001Good afternoon everyone. The board of trustees of the Harris County Department of Education is now convened in a regular board meeting on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 in room 401 of 6300 Irvington, Houston, Texas. It is 10:02 p.m. We wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present at this meeting of the board of trustees. As trustees, we are here to set goals, listen to reports from the superintendent, approve budgets, contracts, personnel appointments, and set policy for the district. It is not the role of the board to make day-to-day operational decisions. The management and day-to-day operations of the department are the responsibility of the superintendent. We have policies and procedures in place to resolve concerns and issues. This is a meeting a public meeting of the board of trustees, not a meeting of the public. Prior
002to this meeting, board members received information related to items on today's agenda. Agenda items will not necessarily be handled in the order listed on the notice. The meeting is open to all who wish to attend and to hear matters discussed. During the course of this meeting, the board may determine that a close session is necessary. In that event, the board will meet in close session to consider matters duly posted for this meeting as permitted by section 551.071 to 551.084, inclusive of the Texas government code. I respectfully ask that you please refrain from talking while others are speaking and that cell phones are turned off or in silent mode. Thank you for taking time today to join us and for your interest in the Harris County Department of Education. I don't believe we have any public
003speakers, but um we will start with the invocation by Thelma Banks, manager of the schoolbased therapy services. Can we all bow our heads, please? Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of another day. As we gather for this board meeting, we ask for your presence to be with us. Grant us wisdom and understanding. Guide our decisions and our discussions. Help us to make these decisions that are for the good of all. We pray your blessings and covering over our leaders, board members, and all HCDE staff. Let us keep in mind who we are truly working for. In Jesus's matchless name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. And now, the pledge of allegiance to the US and Texas flags uh by Laura Cavayto with uh facilities department. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
004United 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. Yeah. So it's uh time for the open form on the agenda, but I don't think we have any speakers. So we will move to item number five, public hearing for the purpose of considering the proposed tax rate of 0.004798 per $100 assessed property value for tax year 2026, I'm sorry, 2025, fiscal year 2025 to 2026. The no new revenue rate has been calculated at 0.004725 per $100 assessed property value. The recommended rate is below the voter approval rate of 0.005127. >> Dr. from Mexico. You have presentation. >> You have a copy of the presentation in
005front of you and uh the uh values that uh we're projecting is 688 billion uh out of a possible 76 billion that uh were projected. Uh we uh looked at the 640 certified plus 32 billion that were not included and then 17 billion that were not under protest. uh uh not yet included. So the net amount would be 681 billion770689. The value last year was 655 billion. So there's a difference of about 26.7 billion and that gives us a 31,730,17 [clears throat] in terms of the levy. Uh the values have gone up. Uh you can see that 688 billion since 2021. Uh total of uh about 31 billion that's uh increased uh from uh from a year ago. Um it's been since 2013 that there's been a decline in terms of the tax rate decrease
006or 31% or 4.55 less than um 2013 or a 31% 19 change. So you can see there since 2016 um in the the new the new rate is at uh 4.004798 004798 which is above the no new revenue rate but below the uh voter approval rate. [clears throat and cough] So the uh nominal rate was 04799. The recommended rate is 04798. [clears throat and cough] And so this is the projection of the uh values over time. As you can see, we've graphed also some key things that have happened to the values when Harvey hit, when COVID hit, when Yuri uh the 20% increase in valuation back in 2022. And then of course uh this year the House Bill 9 that increased the values for businesses uh to 125,000 exemption. So that will account for some
007of the adjusted in growth for for the current year. This is the calculation that we made and you saw this presentation in this uh spreadsheet back in uh during the budget meetings and the budget workshop. And so that's uh as of uh um uh October uh we see a total of 33 million uh 1171 193 in our budget. This was a tax um notice that was published in the newspaper. We were required to do that. no less than uh 10 days. Um and so we post that according to to the law and uh the uh um no new revenue rate uh 00047 uh in voter approval 05127. And so the uh next step would be to move the property tax rate be increased by the adoption of the tax rate of 04798 per valuation which
008is effectively a 1.54% increase in the tax rate. That is by law the definition of it. Not technically we're reducing it but the law allows it if you're doing above the the non new revenue rate the law requires that to be named this way. So that's why we have that language there. And at this time uh we need to open it up for public comment. Any public comments regarding our proposed tax rate hearing? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and close the hearing. Yes, sir. Uh 111. We we close the hearing at 111 p.m. [clears throat] Item number six, consider approval to adopt tax rate of 0004798 per $100 evaluation for tax year 2025 to 2026 in accordance with the truth in taxation laws codified in chapter 26 and amended by the 88th legislature. Do I
009hear a motion? >> Mr. Chairman, I recommend I propose that we this year's proposed tax rate exceeds the no new revenue tax rate. [clears throat] The vote on the ordinance resolution or order setting the tax rate must be a record vote and 60% of the governing body must vote in favor of the adoption of the tax rate. A motion a motion to adopt the ordinance, resolution, award must be made in the following in the following form. So I move that the property tax rate be increased by the adoption of a tax rate of 0.04798 which is effectively a 1.54% increase in the tax rate. >> Second. >> Got a motion Dr. McGee. Second by Trustee Chashi. Uh any discussion hearing? None. Although >> I do have this question. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Trusty did. >>
010Thank you. Uh, trusty camp too. Um, anyway, I think that this uh increase is reasonable. I think that the organization as a whole could have increased up to 8% and the fact that we uh exercise discretion to um only go 3.65 65 even though even though you could have increased it more is um you know I think that's pretty good. I also think that um um you know this is uh since we do have public comment I would uh encourage the the organization HCD organization to allow visitors to come upstairs more than 10 minutes before. I think we did have a guest and I was downstairs with him, George, and he was only allowed to actually come upstairs 10 minutes before the hearing. So, I'd encourage us to have, you know, maintain a high level
011of transparency. At least let people come up maybe an hour or 30 minutes before the hearing. I think I think we should do that and especially for the when they're allowed to have public comment. I just don't think it's the best look only allowing people to come up 10 minutes before. But I I'm not there's no fault there. I'm not casting blame. just thought it was something that we should think about. Um but overall I think we did exercise uh fiscal responsibility um as the rate could be increased an additional 3.65% but we exercise restraint and not doing that following our um our kind of uh history of every year reducing our tax rate. So I I do think uh uh you know some applause to our organization and also Dr. for engaging in fiscal
012responsibility. I I really do think we should applaud that because that that really that really does kind of show something. [applause] >> Cheers, ma'am. >> All right. Thank you, Trusty Dick. Any other discussion? >> I was just going to mention you mentioned increase. We're actually decreasing the tax rate. The law requires that if you are above that new revenue name, >> but technically you're going lower from last, >> right? That's what I want to make sure we >> Thank you. Trust Trusty McGee. Any other discussion? If not, all those in favor? >> Okay. >> No. There it is. >> I'd just like to respond to Trusty Dick that that is something that we agree with and we will look into that. >> Will you call out the one you want me to do? >> Okay.
013All right. We need a record vote one by one. Uh how do you vote? Uh I >> Trusty Duhan. >> [clears throat] >> I vote I. >> I vote yes. I >> I vote I. >> Right. 6. All in favor? Unanimous vote. Thank you. >> All right. Uh, moving on to reports and presentations. Uh, 7A is principal month. [snorts] Dr. Charles Ned. [applause] Uh good afternoon board of trustees, Superintendent Colbert, uh general counsel Langua. Um October is principal month. Uh and so I would like to uh take the opportunity to recognize our four fearless leaders. These these principles lead our campuses every day. U they do an exceptional job. Uh they lead in a varsity way. >> [laughter] >> uh and and they absolutely love our children and our students and they make a difference
014in their lives. And so um at this time I would like to show a video that has been prepared by our wonderful communications department. >> Principal noun chief executive officer of an educational institution [music] >> [music] >> This is Travita Godfrey, [music] principal of Fortis Academy, a longtime school counselor turned administrator with a heart for the students she [music] serves. As a principal, she wants to really make a difference and impact her community. >> None of us can [music] live forever. I only hope that the impact and mark that I've made on my community will last a lifetime. This is Courtney Waters, who turned to education while in college after pursuing a nursing degree that didn't quite fit. She found her home in education and now leads High Point School East. She knows this life
015is absolutely her calling. And as a principal, she is a change agent, having the privilege of changing lives every [music] single day. So as a principal, I'm trying to instill in my students that we are built to win. We don't hope for success, we're built for it. Jata Hutton is a lifelong learner who knows as principal of ABS West, his role is to champion kids and be in their corner just like people did for him. He has a [music] coach mentality and make sure his team is ready to help and stand in the gap for their students. I pride myself as being a champion for kids. We're going to focus on our wow moments. Making sure we celebrate small successes. Making sure we celebrate [music] the things that matter to ensure that all of our
016kids feel valued and that we're making progress towards our goals. >> Over at ABS East, [music] Mercedes love leads with heart. Her passion for education came at a young age knowing this is the field she would excel in. Her love for her students and staff shines day in and day out. >> At Academic and Behavior School [music] East, we're striving for progress, not perfection. My goal as principal is to make sure that all of our students and [music] staff are successful. HCDE [music] is beyond excited to celebrate these four individuals who epitomize servant leadership and dedication to [music] their craft. Thank you for all you do. [music and applause] [applause] And so at this time I do ask the principles when I call your name please stand and be recognized. Uh, let's start with Principal
017Courtney Wanders at High Point School East. [applause] Stay there. Stay there. [snorts] Next up is Miss Mercedes Love, principal at ABS East. [applause] And then last but not least, Principal Jata Hutton at ABS West. [applause] Um, Principal Godfrey is not with us at this time and so, um, let's give her a hand as well anyway. [applause] And so I would ask if the board would come down and take a picture with the principles or do you want Angel up or down? Oh, stay up there. >> [clears throat] >> And so congratulations to our principles. We love you. [applause] >> Yeah. I would just like to say that, you know, every year I like to speak and brag about our principles. Um, I'm a players coach and so I'm the guy that has spent more years
018on the campus than you can imagine. And I just want everybody to know that the principles that came up today were handpicked. Their campuses are extremely unique and special. There's not another campus like theirs in all of Houston. >> [snorts] >> And so they have a dynamic and diverse skill set with extremely high expectations from this building, the board, but also from the students, the school districts and their parents. And um these principles, they meet that challenge daily. Um, we have tried to transform our campuses from a place that would just house and babyset children that are at risk children to actually educating, improving, and trying to teach them to be self-sufficient. We tell parents all the time, we can't cure your kid, but we're going to make your kid better when they leave here.
019They're going to be more independent. They're going to be respectful. They're going to do all the things that we want them to do to be productive citizens to our society. And our principles embody that spirit. And so one of the most significant things they have to do is hire people who feel like them and who are not afraid of the students that we work with. And so and if if we can't get them there, then you know I tell people I 10 goes east and west. You can find some other place to work at. And so they won't hesitate to do that. So just kudos to our principles. I love y'all. Y'all are fantastic. and um HCD is very fortunate to have them. So, thank you so much. [applause] >> So, it's also Head Start
020awareness month and uh to highlight that we'll have our senior director, Miss Peacock. >> Good afternoon. October is Head Start Awareness Month. It's a month. It's when we stop and take time to connect with our community and help them understand what we do in Head Start and how they play an important role in that and how our theme this year is champions for children is celebrating our partnerships. Uh and we have a brief video to share. >> I personally hope we never do anything without Head Start. Head [music] Start is [music] a lifeline that gives children and their families the tools and confidence to succeed in life. [music] HCDE's Head Start is built on powerful partnerships that work together to champion every child. [music] Families are Head Start's first partners. The policy council is made
021up of [music] parents and community members that meet every month. Welcome to our first policy council meeting of [music] the 2526 year. By sharing ideas and experiences, they shape the program and support all children. [music] By partnering with local school districts like Houston ISD, HCD's Head Start helps children prepare for that next big step into elementary school. [music] Having the Head Start partnership has allowed us to have onampus personnel that are focused on [music] not just our academic well-being but also their social emotional well-being. Our history teachers and our HAC teachers both teach each other different things and they create this like magical experience for students that covers their well-rounded needs. [music] The Assistance League of Houston is an essential partnership that supports Headstart families by providing uniforms and books. Assistance League of Houston and
022Head Start began our partnership [music] around 2006. Teachers say that with the uniforms [music] and clothing that they are better behaved. There's more self-confidence. [music] With super mentors, men from the community come once a month and spend time [music] reading with Head Start Children. >> One of the super mentors comes from a partnership with Journey of Faith, which also serves as home to the Umble Head Start Center. >> I am a huge advocate for the Head Start program and the Head Start program [music] particularly at Umble because I think they do a phenomenal job. I am a a product of the Head Start programming. It was my early introduction to the Head Start program that helped tract my path. [music] >> Oh my goodness. >> Throughout the year, Journey of Faith generously donates food and
023toys to Umple Head Start families. >> This has been a wonderful [music] partnership and we are looking forward to the next 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 years of partnership. And it's the strong partnership between HCDE [music] and Successful Starters Academy that prepares infants to 2-year-olds for the Head Start classroom. >> The mom with the early head start program. They pay for the tuition, the diapers, the wipes. They closely assist us with making sure that the children are actually going to get their immunization on time, dental screening on time, the overall health of that child. video. >> It's been a really good experience. I do a commercial for him all the time. I'll be like, "Oh, y'all got sign up for the early head. Sign up for head start." You know, we try to keep people
024engaged with it because and I like the way that it's going to go from zero on. >> From families to schools, community volunteers, and child care providers, these partnerships are a part of Head Start success together. We are champions for [music] children. [music] >> So the rest of the month um there will be events at every campus where they'll bring in community partners to just celebrate them and thank them for all that they've done to support our program. at the end of the month on Wednesday the 29th uh we will have a lunchon in celebration here uh for the head start uh awareness month. Um so thank you. [applause] >> Thank you Miss Peacock. Next uh it's time for employee of the month Dr. Sylvester. >> [applause] >> First Price President Cantu board of trustees,
025Superintendent Colbert. Today we honor Rebecca Ramos, art specialist at ABS East as our October 2025 employee of the month. Rebecca began her journey with ACDE as a life skills teacher at ABS East where she set the foundation for her leadership role on the campus through demonstrated commitment to the to to the success of her students. Mercedes Love, principal of ABS East said, "Rebecca is a positive influence at the school, making students, staff, and families feel welcome with every interaction. Rebecca consistently offers guidance, support, and resources to her colleagues, contributing to a culture of teamwork and continuous improvement, Miss Love said in her nomination. Rebecca is known for her dependability, punctuality, and strong work ethic. Miss Love credits Rebecca with establishing a foundation of trust in the ABA's East community with her ability to listen and
026advocate for students and families. Rebecca applies these skills to relationships with partner school districts, establishing strong connections that support the school's ability to meet students needs. [clears throat] Miss Love noted that Rebecca embodies the core values of ABS East, dedication, collaboration, compassion, and excellence. Her willingness to step in wherever she is needed coupled with her ability to manage a demanding workload with grace makes her an invaluable asset to our school. Miss Love said she has consistently demonstrated a genuine commitment to the well-being and success of our students. Our comm team has prepared a short video highlighting Rebecca's contributions. >> [music] >> Good morning. [singing] >> Meet native Houstononian and academic behavior schools east transition and art specialist Rebecca Ramos. She's the link between ABS East and HCDE's partner school districts, ensuring students get the support
027they need to thrive. >> Like I do a little bit of everything around [music] here. I work with the arts. I work with orientation. I work with all the districts on their point of contact. I help [music] out the teachers. I do PLC's with the teachers, different trainings. >> Perfect. [music] So then you're going to click on Rebecca has to deal with all of our teachers here on campus because they're the ones that have to get the paperwork ready. She goes above and beyond for our teachers who may be struggling with developing certain aspects of a student's IEP. >> Know for the art that we do have to have all the behavior [music] data so we can provide it to the districts. >> She has been a phenomenal asset to our districts. Always on call.
028They text her. [music] They email her all times of night on her personal cell phone. And she's always available and she does it with a smile. and the students love her. >> My biggest [music] thing has always been building that rapport with the student. That's always been my number one thing. A lot of our kids here, they do come with like a lot of trauma. In this job, [music] you have to have a lot of heart. She is the most giving person that I've ever met in all of the years that I've been in education. What I have learned is not to give up on the students. When [music] you see them transition back to their home campus from the first day they walked, [music] you know, to this school, it's truly amazing and it's
029rewarding to see the huge difference that we can make in their lives. We work [music] great as a team. We collaborate well together. I really enjoy working with the people I work with. >> It was last fall when Rebecca's fellow transition specialist left ABS East. The position was vacant until the summer. Rebecca became the onewoman IEP [music] and AR machine handling everything, all the teacher prep, paperwork, and communication with the districts without missing [music] a beat. >> Cuz then I just got a call from the district this morning and they want to add another seat. >> And over the summer, Dr. Nicholas Herring came on board as East's new transition specialist. And Rebecca spent the summer months preparing her new colleague for his role. >> But she knows what every student needs. all these students
030from different districts. She knows all of their needs and all of their accommodations. And then just to know that off the back of your head is just uh nothing short of amazing. She is like the Wonder Woman of the campus. >> She is such [music] a valuable employee. I think the level of success that I've had as a principal to this point is due in part to Rebecca Ramos. >> [music] >> Please join me in congratulating Miss Rebecca Ramos, ACDE's October 2025 employee of the month. [applause] [applause and cheering] Um, >> thank you. Appreciate you. Again, [clears throat] on behalf of the board and the and the entire department, uh, Miss Ramos, congratulations. And to your family, great job. [applause] Next, we'll have the superintendent monthly report. >> Thank you, sir. I just have one
031thing to update the board on. I had the pleasure of attending our choice partners nutrition and product expo last week. Um, this is something that we've been doing for over 20 years. I don't know for 20 years whether we've had themes and costumes, but it's always interesting watching our senior director, Jeff Drury, put on tights and all the he had a candy cane stick or whatever you had. So, the theme was um I think it was candy >> sweet success. Okay. I just saw some some Willy Wonka. Saw that. Some Oompa Loompas. Uh, King Candy and Queen Frosting. Yeah. So, um, really great event. We had over 200 kids attend this event from 12 different school districts. Uh, more pizza than you could find any place on Earth and chicken strips and other little food
032products. But it's just something that we provide for ISDs that really inspire students about what nutrition means in their school. and they get to have some choice and hopefully influence their central office and what they get to choose. We also had our for students attend. So, it was an excellent event. Um, I also want to give a big shout out to Trish because she did a fantastic job. I had several vendors mention her name because she runs point on that event. So, she did a fantastic job. And with that, that's all I have, sir. >> Thank you, sir. Next we'll have a annual division update from the school-based therapy. [applause] >> Okay. Okay. Do I have this where you guys can hear me? Okay. Okay. All right. Well, good afternoon board of trustees, Superintendent Colbert,
033and general counsel Lingua. Thank you for this opportunity to present to you uh therapy services annual board report. Before I get started, I want to take just a moment to recognize and introduce to you my staff that is here today. I have my management team and my administrative team. Would you guys stand up? >> [applause] >> So together these ladies uh support our 170 therapists that we have working all around the school I mean all around the county in our school districts and our charter schools. They provide um support uh mentoring, training, handholding in the classroom, a shoulder to cry on when it's needed, and it is sometimes needed. And they do these things every single day with love, with heart, um for their people, and I am eternally grateful for all that they do.
034So, thank you guys. [applause] So therapy services, who are we and what do we do? So we provide occupational therapy, physical therapy, music therapy, management, consulting, program evaluation, staff development, and training to school districts in charter schools. But what does that look like in the classroom? So to answer that question, I have a picture here that I want to tell you a little story about. So, this is one of our little guys um that we serve in his HCDE occupational therapist. Uh the little boy's name is Yuma. And Yuma is in first grade and he goes to school in a general education classroom. Yuma is a very bright student. He's an advanced reader. He loves math. He's really a whiz on the computer. Um he's very musical. he can recreate any beat that you give
035him. Um, he's also a non-verbal student with autism and his autism sometimes can create some challenges for him. So, you know, school has just recently started and Yuma has had some challenges so far this year. And one of those challenges for Yuma is that when he is going through transition time, and that could be transitioning um from one activity to another in the classroom or transitioning from one location to another in the school building, he can get overwhelmed and disregulated. And when that happens to Yuma, he um responds by trying to run away from the situation. And you guys know that our children with autism have a tendency sometimes to run away and it can be dangerous for them and it's it's very concerning to their families and it was for Yuma's parents and for
036his teachers and his principal. So this was creating a problem and it was a barrier to his being able to do the things that first grade students want to do. They want to go to lunch with their peers. they want to go out to recess and they want to participate. But when he had these problems, that made that difficult. So his occupational therapist, Katherine, kind of got involved. And Katherine is very creative therapist. She's got a huge heart for her kids. She's wonderful. And she came up with an idea to help Yuma. And so you see this little red cart that is here that Yuma's kind of got a hold of. Um, one thing that Katherine knows as a occupational therapist is that when children tend to get disregulated or get overwhelmed, especially children on
037the spectrum, when we give them what we call heavy work, that's like pushing something like this or doing push-ups, it helps to regulate their nervous system. So, she found this cart, weighted it down, and gave it to Yuma so he could push this cart. But she went a little step further. She gave him a job, a very important job. [laughter] So whenever the class goes anywhere, this cart goes with the class. Yum is the only one with the responsibility to push this cart. And it always contains really, really important items that must get from where we are to where we're going. And he takes his job very seriously. He's a smart kid. And so since we've started this idea, Yuma has had zero incidences of running away. So, [applause] and that's just one example. That's
038a normal thing. We do that a hundred times every day for our children all over the county. And so, I thought that story might kind of help put a picture in your mind of what is it that therapy services does out there. So, so moving on, what else do we do? We [clears throat] provide services to the educational community. So we have leadership groups um music therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy leadership groups that meet monthly on Zoom. We started off with our own our own um staff. We moved to supporting the county to supporting the state and now to supporting those all over the country. Uh we provide uh a fieldwork for professional students. So we partner with area uh colleges for students who are learning to be OT's and PTs and music therapists and
039they come to us and they work with our therapists out in the field. Um and then a lot of times they come and work for us too. We have two capstone students currently with us. They are doctoral level capstone students from Baylor College and they are working they're here with us for 16 weeks. They're working on um creating um behavioral uh resources for teachers. Um and I've I had gotten a little sneak peek of what they're working on and they're really really awesome. And they're they went out into the classroom so that they could see what the teachers were up against and they could hear what the teachers needed and they kept that in mind as they created these resources. And so they're meant to be quick things that the teacher can just pull down
040and use in the moment. And so I'm very excited for them to finish this project so we can get those very needed resources out to the teachers. We also provide professional development. We provide it for our own staff, but we've opened it up to those all over the state. We run textbot website that provides uh policy and um uh practice updates to OT's and PTS and school-based practice. And then we have a sister publication called News on the Spot that takes the information from textbot directly into people's inbox. They can see get those updates monthly. Data highlights for 2024 uh 25. We served 7,560 students, 4,957 educators in 32 school districts on 618 campuses. with our 170 therapists. Uh this is a um graph that kind of shows the percentage of students that we serve
041by disability and by far and wide the greatest percentage of children that we serve are those on the autism spectrum and we're seeing that percentage grow each and every year. This is a list of the types of educational entities that we served last year and a list of the campus I mean the contracts that we had with school districts and charter schools last year. Our top contracts were KDISD followed by Houston Scyfare Spring and Spring Branch. This is um a graph that shows the trends in uh client satisfaction with the services that we provide. So at the end of every year we ask our clients how are we doing? Um let us know what you think about the quality and the value of our services. Rate our services on a scale of 1 to four.
042One being highly dissatisfied and four being highly satisfied. And every year for the last 10 years, we've come in very high between 3.5 and four. This year, right at 4.0 for both quality and value during the 25 2425 school year. So key highlights for last year, you see a list of the presentations local and then statewide that we provided. And then just to dig a little bit deeper into some of our initiatives that I mentioned earlier. So, our OT, PT, and music therapy leadership groups, last year we had 1,317 total participants. Now, that's a duplicated number because sometimes people go to more than one meeting, so they're counted each time, but they represent and the rest of these numbers are non-duplicated. So those 1300 participants come from 164 ISDs and charter schools, three education service
043centers, three universities and one foreign education ministry because the foreign the um education ministry of Greece attends our our leadership groups and so this spans 19 states plus Greece. [laughter] So, [applause] um, our textbot website last year had 540 registered subscribers and that represented 236 ISDs and charter schools and spanned 29 states. And so, if you put that together and you look at this map, all of the purple are states that are attending our or tuning in in some way to our initiatives. Our news on the spot newsletter was in its second year last year and it had grown to a readership of over,00. [snorts] Our professional development offerings were attended by 146 outside attendees from all over the state from the valley to the panhandle just and everywhere in between. Uh this is a
044list of the state and professional committees that we sit on. and then trends. So what are we seeing? So we are seeing the special education population in districts continue to grow and this includes districts that are seeing an overall decrease or decline in their enrollment. So enrollment is going down but special ed population continues to go up and that in continues to um create an a more of a need for our services. The growing percentage of students with um served with autism is also increasing the need for occupational therapy and music therapy. Legislation that was enacted to ensure that students with dyslexia and related disorders receive the services that they need is also increasing the need for occupational therapy. you know, we've seen that districts have gotten recently some restoration in funds um and they're
045they're grateful for that. However, there's still a lot of a lot of districts who are struggling financially. And so, our our division is trying to help them by being as innovative and creative as we can so that we help districts do as much as they can with what we've got. And so we have been partnering with our um IT division who is helping us come up with solutions to use technology to help our therapists be more efficient with documentation. And that includes using AI and other things technology related. And so the idea is for therapists to spend as little time as possible documenting and as much time as possible with children that desperately need their services. We're seeing that the h the hiring market is remaining challenging. We were fully staffed last year. We think
046that there are several reasons for that. Uh, number one, just the reputation of Harris County. People in our field and OTMPT know Harris County. They know this is a good place to work. Their friends tell them, the friends that are working here say, "Come and work for Harris County. You want to be here. We're known as an ethical place. Our outreach initiatives are also helping us because we notice that people who attend our leadership groups who come to our professional development are also the ones that are are um uh putting in applications to come and work for us. And then finally, just the um salary increases and the retention bonuses that were approved by this board uh were very much appreciated by my staff. And so on behalf of my staff, I thank you for
047that, for all of the support that you provide to our division and to all of the staff at Harris County. What questions do you have? [applause] Mr. Cobert, >> I'd just like to say that um you know, our therapists are incredible. You know, they are they are experts at working with some of our most vulnerable students in our society and they show up every single day. And that crew that you got behind you, [laughter] soldiers. I mean, they're soldiers. and they set they set the tone for uh what our therapy services look like. You know, the school districts that you had in your program, we've been in business with those large, very large school districts for years, years. And I've talked to the superintendents and the superintendents are like, I'm saving money by having you
048do our stuff and we can't do it better than y'all. It's a no-brainer. And so I think the popularity of your department and how it expands out to school districts who come to you to pick up hours and all that. Our reputa reputation precedes us and it's because of the work that your people do and how serious they take it. We just need more and more people in our society to love on kids who are vulnerable and not look for ways to turn the other cheek and move the other way. That's not what we do here at Harris County Department of Ed. So kudos to your leadership. Um but special thanks to the people behind you and the people all out in the schools working with all the little kids that we thank and appreciate
049so much. So thank you once again. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Any other questions or comments from trustees? >> Miss crap. I got one. you mentioned that there's a growing number of uh clients that we serve with our therapy services, but even though there's a declining enrollment in most schools, school districts, what do you think that's what what's what's causing that? >> Um well, several years ago, I think um the state it was kind of we were kind of called out a little bit because we were underserving uh children in special education. And that was way back in 2016. We have now corrected that. We are doing quite well. We got all cleared from this from the feds that you know the state of Texas did. But in the process of going where we were
050to where we are, we have gotten much better at identifying children who are eligible and who are in need of special education services. And so as that special education population still continues to increase, with that comes children who need OTPT and music therapy. >> Good. Thank you so much for that information. >> Thank you. >> Next annual division update from maintenance and operations. U ladies and gentlemen of the board, Mr. Colbert, Mrs. Lingua, with your permission, uh if I could proceed. Appreciate it. >> Well, I think you've seen uh these mug shots before. Um uh our leader is uh Dr. Michelle Williams. Um she's fearless and unfortunately she's not here right at the moment, but she'll be back soon. I'm JP and you also probably know Javier and Julie. um maintenance operations. We're the division
051that internally supports HCDE 365 days a year, 247. Uh we're the people whose phones are on all the time and never get to shut them off. And um we're able to do this from our having our licensed technicians and our skilled custodians. So this year I'm calling it a year of projects, but also picnics. It's a little bit different than the last couple of years because uh this January and February were actually fairly smooth. We didn't have any crazy breezes that were devastating. We made it into March and uh we thought we almost made it through spring break, but then at 5 in the morning on Monday coming back uh phones rang and found out that the uh gremlins were alive and well at NPO and left a faucet on on the second floor for
052nine straight days, leaving water trickling down from the second floor kitchenet down to the first floor um conference rooms. So then that's when we had to go into beast mode, find every shop vac available, suck up all the water. U but uh it was a little bit more than just we could handle. So we had to get a remediation team out uh with dehumidifiers, uh fans, and ultimately pull up the carpet. But what's that saying? Where there's chaos comes opportunity. Well, the opportunity was we actually got to finally replace the 20-year-old carpet and get brand new carpet in our conference rooms and in the first uh and second floor hallways [clears throat] and the affected suite areas. So, actually on to a project that was um we had planned for um we were tasked with
053turning the 500 conference room that was a a um computer lab into actually an employee break room. um during the end of the renovations because at the time the first floor employees had nowhere to uh eat their lunch or uh take a break. So, we ripped out all that carpet. We brought in all the existing and unused uh cabinetry from the first floor uh lounge renovations, the fridge, popped in a sink, plumbed in the hot and cold water ice machine, and then just for some finishing touches to match the second through fourth floors lounges, put in some LVT, the luxury vinyl tile that looks uh so nice now in our um main building here. And I'd like to say that I think our break room rivals the uh two second, third, and fourth breakroom floors.
054[snorts] Um and uh next project, I know Mr. Colbert is well acquainted with this one cuz he was out doing his uh first day of Head Start inspections. >> Hold on. Stop you. I'mma stop you right there. [laughter] So, let me explain to the folks. I went out to one of our Head Start C Head head start campuses and I was going around and high-fiving all the little children, everything, trying to make sure I don't step on one. And then I got to a location in one of the rooms and the floor start giving away. Now I'm a little guy [laughter] and so I'm stepping on it and I'm like, man, my foot is about to go through the floor on this. And so I popped out my phone and I called Dr. Williams like,
055"I want someone out here today to fix this floor and blah blah blah." So in order for them to find the exact location to this floor and I see you didn't use my photo, I put I took a Sharpie pen and wrote a X on the floor and then I initialed it. So I wanted them to make sure they found exactly where they So I'm happy to see that I was correct. This is what was under my foot and they kept on saying, "Stop stepping on it, Mr. Cobra. their foot's going to go through it. >> Yes, sir. It they uh within about an hour and a half of your phone call, guys were out there at the site. Shortly after you left and were pulling up tile, uh you can see uh Rudy's there
056checking to make sure that the supports underneath the uh rotted wood were still um okay and reusable. And then within the next day, already put down new plywood, new floor tile, and was good as new. So now let's get on to some more fun stuff. Actually is our picnics in the parking lot. So if you guys remember the year before last and maybe the year before that, we had to do four picnics in the parking lot. We had Irvington, Head Start, NO, and therapy. So this past year we were tasked with, okay, we're not going to do four. Y'all are going to squeeze this into two big picnics in the parking lot. So of course that means a little bit almost as twice as many people in a picnic setting. So of course we needed
057more tents. We needed more chairs. We needed more tables. And but everything worked out. It was great. So you can see Gil there hanging out. Everybody's having a good time at Mo picnic in the parking lot. Mr. Colbert's there waiting nicely in line talking to the ladies in choice waiting for the food at one of the uh food trucks. And then of course we had the Irvington Headstart picnic in the parking lot. And for any of y'all who are there, you'll remember that day we had like 50 to 60 mile per hour winds that came in and started sucking up the tents. Um, and luckily the guys quickly grabbed five gallon water jugs, wrapped it around the legs of the tents, and um, then I think the other rest of the guys were holding on
058to the tents while the rest of the people got to eat. And look, there's Mr. Parker. It looks like he has two maybe three meals there with those ladies there and Mr. Colbert there smiling, of course. But point is everybody has a good time and we all get to have fun and fellowship at these events and they're always a success even though we come run into a few little minor issues. So just the uh quick statistics we had almost 3,000 work orders with 11 field technicians uh maintaining over 30 sites with a little bit over 780,000 square footage between all of our different campuses and schools. One of our um statistics that rose a bit with reopening our 100 conference rooms was our meeting room attendance which had almost approximately 140,000 attendees. And as you
059can see, we have everybody from uh the the uh Houston PD, the Houston Fire Department at our building on a weekly basis. And I'd like to say that, you know, maintenance operations, our little credo is that we can fix, build, do anything. And of course, if uh I could get a little hand for my crew back here, the ones who actually do everything. [applause] >> Um I'd just like to say for sure, um our facilities and maintenance department is one of the best kept secrets to Harris County Department of Ed. I see y'all guys as the people behind the curtain. Like no one knows how all this stuff just happens. They just happen. They show up and it's all ready to go. But they didn't see the eight hours and truck after truck after truck
060of people setting up stuff and breaking it down. And they get asked to do everything. And I I you should be careful about saying your capacity of what you're capable of doing. [laughter] Uh this year I I asked for a sneaker stadium, you know, for convocation for people to take a photo with their sneaker in front of and they were able to do it, you know, and so anything that we request, it's done. But this is something that rarely ever gets recognized is when we have emergencies and we live in Houston, folks. And so the weather when it hits Houston, it hits our schools and facilities also. You know, these folks drive in conditions we wouldn't drive in. They they go out to places and fix things to and work around the clock if necessary
061to get them ready for children to be in them the very next day. And so they're the best kept secret. They're the people behind the curtains that make things happen. and we come in and we kind of take it for granted and then complain when it's a little warm or it's or it's it's too chilly in here and this is not right and this that and the other and I'm really describing myself [laughter] but I just I just want to give you kudos and I just want to I want you to hear me say this and I want your folks to hear me say how much I value and appreciate what they do and this department is the most complimented department that we have at HCDE. When I sit around once a month and have
062our leadership team meetings, time and time again, people want to thank facilities for something that they did to allow them to facilitate an event. So, thank you so much for your leadership and thank you for your crew, everything that you do. Thank you. [applause] >> I just want to say thank you as well and congratulations to you, John and Steven, on your new appointments to to the Gulf Coast. >> Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate it. [applause] Uh, any reports from board members concerning attendance or participation in a board or HCD related conference, event, activity, or committee? Accolades for an HCD staff member or any other deserving person. Dr. McGee. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members, General Counsel Langua. We [laughter] we uh appreciate the service. I' I'd be remiss if I uh didn't share with
063the board how much I um appreciate your nomination for consideration for position on Harris um central appraisal district. Although I was not selected this morning, I still um wanted to go to really let them know how much I appreciated you nominating me. And so I just wanted to make sure I shared I shared that with them and I wanted to share that with you. It meant a great deal. you had to have a special call meeting calls and all those kinds of things and getting a quorum sometimes is difficult. So, I really appreciate you nominating me for that uh position meant a great deal. So, thank you. >> Yep. >> Any others? Well, I just uh want to give a shout out to u my granddaughter who's at home watching us on YouTube, Valerie Grace.
064Hello, Valerie. Um she's a great student at Park Lakes Elementary in Umbbo ISD. Uh and she goes to her after school and weekend program at the school of rock where she sings and uh we'll be performing with her band pretty soon. So proud of you and you're a great um big cousin to all your all your uh the rest of your c little cousins that are all boys and also u uh sort of pre happy birthday to my wife who's uh celebrating her 52nd on Friday and I'm going to take the day off and do a lot of fun things with her. So happy birthday to my wife. Oh, [applause] >> also want to I don't see anybody from case here, but I just wanted to acknowledge uh Dr. Kurthers and the entire very very
065fun case team. So much positive energy. Uh I was fortunate enough to attend their uh case conference uh a couple weeks back. Um, and uh just really uh was inspired by all the partnerships we have with all the great service providers that are providing services to to the kids of our county. Um uh we need we need more partnerships and so anything we can do to support them. Proud of the work they do to keep our kids uh focused and uh achieving great things and uh keeping them out of trouble. So thanks to Case Any reports from board committees? All right, time for monthly financial report. Dr. Okay, these are the financial highlights as of September 30th. Um all our information is posted on our website and just a brief uh overview of the top
066uh uh items and points for September. Uh revenue u we don't get the taxes until December January. So we only received $683 this month. Our first payment uh is in February 2026 for our debt service payment. Revenues are at 2% gen expenditures at 10%. So we basically utilize our fund balance from the month of September uh October, November and part of December. Uh we have 36 um 36 million in equity or fund balance as of September. Uh 23 uh,956 in donations and values projected at 688 billion. uh choice for this month uh for the first month it has a 1.3 million benefit variance and foundations equity at $240,000. In our uh small business um um project we have 20% uh achievement for for small business vendors. 99% of the year project is complete and phase
067one projects we're just spending one uh one retainage release and the approval of the tax rate was set for today which was already approved the uh budget and tax calendar um um again we just uh the board adopted a the interim financial report for the general fund we have total assets of 39 9.4 million liabilities of 3.3 million and equity of 36 million. We have using fund balance for the month of 3,277,000 uh for to uh um finance the operations of our of our operations for for the for the month of September. The ratios uh again when you look at these ratios because it's only one month we don't have a lot of revenue. They're going to be a little bit skewed. So just keep that in mind as you look at these uh ratios.
068So the first one fund balance 530% again a lot of it because of the uh expenditures that are that are low compared to the fund balance working capital ratio strong at 36 million. the uh unassigned fund balance at 75% versus 81% from a year ago and our debt to income ratio uh is zero at this point in time because our our first payment will be in February for our debt payments uh for the year. Here's our combined debt which is 82.2 2 million, excuse me. Uh revenue again, we only have received $683 so far and indirect cost ratio, not yet until we start uh billing for the um uh federal funds revenue for for the year. Fee for service ratio, we're at 6% versus 13% for the first month. And our revenue growth again is
069minus 43%. Again, it's the first month of the year. So, we'll we'll see that uh change as uh times goes by. Uh we have some uh budget amendments. We'll uh discuss those in a couple of uh in a couple more slides. Again, we are at 2% um in terms of revenues and we are at 10% in in um expenditures and we have 23.9 in um donations um primarily from case uh iPass for procurement and head start. Our values at 688 billion and uh um the certified is 640 and 49 billion is still to be certified between now and the end of the year. So we'll um monitor that between now and the end of the fiscal year. Uh in terms of our taxes, again we haven't received m taxes. Uh we have paid some refunds.
070Um and then you start seeing some activity here during the month of uh December when we start getting some of our some of our revenue. Uh our um our collection again uh is at 0%. Why? Because we have not collected anything. We just set the tax rate. So you'll start seeing that in the month of December. the disadbursements for September 30th 3.7,994,546 68 uh funds and uh 756 transactions and six transfers in our uh segment division uh information we have uh benefit variance for uh center for education success 198,000 records management subsidy of 141,000 therapy of 1 million2 two and schools at 1.7. And then we have the uh positive variance from choice at 1,293,587. Uh budget amendments. Uh the uh first one is 93,000 and this is for Durotch Construction and that's for a
071capital project and then 350,000 for the leadership academy uh rollover funds for for case. Uh and then of course in the capital projects uh uh the transfer from general fund to capital projects for 93,328. The uh foundation update uh we mentioned uh $240,76 and um the uh amounts that are in the foundation as of September 30th, 2025. uh in the small business report uh we continue the small business uh project for construction and for the month of September we are at 20% which is uh total small businesses 10und 3,000 um out of 518,000 before taking out the government and and utilities payments that that are basically uh not eligible for for this ratio uh in terms of the uh project acquisition account for the capital projects. We're at 1.4 million um 1,489,000 uh $175 left
072in the CIP for 2024. And we have 633,000 in retainage payable for the uh CA Walker project. And we have also Duratech project for the urban project that is ongoing. The 2024 maintenance notes. Uh we still have u assets of 10,699,9 627. Um and uh again we have retainage payable for Durotch for 341,763. Again all our projects for the 2024 2020 are pretty much done. We just need the retainage that have been uh completed for for the year. Uh and the maintenance notes uh these are the detail um and what we have pending. Uh we have unobligated of 7,377,168. That's the interim financial report for the month of September. What questions do you have? >> Yes, ma'am. >> May we please go look at slide 27? >> Sure. Um, this is probably just me, but
073can you help me understand why it was a budget amendment and this wasn't already budgeted this way? I'm confused at that. >> U, there was an uh increase in the uh in the project um that was uh brought to the board and uh we did not include that in the budget originally and so we had to basically take it out of the reserve that we had projected for it. when the fiscal year changes, >> uh, we have to bring it back to the board for approval. >> And it was an additional 900,000. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Sorry, I just had a little bit of trouble. >> And so those what you see is you see it twice. One is in the general fund, which is a transfer out, and then you see it one
074in the capital projects fund, which is a transfer in. >> Yeah. >> So we have to put on both sides. >> Thank you. >> Mhm. The uh next report is the investment report. Oh, I'm sorry. I closed it. So, all our information is posted on our website. Um and um this month u um the federal uh or rather last month the federal uh uh open um the Fed um Federal Reserve uh reduced rates to 4 to 425 target. The projection is that uh there will be another 25 basis points change and uh next week. And so I wanted to just show you a little bit of the inversion of the of the yield curve. If you can kind of see where it kind of changes from the the cash kind of goes down to the
075one year, the inversion there and then the uh progression towards uh long-term on the longer side from the 10 to the 30 years. So it's a little bit of weird times because normally it doesn't happen this way. Typically your uh yield curve is going to be more like this where it has basically an upward slope. What is is right now is a little a downward slope in the short term and an upward slope on the long term. So you can see the the yield curve where it changes here from zero to two year and then from two year to 30 years. So, and that's what's causing a little bit of uncertainty in the market as to where the mortgages and the short-term rates are are kind of a a little bit of um uncertain as
076to what what will happen there. But the the focus is the price stability, the inflation, and then then the employment. That's two drivers that will change whether there will be a a uh rate reduction or not. And uh I added uh a little bit on the co because you saw 0% interest rates over a period of time to accommodate the Fed accommodate the uh the the economy and then of course there were increases that were to happen and then then there were decreases and so now we're on that downward uh spiral for for reduction in the Fed funds. So, this is kind of a long-term uh projection from 25 to 27 and what we will see the the rates do. We're right now kind of in the middle right here. So, you're going to see
077lower rates into 26, 27 all the way to 28 uh going out to them. Um the projections for various folks in the market is that it's going to be somewhere around 3% come 26, 27, and 28. So uh looking in the market or looking in the you know refinancing that would be the the time to do that. So all right looking at our so we look at that we had uh the portfolio manager for techool the other day and so uh what they're doing they're extending the the maturity so as to continue to receive the same yield uh in our investment pool and so they're extending a little bit. So you will see that a little bit of an extension uh coming in the couple months. So our uh portfolio is designed to take advantage
078of that. So we're at 48.6 million and the majority of that is in all our pools uh 18% 14% and 25%. So we're diversified in in terms of where we place our money so that uh as one go does better then then we move the funds around. Uh in terms of the PFC, we're 103,000 that are still just pending there for uh completion of the retainage. And so we'll we'll finish that up uh in the next few months. So when you look at the comparison from one year to the next, our portfolio went down by 11% because we spend the money for the projects. And so we're at uh uh 40 48.6 uh million. Um, and [snorts] of course this should be 25 and this should be 24. Shouldn't be 26. All right. So September
079everything is uh um pretty much overnight. Uh and we're um getting 169,000 per month and 1,774 on the PFC. So we are earning 4.2 on the interest rate. And so what we will see is this last year we've been seeing a 4% um rate uh from u September to to now. And so this one is probably will be down to somewhere around in the 3 to three and a half% in the next year. That's where you will see that coming down in the in the next 12 months. So when we look at what we can invest today, we're at 4.17 to 4.23 in that scenario. That's the investment report for the month of September. What questions do you have? >> Questions? Seeing none, I think we're good. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next is
080uh the consensus agenda. Any items that uh trustees wish to take out of order? None. >> All right. Do I uh hear a motion for the to approve the consensus agenda? >> We got a motion by trustee Dr. Davis and a second by Dr. McGee. Any discussion? >> Seeing none, all those in favor, raise your right hand. [laughter] >> action items 91. Consider approval of two new full-time employee positions for the special schools division for two educational aids. >> Do I have a motion? >> Motion made motion by Dr. Davis, second by trustee Duhan. Any discussion? Not. All those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. 92. Consider approval of amendment to service agreement between Harris County Department of Education and Child Care Careers to increase the amount from 70,000 to 120,000 for the
081period of 9825 through to provide substitute teachers and teacher assistance for the Head Start program. Do I have a motion? >> Motion by Trusty Duhan. >> Second by Dr. Davis. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor raise your right hand. Passes 6. I understand there is not uh a need for us to go into executive session today. >> Any uh item 12 is any discussion or possible action on any future agenda items? Doesn't appear that we have any >> case. Oh, okay. >> We're good. We're good. All right, that's it. >> Motion to >> adjourn. >> Yeah. Motion to adjurnn. >> A motion by Dr. McGee, second by Trustee Dick. Any discussion? All those in favor? >> We are adjourned. 224