001This is present and notice of this meeting was posted in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act. Thank you for the microphone. At this time, though, we are going to, go to the Vision Room for Summer Graduation. And then we shall once we finish that event, we'll reconvene back here in the Boardroom. So with that board, vámonos. Or reconvene. From our graduation. Congratulations to all those graduates. That was pretty cool. Well, good. So, next on the agenda, we have, our invocation by Reverend Mike Pettit from, Connection Pointe Church. And after that, we will have the Pledge of Allegiance, led by one of our junior ROTC students from Mesquite High School. Abigail Ontiveros, her sponsor is, Major Isaias Martinas. Couldn't be here, but. Yeah. Sergeant. Yeah. So with that, Mr. Pettit, F ather Pettit. Yeah. Let's
002pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for this great city of Mesquite, Lord. And the school system. And, father, as we begin a new school year, I pray that your hand would be upon everyone involved in educating our children. Father, I pray from the school board meeting for the teachers to the workers in the school, the administrators, everyone involved. Lord, I pray that you would give them health and safety. Lord, I pray that you would give them wisdom and understanding. Lord, I pray that your hand would be upon all that they do. Lord, that you would bless this city. Lord, and I pray that you would put your hand upon the students, that they would be able to learn. Lord, those that have fallen behind in reading. Lord, I pray that you would move upon citizens
003to come alongside the children and help them. Lord, I pray for their families, Lord, that situations in the home would be resolved to be more conducive to education. Lord, and I just pray that whatever is done to be done for the good of the city and the people, and for your glory. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag to the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible in liberty. And now for the Texas pledge. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to the Texas one state under God, one and indivisible. And, Miss Ontiveros, really appreciate it. Thank you. Okay, so at this point, we have, team of eight moment. Does anyone have anything they want to share? I do.
004I went to the getting school supplies, etcetera at Poteet with North Mesquite. It was awesome. It was amazing how organized it was and how well run. But the families really enjoyed it and I'm so glad we had that service. Yeah. Nice. I'm just going to add to what Elaine said is the cool part. If you come to show up for that is how the students, the students practically run this thing. I mean, just the the keeping of the boxes, breaking down the boxes, the guiding people around the building and all the different schools, students from I was at Poteet, also from North and from Poteet. They really enjoy doing it. They get a kick out of it and they show up every year and do a great job. So the students, the feeder pattern, and
005they do a great job. So yeah. Excellent. Thank you. And what else. Okay. With that we'll go to the first audience portion. We have anyone? Nobody? Okay. So after this, we'll go to our consent agenda. Does, any board member have any item they want to pull for discussion? Being none, I'll entertain a motion. Make a motion. We accept the consent agenda. Okay. Two second. Grego. There's a motion by Mister Rose. A second by Mister Everett to accept the consent agenda. Any discussion? Being there none. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed. Same sign. I do have it. Motion carries. Thank you, Board. Next we're going to go to reports of the superintendent. First item is an action item. Yes. Mr. President, we have, we have an action item followed by, two, three,
006two and a half report items. But we'll start with the action item as the, approve the term contract or recommendation for the principal of Lawrence Elementary. Dr. Fields? Before we have him speak, to move to approve. Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Seward. Second and second by Miss Hornsby. There's a motion by Mr. Seward. Second by Miss Hornsby. For the action item on personnel. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Same sign. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Tell us what we did, Dr. Rivera. Good evening, President Carbo, Dr. Rivera and Trustees, I would like to introduce to you the new principal at Lawrence Elementary School, Jose Peterson Torres. Come on up, Jose. Thank. Jose Peterson Torres, as a U.S. Army veteran and a bilingual educational leader with more than a decade in Mesquite ISD.
007Most recently, he served as assistant principal at Woolley Middle Middle School, leading initiatives to support emergent bilingual students, strengthen data practices, and expand professional development. He previously served as assistant principal at Berry Middle School and taught at both Berry and McWhorter Elementary. Torres began his career as a bilingual elementary teacher in Dallas ISD. He holds a master's degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a bachelor's degree in political science from Inter American University of Puerto Rico. Congratulations, Jose Peterson Torres. Thank you all. All right. Good evening. Esteemed members of the Board, Superintendent Dr. Rivera, and members of the cabinet, I stand before you today with immense gratitude for the opportunity to lead Joe Lawrence Elementary School as your principal. This position holds great significance for me, as
008Mesquite is not just a workplace. It's the very, very, the very first place that I called home When my family and I moved to Texas from Puerto Rico, my journey through Mesquite ISD has been rich and fulfilling. As a husband, a parent, and educator, I have witnessed firsthand the greatness of our district. My wife, Claudia, has dedicated 14 years to teaching pre-K, Kinder, and Second Grade at Tosch Elementary, shaping young minds with her passion and commitment. Our son, Xose. A proud graduate of Poteet High School and a former member of the Poteet varsity soccer team is now giving back to the community as a PE assistant at Porter Elementary. He recently got married. His wife, a fellow Mesquite alumni who also teaches at Porter Elementary School, and that's where they met. Our family legacy here
009is further enriched by our son Sebastian, who currently study is studying at UT Tyler and still holds swim records from his time at Poteet High School. And lastly, my daughter, a Poteet graduate and former captain of the Poteet Varsity Belles, is celebrating today her 20th birthday as she embarks on her journey at Lamar Elementary. That's why she couldn't be here today. But she's watching. Feliz cumpleaños mi amor. Te amo. As you see, Mesquite has been the foundation that has allowed my family to thrive, empowering us with opportunities for growth and development. As I walk the hallways of Lawrence Elementary and I see our students, I am reminded of all the educators who played a crucial role in shaping my children into the remarkable individuals they are today. So it is my mission to ensure that
010every student at Lawrence has that same opportunity to succeed and flourish through determination and collaboration. Together, we will seize tomorrow. Today, as our school vision states. To conclude, I want to express my gratitude to all the leaders who have had an impact on my journey. Your leadership, advice and wisdom has been invaluable and I look forward to reaching out to each of you individually. Once again, thank you for this extraordinary opportunity. I am excited to embark on this journey with all of you and make a lasting difference in the lives of our students. Thank you. Yes, you Pre-K teachers. I don't know how she does it, but I hear all the stories. My son, Xose. His wife, Marissa. Forgot your name. Yea. It happens. Yes. And my son, Sebastian and his partner Javier. And my
011daughter. She's not here, but she's probably watching right now. Waving at the TV. Yes, I wave at her. She keeps us busy. This weekend and we were moving her into her dorm. So that's why my back hurts. Yeah. Well Mr. Peterson Torres, you got any more family? We still have some vacancies, it seems. Any more family that you want to bring over? We still have a few vacancies. And we're starting our school tomorrow. All right. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you very much. Yeah, it was funny, Dr. Rivera and I were in our 1 on 1 talking about Mr. Peterson. He tells me, hey, new principal and he's Puerto Rican, and he says, Mr. Peterson, I'm like, Peterson. That didn't sound too Puerto Rican Torres. He says Torres. But then again, Carbo doesn't sound Puerto
012Rican at all. So I shouldn't say a thing. Anyways, awesome. Great to have you here. All right, well, Mr. President, the other the other two, the other three items are our report. Since they were summer hires, from the, before before people came on contract. So my communications chief, Sabreana Smith, will introduce those to the board and the public. Good evening. It's my pleasure to introduce, the new members of our administration, if you'll stand where you are. When I, read your bio, first up, we have Amanda Karner. Amanda is going to be our new. Our new coordinator for CTE. Amanda brings over a decade of experience and education with a strong focus on career and technical education leadership. Most recently, she served as a CTE Program Administrator at Opportunity Central in Forney ISD, where she led
013instructional coaching, professional development, and program evaluation to strengthen student performance and industry certification outcomes. Previously, she served as the CTE Coordinator in Dallas ISD, where she implemented high impact CTE programs, increased industry certification by over 300%, and led innovative teacher support initiatives. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design with a minor in Business and Home Furnishings, Merchandising from the University of North Texas, and a master's in school counseling from Amberton University. Welcome, Amanda. Next up we have Shauna Hawkins. Shauna is our new coordinator for special education. Shauna Hawkins is a speech language pathologist with more than 20 years of experience in public education. Most recently, she served in Rockwall ISD, supporting students across all grade levels and helping streamline district wide service practices. She has contributed to multiple district leadership teams, led
014professional learning for staff and families, and mentored new clinicians to ensure consistent, high quality support for students. Hawkins holds a master of Science in Speech Language Pathologist, pathology from Western Kentucky University, and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Abilene Christian University. Welcome to Mesquite. Shauna Hawkins. And lastly, we have our new assistant principal at Wooley Middle School, Miss Candice Jackson. Candice Jackson brings two decades of experience in Texas public schools, including roles as assistant principal at Lassiter Early College High School in Seagoville .. and Seagoville High School in Dallas ISD. She has demonstrated success in enhancing student achievement and data driven curriculum development, notably improving AP course outcomes and student admission success. Candice holds a Bachelor of Science in Government and Business Administration from Texas Women's University, a master's of education
015in Administration and supervision from Lamar University. Welcome to Mesquite ISD, Candice and Wooley Middle School. Candice Jackson. There you go. Have to remember to turn that on. Very good. And that, takes us to administration. The first item is an action item. It's to select the delegates and alternate to the 2025 TASBE delegate assembly. And, speaking to the board members, I have as delegate, Teia Collier and alternate Eddie Rose, who agreed to. We're okay if they if you guys nominate them and vote them in. So second. Okay. There's a motion on the table, by Mr. Bingham. Second by Mr. Everett to select as delegate an alternative to the 2025 TASBE delegate assembly. Miss Teia Collier, delegate. Eddie Rose, alternate. Any more questions? All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed. Same sign. Ayes
016have it, motion carries. Excellent. Thank you for serving, guys. Appreciate that. Next we're going to the construction. I don't have that on mine. Oh excellent. Thank you. So surprise, surprise. Okay, so the next action item under administration would be to approve Mesquite ISD Strategic Budget Committee charter. Dr. Rivera? Thank you. Yes, Mr. President, thank you. For those of you listening. And I know we we kind of talked individually with each of the board members. It's been, in the last board meeting, there was a lot of a lot of chatter and a lot of discussion about the budget and the approved budget. And so as we move forward, we all know at least here, and the public should know as well, that we adopted a $17.2 million deficit budget. And that budget and that deficit of
017that magnitude can only be carried only for the 25-26 school year. So what does that mean? Well, very clearly, that means that for the 26-27 school year, we need to have a balanced budget. That was a charge to the board. It's been talking to myself, Mr. Prado and Dr. Fields. And so we're going to do we with this charter. If approved by the board members tonight, we're going to establish a committee and four meetings. A committee is be formed of community members, students, staff, business owners, two trustees, and of course, a couple of our administration. It will be led by me, in which we're going to open up the books, show everybody what we have, expenditures as well as revenue. And we're going to make a recommendation. That committee will make a recommendation to the
018board in December, and the board will take that recommendation and either adopt, amend or reject. And then after that in January, then Mr. Prado, Dr. Fields and myself and everyone, an executive team will start building a budget based on those recommendations. What that does is two things. It provides transparency to our community as we move forward with this balanced budget. And it also provides a line of communication about why and the items that were cut, downsized or shifted or reallocated. That is what this charter would do for us if approved by this body. Would you approve? Second. Excellent. Thank you for that explanation. We have a motion on the table from Mr. Bingham, a second by Mr. Seward to approve that committee. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed. Same sign.
019Ayes have it, motion carries. Excellent. Now we're going to construction. Just. You're just excited. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Some of you young ones don't know where that comes from, but it's okay. It's. The first item as an action item to approve the contract manager at risk, CMAR method for Beasley, Moss and Gray Elementary. Renovations as the construction method. Dr. Rivera, President Carbo, Board of Trustees. Good evening. We are here to ask board approval for construction method on three project packages. With me this evening, I have Don Pool, who has returned to us. WRA Graham Baumann and Roland Gentry. In next month, we'll be bringing more design presentations for these projects. We're talking about tonight. The construction method, multiple projects and multiple package. We put several jobs together to engage construction manager for pre-construction services on the
020remaining projects currently in the design, we are recommending issuing a construction major request for proposal that includes three separate packages of projects. The following slides will touch on what is contained within each package. Package one will be for Beasley Elementary, Moss Elementary, and Gray Elementary renovations. These projects are similar and like in the past, we have grouped smaller projects together for cost savings as well as the synergies between smaller project types. Beasley Elementary renovations will include kitchen equipment replacement, ceiling replacement, MEP improvements including switchgear, electrical panel replacement, lighting, upgraded plumbing fixtures and replacements of two RTU’s Also while there, we will be replacing the life safety improvements such as fire alarm and fire sprinkler. Moss Elementary renovations will include kitchen equipment replacement, MEP improvements, switchgear, electrical panels, lighting upgrades, chiller replacements, HVAC piping, HVAC controls,
021air handling units and fan coil units, as well as boiler replacements. And again, while we're there, we will be upgrading the life safety fire alarm as well. Gray Elementary will consist of some of the same things kitchen equipment, replacement, MEP improvements, switchgear, electrical panels, lighting upgrade, chiller replacements, HVAC piping, controls, air handling units, fan coil unit replacement and boiler replacements, as well as a fire alarm. There also. Package two is AC New, McDonald, and Horn Field House renovation. AC New will consist of a 4150 square foot renovation towards a new security vestibule and administration area. Also, we will be addressing EMP improvements including switchgear, electrical panel replacement, lighting upgrades, plumbing fixtures and three RTU replacements. McDonald Middle School, where we receive a 20,800 square foot renovation towards a new security vessel and administration area. We
022also will address some of the same EMP improvements, including electrical panels and kitchen equipment, lighting upgrades, plumbing fixtures are two year placements and some reroofing technology upgrades. Miscellaneous life safety improvements will be a part of this as well, and the Horn High School Field House project will consist of an 80 500 square foot addition with a white room, meeting room, office, restrooms, and service and support area. The 50 some. The 50 700 square foot renovation area will include locker rooms, restroom, showers, and expanding the trailer room. Package three is for the Lawrence Motley Replacement School. This project will be a repeat of Cross, but will reduce in size to about 80 600ft² to accommodate the accommodate the 600 student capacity. The location will be on the west side of the existing Motley school facing Motley
023Drive. Also, the replacement school will include the ICC 500 storm shelter that will be serving the entire campus. When we've completed this project, Lawrence and Motley will be torn down and the Lawrence site will become part of the City of Mesquite Park and Recreation. Before you all vote on these three separate items, does anybody have any questions for me? One quick one. So in layman's terms, I guess whenever like project one, two and three, when you put those out for bid, they'll be bidding on that entire project or they'll still be split up a little bit. Yes. Or what? Each project will bid out as one, three, three projects, one project, one GC. Okay. Yes, sir. And that'll like I say that helps on cost. It helps on a lot of the same things are
024being done on these projects for just building on the construction method tonight. CMAR. Yes, sir. Yeah. I okay, Mr. Russell actually presented all three items on the construction, so we have we could do all three together or it's on, or or we could just do one at a time. Mr. president, I move that we approve all three items as one motion. Okay. Yeah. Your second, we need. Yes. It's there's a question. So there's a motion by Mr. Seward, a second by Miss Hornsby to approve all three action items of three hours. A mr. Russell explained to any questions being there? None. All those in favor, please indicate by saying I, opposed. Same sign. I have it motion carries. Thank you. Very expeditious. Thank you. I agree. Okay. With that said, we're next going to business.
025There's an action item to approve resolution to accept certified values for the tax year 2025. Mr. Prado. Good evening. President, Carver. Board trustees. Doctor Rivera, before you, you have a, resolution. For, to accept certify values for the tax year 2025. For your consideration, I just briefly say that, what you have in front of you includes the homestead increase from 100,000 to 140,000 and from 10,000 to 60,000 for over 65. That is what, the appraisal role. The official appraisal role is with that. I will tell you that compared to last year, which was only 100,010 thousand, we were slightly below, or slightly above, by about 1.3%. However, if you were to compare this year to last year at 100,000 and at 10,000, the district's, taxable value would have grown by about 7.7%, which, if you recall,
026when we did the budget presentation, we anticipated around 7%. Another note that I want to make you aware of is that, protests are significantly higher this year compared to last year. Last year we had approximately 1500 protest. This year we have approximately 4500 protest. Mr.. Every it was probably one of them. Yes. So with that said, there is significant work still from Dcad, to get those work to, into the appraiser role. But ultimately, every month they will give us a report as to where we're at. So that is for your consideration tonight. And this is a based on the constant constitutional amendment being approved in November. Yes, sir. Moved to approve, Mr. president. The motion pro to approve the resolution to accept certified values for tax year 2025. Any more questions? All those in favor,
027please indicate by saying I, opposed same sign I seven motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Prado. I'm glad you're working well with the Dcad board. It's a great board. And, the fees are. Okay, so. Any questions concerning any items in the exhibit or any information? If that. Guys, this is it. I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Agenda is adjourned and adjourned. Thank you. Very well.