001If I have a quorum is present. And that notice of this meeting has been posted in time, required by law, You know, there you go. The board will now go into closed meeting under the authority of the Texas Government Code, section 551071 for consultation with our attorney and section 551.074 regarding the designated personnel items on the agenda tonight. We shall return. At this time, we will reconvene from Executive session. Want to welcome everyone for being in this meeting. We have, a couple of exciting things, to present to you today. At this time, I will ask, Reverend Nathaniel Rainey from who's the pastor from? Jireb Tabernacle to, present the invocation if you want to participate. It’s Dr. Jones Doughton. Oh, he's the one sitting right there. Oh, well, Dr. Jones Doughton. Okay. I just read what
002they give me. You know, what's his name? Well, the full, teleprompter. He's going to read it. Yeah. Yeah. You put it there. Okay. Let us pray. Almighty, gracious and loving God, I pray for this meeting of the Mesquite i-s-d. For the board and those in leadership. Give them a spirit of wisdom and understanding, discernment and compassion. May they seek to think on what is true and noble and pure and of good repute. And may they show the fruits of the spirit, such as peace and patience, and goodness and faithfulness in their dealings. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Pledge. Yes. We going to have a pledge? Yes. So we have the students from Shands Elementary, and their sponsor is, Principal Brandi Lewis. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
003United States of America. And in the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible. Liberty and justice for all. Honor the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to the Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible. My name is Alexandria, and, my school name is Shands Elementary. And I'm in second grade. Great job. Thank you very much, kids. And we have, a little surprise for everyone. Nice little treat. We're going to have Mesquite High School, the Pizzazz choir. Do a little presentation there under the direction of Jennifer Resendez. On December 1st, Mesquite High School's varsity choir had the amazing opportunity to go all the way to East Texas A&M Commerce and perform Commerce College Choir. This not only allowed students to improve their singing ability, but also to perform with some of the best
004musicians in all in Texas. Today, we'll be performing one of those very songs we sang with Commerce's college choir. The holidays are here. We just want to have some fun. Up next. Deck the halls. Actually, that was very good. It took us too long to get here. They already left, but. Then that was beautiful music. But those are our kids, guys. Those are our kids. I'm so proud of them. Okay, let's continue with the, with our agenda. First, we're going to go to, the, team of eight. As any of the board members have anything they want to share. Okay. So next we're going to go with our Apple Core honorees. All right. Thank you, good evening. Each month, we have the honor and privilege to present two new inductees into the district's prestigious Apple Corps
005program. The Apple Corps Program award was established in 1990, and this year is made possible by a partnership between the Mesquite Education Foundation and Clay Cooley of Mesquite. We'd like to thank them both for their support of our amazing educators. Our 1st December Apple Corps honoree is Mayra Pratz of Poteet High School. Miss - Miss Pratz is a Spanish teacher with 12 years of teaching experience right here in Mesquite ISD. Let's take a look at the video screen and learn what makes her an Apple Corps teacher. Senora Pratz is deserving of the Apple Corps Award because she leads with love in everything that she does. She gives her whole heart to every single student. It's not even the students that are sitting in a classroom. It's every single student. At Poteet High School. She has
006created a space where students, the love, respected, but she also pushes them academically, and she just works so hard so that all kids are seen, all kids are heard, all kids have a place. And she just loves and she loves big with her whole heart. We are so privileged to have Senora Pratz at Poteet High School. I read, a great pedagogue, Paula Friday who say education is freedom. And for me, having to educate this community is freedom is giving them all the tools to become these amazing global citizens that we need. Because I talk to my students all the time and tell them, you're going to be my next major, you're going to be my next governor, you're going to be the doctor and the lawyer who's going to take care of me. So I
007try to provide great education for them. I want to read a proclamation to, whereas the Mesquite Independent School District Board of trustees seeks to honor outstanding classroom teachers who demonstrate leadership, innovation, and dedication to the students of Mesquite ISD. And Whereas, the Mesquite ISD Apple Corps consists of exceptional teachers nominated by their peers to receive the school district's highest recognition. Therefore, be it resolved that the board officially welcomes Mayra Pratz into the Mesquite ISD, Apple Corps on the eighth day of December 2025. Thank you so much for what you do. Well, this is how it feels to win an Oscar. That's right. So I'm going to try to finish before the music starts. Okay. To say that I am overwhelmed, it's an understatement. Sometimes I wish there was a better word than thinks to express
008all the feelings that this recognition entails. Since I couldn't come up with a new word, then let's just start with thanking my family here and in Mexico. You know my daughter who is back there, my granddaughter, my husband, my son, my siblings, etc. Cetera is a word that will encompass the ones I left out, the ones that I probably will forget to mention. I also want to thank my family, colleagues, all the staff and administrators, past and present, etc. my family, the board, the different departments that make sure we have the resources we need. The feeder pattern in schools, etc.. A big, big thank you to the parents and guardians of my students. Thank you for trusting me with your children, who rest assured that I help provide a safe place where their voices have
009been heard, what they have been respected and encouraged to be great. To find their own voice, to be more than a label. To create a world where they are participants, nor spectators. I have a strive to create a place where they belong. This award is our accomplishment. It's the Premios Nuestro. I could not have donated by myself. To everyone that listened to me, that share ideas that encouraged me, that vote for me, I love you. One chance. Gracias. All right. Our second Apple Core honoree this evening is Haley Thompson of Price Elementary School. Miss Thompson is a fifth grade teacher with ten years of teaching experience here in Mesquite ISD. She'll turn your attention to the screens. We'll learn more about Miss Thompson. Miss Thompson exemplifies excellence and well-being by fostering positive relationships with students
010and staff. She is dedicated to designing memorable and relevant learning experiences that inspire student achievement. As a campus leader, she frequently provides by the professional development staff, focusing on relationship building strategies and best practices for integrating reading skills. Miss Thompson, we're so proud of you for receiving this award. You're a great asset to our school. Teaching is important to me because my classroom is more than just a place to learn. It is a place where my students feel safe, valued, and supported. Building a strong classroom community allows my students the opportunity to take risks, grow with confidence, and also know that they belong. Creating this community for them is something that is at the heart of why I teach. Come on down, Miss Thompson, etc. etcetera, etcetera. Let me read the other proclamation. Whereas the
011Mesquite Independent School District Board of Trustees seeks to seeks to honor outstanding classroom teachers who demonstrate leadership, innovation and dedication to the students of Mesquite ISD. And Whereas, the Mesquite ISD core consists of exceptional teachers nominated by their peers to receive the school district's highest recognition. Therefore, be it resolved that the board officially welcomes Haley Thompson into the Mesquite ISD at the core on this eighth day of December 2025. Congratulations! Very proud. Be careful with that. Oh, sorry. I'm already emotional. And I apologize for my baby already interrupting. Or our speaker. Thank you. To Misd, the school board and the staff at Price Elementary for this incredible honor. This is something that feels deeply humbling for me. Because teaching was not the path that I originally set out for myself. I honestly kind of stumbled
012into it, and I wasn't even sure if it was the right fit. But over time, it's become my calling. What keeps me here and what keeps me passionate are the relationships that I build with my students, for myself, and for so many other teachers in Mesquite and all over Texas. Teaching isn't just about test scores, data, or lesson plans. It's about connecting with our students, understanding who they are, what they need, and helping them grow. Every student has a story, and being part of that story is one of my greatest privileges. In my ten and a half years of teaching, I've worked with roughly 500 students, and while each of them has shaped me into the educator that I am today, my three beautiful children have shaped me just as deeply. Motherhood has taught me
013so much patience, empathy, and the importance of seeing the world through different perspectives. My own children remind me daily that every student that I see is somebody's whole world, and that mindset guides everything that I do in my classroom. Sorry. Something about those kids, man. To my colleagues, mentors, and mentees, both past and present. Thank you. Teaching is not an individual sport. It is a shared journey. I want to recognize the staff at price. It's the only place I've ever taught and it is truly my second home. From day one, I've always been surrounded by educators who inspire me, challenge me and lift me up. The dedication, heart and passion on our campus has shaped me into who I am today. To my family and friends, thank you for your support, patience and encouragement. They
014say it takes a village and it really does. Mine is the best and they make all of this possible. And lastly, to my students past, present and future. Thank you for trusting me, teaching me, and reminding me every day why this job matters. You are the heart of it all. Thank you. Ladies, thank you very much. Senora Pratz, you be so kind to introduce your family? Have them stand so we could recognize them. What about your Poteet High family? Yeah. Please stand and be recognized. They're shy. I've never seen a shy teacher. No. Thank you very much. Miss Thompson, the same. Do you have your immediate family here? And. And your Price family as well. Thank you for being here. We appreciate everything you do. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Next. All right. It's time for
015us to recognize our outstanding paraprofessional of the month with this Star Para award. Mesquite is excited to partner with First Financial Group of America to provide the Star Para recipient with a gift card. And we're grateful to have a representative from FFGA here tonight. So if you would, please join Kimball Elementary School principal Principal Bridget Mitchell at the podium with our December star para, Liane Randle. Principal Mitchell is going to share with us just a little bit about what makes Miss Randle so special. Good evening to present President Carbo and members of the board, Doctor Rivera and the members of our community. It is my honor to recognize an individual who truly represents the heart and soul of our small but mighty campus. Miss Randle an exceptional pre-K paraprofessional from Kimball. pre-kindergarten. It is a
016pivotal time in a child's life. For many, it's their very first experience in a classroom, and that transition can be overwhelming. However, Miss Randle possesses a remarkable gift for helping our youngest learners navigate this change. Every single morning, she greets students with the warm, welcoming smile. She has a special instinct for spotting children who are feeling nervous. She gently conference them and walks them personally into class, staying where they're side until they feel safe and ready to learn. But her impact goes far beyond those morning greetings. Miss Randle is a natural leader. She steps in wherever she's needed. Supports our teachers without being asked and brings positive, joyful presence to our hallways. She has also built invaluable bridges between the home and school, fostering strong, trusting relationships with our parents. Because of her compassion, her
017reliability, and her whatever it takes attitude. Miss Randle makes Kimball elementary not just a place to learn, but a place to belong. Miss Randle you embody what it means to serve with the heart. And we are incredibly grateful to have you on our team. On behalf of myself and Kimball Elementary, thank you for everything you do. Thank you so much for everything tonight. Hey. Next, we are pleased to recognize our December community partner for their support of our schools and students. Seasons of change has made a meaningful impact on our families by offering ongoing support and essential resources to our parents with young children. This can be seen through their free monthly diaper and wipes distribution and our annual Christmas Collaboganza Collaboganza. We have a very special video that's going to share with you more
018about this partnership. This month we are proud to present our Community Award to Seasons of Change. We first started our partnership with Seasons of Change through their Blessed to Give program, where every family who has a child 36 months and under or expecting receives free diapers and wipes, along with free educational videos. This is the second year that we are happy to partner up with Seasons of Change to provide a big Christmas event where every family who participates in the blessed to gift program receives Christmas gifts for their families. It was amazing to see all of the families fill with joy and gratitude for this big event. Thank you. Seasons of Change are for being our partner here at the Mesquite ISD Family and Community Engagement Department. All right. We have some representatives here tonight
019from Seasons of Change. If you'll come down. Here. And get involved. All right, now we proceed with our, student recognitions for this evening. Keeping with the holiday spirit, we have three very talented artists here with us tonight. Their winners of the district holiday Design art contest. Their artwork is featured on this year's Mesquite ISD Christmas card. And each winner is going to be presented tonight with a set of two custom made ornaments that features their winning design. Additionally, we have a new tradition this year. You can see on the, tree outside there, ornaments will be placed there as well. So we are very excited to welcome our first place winner from Shands Elementary. This is Leilani Rivera, and her sponsor teacher is Cathy Metcalf. She'll be at first place holiday card design. All right. Next
020up from also from Shands Elementary. Our second place winner in the holiday design contest is Isabella Malek And her teacher is Cathy Metcalf. All right. And with us from Tosch Elementary is our third place design. In the contest, Julissa Coheto, her sponsor, is Roxanna Robinson. All right. Congratulations to these talented artists. And we encourage you to take a look at the tree when you leave this evening to see their artwork. Next up, we in Mesquite ISD believe that our young people are difference makers. And tonight we're going to introduce to you some students who have taken on leadership roles this year with both student council in national honor Society. These are stucco and National Honor Society presidents. So we're going to introduce you to begin with, from student council. Horn High School has co-presidents, right.
021Okay. So we have Jessly Gil-Lemus and CeKyra Kinds. Come on down. Their teacher is Caleb Elson. He's our co-presidents for Horn High School. Stucco. Right over at Mesquite High School. These two young ladies are co-presidents, as well. Amaya Lang and Mireya Villagrana. Villagrana. And this is their sponsor, teacher Erin Van Sickle. Thank you. All right. Next up, from North Mesquite High School, we have Myranda Licea. She is the student council president and was elected to serve as the Texas Association of Student Councils district three recording secretary. She's here tonight with her sponsor, Zach Brimager. All right. Over from Poteet High School. Diana Roberts is a student council president. She's also been named the Texas Association of Student Councils district three. Corresponding Secretary DIana is here tonight with her sponsor, Michelle Griffin. And over on the
022west side, the Wrangler student council president is Skyler Lindsey Green. She's here tonight with, sponsor Stephanie Buce-Dodson and Kayleigh Davis. Okay, next up from Vanguard High School, we have Emmanuella Izukamma, our student council president, here with sponsor. Say your first name. Wenceslado Guerra. Okay. These next set of leaders are going to be your national Honor Society presidents for the 25-26 school year. First up, from Horn High School, we have Faith Apodaca and sponsor Daniel Thomas. Over at the Mesquite High School. We have Ariana Zamora Aguilera, National Honor Society president, here with sponsor Erin Van Sickle. And from North Mesquite High School. National Honor Society president is Kathy Avila, sponsor teacher. With her today is Joni Hutcherson and Mandy McLain. Just out. All right. From Poteet High School. Giselle Ochoa, National Honor Society president, here with
023her sponsor, Mayra Pratz. We just met earlier. But we. And back over to the west side, we have National Honor Society president Jordan Hernandez. Her sponsor couldn't be here tonight. Miss Stephanou. And from Vanguard High School, we have Nhung Duong, National Honor Society president for the Vanguard. She's here with her sponsor, Emily Roth. All right. Very special. Thank you. And congratulations to everyone who was honored here tonight and their family who came to support. This is going to conclude our recognition portion for this evening. And I'll hand it back to President Carbo. Okay. We're going to take a break in a second. Before we go on break, I want to do one item. We would like to, like, you know, we're going to take a break. We'll take a five minute recess. Thank you. At
024this point, we will go to the first audience portion there. Anybody? Miss Smith? Okay. Takes care of that. Next item on the agenda. The consent agenda. Board members, are there any items you would like to pull or discuss? If not, I'll entertain a motion. Motion to make a motion to approve the consent agenda. Second. There's a motion by Ms. Collier. Second, by Miss Hornsby to approve the consent agenda as reads. All those in favor, please to indicate by saying aye. Oppose, same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Next, we're going to the items of personnel. The first item is an action item to approve an administrative term contract. Coordinator of special ed. Dr. Rivera. Yes, Mr. President, thank you. Good evening everyone. We have one, item and is the coordinator for special education. And this
025is an action item. We'll make the introduction after the vote. Okay. There's a motion by Mr. Bingham, second by Miss Collier, to approve the administrative term contract for the coordinator of Special Ed and a, All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye, opposed. Same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries. All right, Mr. President. So now, our chief communications officer, Sabreana Smith, will read who. Just who you just hired. Yes. It's my pleasure to introduce to you, your new special education coordinator, Dr Veronica Tristan, if you stand. She's joining Mesquite. ISD as a special education coordinator, bringing over 17 years of experience in public education. Most recently, she served as the adjunct professor for special education at Sam Houston State University and instructor of special education assessment at Region X. She began her career as
026an elementary bilingual teacher and has held campus and district leadership roles in Spring Branch ISD, Magnolia ISD, and Alden ISD. Tristan earned a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of Houston Downtown, a master of Education and Special Education from Sam Houston State University, and a doctorate in professional leadership from the University of Houston. She also holds principal and superintendent certifications. Our new special education Coordinator. Let's welcome Dr. Veronica. Tristan. Excellent. Next, we have item number two. It's to consider a motion to propose, termination of Chad Berry term contract? For good cause. It's a no. Go ahead. Mr. president, I move to approve. Second. There's a motion by Mister Everett. Second by Mister Seward. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye, opposed same sign, ayes have it. Motion carries. Action item number
027three to approve administrator request for approval of outside personnel services. Of Horace Lewallyn. Move that we approve the outside personnel services of Horace Lewallyn. Second, we have, Yeah. Okay. There's a motion by Mr. Rose. Second by Mr. Bingham. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries for Mr. Horace Lewallyn. Okay. Action item number four to approve administration administrator. Request for approval of outside personnel services for Cerone Lacey. Mr. president, I move that we table this, next. Another meeting. Second. Second. Okay. There's a motion by Mr. Bingham. A second by Mr. Everett to table this item for our next meeting. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Same sign. Ayes I have it. Motion carries. Okay, we're done with personnel now. Next, we're going
028to the section of construction. First item is an action item to approve the same hour for general contractor for package one monthly. Lawrence, replacement and elementary. Thank you. Tonight. President Carbo, doctor Rivera and school board, here tonight. Present the construction manager at risk to general contractor for the Lawrence Motley project. As you know, the first thing that we did the August 25th was to approve the method of construction manager at risk. We put proposals out, for construction manager. We received six bids. And then, of course, that's the December meeting, and we're going for that approval. Motley Lawrence of new elementary sites to be built at the motley site building for about 700 students. And the board approval for the GMP will be January of 27, actually, February of 27. And then here's the voting on
029who we voted for. Out of the group, which is I believe it's seven of us. And. The administration recommends Board of trustees approve the recommendation of Buford Thompson Company as the general contractor. And with me tonight is the people from Buford Thompson, Mark Trammell and Scott Barnes. You'll see there. Yeah. Welcome. Okay. First I'm going to bring. So there's a motion by Mister Bingham. Second by Miss Hornsby. Action to approve the CMAR general contractor for package one, Motley Lawrence replacement elementary. Any questions? Any other items? All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. want all those opposed. Same sign, ayes have it. Motion carries. Second item is, approve the early GMP one for Beasley Elementary Switchgear. Mr. Pool. Okay, so for the Beasley, Moss and Gray, they all have the same schedule. We're going
030on September 25th. We passed the schematic designs. We named CM Risk. August 25th. Got proposals. So now we're here for the gym. What we're here for two now is the GMP one to be approved, and then we'll come back. The construction manager was approved at the October meeting. And this one also is going to be probably a February GMP total. Okay. So Beasley Elementary. We're doing everything from the 22 facilities assessment, some kitchen equipment, ceiling power replacement, MEP, safety upgrades, including the fire alarm and sprinkler. So what we're doing now is board approval for GMP one, which is just the switchgear. There is the estimate on that. And so the administration recommends that the Board of Trustees approve the recommendation of GMP one in the amount of $174,309 for the switchgear at Beasley. And these
031these prices have come in way below what we originally were estimating. So needless to say, I'm coming in asking for less money than what we normally ask for. We're going to make that a standard. You thank. Well, luckily it's their first job. So they set a precedent. So there you go. Also here tonight I've got Jay Russell with MSD, and then I've also got Graham Bowman, Roland Gentry and Kenny Gilbert with Deborah. Yeah, I think we need a motion. Yes. They'll have different days, so. Yeah, that's why they're different. Mr. person, I move to approve the early GMP one for Beasley Elementary switchgear second and sacrament beam. No. Do you. So there's a motion by Mr. Everett, second by Miss Collier to approve the early GMP one for Beasley Elementary Switchgear. Any comments being there?
032None. And all those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Next we'll go to item action. Item number three. Approve early GMP one for the Gray Elementary for chillers and switchgear. Mr. Pool. Gray is going to be. We've got some kitchen equipment. We've got the 22 facility assessment maps. Life safety upgrades. Includes a fire alarm. And we're doing board approval for the GMP for chiller and the switch switchgear tonight. And then we'll do for GMP total in February. Here's the estimates on that. And this price comes to the administration recommends to the Board of Trustees to approve the recommendation of GMP one in the amount of $763,159 for the chiller and switchgear at Gray Elementary. Some. The second Mister Rose for the lower number. Yeah. Yeah. This
033one's lower than the than what was originally projected. Yes, I like it. There was a little bit of scope coming out of it. We didn't need to order as much stuff because it's a time frame thing. It's why we do the GMP ones. Okay, so thank you. So there's a motion by, it's Hornsby, second by Mr. Rose to approve the approve the early GMP one for Gray Elementary for a chiller and a switchgear. Any questions or corrections in there? None. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed, same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Action. Item number four. Approve early GMP one for Moss Elementary switchgear. Mr. Pool. Okay. This is once again the 22 facility assessment. Items it's covering. We've got some kitchen equipment, amps all over life, safety upgrades. Which includes
034fire alarm. It's an that's the board approval for GMP, one for switchgear. And then we'll come back for the full GMP. February of 26. There's the estimates that we turned in. And so the administration recommends that the Board of Trustees approve the recommendation of GMP one in the amount of $202,679 for the switchgear and Moss elementary. Please make a motion to approve the recommendation. So. There's a motion by Mr. Rose, a second by Mr. Everett to approve the early GMP one for mass elementary switchgear. Any questions or corrections? Being there? None. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye opposed same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries. I don't have any more items for you. Mr. Pool. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next, we're going to effectiveness report. It's a report on
035special populations. Dr. Rivera? Yes. Mr. president, I welcome, Dr. Matt Morris. He's going to present this report. All right. Good evening, Mr. Carbo. Dr. Rivera and board of trustees. As the executive director of special education, I am honored to present this year's effectiveness report and to share the vision for the future of special education in MISD. Building upon a strong foundation of dedicated service to students and families. Our focus now turns toward innovation, efficiency, and excellence in every aspect of program delivery. We recognize both the tremendous growth and the evolving challenges before us. Rising student enrollment and special education. Staffing shortages, increased behavioral and mental health needs, and new compliance demands. Yet with these challenges come opportunities to rethink how we serve, support and empower every student and educator in our district. Our Special Education
036Department provides services for students from birth through age 21, serving 7551 students as of October 31st. An increase of 539 students from last year. We continue to grow and adapt to meet the needs of our students by providing individualized evaluations and services in the least restrictive environment to ensure a free and appropriate public education. In addition, we focus on staff development, compliance and recruitment to make sure both students and educators have the resources and support they need to succeed. Before I go any further, I'd like to take a moment to recognize the members of our Special Education Leadership team. This dedicated group of professionals oversees services, compliance, and instructional support across the district. Together, they ensure our students receive high quality, individualized education in alignment with state and federal requirements. Their leadership, collaboration, and commitment
037are essential to the continued success of our programs and the students we serve. Last spring, our Transition Services team was awarded a $10,000 grant to the Texas A&M Work Based Learning Project. This recognition highlights the strong work based learning opportunities already in place at our Student Support Center. The grant supports students with disabilities in building pre employability skills and gaining real world work experiences that prepare them for paid employment and greater independence. We're especially proud that two of our former students continue to work in the SC warehouse, a true success story that reflects the impact of this program. Our commitment extends beyond highlights to measurable outcomes, moving from recognition to results as we review the data that drives strategic action, growth, accountability, and meaningful student impact. As part of our accountability framework, the Texas Education
038Agency assigns each district a special Education determination level for DL each year. These determination levels reflect how well we are meeting both performance and compliance expectations. Under the results driven Accountability system, there are four possible levels DL one meets requirements DL two needs assistance, DL three needs intervention and DL for need substantial intervention. This year, our district received a determination level of DL one meets requirements from the Texas Education Agency, which represents the highest rating within the Special Education Results Driven Accountability system. This rating reflects strong performance and compliance across key indicators and federally required elements for special education. Last year, we were assigned a deal to needs assistance, so moving to DL one indicates measurable improvement in our documented outcomes, processes and systems. This demonstrates that our Targeted interventions, program refinements, training and monitoring
039efforts are positively impacting both practice and results. RDL helped shape our district strategic planning around special education where we target improvement, allocate resources, and accomplishment. Our focus will remain on continuous improvement to ensure results, equity and access for every student served through special education and the results driven accountability system. A score of performance level zero is the highest a district can receive in. Misty was able to increase its overall number of performance level zeros from 7 to 13 based on RDA ratings in Misty, improved or maintained in the following areas in Misty. Improved in the sped year after exit for star three through eight. Science sped year after exit for star three through eight. Reading Language Arts, Sped star EOC algebra one spent regular class less than 40%, Sped assess and expulsion greater than ten
040days rate and Sped ES greater than ten days rate. Misty maintained the highest rating of zero in biology, US history and year after exit star three through eight mathematics, Sped graduation rate, Sped annual dropout rate, regular early childhood program rate, and regular Sped regular class greater than 80% rate. I'm also pleased to share that our graduation rate for students receiving special education services continues to improve each year, while the dropout rate continues to decline in 2025. In my students receiving special education services achieved a 94% CMR attainment rate, surpassing the district's overall rate of 89%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the district's transition planning, targeted supports and commitment to preparing all students for post-secondary success. This reflects the hard work of our teachers, transition staff and campus teams who are dedicated to supporting students as they
041successfully complete their educational programs and move on to post-secondary opportunities. Over the past three years, Misty has maintained stable qualification and child find rates in the first table. You will see that we are consistently ranging from 81 to 85% for initial evaluation qualifications for enrolled students. In the second table, you will see that chart on qualifications for students who are not enrolled remain high, ranging from 90 to 96%. Further demonstrating the district's ongoing commitment to accurate identification and evaluation of students in alignment with ID requirements. A higher qualification rate is a positive indicator because it reflects that the students being referred to special education or being referred for special education evaluations are appropriately identified based on data, observations and interventions. This means that referrals are purposeful and targeted, leading to fewer unnecessary evaluations and ensuring
042that students who need specialized supports receive them without delay. High and stable qualification rates also suggest that campus based intervention and referral processes are accurately identifying students whose educational needs cannot be met through general education supports alone, reducing under identification and minimizing missed opportunities for early intervention. The Special Education Department has implemented several proactive measures to address significant disproportionality and strengthen behavioral and academic supports across our campuses. We have purchased Panorama and Rethink to enhance data systems that inform interventions and track student progress. We have also contracted board certified behavior analysts to refine placement processes and trained staff in de-escalation strategies aimed at reducing disciplinary removals. Additionally, registered behavior technicians are now providing hands on classroom support to assist with behavior management and behavior behavior intervention plan implementation. Together, these efforts are helping to promote
043equitable practices, increase student engagement, and support academic and behavioral success in the least restrictive environment. Last year, Amethyst was identified with having significant disproportionality in the identification of students with autism who are of Asian descent. As a result, we developed a goal to address disproportionality in this area with the support from the American Institutes for research. We met that goal. The 2025 RDA report shows our risk ratio decreased to 2.3, and we are no longer identified as having significant disproportionality in this area. Moving forward, we'll continue to closely monitor this data. As early estimates for 2026 suggest, a slight increase that we'll need to address proactively. Our vision for special education in Mesquite ISD is to ensure every student with a disability is empowered to reach his or her full potential academically, socially, and emotionally
044so that he or she is prepared to live, learn, and lead with confidence beyond graduation. Moving forward, we'll focus on strengthening instructional quality, expanding access to general education, and fostering a culture of belonging and excellence. Key priorities include investing in staff development, providing targeted instructional and behavioral support for reimagining staffing to meet campus needs, and using innovative tools like Panorama Solera to improve efficiency and student outcomes. Our goal is for MISD to be recognized as a model district for inclusive excellence for every student thrives, and every educator feels supported to make a lasting impact. Thank you for your time and continued support. A special education in MISD I'm also happy to answer any questions you have. For. Thank you. Get some progress for sure. We have a strong wood department for sure. Thank you. All
045right. Thank you. Very good report. Next we're going to administration. Item number one is a report on the Strategic Budget Committee. Dr. Fields? All right. Good evening, President Carbo. Dr. Rivera and board of trustees. I have two guests with me tonight who are part of our district strategic budget Committee. Dr. Susan Williams and a junior at Vanguard High School, Hector Gonzalez. They will be coming up and presenting with me in just a moment, but go ahead and wave your hand. Let them know who's here. We're excited to have them present with us. They have been doing a lot of really important work this fall. Together we will be sharing with you the process that the Strategic Budget Committee has undergone this year as administration strives to bring forward a balanced budget for the 2026-27 school
046year. Like many school districts across Texas, Mesquite ISD is facing fiscal challenges due to rising costs, declining enrollment, and limited funding. Our goal is to make responsible decisions that keep classrooms strong and protect student learning, as well as preserve the financial security of the district. For the last two years, just for some context, Mesquite ISD has adopted a deficit budget, and we know that that current trajectory cannot continue because we cannot continue to use our fund balance to cover the deficits. We also know that there's a key factor of the declining enrollment that we're experiencing. The district, while operational costs have been increasing. So Mesquite ISD is aiming to reduce expenditures by at least 24 million for the 26-27 school year and present the Board of trustees with a balanced budget for that school year.
047As a reminder to our community members who are watching this presentation, the district has essentially two funding buckets the maintenance and Operation Fund and the Interest in Sinking fund. And just for a point of clarification, what we're going to be talking about tonight is only the maintenance and operation fund. That's what takes care of staff salaries, utilities, supplies, fuel. The interest in sinking fund is what we use for paying our principal and interest payments on debt. Those funds cannot be used for anything over on the maintenance and operation side. So we just want to make that point of clarification, because sometimes we know that can be confusing for individuals who are talking school finance, because this is something that we have seen coming. We made some reductions for this particular school year's budget. What we've
048already done includes significant, supply budget reductions for district departments as well as campuses. Our personnel department saw a $200,000 reduction in their budget. Teaching and learning 1 million. Finance and operations 1.8 million. We've also made some adjustments to our technology plan, have reduced development of artificial intelligence, and have removed some of our refreshment cycles over to bond funds. And that has helped us with $7.5 million of expenditures that were slated for this year, as well as central office staffing reductions coming into this school year. We reduced 13 central office positions, made some secondary staff realignments, and we also closed our print shop that totaled $17.7 million of reductions for the 2526 school year. And you can see most of those are non payroll expense reductions. We tried to stay as far as we could from
049classrooms from instruction, from schools, things that would have the least impact on student instruction. When you take a look at the maintenance and operation fund, 85.5% of those funds go toward payroll. And it's important to know that because the reductions that we've already made have mostly come out of that 14.5% non payroll. So we must look at the other 85.5% when we're looking at that minimum reduction of $24 million for the upcoming school year. This slide unpacks what that 85.5% entails 17% is instructional support. So that's instructional leadership, school administration guidance and counseling, social work, those types of positions. 11% is operations. So that's transportation food services maintenance security and monitoring. 69% is instructional staff. And I think we all know who are instructional staff are. And then 3% is central administration. So it's really
050important to us when it comes to how we proceed in this effort is our responsibility to our community, making sure that we are managing taxpayer funds for long term stability and realigning our resources, and making sure that we remain good stewards of public trust. We're continuing our commitment to our mission, which is excellence always for every student that's at the forefront of our minds. So as we do look at reductions, keeping that ever present and ever important in all of our considerations, and making sure that every dollar we manage moves us closer to our goal of improving outcomes for students. And of course, our people. Our people matter very much in this, making sure that every person is recognized, valued in the role that they contribute to our mission. And certainly only looking at reduction
051strategies after every other possible alternative has been explored. Because we have such significant decisions to make as we move forward to propose that balanced budget. We knew it was very important for us to engage a lot of different people and make sure that we had input from a diverse group of individuals before any final decisions are made. So we sent out a survey to our entire district staff in October, asking them to provide us with suggestions for reductions, many of which were really good suggestions, and we've included them in all of our conversations moving forward. We shared all budget reduction strategies with our district and campus administrators at our district ILT meeting that's comprised of over 100 people. We shared every possible strategy with them, asked them to rank order based on impact, which ones
052they had the least hesitation to the most hesitation. And they also provided us input, the ones that they had the greatest concern about input, about how to mitigate those strategies, how to lessen the impact. And lastly, we convened this committee that we're here to talk to you about tonight, the Strategic Budget Committee. We met with them multiple times throughout the semester to review, analyze and give input regarding different budget reduction strategies. The Strategic Budget Committee is made up of 50 members. We had three trustees participating as representatives on the committee, as well as parents, high school students, campus staff, central administration staff, community members, business owners. We met in September, October, and November. And at this point, this is where the committee members are most important to come forward and share with you what all
053of that work entailed and what they found through the process. So I'd like to invite my my two partners to come on up, and they will take the rest of the presentation. Okay. Dr. Rivera, the, President Carbo and board of trustees, I'm Dr. Susan Williams, and my connection with Mesquite ISD is I started here in 1998, and just retired and in May. So I still have a real personal connection to the district and the community. So I'm now a community member. So, so from the very beginning, we understood, basically, that we had to adopt a balanced budget for 26, 27, and the district must reduce expenditures by $24 million at the first meeting There we go. The role of the committee Dr. Rivera made it really clear to us what our role of the budget
054committee was. It was not asking us to make a decision. He let us know that was his decision. But we, talked about the what the role of the committee was. And, you know, it was to gain a basic understanding of, school finance, basically finance 101, school finance 1O1, and then explore strategic budget solutions, and then provide thoughtful feedback on the proposed strategies through the lenses of this is super important. The impact on student learning, safety and success, and then the long term stability for the district. Let's see. So as we talked about and Mr. Prado, brought this to our attention, the bar graph, the declining enrollment, this was really, interesting to everyone on the committee of why why are we why are our students, why are we losing students, basically. And if you look at
055Mr. Class of 2025 had 28, 2894 graduates and then 25, 26 the kindergarten enrollment was only 2046. The other thing we talked about was, the our residents of Mesquite, they're not leaving their houses. They're staying. They're staying put. Their students are graduating and they're still staying in their houses. I'm a perfect example of that. And then we had the increased options. We have charter schools that have become pretty popular. We have the voucher system that everyone knows about, and then the online school opportunity after Covid, this kind of became, you know, it kind of became a thing. And so we're dealing with all of that. It was we talked about the total staff. We also learned that while enrollment had continue to decline, the district's total staff had increased until this year. In 2023, Mesquite
056added 280 positions due to the opening of cross Elementary, putting armed guards at all the elementary schools. And then expanded opportunities for some Ela, elementary specials. We expanded pre-K and additional special education staff. So with the bar graph, that really just, was very eye opening. And then next, if I can turn the page, maybe I should put my glasses down. I thought I'd need my glasses, but I don’t. So we had the enrollment and staffing trends 2016 and 17. Student enrollment was 40,945. And then all employees was 5180 2526. Student enrollment was 36,662. And all employee total was 5796. So you definitely can see, the difference, the key revenue drivers, we talked about this, but the main thing that was stressed to us, of course, is enrollment. Like I just talked about it also, looking
057at the tax rate and the property value. So while the district sets the tax rate, citizens have experienced increased property values. That does not equate to the additional funding for the district since the state funding formula keeps the district revenue unchanged. So that was interesting for the committee to, hear that. Next, we have the key cost drivers. Well, as Dr. Fields mentioned. Payroll is our biggest, and then 85, that's 85% of the district. Expensive. Go to payroll. This is simply no way to make cuts anywhere near 24 million without reducing staff. The committee understood this reality, but we were also clear that our charge was to evaluate the impact of potential staff reductions on students, not to make any decisions or recommendations. That was in our role about individual positions or people that who would
058be affected. And now I'm going to turn it over to Hector. So hello. Thank you, President Carbo Dr. Rivera and members of the board. My name is Hector Gonzalez. I am currently a junior at Vanguard High School, and I was invited to serve on the Strategic Budget Committee, as a liaison for Vanguard High School. Among students from the over five high schools. So some things to consider here. Before we even got into learning about all the finances and as we said, school budgeting 100. And, we first were told that these four guiding principles were extremely important for me. These are safety and belonging, student outcomes, student opportunities, finance and operations. And we were told that am I makes decisions based on these principles. So when it was finally time to start weighing the budget reduction
059strategies, they told us to view them through the lens of these three guiding questions based on set principles. The first question was, will the impact on student learning, safety and success be minimal? And the second was will this make meaningful progress towards a balanced budget? And third was will it help ensure the long term financial stability of Mesquite ISD? So at the second meeting, the district, presented information about potential budget reduction strategies, and we had the opportunity to discuss each one with our table. And thus after that, we individually submitted a score for each strategy after we weight its impacts on students safety and stability. Some of the strategies, of course, were hard to discuss without thinking about the individual people that would have been affected by them. However, committee made sure that we stayed
060focused on the impacts of learning, safety and the long term health of Mesquite ISD. And the third meeting, we learned about several new budget reduction strategies under consideration based on staff, based on a staff survey that had been released between meaning two and three. The committee also reviewed feedback from campus and district leaders at this time. We had the opportunity to discuss the impact and savings for each of these new strategies, and we provided our own input based on the level of hesitation we had toward each. Furthermore, we were also able to submit suggestions for mitigating the impact on students and learning. If we had to implement some of the strategies, we were more hesitant about. Now for some final thoughts. Me personally, I just want to underscore how important it was to have such
061a diverse group of people at this committee in order to voice all of these different opinions on these issues and inform each other well about them. Before we personally meet the opinion. And I would like to invite Doctor Williams to share her experience. Okay, so some final thoughts for us. One of the things I want to say is I've been on many committees, everybody on the budget committee had been on many committees, and pretty much all the committees are fun. And we get to decide on great things. And this committee was different. And I will admit, this was probably the hardest committee that I've ever been on. But everybody on that committee really took it seriously. And we had real thoughtful discussion about all of the different strategies. But one other thing, Mr. Prado, I
062do have to say you made school for I mean, school district finance 101 to where I could even understand it. So when that great. But the organization that Doctor Fields and Doctor Rivera had, they had it so organized for us and we were able to stay on task. We had table leaders that kept us on task. But it was a tough committee. It was a really tough committee. So but overall, we, like Hector said, we had a diverse group of people, represented lots of different things. And, it was some good conversation and strong conversation. I want to start just by saying thank you, first of all, to to these two members who committed, lots of their evening time. And tonight is another example of that, and also because they helped us engage in some weighty
063topics and some weighty conversations. But we also have some additional committee representatives who are in the audience, and I just want to acknowledge them as well. Will you please stand if you were on the committee? No, I think I accidentally hit something here. There we go. The feedback that they provided us really has been incredible. We were able to walk around the room during each of the meetings and listen carefully to the conversations and the perspectives of all of the different people in the room. And then, of course, they provided us with input to help inform if we do have to implement some of the decisions, how we can lessen the impact. And it just really has been, a rewarding experience to see what a great community we have and how willing people are to
064come together and help process even some of the more difficult conversations, as Dr. Williams mentioned. Moving forward, our plan is on Tuesday, December 16th. Dr. Rivera will be sharing with our instructional leadership team, the group of campus and district administrators that meet monthly. We'll be sharing with them what reduction strategies we're implementing for the 26-27 school year. And that same evening, we will be hosting a district wide staff meeting at West Mesquite High School in the auditorium at 5 p.m., where staff will have an opportunity to come and hear Dr. Rivera, give that same presentation. For those who are unable to attend in person, we will be recording the entire presentation and immediately turning it around and sending it to staff members so that every staff member in the district has clarity about what decisions
065we are implementing for the 26-27 school year. And again, I just want to say thank you to the representatives and all of their hard work and then open it up to any questions you may have. At this point, is there any comments? Welcome. Those. I would like to make some statements. You can sit down. I didn't know what they were going to present as a member of the committee and also as a trustee of this board, I put together some notes of some things I wanted to say, and make sure that the public understands where this is coming from. And so us first, I want to thank Dr. Rivera and his team for establishing, the Strategic Budget Committee and survey and staff for their input. You know, that early engagement shows a real commitment to
066open communication, transparency, and it helps our community understand the challenges ahead and what we're facing together. Thank you as well to the Strategic Budget Committee members for your work and for your presentation that you guys did a great job. And the more than 1100 Mesquite ISD staff members who shared suggestions. Your voices do matter. Tonight, I want to be direct about where we are. This board is deeply committed to doing what's best for our students, every single one of them, and for every staff member. This work isn't just a responsibility for us. It's personal. Several board members and their family members have been part of Mesquite ISD workforce, either in the past or currently, and most of us have attended Mesquite schools, raised children who come through the system or have children and grandchildren. Currently
067in Mesquite ISD classrooms. We feel the weight of these decisions because they affect the people in the community we love. And here's the reality. And you've heard it earlier. We must identify $24 million in strategic realignment of resources for the 26-27 budget. As you also heard earlier, enrollment has declined from 40,900 students in 2017 to next year's projection of 35,850. That's roughly 800 students, which means we're going to lose 5 to $6 million in state funding. And because 85.5% of our budget is payroll. Meaningful realignments will inevitably involve rightsizing our workforce. This isn't just a Mesquite issue. This is a Texas issue. State funding hasn't kept pace with inflation or student needs, and the ongoing debates in Austin continue to create uncertainty and recent local votes around the state for tax increases and bonds also
068reminds us that there are limits to how quickly we can increase local revenue. What we've already done matters. This year, the district reduced its budget expenditures $17.7 million by delaying purchases, tightening supply budgets, closing the print shop, reducing technology spending and eliminating central office positions all to protect instruction. Tonight, we are reviewing a thoughtful set of options totaling a little over $30.6 million in potential savings. That gives us flexibility, but it also requires careful prioritization to minimize harm to the core student learning and services that we provide. As trustees, our responsibility is to govern, to set policy, and to be good stewards of taxpayers dollars. Every option, as you heard earlier, we must consider three questions. Does it protect student learning and safety? Does it move us towards a balanced budget? Does it support long
069term financial stability? As directed by this board, the superintendent will bring forward final recommendations to balance the 2026-27 budget and those will come to this board next spring for approval. But this is an urgent item. If we do nothing, deficits will force us deeper, will force deeper, more disruptive realignments later, we will move forward with empathy, openness and relentless focus on protecting instruction and safety. And as we continue advocating for the funding and our students, we will continue to advocate for our students, for the funding they deserve. Yes, we are the crossroads, but we are not without options. With clear values and honest engagement with our community, we will protect our students and preserve the future of Mesquite ISD. Mr. president, Board members, thank you for letting me make my comments. Thank you, Mr. Seward.
070Any other comments? You know, one thing that Robert mentioned was the there's not been an increase in the basic allotment since 2019, and if we had kept up with inflation, we would have received an additional 13, about $1,300 per student at ADA, average daily attendance, instead of the $1,300 per student we're going to receive $55. That's a paltry sum. And it just appears that the focus down in Austin, they're attempting to dismantle public education in Texas is all that I can figure out. And the people of the state of Texas, if they're going to continue supporting public education, are going to have to do something in the future. Thank you, Mr. Everett. Dr. Rivera. Does any other trustee have any other comments? Before I make my comment? So, in September 2025, this board and in
071the last team of eight asked me to do a balanced budget for the 26-27 school year. And I just want to go on record saying that I knew it wasn't going to be fun. Susan Williams, Dr Williams. You're right, that committee was different and that committee was different for a lot of reasons. When when they gave me the charge of going forward and planning for the 26-27 school year, it was difficult because as Mr. Seward so eloquently stated, we had cut almost $18 million from the current year budget. So to cut an additional approximately $24 million wasn't a was a big task. However, I started from the beginning telling the staff that any decision that was being made was going to be delivered by me. I went to MEA I've gone on several recordings after
072board meetings and this will be no different. You know, sometimes you share the good news, but sometimes you got to share the reality news because and we are going to rightsize our district, implementing the strategies that get us to savings to propose a balanced budget to this board. But we're going to do this early. And I want to be very clear about this. The reason we're doing this now, you know, I got a call, Dr. Rivera, what are you doing? What are you doing working on budget for next year already. We don't take the budget to the board until June. So I'm going to tell you the reason why. Because I think it's important. The reason why is because it affects the people. Dr. Fields in our presentation, very eloquently as well stated that the
073people are one of our greatest assets in Mesquite ISD, and we want to make sure that we take care of our folks. So by doing this early and understanding what are the ramifications, we're able to plan to take care of our folks and take care of our Mesquite family. It doesn't bring us any joy, but we just got to do it because the goals as the SBC representatives, one of them was the vitality of Mesquite ISD as an organization for years to come. Why? So we can continue to provide excellence always to our community and our students. And I'm proud to say that this team of eight has worked together to get this done. That’s my final comment, Mr. President, Thank you. Dr. Rivera In there that there are no comments, we'll go to the
074next part. I do want to congratulate you. Student Hector, for being part of that committee. That's pretty good. And I think it's a great growth opportunity for you. It's going to be very beneficial in the future. you're going to be a future superintendent in Mesquite, and we're going to be financially solvent. There you go. And you have a good basis because now you know where we're coming from in finance. Yeah. That's that is awesome. I'm very proud of you. Thank you. Dr. Williams and, Mr. Elsasser for supporting your student. That's pretty good. With that said, we're going to the next item, which is a discussion discussion of district wide intruder detection audit report findings. Mr. Taylor comes again, you have to understand that there's a security process. There's changes. I guess every month. So there
075there are changes every month. And the law dictates that we have to have a discussion on the, intrusion detection audits. I'll say about Hector, too, as he leaves that he was a lot more calm and poised than I ever was the first time I stood in front of you all. And so I envy that that resolve in him for sure. That's true. There's some truth there. Regarding that intruder detection audits. Last month, I told you we were on pace. You know, we're going to have 100% of our facilities that they, come and look at. Reviewed. We are still on pace. We're at 20 of our, 50 plus, venues that they're going to come look at. So we've really for them to stay on pace, we need 6 or 7 facilities to be looked at between
076now and the end of the semester. So, we're trending where we are. We've done really well. And again, as I remind you, every, every month, if we did have findings, we would address that in the Safety and Security Committee. And, in executive session as well. Thank you, Mr. Taylor. So, Maurice, okay. That is the last item we have. Any other questions? Board members? Well, with that, we stand adjourned. Thank you.