La Porte ISD Board Meeting 4/14/2026

001All right, good evening. It is 7:00 p.m. The Board of Trustees of the La Porte Independent School District is now convened. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present. Every student success is our number one priority. As the La Porte ISD Board of Trustees, we are here to set goals, adopt policy, approve budgets, contracts, personnel appointments, and communicate the district's vision and success to the community. It is not the role of the board to make day-to-day operational decisions. The management and day-to-day operations of the district are the responsibility of our superintendent. This is a public meeting of the Board of Trustees, not a meeting of the public. School board meetings are open to all who wish to attend and hear the matters discussed. Audience participation is limited to the patron presentation portion of

002the meeting. Board members may not respond to the public comment section. These proceedings may be recorded and I respectfully ask that you please refrain from talking while others are speaking. Thank you for taking the time this evening to join us for your interest and for your interest in the La Porte Independent School District. At this time, will you please stand for the presentation of colors led by the La Porte High School ROTC. >> [clears throat] >> Forward, march. Color guard, halt. Left, face. Present, arms. Tonight, we are led by American Rifle Cadet Command Sergeant Major Alvarado Garcia, American Flag Cadet Captain Kaylee Bailey, on the Texas Flag Cadet First Lieutenant Lucy Grace Thornburg, and on the Texas Rifle Cadet Staff Sergeant Xavier Aguirre. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Pledge of

003Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, [groaning] one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Texas flag. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. Order, arms. Colors, post. Ready, sit. Present, arms. Order, arms. Center, face. Mark time, march. Forward, march. If you'll please remain standing for tonight's invocation. Father God, I thank you first and foremost from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of my friends and colleagues here on the on the Board of Trustees, for every man and woman and student that are present here this evening. We thank you, Father, for um each one of the staff members that that chooses to to make La Porte ISD

004their home. I thank you for every parent that puts the trust in this district uh to help steward and guide their children along their path. I I thank you, Father, um for just our community and the that it has this tremendous heart and the willingness to pour back into the school district. I ask for wisdom and discernment as we go forward on behalf of this board to make decisions uh for the district. I thank you most of importantly, Father, that we are not in control and that you are uh that you were here yesterday, you're here today, and you'll be here tomorrow. Uh and we know that you're present always and we thank you for that. In Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Be seated. All right, we'll return now to our um our board recognitions.

005Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Please join us in welcoming the La Porte Elementary Pride Spirit Team under the direction of Ms. Belva Perry. PRIDE TEAM, LA PORTE. LA PORTE, HALT. LA PORTE. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> PRIDE TEAM, LA PORTE, YOU KNOW WE RUN [screaming] THIS INTRODUCE OURSELVES. WE ARE THE LPE PRIDE SPIRIT TEAM. OUR PRINCIPAL IS MRS. LLOYD. ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL MRS. VASQUEZ. YOU CAN CALL HER EXCELLENT. ON THIS TOWN, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT. LPE, LA PORTE, YOU KNOW THEY RUN THIS TOWN. WE CAN'T DO IT THE SAME, SO WATCH US BREAK IT DOWN. >> [applause] >> LA PORTE. LPE, BREAK IT DOWN NOW. >> [applause] >> L P >> [applause] >> E LA PORTE. HALT. LA PORTE. >> [applause] >> WHO ARE WE? LPE. WHO ARE WE? LPE. LPE, BREAK IT DOWN NOW. ATTENTION, HALT.

006THREE CLAPS, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT. >> [applause] >> LPE, [screaming] LA PORTE. >> [applause] >> L P E >> [applause] >> LA PORTE. >> [applause] >> LA PORTE. RIGHT, LEAD. LA PORTE, YOU KNOW WE RUN WHO DO YOU LOVE? I [screaming] LOVE MY LPE. LPE, I'M PROUD TO BE. YEAH, AND I'M PROUD TO BE. WE'LL ALWAYS BE LA PORTE FOR FOR LIFE. SHE SAID, I LOVE MY LPE. >> [screaming] >> YEAH, AND I'M PROUD TO BE. YEAH, AND I'M PROUD TO BE. WE'LL ALWAYS BE LA PORTE FOR LIFE. >> [applause] >> WOO. >> [applause] >> FIVE, SIX, [screaming] SEVEN, EIGHT. >> [applause] [applause] >> LA PORTE, YOU KNOW WE RUN THIS MARCH, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT. FORWARD, MARCH. >> [screaming] [applause] >> CAN WE GET PICTURES? >> [laughter] [laughter] [cheering] [applause] [laughter] >> MS. LOLLY,

007IT'S YOUR turn if you're ready. >> Yes. >> [clears throat] >> Great job. Way to go. Ladies and gentlemen, several Career and Technical Education students have qualified to compete at the state and national levels over the past several weeks in various events. And here to recognize these students is our CTE Coordinator, Dr. Michelle Becker. Thank you, sir. Uh it is my great pleasure to recognize all of our amazing CTE students and their awesome teachers for their accomplishments in their respective CTSOs, Career and Technical Student Organizations, at the state level of competition. Our SkillsUSA state qualifiers, they competed this last week in Corpus Christi. We had Jayden Martinez in first place for automotive paint and refinishing. >> [applause] >> Christian, y'all come up when your name is called. Christian Cleman in second place automotive paint and

008refinishing. >> [applause] >> Matthew Lozano in second place AUTOMOTIVE COLLISION REPAIR. >> [applause] >> AND PETE Provoste-Llanos in third place automotive collision repair. >> [applause] >> And then a big thank you to their sponsor and teacher, Mr. James Wheeler. Next we have our DECA students, that's our business and marketing state qualifiers. They competed in Dallas in February. Robert Mendez and Nathaniel Kozlowski, both competing in entrepreneurship team decision. >> [applause] [applause] >> And a big thank you to their sponsor, Mrs. Tamera Jones. >> [applause] >> Next are our TAFE state qualifiers, those are our future educators. They competed in Dallas in February. The team of Ariana Holt and Michael Munoz for their interactive bulletin board for middle school and high school. >> [applause] >> Mallory Black for the educational leadership fundamentals test. >> [applause] >> And

009we have some TAFE national qualifiers who are going to represent La Porte ISD at the Educators Rising Conference in June in Portland, Oregon. The team of Karina Carrizales and Payton De La Cerda for their interactive bulletin board elementary. >> [applause] >> And thank you to their sponsors, Mrs. Kendra Atkins and Mrs. Christina Workman. >> [applause] >> And finally, in our first in its first year of existence, our Texas High School Welding Series State Competition Team. That's a mouthful. We'll compete in May in Abilene. They These students qualified for the state competition by attending various local and regional events and earning points over the course of the year. We have Ariana Castaneda, >> [applause] >> JOSHUA COTTRELL, MATTHEW GILLARD, >> [applause] >> JAIME REYES, URIAH TIJERINA, >> [applause] >> AND RYAN REYNOLDS. >> [applause] >> AND

010THEN FINALLY, thank you to their sponsor and teacher, Mr. BRIAN PERKINS. >> [applause] >> AND THANK YOU to all the parents in attendance tonight. Thank you, parents. >> [applause] >> Teachers. might want to get up there, too. For all the teachers here. >> [laughter] >> That's all the sponsors and teachers. Can you see everybody? >> [applause] >> You want to do that, too? La Porte High School was recently represented at the state powerlifting championships by both the girls and boys teams. La Porte High School junior Samantha Gilder, meanwhile, will go into the record books as the school's first ever medalist at state. >> [cheering] [applause] >> AND WE'RE GOING TO START OFF WITH THE GIRLS WHO who went to state. Samantha, come on up. >> [applause] >> Nadia Elabdalla. >> [applause] >> Isabelle Burke. >>

011[applause] >> And Ariana Castaneda. >> [applause] >> Now moving to the boys who competed at state. Devin Frank. Kevin Rojas De Ordóñez. AND NEHEMIAH LOQUISE. >> [applause] >> AND ALL OF THESE POWERLIFTERS are coached by Mr. Beck Neal. >> [cheering] [applause] [laughter] [applause] >> Maria Guerra and Tremaine Wickliffe are the 25-26 elementary and secondary principals of the year, respectfully. >> [applause] [applause] >> I'm going to tell the crowd a little bit about you guys. Ms. Guerra became principal of Leo A. Rizzuto in July 2023. And since then, the school has been honored by U.S. News & World Report and Educational Results Partnerships multiple times as being among the best schools in Texas and the U.S. Rizzuto is currently an A-rated campus under her leadership. Mr. Wickliffe joined La Porte ISD in July 2023 after serving

012in Alief ISD. He is the principal of the Academy of Viola DeWalt High School, where he is leading increased enrollment and graduation rates. Under his leadership, students at Bear with me, sorry. Students at DeWalt now participate in ACE and dual credit, and he additionally established the school's corporate walk initiative, which exposes students to different career opportunities. Ladies and gentlemen, Maria Guerra and Tremaine Wickliffe. >> [applause] >> And we want to recognize our Rookie Teacher of the Year. He could not be here tonight. He had family obligations, but the Rookie of the Year for the 2025-2026 school year is Zachary Gilbreath, a biology teacher at La Porte High School. >> [applause] >> He is known for his engaging, hands-on teaching style and ability to make complex concepts accessible. He has created a classroom environment that fosters

013curiosity and confidence with his students. Now, Mr. Gilbreath will be recognized on May the 7th at our annual Service Awards Banquet. And so, too, will our campus teachers of the year. Campus teachers of the year have been selected, by the way, for 2026-2027. They'll serve the entire next year. This recognizes outstanding educators who demonstrate excellence in the classroom, a commitment to student success, and meaningful contributions to their school communities. And we'll start out with elementary. Bayshore Elementary, PERLA PEñA. >> [applause] [applause] >> COLLEGE PARK ELEMENTARY, KRISTEN JENNINGS. >> [applause] >> Heritage Elementary, JESSICA SERRANO. >> [applause] >> LA PORTE ELEMENTARY, CASEY GRONING. >> [applause] >> LOMAX ELEMENTARY, BRENNA GONZALEZ. >> [applause] >> Jennie Reid Elementary, SAMANTHA BEASLEY. >> [applause] >> AND LEO A. RIZZUTO ELEMENTARY, HALEY GIBSON. >> [cheering] [applause] >> CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >>

014MOVING TO secondary campus teachers of the year, James H. Baker 6th grade campus, Christina Davidson. >> [applause] >> LA PORTE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, DANIELLE COFFEE. >> [applause] >> SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT, UNFORTUNATELY. Lomax Junior High School, Hope Carmichael. >> [applause] >> The Academy of Viola De Walt High School, Melissa Hernandez. >> [applause] >> D A E P, KELSEY RAMIREZ. >> [applause] >> LA PORTE HIGH SCHOOL core subjects, Sarah Kotasick. >> [applause] >> AND LA PORTE HIGH SCHOOL non-core subjects, Alicia Thompson. >> [laughter] >> Proud of you, coach. >> [laughter] [applause] [laughter] >> All right, guys. We'll turn now to item six, public comments. The board will now hear those who wish to make comments and who have completed and returned the public comment participation request. This section will be conducted in

015accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and board policy. The complaints and concerns for which other resolution channels are provided shall be directed through those channels. Mr. Vice President, do we have anyone wishing to speak this evening? We do. Mr. Dylan Thatcher to speak on policy change in honors distinction. Good evening, Mr. Thatcher. Good evening. My name is Dylan Thatcher. I appreciate y'alls time. I'm a senior here at La Porte High School. Um I want to talk about how we do our honor grad distinction. So, at La Porte High School, the top 100 students are the top 20.53% of the class. Unfortunately, 27 of those students are graduating without honors. Since only the valedictorian and the salutatorian in our district get the honor of summa laude, that leaves 22 kids who worked very hard and

016deserve the that honor that will not receive it. That leaves us 49 students who have worked hard and deserve the honor of magna laude who will not be receiving that honor. And don't forget the 27 that don't get any honors at all. This to an academic is like being the best of the best in a sport. How's it fair to take sharing their success with their families, their friends, their peers away from them? How's it fair to change how they are seen by people outside of our district and local area? You wouldn't do this to the football team. You wouldn't tell our state championship team that only the quarterback and the defensive captain are state champions, even though they all played the game. Those two are the top two. Everybody else is a regional or

017district champ. You wouldn't do that. Yet, you do it to your academic students. You tell the top 100 that 27 of their peers are not good enough to receive an honor that they have rightfully earned. Where is the incentive for me and my fellow academics to strive for greatness? I urge you to put this on next month's agenda. By leaving this policy in place, many students are underrepresented or misrepresented. Are you really leaving a legacy of excellence when 27 students are not being recognized represented at all? We can do better than this. Thank you for your time. >> [laughter] >> Thatcher, we uh you know we can't speak back. We can't comment back. But, we appreciate certainly anytime anybody comes to speak to the board, but especially when a student, man. So, we we appreciate

018your passion uh and we'll definitely uh speak with the board about this. So, thank thank you again for your time, man. Thank you. Mr. Vice President, is there anybody else this evening? No. Okay. I'll turn now to a little bit out of order um we're going to go to item seven. Uh we've bumped up our consent agenda. So, A, determine approve any consent agenda items. B, approve board meeting minutes. One, regular board meeting minutes, March 17th, 2026. C, receive principals' reports. One, Early Childhood Center. Two, Bay Shore Elementary. Three, College Park Elementary. Four, Heritage Elementary. Five, Jennie Reid Elementary. Seven, La Porte Elementary. Uh six, La Porte Elementary. Seven, Leo A. Rizzuto Elementary. Eight, Lomax Elementary. Nine, James H. Baker 6th grade campus. 10, La Porte Junior High. 11, Lomax Junior High. 12, La Porte

019High School. 13, Viola De Walt High School. D, receive financial reports for February 2026. E, approve budget amendment, April 2026. F, receive human resources report. G, approve employment of professional staff. H, approve term, probationary, and non-certified contract recommendations for certified teachers, administrators, and professionals in pay grades 1 through 7. I, authorize the superintendent to approve hiring of contract professionals at director level or below on the district's pay scale from April 15th, to August 31st, 2026. J, approve attendance waiver for La Porte Junior High for February 27th, 2026. K, approve contract and purchase of services required for lift grant implementation. Pull item K, please, Mr. Vice President. Uh L, approve guaranteed maximum price GMP for renovations to Sonja Andel Theater. M, approve library materials acquisition list. N, approve purchase of iPads for grades 3 through 5.

020O, approve purchase of iPad accessories for grades 3 through 5. P, approve purchase of E-rate category two network equipment. Q, approve second reading adoption of TASB policy revisions to CV local, DBA local, DK local, DNA local, EB local, EEB local local. F and G local and GF local. And R, adopt a resolution number 2026-04 for schools and libraries universal services E-rate for 2026-2027. Mr. Vice President, will you please read the slate as read? Yes. It is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R. We'll receive a second on the motion. the tonight's consent agenda? Second. Trustee Hanks motion and trustee Perez with a second. All those in favor are all please vote. All right, we have a unanimous approval. >> [laughter] >> Do we? It's spicy

021tonight, guys. All right, so Motion approved. We'll now go to item K, I believe. Yes. Trustee Thompson. I don't want to hear administration prayer findings and We would just like to hear your findings and research on this particular curriculum. So, the question about the curriculum or the question about the contracted services for There will be a presentation action discussion on the Blue Bonnet materials. But, this use of this grant money is related to that, correct? Correct. Okay, yes. I think we should table it. Okay, until we get to that. Hey board, we will table item K and we'll move on. I don't know if we need a second here. We'll move to item eight administrative reports. Dr. Jackson. Thank you, Mr. President. >> [clears throat] >> Board of Trustees and all that are assembled. Tonight

022with the board's approval on the consent agenda, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce some new administrators to our school district and to our campuses and to our departments. Welcome. I'd like to introduce Ms. Martha Torres as the new principal at College Park Elementary. Martha, would you please stand? >> [applause] [applause] >> Ms. Torres has served at the campus as well as its assistant principal for the last 2 years at College Park. Her 22 years in education also includes prior roles as assistant principal and bilingual teacher in the Houston Independent School District. A proud LaPorte ISD graduate, she holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and a master's degree from Lamar University. We look forward to Ms. Torres' leadership at College Park Elementary. Let's give her a hand and welcome. >>

023[applause] >> Ms. Torres, do you have any guests that you'd like to introduce? Uh just my daughter. Okay. Class of 2016 LP proud. All right. >> [applause] >> Thank you. I'd also and I'm equally thrilled to introduce the new principal at James Baker sixth grade campus, Mr. Jaime Arispe. >> [applause] [applause] >> Mr. Arispe has served as Baker's assistant principal since 2023 and is a product of our Aspiring Leaders Academy. With 17 years of experience in education, he has also served as history teacher and coach at LaPorte High School and in Northside ISD. He holds a bachelor's degree in social studies from Abilene Christian University and a master's degree in educational leadership from Stephen F. Austin University and is pursuing his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Please join me in

024welcoming Mr. Arispe to his new leadership role at Baker. >> [applause] >> Mr. Arispe, did you bring any guests? I did. I brought a whole row here. >> [laughter] >> My wife, Elizabeth. Thank you for the support. Got a future baker there, my son Mateo. Got Lily, jumping in this Carolina, my daughter as well. I have my in-laws who also help support Outstanding. >> [applause] >> I'd also like to introduce Mr. Stephen Cassidy as the new assistant principal at LaPorte HIGH SCHOOL. STEPHEN. >> [applause] >> MR. CASSIDY CURRENTLY serves as a high school assistant principal in Clear Creek ISD and has been in this role for 4 years. He has also been an English teacher and a coach in Pasadena ISD and has a total of 10 years experience in education. He holds a bachelor's

025degree in integrated language arts from Kent State University and a master's degree in educational leadership from Lamar University. We are looking forward to Mr. Cassidy joining the leadership team at LaPorte High School. Let's give it up one more time. Did you bring any guests? >> No, sir. Just myself. >> Oh, well, we're glad to have you. We're glad to have you. We're glad to have you. Board, I'm equally equally excited to introduce our new director of research, accountability, and federal programs, Ms. Jennifer Upshaw. Jennifer. >> [applause] >> Ms. Upshaw will transition from her role as director of special education to director of research, accountability, and federal programs. Ms. Upshaw has served the district for 20 of her 29 years in education including assistant principal, behavior specialist, and special education teacher. Ms. Upshaw holds a bachelor

026of science degree in psychology and special education from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a master's degree in educational leadership from Lamar University. And we look forward to Ms. Upshaw's contributions to LaPorte in this new role. Do you have any guests with you today? No, coach Upshaw is in Galveston with his Let's go, Lady Dogs, right? Thank you. Let's give it up for Jennifer ONE [applause] MORE TIME. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING Misty Mikulenka as director of maintenance and facilities. Misty. >> [applause] >> Ms. Mikulenka steps into this role with 19 years of experience in the district currently serving as the manager of planning and facilities. She's held previous roles as coordinator of support services, purchasing and maintenance specialist, and campus and department administrative assistant. She holds certifications through the Texas Association of School Business

027Officials, that's TASBO, and remains committed to ongoing professional growth by pursuing her past her bachelor's degree. A proud LaPorte graduate, Misty is looking forward to continuing to support the district in her new role. Please join me in welcoming her to this new role. Let's give it up for Misty. >> [applause] >> Misty, do you have any guests you'd like to introduce? Yeah, I have my husband, Kyle, and my son, Truman, who turns 16 tomorrow, so watch out, world. Happy birthday, Truman. All right. [applause] And last, but certainly not least, board, we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce and we're pleased to introduce Ms. Samantha Pugh as our new director of transportation. SAMANTHA. [applause] MS. PUGH HAS BEEN WITH LAPORTE ISD for 8 years where she currently serves as a supervisor for routing and logistics

028in our transportation department. She also brings 12 years experience as a bus driver both in LaPorte and in Clear Creek ISD. Ms. Pugh holds a transportation supervisor certification from the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation. That's a lot. And pursuing her bachelor's degree in human resources. Ms. Pugh demonstrated leadership her demonstrated leadership will serve the department and the district well in this new role. Please join me in welcoming her once again. >> [applause] >> Samantha, do you have guests you'd like to introduce? I do. I have my husband, Edward. Hi, Edward. And my son, Taylor, who's a senior at LaPorte right now, and my son, Jacob, who's in seventh grade at LaPorte. >> [applause] >> I'd like all our new hires to come together. The board we'd like to take a picture with you all. >>

029[applause] [laughter] >> Scoot down a little >> [laughter] >> All right. >> [applause] >> If you're a family member that came, y'all come get a picture, too. It's a big giant wedding. >> [laughter] >> That's my enrollment That's my enrollment right there. And beautiful, too. That's right. Right here? That's a great picture. THAT'S A GREAT >> [laughter] >> ADAM. >> [laughter] >> CUE IT UP. BOARD WE HAVE WITH JUST ONE MORE treat under the superintendent's report, if I may, Mr. President. I just like to direct the board uh and audience to the video cameras. We're We're We're undergoing some massive marketing [music] opportunities that we just want to kind of share with you all with some of the things we're trying to do to kind of really promote our brand as a school district. >>

030[music] >> Do you love STEM? Do you like the arts? >> [music] >> Do you want a big opportunity in a small district? >> [music] >> You belong in La Porte ISD because every child is known, seen, and supported. Remember, you don't have to live in La Porte ISD to attend our winning schools. You belong here at LPISD. Come make waves with us. >> [music] >> We've got one more. They're really They're really short, but I just wanted to kind of share with you guys what we're trying to do. Strengthening our brand around here. La Porte ISD is a small district with big opportunities. We are an open enrollment district. Come make waves with us. >> [music] [applause] >> Mr. President, you have a copy and board you have a copy of my superintendent's report

031at your desk, and this will conclude my comments for this evening. Thank you, Dr. Jackson. We'll turn to item nine, action and or discussion items. Eight, bond sale debt service review and discussion. All right, good evening, Dr. Jackson, President Martin, Board of Trustees. I'd like to introduce Mr. Doug Witt, who is the senior managing director at SAMCO Capital, who will present a summary of our plan of finance and discuss authorization to proceed with the issuance of the bonds. After Mr. Witt's presentation, we will ask the board to adopt resolution number 2026-04 that will authorize the issuance of the school building bonds, establish the parameters for the sale of the bonds, and delegate authority to the administration to approve the sale and execute the final documents of the sale. Thank you for your consideration. All right,

032thank you, Stacy. It's good to be back. Always good to be here where we're celebrating public schools and the products of it, the students and the people that make it happen, so it's good to be with you. Uh like last time, I have a a short report for you before uh we seek authorization to proceed with the issuance of additional bonds from bonds approved by the voters previously. So, the first uh graph is just an update of the interest rate market. You should see over there to the far right a number 4.72%. This is that national index of municipal bond interest rates. Uh 472, it's about 0.5% below the peak here in the more recent past where it got a little above 5.25, slightly above the average is running across the middle at 4%. All

033in all, we have very sound markets uh financial markets uh despite all the things that you can read about on the news. Uh we're functioning pretty good. Uh our interest rates are a little elevated, but still a very sound market that we have. Your bond ratings remain very, very high, excellent credit quality. Uh triple A based upon the permanent school fund guarantee, of course, but your underlying credit quality as an institution is outstanding at double A two and double A. That puts you at the upper echelon of school districts in Texas. Uh and then they cite uh you know, your large and growing tax base, which has performed very well through this bond program. Uh your economic and employment base, your strong wealth and income levels, and your strong financial performance as a public school

034institution here in Texas. So, uh last time in 2026, kind of the next to last bullet point down the page, we did a small refunding uh with the last uh year. Uh and then all of the refundings that have taken place since 2014 are illustrated. You have taken every opportunity to be good stewards of taxpayer money and lower the interest borrowing cost every time you've had a a good opportunity to do it. So, over that period of time, there's about 34 and 1/2 [clears throat] million dollars of interest cost savings by refinancing bonds. In addition to that, you've done the redemptions in 23 and 24 where you paid bonds off early. Uh so again, that saves interest cost. Your debt management program has been outstanding. Just to review the bond election parameters, there were three

035propositions, 164 million proposition A, 15 million proposition B, which is kind of our rolling technology replacement, and then proposition C at 56 million. So, all in all, you break it down by proposition that's required by Texas law. I kind of break it down between that which is capital improvement and that which is facility improvement because we amortize the the shorter technology bonds over a much shorter period of time than we would a facility. So, 220 million for facility improvements, 15 million for capital improvements. The bond election was what we call a no tax rate increase bond election. We were already at 28.19 cents. We remained at 28.19 cents, and then I'll talk a little bit about the history momentarily. And again, the last bullet point is important for a district like this. Uh we do

036amortize the bonds even though they're blended in an election and they're blended in a a series of sale, we amortize technology bonds over a two-year period, and we amortize facility bonds over a longer period. So, the net taxable value, as I mentioned earlier, has performed extremely well uh through this process. If you just look at the bottom, uh you know, starting maybe in 21-22 and then 22-23, 12.6 billion, 14.2, 14.7, 14.9, and 15.4. You'll actually see in our debt service model, we actually have provision for the debt service payments to drop over time because you do have these 313 industrial uh that show on paper some depreciation. So, we're protecting that if there is depreciation out of those, we're not uh you know, having uh assuming that our tax base is going to stay up

037uh for the entire period of time that we repay the bonds. So again, uh in addition to your bond refinancings, your early redemptions, our lower interest cost than what was projected pre-election, your tax base performing exceptionally well, your bond model therefore is uh is performing well as as also. So, column three is your I&S tax rate. Uh 22-23, 28.19. Uh stayed there for a couple of years. Then we uh essentially uh switched three pennies over temporarily, uh brought it down to 25.19. You were able to do that because your I&S fund is performing exceptionally well. And then now it's going uh trickling back up to 28.19 with your permission when you set the tax rates uh in the summer or into the fall in this case. But 25.19, and then last year we took it

038up back up one penny. The intent is to take it up one penny again to 27.19, and then follow that the next year going back up to 28.19. Those are the plans uh subject to uh your authorization uh going forward. In the far right column, the column five, uh interesting story, you get to 2017-18 where you get 11.3 million in I&S fund balance. You built it up over time. Uh and then you deployed it to pay bonds off early, right? And so we bring it down on purpose down to a trickle down from 11 to 2 million. We started building it back up. It got to 10 million. Then we deployed that money for debt management again, and again it's trickling back up as we speak uh to 6.3 million. Keep in mind again, I'm

039repeating what I tell you pretty much every time, we have to treat your I&S fund balance on an 8/31 basis, not a June 30 basis. 8/31 is the state's fiscal year, but it's also our payment year. We have a payment in February and in August. So, our true fund balance is after we make our August payment. So, that's why the number there is uh 8/31 and slightly different than what you would see in your audit. So, your outstanding debt service before the next issuance, you can see that fading debt service through 2033 and then a drop off in 34 and a drop off in 40. It's rare that I have a school district that can have this style of debt service profile. It's accelerated principal, fading debt service. I wished I had this in every

040district, but that's just not the case. Again, another reason why you are a high credit quality district cuz you have very manageable debt service position. So, here's where we are with respect to each of the three propositions, proposition A, B, and C. Of course, we've issued all of proposition C. Proposition B has 9 million. We've been issuing those and have intent to issue that 3 million every other year for the next three installments. None of those bonds are planned for this one because we sold in 25 3 million. So, again, planning 2027 for the next 3 million. The 29,650,000 in proposition A that is authorized but yet issued as what we intend to issue. These are again facility bonds that almost methodically we have implemented this bond program, you know, dating back to 2022 when

041we were planning on it and just implementing these installments almost on schedule. So, the plan of finance this time is to issue the 29,650,000 and likely will be a negotiated transaction as we've used in the past. The amortization length on these will be less than the prior proposition A bonds because we have the room. So, we have a 13-year amortization. I'll show that to you graphically in just a moment with at least a 10-year optional redemption provision. We may move that up to 9, 8, 7 years, but at least a 10-year optional prepayment provision. Permanent school fund guarantee, the interest rate in the model right now today is 4.75. We will beat that rate unless something crazy happens between now and the time we lock in the rates. Again, your tax base continues to be

042very good. We do have in here on the 313 assumption of depreciation. Again, that keeps your debt service declining slightly over time with the big drop-offs out in the future. And then the bottom one is that we plan to capture back one of those pennies that we uh took away from the I&S side a couple of years ago. So, here's what it looks like graphically. The light blue is the 29 and 1/2 29,650,000 that we plan to issue going out to 2039. Putting that in exactly as we planned on top of the dark bars, which are the outstanding debt service. The light green, the light pink, the light yellow, those are those two-year two-year technology bonds with the light green occurring next year and then 2 years later and so forth. And then the red

043line just shows the slight decline. And then the the graph the statements at the top, the boxes at the top show the 25 to 26, 26 to 27, and 27 to 28, which is exactly what the voters were expecting when they voted to approve these bonds. Mr. Witt, just for the benefit of the audience, just for the benefit of the audience, you mentioned um that because we have room, um our term would be 13 years. What would it normally be? So, for What's a normal one? Just just so the Yeah. So, for facility bonds and you have a mixture of facility improvements. We've had new construction and we've had renovations. So, renovations are anywhere from 15 to 25-year style of bonds. New construction is anywhere from 20 to 30-year type of bonds. State law allows

044us to go 40. Again, when I I'm not sure if I can get this thing to go backwards, but >> [laughter] >> if I can maybe off of the Let's try. No. So, Yeah, there you go. There it is. I found it now. Okay. So, when you look at this profile, we go out to 2045, only 20 more years, 19 more years. Many of my districts would be this this graph would be increasing over the next 5 years and go level off and go all the way out 30 years. Law allows up to 40 years. We're able to amortize in a much shorter period of time at a tax rate that is relatively modest by Texas standards. When I talk about those districts that are growing in their debt service payment profile and then flattening

045off for the next 30 years, they also generally are at 50 cents of I&S tax rate rather than in the 20s. >> Right. So, to put the 13 years in perspective, I like it because it levels off everything through 33. It and then it pays it off entirely in 39 and it's for some of your renovations projects that are part of this overall program. So, it's shorter than the useful life of what you're doing. So, for those reasons for the audience to know, this is a profile that again I don't get to to show in most of my board meetings. Thank you. Yeah. By the way, I'm going to go back one more time. Although we put this in a graph and a chart and it looks like a static model, these are very dynamic

046models. So, as we implement the light blue and then the light green, the light pink, and the light yellow, your tax base will continue to likely outperform everything we're showing in this model and you will have those same choices to use excess revenues from [clears throat] the I&S side and accelerate these bars. So, I would be surprised if the profile is not actually even shorter than this over the next 3 to 5 years as we move forward. Mr. Witt, I know in a perfect world we pay off that debt in 2046. The reality is I guess we're on a cycle of every 8 to 10 years approximately. But you like is there a chart that shows like on on that's the total debt, but like what the breakdown is from past year debt service from

047from past bonds? We have an analysis of that. Like how much do we owe? We just had the most recent bond, but how much do we owe from previous the last, you know, maybe one or two bonds before that? So, here's here's our outstanding debt service in principal and interest form prior to those colored layer bars on top. So, that shows you the decline. It shows you very heavy amount of principal up front and it shows you those drop-offs and that's all of your bonds together. We do have the chart that has it by series each time it's been issued. I think that's probably what you're asking for. I'm not asking that. I was curious if we had that cuz Yeah, yeah. We have each each series of bonds and the call date. I will

048send that to you and we'll just provide that one chart. It would be very good for you to look at. I kind of abstracted from that given kind of the PowerPoint environment cuz when you it looks like let me see. This is what it looks like cuz there's each series of bonds and then one bond stays outstanding, but we refund another part. So, we have one bond that becomes two and this is the sheet that I think is probably most beneficial to you that we need to provide. I guess what I'm getting at I I I think my understanding is that we tend to fully pay off these a lot earlier than than expected, right? You just said that you have up to 40 years. Are there any examples of us having carrying any debt

049in the last 30, 40 years up to that 40-year mark? >> we've ever gone even 30 years here. Thank you. It's been 25 years and shorter. And most of the 25-year bonds were accelerated as part of the overall program over time. So, back to the last schedule, this is our timing and there's three to be determined here. Literally, when I was looking at last year's presentation, it's almost the same board meeting and we had a very specific schedule of when we're going to price these bonds. You are under new laws. Most of them are very difficult, challenging, and not helpful. I'm just going to be honest, right? Tax rate setting this year, budget setting, tax rate setting will be a challenge. It will require more detail. We're not exactly sure how we are going to

050for lack of better term dovetail the bond issuance with the tax rate setting. We have some ideas. We have some concepts. It's about an hour and a half workshop that nobody wants to talk through, but Stacy's going to get a chance. >> [laughter] >> So, we're going to we're going to talk through it and find a a time, but we plan to issue these in the next several months. So, I think in this district we set our tax rate maybe in September. We kind of post the notice in August. So, sometime in July, August, September is likely time period in which we will issue and sell these bonds. With the adoption of the order that's been presented by your bond counsel, Tom Sages in the house if we have any legal questions, but by adoption

051of that order, you're delegating authority to the administration to complete the sale of bonds in a timely manner. It's really beneficial in today's world with the regulations that we have to go through to do it to tie it to a board meeting would make it very, very by giving us the authorization up front and letting us do it according to market conditions and timing, that's very beneficial to us. So, with that again, sometime over the next three to five months, we should be selling these bonds and we'll give you a report once they're sold as a discussion item in your board packet. But again, the order is before you. Again, Tom, I don't know if you have anything to add or just answer questions, but Tom's group is great to work with. They make our

052job easy when we can concentrate on finance and they concentrate on law and keep us out of trouble. Uh >> [laughter] >> With that uh Uh we appreciate the time tonight. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Don. Board, are there uh No questions. I will solicit a a motion uh to adopt resolution number 2026-03 authorizing issuance of the district's unlimited tax school building bonds subject to certain parameters. Second. We have a motion by Trustee Hanks and a second by Trustee Thompson. Please vote. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, board. Turn now to item C, approve resale of tax foreclosure property described as lots 7 and 8, block 62, Bayfront, LaPorte, HCAD account number 0061-520-000-007. >> [panting] >> All right, good evening again. So, tonight we will discuss the uh the tax property resale minimum bid

053options for a property owned by LaPorte ISD. Chester Barlow is here with Bertie Brandon and um to answer any questions you might have as we go through our presentation. So, first and foremost, the the the address of this uh property that we own is on Holmes Avenue and it is we've owned it since 1968. It's a tax sale uh judgment that was owed to us for $426.59. It's a a lot that had its size is 6250 uh square feet and it's it's a lot only. There's no structural improvements on it. The map you see there is where it actually is. It is uh the lot is south of Main Street and uh west of Morgan's Point. So, the decision by the board is you can continue to hold onto the property and we not sell

054it or you can decide on a minimum bid that feels reasonable for tax resale. And if you choose to go with the minimum bid, we have three options here for you. Um option one is estimate owned to owe to the district at the time of judgment, which the amount of the judgment was $427. Mr. Barlow said the estimated cost would be about 500, so that would be selling that property for $926. That's option one. Option two is 80% of the taxable value of the same size property. So, there is a property property number three is um the same size and it is for Oh, I just apologize. 38 Uh It is on the market, I believe, for 4843. Yes, and so 80% of that would be $38,000. Or option three is an average of the

055square footage valuation on comparable properties in the area. So, you have property one, property two, and property three. Property one is a direct neighbor of the lot and has a home located on it. It's it's three times the size of the potential resale property. Property two is also a neighboring property and is twice the size and has a small home on it. And property three is two lots south of the resale property and is the same size with no living area. So, it's it's the exact um it's exactly like this this property that we're discussing. It's valued again at 48437 per HCAD. So, if you take the square footage of only the the land, it's $7.75 per square foot and the square footage of the land being 6250 would be a minimum bid of $48,437.

056So, the the recommendation of of the Dr. Jackson and myself would be to go with option three because that is the value of a property that is right across the street from it. Um but again, that's that's totally up to the board's decision. I hate to break it to board. He agreed I could buy it for $930. >> [laughter] >> Um Oh, no, I'll just ask this here. It's like, so if we own the property, do we have to go to a bid or can it be put up can it be listed by a realtor or what's the process? Uh so, there are a couple of options that we have. Um because it is was or it was struck off to the the district, you can sell it at a private sale, which is what

057we're essentially uh bringing to the board this evening. Uh you could also put it up for a public sale and let it be uh bid on and you know, let the bid kind of take care of it. Go through the same process as it would have back in the 1960s. Um naturally, I mean and I can just tell you from other tax resales that we've done in the area, the market dictates what the price will be um and we all know lots are going like hotcakes these days. So, um it would, you know, wouldn't necessarily be a dollar figure that the board would set if we went with the public public sale. Um The other little tidbit to add is that the realtor that had reached out to our office, uh his name is Andy

058Rolf. He's a a realtor that's, you know, I could guess been well known in the in the district uh for some time now. Mr. Bailey's worked with him, he said, for over 20 years and can't even remember what I was doing 20 years ago. Um But I say that to say uh this is again why we're kind of bringing this to the board uh with the assistance of Ms. McDonald and Dr. Jackson because it's going to set a precedent, you know, because if Dr. Jackson goes and finds another cheap property from the 1950s, how do we handle that process? Um so, you know, I guess we're we're all treading uh uncharted waters and so we just wanted to make sure that we put something in place uh that's fair and reasonable, but also equitable to

059the taxpayers. So, did did I hear that is there a possibility we own additional properties from long time ago we don't know about? It could. >> It yes, it How do we find out if we How do we >> Back taxes? So, that's exactly right, Dr. Jackson. It it it really becomes a a hit or miss sort of situation. There are ways that we can find, you know, properties that are listed in the name of LaPorte ISD. However, there may be properties that are listed in Harris County's name that we also have an interest in and what have you. So, you know, and those could be anything from lot and block like what we have here to a ditch, you know, that that used to be a gutter and you know, has been partitioned out

060so Any more questions? So, what would be your professional uh recommendation? Obviously, I'm I'm here as a uh hired gun for the district. >> [laughter] >> Um but I say that because even in our discussion, uh we see a a number of things. Uh you know, we see the the 80% mark, you know, what's the value as it stands today and let's at least start with 80%. Some districts take the the position of, "Hey, get it off of uh get it out of our hands and get it back on the tax roll. Sell it for, you know, the the minimum amount." But I say that to say, you know, I I think the the biggest thing, in my professional opinion, would be to keep in mind that this is going to set a precedent because

061again, the the next person that comes to follow is going to say, "Well, hey, you charged this person X and now you're charging me Y." Um so again, you know, that's kind of where it becomes a slippery slope or a uncharted waters because it's like, "Well, it's What do we want to do as a district?" This is why option three gives us protection. Right. I believe so because again, it's it's kind of an objective figure. When you look at the cost alone, like is this option cheaper than than using a realtor? Like the the option has any fees or anything with this that would be associated with putting it on a bid? I I believe so. Traditionally, yes. Um because as you said, there's there's fees that go into it. They have to post it.

062They have to market it. That whole deal. Um you know, fortunately, this realtor did his due diligence and found it and brought it to our office um you know, thinking that he's going to get a deal and he might likely still get a deal because um because of those fees that are associated with marketing it and trying to get it from a third party. The other question I had is if if we were to like we were to sell this or any property, where does that money go into the general fund or is it Yeah, it will. It will go into the general fund, yes, sir. So, my only question is if we go with option three and nobody pays $48,000, then we still own it. Correct. Is that Do we have a period of

063time that we allow it to sit before we can bring it back to the board and change our minds? I mean, I don't want the property to sit where we could make 25,000. We're going to sit on 48. Yeah. So, to be honest with you, Mr. Brett, the the next step would be for us to go back to Mr. Rolf and say, "Hey, this is what the board said. It's going to be this $48,000 figure." He can say yay or nay. Um if he says nay, obviously we'll inform the board, you know, let everyone know, and then maybe that's another conversation that we have to say, "Well, would you take 25?" And then it becomes a negotiation from there. Um but again, it's just it would be kind of a similar discussion that we're having

064now. Well, if he didn't take 45, what would be fair? What what do we deem reasonable? So, is he the only I guess that's what I understand. So, when we say bid, I'm thinking I've been doing like online auctions for real estate in the last couple weeks. I thought it would go out to a mass audience. So, you're saying that it's just going to go to one single realtor for private sale. So, if he says no to that, then we're back at square one. You were we're we're right back where we are right now, which it's not hurting us. It could help us. Like we we're not at his beck and call. Right. He he came to us and or Yeah. About recommendation. Okay. Uh the only other thing I would maybe like for us

065to see if we own any other property. I mean, if there's a light investigation that would be nice. We yeah, we'll we'll get a list of um together of um we easily do it through you just go to H K and put in the port IC and see what we own. Exactly. We have board of You have any questions? Any more questions? No, as I see it, I guess we have essentially four options. Option one, I'll take a motion for either option one, two, or three, or I guess the option to table it all together. So, does anyone on the board like to make a motion for any of the options? I'll make the motion for option three. Okay. I'll second that. We have a motion and a second by trustee Hanks, a second by

066trustee Crutcher for option three, average square foot valuation on comparable properties in the area. Any further discussion? Nope. If not, please vote. Motion carries. Thank you. >> [laughter] >> All right. Thank you all so much for your consideration. Thank you. Thank you. I don't want my $930 whatever, man. Um, All right, we'll turn to item D, discuss and consider approval of allocation of instructional materials alignment IMA funds for math instructional materials. Ms. Abram. Okay. Good evening, President Mark, board of trustees, and Dr. Jackson. Thank you all for allowing us the time to talk to you about the instructional materials and our process for our textbook committee for selecting kindergarten through Algebra 2 textbook materials. Um, we we began this work actually last year with especially our junior high and our high school teachers looking at

067our instructional materials and really looking at the strengths that we had, but also knowing that that adoption was over 10 years old. Um, and and that would be common for a textbook life. Right. Um, and so when we looked at that, knowing how much has changed with STAR 2.0, as we've presented in in other previous, how CCMR is changing, all of the things that are changing for students, that textbook at the time was was the right choice, but we know now that we we with the committee that we needed to to bring something else in to meet the needs of our students and the curriculum. And so part of this was the textbook committee was formed. We took a deep dive into our TEKS and looked at our priority standards, the things that our students

068might be struggling with vertically, but also those things that help with college algebra readiness, our our advanced math. And so we really looked at those those TEKS very carefully when we were looking at all of these materials, knowing that STAR 2.0 is now, but in 2027, as we've talked about before, the state is changing the assessment again. And notice the the common thread here is really the state of Texas and driving assessment, driving curriculum, and thinking about where that alignment lies, okay? And where we can set our teachers best up for success for the rigor that's required of the curriculum, the state curriculum, the TEKS, and also the assessment that the students have to ultimately take. And as we think about beyond our EOC algebra, we think about college, career, and their readiness for the

069beyond LaPorte ISD. Ms. Abram, do you have any No, I think you said it well. Um, okay. All right, and I just wanted to just highlight briefly just the work of the assessment. And you see quite a few people sitting back here and we will introduce several of them. Some of our specialists, our teachers, our interventionists are here that have been a part of this work and have been a part of some campus visits, district visits, and also just um, just really looking to answer the questions and looking at this material very closely. So, as we talked about, we want to look at alignment to our strategic plan and our goals for the district as well as state accountability. And ultimately what our students need. We want to support our teachers with aligned materials that

070support tier one instruction for all students, tier two and tier three for those needs as they arise, and just-in-time interventions, and materials that are going to support us to do all of those things. We also know that we've had traditionally in LaPorte an advanced math pathway that has had students access algebra in eighth grade. We've also created another pathway for our students, as you all know, just this past year was our first year to advance our our fifth graders and they were some of them that qualified for that were taking the sixth grade test in fifth grade in addition to the other pathway. So, there were there's two pathways now in LaPorte to access algebra in eighth grade. And so we knew that we needed to have those supports for our students with this adoption.

071The other thing that we needed to do was think about um, the State Board of Education had an approved list of of textbooks that were considered 100% aligned to the TEKS, but we know when that said, sometimes that could be that they just mentioned the TEKS. So, we have to be very careful with that. And that what's the depth and the complexity that it's going into the TEKS. And that so that was also part of the needs assessment that we had. Um, that's the slide. One of the things we had to look at and I want to share Ms. Abram and I talked about this in depth is really for the committee is thinking about what is the need been in LaPorte ISD for a math. And you all know as we talk about data

072and and our assessments and how our students are are growing. Um, in middle school math, we know that there is a need to strengthen our math. As but as we talk about and and most of the people that are part of this work in the audience, we talked about how this this doesn't start in middle school because we have to strengthen our foundation. That's part of the reason why we were a part of the strong foundations work, that grant that for two years we were a part of that and doing specific walks and providing teachers feedback and giving them that math framework that's in your folder that was created by the committee last year so that we could align ourselves to the beliefs and the vision for this math work. And so that all went

073into this needs assessment that we talked about starting last year and really this fall. Just wanted to give you a brief timeline for all of this work that the specialists and the the committee put together. Again, I told you we we started really these conversations last school year, but then continued into October. And you can just see several of the things that we've done, which include having a textbook team, a leadership team that really looked at what the the textbook was was we were going to do in January, which was the teacher preview. That was a textbook hearing. Every math teacher came and viewed all of the math materials that were available. We also have several, you can see, visits to districts that have recently implemented the Blue Bonnet program, including Waller ISD and Deer

074Park ISD. We've also been in contact with Liberty ISD. They're just a close neighbor and they have implemented as well. And then also we've been talking to Goose Creek ISD. Um, so you can just see after every one of these things, we've had debrief meetings with the committee. What is your feedback? What is your input? The turning point, and I will I will leave some of this for some of our presenters. In February-March, you can see we did a TEKS deep dive. I just want to make note of that right there because we still were still saying, "Well, there's still a lot of other resources that are good, too. Are we still looking at those?" And once we did this TEKS deep dive with our teachers, they started seeing a lot of aha of just

075the depth and complexity and the complete the complete um, view that Blue Bonnet offered that some of the other resources that were being used by neighboring districts. When we called them, they said [clears throat] that some of the other resources that were very popular as well, had some good resources, they said that they were having to supplement about 40%. So, what that means is teachers are still having to create materials in addition to the textbook. So, those are those are things we're trying to get away from so that our teachers are given the what, which is what's intended by curriculum, and they kind of have the how. So, you talk about the art of teaching and being able to do some of the engaging strategies, and it might look a little different from class to

076class, but still teaching the same thing. So, I just wanted to give you that brief timeline. And I talked on this deep dive. This is just a couple of pictures from this deep dive at Legacy Complex that our teachers was well attended. They stayed for quite some time doing this, and we really looked at our priority TEKS as I was talking about before. And they started really noticing how complete and aligned from grade to grade vocabulary was, the problem solving. Kids weren't hearing it different ways at different times, different classrooms. They were hearing it the same way and they were seeing the carryover from elementary to the junior high classrooms all the way to algebra. We as as I shared, we did some district visits. These are just a few pictures. We didn't take pictures

077of students or teachers, but they were very actively engaged. Teacher was walking around the room. A lot of the resources and tools that we have in the district were available there. They were just utilizing them a little differently. There was a lot of student discourse, conversations and collaboration in the classrooms. And the teachers said that at first they felt like there was a lot of teacher voice, but as they got more comfortable, they could turn it over to the kids a lot more. They were still able to use a lot of the the middle picture is as a lot of our teachers talked about star preparation. We want to make sure that teachers still feel comfortable that our teachers are prepared for the assessment. And so they were they were showing how there's room for

078that too. One of the big takeaways we also had when we went to the visits was fluency practice. And when we think about that when we were in school it was like fact practice, right? So it wasn't it but sometimes we'll go to grades and say well they just don't know their facts. This is built into every day for a very brief time. So is problem solving. And so that fact fluency becomes like concept fluency at the upper levels. And so this brings it in more often and more frequently so the kids see it more. Sometimes we call that spiraling the curriculum or revisiting things, reteaching just in time intervention as Julie was talking about earlier when we were on visiting. These are these are just some key takeaways and I know there's a lot

079of words on this slide but really these are things that after we visited and we see heard teacher panels talk about this and we heard administrator panels. These are some of their takeaways that they had that they were sharing out with our team. And it's very aligned to the TEKS. The ELPS are the English language proficiency standards. Those are standards that are they they they've been in existence but they're they're also updating them. So there's going to be more content based need for that with the curriculum that we adopt. The the the big thing is that students are being exposed on a regular basis every day to on grade level material. And that's very important so that we don't create gaps for from grade to grade. There's also opportunities for practice, for discussion, for representation

080and writing. Yes, writing in the math curriculum which is something that's one of our focus areas in the district that our principals are very passionate about. These are just results that they're seeing and some of them were just in their first year of implementation. They are seeing student growth, they're seeing growth in achievement and meets and masters. And they're also seeing an increase in teacher support with these materials. I talked about this alignment of vocabulary and problem solving. The kids aren't seeing it a different way in every grade. They're seeing common things so that they can they can attach their their thinking to. Very engaging. And then what it takes and this is an important column on the right. It is going to take the support and time and and resources is what that kind

081of ties to that that service provider we were talking about. We do have great outstanding I will say supports in the district from the instructional specialist, the interventionist, the principals. That's already in place. But this is with a new adoption being able to add another layer of support for our teachers and giving them the time to do that. What's going to be different is you know we used to call it lesson planning where you write your lesson plans. This is a lesson internalization. In your folders there's a couple of samples in the back. There's an elementary, a junior high and an algebra one. You can just take a look at it. It's it's it's very complete. And it's things that teachers were used to do on their own and some of you are nodding your

082heads as as classroom teachers we know and these are things that we now call internalize. And you go in and you can annotate it and make notes and think about your students and how they're going to respond to this. And there's collaboration built in for teachers to learn from one another from that when they've annotated their lessons. They did the district said that it is important that you implement this with fidelity not oh gosh this is hard let's stop and let's do something else let's pull out other things but just to stay with it and trust the process. Which we've done. I'm going to I'm going to go ahead and compare it to and Julie and I have been talking about this. It's really very similar to our TXRL or Texas Reads Texas Leads our

083literacy initiative where we've gone to the high quality instructional materials that the teachers weren't used to teaching with before cuz remember we were doing guided reading and balanced literacy which was was a great at the time but we know and research shows that structured literacy is for for the this is the direction we need to go and we're starting to see those great results and teachers are turning that corner and seeing that's the feedback we're getting. This is very similar to that and a high quality instructional material and using it in this way is like what we're doing for primary literacy. I'm going to now Julie did you want Let's please please do. Thank you. Good evening. To answer your question DeAnn about research, you know what Angie alluded to at the beginning of her

084presentation was the foundation strong foundations work that we've been doing. Strong foundations is about the research. It's research based instructional strategies. So what we know about good math instruction is that is is grounded in these four practices. And so the strong foundations work that we have done is ensuring that we A understand what those four foundational instructional strategies are but then B what are our expectations in LaPorte ISD for how that looks in every math classroom. So the foundation of instruction is research based instructional strategies which is the foundation of Bluebonnet. So that's key takeaway number one. The second thing is that in [clears throat] in the pandemic during 2020 there were a lot of free resources out there for the state for the for for districts to to grab onto. Eureka Math was one

085of those resources that were free but through the use of research the early adoption of Eureka Math and and its widespread use in the state of Texas there was a lot of research done on its effectiveness. And it's evolved over time since 2020 but all the research that I've read says that the students who have used in the districts that have implemented the Eureka Math during that time saw greater greater rates of growth. Their use. And we're anticipating and we're seeing early studies show as it's evolved into Bluebonnet that continues. So not only are we hearing it from the field and hearing it from our teachers but the research that's being published is is continuing to show that trend that students in districts that utilize this resource to fidelity as it as it's intended are

086seeing greater gains in math. Yeah. So it's different in every grade level. >> Savvas. Yes, we're using Savvas right now and um Is it which Pearson? Uh-huh. So two different textbooks at different levels is what we're using and those were the adoptions we had several years ago that we were talking about. Bluebonnet and only for math? No. No, but this particular what we're looking at right now we're only looking at math. But they they have created a state curriculum for reading. And which starts >> was my next question. So they do have one for for reading and we are currently on TXRL is that our plan? So that's just a that's a grant and that's an initiative. What we are right now is HMH like Houghton Mifflin if you've heard of them. So that's that's

087the resource that we've been using but we're not currently up for adoption yet. That's not next year but the year after that. Okay. It's a good question. Okay. I we've got some great people here to talk about from the campus perspective if you all are okay with that. We have Mr. Nichols from here is from College Park. We're so glad he's coming. >> [applause] >> Good evening board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about the future for the math instruction here in LaPorte ISD. I know our goal was simple for the committee to just provide high quality research based math curriculum and I think that this program really does ensure it. I know that what we do in the classroom is an art and you know a lot of our teachers here in

088our in our district have their favorite things that they do to paint these masterpieces inside. And a lot of them tend to be teacher paid teacher. And so I think that when we are trying to get a curriculum that is for everybody we want to make sure that we are using something that's very cohesive. And I think the idea that I could have a student my son go from one campus to another campus and pop in and be on the same curriculum from another teacher no matter where they go I think it's a great great thing to have. One thing that I really like about it is that it's very conceptual for number sense. And one of the things I preach in my classroom is that math number sense. And when we look at grade

089levels in kindergarten and we look at these things called number bonds that we start playing with the numbers and seeing them. I think when we grew up and at least when I grew up I think numbers is concrete. 53 was 53 and there was nothing else. And so getting the kids to see that I always say numbers are Play-Doh and that I can have modality in those numbers seeing 53 as 40 and 13 and other things to make it more easy. I think that's where I see a big benefit to Bluebonnet starting those things so early so that when we get to third and fourth grade that it's not such a concrete number. We can move those numbers around. There was a trick that I did once before with a group of adults where I

090have 400 and I took a number away from both and I got the same answer as if I was regrouping it around and I blew a bunch of parents' minds cuz they couldn't see that we could play with those numbers. And so I actually got to Sorry forgive me. But just that key point of that it's cohesive, the lessons are detailed and that it really pushes for those kids to see mathematical reasoning as far as getting their idea to peak. There was language in there that sometimes I think when we try to look into the star there's like two times, three times things like that that we seem that for us adults that we seem very easy for us to have. Sometimes it struggles for those kiddos just to kind of see uh one of

091the one of those things. And so, um just wanted to make sure that I highlighted those points. And I also got to just teach a a couple of lessons using it. And I saw such an easy way for it to be streamlined as far as we're following this program. We also It also connects with our um program that we're using in our campus with Zearn. And so, the language that we're using in these problems um is also being super um easy and streamlined into Zearn. And so, the kids would come and say, "Hey, I just saw this when we did it on the worksheet." Yep, exactly. So, we can know how to do this. And it's easier for those kids. And it leaves out some of those questions that we might not have when I

092know when I first started Zearn that I didn't understand how it was asking or what it was looking like. And the kids had no background knowledge. And I think having those things tied together makes it very easy for us. Um and I think that's pretty much what I wanted to recap with with everything that I've learned diving into the seek seeing everything and seeing how that program looks like it has the best for everything else as we compared it through our team walk and with our committee. So, um I think choosing Blue Bonnet is a great investment in our high-quality instruction for our teachers and our student success. And so, thank you for your time and the commitment to the students and staff here in La Porte. THANK YOU, MR. RAMIREZ. UM MS. STEPHANIE KELLER

093from Baker is going to come up and talk to y'all. >> [laughter] >> Come on, work it. Um I'd like to start by taking the opportunity to say thank you for taking interest in the teachers' perspective on our new curriculum. Um I also want to say that I can only speak from my experience as an educator in the past 11 years in education. I've taught third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Um in my opinion, the Blue Bonnet material gives students the opportunity to think for themselves. And because lessons are designed to facilitate productive struggle. Productive struggle is something I'm particularly passionate about teaching the kids that they need to take time without asking a teacher, talk to each other, try before they start asking a teacher for help. Um it offers hands-on engaging tasks and

094makes math real for students by keeping them locked in and kick-starting critical thinking for the lesson. Um it has a consistent lesson design giving the classroom a consistent structure and helps students know what to expect from the learning on daily basis. Um I began using Blue Bonnet halfway through this school year with the hope that it would assist me in reaching my honor students who needed enrichment. Um teaching honors level classes was a new experience for me this year. Um and Blue Bonnet helped me to learn to give those students the space to engage with the math and use their critical thinking. Um I've been so used to just jumping in to my struggling students and walking with them hand in hand, but it took um teaching honors to learn that sometimes you have to

095step back and give them a minute to uh discover it on their own. Um I found that as a teacher I struggled with giving them enough wait time and space to work through the math without jumping in, but this curriculum structures that into the lessons as well as opportunities for them to discuss with each other and also to write about their experiences. Um after the first unit, I found that not only my honor students, but my on-level students excelled as well. Um it builds in an opportunity for all students to meet high expectations. Rather than having the whole class wait for the student who struggles the most, it encourages those students to rise um to the level of those students who are excelling. Um I have one student who this year has struggled with engagement,

096often just coming into the room, just putting his head down. And um I spoke with another teacher on campus the other day who came to me and said, "This kid was in my class and we were talking about how to find whether the three sides of a triangle form a triangle based on their side lengths." And he couldn't remember how to do it. So, he started to just kind of shut down. And the the teacher said, "Do you remember doing the lesson with Ms. Keller with spaghetti?" And he went, "Oh, I remember that." And he just jumped back to work because the the lesson itself stuck with him. Um it reaches every student in the middle and builds scaffolds and multi with multi-modal supports. And um I believe it is really good for new teachers

097as well, helping them to build their content knowledge. Um it's structured in such a way that um it helps them It helps them with the depth of the lessons um as they learn their craft. Um finally, sixth grade is where students begin to combine the skills that they've learned in isolation in elementary to perform to perform the geometry and algebra that will shape their careers as students. When students struggle in math and reading year after year, the likelihood that they will drop out before graduation increases exponentially. I believe that using this curriculum in lower and middle grades will help to close the gaps from past years that keep that struggle alive and will increase the confidence that will encourage them to continue with their education in the future. Thank you, Ms. Keller. And now Dr.

098Kate Griffin is going to come up and talk about it from a high school perspective. Good evening, board, Dr. Jackson. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this evening. Um while at the high school we don't technically have a teacher that's been teaching it this year, we've had a lot that were on the committee to help uh examine uh this curriculum. And from my perspective, what I really want to talk about uh and I promise my remarks will be brief, but the thing that I love about this is the consistency that it brings. Um you We we all know that math is very foundational. It builds on itself. And so, those skills that they build from the time that they're in kindergarten all the way to when they start to walk through the

099doors of the high school is really important. And like Ms. Viator spoke about before, we have situations that we've done in the past where we have different curriculums at different levels, different programs, different uh publishers. Excuse [clears throat] me. So, whenever these students make their way through the different schools in the different grade levels, and then they go to two different junior highs, and they come back to the high school depending on the pathway that they took, um is depending on the curriculum and the different skills and strategies that they used along the way. Um and so, what ends up happening is that they come sometimes to ninth grade with some gaps. And it might be these kids that went to Lomax are really structured and strong in this area because of what was happening

100there and then what was happening at OPJ. Not that one is any better than the other, but they're just different. And so, when they come And so, having a unified curriculum that is all the way through using the same types of strategies, the same types of the same cadence in their lesson structure is something that's really important to me. It's something that's really important for our students as they come to the high school because it's not just about the importance of them doing well on that Algebra 1 test. They have to have those foundational skills to move to those upper-level classes that we're struggling to get kids into. I mean, we do a great job and we have great teachers that are really preparing our kids very well. But the more kids that we have

101starting at a certain level, we have a better chance of moving them to those higher-level classes as they progress through the high school. We the last few years we've done a great job in Algebra 1 getting kids to the approaches level. We've done a pretty good job getting them to the meets level, but we're struggling at that master's level. Uh and so, having that foundational curriculum all the way through will help fill some of those gaps so that I think we can start on a better playing field when they get to the ninth grade. Uh the other thing that I'll say about the the Blue Bonnet curriculum and kind of excuse me, the difference from a lot of the elementary campuses to the high school campus in particular, um I can count on one hand

102the amount of new to the teacher new to the profession teachers that we've hired uh on one hand uh that that come uh using an educational program in college. The vast, vast majority of new to the profession teachers that we hire are ACP graduates. I was an ACP graduate. There There There There's nothing wrong with being an ACP graduate, but what those teachers lack when they come on that first day of school is a lot of training in lesson structure and lesson design because it wasn't a part of what their collegiate program was. Um and so, having a curriculum that has a lot of that tier one and tier two and tier three structures built into it um is going to be a great way for us to help pull those teachers into that more

103mastery level of pedagogy faster. Um and since it's something that students see from the time that they're in first grade all the way up, um it's something that they're used to in the classroom when they're seeing it as well. Um and so, just overall, it provides a really great structure for our students and teachers. Thanks. >> [applause] >> Just the next thing is just a couple of pictures of some of our teachers um and our students utilizing um some of the Blue Bonnet preview because some of our teachers wanted to dive into it. And so, I just wanted to share some pictures. Um and then we we talked on some of these, but I just concluded this slide for you to just look at the committee takeaways from all of the work that's been done.

104And we talked about this daily fluency practice that helps keep that in front of kids, helps them not spend their cognitive um brain power on trying to figure out facts or do them on their fingers or counts or things. And they're they're just seeing it daily. Um it does equip, as Dr. Griffin talked about, every teacher to deliver rigorous, aligned, on-grade level instruction. Um it does align directly with the framework um that we have in place that that the committee developed a year ago and also just our vision for mathematics in the district. Um it provides equity of instruction for all students. I talked on scaffolds, and they also talked on advanced students. And we talked on EB students and also our special education students and it just really does provide equity of instruction for

105everyone, no matter the teacher's training level. Um even our veteran teachers. That connected system is so important, um as we know with the seven elementary campuses and then Baker and then the pathway to the high school and to DeWalt. We want to make sure that our students feel that connection with their problem-solving strategies, with the vocabulary, and how um that lesson structure looks. Um and finally just that vertical and horizontal alignment throughout kinder and through all the way through Algebra II. Talked a little bit and this is about the just the implementation plan that we we definitely um are looking at a very strong implementation plan for our teachers to be successful and our students. Um we want that to drive the success that they're going to provide and their confidence. Um just looking at

106thinking about planning and implementation and then a lot of this has to do with bite-size learning. You can't learn all of this at one time, but really trying and some of our teachers are like as soon as we can get our hands on these materials, as soon as we can get training. Some of them will want to do it in May. Um you know, so that's exciting and then we have of course summer trainings and then back to school trainings. But that's going to be ongoing professional learning and support. Um we also want to strengthen we talked about we have current systems in place, but with instructional coaching, one-on-one feedback, team feedback, um and also uh training for our administrators so that they can help coach as well and support it on their campus. Uh

107just next steps with this with this implementation is a needs assessment. We're always looking we told you I told you about the textbook needs assessment. We're going to look also at where are we currently with systems and where do we need to start and what type of trainings do our teachers need immediately and then as we go. Um we're going to do some campus walks um with just really seeing what what exactly is taking place in the classrooms. We we do this on a on a regular basis, but kind of looking for these look fors that we're talking about to support them. Going to have the teachers be able to preview um their content and materials and then really develop um a a PD plan for the summer and for next school year. Which are

108things we normally do, but with this as we know as with any new implementation of anything, anything new, um there's there's sometimes is a struggle. So we want to make sure and support that in every way that we can. And just in closing and and all of our teachers and campus um administrators really say we all say it's a long-term investment um for everyone because of it's being K-12 and beyond um for their mathematics confidence and um those pieces. Uh providing a consistent and rigorous math experience throughout, no matter what classroom you're in, no matter um where if you have a substitute, if you have it that's that's going to be available to the students. And finally just preparing them for success beyond LaPorte High School. All right, there is on your two pages it's

109was super important for us to recognize all of our math committee that spent time, effort, and asked questions and have been a part of it. A lot of them are out in the audience right now, but there's two pages worth of people who were involved in this work. Um but like if you're part of the work, can you stand up? And that's a lot of our principals, too. SO PLEASE STAND UP. >> [applause] >> THEY ALL SOME OF THEM THEY ASKED, "CAN WE ALL SPEAK?" And so they were they were excited to be here. Danny. I just you you had so many uh initial focus um you're talking about continuity um that alignment, you know, whether it's our branding, our image, discipline, you know, the transaction between your high to Baker, those kind of things.

110All been I I really think that that continuity is that that is the missing thing and this program gives us that. I think it's going to bring it. I think uh yes, there's always uncertainty and change. Yes. But if this really has the um L L's the the star as well as Ruth has shared with us, I I I just think that this is a great thing and um Amanda's point to um talking about the uh critical thinking and how important that is. And that's what kids lack at least in when you see them each and every one of our workers, um they don't all possess that quality. Mhm. Um so I I really I think there's there's so many positives just in that short presentation that I could take away and I really that

111the undertone about the continuity, vertical alignment is so important. I think that you know, we can almost fix almost any of our problems Mhm. >> with alignment, especially districts our size. All right. You shouldn't have all these different experiences. Yeah, shouldn't have some campus issues. Mhm. But by and large messaging Yeah. curriculum should all be the same. So I really enjoyed the presentation and the perspective by the teachers. Sir. I want to piggyback on what you've said. Um you know, some of the the terms and the and the ideas that the teachers um gave us um really speak to the research, right? The research-based instructional strategies that that we know are the foundations of curriculum. You heard our teachers talk about the conceptual um learning versus the procedural learning and how you know, that was

112so important. That's an RB strategy. Um you heard the idea of the depth of concepts, the rigor of of learning as a key RB strategy. Um you heard them talk about the coherence of key concepts and just that vertical alignment. We don't have three curriculums going on, we have one. Um and then you heard them talk about productive struggle. All of those are those four research-based instructional strategies that are from the foundation of what makes this Bluebonnet curriculum different than what we've been doing. Um the other thing that I wanted to talk about just briefly, um Angie talked about our implementation plan and and you know, we have had the benefit of a grant-supported implementation partner with our structured literacy shift with Texas Reads Texas Reads initiative. That's been a a huge gift for our

113district and it has really helped provide the supports that we have needed as district leaders and campus leaders to really ensure that our implementation is strategic, it's monitored, it's it's it's in concert with support providers who can help answer questions and troubleshoot and help keep us focused on the right path. And so as part of the implementation plan for Bluebonnet because we know that this is going to be and require the same level of um strategic support, um we have been awarded we applied for two grants with TEA. Um one grant um with the condition that we would have to adopt Bluebonnet, the other grant that we could adopt any state um approved material. Um when we decided to adopt Bluebonnet, we were then awarded the grant for support from TEA. Um $788,000 grant award.

114Which provides that service provider to help provide strategic district planning and support, coaching, district leadership training, all the things that Angie alluded to as part of our strong implementation plan. And so the tabled item refers to contracting with Great Minds who has been a leader in this initiative implementation work in other districts. Um our our research with our friends have said these these folks are great. Great Minds has been an early um implementation support provider for other districts um going back to Eureka Math and says the best research coming in Bluebonnet implementation is from Great Minds. So we feel very strongly that they are going to be able to provide a level of support for us that will really ensure that any questions or any concerns that that a change of this magnitude might bring

115that they will be able to help us navigate because they've done it successfully in other districts. So the contract um approval that is before you is to use the grant funds that we've been awarded from TEA to contract with Great Minds to provide that direct implementation support for this work. 70% of that grant funded um that grant fund must go to a single service provider for this work as part of the TEA conditions. So I'm sorry. So my question on that is how quickly are we allotted the funds to be able to start rolling out and implementing and getting the resources to um to implement. >> That is a great question. So we have a deadline coming up here at the end of April for us to submit our once this is once we approve

116this, hopefully, um then we will submit our budget proposal to TEA and we'll be able to once the budget proposal is received and approved, in other words, how do we plan to spend the money, um then then we should be able to receive um notification of when we'll receive those funds. We hope very soon. Should be a quick turnaround. I don't know, Amanda, do you have any more details on that? Can you speak to Um speak to I know there's been some talk around uh different trustees and school districts talking about that the TEA reimburses you for every child who's using that curriculum. Can you speak to that and what those amounts are? So the TEA has restructured the instructional materials allotment. It used to be the districts would get a single pot of money

117and from that pot of money you could buy any instructional materials that were allowable expenses as dictated by the state and that included everything from a textbook to a computer and everything kind of in between. Um >> [snorts] >> over the past few years they have restructured the way that those funds are allocated. Now they are getting a little more clear. They are saying, well, there are three pots of money. One pot of money um can be spent on all those things that we're accustomed to, all those allowable state-approved resources that may not be in OER Blue Bonnet, um other other resources, supplemental resources, things like that. A second pot of money is for the purchase of an uh Nikki, you know you're in the in the audience, you can help me if I get

118it wrong. Um she's my IMA guru. Um The second pot of money is for the printing of OER. So, OER is is an um is a free resource, but the state requires printed materials for us to implement. So, they they allocate a certain amount per child for the printing of these OER adopted materials. And then there's a third pot of money that goes to Print instruction. Sorry. It's [clears throat] very complicated. But that I think is what they're referring to. There's no kickback. We don't get a bonus pack because we got that at Blue Bonnet, but it's But there is a very specific amount of money dedicated for the printing of OER that if we do not use it, we we don't use it. >> Yes. And what I what I read was Some some

119sources said $40 and some said 60 per student, right? >> That's 40 and 20. >> here nor there, but when that money comes in, we have to use it within that calendar year, not school year, or we lose it. Is that correct? >> correct. And um some people I talked to in other districts who have not adopted Blue Bonnet have told me that the reason they didn't is because it's very heavily print. It's not digital. It is. And it's actually both. >> And and we're very digital, but from my classroom visits that I've been to, we're very digital. The great news is is it's both. >> going to approach this as a step [clears throat] kind of backwards, going back to having to print a bunch of sheets, and are we going to have enough

120paper to do so? The the the printing costs are going to be from a service provider, and it won't be It'll be like a booklet, a book. >> Good question. >> booklet under a stack >> a booklet Um do we have to buy those from that provider? No, we buy them from a printing provider. Yeah, that's part of the adoption that you that you'll see for Great Minds as well as Carnegie. Um they are two of the people who print. Um they're they're allowed by the state, right Julie, to print uh those materials, and people have had very good experiences because part of that they speaking to the digital, they not only get We not only get the student and the teacher guides in print. Um because a lot of people do like to have

121their hard copies and write on them, but they also provide a very user-friendly platform. And I know our specialists have been very involved with that and and asking those questions. I know Yes, uh they were they were very intent on us our teachers being able to get that because they're able to search it very easily. It's a very user-friendly platform that teachers were showing us. And actually Deer Park ISD showed us that That was one of the big things that their teachers really enjoyed was being able to access those things digitally. Um and like you said, a lot of our teachers model in a digital manner with their iPad or their laptop, and um the students are able to do that as well. Yeah. But but we do I will say this I'm going to

122say this part um a lot of a lot of the paper as you're talking about or the the student workbooks um we saw in classrooms at Waller as well as Deer Park and probably many other. Um the students are doing a lot more pencil and paper as we used to do. You know, math on pencil and paper. Um there are ways for them to use like a application like we use now with Schoology um which is our one of our pieces that teachers can then put the answers in and it can help them grade. I mean, that's still some capability, but um there are a lot of they we saw a lot of paper and pencil activities going on and students highly engaged in it at all levels, elementary, junior high, high school. So, is

123the time that uh already having this lesson plan ready? Well, we think that there there will be some grading. There will be. Um but then as always, right? I mean, cuz we a lot of teachers as they walk around, they're evaluating student work in the minute. You know, they're wanting to do it right then so they know if they can reteach. Um whether it's on paper or whether it's on the computer. And a lot of the students have gotten to where not only are they working it on a paper, then they're just putting their answer in, but the teacher's wanting to grade the work, you know, right there. So, I'll say that that is something that we're we're going to work through with especially some of our high school teachers had that question, you know,

124of what about these and and what what was told in another district is no matter what because you're going to a new resource, you're going to have to recreate this whether it's in in the computer now or not. So, um those are just things we're we really know and understand we're going to have to work through and provide teachers' time to do those things. And they've said it takes a a little bit to make it your own and to figure out what will work there and what you just want to see on paper. One more question. Please. The state rolled this curriculum a few months later, it was there over 42,000 errors. I did see that in the Houston Chronicle, yes. Yes, it's all over the Yes, yes, yes. But um do we feel confident

125that those have been corrected? It's a good question, and one of the things and that was actually when we I met with the high school team, um they had that question. And I will say that most of those errors were in the reading language arts >> [snorts] >> um curriculum, yes. Um there were things in the math that were like charts and graphs that they thought they wanted to upgrade and say they got feedback from teachers that these might not have been the best, so let's try to do something different. Some of the some of the answer keys, the way that they were laid out. Um but it was mostly like periods, commas, things like that. But what's great about this is they can fix it in the moment, and then they have access to

126the updated materials um online. So, what we say about other um curriculum pieces, we don't even know They don't They don't really tell us, right? >> that I have been in and it's just been a few, right? In education, um there hasn't been a curriculum that I've adopted that hasn't come across a textbook that hasn't come across my desk that hasn't had an error or two or 10 or five. And then when you have these books and they're printed incorrectly, you know, you may or may not get a new shipment of books. You might get a new page that you're told to insert manually. I mean, so the benefit of what we've got now in modern world is that we can have these these correct these corrections made as as Angie mentioned um in real

127time. So, So, I I guess I'll start with this. Um we appreciate the all the work, the hours, the man hours um that went into this. We appreciate you guys uh including soliciting the feedback from the staff, the teachers, the people on the that are hands and feet, uh and certainly the work that went into getting the grants. And so, um I think everyone on this board, everybody on the Everybody like wants continuity. And if I'm going to be honest with you, that's been kind of my frustration for a long time as a more as a parent. Uh I have a fifth grader, and my uh one of my staff members also has a fifth grader different school here. They're both in La Porte ISD. And just on math, we had a conversation last week,

128strangely, about how different their approach is. Not not that one's right or wrong, it's just they're they're totally different. And I still think that in addition, we're small enough district that I don't understand why we don't have that kind of continuity, not just across math, but all other subjects. So, my question to you guys tonight is twofold. First of all, is this the I know that the system I know the state's pushing this, right? And but the state pushes a lot of crap, a lot of things that aren't always the best, right? So, do you guys feel full confident this is the best? Um is it will this be the one that gives us the best continuity across all subjects? That's my first question. We do believe that. Yes, sir. And secondly, if you said

129something about earlier, Ms. Victoria. Yes, sir. >> That the the ELA stuff is not up for another couple years. Why does it take So, we're 100 year 111 years in existence in the district. Why does it take so long to get continuity across not just math, but science, reading, social studies? And and what's the plan? I know again, I'm not I don't have to keep warning you with this, but like what is the plan to get us all aligned across all subjects? You know, whenever you have curriculum that relies on teacher development of lessons, um you're going to have the chance of having lack of continuity. And then when you have different campuses and different, you know, the the the the the it just gets exponential. I think to your point, you know, our curriculum

130specialists have worked really hard across the district to try to develop that continuity um to ensure that, you know, our expectations that we're following the curriculum, that we're, you know, saying calling things the same thing, that we're teaching it in the same way. It's a process. Um and so, I think that what will help us to continue to turn that corner is when you have a managed curriculum like this where the where the lessons are developed, the continuity is there. Now you put your as as as as our teachers explained, you are able then to put your own independent flare on how it's implemented in the classroom, the continuity doesn't change. I think when you have the variable of, you know, autonomy in lesson design, that continuity wavers, and and that's a hard thing to

131to standardize when we have when we have that autonomy still. And that was your question. >> I would say, you know, to Julie's point of this is supplementing of you have a curriculum, but when we we have Well, I think this would be more fun or I think and you you just kind of keep handpicking out of these supplemental resources, which might be great in isolation, but then you're exposing kids to different things in different classrooms, and so we're trying to get away from that to your point of how can we streamline this and how can we make it more aligned. It's really a commitment of not only having this but but implementing it and and really supporting and when I say monitoring I mean be able to give people feedback about how they're doing

132that. I agree with that and I want to make it clear. I know that you guys have made tremendous strides in the last five or six years of not having curriculum like that. It's come night and day. I know we have a long way to go. Um What I hear I guess one of the not I guess the the fears is the the way I'll put it is that some of our master level teachers are more senior teachers. Maybe I heard it presented like it's an art form. They [clears throat] might not have the opportunity to to be a master if you will. Like so but I've also heard it explained to me that it's kind of this is kind of like the baseline. Is that correct? Like can you kind of articulate on that

133a little bit where if there's a fear from some of these teachers who've been around a long time they have to not adopt a new system [clears throat] that they are not going to be able to thrive because we know we want uniformity but I don't want it to be like so black and white. We want teachers different special, right? So will they have the ability within the system to thrive I guess is what I'm saying. I think I think that that's absolutely intention of and the plan for our work. I think that we will see experienced teachers lean into this because it allows students to come Teachers will know what kids should have learned, right? Like there's this whole notion of kids come and they say well I didn't learn that last year in

134so-and-so's class and okay and so the critical mass or you start teaching to what kids say they didn't know whereas with a unified curriculum like this an experienced teacher can say no actually you did learn this last year and so we're going to keep moving on and you stay in that rigor that is the RB's and you don't lean into the off level grade instruction that that that can come from a lack of that continuity. I think experienced teachers are going to thrive in that and appreciate having that consistency. The way that it was described in other districts and what I've seen is this productive struggle that we're talking about for students and we've been describing it also with this implementation and when it's new that's going to be all of us for a little

135bit because as you talked about a baseline and we've actually talked about this in our committee. Some people thought like with Eureka and those things the baseline was down here but actually the baseline is up here cuz when we think about on grade level instruction that yeah I mean you Julie and I we've been I think I've presented it to you guys before about that study nationwide on the opportunity myth that they they looked at all of these different assignments from classes, master teachers, different things and what it found was about 17 to 20% of assignments that people said were on grade level were actually on grade level. So you think about that. When we think we might be giving students grade level work but it's only like 17 to 20% of those assignments were.

136And Texas actually replicated that study recently and found about the same results. So when we I just to your point even like if I had to go back into the classroom and be a fifth grade math teacher again I would struggle with thinking about what is the rigor of those TEKS and am I teaching to it if I'm just pulling things from here and there which I I have best intention, right? But really looking at that rigor. So looking I want to visualize that baseline being higher and then the art of that teaching there being that that piece. We want them to learn this well though and then they can start putting their you know personality into it. Thank you for answering my questions. And I'll say this is a comment to the board. I

137think that we all agree that we want to strive for for greater things and so we know that staying the same is not going to get us any greater than what we are. And so this is looks like an opportunity at least from my perspective to to take us to the next level. So again we we thank you guys for bringing to our attention. Board if there are no further questions or comments I will circle back to item K just approve contract purchase of services required for lift grant implementation. Trustee Thompson do you have any any additional questions? So the grant is going to cover the implementation part. Contract of services it will cost us nothing. In fact it'll provide us with not only a service provider for the course of the next three years

138it will also provide us with additional funding the 30% that we to additional professional learning um provide resources for teachers and for our level. That over the course of three years allows us other benefits help with the implementation support. So no extra cost from us except what we would normally do pay for. Okay. Thank you. Any more questions board? If not I seek a motion for item We have a motion. Do we have a second? And a second. For item K approve contract purchase of services required for lift grant implementation. Please vote. Harris and thanks board. Uh D that D is the report and K is the action. So I will turn now to item 10 action Are you sure? It looks like it's Well that was there. This for the Services required for the

139purchase of So this is actually Right. So this is You got to do it again. Okay. So we we have approved K. We'll go back to item D under section nine. I need a motion I seek a motion discuss and consider or so motion to approve allocation of instructional material allotments IMA funds for math instructional materials. Motion? Second? Please vote. All right. Harris thank you. No worries. We'll go to item 10 action on closed session items of which we have none this evening. Item 11 closing comments of the board of trustees. Trustee Shoppee. Being an educator I get very few opportunities to uh walk campuses cuz I work the same hours that you guys do. So last about a week ago or so I guess we got to go through Lomax and I thank Ms.

140Perales for taking us through and showing us all the awesome things that are happening over there at Lomax Elementary. First time I've been in the school so a few of the board members went with us with me and it was it was really enjoyable. Um and big time watching the district cross country track meet this last week. It was really fun watching that track meet in that new stadium. There's not a bad seat in that house. Uh Coach Bonnie, Coach Stewart and all them did a marvelous job in running it off and they get the area track meet. If you're not doing anything on Thursday at 5:00 show on up out there watch some of these kids run. The girls and the guys both did a great job. So it's been a pretty good week

141and good luck on STAR. Uh we got one tomorrow and it's going to be tough. Me. Uh just kudos to all the CTE kids being recognized tonight. Obviously that that Kudos to all the CTE kids tonight being recognized. Obviously great going on in that program and it's great to recognize those accomplishments. Port Elementary Leopards you raised the bar for all of >> [laughter] >> our productions there. You took it to a new level. It was great job and sentiments on the good luck with STAR. I know it's a stressful time for most people. But I have full confidence. Good luck. Um this is like the busy busy busy time of year so um just everybody we're in the home stretch. Um the really really pleased with my daughters have done the testing one test each

142so far and they both said they felt really comfortable and confident so thank you for your preparing our students for that. Um you know that and and continuing to prepare them for that. Um your hard work pays off I promise. Um we do have some things coming up. I think oh Sylvan Beach I'm sure Justin going to touch on that but specifically we have our contestants for the pageant our our young ladies here from both high school campuses and they're doing a phenomenal job. I can't wait for them to show all of the things that they have learned um in uh interviewing and public speaking and everything. So we do hope to see y'all out there supporting them and for the parade all the campuses they're going to put their entries in the parade. I

143can't wait to see all the kids. I know that they love to do that. It's it's one of the funnest times of year because of just the community side of it and everybody coming together and then we roll right into graduation and everything else. So just let's enjoy it and we're almost there. The end. I was going to do it. >> [laughter] >> Um I was going to say probably exactly what Danny said. I was excited with the CTE kids getting honored tonight. Especially excited to see so many welders and um young lady welders at that. Um As we look towards the end of the year I know with STAR testing you're you know it it it is what it is and we just have to get through it and and our students will perform

144the best that they can. And um I also want to say to the teachers don't stress about it cuz you know you've done your best already. And um then Danny is right about the leopards. I I don't think I've ever been that coordinated in my whole life. And um that was very impressive and enjoyable. So, that made for a great start to the meeting. I would go visit that camp. Well, I'll go video you trying to do that. [laughter] >> team building Um thank you. As we speak, um members of the La Porte FFA and 4-H are showing their animals tonight. Um I think >> Yes. pigs and some other things were tonight. Culinary arts and I believe steers are tomorrow. And um the auction is this Thursday. Uh dinner 5:00 to 6:00 and the

145auction starting at 6:30. I encourage you to come out there and support those FFA students. That is their uh Super Bowl, per se. Yeah. Um I want to thank the um high school senior who [clears throat] spoke tonight. Uh community engagement at any level is um always appreciated to this entire board. Um lastly, the Sylvan Beach State parade is coming up. Thank you for touching on that, Melissa. While I have every principal in the room, please send an email to every parent through Parent Square and tell them not to drop their kids off on the side of Fairmont Parkway and let them meander through the parking lot looking for their float. It drives me crazy. If there's a parent watching, don't do it. That's horrible. You have a young child walking through a parking lot

146with 18-wheeler trailers, etc. I don't want to be giving you parenting lessons cuz I'm not one, but that's a bad idea. And so, I'd encourage you to please tell your parents not to do that and it drives me crazy. Um with that, thanks for participating in the parade. Uh I know it's a lot of work >> [laughter] >> um to put your floats together and work with your PTOs, etc., etc. So, thank y'all for the participation in that. That's all I got. >> [laughter] >> Just really quickly, thank you to the board for uh your confidence in me and my team uh and for allowing uh us to bring to you our research and what we do. And you that ask the hard questions, that's your job. And uh we appreciate that. Uh but, as

147you can see, we are absolutely trying our best to move forward in everything that we're trying to do. And so, I just appreciate your confidence in our team. Thank you. Men, you guys I hope we apologize for running a little bit late this evening. A lot longer than normal. Uh but, we had a lot of important issues, so we appreciate uh the patience with us. Uh I want to say thank you for a couple of different things. First, I mentioned last meeting that we were having our young entrepreneur expo. So, uh I can't say this enough, but we are so blessed to have the the active guidance and the participation of the district uh across the seven elementary schools and Baker, all the admin, everybody that came out to help make that possible. A lot

148of these kids are just were so excited. Uh we're going to award our entrepreneur of the year on Friday, I believe. Um but, most of the kids we talked to made all made over $200 each and they thought that that was like the biggest thing. And so, uh that's always my anxiety. We want that people to show up, but every year uh you guys show up in a big way, so we're very, very thankful for that. Um y'all mentioned the uh the festival. Again, the ISD is a tremendous partner for a lot of different reasons. Facilities and coming out. One of my favorite things uh that they kind of touched on is the is the parade because we get to have each one of our schools represented. So, I know that is a ton of

149work uh that goes on, but not just the parents, but the staff. And so, we we really appreciate the work and effort that goes into that. We didn't gather. Uh Mason runs our parade. So, uh we're honored to have that. And Melissa runs the uh the pageant. And so, uh we're just blessed the chamber's been able uh last several years, every year, to kind of up our our contribution back uh via scholarships with the pageant and with our outstanding students. And so, we're just uh the only thing I ask you, please say a prayer that uh for the safety and for some good weather. We'll have a a tremendous day. So, uh outside of that, you know? >> No, say how much give back for this what what the what that give back is from.

150>> again, I know for some of the big plants and stuff, it's like a typical Tuesday, but for us, it's over $500. This year, we're giving out $22,000 in scholarships between the pageant and the and the uh outstanding students. But, also we have we are amazing have we have uh Interact, Oblong, several student organizations, FFA, uh a lot of local nonprofits that uh help us with it. We make donations to them as well. And so, uh it is a true community festival that the chamber happens to kind of spearhead it, but the ISD is a a great uh tremendous partner, as is the city. So, again, thank you guys. And with that, we are adjourned at