001Good evening. I, Dr. Lasagna Flowers, president of the Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees, called this meeting of the Dunanville 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 open. We will now move to opening ceremonies. Will you please bow your heads for prayer? God, we just thank you for this day. We thank you for the opportunity to come together and to serve children. Help us to remember our purpose in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. At this time,
002we'll have the pledge of allegiance by Adriana Adriana F. Nope, I did it phonetically. FCA, you going to come to the podium? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and indivisible. You may be seated. Thank you, Adriana. Adriana is a graduating senior at Duncanville High School Collegiate Academy, earning both her high school diploma and an associate of science degree through Dallas College with a 4.0 GPA and over 250 volunteer hours. She is passionate about health care and community service. Adriana is the president of HOSA, National Art Honor Society, and Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas, as
003well as vice president of DECA and a committee chair and student council. She is also a Rotary Youth Leadership Award recipient and a member of the National Honor Society in Spanish Honor Society. [Applause] Yes. Adriana has committed to the University of Pennsylvania where she will pursue dual degrees in economics and the Wharton School of Business in nursing at the School of Nursing. [Applause] We will now move to administer the oath of office to elected trustees. I will now turn the mo uh meeting over to Miss Jodie Loftton. Good evening, President, Dr. Flowers, board members, and Dr. Corey. Can I please have Jacqueline Colton, Phil McNeely, and Janet Ver Cruz join me in front of the podium? Right. If you would please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I state your name. do solemnly
004swear do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the duties that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of school board trustee of the office of school board trustee place one Jackie Colton place one Jackie Colton place two Phil McNeely place three Janet Ver Cruz of Duncanville ISD D of the ISD of the state of Texas of the state of Texas and will to the best of my abilities to the best of my abilities preserve protect and defend preserve protect and defend the Constitution the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the laws of the United States and of this state and of this state. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you, Miss Jody. We will move on to the superintendence report. I will now turn the
005meeting over to Dr. Gorie. Thank you very much, Madame President, Dr. Flowers, all other trustees, and everyone assembled here today. It is certainly my pleasure to present this May 19th, 2025 superintendence report. If you look at the picture on the cover, this shows our cover story, which is the city citywide field day. Earlier this month, students had a blast at the city field day. Leading up to the field day, the weather had been rainy and overcast, but the day turned out to be perfect for our students. Our fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students from across the entire district came out to compete. It was so much fun to see them engage in the individual races, relays, softball throws, uh, standing board jumps, and tug-of-war. Thank you to all of our PE teachers and coaches for
006organizing this event. And thank you to all of the teachers and leaders that supported this day. This year's multicultural fair hosted by the language acquisition department featured a rich array of cultural displays, performances, foods, and activities that transported attendees to different corners of the world. Families had the chance to engage in hands-on activities like making Hawaiian lays, creating African inspired necklaces, and creating beautiful tissue tissue paper flowers, a nod to cultural traditions spa spanned throughout the globe. In addition to these activities, community organ or organizations were on hand to provide valuable information and services while food vendors delighted guests with flavors from around the world. Thank you to all who participated in this great event for our students, family, and community. District teacher of the year is the highest honor that we bestowed upon a
007teacher. This journey to district teacher of the year begins in February when each campus nominates and selects their campus teacher of the year. Then each campus teacher of the year is invited to apply to become the district teacher of the year which includes a rigorous panel interview and the submission of a comprehensive application packet. We are honored to have Simone Parker and Steven Horell as our district teachers of the year. They will now compete for the teacher of the year for region 10 and then I'm sure they'll go on to compete for the state honor. Simone and Steven lead with impact and we appreciate all they do. Alexandria Vega recently competed at the Hosa State Conference. Alexandria achieved an impressive second place in interview skills competition, ranking among the top in the entire state of
008Texas. Alexandria just recently had a career change from the engineering field to the health science field. So this was Alexandria's first year in HOSA. After high school, she will attend Texas Women University majoring in biology for with a on a premed school track. She is a firstg generation student. As Alexandria wants to become a pediatrician, she loves dealing with kids and she always takes care of her brothers and sisters. Alexandria will now advance to the HOSA International Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee to complete. Let's give her a round of applause, too. Alexandria, are you in the building? Okay. We will bring her back to the board to honor her, though. For the sixth consecutive year. Yeah, that's right. Sixth consecutive year, Duncanville ISD has been recognized as one of the best communities for music education.
009To earn this honor, the committee reviews how we fund the arts, our graduation requirements, music class participation, in instructional time, and the overall support for the music community. Congratulations to our fine arts teachers and leaders for helping us receive this national recognition for the sixth time in a row. Let's give that a round of applause, too. Truly the city of champions on many levels. Well, we have officially broken ground on the new CTE edition at Duncanville High School. I want to thank everyone who participated in the groundbreaking ceremony last week. A special thanks certainly goes to our entire community for supporting the $170 million bond. Your investment will make a huge impact as we provide more opportunities for our scholars. Thank [Applause] you. This year we held our seventh annual Duncanville's reads in partnership with
010the Duncanville ISD Educational Foundation. This year's authors came from all over Texas. The Arthurs visited campuses and shared their love of reading and writing with our students. Our students were truly inspired by their stories. Thank you to our librarians as well as the Dunanville ISD Educational Foundation for your efforts to coordinate this impressive literature event for our students. This is truly something that is unique to our school district. Thank you. And Dr. Flowers, that does conclude our superintendence report for the month of May. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Gorie. We will now move to recognitions, commendations. Uh Brandy Mayo will present donations. Good evening, Dr. Flowers, board of trustees, and Dr. Gorey. Um I am extremely honored to be able to present the May 2025 donations to you today. Um we want to extend our
011gratitude to Phillips Price Realy donated to the Panther Pantry. Jeia Wahardo donated food items to the Panther Pantry. SW Darcy donated food items to the Panther Pantry. And Dennis P. Burgron and Eleanor Burgron donated statues, a megaphone, and a microphone to Duncanville ISD. We are so grateful for our community support and our partners, and we want to extend our gratitude out. So, thank you so much. And I'll hand it over to Dr. Goodman. Thank you, Miss Mayo. At this time, we'll have a presentation and recognize Dallas Partnership. Our presenter is Dr. Goodman. Good evening, Madame President Flowers, board of trustees, and Dr. Gorie. Thank you for this opportunity to recognize five individuals who work in our district who are Dallas graduates as of Tuesday. This past [Applause] Tuesday, this past Tuesday, we had those five
012people and I will call them and ask them to come up. Miss Joey Daniels, if you'll come up to the podium, Anise Johnson, Michaela Malone, Katherine Maguire, and also Kandra Mason, who is not with us this evening. Board of Trustees, if you will recall, two years ago, we came asking for your support in a partnership for a second cohort of future leaders with in partnership with Dallas. You all committed to paying 50% of their tuition if they would pay the other half in order for them to receive a master's degree and invest in our leadership pipeline. Well, the good news is they actually were able to participate in this program and as a result of our partnership and a scholarship through Texas Instruments, they were awarded a full scholarship. So, we are Panther proud because
013as of last Tuesday, they have all graduated with their master's degree in educational leadership and three of them have already completed their principal certification, all in partnership with them. We want to first thank them for their commitment to Duncanville ISD and let them know how proud we are and thank you again board for your support of this endeavor. At this time I want to ask if there are any principles in the audience, school leaders, any friends or family that are here to support them this evening. I will ask them to stand at this time and be recognized. [Applause] [Music] We know that this was truly a commitment um not just for them but also for our district. So thank you again board. And at this time we're going to ask if you all can take
014a picture with them. Okay. So if you will stand. May I ask a question? I know Michaela is one of ours a graduate. Any any others graduate from Dunanville High School? Well, that's good. You ain't Michael, right? All right, we got everybody in. Everybody right here. Big smiles. Two. Three. Big smiles to three. Congratulations. [Applause] Thank you, Dr. Goodman. and I had the privilege of being at their graduation and so many of the instructors really bragged on our candidates. So that was really good to hear and see. Chief Garren will recognize Mr. Jerry Boyd, President Flowers, trustee members, and Dr. Gory. I'm excited uh to recognize Mr. Jerry Boyd. If I could ask him to join me here at the podium. Mr. Boyd is a crossing guard. Um but but that that doesn't define uh
015who he is and and what his character represents. Um, rain or shine, crossing guards are on duty to keep our students safe. On March 24th of this year, uh, one of our crossing guards, Mr. Jerry Boyd, not only kept our students sta safe, but he put himself in harm's way and saved the life of one of our students as a vehicle came. He shoved the student out of the way and took the injuries himself and ended up in the hospital uh, for an extended period of time. So, Mr. Mr. Boyd, in recognition of your bravery, we want to honor your life-saving effort with this certificate and a to token of appreciation. So, I would ask that we please give Mr. Boyd a round of applause. And my script tells me to ask if you have
016family here, but I already know the answer to that. So, if your family would stand and be recognized as well. And if you uh will step over for a picture, hold on one second. and two three. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Chief. At this time, we'll have Dr. Nick to present DHS summer college impact. President Flowers, members of the board, Dr. year after year I have the pleasure of standing at this podium asking for you to approve summer tours for our students and year after year you always come through as a board uh supporting this endeavor for our students um and this is a huge payoff for our students. So today, uh, we're here to talk about the impact of these college tours and just to recognize, uh, so many of them make their college
017selections based on this experience. Um, board, you have helped transform and change the trajectory of our students lives. As Mr. Kane prepares for the next DHS uh Panthers Impact Summer College Tour on July the 20th through August the 3rd. I want to shine a spotlight on 15 fabulous students um and then tell you more about four phenomenal students. Next slide, please. So, these students participated in college tours and have selected top tier Texas schools to further their education. So you see here Duncanville High School Academy, Madison Bailey, um Cadence Cross, Leila Alonzo, and then Duncanville High School's Jonathan Jakan and Naomi Alexander. All of those will be going to schools that they visited in state. Next slide, please. These 10 students are headed out of state to some of the most remarkable universities. You look
018here at Syracuse University, uh, Milana and Matthew George going to the University of Connecticut, and Marlon Ma Marquez going to Colorado, Madison going to Yale, and Jazelle going to Princeton and and Preston, uh, committing finally committing to Columbia. Yes, toss up there. He had so many schools. Um, DHS Collegiate, uh, Raphael going to Western Reserve University, Brian Nash going to University of Michigan, uh, Adrian going to University of Michigan, and, um, Adriana going to Pennsylvania, as we've talked earlier. Next slide, please. So far this year, they've amassed over $5 million in college scholarships. 100% of these students are attending four-year universities with over 200 college acceptances. We are so proud of these students. We appreciate their parents for seeing the value in these college tours, approving them to go. Um, over the years, all of
019their teachers, their leaders have poured into them and have prepared them for the beautiful and prosperous life after graduation. Before I introduce these four phenomenal students to you, I would like to invite the person that has used his platform leading the youth and government program for the last 13 years to transform the lives of our students. Mr. Kane, will you please join me at the podium, please? [Applause] Mr. Kane, um, my script says one thing, but I'm going say another. I've watched you since you were at Kimer Middle School and I have watched and partnered with you and and just watched your impact on students and your heart for students and just the passion you have for making sure that our kids have the best are exposed to the best and are prepared to give
020their best and statewide your name is known as the preparer of students right for YAG right and just want to thank you for everything you do. You you exemplify what it means to lead with impact, what it means to be an example for our children. You drive growth. You value people. You inspire results. You lead change. You're a learner. You're constantly wanting to know how to get better. You don't mind taking feedback. And you elevate excellence. And that's what a leadership is in Duncanville. And you exemplify that. So, I personally want to thank you. Um, and I know just on behalf of the district, we just want to thank you for everything that you do and everything you've done for our students. And we want to um also just take a moment just to say
021not only thank you, but you spend so you you you have a family that you you have now and and you and your family uh invest in these children. So, thank you for everything. We appreciate you. Absolutely. So, I'm going to ask Mr. Kane, this is for you. I'm going to ask that you stay here while I invite some very special individuals up. So, stand right here. So, I'm going to invite Adriana, Madison, Jazelle, and Preston to join us up here, please. [Applause] board. Please allow me to introduce four stellar Duncanville High School students who participated in the college tours which helped them to determine which college they were going to choose. Now, this has already been read, but it's worth reading again. Board President already recognized, but if you don't mind, I I'll do
022it again. Adriana Fansaka is graduating from Duncanville High School Collegiate Academy with a 4.0 GPA, over 250 volunteer hours, and an associates of a science degree from Dallas College. Passionate about health care and service. She has volunteered at hospitals, her church, and performed for for 14 years with the ballet folorca. Adriana serves as president of HOSA, the National Art Honor Society, and Junior Catholic Daughters. She's also vice president of DECA and a state finalist in multiple competitions. Committed to the University of Pennsylvania, she will pursue dual degrees in economics and nursing to lead and innovate in healthcare board. I once again introduce you to the one and only Adriana. Our next amazing student is ranked second in her class. Uh Madison Bugwa exemplifies excellence in academics, leadership, and service. She serves as DECA's vice president
023of test preparation and as community service committee chair in student council. A state qualifier in youth and government and a varsity soccer player, Madison balances rigorous academics with diverse extracurricular activities. She completed a math focused internship with GT school, volunteers with SAWA, a nonprofit supporting mental education in Kenya. Madison will attend Yale University where she plans to major in applied mathematics and continue making a global impact. Fort [Applause] Madison. Jazelle Moreno, a senior at Dunkville High School, earned a full four-year scholarship to Princeton. Wow. Through the prestigious QuestBridge National College match, ranked in the top 1% of her class and a national Hispanic and first generational scholar. She has completed 19 AP courses. A committed public servant, Jazelle interned for US Representative Jasmine Crockett, served on Senator Royce West student advisory council, and held leadership
024roles in youth and government and model UN. She is president of DECA, vice president of NHS, and active in multiple honor societies. At Princeton, she plans to study government and economics, pursuing a future in law. Board, Miss Jazelle. Last, but definitely not least, ranked 15th in his class, Preston Lee exemplifies visionary leadership and academic excellence. He serves as the senior class president, as band president, as president of youth and government, interactive club, and the DECA vice president of operations, earning 10th place globally. As the 78th youth governor of Texas and inaugural councilman of the YMCA Youth Governor's Association Council, Preston champion civic engagement statewide and beyond. He advises Texas Senator Royce West and holds key roles in NHS and Rotary. A recipient of multiple honors, including the YMCA Youth Character Award, Preston will attend Columbia
025University as a John J. Scholar, majoring in political science. Board Preston [Applause] [Music] Dr. Nicks, would it be possible for them to just say what made them choose once they saw the their university? Just a couple of sentences. What about that process? So, you're talking to juniors for ne uh juniors this year that'll be seniors next year. Choosing the college that I committed to was definitely a process and it was really seeing what I wanted to do in the future that led me to want to go to that college and knowing what impact I could do once I attend. Thank you. Thank you. Um similarly as for choosing the school I wanted to go to, I think a big part is um also seeing kind of what you want to do after college and also
026um looking at the school and seeing if I was like a good fit. I was able to visit the school and the community was unmatched and I knew once I got there that that was the place for me. Um so yeah, thank you I chose Princeton University mostly because of their huge undergraduate focus. Um, I also got the opportunity to visit the school through the college tours and I really realized that I could see myself there and I could find myself in a community there and see other people that are also um high achieving students and want to accomplish great things and serve the community. So, that's why I chose Princeton. Thank you. I I chose Columbia because I really knew that I needed to be pushed. I had options, but I knew that for
027the goals that I had for myself and what I was planning to do within the next four years, I needed to be pushed and I needed a space that would allow me to grow and also to take what I've learned and apply that in so many different places. So, yeah. Thank you. Just real quick, I do uh personally want to thank uh all the board members uh Dr. Jordan, uh Mr. uh minutes just for the continued support of the Panthers impact program. I think it's funny that we named that four years ago. Dr. Greed came in and his whole motto was lead with impact. So I kind almost feel like that was you know that's what it's all about. And you know I look forward to this summer going on the college tour again. I
028know you guys always you know kind of challenge me hey we want to double it. You know, if you can see what these 15 kids did, $5 million out of the 17 that the senior class, that's 15 kids. Can you imagine if we took 50 kids, right? And it really always is about experience and exposure. And I'll put our Duncanville kids up against any in the country if you give them the same opportunity. [Applause] At this time, would any parents, family, friends who are here to support these amazing students please stand and be recognized and also board at this time if you won't mind would you please stand to take a picture with these amazing students? it. And right here, big smile. Two, three. Dr. Take one step to your right. Yep. And we'll try
029again one more time. Two, three. In the spirit of recognition, um, we had the opportunity to go by the shine before coming back for board and attend the fine arts signing. So, congratulations to all of the students who signed today with uh, fine arts. Okay, it's me. I am so excited uh today and wanted to just share I've been looking for this meeting for about a month and just express my heartfelt thank you. Okay, I'll go back to Dr. Nicks with our basketball. I'm sorry. Introduction of girls head basketball coach, Miss Brown. Greetings, board president Flowers, board of trustees, Dr. Gory. I am going to ask Coach Robert Amber to join me at the podium. We are excited to announce the appointment of Robert Amberie as the new head girls basketball coach. With 22 years
030of coaching experience, Coach Amber is already a valued member of the Panther family. Currently serving, he was currently serving as the first assistant varsity coach for the girls basketball team. He has played a key role in our team's remarkable achievements, including guiding them to 6A division 1 regional finals championships games during the 2425 school year and leading the team to victory in the 6A division 1 state championship in the 2324 school year. In addition to his work in Duncanville, Coach Amber has had extensive experience as a head girls basketball coach at Fort Ben ISD. He has also served as the head basketball coach for Scyfare Nike Elite and DFW Elite athletic union basketball teams. Throughout his career, Coach Amarie has been committed to coaching and athletics year after year. He holds a bachelor's degree in
031pedigogy and kinesiology from Houston Baptist University and is certified in physical education and special education. With a proven track record of developing winning strategies, motivating athletes, and fostering a team oriented culture, Coach Amber is poised to continue elevating our program. Please join us in wel welcoming coach Amber is our new head girls basketball [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] coach and coach Emory let me know that his family was not able to make it tonight but we know that they are proud of him. Thank you coach Amber. Congratulations coach. I uh had the privilege of attending the family meeting and the coaches, the parents, the students all voiced how much they wanted to follow your leadership. So, congratulations and welcome aboard. Thank you, Miss Brown. Okay, now I'm back on track. I'd like to take this time
032to uh thank the the entire team, our community. I've been looking forward to this for about a month because this year as president was exciting for me and most things are if they are engaging children. And so I just wanted to take this time to say it's been a great run. I had a great time. It was much fun. Thank you guys for allowing me to be me and everything that that means. And at this time, I want to share this presentation. As I close out my year of president of the Dunanville ISD Board of Trustees, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the board, our district leadership, and our incredible community. It has truly been an honor to serve in this role. Thank you, Trustee Phillips, for the nomination. With a career that
033has spanned the classroom, the principal's office, whether in comprehensive, magnet, or continuation schools, and now the university setting where I help train the next generation of educational leaders. I've always believed in leading by example and staying grounded in the real work of education. I made the commitment from day one to serve all students, staff, and board members with fairness, transparency, and purpose. I let my work speak for itself. This year, we accomplished a great deal together. I met weekly with our superintendent to ensure alignment and open communication. I played an active role in shaping our board agendas, visited summer school sites with the superintendent and took our board's voice beyond Duncanville as a presenter to Tasa Tasby and Black Caucus. I served on the school safety committee, helped implement a data workshop to raise academic
034awareness for the board, and proudly supported our students at countless events from YAG conference to job fairs, track meets, football, basketball, band competitions, and JRTC banquet. I was honored to be invited by Coach Green to speak to the girls track team on resilient. I was also honored to be the guest speaker for the youth and government banquet and many other events. Each of these moments reminded me why I serve. To uplift young people, to support staff members, to ensure safe and supportive schools, and to create opportunities for every student to thrive. This year reinforced that leadership isn't about agreement, but about consistency, collaboration, and a focus on students above all else. As I pass the baton, I remain committed to serving this district with integrity, determination, and excitement. The work continues, and I am proud
035to be a part of it. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as school board president for the 2425 school year. And to Dr. Guri, thank you so much for your spirit of collaboration. I am especially proud to have been the first president of your first full year. It has been a lot of work, but we made it fun. Thank you so much for your partnership. [Applause] We are now moving to communication from citizens to discuss pending agenda items before the board. We now move to communication from citizens regarding a pending agenda item. We will reserve communications from citizens on any other topic for the end of the meeting. For communications from citizens regarding an agenda item, we received one card. And before you make your way to the front, please allow me to read
036the following. State law prohibits board members from responding to speakers in public forum unless the topic regards a matter specifically posted on tonight's agenda. The board will carefully consider any concerns expressed and an administrator will investigate the matter. At your request, the administrator will contact you regarding your concern. Speakers will limit their comments to three minutes. If more than five speakers are present, speakers must limit their comments to two minutes. Any discussion concerning specific personnel is prohibited in open session. If you wish to address the board regarding a personnel matter, please contact the superintendent's office to schedule the matter for a future close session meeting. Having stated that, when I call your name, please come forward, state your name and your address, and you have three minutes to address the board. At this time, I
037call Dale Kaiser. Good evening trustees, board president, Dr. Flower, Superintendent Gore. My name is Dale Kaiser and I reside at 534 Frank Kesler Boulevard, Duncanville, Texas 75116. I'm a Duncanville ISD taxpayer represent Duncanville NEA and I'm a US government teacher here at the high school. Dunanville NEA Southwest AFT and the 504 employees who sent you letters encourage you to vote for the 2526 teacher salary schedule that is on your action agenda. This increase will greatly benefit your teachers, especially the ones like myself who brought home less this year than we did last year because of insurance increases. It will also help to improve Duncanville standing in area salaries and hopefully move us into the top 30 of Metroplex pay in the met pay in the metroplex. Next, I'd like to encourage you to move the
038District of Innovation agenda item from the consent agenda to the action agenda. There are several problems that we see with this certification requirements for teachers and other educators and counselors. Our students deserve to have a certified teacher preparing them to be college and career ready. One of our biggest challenges is that our pay has not even made the top 30 in comparison with school districts in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Hopefully, your action tonight on the teacher salary schedule will help that. probationary contracts. The five of eight rule allowing for an additional year or years of ex for experienced teachers to be on probationary contracts will be a deterrent for experienced teachers to come to Duncanville ISD. Teachers know I know that it is much easier to be non-renewed for little or no reason at
039all on a probationary contract and this will reduce the likelihood that they will come to the Duncanville ISD. minimum attendance for class credit. The legislature put this in place trying to assure students are in class. The problem is that we have enabled our students to not come to school, to not show up for class by doing attendance recovery. 54 and a half% of my first period seniors did not show up to class until at least 7:50, if they showed up at all. They lose effectively 20 minutes of instruction each morning. And those who do come lose it, too, because I'm constantly letting kids in. We have hundreds of students walking up and down Main Street at 7:45 a.m. when school starts at 7:30. We have lots of students just roaming the halls all day long.
040Mr. B, Mr. Bird, and the admin try to do what they can, but they don't have enough resources. Class size class size ratio, this the state already provides an opportunity for districts to get waiverss for those. No need to just wave them all together. And finally, let me ask you this. This week in the auditorium, seniors who didn't come to class, fail classes, they'll sit there for a little bit on egeneuity. They'll get credit. They'll make up 30, 40, 50 absences in two and a half days and they'll graduate. Is that really getting our students college and career ready? Is that excellence everywhere every day? Is that being the Lamborghini? Mr. Dale, I apologize. Your three minutes is up. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming to the meeting. We will now move to
041close session. Welcome back. We will now take action on the election of officers. The officers are president, vice president, and secretary. Do I have a nomination for president of the board? Trustee McNeely. Madam President, I'd like to nominate Jackie Colton, president. Second. It's been motioned and second. All in favor, please cast your votes electronically. Motion carries. Congratulations, Trustee Coulson, President Coulson, and the Coloulton administration. Hey, hang on. There you go. Here you go. There you go. So, President Coloulton, you will continue the rest of this meeting. And maybe I can get back to my old seat, but I'm moving. Thank you, board. I am just overwhelmed. Um, and so I guess I won't give a speech now, but to really Yeah, I I'm gonna take a little time field, not not very much, but to
042to serve with um such a board that has a heart for the students and the staff and to serve with the superintendent and the rest of the the Duncanville team is just it's it's it's an amazing experience. And so, uh, yes, we're we're going to do our very best to make sure that we serve the students and the staff well. And I'm just overjoyed and we going to just continue to do what we've been doing, and that's pull our our sleeves up and and get to work. So, thank you all. Um, thank you team for uh placing, you know, uh, confidence and faith in me. and it's just my pleasure. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Thank you. So, with that, uh, do I have a nomination for vice president? I nominate I nominate Janet Vera Cruz. I
043second. Okay. It's been nominated and second that Janet Vera Cruz serve as vice president of the Duncanville ISD trustee board. So, please cast your vote electronically. Congratulations, Janet. The motion pass 70. [Applause] Next. Do I have a nomination for secretary? Madame President, I nominate Cassandra Phillips for secretary. Second. It's been properly moved and second that Cassandra Phillips serve as a secretary of the Duncanville ISD school board. Please cast your vote electronically. Okay. So motion pass unanimously. 70. [Applause] Okay. We will Okay. [Music] We just got the Madame President, while we're doing the reorganization, I have a gift for you. Well, not the briefcase, but something's in it. As I mentioned in the video, the passing of the baton. Oh, how cute. I know. I thought so, too. In my normal cheerleading uh presentation, I pass
044the baton of president to you. Thank you very much. [Applause] I like tradition. [Music] Okay. We will now take action on items discussed in close session. Okay. Um item number seven. Do I have a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation to issue a one-year contract to Max Garin for the position of chief of police? Second. Thank you. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? Okay. If not, please cast your vote electronically. Motion pass 7 to zero. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Congratulations. Congratulations. glad to have you on board uh ensuring the safety of our district and we know that you will do an awesome job or continue to do an awesome job. So, thank you. Okay. So, next, do I have a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation to issue a one-year contract to Darla Moss for
045the position of chief financial officer? Second. It's been properly moved and second. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? With there being none, please cast your vote electronically. Motion passes 70 uh zero. So congratulations to Miss Moss. Um she will appear before the board the next month during the next meeting. Okay, next item. Do I have a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation to issue a one-year contract to Christopher Malone for the position of executive director of technology? Second. It's been properly moved and second. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? There being none, please cast your vote electronically. Okay, motion passes 70. So, we just hired three great employees that we're we're glad to have on our team. Now we will move to the consent agenda. Uh may I make a motion to move
046item 8E to the action agenda item uh which will become F. Okay. So, it has been moved that we move item 8E to the action agenda. Second. So, it's been properly moved and second that we move that item to the action agenda. Can I get a motion? Okay. Okay. Yes. Okay. Now, okay. You're right. Oh, thank you. So, can I uh get a motion to approve the consent agenda as amended? So, moved. Second. So, it's been properly moved and second that we approve the consent agenda as amended. Are there any questions, comments, or discussion? There being none, please cast your vote electronically. Okay. So, the motion passed 70. So we will now move on to action agenda A. Consider approval of the 2526 teacher salary schedules. Okay. Who is Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Miss Brown.
047Greetings, Madame President Coloulton, board of trustees, and Dr. Gory. I am here to present tonight the teacher the proposed 2025 20226 teacher salary schedules. On this slide you see a comparison of starting salaries for teachers in Duncanville ISD in comparison with some of the other districts in our region. Our district starting teacher salaries are currently behind some neighboring districts in the best southwest and the broader DFW area. Our starting salary for teachers is 58,500 for teachers with zero years of experience with the exception um of certified bilingual and special education self-contained teachers that start off with the $62,500. We are proposing that we add $2500 to each step of the teacher salary schedule and or teachers pay. The new starting salary for teachers would be $61,000. And the starting salary, the proposed starting salary for
048special education, self-contained and certified bilingual teachers would increase to $65,000. These salary increases are aimed at enhancing our competitive edge, supporting recruitment, and improving teacher retention in the district. These payraises for classroom teachers will be part of the district's commitment to teacher recruitment and and retention and would come from local funds. It does not include any teacher pay raises that would come from the house bill 2 pending board approval. This slide highlights where our district will stand in start of starting teacher pay compared to with districts in the region and the broader DFW uh area. Uh and also comparing us to the best southwest. Duncanville if approved tonight would offer the highest salary for teachers with zero years of experience in the best southwest. And those are comparing us to Cedar Hill, Dotto uh and
049Lancaster and other some other nearby districts as well. This competitive edge will not only help us to attract new teachers but also strengthen the retention of our already dedicated staff. So why now? It is crucial to begin recruitment efforts early as we are entering the prime hiring season for most school districts during this time. Advertising the new salary now would allow us to attract highly qualified educators from surrounding districts and help us to fill vacancies early in the summer. By July, many teachers have already committed to other districts and it is oftentimes too late for them to get out of their contract if they're interested in coming to Duncanville ISD. So promoting this new salary early will help us to recruit and also retain our staff that is currently within the district. Are there any
050questions? Are there any questions? Okay. Uh, do I have a motion to approve the Thank you, Mrs. Brown. Thank you very much. And thank you and your team for the work that y'all put in, you know, to do the research. Yes. So, do I have a motion to approve the 2526 teacher salary schedules as presented? So, moved. Second. Okay, it's been properly moved and second that the uh teacher salary schedules uh be approved. So, are there any questions, comments, or discussion? Okay, please cast your vote electronically. Yay. Yes. Yes. It It passed. We have to keep our [Applause] teachers. Yeah. Thank you, you know, for what you all do every every day, every day, all day in the classroom. Thank you all. We appreciate that. So next we will move on to action item B,
051purchase of updated automotive lab equipment at Duncanville High School. I would like to invite Dr. Samuel Nicks to the podium. Good evening, Madame President, members of the board. Dr. agree. Um the Dunkinville High School automotive lab was last updated in 2001. And so this requires um immediate renovation to provide students with industry relevant training. Not only are we talking about industry relevant training, we're also talking about student safety. When we're dealing with heavy machinery, it's very important that um the machinery works and that it works as intended um so that we don't put our students in a situation where they have to kind of overcompensate for things or use machines as maybe they not they're not intended to be used um because of their age. So to address this critical need, we propose the purchase
052of industry recognized equipment from Northstar Equipment, including a new brake lathe, aligner, and alignment rack. This investment will equip our students with the latest industry tool uh standard tools, enhancing their skills and preparing them for successful careers in the automotive field. But I just want to also share that we received three quotes for this um for this equipment. Northstar was the least expensive of of the quotes. Um and the one of the reasons that we went with them is because of the training that is provided with the equipment. not just getting the equipment, but the training, the development, walking alongside us to make sure that our our educ our our educators and our students um have what they need to be successful in the use of this equipment. And so, um the other vendors that
053we vetted were John Bean and Snap-On. And those are, you know, pretty industry recognized equipment. Um but uh be happy to answer any questions that you may have but I would like to say that we have our director of CTE and CCMR of innovation Mr. Winston Minik here to support me um just in answering some of the questions that you may have uh about the specifics. Are there any questions Dr. Ivory? She's not here. U I have a question. I don't know if you know the answer to this one, but I'm just wondering if we have are we planning to move old equipment from like culinary and the other things or are is that coming like soon or do we have a plan to also purchase new equipment for Yes, absolutely. That's part of the
054bond. And so thankfully um we under the the direction of Miss Fields right we have been meeting about that and have identified it will be new equipment for the new space for our students top of the line but all of that is covered in bond and so no there will not be moving of the old equipment to the new space there will be new equipment for the new space. Thank you. That's that's what I thought when I saw this. I just wanted to make sure. Okay. Thank you. Yes, absolutely. Trusty fe. Yes. Thank you. When we acquired the Toyota property that we later sold to the city, there were several of those car maintenance places. I don't know what they're called. The thing that raises the car and lower. Did we get to keep any
055of that? Because that was then it was it was top that was like Toyota and there were several stalls. Do we keep any of that equipment? Trusty Fehee, I don't have the answer to that, but we can get that and I can make sure that we respond to you. Don't Don't spend hours on it. I know we were able to use the umbrellas for the uh playgrounds for our children and but out of other than that, I don't know if we did anything, but I'm thinking that was a lot of u expensive equipment in there. Okay. But anyway, don't don't spend hours on it. Really? Yes, ma'am. I'll sleep tonight. Thank you. That caused me to think of a question. Will they get to expand in the old space? You know, we don't have currently
056in the bond project to expand that current space. That that wasn't the scope of work that we approved or that the that the committee approved. But I do think that with some of this and I'm this is an assumption now and I need to be careful but with the new equipment streamlines um probably more ergonomically appropriate for the space. So whereas some of that equipment is so large and and and kind of old 2001 as we bring in new equipment more standard equipment it will probably create more space for us. Okay. U but I don't have the specs and I can get that for you. Yeah. Are there any additional questions? If not, I have one. Uh Dr. Nicks, what is the delivery uh schedule? I'm going to now invite the director of CTE, Mr.
057Winston, because he's a part of actually purchasing this receiving beful. Thank you, board president. uh trustees. Um to answer that question, uh the delivery and the installation will be um I believe the middle of June. Oh wow, that's great. Yes, ma'am. And just to let you know, in addition uh to some of the great questions you asked, um the current machinery that they're using and equipment that they're using since 2001, they're not allowed to work on new vehicles. And so this is going to allow them to work on much newer vehicles. And so Wonderful. That's great. Any other uh questions? No. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay. So, if there are no other uh questions, then do I have a motion to approve the purchase of updated automotive lab equipment? So, move. Second.
058Okay, it's been properly moved and second. Please vote cast your vote electronically. Okay, motion passes 70. Thank you. Okay, we now move to action item C, purchase of district vehicles. And I would like to invite uh Miss Zamora. Thank you. Good evening, President Colton. Congratulations, board of trustees and Dr. Curry. So I'm pleased to come before you tonight with the opportunity to purchase new replacement vehicles for our white fleet. So currently our district has 70 wle vehicles across six departments, maintenance, nutrition, police security, technology, transportation, and warehouse. The average age of these vehicles is 12 years old with half being 13 years or older. With current year funds, we're proposing to replace eight of some of our oldest vehicles. The quotes in your packet are for vehicles currently in stock and available for purchase. The
059proposed purchase, which is summarized on page 207 of your board book, includes four new 2024 pickup trucks and two new 2024 vans for maintenance, one new 2023 4x4 pickup truck for transportation, and one new 2025 Suburban that will be used for staff to check out for travel. It'll be through the transportation department. These eight vehicles replace units. They're on average 17 years old. As I shared, all eight vehicles are in stock and ready for delivery. Um the 2023 and 2024 models, um they include a model year closeout savings totaling $8,500. All vehicles come with updated safety features and a three-year 36 mile bumper to barber warranty and a 5year 60-mi warranty for powertrain including an engine and transmission. And these warranties begin at the time of purchase. The district has successfully uh purchased items vehicles
060from Silsby. They're vendor affiliated with the TIPS prop purchasing cooperative. So tonight, we're recommending the board approve the purchase of eight wide fleet vehicles from Silsby at a total cost of 364,86. And I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. And Mr. Heck, director of transportation, is also here to assist. Did you say they were 17 years old? The the the average age of them. Yes. Wow. Squeeze 20 out of them. Are there any other questions? So I have a a question. Will the current vehicles be auctioned or what is what will we do with them? Yes. So we would auction the ones where that that were the ones that replacing we would auction them off. Okay. And then um I know we don't know until we auction, but what is the anticipated
061auction value? Uh um some of them aren't even running, so we won't know until until we get there. Um please come get them. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You'd be surprised people still I mean Yeah, people buy them. So Okay. Um thank you for your presentation. So, do I have a motion to approve the purchase of eight white fleet vehicles from SealsB at a total cost of $364,86? So moved. Second. It's been properly moved and second. Um, please cast your vote electronically. Okay, motion passes 70. Thank you. Okay, next item. We now move to action item D. Consider approval of the request to the Texas Education Agency for a staff development waiver. And we have Dr. Graham. No, Mr. Gra. Not yet. Not yet. Mr. Mr. Graham. Mr. Graham. Call me what my daddy used to call
062me. Thank you. Get into that another time. All right. Good evening to President Colton, to all of the trustees, and to superintendent Dr. Gore. One of the expectations of our superintendent is that we get a complete understanding of all the opportunities presented to us by TEA. Tonight, I'm presenting the staff development waiver. It can also be known as the student instructional minute waiver. This waiver will allow school districts to count designated staff development minutes toward the required student instructional minutes. It provides flexibility in meeting the 75,600 minute requirement by substituting the professional development time for student instructional time on approved dates. Now, the state requirement is that all Texas districts must complete must operate at a minimum of 75,600 instructional minutes, which include recess, which include um intermission and instruction. Duncanville ISD current has exactly
06375,600 minutes. We also have three designated teacher professional development days. Staff development days were held on September 20th, 2024, January 6, 2025, and March 17th, 2025, totaling 1,260 minutes of professional development. This waiver allows us, this waiver can give us up to 2100 minutes added to our 75,600 minutes. The purpose of the waiver of the staff development waiver allows districts to substitute development days for student instructional minutes. Each approved staff development day counts toward the 75,000 minutes requirement. Now, why does this matter? unforeseen closures. If our if our district were to close tomorrow for some type of issue, we would have to make that day up. And on historical data shows that anytime we have a makeup day, our average daily attendance is lower than 70%. Also, if this passes, we can make up or
064we can actually use those three in those three professional days, turn them into student instructional days, and we can regain funding for our transportation department. The next slide shows our reported minutes for this year. You can look at the first six weeks and you'll see that we had 12,150 minutes. We had one professional day which is 420 minutes. If you look at the fourth six weeks, 11,700 minutes, we had one professional day on January the 6th. And if you look at the last one on the fifth six weeks, which is March the 17th, a staff development day of 420 minutes. That total of 1,20 1,260 minutes. Again, those total of that 1,260 minutes can now be added back to the 75,000 minutes, which will give us 76,860 minutes. Again, why now? If schools were to
065close unexpectedly, this waiver would ensure that we remain in compliance with the required instructional minutes, protecting our state funding. approval allows the allows us to convert professional days into instructional days, enabling us to claim transportation miles for funding on those days. And last, submitting this waiver this year also gives us the opportunity to understand the approval process more clearly in case it's denied. Important preparation as we plan to submit it early next year. Do you have any questions at this time? Uh so normally you ask in advance of the year not at the end. Yes. But because the the situation isn't understood we're doing it in uh in revers what two two reasons. Um we learned about this a few months ago um after clearly doing our our homework on what it actually requires. And
066second, we can actually go back and gain those those those minutes for this year, which will allow us to gain funding for transportation. So, it's two reasons we would go ahead and do it this year. Oh, okay. Yes, ma'am. Trusty F. Thank you. So this is more about receiving funding than it is our students having the 74 756 minutes. So it's it's a little bit of both. Again, ultimately we always want to do what's best for children at all times. Here it gives us an opportunity if we have days this year we had to make up a day in February. On that day our average our attendance for that day was 62%. If we had this in place, we would not have made we would not have to have made that day up. So ultimately,
067um it allows us to increase funding for the district. Um and also allows it's saying that teacher preparation is as important as as student instructional minutes at in certain times, but you should plan for this before school starts. Thank you. And madam president, if I could add something to that and I appreciate your question because initially when staff brought me this proposal, I looked at this as though well are we saying that we don't need to make up this time. But what I would assure the board is that there are so many opportunities and we learned so much uh coming out of co around unique opportunities to where we can make sure that students are still receiving highquality instruction. They're still being held to the same standards and to the same requirements and not actually
068be at school. So those would be things that we would do. But I do want to reassure assure this board that we will continue to have those same requirements uh even if we execute this waiver. Are there any additional questions from trustees? Okay. So I I do have one. I know you know school is coming to a close but um if an event were to happen and we were not able to have our normal day what would be the consequence if we didn't have a waiver seeing that we have the 75 minutes 757 yes if school if we had an unforeseen event tomorrow we would have to make that day up next week and chances are no one would come to school on that day. Yes. Okay. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Uh
069Mr. Graham. So if there are no further questions, uh can I have a motion to approve uh the request to submit a staff development waiver to the Texas Education Agency for the 2425 school year. So move. Second. Okay. It's been properly moved and second. Um, trustees, would you please cast your vote electronically? Okay. Motion passes 70. Thank you, Mr. Graham. Okay. We now move to action item. Thank you. We now move to action item E, youth trustee advisory committee. Madam President, I'd like to move to table this motion until a later date. I'd like to second that given that we were no uh not given any written information on the program. Okay. It's been properly moved. I'm sorry. The presentation was made last month. So the information I just don't want that on the record
070that there was no information. So there was an information session. No motion. My complete. Yes. Well, it's been properly moved and second that this item be tabled um into uh indefinite uh date. And uh with that, are there any questions or comments? If not, uh trustees, please cast your vote. Can you put that back up there, please? So it looks like I was trying to hit no just so that it it reads six one. Okay. I'm not sure contact. We can make note of it. Okay. Okay. Jody has no Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. So motion to table passes by vote of 61. Okay. We have another item uh that we move from the consent. Okay. To the action agenda. Uh, Miss Brown, if you would uh please let's see um come and
071uh talk to us about the district of innovation. Thank you. Good evening again board president Coloulton, board of trustees and Dr. Gory. Tonight I am going to present uh information regarding our district of innovation plan. So, what is the district of innovation? In the 84th legislative section uh session, excuse me, Texas school districts were allowed to pursue the designation of district of innovation. This provision allowed traditional ISDs some of the flexibilities that are currently allowable for charter schools and it's also intended to allow greater local control uh and innovation to better meet the needs of the students. In 2017, Duncanville ISD, the board of trustees approved the original district of innovation with six exemptions under the DOI plan which allowed flexibility to the minimum attendance for class credit or final grade 90% rule, the length
072of the instructional day, the uniform SCAR start date or the first day of instruction, the campus behavior coordinator, the state certification requirements for teachers and other educators, ers and information regarding the probationary contracts in the five of eight rule. This slide shows the timeline of the district of innovation plan and how it has progressed through Duncanville ISD. You can see here in 2015 it was approved uh by our Congress. In 2017, Duncanville adopted our f our first DOI plan. It was renewed in 2022 with one additional exemption. And tonight we are presenting a proposal for seven additional exemptions. So the amendment process for the DOI plan could be done at any time during the term. Um it does not require the district to adopt the entire pro uh document entirely and it does not change
073the date or the term of the plan. So the DOI plans have to be renewed every five years and that original adoption date and the renewal dates from there on after remain the same. So on tonight um these are the original six exemptions that I referred to earlier that were adopted in 2017 and I won't read them again but these are the original exemptions and one additional exemp exemption was approved in 22 2022 excuse me in 2022 this is the exe additional exemption and it was dealing with the transfer of students or pretty much affecting and our limited open enrollment students uh and the ability to for students for who transfer outside of the district um with them requiring the application and doing that annually and making sure that they do not violate the terms
074of the agreement for our enrollment and that deals with like discipline behavior and things of that nature. So that was an additional exemption that was renewed last year. So, I'm about to get ready to go over some of our local proposed amendments for 2025. This slide shows all of our proposed amendments for 2025. And um we will further explain these on the slides in detail. In a minute, I'm going to ask Mr. Graham and Miss Mayo to join me later. So the first slide outlines several exemptions that will provide us with the flexibility to address staffing needs if we are unable to find certified teachers. Our goal is always to hire certified educators first. The teacher shortage remains significant across the state and nationally. The University of Texas released a report that shows that fe
0755 57% of new hires in the state are uncertified. So this is not an issue that is unique to Duncanville ISD. It is impacting districts across the region and across the state. These exemptions would not be our first option, but they would allow us the availability only when absolutely necessary uh to hire individuals that are pursuing their teaching degree. They're enrolled in an educator preparation program uh to obtain their certification to address student needs, but they don't yet have that intern uh certificate. On this next slide, it is referring to uh certified counselors. Again, our first priority is always to hire certified counselors. This exemption would provide us with the flexibility if we are unable to find certified candidates. It would allow us to hire those pursuing their counseling certificate through a educator preparation program
076such as a university or region 10. Um, and even with the possibility of hiring LPCs, which our legislature also approved a couple of years ago, in the event that uncertified counselors are hired, and this is not our goal, the district will offer additional training and support to ensure their prof professional growth and success. This flexibility will help to ensure that students will receive the guidance that they need despite staffing challenges. This slide um addresses the probationary contracts. Teachers with zero years of experience may be placed on a probationary contract for up to three years. However, the five of eight rule refers to teachers that have worked in public public education for five of the past eight years. um and they have a probationary contract that can only be ex used for that one year. This
077exemption will allow us the flexibility to extend that up to three years. That is only needed if a teacher were to require additional evaluation uh before transitioning them to a term contract. Before I get ready to transition this to Mr. Graham, I would like to know if I can answer uh any questions about any of the items that I have presented. Are there any questions? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, to board president, Miss Coloulton, to all other trustees, and to superintendent Gory. As we continue with the proposed amendments, the first one that I would like to present is the vape ecigarette DAP placement amendment. Duncanville ISD requests an exemption for the current requirement that all vaping related offenses result in a mandatory placement in the discipline alternative education program. Before this 2020 change
078in policy, district retained local discretion in responding to vaping incidents. Since that statemanded zero tolerance approach took effect, both vaping violations and DEAP placements have increased by 47%. Straining the campus resources and instructional continuity. Restoring flexibility to our principles will empower them to apply a wider range of evidence-based consequences such as counseling, restorative practices, and short-term inschool interventions rather than just defaulting to one DEA placement for every case. The next proposed amendment is the attendance for class credit. Duncanville ISD requests the exemption from the 90% attendance rule required to award credit for final grades. Again, this amendment will allow the district to prioritize student learning, particularly for those students with unique needs by offering flexible, innovative instructional models. Attendance expectations will remain in place, but this flexibility supports retention and academic success. Currently, Duncanville loses
079between 50 to 100 students annually to dropout or districts offering virtual options. This amendment focuses solely currently on dropout prevention with the possibility of in innovative classes in the future. And the final proposed amendment is the class size class ratio amendment. This amendment provides flexibility to maintain classes near that 24 to1 ratio without compromising educational quality. Eliminating the 22 student cap and the waiver process empowers the district to make timely local decisions that keep students in their neighborhood schools and reduce unnecessary transfers. This approach supports classroom stability, personalized learning, and improves transportation efficiency by reducing the need to bus students to other campuses due to class size limits. Especially important this year with elementary enrollment increasing following the reconfigurations. At this time, do I have any questions? Are there any questions? I have a question.
080Um, Mr. Graham. Yes, sir. So with the um class size, I guess uh Texas Education Code 25.113 provides that we have to give written notice of the exception to the parent or person standing in parental relation to each affected student. So, how would that um would that the exemption that we're um asking for is speaking of tonight, would that exempt us from that requirement? Okay. Yes. We would not have give no we would not have to give notice to the parent if we stay under the proposed ratio. Okay. All right. Are there any other questions for Mr. Graham? Oh, thank you. Was there a committee to form these proposed amendments? Yes, we've had several um meetings with several the teacher committees. We've had meetings with um our principles had opportunities to look at this. Of
081course, SLT had opportunities to look at this as well. This started back in the fall um when when Mrs. um Wallace presented this information and several of those committees begin at that time. But there was one committee to propose these amendments. Was there a group of people who proposed these amendments or did you just go to different places? So each so these these amendments were given to each department. For example, any of these amendments that um fall in my particular department, I went through and I I I studied other districts to determine some of the best possible ways that we could possibly implement this and would this fit Duncanville. We know that we have certain traditions here. We wanted to make sure that this would fit what we do in Duncanville. So you as an
082SLT? Yes. It started with the person in that particular department. We presented it to the SLT and then it started to go to the different committees that are in the district. Right. Mr. Gra, if I'm correct, DEIC saw this as well, right? The district committee saw this. From DEIC, it went on to the principles uh and and it worked through those. It went through the teacher uh through the teacher group as well. And all of those groups had an opportunity to to provide feedback uh to develop the final recommendation. Thank you. And now I will turn this over to Miss Mayo. Actually I have another question. So on the class ratio if we are exempt from that there is no max. Yes. The 24 would be the max at that. Okay. Okay. I know it
083says a target. So that would be the max. So it be two students. Yes. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Turn it over to Miss Mayo. Thank you, Mr. Graham. Uh, President Coloulton, board of trustees, and Dr. Gory. Um, I am bringing you a proposed amendment to our term of depository contract. So, current law states that the term of a school district's contract with a depository bank is two years and allows for three additional 2-year terms. So, we are currently with our first additional two-year term that the board adopted last fall. The business services department is seeking an exemption for requirements regarding the term of a district's contract with a depository bank. The changes detailed in the presentation extend the current contract period for one additional two-year term. So instead of three additional terms, it allows for
084one more additional two-year term. Please keep in mind that every two years the board does approve this extension. So there is extensive review on the contract to ensure fiscal responsibility partnership um with the district and the banking institution. Um, using this designation allows us to modify the state requirements to better meet our needs. It helps us gain flexibility to extend the banking contract beyond the standard limit, ensuring continuity with financial services and better long-term planning and strategic partnerships with our local vendors. Are there any questions? Yes, I do remember in changing it really affects the employees heavily and I'm sure it affects the finance department but the employees especially having to change banks to where they cash their checks or deposit what have you. And then I just saw something that I didn't know. So,
085at the end of that three additional two-year term, you would have to go out for bid even if you were having a great relationship with that bank. That's exactly right. So, even if we were having a great little relationship with the bank, then we found them to be the most fiscally responsible partnership. We would have to go up for RFP. So, this does allow us additional two-year term. Thank you. Are there any further questions? Okay. So, do I have a a motion to approve the proposed amendments to the district of innovation plan as presented tonight? So moved. Second. Okay. It's been properly moved and second. Uh, with there being no further questions, trust question. Oh, yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. I do have a question. So, we vote yes on all seven. Okay. It's not a
086one by one. It's all seven. All amend. All the amendments. Would you with one vote? Would you like to take them individually? Janice says no. No, that's okay. No, that's okay. Yes, that's okay. Okay. Yes. So, uh, one vote. All right. Y'all ready to vote? Okay. Okay. So, the motion passes by vote of 6 to one. So, thank you all. And next we have no items on the information information discussion agenda. Uh we will now move to communications from citizens. Okay. Oh great. Okay. Being that there is no further items to discuss, do I have a motion to adjurnn? Second. Okay. Thank you all.