001Good evening everyone. >> Good evening. I, Jacqueline Coloulton, president of the Dunanville ISD Board of Trustees, call this meeting of the Duncanville Independent School District to order. Let the record show that a quorum of the board of trustees is present, that the 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. Our mission at Duncanville ISD is to engage, equip, and empower all scholars to achieve their unique potential. We will now move into the opening ceremonies. Board member Janet Verarac Cruz will lead us in the invocation as we start. Good evening everyone. Please bow your head for a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we pray a blessing over every presenter here that has prepared for tonight's meeting. We
002seek your wisdom and guidance for decisions made this evening. I pray a blessing of protection for students and their families on vacation and soon returning to the classroom. I pray Lord you infuse the board with discernment as they navigate the path that shapes our school's future. May your wisdom penetrate every corner of every board meeting, inspiring meaningful dialogue and encouraging progressive action. May this prayer resonate throughout the school year. providing fortitude to make choices that honor both you and those that serve. Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, Trusty Vera Cruz, for that very insightful prayer. We'll now have the pledge to the US flag and the pledge to the Texas flag. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible,
003with liberty and justice for all. >> Honor the flag. I aliance to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and indivisible. We will now move on to the superintendence report and I will turn the meeting over to Dr. Gory. >> Thank you very much, Madame President, and good evening to everyone assembled today. It is certainly my pleasure to present to you our superintendent report for July 21st, 2025. I'd certainly like to start with a huge shout out to our Duncanville U. Duncanville U 2025 was a dynamic two-day professional learning experience designed to equip and empower over 250 teachers, campus administrators, and instructional support staff for the upcoming school year. The conference provides meaningful opportunity for staff to earn exchange exchange credit through ex through through engaging relevant sessions aligned to district priorities and things that
004can be immediately applied in the classroom. Day one featured keynote speaker Wade King, the co-author of get your teach on who introduced the five to thrive instructional framework. This model highlights five essential best practices every educator should have in their toolkit. Focus on the instructional target, promote student accountability, incorporate motion and movement, maintain effective pacing and proximity, and use data tracking to drive instruction. Day two was just as exciting with guest speaker Mansfield Key who reminded the the educators of the powerful impact education has on the culture and climate of their classroom and campus. His message, you may be the key to someone's assignment, set the tone for a day filled with best practice sessions led by Duncanville staff. These sessions were strategically aligned to the five to thrive framework, ensuring that participants left with
005tools ready for immediate implementation. And again, I just want to personally I had the opportunity to greet and welcome uh the educators back to this wonderful conference. Just want to thank everyone for taking time from the these last days of their summer vacation to participate in this meaningful professional development. A school system where every student is a champion. We are certainly excited to continue to write success stories for our students one student at a time as we continue to grow on our champions choice opportunities in our district. We are a district that fully does embrace that choice is something that families deserve and want to certainly make sure that Duncanville ISD is the choice of our champion families. We are planning several key events to help students and family explore their wild their the wide
006the wide array of choices that they have within our school system. A couple things that we're doing and one thing will be new this year. We're doing a fall choice showcase. We'll kick off our school shopping event with dedicated showcases featuring all district choice options. More details will come as we begin to talk about this in the fall. We're also excited to once again do our eighth grade middle school career expo. This will be in October and this year we will host this event a little earlier in October. This will allow our eighth grade students and families opportunities to explore and select from our CTE programs of study sooner. We truly do believe this earlier introduction will lead to a lead to and facilitate a smoother transition. We're also excited to be in the planning
007phases for our big event in March, our Champions Choice event. This is our large school shopping event which we'll hold in March of 2026. This comprehensive event will feature showcase from all district departments and campuses. This truly provides a holistic view of the opportunities offered to families in our school district. The Champions Choice application will open in November and remain open through midappril. We're thrilled to introduce several new and impactful selections for families to consider on the application. A few of those choices will be things like information technology and this is a CTE program of study, firefighter, which is also a CTE program of study, greenhouse oper operations, which is a CTE program of study, as well as arts band athletics and choir. We're determined to ensure accurate numbers for our incoming eighth grade students
008and those who participate in program will now be selected and no will be made aware of their decisions in a much sooner fashion. Additionally, our fine arts and innovation committees are actively designing the curriculum and application process for the upcoming Central Elementary fine arts academy as well as working on the application process for our Smith Early Learning Learning Academy. Remember, both of those schools will come online in the 26th school year, and we're certainly excited about all the CH choice opportunities. I gave you a lot of information. Please know that there will be more information to come as we uh plan out this wonderful choice opportunities. There will be an enrollment fair on Monday, August 5th at Duncanville High School from 900 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There will be on-site enrollment assistance available, free immunization,
009community resources, and backpack giveaway for the first 200 to complete the enrollment for that day. Please encourage families to take advantage of early enrollment in school. Well, Duncanville ISD has done it again. I'm proud to share that Duncanville ISD has been selected as one of only 109 districts in the state to receive the Texas Art Education Association Visual Arts Award for the 2425 school year. More than 1,200 districts across Texas were eligible to apply. And this recognition places Duncanville ISD among an elite group of district leaders that will that lead the way in visual arts education. This honor is presented by the visual arts administrators of Texas, a division of T of TAEA. It recognizes districts that demonstrate outstanding leadership in promoting the art the arts both within our school and throughout the community. To
010receive this award, districts must meet or exceed riguous 14point rubric that includes active participation in TAEA through through membership ex exhibitions and contest as well as meaningful community engagements through field experiences, service projects, and collaborations with other academic areas. I'm incredibly proud that Duncanville ISD met and exceeded those expectations. Our visual arts program is thriving at every grade level. And this recognition is a rec is a reflection of the talented educators engaging engaged students and strong community partnerships that support the arts in our district. Congratulations to everyone who made this possible. This is a Panther Pride in action. We did also had an opportunity uh to meet with family and the community uh to introduce our executive principal at the high school. Our new executive principal I should say, Mr. Danny Colulbert. And Mr. Culbert
011will be introduced later. So at this time, I would just say congratulations to him and his introduction will come later in the program today. That does conclude our superintendence report for today. Thank you very much, Madam President. Thank you, Dr. Gorie. Um, a lot of great things are being planned for and are happening at the Duncanville ISD. And congratulations on the Texas Art Education Association Award to um you and your your staff. That's that's really wonderful. So all we can say is get ready, get ready, get ready for great things, great things are happening at Duncanville ISD. So we will now move to recognitions and I turn the meeting over to Mr. Graham. >> Greetings to Madame President Coloulton, to all of our trustees, and to Superintendent Gory. I'm excited to recognize our donors at
012this time. For the month of July, we did have two donations. Um, both from Kona Ice of Southwest Dallas County. One in the amount of $175 and the second in the amount of $225, both going to Kerman Middle School. We want to continue to recognize the partnership we have with our community and thank them for their support. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Graham, and thank you, Kona Ice, for your contributions to the district. We really appreciate it. So, Mrs. Brown, if you would come and introduce the new hires to the district. Thank you. Greetings, board president Coloulton, board of trustees, and Dr. Gory. I am pleased to announce some of the new hires to our district's leadership team. The first person that I'm going to ask to join me at the podium is Dr. Wetta
013Session. If she could come up. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Session as the new director of special education for Duncanville ISD. With over 25 years of experience in education, Dr. session brings a strong and unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and academic excellence for all students. She earned her doctorate of education in leadership and learning from Anderson University, a master's degree in educational leadership from the University of North Texas, and a bachelor's degree in political science from Texas Southern University. Dr. session has served in a range of leadership roles including special education instructional coordinator in Mansville ISD where she supported district-wide initiatives, led professional learning, and collaborated closely with campus leaders to strengthen instructional practices and student outcomes. We are confident that Dr. Sessions leadership will be a valuable asset to our students, staff, and
014families, and we look forward to the impact that she will have across the district. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Dr. Session as she joins the Duncanville ISD family. We are excited about the positive impact her leadership will have on students, staff, families, and the community. Welcome to Dunville. And Dr. session did share that she had friends and family members in the audience. So, if you would please stand. >> My husband and daughter. >> Her husband and daughter. Thank you so much for attending. Thank you. The second person that I'd like to invite to the podium is Mr. Clifford Jingles. [Applause] We are proud to announce the promotion of Mr. Clifford Jingles to the position of director of special education for Duncanville ISD. As a valued member of the Duncanville ISD family,
015Mr. Jingles most recently served as special education coordinator where he led district-wide initiatives to strengthen instructional quality, support program compliance, and build collaborative partnerships with campus leaders. Mr. Jingles holds a master's degree in counseling from Prairie View&M University and a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Southern University. His academic background combined with his hands-on leadership experience uniquely equips him to guide the continued growth of special education services in our district. He is deeply committed to fostering inclusive practices and advancing instructional excellence to support the success of students with disabilities. Mr. Jingles is known for his thoughtful leadership, collaborative approach, and unwavering dedication to creating environments where all students can thrive. We are confident that his continued leadership will have a meaningful and lasting impact on our students, staff, and families. Please join us in congratulating
016Mr. Jingles as he steps into his new role. And Mr. Jingles did share before that he had does have friends and family members in the audience. If you would please stand [Applause] next to the podium, I would like to invite Miss Crystal Esabel. We are pleased to announce Crystal Esel is the new director of child nutrition for Duncanville ISD. Miss ESL is a dedicated and experienced nutrition professional who has proudly served Duncanville ISD since 2010. A registered and licensed dietician, she brings deep expertise in menu planning, special diets, USDA compliance, nutri and nutrition service operations. She previously served as the district's registered dietician and stepped in as interim nutrition services director from August to December in 2022. Miss Esavl holds a bachelor of science in nutrition from UT Southwestern Medical Center and earned a nationally
017recognized school nutrition specialist credential through the school nutrition association. Over the past decade, she has gained extensive hands-on experience across all aspects of all aspects of child nutrition services from state reimbursement claims to budgeting, hiring, and professional development. Known for her professionalism, collaborative approach and commitment to student wellness, she is passionate about fueling student success one meal at a time. Please join us in congratulating her on her new role as director of child nutrition. And she did share that she does have friends and family members in the audience. So if you would please stand. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Next up to the podium, I would like to invite Dr. April Wyatt. [Applause] We are pleased to welcome Dr. April Wyatt as the new executive director of academics for Duncanville ISD.
018Dr. Wyatt is a visionary educator with over 20 years of experience in public education, including 15 years as a principal. Most recently, she served as principal of David Daniels Elementary Academy in Grand Prairie ISD, where her leadership helped improve the campus rating from an Fcore of 59 to a Ccore of 79 in just one year with continued gains projected. Prior to that, she led Whit Fine Arts Academy for 13 years, transforming it into a thriving school of choice with a strong fine arts focus and community engagement. Dr. Wyatt is a graduate of the Hosworth Center leadership program and has supported peer leaders through national research efforts focused on instructional effectiveness. She holds degrees from Houston Tiston University and Texas A&M University Commerce and is expected to complete her doctorate of education from East Texas uh
019this this August 2025. Yes, I'm sorry. Please join us in congratulating her as she steps into her leadership role to advance academic excellence across our campuses. Thank you. And and Dr. White does have friends and family members in the audience. If you would please stand. Thank you. Next to the podium, I would like to in invite uh Mr. Antoine White. [Applause] Thank you. We are pleased to introduce Antoine White as the deputy chief of police for Duncanville ISD. Mr. White brings 26 years of law enforcement experience with extensive leadership in police operations, investigations, and public safety management. He most recently served as the deputy chief of police for the Shreport Police Department where he oversaw multiple multiple divisions, managed daily operations, conducted departmental inspections, and provided leadership for supervisory staff. Throughout his career, Officer White
020has held leadership assignments in the sex crimes unit, juvenile investigations, school resource operations, and mounted patrol. He completed advanced law enforcement leadership training through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement, Executive Development Association, the Harvard Public Safety Summit, and numerous specialized certifications. He holds an executive master's in criminal justice from Southern University and a bachelor of science in criminal justice from Wally College. In addition, he is a veteran of the United States Navy Reserve. Please joining us and please join us in welcoming Antoine White as our new deputy police chief. Thank you. And he did share that he has friends and family members in the audience. If you would please stand. Thank you. Next to the podium, I would like to invite Anna Aila. [Applause] We are pleased to welcome Miss Anna Avila to Duncanville
021ISD as our new chief communications officer. She brings a wealth of experience in school communications and public engagement, having led communication efforts in multiple public school districts and municipalities. Most recently, she served as director of communications for Highland Park ISD, where she played a key role in the successful passage of a 137.3 million bond and led internal and external communication strategies across the district. Prior to that, she worked as a marketing specialist in Garland ISD and held multimedia and communication roles in Edenberg Consolidated ISD and the city of Edenberg. She holds a bachelor of She holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a con concentration in broadcast journalism and a master of arts and communication from the University of Texas Rio Grande Rio Grand Valley, excuse me. Known for her creativity, professionalism, and strong
022media presence, she brings a dynamic and student centered approach to storytelling. We are excited to welcome her to the Duncanville Panther family and look forward to the innovation and energy she will bring to our communication efforts. Thank you. Next up to the podium, I would like to invite Mr. Danny Colbert Jr. [Applause] We are proud to congratulate Mr. Mr. Danny Cobbert Jr. on his appointment as the new principal of Duncanville High School. Mr. Cobbert brings 19 years of experience in education, including over a decade in campus leadership and assistant principal roles at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. He most recently served as principal of Alexander Elementary School, where he improved student achievement, strengthened campus culture, and reduced chronic absenteeism and discipline referrals. He also implemented effective systems for professional development and teacher support.
023Prior to that, Mr. Colbert spent three years as an assistant principal at Duncanville High School, where he led the ninth grade teen and freshman operations. His leadership contributed to notable growth in the CTE and biology departments, as well as the development of mentoring systems and collaborative professional learning communities. Mr. Colbert holds a bachelor's degree from Paul Quinn College and a master's degree from Prairview A&M University. He is a resultsdriven leader with a strong record of advancing student outcomes, cultivating schoolwide excellence, and empowering staff. Please join us in congratulating and welcome welcoming him back to Duncanville High School as he takes on this important role. And Mr. Cobbert did share that he does have friends and family members in the audience. If you would please stand. Thank you. Next up to the podium, I would like
024to invite Miss Alicia Phillips. We are pleased to announce Alicia Phillips as the new principal of Alexander Elementary. Miss Phillips brings 23 23 years of experience in education, including the last 14 years proudly serving in Duncanville ISD. She most recently served as assistant principal at Alexander Elementary and previously held the same role at Smith Elementary. In these positions, she led the implementation of restorative practices, supported curriculum initiatives, and facilitated PLC's or professional learning communities to drive student success. Before moving into campus leadership, Miss Phillips served as the district's ELAR and social studies coordinator for grades K through six, where she supported literacy instruction and provided coaching across 12 campuses. Her work has consistently centered on fostering equity, engagement, and academic excellence for all students. Miss Phillips holds a master's degree in teaching and learning and
025a reading specialist degree from St. Mary's University. She also earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Minnesota, Minnesota, Doolip, and completed her principal certification through Lamar University. We look forward to the continued growth and success of Alexander Elementary under her leadership and she is excited about the future campus. Please join please join us in congratulating Miss Phillips on her new role as principal. [Applause] And last but not least, I am going to invite Captain David Brown to the podium. [Applause] We are pleased to welcome Captain David Brown III as the senior army instructor of for JOTC. Captain Brown brings more than 26 years of distinguished military service and over 10 years of experience as a JOTC instructor. During his Army career, he served in key leadership roles, including support logistics company
026commander, recruiting company commander, and chief of supply and inventory management. His service included deployments to Iraq, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Korea, and Japan, where he led teams and managed complex logistic operations in both peacetime and combat environments. Since returning from the military, Captain Brown has successfully led JRTC programs in Texas, the US Virgin Islands, and Georgia. He is known for mentoring cadetses, building strong leadership programs, and helping students secure scholarship and career opportunities. Captain Brown holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice with a specialization in human resources and associate of arts and law enforcement and advanced training from the US Army Logistics University. He is a highly decorated veteran who continues to serve by developing the next generation of leaders through the values of service, discipline, and excellence. We are excited to welcome Captain Brown to
027Duncanville ISD and we look forward to the positive impact he will make on our students and the community. And Captain Brown does have friends and family members in the audience if you would be so kind to stand. Thank you. And sir, thank you for your past service and your medals almost blinded me. >> So, thank you, Mrs. Brown. And we would like to thank all of the um new hires and the promotions. You've uh picked the right place. It's the right time. The challenges are many, but also the reward is going to be great. So, we're happy, you know, that you have selected uh Duncanville ISD to join with and um we're looking forward to great things from each one. And thank you uh families for for being here tonight to uh support the um
028the new um employees. Okay, with that we move to communications from citizens to discuss pending agending agenda items before the board. There are none. Okay. So, we do not have any communications from the citizens regarding a pending agenda item. We will now move to close session. Thank you. We are back from close session and we'll continue with our consent agenda. Do I have a motion? Madame President, I would like to make a motion to move action item 8B to the consent agenda. >> Second. It's been moved by Trustee Phillips and second by Trustee McNeely to amend the agenda by moving items >> 8B to the consent agenda. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? Please cast your vote electronically. The motion pass 6. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as amended?
029>> So move. >> Second. >> It's been properly moved and second that the consent agenda be approved as amended. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? There being none, please cast your vote electronically. Motion passes 6. We are now moving to consideration of action agenda item A, competitive seal proposal for RFP number 24-25 D016 Central Fine Arts Academy. Presenter is Miss Zamora. Thank you. >> Good evening president, trustees and Dr. Dori. Our bond committee recommended and voters approved bond 2023 which included the renovation and repurposing of Central Elementary into our choice per campus of Central Fine Arts Academy. To complete the renovations, the district solicited contractor proposals on May 20th, 2025 and reposted solicitation on May 27th, 2025 as per purchasing guidelines. A request for proposal RFP 2425.016 was issued as a competitive sealed proposal
030CSP and included a non-mandatory pre-proposal conference that was held on May 28th, 2025. The cont conference was to review the project scope and details. Completed proposals were submitted prior to the closing deadline on June 19th, 2025. The district received eight completed proposals from general contractors which were evaluated by district staff. The competitive seal proposal evaluation summary which is on uh page 177 of the board book. Based on that evaluation, Northridge Construction was determined to provide the best value to the district. their their proposal came more than $3.1 million under our budget for central your packet in your packet that was in the board book on page 178 had a letter architecture from the architecture firm of we did Jody did hand you a revised one um today and the difference between the two was the
031one in the the packet that you received previously That did not include the alternates. Uh the copy you have today that you received tonight, that is the base cost plus the alternates. And the alternates include removing existing concrete on the south side near the playground and upgrading the shade structure from fabric to metal. It is a recommendation of the administration that the board consider and take possible action to negotiate an entrance and agreement with North Northridge Construction Group for Central Fine Arts Academy. Be happy to address any questions you may have. >> Thank you. Are there additional copies of the U WC? >> That's it. That's it. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. Um, do I have a motion to consider and take possible action to negotiate and enter into an agreement with Northridge Construction Group
032for construction of the Central Fine Arts Academy? >> Second. >> Okay, it's been properly moved and second. Are there questions, comments, or discussion? So, I I have a a question. >> Um, okay. So there there's the base proposal of 11,349,000 and then uh alternate one uh new concrete at the existing basketball court and alternate two metal shade structure over the proposed playground for a total of 328,331 for the two alternates. >> Yes. Uhhuh. So together with the base bid total is 11,677 331. Okay. And then so the I guess the desire of the um of the district would be to consider the base plus the two often it's the total amount. >> Yes. >> Okay. Whenever we um release a proposal, we have our what you call must haves and then you have your we'd
033like to have this if the budget allows. Yes. >> And fortunately because this budget came in quite under we could do both. >> Yes, ma'am. I definitely understand that. >> Okay. All right. Um are there any other questions, comments or or discussion? Being none, uh, please cast your vote electronically. Okay. Motion passes 6 um to approve that particular item uh including the the base and the two alternates. Thank you. Okay. We will now move to action item B. No. Okay. We will now move to action item C ARPs3 non-compliance resolution and I would like to invite Dr. Nicks to the podium. >> Good evening madame president, members of the board and Dr. Gare board. As we know uh as a district, we received ESSER funds several years ago and we received correspondence uh not too
034long ago that we were not in compliance with some of the spending of those ESSER funds. So there was an audit conducted of our district and as a result of that audit TEA came back and said that we initially owed over a million dollars back to TEA. the team being as uh the CFO and the director of state accountability went through the process of trying to rectify this to ensure that we could find all of the documents and be in compliance with ESSER. As we stand now from a million dollars, we have uh gotten down to about $159,000. And so what I'd like to do is I would like to uh bring up to the podium Dr. Washington. She is our director of state and federal accountability. And what I would like for her to
035do is kind of share number one, how did we find oursel in this situation, >> provide detailed information about what we're doing about it, and then provide a very detailed explanation of what systems we have in place to ensure that we never find oursel in this type of situation again. So I'd like to bring up Dr. Suelin Washington once again our director of state and federal accountability to provide the details. >> Thank you Dr. Nicks. >> Good evening for President Coloulton, Dr. Gory, and members of the board. I'm here tonight to present an update regarding SR3 grant and recent TEA audit findings related to federal compliance. This started in the school year 2022 2023 and Duncanville has submitted formal correspondence supporting documentation to TEA in response to audit inquiries. The preliminary report from TEA identified
036seven areas of non-compliance with an initial uh question cost totaling over a million dollars specifically 1,70,78383. Following a response and submission of a corrective action plan, the total disallowed amount was reduced significantly to $159,15263 cents. On May 21st, 2025, TEA issued a non-compliance resolution requiring us to repay these funds using state or local funds by July 28th, 2025. Tonight, administration recommends that the board approve the repayment of the $159,15,20063 from our state and federal funds and authorize superintendent and staff to submit final corrective action. This action supports our commitment to priority 4, fiscal stewardship and operational excellence, and demonstrates our responsibility in safeguarding public resources and maintaining compliance in federal requirements. Originally we had seven findings. We were able to provide documentation that brought that down. The two additional findings were due to a miscoding
037of an allowable purchase and the other was the lack of documentation of time and effort for esser funded positions. Time and effort is a federal funded position needs to have uh a keeping of what they're doing. And so we did not have that documentation. That's where that amount is coming from. Moving forward, however, I'm already working with human resources and business services to ensure that this does not happen again. And we are developing systems and procedures to have all the documentation and checks and balances to ensure that moving forward this does not happen. I'm hop um thank you for your continued support. At this time, I respectfully recommend approval of the administration recommendation and I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Okay. Do I have a motion to approve the repayment of
038$159,152 and 63 cents using state or local funds and authorize the superintendent and staff to submit all required corrective actions and documentation to the Texas Education Agency in response to the SR3 non-compliance. resolution. >> So move >> second. >> Okay, it's been properly moved and second twice. Uh and so are there any questions, comments or discussion? >> Yes, ma'am. Question. My first question is uh to Dr. Gori. Who was responsible for oversight for ESER? I know you weren't here, but do you see that aligned? Who who's responsible for that? >> I don't know the answer to that question. Uh again, as Dr. Washington indicated, uh the findings go back to 2022 23 and I I do not have that information, but I certainly uh can provide that information to the board. >> I would have
039to just talk to staff around that though. >> Dr. question. How long have you been in this position? >> I started November 4th of 2024. >> 2024. Okay. And so the person responsible for the coding that information, we don't know that either yet. >> Right. In fact, we're we're all kind of, you know, from CFO to CEO to uh director of uh federal programs, everyone's uh new into those positions. So, I would not want to say uh anyone without doing some investigation around that whole process of how that was managed in district uh in those years. I didn't really mean who like the person but I'm really my goal is to talk about the training like what was missing as far as the training was concerned for so instead of who the position >> right
040and and I actually do appreciate that because a part a big part of my conversation with the team as we've rectified this is that how do we prevent this from happening in the future uh and I do believe there was even some findings that we had that we were able to go back and dig around and find those things so that we could rectify those issues. But when you think about something as time in a time on a in a row, just documenting that time, those are things that we are putting trainings in place so that we will have that documentation as we move forward. >> Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Was 2223 was it our second year of using the er did it start 2021 or was it 2122? I think it actually
041start if I'm remembering correctly and Dr. Washington. I don't know if you remember, but it actually started in the year 20. You got those first dollars that came out almost immediately at the onset of CO and that was in 2020. Uh I would think that these were SR three, so this would have almost been that third year of uh that. >> Miss MS, you have anything you want to add to that? >> No. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Okay. So the documents that we're required to send back to the state identify corrective actions. So we've addressed how moving forward these kinds of things will be handled in the event well I guess when we're dealing with uh s I mean any type of federal funding. Okay. So do do we feel as if
042you know the plans that we've identified are sufficient? >> Absolutely. >> Okay. >> And I will let me I will support Dr. Washington in that is that we do believe we have a plan of action uh so that we will not end up in this position. >> Okay. And just to clarify as her funders have expired. So this >> Yeah. And I think this speak to would be more to the all of our other any of our managed money. So and again we will have things in place to make sure that we have those checks and balances in place to make sure that we are following the guidelines as set up by our fund funders. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Are there any other questions, comments or discussion on this particular item? Okay. Uh, please
043cast your vote electronically. >> Thank you. Motion passes 6. Thank you, Dr. Washington. >> Thank you. Have a good evening. >> Okay, we will now move to action item D, security equipment. Good evening again, Madame President, trustees and Dr. Gory. The safety and facilities enhancement safe cycle 2 grant comes from the state and allows for both required and non-required safety enhancements. So, this includes upgrading and adding um card access technology, which is what we have before you. So this replacement is necessary because the current technology has reached its end of life and the new technology will feature enhanced security and reduce the likelihood that outdated technology inside this equipment could be compromised. So additionally this proposal will install um equipment and updated technology as necessary and necessary supporting hardware on additional doors at Dunville High
044School. who do not currently have this technology. The total cost for removal and installation of upgrading the equipment and technology across the district and adding seven additional doors to the high school is $224,012. The district sold received quotes from two companies that sell this equipment in our region. Uh this technology is made by the same manufacturers our current system but again they're are newer and they're more secure. They're the only two companies who sell these this equipment in our region and we're restricted to them and we cannot purchase from any other uh vendor or out a region supplier. Uh we believe the proposal from DAC that's found in your board book on pages 275 to 281 of the board book offers the best value for the district. uh their quote is $30,000 less than the
045other vendor and it even includes three uh,000 cards as well. Uh DAC is prevetted and they hold a contract with uh by board purchasing cooperative. Therefore, tonight we recommend the board approve the proposal from DAC for installation upgraded of additional security technology for the district in the amount of $224,12. Are there any questions I could answer for you at this time? >> Okay. Okay. Do I have a motion to approve the proposal from DAC for installation of upgraded and additional card readers in the amount of $224,00012? >> So move second. >> Okay, it's been properly moved and second. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? Okay. I I have a question, Miss Lamar. So, we're um adding to um this is going to integrate with our current system. >> Yes. Yes, ma'am. >> Same. We're
046works with our current technology. It's just better. >> Okay. >> And upgraded. >> The board's going to have access to everything. >> Oh, I'm just kidding. But so, okay. Um, trustees, please cast your vote electronically. >> Okay, thank you very much. Motion passes 6. The next item on our agenda is consider approval of the updated 2025 2026 compensation plan and pay increases for employees. I would like to invite Mrs. Brown. Thank you. Good evening, board president Coloulton, board of trustees, and Dr. Gory. Tonight I will be presenting the updated 2526 compensation plan and proposed pay increases for employees. As part of the recommendation, the district will implement the required salary increases outlined in House Bill 2 through the teacher retention aotment. In add in addition, we are adjusting teacher pace, the teacher pay scale, excuse
047me, to align with the provisions of HB2 or House Bill 2. This ensures both compliance with state law and the continued competitiveness of our compensation framework for classroom educators. Secondly, we are also recommending tonight a 2% increase at the midpoint for all eligible employees. This adjustment supports the district's broader efforts to recognize employee contributions, strengthen retention, and provide consistent salary growth across positions. Lastly, we are recommending compensation adjustments in addition to the 2% midpoint for teacher adjacent roles. These are positions that work closely with instructional staff and contribute directly to student success. These adjustments are proposed in response to the teacher salary increases in order to maintain internal equity and alignment with our with our compensation structure. As part of our implementation of House Bill 2, teacher pay increases will be distributed based on verified
048years of experience. These increases reflect both legislative requirements and and the district's commitment to valuing teachers. Teachers with zero to two years of experience will receive $1,250. And this is not funded from HB2. So, a lot of this would come from district funds. Uh currently 57% of new teachers in the state of Texas uh are uncertified and so the market is competitive with newly certified teachers. And so our district wants to ensure that we have a competitive advantage and that we have a competitive starting salary in order to meet the goal of positively impacting student achievement with having those teachers in the classroom. Uh teachers with three to four years of experience would receive a $2500 salary increase uh which is which would be funded through HB2. And then lastly, teachers with five or more
049years of experience would receive a $5,000 increase which would also be funded through HB2. And of course, this is in addition to the board approved payraises that you provided in May with our teacher compensation scale that already increased it by an amount of $2,500. So, this is a side slide that is projecting the estimate for the number of teachers with zero to two years of experience. Because we are still in the midst of the hiring season, the final count is not yet determined. When hiring teachers, we must wait on their official service records to come in before finalizing their placement on the teacher scale. So, ideally, when you hire a new teacher, they're all placed at year zero until you receive those records and then you place them at the appropriate uh teacher step. This
050process typically continues to through August uh and September as we continue to hire teachers and receive service records even after the start of school. That said, for the purposes of budgeting and planning, we are presenting historical data to provide the board with a reasonable estimate. Uh given that most district resignation deadlines have passed, we expect that a lot of the remaining new hire positions for vacant positions would likely be firstear teacher positions or between zero and two years. Our goal is to attract and hire the newly certified teachers and retain them with the salaries competitive salary structure. I did want to add that eligible eligible support staff for the teacher the staff retention allotment which is a part of HB2 does include teachers not covered under the teacher retention allotment. So under the teacher retent
051retention aotment is the $2,500 and the $5,000 increase. But there is money that is allocated to other staff um such as those with fewer than three years of experience. So it would cover some of the cost but additional costs would also come from district funds. This slide outlines the teacher salary schedule for the 2425 school year. As you may recall, in May, the board approved the $2,500 salary increase for all the teacher steps funded by the district out of our district funds. This slide reflect those reflects those adjustments along with the additional 1,250 increase for teachers with the zero to two years of experience, also funded through the district's budget. Some some of it will be funded through the district's budget. In addition, the slide incorporates the HB2 funded increases with teachers with three to
052four years of experience and five or more years of experience. And so these are just examples of how our compensation has transitioned over time from the 2425 teacher scale to what you approved in May to what it would be now out of HB2 and district funds with the zero to two years of experience. The updated salaries includes include all of those adjustments with the proposed scale being in yellow. On this next slide, it outlines the proposed 2% midpoint salary increase for all eligible employees with an estimated total cost of $882,390. This recommendation supports district priorities around employee retention and it helps to ensure that we remain competitive with neighboring districts. All eligible employees across departments and roles would receive a 2% 2% increase based on the midpoint of their individual pay grades. In addition to
053teacher specific raises funded through house bill 2, the legislation also includes the support staff retention allotment which I referred to on the previous slide. The staff retention aotment must be used to increase base pay for nonadministrative support staff. So, anyone that is not in a supervisory or administrative role and that includes um teachers with less than the three years of experience as referenced on the previous slide. It can also include counselors and um nurses and aids, custodians, food service workers, and just a wider range of positions that are not in a supervisory staff, even clerical staff. And so this provides districts with $45 per student in the adjusted average daily attendance. And so uh some of those funds could contribute to staff raises as well. These funds are intended for salary increases for staff who
054are not eligible for the teacher retention aotment and who are not again in administrative or supervisory roles. By combining the HB2 funds with district resources, with district and local funds, we are able to hopefully pending board approval extend compensation increases more equitably across the district. This next slide highlights examples of teacher adjacent positions. On one of the previous slides, I talked about additional increases for teacher adjacent positions in a in a on top of the 2% midpoint. These are roles that support instruction and student success, but do not directly serve as the teacher record. These positions typically require a teacher certification and include but are not limited to assistant principles, counselors, instructional coaches, coordinators, and specialists. And so with these increases of HB2 uh as teacher pay has increased and the daily rate of a
055teacher uh pay has increased then it has a ripple effect of also teacher adjacent positions and the need for their daily rate to increase as well. Uh because at this point teachers with five or more experience five or more years of experience will have received a $7500 adjustment. So just to remain in alignment with those teachers that are in a teacher career pathway for acceleration and making sure that their salary uh is in alignment as well. In addition to this increase, uh these positions provide direct support to excuse me in student instruction and success and it's important that their compensation remains alive uh aligned, excuse me, with the improvements that are being made for the teachers from district funds and also from HB2 funds. The estimated cost of these equity adjustments is approximately $522,789. This
056investment helps promote internal consistency across the instructional roles and reflects our commitment to recognizing the contributions of all staff who support teaching and learning. As we finalize the compensation recommendations, I want to note a few important details uh related to the implementation. First, the full financial impact of all proposed increases will be captured in August uh in the August budget amendment which will be presented by our CFO Darla Moss. Secondly, all pay adjustments will be implemented within a board approved compensation structure ensuring consistency with our established pay systems and practices. And then finally, these recommendations align with our HB2 requirements for teacher salary increases, ensuring that we remain compliant with state law while also addressing the equity across related roles and other positions in our district. Are there any questions? You provided a lot of
057information uh for us, Mrs. Brown. So, can you can you summarize the the changes that um you know based upon this information >> the main change is the teacher as far as with the compensation plan the major change is the new teacher uh compensation scale the new teacher step schedules which align with the $1250 between the 0 to2 the $2500 with the three to four years and the additional 5,000 for five more years that is the the major change with the compensation plan. Um the other proposal is which is a new proposal to the board is the 2% midpoint uh increase for all eligible employees across the board as far as payraises for all staff and also pay raises for staff above the 2% for those teacher adjacent positions. when looking at the daily rate
058for a teacher and now you may have a assistant principal or counselor that now it may be making significantly lower than a teacher but you still need those positions and so we want to make sure that you know you have those people and that they're not falling be behind uh with the increased compensation through HB2 for teachers. There is some funding um like I said for other raises with HB2 at $45 per student, but a lot of that will also have to be supplemented with district funds. >> Okay. Um you want to >> Right. Yeah. One thing I'll add to that too though and I've spoken um the board uh and we thank the board too for the adop the budget that you adopted in uh June and and what we present to you is
059that everything that we're doing uh will operate within that those budgetary dollars that have been adopted. uh those dollars that will be added and the the need for the amendments that will come from our finance department in August speak directly to those additional dollars that we will receive because of House Bill uh because of House Bill HB2 and how those dollars then will be allocated to uh to increase salaries for our employees. I do think it's important to note one more thing too is that that $45 of course uh is based on the average daily attendance and those are dollars that we're still waiting on final numbers from the state on to determine how much of that will offset uh the either the raises of the teachers uh that have zero to three years experience
060but also can be used to offset many of our nonadministrative employees like our custodians and our uh secretaries and bus drivers. drivers and uh even some campus positions. >> Thank you. So eligible employee groups I know is that everybody other than the teachers is it all the other employee groups or which which ones um would not be a part of the 2%. So all of the different positions and all paygrades would be part of the 2% midpoint. With the bond reconfiguration and resoning, we've had to reassign different personnel to, you know, different positions with the temporary closing of Brandenburgg um Central and uh Smith Elementary. And so that affected multiple positions throughout the district. And so with a lot of those positions, we ended up holding employees harmless for one year. So their salary is
061already higher. And so next year they would have the opportunity to go back or be rehired in their former role. And at that time we would give them the 2% adjustment. But since right now their salary is already higher um with with some of the reassignments, then we're we're holding them harmless for this year. And then next year depending on their position and their assignment in the district then they will be given that adjustment at that time. But you don't know where employees will be or what position they will fall in. >> And how many employees is that? >> Uh it's not a lot. There not a lot of uh employees that are that received whole harmless letters. I can say it's probably around a dozen. It's not a lot. I don't have the exact
062count on me but it's not widespread. >> So yeah it's not widespread. There are not a lot of employees, but there were just certain positions where we said, "Hey, we have to do this reassignment. We're holding you harmless for one year." >> And we will provide that information to the board. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, um the budget amendment that we will consider next month will not require any use of any fund balance. >> It will not. It's uh the fund the the budget amendment that you will do next month should it will work within the budget that's already approved. We should not be going into any additional fund balance dollars. >> Okay. All right. Are there any additional questions or comments? Okay. There being none, uh, please cast your vote electronically. >> Oh, you
063do need to read the motion. >> Oh, she said to read the motion, right? >> Okay. Oh, too quick. So, >> okay. Do I have a motion to approve the updated 2025 compensation plan, including a 2% midpoint salary increase for all eligible positions? adjustments to teacher adjacent roles and House Bill 2 pay increases for eligible employees as recommended by the superintendent. >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Are there any additional comments uh or discussion? Please cast your vote electronically. Motion passes 6. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Brown. And and thank you um to all Duncanville ISD employees. We appreciate you. We now move to action item seven, approval of administrator outside service contracts. >> To President Coloulton, to all other trustees, and to Dr. Gorans, House Bill 3372 is
064now in effect and regulates when and how public school administrators can receive payment for professional services performed for another district or outside entity. The statute proposed is to safeguard district resources and eliminate conflict of interest. Under House Bill 3372, an administrator may accept compensation for outside employee only if all three statutory conditions are satisfied. for the purposes of administrator encompasses every member of the district's leadership team at the level of principal or above. The board an open meeting formally finds out the arrangement will not harm the district poses no conflict of interest and all services will be done entirely on the administrator's personal time. At this time on page 30 320 3 324 in your board book, you do have copies of the current contracts and we do recommend approval of the service contracts A
065and B in board book. >> Is there a motion to approve Contract a a written contract between Dr. Sam Nicks and Los Fresno's ISD. >> Second. >> Okay, it's been properly moved and second. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? If not, please cast your vote electronically. Okay, thank you. Do I have a motion to approve the contract work for between Leticia Griffin and Mosquite ISD, Walksahhatchee Life Schools and Castleberry ISD. >> So move >> second. It's been properly moved and second. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? There being none, please cast your vote electronically. Motion passes 6. Thank you, Mr. Graham. Next item is item number nine, a bun project update with Miss Samura. >> Well, this is my lucky night. I get to come before you again. Uh good evening again, uh
066Madam President, trustees and Dr. Gory. So, I'm excited to provide you with an update to bond 2023. you, the board, and our vote has entrusted us with 170 million investment into our students. So, tonight we're here to share how those funds are being utilized. Um, later on, you'll hear from our partners at Lockwood Andrews and Nunam Incorporated, also known as LEN, uh, Kamar Hawk, Angel Silva, and Kevin Simon, as well as Chris Malone, our executive director of technology. Um so just a as a reminder our packages uh through renovations. So we have two firms that we use DRA architecture firm and Kabe. So DRA has package one. Uh packages one and two are currently under construction and you'll hear a little bit more about those in a few uh shortly. Package three is now complete.
067It is a track for Alexander for Meadows. Package four was was a bidding but you tonight voted for that has now been um that now has been awarded. Package five is for Brandenburg and they are still in design phase and package of six are other campuses and buildings and those are also in the design phase. Um Huckabe we have two projects. Uh package seven is for Smith Elementary that is currently in the bidding stage. Uh we anticipate bringing a construction recommendation to you all next month. And in package 8 is Dunville High School. Uh the CTE area and the area M are under construction. Uh and you'll also see pictures and get an update on that while a while area J uh is in the bidding u phase right now. So in a few moments
068you're going to hear from uh Ellen with more information. But before I do that, I just want to publicly publicly thank our campus leadership teams, our principles, our APS, our secretaries. They have been working tirelessly during the summer in active construction sites. Now, years ago, I renovated my house and I lived in it while I was there. Never again. It's a lot. It's very taxing when you see the just the the sounds, the dust, having to relocate. So, I just I'm truly grateful for our principles, our kaps, our secretaries for their patience and their flexibility through this process because it's been a lot. Um, at this time, I'm going to turn it and turn it over to Mr. Kamar Hawk and he will continue with the updates. Good evening, >> the madame president, the board
069members, and Dr. Corey. We're here um to give you an update. Um our um package one and two, the 10 schools are in construction and um we're racing through the time to get it ready for the students to arrive on August 13th. Uh there is a lot of work still to do. Some of the photographs that you will see um they are the early July photos. So they may look a lot of incomplete but a lot of progress have has been has been done. Um these are the doors at Daniel. This is for Harden. This is Bird Middle School. These bathrooms are now framed and getting ready for finish out. Again, these this is Reed Middle School. Uh the bathrooms are a big remodel. This is Kimer. Another remodeling at the bathrooms and the outside
070cleaning of the facade. Uh Alexander um same thing, the bathrooms and the Bill Harts is a little bit ahead of schedule and Fair Meadows has the same the admin suite and the bathrooms. Uh this is Hyman. We painted the exterior canopy. We did the classroom. Um, same thing with Maryfield. So, they are uh let me before we get to that. So, they are really racing. Kevin and Angel are two partners of of for for me have pushed these jobs um literally seven days a week and we're in the last marathon um run to finish these. The next big project is the favorite, our portable complex. We had the honor for Dr. Gory to visit that today in person. Um, again, this complex is coming together. Uh, we have a little bit more things to do
071for safety and security. Uh, the buildings are now clean. There were some rough areas. We're putting some new carpet, some new paint, and new cleaning. Again, these are temporary in nature. We've talked to the principal and the campus staff and Dr. Nicks to let the community know and the students and staff that this is temporary, not permanent and will go away very soon. So this is we are getting ready and making sure the students are safe and sound and they they don't have the opportunity to to to jump because these are all uh you'll see here. Oh, this is near me. Um there are corridors with wooden handrail with wooden uh ramps and steps with metal handrails but they have openings. So we had uh we are going to enclose them so students that do
072not have the ability to cross and jump and go outside because once you jump you are on the outside. So we're going to restrict that. Again there will be there will be uh student there's 950 students are coming in their area. So there are multiple ways to enter, multiple ways to exit. The city fire marshall has concerns how to exit. So we are ensuring that we have enough space for students and to exit properly in case of fire. So it's coming together again. It's going to be an important part for the new uh eighth grade coming into this ninth grade to be their part. And again, we will do our best to make them w to feel them welcome and but it's still affordable building. It's not going to look new by any means, but
073it's it's this is what it is in order to get to the next year. And this is the next year. This is the M building. This is the existing ninth grade. You can see construction is moving along and they say, "Oh, these are the portables again." And now they're majority of the ramps are complete. And so this is this is our big update on that one. Tomorrow morning, we just came from the site today. Dr. Gory, the concrete work is starting tomorrow. So tomorrow is day one for concrete. So you can see the foundation is ready to start for the new CTE edition. So these are our big updates. Um the weather is in good good thing. It's a dry weather. It's hot but it's moving along and um we so far it's been safe.
074Community has we don't have any complaints. We are getting ready for the start of the school. So we are setting up some new rules and regulations for that. Uh the other one is the central elementary. We just approved Smith. We just finished our bidding. We'll bring it to you next month. Uh that has also some good numbers. Um the these are going to start u right around the August for Central and Smith and they're going to open up first we're going to open up the uh new edition CTE in May and then June and July with Central and Smith respectively. So these are our updates. Mr. Malone >> just I'm going to call Mr. Chris Malone, executive director of technology to give the updates on that. Um, and just so you know, the pictures you
075saw tonight, those are early July, so it looks a lot better now. >> Good evening, Madam President, members of the board, Dr. Corey. I'm pleased to come before you tonight to let you know that uh the bond projects with technology are progressing quickly. Um, as of today, we've passed out 375 of the 585 computers. We opened uh opened appointments up all summer for the teachers to come at their, you know, at their will to to pick up their devices. We have scheduled on July 31st to hand out all the rest of them to all the remaining teachers. So, we'll have uh we'll have staff at all campuses to hand out the remaining uh computers for the teachers. The panels, the 75 inch panels that you that were approved to go in, those uh distribution started
076today. Um we worked with Miss Samura and the land team to find out exactly when the classrooms would be ready. So, we've adjusted our schedule so that none of the the new equipment goes into unfinished rooms. So uh we had four campuses uh Hastings uh let's see it was Hastings Actton Pace and Summit that there was no impact within with construction. So those we started those campuses today will be finished with those four by the end of the week. Uh we will start uh with some of our other uh campuses next Monday that are going to be be finished. The classrooms will be finished. will be putting panels in along with the teaching stations and the the we call them their their handy bags that go with their their panels that have the document camera,
077remotes, pens, and those things. So, we hope to have um all but the high school completed by the around the first first uh weekend of August and uh we're going to go ahead and move forward with putting the panels in the high school. uh we decided that there's no reason for those teachers to have to wait for that technology. Um they they're that's our biggest uh biggest portion of our district. About 40% of our staff and students are in that one building. So there's no reason for them to to not get that technology and go ahead and be using it. So we've worked out a plan to be able to have all of the panels uh installed in the high school. Um, we're hoping to have it before, um, our fall fall break, but for
078sure before Thanksgiving break. So, with that, um, I'll turn it back over to Miss Moore. Thank you. We'll be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Are there any questions or comments or discussion? >> Good work. >> Yeah, y'all are doing a great job in making, you know, fantastic progress. So, we can't wait. Um, you know, first day of school is right around the corner. Yes. So, thank you, you know, for working with us and and for us to make sure that, you know, our students are safe and uh even in the midst of construction and they're going to have nice facilities, you know. So, thank you. All right. So, next item is 9B, Early Literacy Handbook with Dr. Nicks, >> President Colton, members of the board, and Dr. Ger, I am so
079excited about this item. One of the things that we know has been a challenge for us has been our early literacy. And one of the first things that Dr. Guri did when he got here was charge us to be very intentional about our work around early literacy. And so we have done that and we have worked for several months with community, with our campus administrators, with our teachers, with professionals, with companies and research to develop a literacy handbook that will be a guide for our early uh teachers and our administrators. And so here to uh help talk about the specifics and details of this guide are two of the many individuals that helped to facilitate this u but Miss Christy Mullins who by the way is the most passionate person I've ever seen in my
080life about kids reading. Um she's our um reading academy coordinator and then also Miss Lkesha King who is our coordinator of early reading. So, I'm going to invite them to the podium so that they can talk you just through the specifics of the handbook, the plan, the training, and um how we plan to implement this to ensure that our students have the foundation that they need to be excellent readers in Duncanville. >> Good evening, Madame President Colton, members of the board, and Dr. Gory. We're so excited to be here with you tonight. The first thing I'd like to bring your attention to is on page 353 of your board book. Um the copy of our presentation was sent to Jod in a skewed way and so a fresh copy has been provided for you and
081we apologize for that error. Um as we begin talking through the early literacy handbook, I want to just very quickly um talk a smidge about my passion um with this work. You all know, we all know that early literacy is the key to freedom for children. And we don't just mean um academic freedom and emotional freedom, but it is a social freedom that allows for greater um income potential that allows for a career path that will take them far away from things that can be detrimental and into um such good work. So we thank you for this time to present the literacy handbook to you. Um when composing the literacy handbook, we thought about the importance of of this handbook and why we would need such a document within the district. The goal is that
082all children read on grade level and so district level guidance in literacy is urgently necessary for all of our um stakeholders. This plan is preventative and it's proactive in its nature versus reactive in order to um truly affect foundational literacy. Um we partnered with many um educational entities to help create the guidance within this handbook and you will see some of that light laid out for you. Within the early literacy handbook, we divided the work into four main components with each of the writers of this handbook taking one of those components um as their own. With component number one, u Miss Lkesha King did the work there and she will present component one to you now. >> Good evening, Madame President Coloulton, members of the board, and Dr. Wurie. Um I will present to you
083component one. The goal of component one was to highlight as Miss Mullen said that literacy is indeed a lifeline. And when there are literacy deficits um we know there are lasting effects such as generational poverty. So what we wanted to do was put together or we collected data um to look at where our students are and where we wanted to go. And so what we found was that with first grade is where those deficits starts to present themselves. And so we created a um strategic plan um and we named it destination 2030. And within that plan we have three main priorities. And with those three main priorities, priority one says that we will build a strong literacy foundation through consistent use of HIAM or highquality instructional materials. With priority two, we will strengthen intentional phmic
084awareness and phonics instruction and intervention. And with priority three, we will increase teacher capacity by providing targeted professional learning opportunities to equip teachers to deliver that strong um foundational skills instruction. And now we'll turn it back over to Miss Mullins for component two. My favorite component of the handbook is component two. Um, this speaks specifically to literacy principles. While component one speaks to literacy as a lifeline, this speaks to the actual instruction that happens in the classroom from teacher to student. And we outlined four guiding principles for that work. Guiding principle number one is that students must must receive explicit and systematic instruction from their teacher. Guiding principle number two relies heavily on foundational skills. There must be phenemic and funological awareness and phonics delivered to students on a daily basis. Guiding principle number three
085is comprehension skills and fluency with metacognitive skills at the base of that work. And then guiding principle four is handwriting and composition as a part of overall literacy. We know that children cannot fully be literate unless they know how to read and write. And so also in component two, we have created a roadmap for how we achieve the goals set forth in destination 2030. You are also going to hear from me for component three. Component three is then literacy in practice. We talk about um the connection to state standards here to the requirements set forth forth by house bill 3 which includes Texas readingmies house bill6005 and highquality instructional materials and research-based instructional strategies or our RBs that have been set forth for us by region 10 and tea. We also in this component have
086outlined daily um RLA instructional recommendations that include minute allocations and specifications for specific instructional guidelines. There um are lastly some home and community enrichment ideas where we have given guidance um to teachers for how they can engage parents and the community in this really important literacy work. Shocker. You're going to hear from me for component four as well. Um literacy resources are component number four and within this component we have focused on the assessment portion of um literacy as a whole. We talk you through beginning, middle and end of the year benchmark assessments. Um there's progress monitoring that now begins in prek. There's addition the addition of teacher facilitated developmental reading assessment testing for all students to determine their accurate reading levels and ability to fluently read. There's I already diagnostics and benchmarks and we
087will continue to use the district common assessments at the end of each literary unit. We've also defined key terms for you within component 4 so that when people say things like phmic and funological awareness, you're not just shaking your head, but you know exactly what's being talked about. And then we've provided um a list of free online resources for teachers, for families, and for our community. In the development of the early literacy handbook, we moved through three phases of development um as instructed and led by Dr. Nicks and Miss Reyes. Phase one was our CNI development. We had um the creation of a district level writing team um and an early literacy committee that was made up of all CNI teaching and learning departments to provide feedback and consideration after each version of the handbook
088was prevented. Those meeting dates are outlined for you there. Phase two is when we um brought in the expertise of SLT and our superintendent. Um we asked them to provide feedback and comments um on the early literacy plan in its version. Then we received that feedback um there on May 20th and then we took that feedback combined with what we had from our district level team and met with principles and teachers um to receive their feedback um on our plan. So we met with approximately 15 teachers um and administrators that spanned across all campuses and across all demographics. So we had general education teachers, biiteracy teachers, teachers representing special education. Um and we were able to hear from them and make final adjustments before we brought the plan that you have um in front of
089you. So not only did we have a path toward the development, but there's also next steps that we will continue to consider as the plan unfolds. Um our team will train district and campus leaders on the purpose, implementation and impact of this handbook. And then in addition to training district and campus leaders, we will train classroom teachers um in grades preK through two on the purpose and impact of this handbook. And then there will be a plan of communication created for um the literacy expectations and practices that we will then intend to share with families and communities so that the work that begins at home that we hope begins at home and then continues at school um will have a connection and a bridge from school to home. And then we would love to hear
090your feedback and thoughts um about the plan. If you have any questions, we would be happy to answer them for you. Now, >> thank you very much, Madam President, and thank you very much to our presenters. And I just want to take this opportunity uh to thank our uh academic team who has worked so diligently on this plan. Uh and that this has been over a year in the work. And uh again, a lot of time, thought, and energy has gone into this plan. And as you know, it is my true belief, as I've stressed um since the since sitting in this seat, uh that the gateway uh to freedom is teaching children how to read. If you want to see all areas of life improve, it's through literacy. So, I'm so excited about this
091step that we're making and looking forward not just to what we're doing now for preK2, but as we begin to expand this and we'll eventually our goal will be to have a literacy program that will span the entire grade span of our school system. So, thank you so much uh for your time, your attention and your presentation. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Yes. Thank you. I have one question. I I noticed you're starting PK and you do have plans for three-year-olds. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. So, that prek includes both prek3 and prek4. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Are there any additional Yes, ma'am. >> I'll make my comment first. Uh, I really appreciate you mentioning the professional development of principles because if you train teachers or when you train teachers and principles
092don't know what to go in and look for, then teachers lose their motivation for staying on track or just not being monitored. So, I appreciate you guys um adding the principles for the training. Uh my question is how often will the PD be given for uh just the strategies? >> Yeah. So um within your handbook if you have it um there you will see on page and forgive me for getting to the page you'll see on page 13 um our PD plan that includes um quarterly professional development based on the tier of teachers. So teachers um under this plan will be tiered as either a tier one, two, three or four teacher and based on that tier will receive um quarterly every nine weeks professional development. Thank you. And my last question is have you
093considered um since all of our students have technology um adding some reading time or having staff in the reading department? >> You said this already. No, I was just saying there's a new law for that that bans technology in the schools. No, that was humor. But nevertheless, there is. We will have our devices in the school. Yeah. >> No, I meant for them to take home since they take the devices home. Um just a way to support the parents that will not be able to do the reading um >> who may not be headed to Barnes & Noble to buy books. >> Right. I've seen some studies and I've seen some other districts that have a literacy component and there are different staff members and even not just teachers but uh other parents and different
094people that are reading stories that kids can access hearing um reading done um to support the families. >> I understand what you're I originally thought you were thinking about like digitized books that students could read on their iPad. You're talking about the actual auditory reading to children who may not have it at home. That is a fantastic idea. Not one that I had considered, >> um, but something that we certainly can consider. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Are there any additional comments? >> Okay. So, I would like to say uh Dr. Nicks, uh, Miss Mullins, and Miss King, this is a wonderful. Y'all did a great job on this and we're just very very happy to see, you know, this presentation and the handbook that you all have developed. I mean, it's going to
095make a world of difference because we know we we've seen, you know, the statistics. We all know that the younger a child learns to read, the better for them. And you know the implications are great >> because we know readers are leaders. So uh thank you all very much for this. So uh when can we expect uh Dr. Gory and update or you know periodic uh progress reports on on this program. >> Right. Dr. Nick, do you want to speak to that? Because we're actually coming back to the board. I will let Dr. Nick speak to that and we do have an outline structure. >> So thank you so much. So this is actually you know being brought to you as an information item so that you guys can not just be aware but also
096charge us with the questions just like you did so we can continue to um massage and and work through uh this our plan of course is to implement immediately training with principles and as you said um Dr. flowers. It's It's not just a plan. If we don't train appropriately and we don't have a system in place to monitor this, which is what the key is, and that's really what we've been working through. Uh to answer your question, we'll come back to the board next month with the solidification of all of the training. We're finished. We're ready to implement. And then here's our um here here's our update schedule for you. We will not just be implementing this plan. We will be monitoring. One of the challenges in the past has been we've been very loosely
097coupled. Uh we we laugh because we've had plans in the past. >> You know, we've had plans that these ladies have worked on in the past, but we've been very loosely coupled as a district. >> And what I mean by that is we have a plan, we implement it, but it's, you know, if they use it, okay, if they don't, okay. um you know just not really monitoring and holding accountable for the support. Uh so this is not a loosely coupled plan. This is a tightly coupled plan. Um and as Miss Mullen said the taring of our teachers uh you're loosely coupled when students can demonstrate to us that they are proficient. And if that's not the case then there's a high level of support, high level monitoring and a high level of accountability that
098comes along with that. So that is uh the difference in this plan and we will of course be updating you um along with our academic updates as we go through the year. >> Yeah, I see updating the board as a part of the accountability >> absolutely >> for this. Um and so it was mentioned um I guess um regarding um reading materials that students could access at home and I hadn't thought about the digital books >> but um I guess can you elaborate a little bit more on that because I I think that's a a great idea. Yes. As well. So there are many free platforms um that students can create accounts in the classroom. Teachers can help with the um creation of completely free accounts with libraries filled with hundreds of thousands of titles
099that students can either read themselves digitally or in some cases, not all, can be read aloud to them. Now it's read aloud to them in an AI voice. They're certainly not getting a Miss Mullen's read aloud. um but it can still be read to them in the case that they are um a a reader that is just still learning. Um and so while I think the idea um of creating a library of readalouds is fantastic, the library that already exists in a digitized uh the library that exists in a digitized version already exists and it's for free. So, that's something that we can work with teachers on um to make sure that students all have access to that while we're building um a library of readalouds that sound the way that we would want them
100to sound. >> So, how would you build that in, you know, I guess as an incentive for students to, you know, take advantage of some of those other avenues? Um how would you incentivize them? And I I know you know that the more they read the better they become and that sort of thing, but I'm just asking the question. >> Yes. Well, I think um the incentivization of any type of programming, especially sadly for um reading that is not always children's number one choice um is pretty critical. um you know as well as we do that incentives typically cost money and have um some type of figure associated with them. But we can come up with a an incentive plan um for students and for teachers in this in a similar fashion um that we
101did this last um semester with some of the I Ready um challenges that we presented to campuses and students. they got on board with that in such a real way that I think whenever something is competitive even if it's academic if it's competitive students and teachers get on board so it's something that maybe we can emulate what Dr. Dr. Achabellum and her team did with Ireetti as part of this plan that we bring back to you in August. >> Thank you. Excellent. Are there any more? Um yes, ma'am. >> Just a final uh comment and just the recognition piece. Sometimes it's not >> uh costly or >> just the recognition and competition. Yes. But I wanted to mention also the um a lot of the research was saying that it was really positive when you
102have other students as a part of that bank. There are a couple of districts I can share with you later that are that have them done already. some of the athletes and um student leaders and students that are not involved in anything, but just having some students, some upper grade level students do the actual reading that they can um go to football games and things and and recognize them. But, uh the students being a part of that was a big part of that study. >> And I would imagine board members >> too would be a fantastic I'll be I'll be emailing each of you. Thank you very much. And one thing in closing I'd like to just reiterate is that uh the is that the uh between school leadership and our academic office, we are
103working on our calendar of academic updates to the board and this certainly will be a part of those academic updates as we go throughout the school year. >> Thank you. >> Okay, we will now move to the information discussion item C. consider and take possible action to approve an amendment to board policy FM local student activities to opt out of allowing homeschool participation in UIL activities as allowed by Texas Education Code section 33.0832 [Music] C2 and our presenter is Mr. Thank you. >> Right. Greeting once again to President Coloulton, to all members of the board, and to Dr. Gory. I think we've made it to the most exciting part of the night. >> Um the the the end of the night. Um and as we talk about these particular bills, we know that the 89th
104legislative session was very heavy on education. um introducing several new statutes that may that have to be in place before September the 1st of 2025. Our legal council, our crossf functional teams and committees are already translating many of these mandates into actionable district procedures and policies. This evening, you'll receive a concise overview of many of these bills that require board action prior to the deadline. Most come with a fixed non-negotiable requirements. But two measures I am going to talk about now um House Bill 1481 and Senate Bill 401 um require districts to to make changes before they're enacted. So, as we start today with Senate Bill 401, homeschool participation in UIL activities. Currently or historically, UIL has opposed legislation like this um which allows homeschool students to participate in UIL activities. Um the primary concerns
105will be listed next. So if we look at UIL and what its historical purpose was, we'll see that it once was created for academic, athletic, and artistic opportunities for only Texas public school students. This policy shifted with 401, expanding UIL's eligibility to non-enrolled students, making notable shifts in UIL's historical connection to public education. the participation disconnect. Homeschool students participating without enrollment may blur the lines between public school and private school education. So, if we look at the considerations tonight, why are we asking to opt out of this particular um bill? Public school students are subject to six week academic eligibility checks. It's called the no pass no play. Homeschool students are monitored by their parent educator with less formal oversight. Next is the flexible scheduling. Homeschool students may benefit from a more flexible schedule potentially
106increasing the availability of more practice and recovery time which means that a home school student could practice for six or seven hours a day which increases number three the competitive advantage. This increase in flexibility can unintentionally provide homeschool students with that particular competitive advantage. District oversight. Next, districts will be responsible for verifying academic standings, res residency, discipline compliance for non-enrolled participants. And at this particular time, um the district does not have the metrics to do those particular items. If we look at the operational compliance, schools must collect and validate the homeschool's students grades equivalence equivalency and attendance and document to ensure UIL compliance. So all the expectations that we have for our um our our regular school students will will comply or will be also expected of our homeschool students. Disciplinary standards. We know that
107districts must determine how disciplinary infractions are reported and enforced um for students not enrolled in the district. Next, residency and transfer rules. Homeschool students must meet the same residency and transfer rules as enrolled students, but verification process may require additional steps. For example, if a homeschool student chooses to start the school year um at I'm sorry, if a student chooses to start the school year at a school um but decides later on that he wants to transfer to homeschool, that student will not be able to participate in um athletics for the remainder of the year. Next, rationale for district opt out. State approved. First of all, Senate Bill 401 is law and UIL must implement and support it, but local school districts have the right to opt out via the local board action. Protecting the
108district resources, oversight of non-enrolled students could strain staff time resources that are intended to support our enrolled students. And next, equity and eligibility. The district lacks standardized mechanisms to consistently verify homeschool student academic performance which could cause inconsistencies. We plan to of course get better at that over the few over the years but currently we do not have those mechanisms in place. Preserving program integrity opting out maintains a consistent system for all students participating and avoiding complications tied to outside regulation. At this time, the next steps I mean in speaking to our attorney, our current policy is up to date and we will not have to make any changes to the policy. It's simply up to the board to opt in or well to opt. You don't have to opt in. It's it's already in
109place to opt out of the current policy. So, we do not have to amend it at this time. Are there any questions about Senate Bill 401? And one thing I'll add before questions from the board is that our this is informational tonight. Our plan is to bring uh an actionable item to the board next month uh with the recommendation to opt out of including homeschool students in our uh UIL activities. >> Any questions? Okay. Thank you all. Thank you uh Mr. program. Okay. So, we will now move to agenda item D, HB 1481 relating to the use of personal wireless communication devices by students during instructional time with Dr. Graham. Mr. Graham. >> All right. As we continue with some of the legal and policy updates, we know that this is one of the more
110talked about um policy updates um through this legislative cycle. This is House Bill 1481, which is the new law that restricts personal and electronic device use during school hours in all public K12 schools. Again, it promotes the focus on learning environments, reduces distraction, and limits cyber bullying and social media misuse during school hours. Now what is considered a personal communication device it is not just limited to cell phones it is limit it it also includes tablets smartwatches radios the new meta glasses and all other electronic devices capable of telecommunication and digital communication all of those items of course would be banned during the school day and of course what is considered the school day that is um the times that students um enter the school to the end of that particular um school date not
111during the after school activities or school hours. What are the next steps? The next steps currently we do have a discipline um committee that is reviewing this particular policy and determining how we will implement this policy. As Dr. Gory stated, we will bring this policy to you at the following board meeting um for your vote on it. We do have a current proposed policy from TASBY which simply gives all the recommendation um that's pretty much in the law. It's it's not changing much but it gives the school of course their I mean the district their opportunity to decide how we're going to actually implement. And when we talk about implementing it it's talking about how will you discipline children that bring those particular items to school. What will be the um infraction? what will be
112the um things that you'll do if these particular students decide not to release that phone to the administration. So all of those things will be decided during this discipline committee and we will have those regulations prepared for you at the next board meeting. Um, as we continue on communications, we're going to inform parents, students, and staff of the new policy through multiple multiple channels. And of course, enforcement and discipline will establish those consistent enforcement protocols across all campuses. And again, we do have a committee that is working on that along with our legal team that's providing guidance to what we can and cannot do. And as we think about this, that word interpretation, anytime I talk to one of our um attorneys, that word interpretation comes into play. Um even today, we received notice on
113some changes we had to make to some to this particular policy based on some previous information that we had when we first received the policy versus now. So, um as you ask questions today, we are yet receiving information on how to implement this particular policy. At this time, I will take questions. Are there any questions? >> Yes, Trusty B. Thank you. Um, just a question. All of our classrooms are equipped with a phone. Is that correct? I mean, can a teacher is there access to a phone in every classroom? >> I don't know if every classroom has a phone. I know that they were adding those phones to the classrooms, but I don't know if every single class has a phone. But every class should have a working phone. We're not going to say that
114everyone works, but they should have a phone. >> Thank you. >> So, Mr. Graham, uh, would you elaborate on the effective date of the of the bill? The bill has to be in place before September the 1st, 2025. >> Okay. So, you'll be bringing back an item um to the board of trustees at its August meeting. And will I guess what is the potential timeline like on the communication and all of that? That will have to happen after the board approves. >> Right. I I do think in this situation, this will be one of those things that we will have to begin to communicate out pending board action. uh because again any rule uh that you're going to enforce in a school year has to start day one. So uh we will have to start
115this day one. Again we're not at a position now because uh you know you know Mr. Graham mentioned our local discipline. We're also working with uh local districts uh working through our legal team and it's it's truly is changing by the day. So again, we don't have enough, we did not have enough information to bring something tonight, but again, this will be something that we will have to begin enforcing pending board approval. Uh just so that we make sure our families are aware of the direction. And what I will tell you is that we we will walk very close to the law. So that really will somewhat put the board in the position of approving uh the plan that we do bring forward. >> Okay. And with that, we have communicated through social media that
116this is a law. So, that has gone out several times, >> right? And we do plan to increase those communications uh as we uh draw closer to the first day of schools and continuing to get that out there on our social media sites. And really, we'd like to try and get very close to what this will look like uh so that we can begin to communicate that to families. >> Okay. All right. Um are there any other comments? Okay, thank you all. Thank you Mr. Graham for bringing that information forth. We'll now move to agenda item E 2025 legislative updates required board action. Thank you. As we finish up tonight, I want to take this from a very high level as we introduce many of the bills that have to be in place before September
117the 1st, 2025. So, tonight again, I will talk about um these particular bills and give one or two points about them as we move forward on how we will implement them in the future. Again, um you'll receive a summary of the board action requirements. Um the key deadline is September the 1st and of course we want to be in compliance by that September the 3rd date on some of the particular policies. So, we'll start with Senate Bill 13, which is the library materials bill. And this states that we must create a local school library advisory council at every ISD. And at least 51% of the voting members must be parents who are not district employees, and councils must meet twice a year with proposed agendas, minutes, and recordings. Next up gives the parents a dashboard
118level transparency, online access to full library cataloges, plus the right to flag titles that their own child may not check out. Districts must also send an automatic record each time a book leaves the library. Next is Senate Bill 12. And there are several different policies that are coming out of Senate Bill 12. So I'll start with the first one. The first one is the social transitioning ban. Um, this bars schools from supporting social transitioning. Staff may not use pronouns or names that differ from the students biological sex. Instruction or clubs focused on sexual orientation or gender identity are prohibited. Next, it expands the parental consent and notification. Ren P Ren permission now requires for any human sexuality lessons and most health and and psych services. Schools must notify parents of mental health changes and may
119not conceal that particular information. Next, we will look at Senate Bill 12 again. Um, and we're talking about the grievance procedure. Now, this mandates a dedicated local grievance track so parents can appeal violations of their statutory rights all the way to the board. Um, uniform and timelines. TEA must create a statewide complaint form and districts must post it online and follow prescribed response deadlines. Next, if we look at controversial topics, staff who engage students to withhold info from parents face mandatory discipline or termination. Next, board must adopt a termination policy for employees who perform banned DEI duties or facilitate social transition. Next, we will look at the DEI duties. Um, this outlaws DEI duties, training, hiring preferences, DEI statements unless expressly required by anti-discrimination law. This bans preferential treatment in hiring admission based on race,
120color, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Senate Bill 12 also talks about parental rights. Um, this cottifies parents fundamental right to direct their moral, religious, educational, and medical decision, strict scrutiny standards for any infringement. It adds a new record access guarantee to library checkouts, health data, intervention logs, and annual right brochures, plus an online portal for feedback. And now, House Bill 1522 and Senate Bill 1413 about meeting requirements. Um, House Bill 1522, the Open Meetings Act notice must be posted three business days, no longer 72 hours, and a budget hearing notice must include a tax bill comparison graphic. Senate Bill 1413. Minutes must list the trustes vote and attendance plus all resolutions and be online within 7 days. All regular and special meetings must be recorded and the video posted greatly expanding transparency at minimal fiscal
121impact according to the bill. And again, some of these bills as we talk to our attorneys um and we start thinking about interpretation, some of these will have different ways that we can can implement them. I've already discussed Senate Bill 401 and House Bill 1481. The final one is Senate Bill 10, which deals with the Ten Commandments. Um, it requires public schools to display a durable poster or frame copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom. Caveat allows but does not require districts to use district funds to purchase, which means that if these are donated, we have to put them up. >> It's 16 by 10. 16 by 10. and they give specific data um on exactly the size and what they should look like. >> Are there any questions? I'm sorry. Our next steps
122again, we're continue talking to our legal team. Um and of course, TASBY is drafting the policy language. We want the board adoption by August 2025. And of course, we will update the handbooks and the board policy manual. At this time, are there any questions? Are there any questions or comments? Thank you, Mr. Graham. So, we do not have any communications from citizens on tonight. Being that there is no there are no further items to discuss, do I have a motion to adjurnn? Second. >> Okay. Thank you all for attending tonight and thank you trustees for conducting with excellence the the business of the district and thank you uh Dr. Gory and uh staff. Y'all are superstars. Thank you.