001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good evening everyone. Glad to see you all here. We're going to go ahead and get started. So, I Jacqueline Colton, president of the Duncanville ISD school board do call this meeting of the Duncanville Independent School District to order. Let the record show that a quorum of board members is present, that the meeting has been duly called and noticed and posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. Okay, we'll start with our invocation, and we'll ask uh Trustee Vice President Vera Cruz if she wouldn't please lead us in the invocation tonight. >> Good evening. Please bow your heads for a word of prayer. Gracious and loving God, we come before you with humble hearts, asking for your presence to fill the school board meeting. Grant wisdom,
002clarity, and discernment to every leader and decision maker gathered here. May their choices be guided by integrity, compassion, and deep commitment to what is right and just. We lift up our students, protect them, inspire them, and nurture their minds and hearts. Help them to grow not only in knowledge, but in kindness, resilience, and purpose. We pray for our educators. Strengthen and encourage them each day. Give them patience and creativity, and the passion to continue shaping lives even in challenging moments. May this meeting be marked by respect, unity, and thoughtful dialogue. Let every voice be heard with grace, and every decision reflect a commitment to the greater good. In His mighty name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. I will now turn the meeting to Ms. Avila, who will introduce our students who are leading us in
003the pledges tonight. And thank you all for being here. >> Yes, thank you, President Colton. Good evening, Madam President, Board of Trustees, and Dr. Goree. Tonight we have students from Hyman Elementary School who'll be leading us in our pledges. Students, please come on up. >> Students, please go ahead and introduce yourselves to the board. >> Kalia Thomas, fourth grade. >> Sasha Wheatley, in fifth grade. >> Tia Shields, in fifth grade. >> Jeremiah King, in fourth grade. >> Thank you, students. Everyone, please stand. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Texas >> Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. >>
004Trustees, may you please remain standing so we can snap a quick group photo. Students, please face me. >> Smile, baby. >> One, two, three. >> Thank you, students. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Avila and the students. We will now move on to the superintendent's report, and I turn the meeting over to Dr. Gorvie. >> Thank you, and good evening, Madam President and all trustees. It's certainly my pleasure to bring the superintendent's report for this month's school board meeting. March attendance winners. Congratulations to the students from Hastings Elementary and Klenamer Middle School for being our March attendance winners. And give them a round of applause. All right. >> [applause] >> And again, we're thanking them for being our March attendance winners and for the outstanding commitment to being present and engaged. Each month, we will
005continue to recognize campuses leading the way in attendance. Remember, when our students are in school, they are learning and growing. Show what you know. I'd like to just first thank and our deputy superintendents who launched the show what you know initiatives to encourage students to demonstrate their learning and feel confident during state testing. Please take a moment to watch the video they created and presented to our scholars encouraging them to do their very best doing STAR testing. >> [music] [singing and music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] >> All right, Panthers. This is your moment. Show what you know. Use your scratch paper. Write it out, plan it out, solve it, and check it. In every subject, your thinking matters. Don't just guess, show your thinking. Let's go and show what you know. [singing] >> [music]
006[music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] >> All right. >> [applause] >> And I certainly, you know, we start off thinking, of course, our deputy superintendents, but I want to just thank everyone who works on a campus and who supports the campus because and certainly to our wonderful students, so much effort has gone into preparing and making sure our babies can show what they know on the test and really have been excited about the pep rallies that have been going on across the district as we go into as we've gone into and lived through test season. So, really just want to continue to be excited about what I know is possible when we pull together and really work toward a common goal. So, let's give yourselves a round of applause everyone associated with our schools. >> [applause]
007>> Right. On March 31st, I had the pleasure of celebrating our teacher incentive allotment honorees. Across 11 campuses, we recognized 32 exceptional educators for their outstanding impact in the classroom. These remarkable teachers are setting the standard for excellence and exemplify our shared mission to make a difference in the lives of our students every day. I would also like to extend a special thanks to the Duncanville High School High Hats and cheerleaders for joining us and helping to make this celebration even more special. At next month's board meeting, we will invite all of our TIA honorees to be recognized for their accomplishment. Let's give them a round of applause though. >> [applause] >> 2026 campus teachers of the year. We are proud to to celebrate excellence across Duncanville ISD. Please join me in congratulating our 2026
008campus teachers of the year for their unwavering commitment to our students and their dedication to bring their very best each and every day. We will celebrate all of our teachers campus teachers of the year at our annual employment employee appreciation event on May 7th, where we will also announce our district teachers of the year. At that at this time though, I would like to invite all of our teachers of the year who are in attendance to please stand or raise raise your hand if you're already standing so that we can celebrate and recognize you. So teachers of the year, please stand. >> [applause] >> All right. >> [applause] >> All right. At this time while the board members are standing, if you'll come forward, we'd like to take a quick picture with you to celebrate
009this moment. Let's give them a round of applause as they come forward. >> [applause] [applause] >> Y'all are much taller than the students. No, but you're good. You are fine. You are good. We'll be okay. We're okay. We're good. We're good. We're good. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, we'll be there. Yeah, we'll stand on tippy toes. Yeah, this is a That's a pretty good height. You got a good one. >> Yes. 1 2 3 Very good. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> And that does re- conclude our Superintendent's Report for this April 20th, 2026 School Board meeting. Thank you, Madam President. >> Thank you, Dr. Goree, and thank you to all the Teachers of the Year and to our Teacher Incentive Allotment honorees. We will now move to recognitions, and I will turn
010the meeting over to Ms. Avila. Thank you. >> Once again, good evening, Madam President, Board of Trustees, and Dr. Goree. There are no donations to report for this month. We will now move into our April Made with Pride honorees. Beginning with our first honoree, please help me welcome to the podium William Henderson. >> [cheering and applause] [applause] >> Today, we proudly recognize coach William Henderson, nominated by Tasha Floyd Jones, for the powerful impact that he makes in the lives of students every day. Coach Henderson represents the heart of service, building relationships, creating structure, and helping young people believe in themselves long after practice ends. His commitment is evident in early mornings, late evenings after meets, and the quiet moments when students need encouragement, accountability, or simply someone who cares. As his nominator shared, he isn't
011just building faster runners. He is shaping responsible, resilient young people who reflect the very best of Duncanville. The impact was especially clear when coach Henderson stepped into the interim head coach role during a challenging time and led five student athletes to the state track meet in Austin. Rather than focusing on winning, he emphasized effort, growth, and showing up for yourself, an approach that inspired the team to finish second in state. Beyond athletics, he checks grades, communicates with families, celebrates small victories, and holds students to high expectations because he believes in their potential. Through his leadership, coach Henderson develops confident, disciplined students, making him truly made with pride in Duncanville. Will the family of and friends of coach Henderson please stand to be recognized as well? Will everyone please give a round of applause to coach
012Henderson. >> [applause] [applause] >> Up next, please help me welcome to the podium Doris Minter from Bill Heart's Elementary. >> [cheering and applause] >> Today we proudly recognize Doris Minter, Bill Heart's Elementary's dedicated dedicated registrar, nominated by April White for her outstanding service and heart for others. Doris exemplifies what it means to be made with pride in Duncanville >> [clears throat] >> through her caring, compassionate nature, and her willing willingness to go above and beyond for students, families, and staff. Whether she is staying late to help families enroll, assisting teachers with paperwork, or simply greeting everyone with a warm smile, she approaches every day with a servant leader's heart and a commitment to excellence. Doris is often the first to lend a helping hand, and her positive energy helps create a welcoming and supportive front
013office environment for the entire campus. Her panther spirit is contagious, and she is constantly making others feel valued and supported. As her nominator shared, she is Chick-fil-A because her service is always delivered with excellence, grace, and a genuine desire to make others feel valued. Doris is more than just a registrar. She is the heartbeat of Bill Heart's, and her dedication and care make her truly deserving of this recognition. Will the family and friends of Ms. Doris Minter please stand to be recognized as well? >> [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> Thank you. >> And last but not least, we have our student honoree, Ms. Harley DeShields, third grader from Hyman Elementary. Please come on up. >> [applause] >> Today, we proudly recognize Harley DeShields, a remarkable third grader nominated by Erica Greenfield for her kindness, passion, and
014natural leadership. Harley has a deep love for dance, and it is through this passion that she expresses herself and brings joy to others. When she dances, her confidence shines, inspiring classmates and creating a positive energy around her. As her nominator shared, Harley is a natural leader who lifts others up and sets a positive example. Beyond her love for dance, Harley demonstrates a caring spirit in everything that she does. She dreams of becoming a doctor one day so she can help others, and she is already living out that goal by treating classmates with kindness, including everyone, and leading with patience and respect. Her compassion, determination, and bright personality make a meaningful impact on her school community. Harley truly represents what it means to be made with pride in Duncanville, and we are very proud to celebrate
015her today. Will the family and friends of Harley please stand to be recognized as well? >> [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> Duncanville ISD congratulates the following teacher, student, and staff member who are made with pride in Duncanville. >> My name is Doris Mentor. My job title is registrar, attendance clerk, office clerk, etc., etc. And I'm at Bill Roberts Elementary. Made what pride to me is [music] being a part of a family and at the end of each school year, you know, you're you're happy to see that the success that you have put into these kids that are going to be going to the next [music] level. And then with your staff, you're also having pride with your staff, your teachers, because all of that together makes great pride within the schools, the students, etc. So, it's
016[music] it's just all about being proud of what you do and what you're doing it for. >> My name is Harley DeShields. I'm in third grade and my school is Harrington Elementary. My favorite thing about school is math and dancing. I like becoming a doctor because [music] it's important to me to help help people and make sure everybody's okay. I think that I help people right now like this. Um, I got an award and now I'm representing my dance team, both of my dance teachers, and and my family. When I was nominated, I felt good and proud because I knew I was representing my dance team, both of my dance teachers, and my family. Being made with pride means to me um I'm showing compassion and determination in everything I do. >> Uh, my name
017is William Henderson. I'm [music] the head boys track and field coach and I teach business, marketing, and finance for ninth graders. What it means to represent Duncanville means it's a culture. No matter where I go, you have that stigma. You a Duncanville ISD champion. And >> [music] >> at the end of the day, that's what I have to live up to. That's what my student athletes have to live up to. And once they see themselves as others see us, uh, the better off that we're going to be. The difference in the students' life was about 2 or 3 years ago. I had two or three guys that used to be basketball players, but they wind up running [music] track. They'd never ran track before in their life. And uh they wind up getting track scholarships.
018Uh and two of them are still running down at Tarleton State. Made with pride means to me to walk out these doors >> [music] >> uh with my chin up and my chest out. Uh probably um representing >> [music] >> not only Duncanville ISD, but myself. >> These honorees are truly made with pride in Duncanville. >> [applause] >> Once again, congratulations to our April Made with Pride honorees. Can all of our honorees please come up so we can snap a quick group photo with our board. Thank you all. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Avila, and thank you to our honorees, Coach William Henderson, Harley DeShields, and Doris Ms. Doris' mentor. Um you all um you are very inspiring and um you know, you all have a message of giving back and you know, helping
019things to be better. So, we uh thank you all for that and and and bless you all for that. Okay, so next we have Ms. Brown who will introduce our new personnel. >> Good evening, Board President Colton, Board of Trustees, and Dr. Gory. Tonight, I'm going to ask Ms. Tamika Butts to join me AT THE PODIUM. >> [cheering] [applause] >> WE ARE PLEASED TO introduce Tamika Butts as the new assistant director of athletics for Duncanville ISD. >> [applause and cheering] >> Ms. Butts brings 27 years of experience in education, all which have been dedicated to serving the students and families of Duncanville ISD. Ms. Butts previously served as the district's athletic academic advisor, where she oversaw academic eligibility for student athletes and ensured compliance with UIL guidelines and district policies. In that role, she worked
020closely with coaches, counselors, administrators, and families to support the academic success of student athletes. She also provided guidance on NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA eligibility requirements, assisted with the college recruitment process, managed transcript requests for athletic programs, and coordinated recognition programs and scholarship opportunities for student athletes. During her career in Duncanville ISD, Ms. Butts served as both a teacher and counselor at Acton Elementary. And later as a school counselor at Summit Education Center. In these roles, she supported students through academic planning, counseling services, and initiatives designed to strengthen student achievement and achievement and overall student well-being. Ms. Butts holds a Master's of Arts in School Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a Bachelor's of Arts in Child Development from Spelman College. Please join us in congratulating Ms. Butts on her new role and continued to commitment
021to the Panther family. >> [applause] [applause] >> Let's not forget to get that family and friends of Ms. Butts to stand so we can recognize. She's probably going to be in the room. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Thank you. >> And she is an alumna of DHS. >> [cheering and applause] >> And a Pantherette, correct? >> Yes. >> Wonderful. >> [snorts] >> Congratulations, Ms. Butts. Uh yeah. Can't think of a more deserving person. Okay, so now, do we have any board members who have announcements or acknowledgements? >> Madam President. Um I've sat in this seat for 9 years. And tonight really, really hit me. I saw the greatness every year, every every month. But tonight, it it just hit differently. Just seeing all the greatness throughout every every department, every level of of Duncanville ISD. So,
022I can ramble, y'all, so I have my script written here. But, I had to start with that because um I don't typically get emotional, but this is a hard one. This is really hard. Okay, for those of you that don't know, I'm just going to read my script here, my my note. So, over the past 9 years, I had the true pleasure of serving alongside some of the most dedicated, committed, focused, determined, and caring board members. Together, we proudly served the Duncanville ISD, and it has been an honor to that I will always cherish. I want to sincerely thank every voter, every volunteer, every educator, administrator, staff member, parent, student, and community member for your unwavering commitment to the success of our district and our community. And a special thank you to our incredible superintendent
023and fellow trustees, your leadership and partnership have made this journey even more meaningful. To my family and friends, I see um where did Dr. Granger go? Okay, gosh, he just walked out. Okay. Oh, is he back there? Dr. Granger, I just want to I just want to say thank you. You know why. So, thank you for helping me on this journey. Um but, to my family and friends, thank you for always supporting my dreams and standing beside me every step of the way. To my fellow board members, what started as a shared responsibility has grown into something much deeper. I consider you all more than fellow trustees. We are truly family. Life has is way of guiding us into new seasons. And while this chapter is coming to a close for me, the relationships and
024memories we built will remain with me. Though I may no longer serve alongside you all, I hope we can stay connected. With love and gratitude, Trustee Phillips. >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay, uh Trustees, would you like to have remarks? >> Cassandra, I just want to say thank you for your service to the school board. Your friendship runs deep. Your efforts have an everlasting impact on our students, on our families, and our educators. You're truly a trailblazer. God bless you. >> I just want to say that Sandra, it's been a joy to serve with you. You served with a servant's heart. Ever since you've been on this board, you've brought something to it. I hope you take something away from it, but you can't get rid of us. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Uh Cassandra, I
025appreciate all the work you've done. We've been a train a team for sure. Um [snorts] thank you for bringing the coat drive. That was an excellent idea and very much pushed by you. I think you don't necessarily have to live in Duncanville to serve on the committee. And head up the coat drive. >> [laughter] >> She knows what I think of her. >> [laughter] >> And I um We're just close and I I'm cry too much, so she knows I love her, don't you? We've had a conversation already, so. Thank [snorts] you for your service. >> All right, Trustee Phillips, certainly on behalf of the entire school system, I'd like to thank you for your 9 years of service. Uh, from a personal space though, I'd like to thank you for being just an a
026remarkable friend and trustee. Uh, I remember one of our first conversations and when I had the opportunity to truly hear your whole story, uh, it is absolutely remarkable and I want you to know that you inspire me to do the work I do every day because I want to see children who have situations that happen early in life, uh, be as successful, as committed, as confident, and as bold as you walk into every single day. So, please know every time I see a child that's in in that's something's happened that may not be seeming perfect at the moment, I I think of you and I remind them of all that they can be. Uh, thank you for always being that supportive, but yet critical friend. Uh, I do believe I stand stronger today because of
027our early conversations and as I've transitioned, so um to hear you call me wonderful, whatever your word was, really >> [laughter] >> that sounded great from you because I know um I know you mean it and you've had other opportunities to share those feelings with me as well. So, you're stuck with me. I will be your friend forever. But, thank you for your service to our our children. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Trustee Phillips. Yeah, this is truly a bittersweet moment, but we appreciate the nine wonderful years that you have served this district, the students and the staff. And um Yeah, I know when you know, I got on the board, you took me up under your wing and you are truly a leader. And you have much compassion. And you're very very generous. Uh
028you truly care for you know, this district and the students and and the staff and and us. Um we still going to celebrate our birthdays >> [laughter] >> together. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. We we all Yeah, share we still are going to do that, but we wish you nothing but success and Godspeed. And I know you're not going to forget about us. Yes. So, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done and who you are just period. Okay. So, we do have Um we have a an expression of our appreciation for your It says, "Dedicated service presented to Cassandra Phillips for 9 years of outstanding service and unwavering commitment to the students, staff, and community of Duncanville ISD." >> [applause] [applause] [snorts] >> Okay. >> Uh Madam
029President, I just want to say thank you all. >> Um Dr. Gory knows that I did not want to say anything tonight. You all know me. I don't like to be I don't like to do that. So, thank you. Thank you for reassuring me and for supporting me. And I know y'all love me. So, thank you for that. Thank you for that. So, thank you. [clears throat] Thank you. And everybody in this room, I appreciate you all for all that you do. We may not have had conversations, like lengthy conversations, but I love you guys, too, because you are doing the work >> Absolutely. >> to help our students become great. So, thank you all. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Okay. So, we will now move to communications from citizens. Are there There are
030none. So, we will now move to close session. Thank you all. We'll be back. >> Mhm. >> Eat. We are now back from closed session and will continue with our agenda items. We will now move to take action on items from the closed session. Six, take action on items discussed in closed session. 6A, consideration and action on the superintendent's recommendation to issue contracts for the 2026-2027 school year to employees identified on the 2026-2027 school year contract list. With presenter, Ms. Pamela Brown. Is there a presentation? Okay. So, do I have a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation and issue one-year contracts for the 2026-2027 school year to the employees identified on the 2026-2027 school year contracts list? >> So moved, except for page one. >> Okay. >> [snorts] >> Is there a second? >> Second.
031>> Okay, it's been properly moved and seconded. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? Okay, there being none, please cast your vote electronically. That motion passed unanimously, 6-0. Thank you. >> And then, we need to vote on the page one list. We don't have to vote on them. >> Oh, we don't? >> So, we will now move to agenda item number seven, consider approval of consent agenda items. And it is the consent agenda items as printed. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay, it's been properly moved and seconded that we approve the consent agenda items as printed. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? If not, please cast your vote electronically. Okay, that motion passes [clears throat] unanimously. We will now move to action agenda item A, Central
032Fine Arts Academy and Brandenburg Elementary change order number one uh with the presenter uh Miss Zamora. Thank you. >> Good evening, President Colston, Board of Trustees, and Dr. Rory. So, in accordance with Board Policy CV Legal and Local, construction contracts with change orders valued at 50,000 dollars or above require Board approval. In January, the Board authorized the district enter into agreement with Northwich Construction Group for the renovations of Central Fine Arts Academy. And then in December 2025, you also authorized an agreement with Sodexo for renovations of Brandenburg. Tonight, we're requesting approval of change orders to increase both original contracts. >> [snorts] >> For Central, we are requesting an increase not to exceed $500,000. For Brandenburg, we are requesting an increase not to exceed $300,000. These change orders address unforeseen conditions encountered during construction. For Central
033Fine Arts, these include the additional abatement during discovered during the demolition, expanded demolition and reconstruction of exterior windows and soffits, interior walls, ceilings, and concrete slabs, and the replacement of lighting and plumbing fixtures related to the abatement. For Brandenburg, these include floor plan adjustments and additional electrical work required for lighting replacements to meet code. Even with these adjustments, both campuses remain collectively more than $3 million under under their estimated renovation budgets. Therefore, we recommend that the board take action and approve change order change orders number one for Central Fine Arts Academy and Brandenburg Elementary. Our architect WRA is here, as well as our bond management team LAN, and we can answer any questions that you may have tonight. >> Are there any questions? Is the abatement at Central for asbestos? And that part's never been
034um been abated [snorts] before? >> Those areas you discover as you the more you tear apart a building, the more you discover. So, we had some additional ones every >> What area is this in? The the asbestos? >> Sure, I'll let him have I can have Angel. >> It just seems we we've done a lot of work at Central through the years, and I guess there's still >> Good evening. What what Can you repeat the question? >> Where was the asbestos? Where's the asbestos presently at Central? >> Uh they were in all of old part of the building. >> Oh, really? Yes. >> Mhm. So one of the same you all we were able to take the payment out but then when we remove the frame the door frames they were asbestos inside of the
035frame too. So even when we completed the work in the first phase when we remove the the frames they were paying and asbestos inside of the frame so but now with all the renovation that we have been able to do over there 99.99% that best of has been removed so you should have a clean building. >> So in previous years if there was asbestos abatement it would have been within the walls and the doors were not touched or >> Typically when you do renovation you just only remove that best of in the area that you're going to renovate so if the renovation was minor basically that best of will be removed in those particular area but now that we went inside of the building to renovate the entire building we needed to assess the whole
036building just to make sure that we don't have any more asbestos going forward so so now the building has been completely demo and all the material needs to be certified that none of that has asbestos going forward. >> Okay thank you. >> Is the facade still holding up? >> Yes that is part of the design so the front facade will be the same we just replacing the windows because of that best of but I believe the architect designed something similar to the actual condition that it was before so you can maintain the same facade that it was there before. >> [snorts] >> You're welcome. >> Okay do we have any further questions? If not, um I would like to entertain a motion. >> So moved. >> Okay. It's been properly moved and seconded that we
037approve this agenda item A. Uh please cast your vote electronically. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Moore. Okay. We now move to agenda item B related to building the future, raising champions, uh Alexander Elementary strategic transition plan. And we have Dr. Graham before us. Thank you. >> Greetings, Madam President, to all trustees and to Dr. Gorey. Since our last meeting, our focus has been simple. We listened, we adjusted, and we wanted to validate our approach in this very unique matter. So, tonight, our time will be spent on community voice, our data, and our operational reality of working together with our community to make this decision. I want to begin by acknowledging that this recommendation does impact people, and not just a campus. Since our last presentation, we have met with families, staff, and community members, and
038carefully considered their concerns. The core issue remains, declining enrollment at Alexander and underutilization at Alexander. This decision again is not about just closing a school. It's about right-sizing the district for long-term success. Since our last meeting, we did revisit all of the possible assumptions with our demographers, with our transportation department, with our PEIMS department and data um partners, with our principals and staff and our community. The question we challenged ourselves was, are we making the best possible decision for our students, not just today, but 5 years down the road? One thing that has not changed is our financial reality. We've lost over 800 students, which equates to almost $7.1 million. Um Every underutilized campus spreads resources thinner across the district. The key message is not lost. It's about Responsibility to maximize every dollar, which is
039part of our strategic plan, and responsibility to ensure equity across all campuses. Keeping half full building opens um allows every student to receive less across the district. Since our last meeting, we've had conversations that center around why Alexander. The data continues to show the low enrollment in the district, the long-term declining trend, even with adjustments and interventions that we have put in place, projections still show continued decline. This reinforces the challenge of the structural of structures not just temporary. >> [clears throat] >> On this slide, this is where you can see the most significant adjustment since the last meeting. Originally, we had a more concentrated reassignment plan. Based on the feedback from our board and key stakeholders, we did make changes. We redistributed Alexander students across the three campuses. We adjusted our attendance zones to
040create a more balanced enrollment. And we allowed Alexander families to continue to apply for Central. This approach reduced the overcrowding possibility at Brandenburg. It provides more choice and flexibility for our students and it keeps campuses healthy with a healthy utilization range. Again, we can look at our new elementary school configuration. And with those configurations, remember that we still have almost 2,000 open seats in our elementary campuses. That's a 66.4 utilization rate. Next are the actual new attendance zones, proposed attendance zones for Docket Hill ISD elementary campuses. We revisited the the zones with three priorities. Number one, we wanted to balance enrollment across the campuses. That is why we went and we changed um some of the some of the attendance zone for Mary Fair. Initially, all of the purple where you see Brandenburg located um
041was mostly the Mary Fair district. We did have to take some of the Mary Fair students and move them to Daniel in order to ensure that we got a balanced enrollment. We wanted to minimize travel. Our transportation department did a great job of helping with that. And we wanted to maintain feeder pattern stability. We worked closely with and transportation for efficiency and ride times, our demographer for sustainability, and our PEIMS department for accurate projections going forward. Again, we can look at our current feeder patterns. And the next slide shows our proposed feeder patterns. Another concern we wanted to address was the long-term continuity for students. The updated feeder pattern ensures alignment into middle school and high school pathways and stability for our students over time. While some splits remain necessary, they're now strategically designed and
042not reactive. Since the last meeting, we've already held our community meetings and campus meetings. We were refined our rezoning plans. Our next step now is to focus on that clear communication to families and supporting our staff transition and ensuring a smooth student experience if this is approved tonight. At this time, it is recommended that the Board of Trustees approve the transition of Alexander Elementary School from its current instructional use to an operations facility at the end of this school year. At this time, are there any questions? Yes, ma'am. >> Yes, thank you. I understand the need to close Alexander not just from the staff staffing part because that's not just salaries, but it's insurance and all of that for staffing. My concern is I understand demographics now and in the near future, but I'm thinking
043that probably long after I'm 6 ft under next Well, 10 or 15 years, yeah, I'm old. Um there may be a need because these people it's a beautiful neighborhood and many of them are older people. When they leave, I'm thinking new or younger families are going to be coming in with kids. So, I would just suggest to keep Alexander pretty It's one of our prettiest buildings, I think, in this whole district. Keep it updated. Um you're not going to park all ugly trucks in front of it, are you? You know all my questions. Okay. Um and the naming of it, Uh what the name going to be? >> It's currently still going to be Alexander. >> Okay, because to me that's important. The elementary was named after Gus and Louise Louise Alexander's son. The auditorium
044is Gus and Louise, but the school their only son, only child died in Vietnam. So I I want that to always be Alexander something or another. >> Yes. >> Okay, [clears throat] this old lady's done. But thank you. Thank you for your time. >> relevant questions and I appreciate that information and and that's something that we did discuss even in our community meetings that we want to make sure that that building is taken care of by our maintenance department and we're not making any structural changes to the building. So just in case the enrollment goes up in the next few years, we have a building that's available for us to turn back into a school. >> Thank you. Jesse Savage Smart. >> Yes, [clears throat] I'm concerned about the split campuses. And you can tell
045me that that happens all the time and no worry, but I'm just thinking of a little girl and her best friend being split up. >> And and they still have the opportunity to apply for a transfer if they would like to go to a certain school. So that is still an option. Of course, with just making those attendance zones, we have to cut it off at some place. >> Do you cut it off in the middle of the block? >> So we're going to look at the the best and efficient route for transportation. That's the first thing that we look for when we start making those attendance boundaries. And then there are some other factors that we move to after that. >> Okay, thank you. Jesse Fahey. >> So if the friend does want to
046move to the different school >> As of now, those parents would have to provide transportation. >> Correct. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Are there any further questions? Parents would pick them up. >> Do I have a motion that the board approve the transition of Alexander Elementary School from its current instructional use to a maintenance facility effective at the end of the 25-26 school year and authorize the attendance rezoning plan and implement all necessary actions to support student reassignment, staff transitions, and future facility planning. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay, it's been properly moved and seconded. Please cast your vote electronically. Okay, that vote passes unanimously and thank you, Dr. Graham. We will now move to information and discussion items and the first item is Bun Project Update with Mr. Moore. >> Good evening again,
047President Colton, trustees, and Dr. Corey. The 2026-2027 school year begins in just 3 and 1/2 months. It's a little frightening to even think about, but it's they'll be here very soon. Our students and staff will be walking in new environments designed for academic growth, creativity, community, and collaboration. This evening, we're excited to share some progress on these new environments including Central Fine Arts Academy, Smith Early Learning Academy, Brandenburg Elementary, and Decker Chapel Hill High School. Elliot is here with us again this evening to walk you through those updates beginning with Smith Early Learning Academy and Mr. Silva. >> Good evening. So, we have over here clean Kissimmee even last week we got the visit of Dr. Gory and the leadership. They were able to see by themselves how the progress of the construction is going
048on. So, the picture that we have over here even he took a picture inside of the rocket that had someday that will be a rocket over there. So, this is the classroom that we have in Smith Early Learning. Every week that you go over there is something different. So, right now we have mostly from 40 to 50 people working over there daily. So, they're moving along really good. This is more photos from the classrooms that we have. HVAC is going up. In the next week will be ceiling grid going up. We have all the material that we had that we need to build the new walls in the into the classrooms. In the left and the on the right. This is more picture from the classroom. The I believe this is a picture on the
049left. I believe that is will be the ocean experience classroom. So, now we're going to Central Elementary Fine Arts Academy. So, one of your question earlier about the payment. So, the framing that you see in this hallway over here previously previously previously was a masonry walls CMU walls. So, we needed to demo all that CMU because it was with asbestos. So, now we're building with framing and and drywall. So, these are the picture of the hallways of Central. Right now these are over here are going to be classrooms in the near future. So, this week we went over there to the school back again and basically all these classrooms already have the drywall in. All this special has been passed. So, we're moving to install ceiling grid in the next week. These are more photos
050from Central. This the photo on the left side is the new entrance for Central. That is why we're maintaining the front facade of the building as it is just to be able to perceive that. So, the new entrance will be on the left side of the building. And on the photo on the right will be the new sidewalk just to get from the building into the playground area. On Brandenburg, the photo that we have over here, this renovation will be similar to the renovation that we did in Daniel Harding because those campus are the same. So, this hallway will be looking similar to Daniel Harding. And then on the photo on the right will be the restroom for the kindergarten inside of the classrooms. This the photo on the left will be the new music
051room. And Brandenburg will have a new planter on the exterior of the building. This photo on the left side is the cafeteria. So, we're changing all the ceiling grid. Those are new LED lights. And these are photos of the new planters on the outside of the building. I think after this photo will be CD. Yes, and that will be Camar. >> Good evening. >> President Colton, board members, uh and Dr. Corey. CTE addition is moving along. Well, um we had some rain issues, so we got slowed down on the drying. But right now, the uh um bistro area is dried in. The main area, the uh the shelter area is dried in, and now we are in the uh salon area trying to get that dried in. Uh he's coming back. Again, the rains are
052today, tomorrow, someday. It's It's very hard to plan, but this week he's committed to hit the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and get it dried in, so we can do that. Most of the glazing is is done. Um you see a lot of glass work is done. Uh the front of the building, these are all the rough in and the inside building has been done. Uh this is the main central area. They started the curtain wall, the big big glass right at the front entrance. That got started today. So, that's happening. Um this is the J area, so basically uh uh the building um the uh the moving uh the vendors are coming in about 2 3 weeks to visit and check their space, especially the cosmetology and the uh print shop uh that we are
053moving from the existing building. The rest is the J building, Samantha. >> There it is. >> Good evening, President Colton, Board of Trustees, and Superintendent Corey. Phase one construction in area J continues to progress well. All MEP rough in inspections, including above ceiling and in wall, have been completed and approved. As a result, wall insulation is complete and first coat of painting has finalized. Ceiling grid installation is currently underway while the light fixture install and connection is trailing behind and to be completed next week. Door installations are also ongoing and scheduled to be completed by the end of next week. Thank you. >> We have also worked on the some of the different other buildings. Other First one is the Plaza. This is the building we painted and we have done the artificial turf. So,
054those two are done. The next big one is the marquee sign which is coming up in about next this summer. We are finalizing all the details with Marie and the other folks. So, this has been going to and the last thing would be re-stripe the whole parking lot because some of the lines have been gone. This is what it looks like. The upcoming events on Clinton Smith is going to keep moving trying towards get the finish line. Central same way. Brandenburg same way. High school same. So, four major projects getting towards [clears throat] the finish line. So, we are all four of us are busy during this summer. High school J, we finished the old one and then we'll move all the furniture and all the contents for the ninth grade folks in the J
055building. Operational complex roof, we have we have bid the project for the uh that complex and we're going to be doing roofing improvements at that complex. Mary Field Education Center, we are bidding right now. So, we have about seven eight bidders who are interested in bidding our work and we're planning to start that in the summer. The resource center is in design. We are going to bid this this summer, start as soon as we finish the the Mary Field because we Pace and Summit moves there. Roof replacement at the high school and at Hyman. We are bidding that right now also. So that's another one. So there is a lot of work. There were 14 people 14 roofing contractors are participating right now. So there's there's people there's other places to work, but they would
056much rather work here because of the relationships with the architect and us and the district pays really well on a timely manner. So thank you very much for all the support. >> Can you remind me what the Duncanville ISD Resource Center is? >> Right. So the resource center is what we will locate at the current Smitty building, which is where Pace is located. This is where we will do our enrollment center, we'll have our food pantry, we'll have our clinic. Remember that? Yeah. So that will be located there. >> Madam President, uh yes, Trustee Fahy. I noticed our flags are missing. Are we getting new flags? >> Should be getting new ones. >> Okay. I missed them tonight. Thank you. >> Yeah, we need them. >> Are there any other comments or questions, uh Superintendent?
057>> Yeah, I just want to take this opportunity to thank our partners for bearing with me and my team as we went out to tour those buildings last year and you know, one thing is they don't really like especially Ms. Zamora, they don't like me to tour because I tend to spend more money every time. Every time. So but nevertheless, we some of my team we were you know, we're doing all of this work, furniture, ordering things and we were just wondering as you drive by the school, is it going to be your school? So, thank y'all for bearing with us. Uh Really impressive work as you walk through the inside and just so incredibly excited for what our children will experience in these totally redesigned spaces. So, thank you very much for your partnership.
058>> Thank you. Thank you. >> For the bond and thank you Elaine. So, yes. So, we've got several uh We have several subject questions uh coming up. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, now we will go to item 9B. Discuss bond prepayment plan for year 25-26 and all matters incident or related thereto. And that's with uh Miss uh Pamphrey. >> Good evening, President Colton, Board of Trustees, Superintendent Goree. Um at the September 15th, 2025 meeting, the board approved a resolution authorizing the Chief Financial Officer and or the Superintendent to consult with the district's financial and bond advisor to identify outstanding unlimited tax bonds for prepayment opportunities and take appropriate actions um as it related to those bonds. Our bond advisors, BOK, they came out and provided the board an update and um information on the available
059options. And we have um Mr. Joshua McLaughlin out here tonight from BOK to give an update to the board um regarding that resolution and the prepayment. And as we go into um the budget workshops to also update the board on available um options as it relates to the bonds and some of the legislation that was passed. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, President Colton, members of the board, Dr. Gore. It's good to see you again. I will try to make this as painless as possible, but I do warn you there's a lot of information tonight. So, as we dive into it, as I come out every time, I like to start out with how the district manages its debt portfolio, either through refinancing your debt at a lower interest rate or prepaying bonds prior to
060final maturity. Since 2005, so over the last 20 years, the district has reduced its interest cost by over $61.2 million. A benefit for the district and its taxpayers. As you well know, each year the board adopts two different tax rates, your M&O or maintenance and operations tax rate and your interest and sinking fund tax rate. Since we're talking about bonds, we'll focus on the interest and sinking fund tax rate, which is currently 36.05. It increased in 2024-25 as a result of the 2024 bond program and the district maintained its current tax rate for the year. I also like, when I come out, to point out the district's overall tax rate has declined by more than 26 cents over the last 5 years. Always important to note that. This gives you a look at the current
061district debt portfolio. As you can see, it has essentially level annual payments over the next several years, and then you'll see drops in the overall debt service. This will provide the district with bond capacity at the next bond election to hopefully do more projects for no tax rate increase. Currently, the district has just over 311 million dollars of debt outstanding. Out of the 311 million, 256 are callable prior to final maturity. These are the bonds we look to A, refinance at a lower interest rate if market conditions allow, or B, prepay to manage your annual tax rate. So, when we start looking at your overall debt portfolio, this is sort of an eye exam and I'm not going to go through this, but essentially this looks at every single one of your bonds that's outstanding
062by individual bond series. When it's callable, what the coupon is. This is the basis we start to look at when we decide which bonds to prepay. So, as Ms. Pumphrey alluded to earlier, we were back here in September talking about maintaining our current tax rate, taking the excess funds that would be generated, and then prepaying bonds. Well, based upon your fund balance as of the end of February, the district collected roughly $3.9 million of excess funds. Now, let me stop there and say, this is on the debt service side, not on the general operation side. All this money can be used for is to pay debt, nothing else. So, knowing that we have $3.9 million of excess funds, rather than let it flow into your fund balance, we're going to take that money and prepay
063bonds. So, what we did was we looked at each individual bond series and said, with $3.9 million, how many bonds can I prepay and what the interest cost savings would be. As you could see in the table at the bottom here, each one of those projected savings are the far column on the right. The bottom line, the most efficient use of that $3.9 million is to repay your series 2024 bonds. We can redeem roughly $3.85 million and save taxpayers just under $4.4 million. Now, again, this is based upon investment rates as of April 7th. We won't be able to lock this in until we actually pull the trigger here in a couple weeks. So, it's subject to change a little bit, but we don't anticipate any big variance between the savings we're showing you tonight
064versus the savings we'll lock in here in a couple weeks. So, with that, um it would be our recommendation to prepay a portion of your Series 2024 bonds uh before June 30th. Again, it will take us about 2 weeks to lock this in, and that should save taxpayers again roughly 4.4 million. Uh the costs associated with this uh bond prepayment are roughly $13,494. You'll see those broken out there. Bond counsel may or may not charge the fee. They asked us to put that in as a placeholder. So, they very well may not charge that. Uh the escrow agent fee will be around uh 5,750, a verification agent fee, and CUSIP fee. You'll notice as your financial advisor, we do not take a fee for bond prepayments. So, that's at least one piece of good news
065for you tonight. So, I'm going to stop there for a second and see if you have any questions with regard to the bond prepayment plan for 25/26. >> Are there any questions? I have a question. So, what is the current rate? >> The current rate on those particular bonds? >> On the Yeah. >> So, if you look this, this is the last series of bonds on the far right, and we're literally taking a portion of the final maturity. Uh the interest rate on those is roughly 4.125%. The bottom line is when we repay those, you're saving the interest costs from basically 2054 all the way through 2033, which is the call date on those bonds. So, that is where you save the vast majority of your money. >> Thank you. Are there any other questions?
066>> It's funny to me I look at that bottom day 2053 54. I'll be 104 >> [laughter] >> Okay, let's get this paid down. Oh mercy. Excuse me. >> Trust me, I have the same feeling as I'm designing bond programs right now. >> Okay, thank you very much. This is definitely you know, a way for the district to be able to retire this debt early and save money. So, thank you all. >> All right, now comes the second half of the presentation when we start talking about that management for next year. As the district starts to get geared up for budgeting for 26-27, we did want to point out a couple things that changed in the last legislative cycle. The first one is known as state funding assistance for bond payments, which is or what
067the state calls additional state aid for homestead exemption funding or the acronym is ASAHI for facilities. Now, you get hold harmless funding on both the M&O and the debt service side of the equation, but this funding was created essentially for when the state increases the homestead exemption for those people that own residences. Essentially, when they increase the homestead exemption, they basically take away a school district's taxable value and there are all sorts of implications for that. They have done that essentially five times since 2015. So, there's, believe it or not, five different calculations that we have to go through, starting with level one all the way through level five. What's a little bit different is in this last session when they created a level four and level five, they put in a new rule. Now,
068what the state does is they look at your revenues versus your expenditures. So, what they do in terms of the revenue side, they look at your property taxes plus any state funding assistance, and they add that together. And then, they look at your minimum bond payment requirements before any bond prepayments. And if your revenues exceed expenditures, they start to take away your state funding assistance. So, for 2025-26, if you look at level four and a level five, you would generate roughly $2.7 million of state funding assistance. But because you collected in excess of that in terms of revenues, you're going to forego that state funding, but you're better off because you're going to save taxpayers $4.3 million or $4.4 million by prepaying your bonds. Now, saying this, this now becomes an annual calculation the district
069has to go through. Right? This is something we have to do each year to make sure that mathematically it's better off to either prepay bonds or alternatively maximize your state funding. The second thing the legislature did was pass Senate Bill 1453, which is a new requirement that starts for the first time in 2026-27. So, now what the district has to do is when it sets its I&S tax rate, it has to publish what the minimum tax rate is before any bond prepayments, what your proposed tax rate would be. Literally, you have to pose the difference between the two figures, and then what the money will be used for. And then if you're going to adopt the higher rate, 60% of the board must approve it. Essentially, what this bill is designed to do is to
070make your tax rate a political decision each year versus a financial decision. So, let's look at what your options are in 2026-27. The first option is simply you could reduce your I&S tax rate. So, for argument purposes, assuming no growth in your tax values, you could reduce your I&S tax rate from 36.05 cents to roughly 29.42 cents, which is a reduction over 6.6 cents. That would bring the tax rate down, give a benefit to taxpayers. On the flip side, from a financial point of view, that means every one of your bond programs going forward would carry a tax rate increase. So, option two is you manage your debt portfolio just like you did this past year. You would You would post a minimum tax rate of 49.42 cents. Your proposed tax rate, assuming you want
071to maintain it at 36.05, a difference of 6.63 cents, and that the excess funds would be used, like you did this year, to prepay bonds and save future interest costs for taxpayers. The third option is we restructure a portion of your debt, uh which is currently callable, your Series 2015 bonds. We do that so you can maintain your 36.05 cent IMS tax rate and this time maximize your state funding assistance. So and under that option currently you have roughly 26.8 million outstanding your series 2015 bonds. The average interest rate is roughly 4.15%. If we re financed it in today's market it'd be roughly 3.43 and you would generate an interest cost savings of roughly 2.9 million for the district and its taxpayers. If you look at the table on the right essentially we're taking 9
072year debt and we're pushing it up and we're repaying it essentially in four years. By doing that we will save future interest cost over life of the bonds again at 2.9 million. Now you may look at the first three years and say boy I have a lot of negatives. Why do I want to have negatives and I'll show you why. So again this is a reading test but it goes through your overall tax rate calculation. If you look at column G which is your projected state funding assistance. Current year it's roughly 2.4 million. But by restructuring your debt to take away the difference between your projected revenues and your projected expenditures you are now maximizing state funding assistance. You will literally pick up another 2.6 million dollars a year over the next few years. The
073bottom line is if you look at column K that allows you to maintain your current tax rate and maximize this state funding assistance and the lowest cost to taxpayers. We wanted to introduce this to to as you start going through this topic uh for your thought. It would be our goal in the next couple months to come back to you and ask you to adopt a parameters order so we can move forward with the refunding. These are sort of sample recommendations uh that we achieve at least savings of 2.4 million. We can't refinance any more than your callable series 2015 bonds. The maximum interest rate cannot exceed 3.75, although when we price we try to do this to maximize the lowest interest rate and maximize your savings. The final maturity cannot exceed the final maturity
074of your existing bonds. And then we would have 6 months essentially to get this complete. By moving forward with this um the goal would be to once you get your certified values in July structure these bonds accordingly so we know exactly what your tax rate will be for 2026 2027 and to have a maximized funding. I know I went through that relatively quickly. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. >> Are there any questions? Trustee Bay. >> Just a question about bond ratings. Um the our Moody's would be capital I small A3 and uh the S&P would be double A. What What is the best for each of those? What What's the Is it A or is it triple A or what What's the best? >> So for Moody's the >> For
075Moody's it is triple A. >> Okay. >> There are only seven school districts within the state that have a triple A rating by Moody's. >> Okay. >> Those are typically very large or very wealthy school districts. Um the closest one to you is Highland Park ISD. >> Surprise, surprise. >> And there you go. Uh in terms of S&P, it believe it or not it is not AAA. That would be the highest rating, but no school district in the state receives a AAA rating from S&P. The highest rating is AA+. So, two notches above where you currently stand. Uh I believe there is about 28 school districts in the state. Again, very large, very wealthy, very developed districts that don't have a whole lot of debt needs. >> Okay, thank you. Are there any further questions?
076Okay, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> And again, we did want to bring this tonight as informational. We will have uh more opportunities to uh work uh with our CFO uh as we make decisions moving forward. >> [laughter] >> Okay. So, uh we will now move to item 9C, policy alignment updates with Dr. Graham. >> All right, greetings once again, and tonight I'll walk you through the most exciting part of the night. We go from debt to policy. So, let's see how this one go. All right, um tonight, I am going to walk you through some new policies that are not new policies, but updates to our old policies. These are not new initiatives. They're already approved by the board. But we But But what we're doing now is ensuring that these policies
077match what's in our DOI plan. Before we get into specific policies, I want to brief give you a brief overview of the district of innovation that we currently are. Under the Texas Education Code chapter 12, traditional school districts like ours can access many of the same flexibilities available to charter schools. Duncanville first became a district of innovation in 2017 and our current plan was renewed in 2022 and runs through next year, 2027. In May of 2025, the board approved seven amendments last year. The DOI gives us the ability to make locally driven decisions that are in the best interest of our students, staff, rather than being locked into a one-size-fits-all requirement. So, why do we need to make these updates to policies now? Over time, some of our policies have come to repeat language that
078already exist in our DOI plan and some of the wording is outdated. When the DOI says one thing, but our local policy says something slightly different, it creates ambiguity and potential legal risk. TASB has recommended that we clean this up immediately by removing duplicate duplicative language and letting the DOI serve as the controlling document where it applies. Tonight, we're looking into three categories um for action. First, we want to adopt revised policies where the language needs to be updated and you'll see where it says updated. Second, we want to delete one policy that no longer needs to be there because the DOI already covers it. Third, adding the DOI reference notes to our legal framework, which will come through the TASB update 127 this fall. I want to emphasize we're not changing direction. We're not
079changing policy. We're simply aligning how our policies are written to what the board has already approved. So, this is not not new. So, as we turn to specific policies, DBA local addresses teacher certification flexibility. The revised policy allows the district to hire non-certified teachers when it best will serve best interest of the district and when positions require specialized expertise. TASB recommends that we adopt the revised policies because this exemption is already in our DOI plan. The next policy covers two po- next slide covers two policies. DK local gives the superintendent the authority to assign and reassign staff across campuses, approve non-certified staff placements, and set work schedules and calendars. TASB recommends adoption of this revised policy. For DCA local, we're recommending deletion of this policy. This policy addresses probationary contracts under the five-eight rule. The
080DOI plan already provides flexibility to extend extend probationary um periods for 3 years for newly hired teachers. Keeping both the DOI provision and a separate local policy creates redundancy and potential legal inconsistency. By deleting DCA, the DOI becomes the single source of truth for all contract flexibility. This is a cleaner and more defensible approach in our district. This next slide addresses two additional areas covered by our DOI amendments. For counselor certification under DPB, the DOI exemption allows the district to hire licensed professional counselors and or candidates working towards school counseling certificates. A DOI reference note will be added to the legal framework in update 127. So again, you don't see that one right now because again, that's going to be updated in the fall in update 127. The vaping and e-cigarette discipline for vaping and
081e-cigarette discipline, the DOI amendment gives the district the local discretion on the first offense for non-THC vaping rather than mandatory DAP placement. However, if we remember, we should note that House Bill 6 from the 89th later legislative session, which we approved um last semester, now provides discretion in this area altogether. So, this will be be will be deleted um when we revise our DOI plan next year. Next, calendar flexibility. For EB local, the school calendar policy, the DOI exempts us from the state requirement that instruction cannot begin before the fourth Monday in August. TASB recommends adoption because the DOI already authorizes this flexibility and the extra language in the current policy is not needed. For BDA legal, the depository contract policy, the DOI allows us to extend banking contracts based on performance rather than going
082through the mandatory rebid cycle. A DOI reference note will be added to the legal framework in update 127. For class size flexibility under EEB, the DOI provides an exemption for the state's 22 to 1 cap for pre-K through fourth grade. A DOI reference note will be added again in update 127. For student transfers under FDA local, the revised policy removes the guaranteed one-year transfer commitment. The board will need to adopt the revised policy that is attached. The legal framework for FDA already includes this DOI reference. You look at this table, it just goes through all of the different adoptions and plans and changes that we would like to adopt in next month's board meeting. >> [snorts] >> Finally, are there any questions? >> Are there any questions? Okay. Thank you, Dr. Gory. Okay, next up
083um item 9D, police body worn camera selection and purchase over $50,000 with Chief Garrett. Thank you. >> Thank you, President Colton, members of the board, Dr. Gory. Uh tonight I'm bringing forward a recommendation for the department's first body worn camera program. This has been a deliberate and a very thoughtful process. Uh we conducted a full evaluation, and I'd like to walk you through our process and why we're confident in what we're recommending and what will be what we will be asking you to approve at the next board meeting because it's an over $50,000 purchase. As I'm sure you're aware, body worn cameras are no longer optional for law enforcement. They're a national standard, and that applies to both school-based police departments just as much as it does to municipal agencies. Our officers interact with students,
084staff, and the public every day, and body worn cameras protect protect them as well as the district. They will provide an objective record that everyone, uh the department, the community, and the board can rely on when questions arise. This wasn't a rushed decision. In fact, we evaluated three platforms, and we scored them across six criteria, and made sure that we're choosing on the basis of long-term value, not just who came in as the lowest bidder. We built our evaluation around these six criteria, officer safety being paramount. Uh for example, how do officers activate the cameras in an incident? Does it give supervisors real-time situational awareness during an active incident? We also looked at the quality and the robustness of the evidence management tech along with technology integration as well as our existing Avigilon camera systems
085as well as other IT infrastructure. We looked at the long-term sustainability of the vendor, transparency and accountability for public records, and ultimately the total cost of ownership over the full 5-year life cycle. Every vendor was measured against these same six criteria. We evaluated three prominent platforms. I won't spend much time on the two that we didn't select, but I do want to be transparent about our reasoning. Vendor number two had the lowest overall cost, and while that may have been a plus, it operates primarily as a standalone system in that there was no integration with our neighboring agencies. Um and it offered a more limited situational awareness platform. And therefore, it also had a more limited ecosystem for us to operate. Vendor number three had some compelling hardware and a strong integration with our existing
086Avigilon camera system, but at almost $76,000 over 5 years, it was the most expensive option, and its annual subscription cost after 1 year was the highest of the three. Axon stood stood apart for several reasons, not just as a camera, but its entire platform. Uh its evidence storage site, evidence.com, gives us a criminal justice information service or CJIS compliant cloud storage with automated uploads and a full audit trail. Uh their Fuse situational awareness software gives supervisors a live operational map uh which provides officer locations and the ability for live camera feeds uh with the addition of in-car cameras uh that will will have the same capabilities with all of our vehicles and that'll be all on one screen. Axon is already a platform that's in use with the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas Independent School
087District Police Department, and the Duncanville Police Department, which means that when our officers at a are at a shared critical scene, we're all working in the same ecosystem. To give you a concrete example of what that looks like in practice during the recent student walkout protests, uh we established a joint command center with the Duncanville Police Department. Uh we relied very heavily on their Fusus uh platform to monitor not only officer movement, but consequently the crowd movement as well because the officers moved along with them. Uh we we were able to pull in their drone footage into that platform uh live as it happened uh as well as in-car camera camera footage all at the same time. And that kind of unified situational awareness allowed us to make better decisions faster and uh keep everyone
088safe. Uh we know firsthand the benefits of that system, uh but the difference is that tonight our officers don't have that capability. So, we want to move in that direction. This investment will close that gap. On cost, all the numbers you see here uh came from the vendor quotes, not estimates. Vendor number two came in at 47,423 over 5 years. Axon is at 56,930 and vendor number three was at 75,868. The difference between Axon and the lowest cost option is about $9,500 over the 5-year life cycle of the contract, which breaks down to about $158 a month. And when I put that against the difference in capability, integration, and regional opera interoperability, that gap is easy to justify. Axon was the middle in the price but the top option in value. I'll close on this
089slide because I think it speaks directly to why this matters beyond just officer equipment. School police departments operate in an environment of heightened scrutiny. That's understandable and obviously appropriate. And when an incident happens on one of our campuses, there will be questions. Parents will want answers. You all will want and expect answers and updates. Public records requests will come in and we'll have to present evidence in court. So what this system will give us is the infrastructure to answer those questions with confidence. Everything uploads automatically when an officer docks their camera. Every piece of footage has a complete audit trail. Who viewed it? Who downloaded it? Who shared it? AI-assisted redaction features help us handle and and process public records requests more efficiently, quickly, and consistently. And the evidence chain of custody is unbroken from
090the moment of recording until it's presented in court. So for us this was about doing thing right doing things right for our officers, our students, and this community. And with that I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. >> Are there any questions? >> I think I covered it. >> Yeah, thank you for that. >> You're welcome. Happy to do it. >> And this again is something that we wanted to bring to the board for information so that you have a little time if you have any questions with an action coming next month. >> Thank you, Chief. I do have one question. Uh the cameras would be for Duncanville ISD police only. They wouldn't be in the halls of the schools with the SROs or just policemen, not >> So so our SROs
091are police officers and they would be >> Oh, okay. Security guards. Okay. >> No, so my >> plan is uh is to equip our police officers first and then uh under our good cause exception as we we begin to add the armed security officers, I I I would feel much more comfortable and I think the board would also if the armed officers had body worn cameras in the event of a critical incident. So, that's that's my plan going in. >> Okay, thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thanks, Steve. Okay, item 9E uh Chromebook refresh with Mr. Malone. >> Good evening, Madam President, members of the board, and Dr. Corey. It is with great honor that I come to you tonight and share exciting new process for device re- refreshing in Duncanville ISD. This has been
092a passion project of mine for more than 3 years. I've spent uh lots and lots of hours after work and and on the weekends in my spare time designing this process, attending school finance classes, um sc- scouring the web for anything like it, and [clears throat] I've come up with a a final process that I'm ready to share with you guys tonight. Um I looked around and there are similar processes, but nothing just like this. I'm sure that um you're going to have a lot of questions for me, and I hope you do cuz I I have uh I'm really excited to talk about this with you. Um I've even taken the first steps to patent this process. So, I'm I'm very very excited and very passionate, and I'm so excited [snorts] to to be
093able to bring this to Duncanville ISD. I'm sure that you've all been hearing all of the talk about AI, data centers, um rare earth minerals, RAM or memory shortages. And with that, we're having a lot of trouble acquiring devices at a fair price because all of those items are being used to support the data centers and the AI manufacturers. Right [clears throat] now, technology leaders around the globe are struggling to procure the quality devices that we seek to make our organizations whole in this ever-changing world. Our manufacturers are struggling to get the necessary parts needed to cost-effectively build and sell Chromebooks, Windows laptops, and Windows desktops. We now receive quotes from our vendors that are only valid for 14 days. This This means that a school district has only 14 days to step through the
094full procurement process and place an order before the quote expires. With that, our vendors are now quoting a 20 to 25% increase just so the quotes will last for 30 days. This makes building a refresh cycle almost impossible until now. I designed this process around one question. What can a school district do while in a deficit budget to be fiscally responsible and provide a quality device to its students without depending on a bond every 4 to 5 years or the need to take from the general fund? Well, this is what we can do. We can refresh using a managed service model. What I'd like to do is walk you through the difference between a direct purchase and a managed service model. In these first two slides, I'm going to go through the direct purchase first
095and then I'll go back through what the managed service model is. With the direct purchase, there's a large upfront cost. With the direct purchase, you you have to pay for all devices, any peripherals such as cases, warranty, and services upfront. It's a large capital expenditure that can negatively impact the A rating and bond purchasing power of the district. This capital asset must now follow the financial rules of depreciation. It's a strain on your staff because you have to provide warehousing, deployment, ongoing repair, and life cycle management falls on the district, >> [clears throat] >> taking away valuable time that they could be supporting instruction in the classroom. And finally, the heavy burden of managing the end of the cycle repairs and e-waste recycling. On the managed service model, >> [clears throat] >> there are many
096benefits to a school district outside of just getting new quality devices. The managed service model is a contracted service in which the district pays a low cost upfront one-time setup fee, which [clears throat] is the low low upfront cost, and a subscription for 4 years. This is a 4-year predictable and equal payment. Here are the main advantages to the managed service. The low upfront cost compared to the direct purchase model. This is a contracted [clears throat] service, not a capital expenditure, therefore helping the A rating of the district. It is not a lease, which puts a strain on the district's bond purchasing power. Today, TEA mandates that a minimum of 40% of the district's budget must be spent on instruction. This contracted service can be funded out of function 11 and will directly benefit the
097A rating. The service model will directly impact instruction because our students will not have to be without a device for more than just a few minutes instead of days. On this next slide, it shows kind of the the mixed mass of the the direct purchase and all of the the things that the district is responsible for. It takes [clears throat] a look at the operational burden that burden that each model will put on the district. With the dis the direct purchase model, the entire burden falls on the district staff. And with the managed service model, the entire operational burden falls on the service provider. One thing to note is the labor recovered using the managed service model is estimated to save 12 technician hours per day that is spent on Chromebook service. This time can
098now be spent for more instructional classroom support. >> [clears throat] >> This next slide shows the com- uh comparison of the service side of each of these models. With the direct purchase model that we currently use today, a device gets turned in for repair and a loaner device will be given if there are any available. If there's not a loaner device available, then the student will be without a device until a loaner becomes available or their device is repaired. This can take several days. The warranty process is even worse. It's more more long and arduous because the technician must follow a six-step process that can take 10 days or more because they have to ship us a box, we put it in the box, we ship it to the manufacturer, they repair it, they ship
099it back, then we get it back to the students. This process is not efficient and diminishes instructional time in the classroom. Now, with the managed service model, the device is turned in for repair and a replacement device is given immediately. It's not a loaner. It [snorts] becomes the student's new device. This is how the program will work at the high school. In the classroom cart-based model, there will be additional devices at each campus for immediate replacement into the carts when a device goes out for repair. The service provider will go to each campus weekly to pick up the devices needing repair. They will know how many are being picked up and will leave the same number that they're taking. Then the repaired devices go back into our inventory stock ready to be returned as they
100are needed. As part of the managed service model, the service provider will also pick up all devices at the end of each school year, take them to their facility, clean them, sanitize them, repair them, and bring them back ready for deployment the next school year. With the direct purchase model, cleaning and sanitizing rarely gets done. This next slide >> [clears throat] >> tells you what happens at the end of the four years. With the direct purchase model, the district owns the fleet of fully depreciated four-year-old devices that may or may not be fully functional. The district IT staff will now need to sort [clears throat] the repairable devices from the non-repairable repairable devices and start the repair process. The managed service model gives the district the opportunity to enter a new agreement and start fresh
101with brand new devices for a low entry cost and four equal annual payments. Or, the service provider will offer the opportunity to purchase all or some of the fully functional A-grade devices at fair market value, which in today's dollar is about $8 a device. So, if that were today, we could purchase all 10,000 devices that have been cleaned, repaired, and ready for service for $80,000. >> [clears throat] >> At this point, the district would reconcile with the service provider any devices that were lost, stolen, or broken beyond repair. This will be the only potential extra money that will be spent. This next slide Excuse me, this next slide shows a side-by-side comparison of the decision make matrix. The key takeaway is that the direct purchase gives the district absolute physical control of the devices. The
102managed service model shows financial efficiency, operational health for IT staff, and a growth in instructional uptime. The path forward here, we're presenting the Board of Trustees with this information tonight. We would like to bring this back to you for action soon. If you choose to adopt this process, the slide shows the next steps getting these new devices in the hands of our students beginning this next school year. This last slide recaps [clears throat] the differences between the direct purchase model and a managed service model. I've included the numbers on the slide for your review. These numbers will look slightly different than what you you may have already received. The manufacturer updated pricing as they do. They have been about every 2 weeks. Updated pricing, our price because we've been working on this deal, they only
103increased $14 a device. But, with the other vendor that I was looking at for the direct purchase, they went up almost $36 a device. You can see the direct purchase model includes not only a large upfront cost, a higher cost for the devices, also the cost of out of warranty or non-accidental repairs over the four-year cycle. With the managed service model, it is a low upfront cost, four equal annual payments, and all services included. >> [clears throat] >> With these options, if you look at the difference over the four-year period, it could save the district almost $1.7 million in service and repair. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to present this to you tonight, and I would love to answer any questions that you may have. >> Thank you, Mr. Malone. Trustee Fahey. If we
104were go going to manage service, what happens to the 10,000 devices we currently have? >> Well, that's a great question. And what we would do is we're going to we're going to take probably about 5,000 of the best ones that we have, and that will become our loaner program for our students in the middle school that still need to take home a device. So, they can check out the loaner like a library book, have it for up to 5 days, then bring it back and check it out again if they need it. The rest of them that that we don't keep, the service provider will take and give us credit for the parts and any anything that the kind of the e-waste and recycling, then we can use that credit to then reconcile if we
105have lost, stolen, or broken beyond repair devices. So, there may not be any more money out of pocket with that type of uh uh credit that we get with them. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Are there any further questions? Oh, Trustee Savice Morton. >> I like how you bring solutions and not problems. And I like how you think because this seems so logical, and you couldn't find any other districts that do this. >> There There's There's no districts that do it and there's there's only a couple of opportunities that I even saw in scouring the web over the last 3 years. There's a few There's a few companies that do a lease program and they provide the service, but nobody does the the unconditional service that that we've built into this and not being
106a lease. This is just strictly a managed service that we can that we can provide. >> Now, is uh this managed service in other industries other than education? >> Not that I've found. >> Okay, so who Who would do it? >> Well, um I've I've been in contact with one of our local vendors. Um it has to be a very specific type of vendor to make the make it work. They have to be able to not only procure from the manufacturer, but also provide the service. Have the the manpower, the warehousing, and the the opportunity. And it's a a local vendor that we currently uh use. They're on a on the uh a cooperative buy board and um we've I I've worked with this company for more than 20 years. >> Wow. >> And the
107district currently and before I got here had used them as well. >> And they love your idea? >> Absolutely. I I can't get the owner to quit calling me. >> [laughter] >> I think it's great that you're looking into patenting it. I think that's great. I mean, I just think it's a no-brainer. >> Thank you. >> Great work. >> Thank you. >> Are there any other questions or comments? >> [clears throat] [laughter] >> I'd like to I'd like to show you all This is the device that they're offering. Uh it's the latest and greatest tablet Novo with the with the case and all the licenses and software loaded on. But yeah, it's it's really nice to have >> And >> Sorry. >> And I think I saw somewhere where we're not going to allow kids
108in the younger grades to take devices home. >> Yes, ma'am. >> That they'll use it in school. If they need to, they can check it out, but >> And what what we'll do, we're piloting that program right now at Byrd Middle School, and it's been been very successful for the last month that we've been trying it. >> Makes sense. >> We we actually just um I guess it was Thursday before last, we we did an all call and and did the same thing for Kennerly. So, Kennerly is now following it. That way we could have enough devices for testing. Cuz we had our big big testing day last Tuesday, where we tested almost 4,500 students at once. So, we needed to pull those together to be able to have a testing device for every student.
109With this, we go to a cart-based model. All these brand new devices will be in the carts at the at the middle school, in the classroom, charged and ready. So, the the students that didn't bring their device or have a broken device won't be wandering the halls, going to the library, stopping off at the bathroom. You know, spending 20 minute 20 minutes of class going to get another Chromebook. And so, that that will that will help with that, and that's where that we gain that instructional time back. And then we'll be able to have those our older Chromebooks as the loaners. If they need to take something home, they can check out one of the older ones. And also, we're still going to offer our optional insurance for all secondary students. So, if a parent
110wants to pay for the insurance, if their student checks one out, they're still covered, just like they would if it was their normal take-home device. >> Sure. >> Makes sense. Yeah, thank you for >> Thank you. for your your innovation. >> Yes, ma'am. >> And [clears throat] uh I do have another >> Thank you. >> uh question. So, uh the company's going to provide the service of the I guess the repairs of the uh Chromebooks. >> They They provide everything. >> So, what what kind of um timelines, you know, are we looking at as far as turnaround time? >> Well, um it since I presented tonight, the as soon as we can as soon as we can get action and you guys approve it, we'll get the PO to them and they Lenovo has guaranteed
111us the stock. They've only only raised the price in the last 3 months of us talking about it that $14 and they've guaranteed us that guaranteed it through May 1st and they think that they can hold it to the to the next board meeting. So, but it as soon as as soon as May the 18th and we get the PO the next day, they'll start the process and they said they can have our students new devices by the start of next year, this coming school year. >> Okay, wonderful. And then the repair turnaround time. >> That's a it's a a week turnaround. So, in the in the in the numbers that we've built, we've built a a stockpile of readily available devices. So, that first month, 2 months, as soon as we as soon as
112they know I'm coming to Acton to pick up four, they're going to have four to leave at Acton. So, there there's never a loss of time and those that need repair will go back, they'll get repaired and they'll go right back in the stash of our our stockpile. >> Okay, that sounds great. That's wonderful. Trustee Fahey? >> Sorry, too many questions. So, will we be like a pilot ISD? >> We will be the first school in anywhere to do it. >> Well, we can sell our product with you and Betty. We'll be on national TV. I can see it now. >> Shark Tank. >> [laughter] >> And just just for the record with those those savings, we could get Chiefs body cameras. >> [laughter] >> I told I told him he should let me go
113first. >> Can we all Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Appreciate you. Okay. So, we will now go to action item no uh information item nine F. Board of Trustees education hours. So, as board president, I am required to announce the name of each board member who has completed price efficient in meeting the required continuing education CC hours. Uh all board members have an obligation obligation and a duty, you know, to make sure that we uh are trained and that we stay up on the the latest uh state laws and um so, I am going to read um the uh how each trustee has done. So, uh I guess I'm the first one. So, I I completed the required continuing education CC hours. Uh Trustee Vera Cruz has completed the required continuing education CC
114hours. Trustee Phillips has completed the required continuing education CC hours. Trustee Flowers has completed the required education CEC hours. Trustee Fahey has completed the required continuing education CEC hours. Trustee McNeely has completed the required continuing education CEC hours. Trustee Savage-Martin has completed the required continuing education CEC hours. So, we all have completed our training hours. So, thank you, trustees. So, yes. So, >> [clears throat] >> being that there are no further items to discuss, do I have a motion to adjourn? >> Second. >> Good night. Thank you, all. >> Yes.