if it could be possible. Um, Castleberry ISD scored in the top 28 out of 5,468 districts in the amount of growth that we made year after year from 2022 to 2025. And when they analyzed schools that service Hispanic students were second out of 1330 schools nationally as far [applause] AS so I think this gentleman from Harvard said it best. On the next slide he says Castleberry and 107 other districts on the rise show that leadership matters and that demographics are not destiny. Um this is Dr. Kaine from the faculty director center of education polic. We owe it to our children to understand what we're doing and help spread it because there's really really great things

030happening here in Castleberry. Um, and I'm just happy to share those words with y'all and if there's anything I can answer for you, I will be do my very best. Thank you. [applause] that. That's the best presentation I've ever seen. [laughter] I will tell you it's it's fun. I call them happy numbers when I get to come out and it's a celebration. Um there's a lot of fear of star. There's a but when it shows you the amazing things we do. Um it's unfortunate that we put the pressure that we do, but to see the success, that's the work that the people behind me every single day um for these kids, it's it's pretty darn impressive because we're doing some amazing things and now it's being shown on the national stage. It's pretty darn cool.

031So, thank y'all. Oh, thank you'all. [applause] Thank you. And just and I just would like to add to that that the community recognizes the hard work and they're so proud of what's going on here. So, thank you so much for sticking with our community and working so hard and making these things happen. And I think that's all of our motto is that leadership matters and demograph demographics are not our destiny. So, thank you so much. What a proud moment we have today. [applause] I just wanted to share that on top of the quantitative data that we're obviously seeing great trends in um you did it without miss without missing or skipping a beat and that sense of belonging and the connection for the students and their families and the community. And my voice gets shaky

032because that's how important like education is. You're changing families lives, generations and not just in the formal educative space um but for everything else they're going to have for their future. So, thank you all for all the work that you do. Um, and I'm just going to leave it there. [applause] You guys know I have something to say. I just want to start by telling you guys, thank you. Thank you for all your hard work. I know we ask hard questions. I know we push hard. Um, but you are doing amazing work. I tell you, I work in districts across the country, not just the state of Texas. And what we are doing here is special and it takes each and every one of you. We this is a village and you are each part

033of an amazing ecosystem. And to Ariela's point, my voice is getting shaky because I'm so proud of this moment. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our kids deserve it and you deserve all the praise. So, much gracias. [applause] I also want to say thank you, but what I have in my mind, I'm thinking, what part of this do we take and make a new t-shirt for the district? You know, we need to be wearing this out on the streets so everybody knows that we are from Castleberry. Thank you. [applause] I just wanted to say thank you. You're going to hear a lot of thank yous tonight. And I'm so proud that my grandchildren are in the school district and my nieces and nephews. So that makes me very proud and just spreading the word

034to everybody to come to Castlebury and um just join our team. So thank y'all so much. [applause] the other um day I was able to uh participate in our awards here uh in the district in in this particular uh on this campus and what I was telling the staff is that it's all the little things that we look at with a fine tooth comb and uh do that these little things when you do them correctly and they all come together they end up really big things and I think that we've been working on putting such foundational things uh in the district and we've added an afterchool program. uh we have this uh progress monitoring uh which you know it is rigorous our progress monitoring is I'm seeing headshake it's rigorous and I think that then

035we turn around and we have action plans that the campuses come up with we have retention and staff right now we're seeing that we have about a nine uh% turnover rate the lowest we've had and that means that you guys have uh bought into the system you're here you do you will do the work uh and you're getting the student outcomes and I couldn't be uh prouder for you because I know a lot of times student outcomes also need need uh mean TIM money and I want you guys to be paid for all this hard work that you deserve because of the outcomes that you're getting uh with our students. Thank you for choosing Castlebury. Thank you leaders for your leadership. It is so appreciated because your hard work and the little things that we've

036been fine-tuning are really starting to be big things. [applause] as a parent to a current Castleberry student and watching her struggle when she got here and was at Joy James and seeing the success she has made at Irma Marsh and the strides that have happened and just the extra attention that goes into her. Thank you for all you do for her and all her friends and every student at Castleberry. [applause] I only had one thing to add. Um, these last few years have been tough for the district, have been tough on you especially, have been tough budget-wise, and uh, it makes it even more impressive. Thank you. [applause] Yeah. So, now we're moving jumping back up to 5A. Yes. With Miss Offenbaker. Yes. At this time, Mr. Board President, you're going to want to stay

037to hear this uh next presentation. Also, uh, Abby Offen Baker, our communications coordinator, will recognize Cassbury campuses who placed in this year's Fort Worth Star Telegram DFW favorites. All right. Well, uh, this is a that was a tough act to follow, but we have a lot of celebrations going on tonight. So, good evening. Tonight, I'm proud to share the, uh, Castleberry ISD's achievements in the 2026 DFW favorites contest. A little bit about the contest. Uh, the DFW favorites contest is an annual awards program presented by the Fort Worth Star Telegram that celebrates top businesses, organizations, schools, and community contributors across the Fort Worth, the DFW Metroplex. Now in its fourth year, the contest continues to grow. This year there were more than 300,000 uh votes cast across the region. In the education related categories where

038Castleberry ISD schools and programs were represented, there were more than 400 nominations combined. So, uh, first of all, I want to begin by recognizing two campuses that have continued to hold the top spot in their respective categories. Congratulations to Castleberry Elementary. [cheering] [applause] [cheering] [applause] who [cheering] [applause] so Castleberry Elementary earned gold in the elementary school category for the third consecutive year. [cheering] [applause] This year there were more than 95 elementary schools nominated across DFW and Castle Berry Elementary remained in the top spot. At this time, if you're a CE staff member, please make your way to that side of the room. We're going to pose for a photo and then [cheering] move to the next one. [applause] [applause] All right. Thank you, CE. [applause] Next. Next, we would like to say congratulations to Irma

039Marsh Middle School. [cheering and applause] [applause] Irma Marsh earned gold in the middle school category for the third consecutive year. This year, 83 middle schools were nominated across DFW, and Irma Marsh once again earned the top recognition. At this time, uh, Irma Marsh staff, if you'll go over by the banner, [applause] I also want to point out that as [applause] Okay. But wait, but wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So, Irma Marsh did not stop there. Angela, if you'll go to the next slide. Stay there. Um, they were also nominated in the place to work category where In their debut of the category, [applause and cheering] they earned silver. [cheering] [applause] So staff, you can go ahead and huddle back up for a photo. We'll get both. Um, this is an

040impressive firsttime recognition, especially because the category included 168 nominated businesses and organizations across the metroplex and they got number two. [cheering] [applause] Uh, next we have this year Castleberry ISD also added new gold recognitions to its DFW favorites record in categories where we had not previously earned gold. After earning silver in 2025, Castleberry High School [applause] moved up to the top spot in 2026 and they earned gold for the high school category [applause] with 56 high schools. nominated across DFW earning gold is a major accomplishment and exciting recognition for not only the high school but also the district as it now means Castleberry ISD has been voted DFW's best elementary, middle, and high school. [cheering] [applause] So, if you are a CHS staff member, please make your way to the the photo area. [applause] [applause]

041All right, moving ahead to our next recognition. Av Ko Elementary jumped two spots from earning bronze. Earning bronze, too. uh earning gold in the education and tutoring services category this year. [applause and cheering] If you are [cheering] an AV KO staff member, please go smile for your photograph. [panting] [applause] All right. Um, but wait, wait, wait before you sit down. Just like last year, Avo was recognized in more than one category. For the second year in a row, Avo Elementary earned silver in the elementary school category. [applause] Please pose for your photo. Again, this category included 95 nominated elementary schools across DFW. So, earning one of the top spots two years in a row is a very strong achievement. [applause] And I know the guys are getting a little tired with these uh banners they

042get to haul out, but we're still not done. Castleberry ISD has an additional firsttime recognition in the education and tutoring services category this year. Congratulations to Castlebury ISD ACE afterchool centers for education. [applause] They were early. They unveiled it early. Um, and the ACE afterchool program earned silver in 2026. If you're a member of the ACE staff, please get your photo. [applause] Any ACE staff members? Yes. [applause] So this recognition highlights the value of the program and the important role it plays in supporting students and families beyond the regular school day. [applause] We also want to congratulate Joy James Academy of Leadership. Joy James earned bronze in the elementary school category this year. [cheering] [applause] If you are a Joy James staff member, please make your way to the banner. [applause and cheering] Do them.

043All right. So, um [applause] [cheering] For those of you who have been keeping score or audience members here who are sports fans, um you already know that Castleberry ISD swept the top three spots in the elementary school category. [applause and cheering] Castleberry Elementary earned gold. Avo Elementary earned silver and Joy James Academy of Leadership earned bronze. [applause] With 95 elementary schools nominated across DFW and with elementary school ranking among the contest's top 10 categories for total votes, this sweep is especially meaningful and a reflection of the support our families and community continue to show for Castleberry ISD schools. [applause] Last but not least, congratulations to Reach High School. REACH. [applause and cheering] Reach earned bronze in the high school category in 2026. If you are a Reach staff member, please make your way for a

044photo. [applause and cheering] Now, with Castleberry High School earning gold and Reach earning bronze, not sure if you're aware, but we only have two high schools in the district. Um, and both of those are represented in the high school category as the top three. That's something to be proud of. [applause] Now, for those of you wondering, uh, yes, the banners will be on display at your campuses. Uh, we'll take care of that with with maintenance. And additionally, be on the lookout for a copy of the DFW favorites magazine, uh, their printed publication to see all of our campuses showcased. [applause] And then uh one more important district milestone to note. All six of Castleberry ISD's traditional campuses schools have now earned at least one DFW favorites recognition. [applause] These votes uh and recognitions reflect the

045pride our families, staff, students, alumni, and community have in our schools and programs. Thank you to everyone who voted and supported Castleberry ISD in this year's contest. And congratulations to all the winners. [applause] So before we uh unless there's comments before I give the next you have a comment. Okay. The next thing that we want to do is we're going to want to take a big selfie uh with everybody in the room to celebrate you or so I think instead of a selfie we'll let um Ariela do a selfie and then we're going to have Angela come and stand up and take a picture. if you'll stand up and we're have the board come down and so we're going to take a big picture. So stand up so we can get a great photo of

046Yes. campus staff, if you want to exit, please take the time to exit, unless you want to hang out all night with us. Boy, that was fast. [applause] Hey Abby, we had a question. Where can they get the magazine? Yeah, but if they want to purchase one Okay, I will give y'all send y'all the information. We'll get it tomorrow. Okay. Well, we're now on to item 5C. Uh, Miss Harper. Yes. 5C is our House Bill 3 early literacy and numeracy goals in progress. Good evening, Board of Education Superintendent Smith Faulner. We are here to present our HB3 end of year goal, end of year updates, and I'm going to let Miss Putney start and I will see you all in a little bit. Good evening. Um, so I'm going to be speaking about pre-K through

0472 grade and all of those wonderful third grade scores are resting on the shoulders of our preK through 2 grade teachers. So, um, when you're hearing the results of our year of work, uh, we just want to recognize that that's work that just goes forward and lays a good foundation. Um, also to note, you know, we've been doing so many things with early literacy and so this has been a year of a lot of changes and as we continue to closely monitor our work, uh, both the data and walking in classrooms to see instruction, um, there are always things that we're looking at to see what's working well and what we're tweaking. So, the work just just continues. Okay. All right. So, we're going to start with preK. And in preK, our HB3 early literacy

048performance objectives are um based on our circle assessment. And the circle assessment is just one of a few assessments that the commissioner says that we can use. So we use circle and this year we set our goal from 68% of students who are on track at the end of last year to 70% for this year. And to be considered on track, students had to meet expectations in all the literacy components measured on the circle assessment. And this is a rigorous indicator because students must de demonstrate strength in every one of those components um before we consider them overall on track. So the 72% that you see there in green uh we met our goal, surpassed it by a bit. that indicates a combined score of our English and our Spanish classrooms. Now, in other grades,

049we're not going to be able to show a combined score, but in preK, we can because of the assessment. It's uh measuring the same way in English and in Spanish. So, with our new structured literacy approach, we're monitoring both sides of that reading rope, the word recognition and our comprehension, uh which is part of a vocabulary. And so this slide highlights those literacy components that are going to most closely align with the prek readiness assessment that our pre-K students take the the next year. And so overall performance across all our literacy domains are very strong in both English and in Spanish. Now we're going to move into the performance objectives for kindergarten through 2 grade. And in these grades, we use a mirror for our um to monitor our progress. Now, during the year, we

050upped the rigor by moving the benchmark for meeting grade level expectations from the 50th percentile rank to the 60th percentile rank. And this higher threshold is a stronger predictor of future success on the third grade reading star. So while this represents a more rigorous goal for students and campuses, the Amira platform has proven to be an effective measure of literacy growth for English learners. The Spanish side however presented several challenges requiring us to use the lura ISIP part as an alternative measure and we that's until this coming year uh this next school year it will be fully integrated and so we'll be able to use the Amira side for both our English and our Spanish but because the two assessments are structured differently the results can't be compared directly so although we're going to present

051English and Spanish data, it will be done separately and not a combined score. And also because of that, we're going to be showing the English data as the result for our performance objective for kindergarten through 2 grade. So in kindergarten, you can see that students demonstrated strong literacy growth throughout the year and were just three percentage points away from the district's endofear HB3 target. Last year we didn't have full imple implementation of Amira. So we did our best to predict what a strong performance objective might be. But now with a full year under our belt, we'll be able to determine our new baseline data for Amira and the performance objectives during our ALT retreat. So I mentioned the issues with Spanish Amira for our early readers and you can see that those results um that

052those are issues in the first grade Spanish too. We have a lot you know early readers in first grade um not just kindergarten but in first grade we see that our literacy performance in both Spanish and English plateaued middle of the year. But you know our Castleberry leadership we wanted to understand why and so of course we dig deeper. And so when we break down the data by campus, we can see that we have teachers with really high performance and those who performed below the performance objective. So during the ALT retreat, the district and campus leadership will be creating plans of support for our teachers and students who uh the students who have moved to second grade without mastering those foundational skills. And then in second grade, our students demonstrated strong and consistent literacy growth

053throughout the school year, meeting the district's HB3 target by the end of the school year. And our HB3 performance objectives are put into place to ensure that our students are leaving our primary grades, having mastered those foundational skills needed to learn to read so that they're ready in third grade ready to learn. Reading to learn. So Kristen, so Miss Schmidt will be here to speak to our third grade reading scores. Uh good evening board members. I am pleased to share that Castleberry ISD has met and exceeded our House Bill 3 third grade reading goal as you heard earlier. Before I share this, I do want to remind you of what Mr. Hutchings presented. So all of this is raw data and it could look slightly different in the taper report that you see later on.

054Um, with that said, our goal was to increase the percentage of third grade scores uh scoring meets on reading from 38% in June of 2025 to 40% by June 2026. I'm proud to report that we came in at 45% combined. That is five full percentage points above our target. [applause] Breaking that down, you can see that the students testing in English scored 45% at meets and the students testing in Spanish scored 44%. So, both cleared the goal. Uh, this result reflects the hard work of our amazing teachers that are present and were present before, the principles, the campus academic leaders, and the sustained investment the board has made in highquality instructional materials and our structure literacy focus. We're proud of this milestone and we're already building the systems to push even further for next year.

055I will now introduce Mrs. Harper to speak with you about early numeracy. Good evening again. Um I will be starting with our prek performance objective. Our pre-K students exceeded their math progress measure by 1% scoring 93% on track on their circle assessment. This assessment focuses on counting, shape discrimination, operations, number identification, and measurement and evaluates the early math skills critical for our kindergarten readiness. Moving on to kinder, our kinder students showed growth all year long and ending the year just below their target measure of 94%. They were at 93 in June of 2025 and our expectation was 94% but we're still in the 90s. So I feel as if we've maintained a very very high uh position in our math for kindergarten. [clears throat] This graph is going to show you our Kinder data from

056the beginning to the middle to the end of the year with CISD in red, AV KO in light blue, C in Navy, and Joy James in the gray. And you can see that AV KO had the highest end ofear performance at 100% followed by Joy James at 87% [applause] and CE at 83%. So congratulations to all those schools. In first grade, it paints a little bit different picture. We did show growth from the beginning of the year, but we did dip a little bit after the middle of the year. We were at 81% and we ended the year with 71%. As Miss Putney mentioned earlier before when discussing our first grade reading targets, our first grade as a whole is struggling in both reading and math. On this graph, you can see we did make

057quite a bit of gains from the beginning of the year to the middle and then a little bit of a dip there at the end. Across the district, we have 13 first grade teachers with six of those showing improvement is needed in math. And so in our ALT retreat this summer, we will be focusing on those teachers to provide them additional support as we move to our blue bonnet math adoption next year. CE had the highest end ofear score at 74% followed by Joy James at 72 and Avo at 69. In second grade, we were so close. We were aiming for an 89% by June of 2026. However, we finished exactly where we were last year in June of 2025 at 88%. We were glad to see that our second grade teachers were able to

058maintain this percentage from last year. And out of our seven math teachers in second grade, we only had three that were new to the district this year. And I am happy to announce that all will be returning next year. And so this again just shows our second grade graph showing the gains that we made from the beginning of the year through the end of the year. And um I wanted to congratulate Avada with the highest end ofear score at 91% followed by CE at 89 and Joy James at 81. [applause] So I wanted to put this slide in here just to show you the progress that we made over the last four years. Um, we adopted STEM scopes four years ago and we have not seen the gains in third through fifth grade in our

059star tested areas as we have actually at the younger grade levels. You can see the red was our endofear score in 2023 and in the light blue was our end of year for kinder first and second in 2024. Navy was 2025, which was actually the highest year when we fell just a little bit below those numbers uh this year in the gray. And so I wanted to um make sure that you know we we and just remind you that we are making that transition from STEM scopes to blue bonnet yes next year for our K through five math. And we will be establishing a new baseline because with a new curriculum, we're not exactly sure where our students will fall um with their assessments because they'll be a little bit different than they're used to

060in STEM scopes. And for the grand finale, I am pleased and so excited to announce that third grade has increased from 27% meets last year in June of 2025 to 34% in June of 2026. That is a sevenpoint increase in just one year [applause] which allowed us to meet our goal for HB3 of 34%. Congratulations third grade. [applause] And the last thing I just wanted to share with you um we are um we are one we are looking at some different action steps for next year. A few of these are rollovers and continuations from this year, but we have added a few, especially the blue bonnet math and um some other things. So, I just wanted to to give those to you to let you know we were thinking about these and we will be

061planning for these for that next school year. And so, now Miss Schmidt, Miss Putney, and I will entertain any questions that you have about our data. Thank you. Last last meeting it just magically came on. So I get to that. I'm just wondering if we need where how many TIA teachers are in some of these graphics when you were talking about first grade teachers. Um that there were 13 first grade teachers that you were looking at. So wait, we would have to get back because that would be held by Katherine on who officially is Tia. That wouldn't be something that Miss Harper would. So that's my question probably isn't exactly who, but does where does that belong? Where does that data belong where Tia is where we're seeing a return on our investment on TIA?

062Does that belong in this type of report? I think that you would see it in the amount of teachers and the amount of money that they're bringing in and uh not on data score data. Well, yes, because it's based on their uh growth of their student data. So that would show up at each campus. it would show up the growth would show up on their CIP but I think that we have a answer to your question in the compensation plan where you provided the sample goal. Yeah, I think we can show you that. Okay, I think you can see where I'm at trying to understand this T. Well, let me address and it created a question in my head. You said it used return on investment and so the investment is coming from the state.

063Is that correct? And it comes through us but that's an investment for the state. So it's not really our investment. Well, yes and no. I mean, because just because just because we adopted it, resources, right? But yes, point well taken. Just like, you know, investing in people, right? We're still invested in people in that sense. Um, I have two questions. One, Whitney, for you, you talked about benchmark and new baselines and so on and so forth with blue bonnet math. Does that come I know we were use I think we were using stem scopes. Is that right? Yes. Yes. So will that be something different now. Will it be something with blue bonnet that will have the base? No stem scopes. We um the board adopted the blue bonnet math K5 um several months ago.

064And so we will be moving completely away from STEM scopes to 100% blue bonnet in math. And so we will go through extensive training this summer and it really we it'll be like starting over again. But we feel like the the direction that the state is moving that we really needed to um use this this new curriculum and it's very rigorous and I've seen a lot of positive um feedback from the teachers. We actually rolled out some of the um we kind of pre-rolled out um after star and uh a lot of a lot of teachers are really liking it. They think it's it's I've seen positive traction across the state when can I clarify? I think Miss Agon is asking this test specifically. Is it a different test than the test in STEM scopes?

065Yes. Um and the program is different. STEM scopes really uh focuses more on the 5e model where in blue bonnet they have a very structured it's almost like in structured literacy they have a very structured plan that they go through every day. They go through a fluency piece, an application problem, content development, and then um then they do a problem set and then a debrief. So So it's a different test. It's a different benchmark. She wants to make a difference. Is it different? No, they'll be they'll be 100% different. I'm sorry. But thanks for expanding. Thanks for all the information. I love it. And then I think I have a question for She knew it. Uh and I'm going to bring you back to Spanish. Yes, ma'am. Um and so I think I just want

066to make sure I'm clear with what you said. So we are using a different type of benchmark assessment rather than a mira for Spanish because it's like not ready I think is what I'm understanding. Yes. So just a a quick little explanation. So even though the company Amira what it has as part of its company was the lectura ISIP assessment what Amamira has done on the English side they were just ready before they were with the Spanish. Everything became integrated. So you assess, you do your oral reading practice. All of those data points get put in there for teachers to be able to adjust instruction and all of these things. Um, like Tora, I'm sorry, Amira on the early readers for Spanish. [laughter] uh it it was the gift that kept giving and we keep

067uh finding out like what what it means to not be fully integrated and uh the support and the data for those like kindergarten first graders. I mean you see a little bit in second grade but you know in second grade we're starting to move into more fluent readers. So it really just affected our kinder and our first graders. So they were having to go um still within the same like company's platform but it's still a separate program and assessment and so it's even like the pieces of it although it addresses parts of literacy it's done so in a different way and not as um on the Amira side there were just a lot more uh different like skills part or categories I guess would be a better way to say it for an overall all

068score and then elector is it was u more of a limited amount of components and it really there's such a big as you saw in the numbers there's such a big difference in those in the data that we collected but when you go into the classrooms and we had many uh well you know principles have many many walkthroughs to do anyways but um but even as us who we're just trying to go in and see how our um our initiatives and our um instructional pieces like from our guiding documents and resources are being played out. Uh you can see the quality that is going on in the instruction and with the kids. And so we just um we did meet with air uh about two weeks ago I'm guessing and they showed us what is

069ready though for this coming school year. So we're really excited. We think our bilingual teachers are going to be really really happy to see what's what's coming. But it was a it was difficult to try to to navigate that. So, and I think just as we think about our new strategic plan for, you know, five years and building our baseline, I think to me like that's like red flag on the field to me as a I guess I'm looking just at numbers, right? I guess your point there's other parts of it. So, I think I would just be interested in what is the research behind the Spanish to make sure that we're actually getting something that's quality that we're not kind of putting our eggs in this basket and it may not be the best

070basket. Again, that's just my my my take on that. So, I would love to have that um research if I could get my hands on that to just see the parody between the English and Spanish to I I know air has a lot of that. So, we can I'm sure we can can provide something there. So, Anything else? Okay, thank you. On to item 5D, the compensation plan. Miss Walker. [clears throat] Good evening, President Toifer, school board members, and Superintendent Smith Vogner. So tonight I'm going to um go over draft two of our 2627 compensation plan. So on May 4th I presented the first draft of the 2627 compensation plan. Now the compensation plan is basically a guide book for employee pay. It includes pay ranges based on assignments, stipens, and extra duty pay rates.

071It provides information on how pay is calculated and explains rules for overtime. The district uses TASBY surveys to analyze and compare rates. And our plan offers market competitive pay ranges designed to maximize talent retention and maintain high qual highly qualified teachers in a premier workforce. Now, since the last time I shared it with you, I want to highlight two updates that I'm that have been made since May the 4th. The first update on page 43 adds performance-based stipens for principles to the plan. These incentives provide a focus on board adopted House Bill 3 goals and reward principles for meeting or exceeding those goals. Principles are eligible for three different stipens and can earn up to an additional $7,500 should all three be met. The second update is to our athletic extra duty pay and it's

072on page 48. These changes reflect the pay the district is already spending. They are just now included in the plan. Those are the only updates that I have to share this evening. But now I'm going to respond to some questions that were submitted earlier today. So the first question submitted was does the 202627 compensation plan include a base salary raise for all employee groups, teachers, librarians, nurses, and support staff or is the 2% increase specific only to administrators while other groups receive different adjustments? A two a 2% increase in pay would be reflected in the budget, not the compensation plan. The compensation plan shows pay with teacher step increases. Remember last year teachers received the teacher retention aotment of $4,000 and $8,000 as seen on pages 2324 in the teacher library salary matrix. Principles are

073eligible for salary increases based on performance pay on the salary bands on page 27 in the compensation plan. The compensation plan does not include an increase for anyone else such as child nutrition, auxiliary personnel, instructional aids, and administrative support staff. However, um Mr. Wooten will give you a breakdown of what increasing pay for all of those employees would cost in his budget presentation later this evening, and the board will have the opportunity to make those budget decisions if they want. Question number two, does this plan officially establish 2627 pay including the 2% baseline adjustment for principles and assistant principles. Thank you. Again, this plan does not show any adjustments to the minimum, midpoint, or maximum salaries. It does include principal strategic compensation salary bands, a step increase for teachers and librarians, and a 0% increase

074for all other staff and employees. Mr. Wooten will present that those budget adoption options later this evening, which include options uh for a deficit budget that include assistant principles in that increase should you choose to select that one. Question three, does this plan authorize participation in the TIA and enhanced TIA data tracking pilot and principal strategic compensation pilot? Um the compensation provides a small section on how TIA is paid on page 33. Castleberry ISD's TIA local designation system was approved in 2023. Our teachers already participate in TIA, but we are not yet eligible for enhanced TIA. Additional information on eligibility, calculating designation levels, and local rules for TIA local designation system is available in the CISD TIA guide book. The strategic compensation plan starts for principles this year, but it is a hold harmless year,

075meaning principles will either make their current salary or increase their salary based on performance for the salary bands that's indicated in the composition plan. I'm not really sure what was meant by data tracking pilot, but if I don't answer your question during this presentation, please ask your question at the end. Question four is the intent to provide a hold harmless period for administrators, stable pay, no performance volatility while the board studies TIA enhanced TIA data before any permanent changes. Um, please keep in mind that TIA and enhanced TIA are completely separate from principal strategic compensation. TIA funds are generated by teachers and spent on teachers and possibly instructional aids. Strategic compensation for principles is based on principal scorecards that includes student performance data, leadership scores, and campus operations and safety components. And yes, this is

076a hold harmless year. Principles will not decrease in pay. However, if princ if a principal earns a higher pay based on their scorecard, then they will earn that higher pay. Question number five, does this vote approve this year's compensation only without committing the district to performance pay structures for 2728 without a separate board fee? Yes, that is correct. On page one of the compensation plan, it specifically states that the board of education adopts a new compensation plan annually. Question six, does the 2026-27 employee compensation plan policy explicitly state language to prevent TIA enhanced TIA performance formulas from reducing administrator pay in 2026 27. In other words, a hold harmless language that shields administrators from pay volatility tied to TIA and enhanced TIA performance outcomes. Again, TIA formulas are for teacher. they do not impact administrator

077pay. The 20252026 strategic compensation guideline however um explains or includes explicit language regarding the hold harmless for 2627 and it also specifies calculation of principal effectiveness level and compensation for the 2728 school year. So it's two separate things. Question seven, what is the estimated local budget impact of TIA pay for 2627 including employer TRS contributions and up to 10% administrative cost? And is the district planning to use long-term reserve funds to cover any shortfall if state TIA funding decreases or is eliminated? TIA is 100% state funded. The district is awarded aotments based on teacher designations. By law, 90% of those funds are returned to studentf facing employees as a payment in August. And we do take out tax and TRS from their 90% including the employer um contribution as well. So it's all funded through

078state. Um the remaining 10% that's generated through these allotments is used to offset assessment costs and partial salaries for TIA data management. So a very small piece of that is paying for me. Um the amount that the state awards each year varies um so the amount awarded to the teachers changes with this variance and the amount that um of TIA varies from campus to campus as well as district to district. So if the employee goes to another district, they can earn whatever that particular district and campus is paying the year that they are a designated teacher serving there. Question eight, how many years can the district sustain TIA stipens from reserves without creating a budget deficit? TIA is an aotment given out by the state. It's not a stipen and the district doesn't use reserves

079to pay TIA. If the state discontinues TIA, then both the district and the teachers will stop receiving the allotments. Question number nine, regarding overtime pay for non-exempt workers, will overtime be available for specific positions or non-exempt staff that have overtime? By law, any non-exempt employee who works more than 40 hours in a week is entitled to overtime at a rate of time and a half in compensatory time or pay. Now, to prevent pressure on the budget, all overtime must be preapproved by the superintendent and budget managers are aware and are making efforts to reduce or completely eliminate overtime or use compensatory time in lie of overtime pay. Question 10, TIA and student growth. Does the compensation plan tie stipens to student growth? TIA again is not a stipen but an aotment awarded by the state

080and under our local designation system. Teachers receive a score that is 60% based on student outcomes using state approved assessment tools and 40% based on teacher performance measured with tests. The stipens that are in the compensation plan are for specific jobrelated or certificate related duties. Question 11, compensation and strategic goals. Can you provide a line-of- sight document connecting House Bill 2 salary increases, TS stipens, and the 2% administrative adjustment to the district's strategic goals. House Bill 2 increases pay through the teacher retention allotment and those are visible on pages 23 and 24 of the compensation plan in the teacher and librarian salary matrix. This allotment is funded through the state. TIA also is an allotment not a stipen and funded by the state. Um I'm not aware of a 2% administrative adjustment anywhere that we

081haven't planned that in the compensation plan at all. However, we are quite aligned to district goals as um Miss Branch will pull up a document to show you because we're our retention goals have been met and we are it's impacting student incomes as you can see here. in the acquisition of the House Bill 3 goals that were set by the school board. Question 12, 90% rule. How will the board confirm that the TIA distribution meets the 90% or 100% campus requirement? If verification of campus specific allocation is available, PE please provide it. Um, teachers receive 90% of their TIA designation less the IRS withholding and TRS contributions and the teacher amount is determined by the state each year. TEA verifies TIA designations and funding after Texas Tech University validates the data submission. Once verified, TEA

082posts information in the strategic compensation operations management system, also called SCOMS, for authorized district users. Question 13, primary purpose. Is the primary purpose of this plan market retention or strategic investment in student achievement? Um, again, the compensation plan is basically a guidebook for employee pay and the pay rates are strategically designed to retain high quality, highly qualified teachers and staff. As of today, we have less than 10% turnover and as I've referenced in the scorecard earlier, we met House Bill 3 goals for 2526. If there are additional questions, I'm happy to answer at this time. I have one question just kind of piggybacking on my other question. Is Amamira part of our T TIA um measures? So AMRA was used for the 2526 data capture for this year. So yes, it is. But we do

083not have any teachers designated using AMRA data because it was a new tool used for data capture this year. For 24 and for 2425 data capture, we used the NWA map growth measurements. We only went down as low as second grade. So, this will be the first year that we've that we're doing a data capture for kinder in first grade for TIA. For TIA, any other questions? Thank you very much, M. Thank you. Item six. At this time, the board will retire to close session under Texas Government Code sections 551.071 through 551.076 and 551.08 through 551.083 to discuss the items listed on the agenda. The time is 7:25 Thank you, man. See, Janice She is Janice. I call this meeting back to order after our recess. It is 7:52 p.m. As we continue tonight's meeting,

084we welcome all who have joined us as we keep asking how we can best promote and encourage achievement for every student in our district. The mission of Casper Independent School District is inspiring and empowering all students to be innovative thinkers in the global community. At this time, we will begin with a pledges of allegiance. Uh Miss Linda Aguilan, our board member, will lead us in that stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I aliance to the Texas one state and indivisible. Thank you, ma'am. [applause] Move on. We're on to item 7 C. Miss Harper rec or multip multiplication contest winners. Good evening again, Board of Education Cabinet and Superintendent Miss Smith Faulner. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize the multiplication contest winners in third, fourth, and fifth grades. This

085will be our 10th annual multiplication contest in CISD. It was created for our students to show mastery in their multiplication facts. All students in grades 3 through 5 are given a one minute fact test to see who can answer the most correctly. We have winners at the classroom level, the campus level, and the district level. And the winners are I am pleased to present to you our 2026 third grade district champion, Christian Rodriguez. [applause] Christian attends Avo Elementary School and answered 63 multiplication facts in one minute. [applause] I am also very pleased to present to you the 2026 fourth grade district champion, Andrea Para. [cheering] [applause] Andrea attends also Avo Elementary School and she was able to answer 68 multiplication facts in one minute. That's more than one per second. [applause] And I am now

086pleased to present to you our 2026 fifth grade champion, Luciana T. [applause] Luciana attends Avo Elementary School and she was able to answer 70 facts in one minute. [applause] Would the families of these three students please stand and be recognized? [applause] While we're only recognizing our first place district champions tonight, I wanted to recognize all three district winners in third, fourth, and fifth grades. As you can see on this slide, this group of kids had outstanding results. I would also like to extend a thank you to the parents, to the teachers, and the administrators who have supported these fantastic mathematicians. A special thank you to Mrs. Stephanie Bolster, Mrs. Morgan Johnson, and Mr. Mickey McFersonson who assisted with the campus and district contests as well as the awards ceremony. This event could not take place

087without them. Could we give these outstanding mathematicians one more applause? [applause] Congratulations. Thank you guys. Congratulations. Uh Miss uh Nikki, Dr. McDorman, sorry, will recognize our science fair winners. Good evening, President Toifer, Superintendent Smith Bachner, and members of the board. [clears throat] I'm honored to stand before you to recognize the achievement of our young scientists who have excelled in the district science fair and at the secondary level, the regional and state science fairs. In January, fourth and fifth grade students from our three elementary campuses competed virtually in the district science fair due to inclement weather. Their projects are on display in the hallway. At this time, would the fourth and fifth grade students please come and stand in the line facing the board members? I would first like to recognize our fourth grade first place

088winner from AV KO, Luciana T. [applause and cheering] Luciana's project examined what happens when steel enters a magnetic field. Next, I would like to recognize our fifth grade first place winner, also from AV KO, Anna Oliver Va. [screaming] [applause] Anna's project studied how the height of a ramp affected the distance a toy car would travel. Our elementary grand champion, also from Avo, is Gabriella Rodriguez. [applause and cheering] Gabriella tested the strength of a magnet at different distances. Thank you. Elementary winners, you can go have a seat. [applause] Secondary students were selected by a panel of judges to advance to the Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair that was held in February at UTA. Their project showcased a range of topics from harnessing thermal energy to developing a temperature sensitive bandage and they are represented

089our district with pride. A selection of their projects is also on display in the hallway for your viewing pleasure. Students, as your names are called, please come up and receive your certificates. We will begin our recognition with the Castlebury High School first place winners, McKinley Lavender, [applause] who with Aiden Carter, who was unable to be with us tonight, uh did an experiment on the effects of acidic drinks on tooth enamel. [applause] Moving on to Irma Marsh Middle School, I present the first place winners for sixth grade STEM, Gel Dominguez and Brian Pereira. [cheering and applause] Their in their investigation was about how plain shapes affect the distance that they can travel. Thank you, gentlemen. [applause] Okay, representing seventh grade STEM, our first place winners and regional participants, Yetsi Chavaria and Miranda Curos. [applause] [cheering] These

090students investigated different materials to determine which one retained heat the best. [applause] Next is the eighth grade STEM first place winners and regional participants, Jimea Torres, Maria Moto, MOT, excuse me, and Stephanie Pereira. [cheering] [applause] These students experimented with different forms of exercise to determine their effects on heart rate. [applause] Finally, I would like to recognize eighth grade STEM students Charlie Martinez, Elen Sinerta, and Eileen Gonzalez. [applause] Their project, intelligent wound monitoring system, developing a smart bandage prototype with thermocchromic based infection detection, earned the team the title of grand champions at the district science fair. They continued their success by earning first place at the regional fair, qualifying them to compete at the state science fair. The students traveled to Texas&M University in College Station to present their innovative prototype and showcase their outstanding research

091and engineering skills. Their achievement reflects the creativity, dedication, and excellence fostered within our STEM program, and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. [applause] We'd now like to share the state science fair presentation that these students prepared and submitted. The reason we did this project is because we thought that the global burden of blue is often ignored by the invisibility of early infection. We see that complications underneath the normal bandage often go unnoticed issues. That's why we developed a smart bandage that provides proactive diagnostic tool for many to use that use thermopic based infection detection. The way that we make our then have our thermopromic pigment and an acrylic binder. We mixed it together to and then we placed it on top of our hydro make that little black. Once the paint was dry, we

092placed two transparent films on top of it. We tested our prototype by further using a heating plate to simulate wounds when they are infected. We will now these temperatures range from 35 to 40°. We will show you a demonstration of when a 39°. This is around 2 to 3° above normal human skin temperature. As you can see, the color slowly starts turning through from black to colorless, which shows an indicator of an infection. When the smart bandage is placed upon a skin, normal skin temperature with no, it reverts back to its original color and almost. Thank you for listening to us. [cheering] [applause] On behalf of the district, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the superintendent, school board, parents, family members, and teachers, particularly Miss Garza, Miss Clinton, Miss Aragon, Miss Nalen,

093Coach Adams, Miss Henry, and Miss Rivas for all your unwavering commitment to our students academic success. If you are a parent, family member, or teacher of these young scholars, please stand so that you too may be recognized. [applause] Thank you. We're going to stop down now. Take some pictures. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I almost forgot about that. I totally forgot. 7E. We got some important educators out here. They're all important. Good evening again. Tonight I get to recognize our district teachers of the year for the 2526 school year. It is with great pleasure that I introduce this year's district elementary teacher of the year, Carara Lopez. [cheering and applause] [applause] Miss Lopez currently serves as a math inclusion teacher at AV Ko Elementary. Miss Lopez hopes to impact even more students at AV KO next

094year as their newly appointed campus academic leader. As the honored elementary teacher of the year for the district, Miss Lopez advance advances to the regional level where one exceptional elementary teacher will be selected as the region 11 elementary teacher of the year. For this special honor, Miss Lopez received an award to display proudly in her in her room and a $1,000 cash donation from the Castleberry Education Foundation. Please help me in congratulating Cara Lopez, our Castleberry ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year. [applause] It is with great pleasure that I introduce this year's district secondary teacher of the year, Mr. Kevin Martinson. [applause] Mr. Martinson is a science teacher and a coach who also works with retesters at Castlebury High School. As the honored secondary teacher of the year for the district, Mr. Martinson also advances

095to the regional level where one exceptional secondary teacher will be selected as the region 11 secondary teacher of the year. For this special honor, Mr. Martinson also received an award to display proudly in his classroom and a $1,000 cash donation from the Castleberry Education Foundation. Please help me in congratulating Kevin Martinson, our Castleberry ISD secondary teacher of [applause] the year. Yeah, we're going to stop down and take some pictures of all these wonderful people. Uh, Miss Branch, and I don't know that we have anybody designated tonight. I say it's a free-for-all. Whoever wants to be in the picture, I want to be on Shark Tank with you guys. So, I'm gonna I'm gonna go. [laughter] So, so yeah. Okay, that's fine. Moving on to item 7F, an action item. Is there a motion? I move

096to approve the Castleberry High School principal subject to assignment. Second. Is there any discussion? Please indicate your vote. Motion carries 70. I believe we have Mr. Renan in the audience. [applause] Did I say yes? Good evening again. Castleberry ISD welcomes Scott Renan as the district's new Castleberry High School principal. Mr. Renan joins Castleberry ISD from Fort Worth ISD where he served as the principal of Arlington Heights High School for the past year. He started his career in education 15 years ago as an English teacher in Fort Worth ISD. Mr. Renan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma. He went on to complete a master's degree in educational leadership at Texas Christian University in 2011. This advanced training reflects a commitment to professional growth and effective school leadership. Mr. Renan brings a strong record

097of leadership and measurable achievement to the district, having previously served as principal of D. McReay Elementary School. During his tenure there, he led staff efforts that significantly improved student performance, moving the school from an F-rating to a B rating. Most recently at Arlington Heights, he demonstrated continued success by increasing the CCMR rating from 89% to 95%. He also oversaw substantial academic growth in algebra, biology, and English one, reflecting a focus on instructional excellence and student outcomes. Outside of work, Mr. Renan and his wife English, who also works in education, enjoy raising their three children, Edward, Aelia, and Emerald. Recently, he has also gotten back into running, adding to the ways that he stays active and balanced while spending quality time with his family. Mr. Renan is committed to a philosophy that education is the pathway

098to ensuring all students have every opportunity available to them after graduation. He believes in servant leadership, beginning with love, and strives to lead with humility while working diligently to support both students and staff. He is grateful to the board of education for this opportunity and looks forward to serving Castlebury High School in this wonderful community. Mr. Renan, Dr. uh Dr. Foger, um board members, thank you very much for this opportunity. I really appreciate it. Community, I look forward to meeting everyone. I'm very excited to be a part of the Castleberry ISD community. I've heard nothing but great things. We have the fourth biggest band in uh Texas in 4A. We have a soccer team that made it to state. We now have a nationally recognized yearbook teacher on staff that I'm super excited about. Um

099and then of course my family in the back. I want to thank them for being here. English Edward Aelia and Emerald asleep, but that's okay. And thank you for your time tonight. I really appreciate it. Thank you. [applause] on to item 8A. Uh, Mr. Wooden budget workshop five. All right. Good evening, Mr. President, Board of Education Superintendent. Uh tonight I will provide an update on the district's budget development process for the 2627 year. Our discussion will focus on three primary points. We've talked about them uh basically where we expect to finish the current year financially, the assumptions driving next year's budget and the decisions that we'll need for the consideration before budget adoption. As we move forward through tonight's presentation, I want to emphasize one key point. Enrollment remains the single largest driver of our

100funding. Uh student student counts ultimately determine much of the state's funding we receive and therefore influence the ability to fund district's priorities. So basically tonight where do we in uh anticipate landing at the end of the year? Based on current collections and spending trends, we expect to finish the year very close to plan about 97% collections and 98% spent. So as as we started the year, we adopted a 48.6 million budget. Uh right now it's only projection. We projected to collect about 47.3. So that gives us a 97% collection rate. So what's due to the shortfalls? uh declining enrollment and property tax exemptions uh were processed by Tarant appraisal district uh which reduced our tax collections. The good news is that we're working with closely with with TAD and our tax attorney to recover our

101portion of the lost funds and we expect uh to collect approximately 300 300 to $500,000 within the next 6 to 12 months. Just takes time. Um, in the meantime, saving we're saving from vacant positions and employee payroll docks which are helping offset expenditures through the summer months. Overall, this is a this is really a good situation to be in. Uh, and we are actively monitoring both the collections and the expenditures. So, we built the budget on some budget assumptions. Um, as relates to student counts, we expect to decline about 91 students. Uh, our local property values will will be flat. [clears throat] Uh, and our tax rate obviously be flat. Uh, if the local property values increase above 2 and a half%, you're going to see a difference in our tax rate. But right now,

102uh, depending u the preliminary values, our tax rate will uh, stay flat. So, so budget is a very exciting slide here. These are three legal buckets that the board has to adopt. Uh our general fund is currently projected to be a balanced budget at about 48 million uh 48 million. We're saying that we're going to provide about 48 million uh dollars worth of services and we anticipate collecting $48 million. Uh child nutrition budget is is is is a is a balanced budget 3.7 million and uh debt service fund. The debt service fund is projected a net loss of about $500,000. Uh we're going to take a hit to the fund balance there. Uh this is intentional and reflects the plan use of accumulated debt service funds. Uh our our debt service uh fund balance is

103about 5.7 million right now. Uh but it's important to note that using the debt service fund balance is separate from the general fund balance. The debt service fund balance can only be used for principal and interest uh payments and cannot be used for classroom operations, salaries, and instructional programs. Board, the key takeaway here is that the district's preliminary operating budget remains balanced while continuing to meet debt obligations. So, this slide is important. Uh it's the multi-year INS projection. This this uh this really just shows that uh this is our current span year-over-year. Uh just take 2526. Our beginning fund balance is about 6.5. So as as of June 30th of last year, our beginning fund balance for July 1st this year uh July 1st of 2025 uh was 6.5 million. So throughout the year we've

104collected about $7.3 million of abalone taxes on the debt service side. Now our debt payment was about 8.2. Uh this this fund is intentionally um structured uh to hit the fund balance. So I think the fund balance is a cushion of 5.7. So this year we hit the fund balance of $822,000. The good news is that we have a fund balance. We don't have to increase INS rate. And so, as you see, year-over-year, we're able to eat at the fund balance. In five to seven years, uh, we will still have money left over. And so, we'll have to over the next couple years or next year, we'll, uh, the superintendent will, uh, we'll make a plan to either reduce that rate or continue to eat the pumps or both. Right? So, next slide is very

105important. This slide is illustrates potential compensation options for the board consideration. This slide is very important. This slide illustrates potential compensation options for the board consideration. Uh as you see from left to right, the baseline budget is balanced and already includes teacher compensation increases funded through the state the state's teacher retention aotment and strategic compensation structures. Uh under the the baseline budget, uh you see the collections equal the expenditures. Uh it's a balanced budget. You know, as I said before, we expect to provide services of $48 million and between local, state, and federal funds, we expect to receive $48 million. Uh so there's no impact of the fund balance. Uh option A increases includes a 1% compensation increase for staff not covered by teacher retention a lotment funding would cost approximately $250,000. Uh there's a

106net change. The net change shows a net loss to the fund balance. Option B includes a 2% compensation increase would cost approximately $500,000 annually. there's a net change of a net loss about $500,000 to the fund balance. So board the bottom line message here is that teacher raises are already included in the budget. Um each additional 1% increase for uh for other staff costs approximately 250,000. So for every 1% we can we can uh say it's a net change in net loss to the fund balance of $250,000. Uh the board's decision is is whether to fund compensation increases beyond the teacher retention allotment included in the baseline budget by approving the deficit budget on June 15th. Um of course on June 15th the the board will approve one of the following. Uh a balanced budget

107which includes teacher step increases or a uh where all other staff would receive 1% increase. And then the last one is where all other staff would would receive a 2% increase to their pay. So at the end of the day whether it's option baseline budget option A and B it's option A and B uh it would require adoption adoption of a budget deficit. So next slide. So next steps in the budget timeline is we plan on June 15th we have a public hearing on the proposed budget and tax rate discussion. Um and also uh we're going to present the budget for but for board adoption. Um July 25th we're planning on receiving our certified taxable values and once we receive those certified taxable values um we may have to come to the to the board

108and readjust our budget. Um, so because we're we're for June 30th, we're building a budget on what we project our taxable values are going to be, not what they actually are. Uh, for the budget, uh, presented tonight remains preliminary and will continue to be refined as additional information uh, becomes available. So, we're building the budget on the best information we have, teams, data, summary of finances, um, uh, discussion with uh, Mo Casey Consultants. Um, so board, our goal is to present a financially responsible budget that aligns resources with district priorities while maintaining a long-term financial stability. Uh, Mr. President, pending any questions from the board. That's all I have. Any questions? First of all, thank you, Mr. Wooten. Um, I think my first question is if if I look at the budget and I look

109at your projections and I know last meeting we we approved a $5 million loan which in is also part of a big payment yearly. Does that include that as well? Is that part of this deficit or this debt service piece? It so it's a part of the M budget. So the uh the debt service is the INS. So it is a part of the the general fund the 199. So we we have it in there uh to be paid. So it's part of the balance piece, not the debt service. It's a part of the balance piece. Yes, ma'am. Perfect. Okay, that's my question. Good question. Thank you. Any other questions? Just can we talk a little bit about how the funreases? Yes, ma'am. So, What do you attribute that to again please? So, uh it's

110it's really driven by so our first of all our tax collections is at 50 50 cent, right? So, uh the the actual um let me just answer the question [clears throat] enrollment. Well, on the INS side, it's it's driven by uh local property taxes. So we we levy a tax of 50 cents times the average taxable assessed values uh divided by 100 really gives us what our collection will be. And so we structured when they got the $98 million loan, they structured the the actual uh uh debt service to have a fund balance. Uh and so but it gives them the flexibility. So as we look year over year, you have a couple options. you you know at the board at superintendent board's level you can discuss decreasing the actual itinance rate to eat the

111fund balance up faster uh or you can leave it as it is just really or you can use defement can can I add to that because I uh and I'm as I'm listening to Miss Gman's question I think um the other thing that is an impact is uh property values and so and think of the reappraisal plan and when they freeze that uh then we're going to they're going keep our property values lower. And then um as they reappraise items, there could be a big jump depending on what the projections are for uh our values. And we know that our values are are really jumping up. And so it's been fro it's going to be frozen for three years. But when they structured it in the bond payment, they also knew we had quite a

112bit of a fund balance. And so uh Mr. Galvan was uh very conservative in this but um as we as you see that our payment is the same but as the values go up we will also collect more money in the future so that will grow but there was some conservativeness in uh the in what we would be paying back. Okay. If that helps to explain it because it took me a minute to look at that and understand why it's like that. Thank you. That's a good question. Very good question. Thank you, Mr. Weed. Can I ask one more question? I'm sorry. Yeah. Just just for clarity. So, as of right now, if we if we have a balance budget, then the only teachers that would get any extra on top of their pay are

113the TIA teachers. Now, let me explain that. If you look at the the teacher step pay, Uhhuh. every time that they add a year, they would get that plus they would get TIA. Okay. And and it also we're keeping the uh teacher um aotment retention allotment. So once they jump up to year five, I believe is that the $4,000 year? Three, four, four. Okay. So they get we're keeping the we will continue to receive that. So that's part of their big jump. And so they get a year of service. So if you look at that, if I'm nine years, then I go to the 10th year pay plus I have the opportunity to get TIA. So there's two ways to get their increase. Gotcha. So the $500, if we if we did option B, um

114if you go back to that slide, Angela, um make sure I'm saying the numbers right. $250,000. Um option A. Um that means that that would $250,000 is for everybody or just the people who wouldn't be impacted by the steps pe everybody else. Okay. And then option B would just be a higher raise for those people. A 2% rather than 1%. Gotcha. Okay. Just want to make sure I'm understanding that I'm clear. You're welcome. Thank you, Mr. Wooden. Mr. President, thanks board. Thank you. On to item 8B, Mr. Cameron Hollow. Good evening, Board of Education. Uh, President Toiver, Superintendent Smith Faulner. It's been an exciting night. The best thing I can do on a night like this is just uh step aside. So, let's get into it. Um, we uh have made a lot of progress,

115but we skipped a little bit last week because we last month because we had the video. So, uh I'm going to focus mostly on some uh finance and some photos, but we are still within budget and on time. I'll show some proof of that and we are in full compliance of safety and quality. uh guidelines that we set forth from the beginning, Angela. Okay. A little bit of the things we've been able to accomplish is the um the transformer was completed a couple of months ago. We've got the power lines in. Those were small but big for uh moving in. We've got the water line uh precon meeting underway. So, that's a huge step in the process. Um, so we're hoping to fall in line with that by July and be ready for the start

116of school. Uh, and then we've jumped into the basement. You'll see a photo of that. And the rest is um, uh, just kind of as we've already uh, mentioned in the past. So, thank you. Uh, on the financial side, so uh, we're down to about uh, a third uh, of the money left and we are well over 66% of the way through the construction. So there's kind of proof that we are staying well within budget. We've got 60% of our um soft costs remaining. A lot of that is the furniture. We do we have done a diligent job of of saving money and uh watching all of our bids that come and go um and uh vetting out our vendors very well. Uh we've had some good vendors from the start. So we've reused a

117lot of the vendors that are part of the bond in that soft cost process. So, all that being said, we've done a really good job of holding on to some security money there. Thank you. Okay. So, we'll start with a this is our uh the top. This is our CTE. So, we'll go from uh the the least amount of progress to the most. But uh you can see we've got all of our uh Wayne's coat tile on the sides, windows uh framed and window put in. Um above ceiling, we've got uh a portion of our MEP. So, that's a hallway. Uh, next you'll see this is Oh, sorry, I jumped ahead of you. This is a classroom in that CTE area. You can see the [clears throat] holes in the floor for the the rough

118in, but we we we have about 90%. So, we're not scheduled to open this area, reminder, until December, but we have 90% of our MEP done and above ceilings. So, we've got our ceiling grid going in. They'll start floors and ceilings probably in the next 30 days. So, Good deal there. Uh, jumping over to area B. So, this portion of the building will be opening up for this school year. So, we're very happy to uh announce that and we're on schedule. You can see we're about 90 95% complete in these areas. In the back, you can see the Vena hoods uh full ceilings. Uh, a portion of our um our mill work. So, that portion of the furniture is handled by BTC, but they're in and uh we'll keep those protected while we're finishing our

119floors and doing some touch-ups on the paint. Here is the uh gymnasium area. So, we do have the floor in. Um this is beautiful. Picture doesn't do it justice. Uh I was in there this morning. So, we've got to let the floor breathe a little bit before we put the finish and make it make it really shine. But um hopefully we've got some good plans for opening that up when uh school starts and allowing the not only the students and staff but a portion of the community to also enjoy that area as well. So this I stepped just outside. So uh a lot of the uh uh learning areas um uh learning stairs and such uh parking and uh thoroughfare will not be open to start school, but this portion will. So, we're going to

120allow students an area to go to and fro on the um ground floor from the new gymnasium to the competition gym. And that's the connector, of course, that you see, the sky bridge. Uh but I thought this was really cool because you can kind of start envisioning where students would be able to hang out uh during the day. It's a safe, secure area. will make sure that we um keep them safe from any uh construction obviously, but this is inside the uh the school building area and all that glass. So people that are enjoying the next area which is area see well uh one more picture there just to show you kind of how far we've come along. So just that picture we've got the lockers in. You can see the ceramic tile in the

121restrooms. We've also got restroom fixtures in and then of course uh some of our uh writing. Uh, so we just lack floors in that area. But then I was just saying that this is area C. So this is the connector. And so you'll be able to see the learning stairs and that u that kind of commons area that I showed in the the picture before. So it's really coming together. I did get a sneak peek of the carpet. We've already covered this up, but they I uh I snuck in there when they weren't looking. So it's kind of a picture of uh what the carpet will look like. and against the black ceiling and the tectum uh kind of the cloud ceiling in those areas and that wood finish. It's uh it's really a sight

122to see. So, I hope uh pretty soon we'll all get to get to see that. Now, uh Mr. Runan, you can look away at this part. This is uh our renovation that is coming together. Uh uh this is the media center. um that in the very middle, if you will, if I can point that, that is a uh that's our our centerpiece. So, that's our desk area. Um it's about 20 by 20, so it's kind of hard to see that from here, but uh it's a large area. Kind of has a marble-ish finish to it. Uh it's really pretty. And in the background will be the cafe that you'll see uh in the next month or so. This is our uh war zone. Um, the reason that I wanted to put this in there is

123because this is our basement. This is our renovation, which uh will become special ed in the next 3 to four months. But this just started last week. So, you can see how uh how fast those guys got in there in order to give ourselves time. Uh we will be conducting an abatement in that area. So, we've got to uh secure that area in the next couple of weeks and over the summer before kids come back. Kind of make it safe. This is uh your bond money and uh tax dollars going to work. So the the this is our summer projects that we've kind of added on in the last three or four months. But this again I just wanted to showcase they started Friday morning and this is this morning about 10:00. They've already done

124about 35 squares on that roof. This is uh the science wing. So they've swept gravel, they've got um insulation in. They're going in with um you know poly ISO and dens. I won't bore you with all that, but it's a it's a thorough process. It's 95 degrees up there and then basically two working days. This is the amount of work that they've been able to do. So, I really wanted to showcase that to you guys because, you know, that's extra work that we're doing above and beyond what we had thought we were going to be able to do um last year at this time. So, I appreciate you guys having faith in me and running some of that and uh giving you more bang for your buck. So, with that, I'll be happy to answer

125any questions or take any comments. So, you snuck in. So, we need better security is what you're saying. [laughter] I am security. That might be the problem. [laughter] Thank you very much. And I will say though before you leave, when you said that that was our bond money, I thought all I could see was pallets of dollars up there. Yes. Oh, good. We found our stash. Thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah, we're going to jump around to 11. Hey, Mr. Wooten. Sorry. [clears throat] We're going to try to take care of some people. It's an action item. Consider approval of the 2026 2027 professional new hire contracts. Is there a motion? Mr. President, I move to approve the Whoops. Sorry, wrong one. You said it's Yeah. 118. I move to approve the 2026 2027

126professional new hire contracts subject to assignment. Second. Is there any discussion? [clears throat] Please indicate your vote. Motion carries 70. That's it. Well, congratulations everyone that is sitting out in the audience as a new hire. [applause] Welcome to Castleberry. And guess what? Miss Walker has your contract. So, it's going to be official now. Sorry, we're going to jump back to Mr. Wooten now. Adam, leave off. It was nine. Yes, sir. I figured we could let them go. Yeah. Right. Good evening, Mr. President. Uh, board of education superintendent. Uh thank you for allowing me to present the budget uh monthly update. Uh next slide. So here's the discussion points. We're going to talk about the budget snapshot, budget financial performance and next steps which is action plan. Right? So you've seen this slide. It's primarily a

127slide we showed you before. Uh we budgeted 48.6 million. We anticipate collecting 47.3 uh which is 97% of our adopted budget. Here's what I want to say about that. There's still potential funding uh that's flowing in. We have settle up funding that comes in September that we can move back to this this current year because we earned it in this year. We have indirect cost from federal grants uh um like say sped grant because we my folks actually service the grants and then uh child nutrition funds that have not been applied yet. And so, uh, the budget, operating budget closes at at 6:30, but the books are still open until the board approves that budget. And so, uh, those are things that we think about. Uh, I'm just showing you the data as of today,

128the the worst case possible. Uh, expenses, I don't anticipate expenses getting bigger than that. Uh, we've primarily put enough pressure on the general fund and I think we're at a stopping point. Um, next slide. This is a overview of what collections look like. Basically, we talked about it. Uh, we're we're planning on collecting 97% of our adopted budget. Uh, this is how the um collections performed at the local level. And uh we budget 11.1 and that that includes our our abl taxes uh miscellaneous funds uh athletic funds as well. Uh even then we collected two uh 10.7 and that's the the decline of uh local funds primarily due to ADA and uh property tax exemption. uh state funding um I'm sorry state funding is ADA local private tax tax exemption dip is uh due to

129the actual uh private tax exemption that was approved by chief appraiser and then federal funds I believe we're going to get 100% u of those funds. Next slide please. Okay, so this is the update uh on June 15th. We're going to look at the budget again. Uh I'm going to continue to do the uh year-end financial projections to make sure that I budget uh you know that our actuals don't exceed our budget. Uh and then we're going to prepare an amendment if necessary. Uh and here's a legal requirement. We're going to prepare the 2627 budget uh proposed budget for the board adoption. And those three buckets are general fund, child nutrition, and debt service. Mr. President, any questions for you? That's all that's all I have right now. Just for clarification, the only real difference

130was TAD allowing an exemption that they we didn't know was coming. Exactly. Right. You said earlier we're going to get that back in six months or so. Yes, sir. But it has to go 12 months. Next year's budget, right? It's it's going to go next year's budget. If it comes in before uh September, then the auditor will move it back to this this current year. Um that's it. So president, thank you for thank you for your time. I have a quick question. Not a very smart question, but I'm trying to understand how we can approve the compensation plan before we approve the budget. So can will the budget be able to support the compensation plan? So compensation plan isn't um doesn't have any numbers to it. It is just the rules of the people who

131we're applying their salaries to which goes back to the answers. Yes. Yes ma'am. So we've always we have to approve the compensation plan before we approve the budget and then we look at the FTEES that we can afford within his budget and we have already adjusted FTEES which would be the amount of uh people that we're employing. Okay. So we look at what are the rules then we put it in Skyward and then we're able to run three bas three different scenarios and so the baseline budget with it we roll forward the teachers so they've all we've already um given them their step raises based on the teachers we have and it's been easier this year because when you only have 23 positions we are able to apply some assumptions to the people we're hiring

132and so we feel like we have 99.5% % probably the most accurate since I've been here for 35 years on what our salaries are going to cost based on uh Katherine uh William and myself working to be because we know we have a very tight budget and because of that we want to be sure that we're aware of where everybody falls on the step and so that's why we're able to give you the numbers we feel that the numbers you're getting are very very accurate and I will say for the first time uh that I can say we've used Skyward correctly and were able to do salary negotiations and uh be able to manipulate the numbers to tell you what it would cost. And so the only thing that I would say is we're going

133to look at first day attendance and then we can make adjustments throughout the year through attrition if we do not have student enrollment because he opened up we talked about the the main driver is student enrollment and it's a little unpredictable right now with what's going around uh what's happening around us. uh we have uh been we have advertised but at the same time we have lots of enrollment about uh registration which is about the same with the increase in uh transfers coming in to Dr. Richland and we monitor that every week. Uh so what we do is I monitor weekly I send it to you guys in the board updates and so based on those numbers that's how we make the adjustments uh every year. So after the first day, we will look and

134see if we need to freeze any open uh positions, any vacant positions so that we can hold true to the budget. Any other questions? No. Thank you, Mr. Wood. Mr. President, board. Thank you for your time. On to item 10, the consent agenda. At this time, we will consider the consent agenda as presented. Is there a motion? Mr. President, I move for approval of the consent agenda as presented. Second. Is there any further discussion? Please indicate your vote. Motion carries 70. Want to bless you. Item 11 A, consider approval of the Oh, we already did 11 A, didn't we? Sorry. 11B, consider approval of budget amendment 4 for the month ending May 31, 2026. Is there a motion? I move to approve the budget amendment as presented. Is there a second? Second. Is there? Yes.

135Yes. Is there any further discussion? 11B. Just wanted to say how much I appreciated that report. I thought it was very well explained. So, I didn't have any questions. I I have a quick question. What is part of like the data processing services? Like that's a big chunk. So where does that what does that impact? Let's pick broadstroke technology. Yes. Yes ma'am. Could be or operational Mr. Wooten. Sorry, one more question. Don't leave. Um, one more on the maintenance and operations. That's that took a big hit as well. Like what what will that impact? operation. Go back here. to the PowerPoint. Scroll up a little bit. What's the bottom? Right. So, we're we're actually moving money off of uh 51 uh to support uh athletics co-curricular activities. So, we're moving 200 $200,000 from u the

136additional U facilities maintenance budget to support the projeed overage in athletics. So, that's that's what we're doing. And athletics being uh it's um it could be I to look at it, take a deeper dive. It could be salaries. It could be uh uh contract services supplies. Uh Mr. It's I think I think it's staffing for all the different events we have because we've had more events. Uh which is a good thing, but at the same time it's just looking at um where did we have some flexibility to cover in another uh area. So we didn't cut anybody's p any anything. We just moved money to cover um from one area if they had extra money to cover in another area. So we didn't lose a person to No, ma'am. No ma'am. So So like superintendent

137said uh earlier was when there's gaps in the budget um to say docks or vacancies that that that kind of uh put in the budget, right? You know, because we're not we're not 100% fully staffed uh 100% of the time. And so, uh, when we do projections and we find those those holes, uh, those gaps, we're able to to capitalize on them and and move them where, um, it supports students, you know. So, yes, ma'am. So, so as a follow-up question, so all of the proposed amendment numbers, those are dollars that just were not spent. Yes, ma'am. Yes. Correctly. So, good question. So, you look at uh uh, so everything not not correctly. Did you say correctly? So, it's not that they weren't spent correctly. It just might be savings. Okay. No, I was correct

138to his question. Yeah, they were savings and so we repurposed it to where the needs were. That's right. No, I was saying to his question, not to Okay. I just wanted to be I was like, wait, wait, no. Yes. Yes. Okay. Yeah. I just I didn't want to go down that we didn't do it correctly. Yeah. No. Okay. So when you see the from 41 general administration, all that red is saying we're moving money out of oper out of the the the kind of like the ad administrative services to to students, which is everything above uh 36 really involve students. Uh and so those functions there are directly impacting students. Um and then 41 like me indirectly impacting students. And so we're moving money out of u you know the the u administration uh uh

139maintenance security services those things uh to support things that happen throughout the year with student student u so would this mean that their budgets would change for next year if they're not spending the their budgeted dollars? It could be that we also put them in with like we covered it through a grant or another indirect cost that we were able to take advantage of to free that up because we have to use those um those funds in a special way. And so a lot of times about this time of year, we start and look at, okay, what grant had funding uh available that we could apply in some of these areas and free up that money to be able to go into another area uh to cover. So we we began to look at all

140of the grants, how much money is left in the grant because we don't want to leave any money on the table. So again, we're sharing up the grants. Okay, great. And that's a really good point because what the superintendent does is we look at salary projections throughout the year and if it gets a little tight, you know, she [snorts] has the the discretion and say we need to slow down spending because we know that in the end of the day, we need to make sure that the goal is always get a balanced budget and protect our fund balance. Perfect. and we don't really want to start affecting other people's budgets, each department's budgets that they wouldn't appreciate that. So, well, well, we are trying to build back the cap uh capital improvement because um after

141the baseball field or before the baseball field and during the um I guess Irma Marsh remodel, the money was taken from capital improvements uh from uh what Mr. last year managed and it basically went down to zero. And so what we did with the um funding of the energy plan and now putting 200,000 all that money is going towards the facilities again. So we're slowly moving money, not like one big chunk, but beginning to build that budget back. And so we put in a plan over time and we're moving money from where it was utilized and putting it back into that fund because you guys are going to need more money as we look at the agent facilities. And so we're slowly trying to move uh funds where the need back to where the needs

142are because it was basically zeroed out uh during that time. And so we're looked at it and like how do we build that back so that Mr. last year has the funding for those capital improvements for the roofing things we don't have money for uh and then which affects HVAC. So, we feel like we we put a plan in place and now we're able to start slowly building that fund back up for you. And we have a capital improvements plan as a discussion item. Is it a discussion or information item? Um it's just it's always there though information just information and um so will we see start seeing your plan? Will we see that at some point how we're building up that capital improvement? I think through this process you'll see more money. Right now

143you're going to have $200,000 plus the energy uh that's basically the energy payment and we added $200,000 as a holding point for any uh issues. Uh but that doesn't necessarily mean it might stay there. That is just if we have emergencies that unforeseen emergencies. So that um $500,000 uh dollars is actually putting the money back into the capital improvements that wasn't there and we're just doing it so that it's lasting over several years. Now we're frontloading it. Right. Right. Like an escrow on on the Yeah. and we're able to take advantage of it all at once and we're able to bring back some savings. And so we want to see how much savings are we going to get from the energy services because we're also adding a new facility which is going to use more.

144So we're trying to offset that. So you might not see $200,000 coming back in our pocket because we're spending $200,000 in the new facility. And that's why the proposal was to begin to also take the old footprint down because you will not be able to afford that in the future. Right? So you need to take the old footprint down instead of putting money into it to make it uh more efficient when it comes to your electrical and your utilities and and your overall maintenance and roofing and HVAC that will eat you up. And and with us getting rid of that footprint, that would still give every teacher a classroom. There's nobody working out of a cart. No, ma'am. Darla was here. We sat down with Darla, S Lemus, and S uh mapped out uh with

145Stephanie what reach and truce would look like, how many kids, teachers we need. And then we looked at the existing footprint of the new school, got with uh Darla, Dr. Barnes and she's already put names and uh what we're what we will be covering in the new classrooms and in the remodel. We're already working on the remodel. So, there are still classrooms available on top of that. And so, um that was one of the first things done. Can this be done? Okay. Especially since we're taking the old CTE area down, right, to free up space, right? And Mr. through it and thank you for explaining because I think when we see the movement of like from the operational side to actually student um I think that's helpful for us to visually see that we're repurposing

146money in that way. And and I'm going to add to this because it's actually I'm really glad that you're asking those questions on the amendment because se a couple of years ago this is what caused um some of the shortfall from it was moved from uh areas that really um questions should have been asked and so now I think that when you're doing your budget amendment you can clearly see where it is coming from. And so those are all very good questions. Love the transparency of it. So thank you. Thank you for the explanation. And so so I'm wondering how how do we keep our eyeball on that as throughout the year? How as a board when Mr. And I would say we give monthly, you know, we didn't do this prior to me. We

147give you monthly updates on the budget and that's how we keep our eye on it to be sure because we're looking at the budget monthly and we're making adjustments every month on what we need to do. The only thing that threw us for a curveball is the TAD and uh the fact that uh the reappraisal plan number one is continues to be an issue and number two when they gave at the last minute um they gave the tax break 70 you know million whatever it was. Well that's you you can't eat it in two months if it would have been at the beginning but we're going to get it now we have to jump through the hoops to get it and so it hit this budget. So now we're like, "Okay, let's put some brakes

148on because that was unexpected at the last minute, but we will get it, but I wish we were getting it now." And then anytime we also look at enrollment every week, Kelly does the spreadsheet for me. We look at it. And so, uh, that is the other thing that, uh, is is is something that we look at it every week, but where are we going to land when school starts with everything going on? And I think I was what I'm really wanting to know is how are we going to make sure we're targeting capital improvement funds? How will we know if how we're building it? Well, the first Okay. And I think that you'll see during this process as uh we're able to and in the in the budget process when you look at the

149departments you have we have $200,000 that we haven't had that we have set aside for that plus the five I mean do the $500,000 payment is the first big move to get that money back because now it's guaranteed. It's guaranteed on those projects and the modernization that we needed to do. So I I think that you're going to see that that's going to be paid every uh year annually and so we've kind of guaranteed that we built that back in place. Okay. So we just need to be cognizant of that. Absolutely. And that but those are all great questions because we don't we want to continue to build that slowly because that payment seems to increase or decrease because it wasn't it wasn't like I know it started 461,000 and then it changes just a

150little though and yeah not a lot and also there are some possibilities there might be extra funding in the future to help with that but I'm not even going to open that can of worms up. Okay. But just know there are things out there that um we might be able to apply for that we're aware of. Fantastic. And I think one last question and I know I'm asking for a lot, but um Mr. Wooten, is there any possible way I mean is are you guys anticipating I'm going to go back to your crystal ball image. Are you anticipating that there might be a possible way to get those raises for our people who aren't slated to get a raise? Um, just because I mean everybody's working hard and I just that's gonna probably keep me

151up tonight and overnight and and it is hard. The crystal ball is truly a crystal ball. Where will we land on enrollment? Enrollment. If we look at our weighted funding for students, think of every student as nearly $13,000 if they were here every day. We did increase our attendance rate which is great but if we do not have enrollment we will not have money. It's the only driving factor because how it's paid doesn't matter. Does it come from state aid or does it actually um come from local property but it doesn't matter. It's all based on our student enrollment and how they're weighted. So, one thing increases it right now because right in the new legislative session, the other thing I'm going to say is there's a the education committee there. You can turn in

152and listen to them now. And what you're hearing are districts begging because uh and pleading with them over the deficit budgets that they have. They have them in the millions. And so um and it a lot of it goes to uh student enrollment and other things that are very when we do get increases notice it's it has to go to a very specific um item and so that limits what we can even uh do uh with the funding that we're getting. So, um this next legislative session is going to really be important um to advocate for public ed uh just because that is a hot topic right now is the funding. And so there's so many people that are in the same belt going what you know we can only project so much but I

153would like to say Linda that everybody got a 10% raise or Yeah. I I mean that's what we want. So, we're very disappointed in in that fact. But at the same time, I want to keep our highly qual qualified teachers because the other option would be to let people go to give raises. And I think if you ask the team, they all want to keep their see they're nodding their head. They want to keep their teammates out there because um that they work with every day. And let's stick it out another year until this legislators uh see what they do. Maybe we could do some I mean again just for for peace of mind and for like optics um like what percentage of the people who aren't getting something are part of the longevity pay

154and that kind of thing. So I have an idea. So we did talk uh to Mr. Wooten about this. This impacts this is if we get a huge increase in enrollment we can always go back and do a one-time uh payment. I would not include it in the general salary. We could say at this point because of our increase in our revenues, uh, we're going to project it from student enrollment, we can give a one-time payment waiting while we wait for the legislator. So, it's not that we couldn't go back and do it. Great. Yeah, good point. And it's good to note in the news that some schools are filing bankruptcy. That's true. Absolutely. Yeah. We've had a uh a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr.

155President. We've had a motion in a second. Is there any further discussion? Good discussion. Please indicate your vote. Motion carry 70. On to information items. 12 Is anything we need to jump into? Anything anybody wants to jump into? Is it all information readily available? Go ahead. Hold on. We're going to jump to 13A board key dates. [clears throat] We have a meeting next Monday, which is a hearing. If anybody has any questions on that, please email me and I will get with Dennis and make sure everybody is prepared as best we can be. Okay. So, so bed is what time? 6 p.m. I'm also not here. I'm due to return. Don't know that I'll be here on time. So, and then our attorneys will just go over the procedures with us that night. Need to

156be prepared in any way. Mr. Abomb will meet with you and go over the guidelines. So then we have another board meeting uh the budget meeting on the 15th on at 6 p.m. That's all we really have in June. There was I did want to point out something really exciting that's happening Wednesday, Dr. Richland. Wednesday, we have a some visitors. TEA will be on in the district and they're going they're bringing uh several 70 of their closest friends to come [music] and look at our uh district uh to look at our additional day school year program. That's that's right. It's very exciting. So, we will have um about 60 uh visitors plus of course like Miss Smith Faulner said uh visitors from TEA in region 11. But uh we will have um district other district

157visitors from all over from multiple different regions coming to visit our summer program. So we're very excited about this opportunity on Wednesday. They'll be visiting Avo and they'll be with us all day long from 7:30 until 3:00 to see the entire program from arrival all the way through uh dismissal. It's exciting. Is it local districts or everyone? multiple regions from from all over like region 20 you'll be here region 11 region six I think regions from all over yes Did you guys get your on your master meeting calendar? You should have a copy. You didn't get one. Angela, did you have their master meeting calendar? Kelly, I thought uh Did y'all work on that today? Can you please print a copy for them? And then uh we can bring it up, Angela. Well, we can

158use this. I think you can see it. So, um what we did is we added four board workshops so that you would uh be able to look at your schedules um periodically through the year to so that we could focus on the priorities. And when we did our needs assessment, remember we identified some areas that we need to work on. And so I thought in July I would look at the needs assessment and kind of bring some items that we could work on during the board workshop. Uh so that on those particular days we could uh close down and work um through the uh needs assessment that um we where we identified areas that we were at a one or a two and uh begin to work on our Lonear governance. And so these were

159the dates and these are also all the dates for the schoolboard meetings next year. And you can see our ALT meetings and everything are all uh on this item agenda. Sorry, on this document. So just want to be sure that um you have these on your calendar. Maybe it's the first day of school again. August. Where is Abby? 13th. Okay. So, when do we need to get back on these dates? Well, we've had the the dates except the board workshops for it was really hard in looking at what's going on in the district and and busy times. We need to take it to three. We can take it to three, but I thought that y'all said four in the beginning. Mondays, right, Kelly? Mondays. Yeah. What did you say? These are intended to provide you

160know we the Lonear leadership we talked about board meetings need to be focused on you know kids and their outcomes and this these can focus on you know what we need to do adult issues you know so um and andor training So I thought the needs assessment clearly gave us some guidance on our next steps and they would count towards team work and the team of eight only if we hire someone but I think we can do it. I think I can help lead it. Yeah. I wonder though if you could get certified so we could get Yeah. I mean not certified, not certified, registered. Um you do have your team of eight credit already from based on the um work session that you did on the 11th for next year. Yeah. You're off the

161hook. Angela, do we all have it? I just remember her sharing that we would get an email with the certificate and I didn't receive an email with the certificate. She sent the certificates to you. She sent the certificates to me. Okay. Yeah, she sent them to me and I have already um entered them and updated on TASBY. So, if you look at your TASBY credit hours, you'll see that um you do have that credit. Thank you. Uhhuh. And then on 13 uh C, I wanted you to see that I left the U district scorecard, like the superintendent scorecard and our House Bill 3 scorecards. And so it has our our progress monitoring throughout the year. And then you'll see the green checks where um we met various either a DIP goal or a strategic um

162uh plan goal and just some of the priorities that I had. So you can see we progress monitored throughout the year and we just tracked our color coding and I felt like we did a a really good job uh with a one-pager. And then I left when we did Lonear Governance, we had um this page right here because these are uh the board goals. These are um the board house bill goals for third grade literacy, third grade numeracy, and the CCMR. And so this year we met the first measure in all areas and we increased our um guard rail uh for our attendance. And then when we have accountability, I'll add that. But that was uh part of the measurement uh progress monitoring. Those are all the documents. Now next item establish next meeting 14A

163Monday June 8th for the special board meeting and Monday June 15th for a regular board meeting. And on to item 15. I move we adjourn. Hearing no objection, we stand adjourned at 9:23 p.m. Thank you. Staff that's here, if you're supposed to be here at 7:30,