001like to call this meeting to order and welcome everyone. Thank you for being here. It's great to see so many smiley faces. This is where you smile. Okay, we'd like to begin with our pledges and our invocation with Roger. Uh please stand if you're able. As we gather here tonight, we do so with hearts full of gratitude and celebration. We give thanks for the class of 2025. And tonight, we lift up the validictorians and saludiatorans who represent not only academic excellence, but the perseverance and resilience that define this entire graduating class. Their achievements remind us of the power of education and potential that lies within every student. We ask that you bless the outstanding fine arts students and athletes in attendance tonight who have pushed the boundaries of creativity and discipline. We celebrate the emerging
002educators who are just beginning their journey in the classroom but have already made a difference. Their energy, creativity, and compassion have planted seeds of learning and confidence in their students. As we recognize both ends of this journey, we ask for continued wisdom and purpose in the work that we do together. May we be reminded that every lesson, every act of encouragement, and every opportunity we offer helps shape the future. May this meeting be guided by thoughtful discussion, unity of purpose, and shared commitment to our students and educators. We ask all these things in your name. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance
003to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and indivisible. Thank you, Roger. Okay, now for the moment most of you are here for, we will begin with recognitions. Okay, we have quite a few of them. We're very proud of all of you. Uh let us begin. Good evening everyone. First up, we will recognize our students of the month. Would Southwest Elementary School's Antonio Garcia please come forward? Southwest Elementary is proud to [Applause] name Southwest Elementary is proud to name Antonio Garcia as student of the month. Antonio shows a strong love for learning, never misses a day of school, and always gives his best. He's a leader on campus through roles like safety patrol and student council. He is kind, fair, and full of school spirit. Just like his favorite Harry Potter house, Hufflepuff, he's known
004for encouraging others and helping bring people together, guided by the values his parents taught him, Antonio faces challenges with confidence, and always leads by example. Southwest says they are lucky to have him as part of the campus family. Congratulations, [Applause] Wood Spicewood Park Elementary School. Shawn Miguel Figuroa. Canu please come forward. Shawn has grown into a strong leader who sets a great example for others. He's involved in student council, robotics, and I play all while doing great in class. Shawn also helped start the 3D printing club at Spicewood Park, showing off his creativity and teamwork. His positive attitude, dedication, and willingness to try new things make him a role model on campus. His Pice His Spicewood family is proud of all he's achieved and are excited to see what's next for him. [Applause] Congratulations. and
005Resnick Middle School student of the month could not be here, but we'd like to recognize her name, Mary [Applause] Cade. Join us for the love to have you in our picture. We are so proud and so excited. And also if the parents for these two students please stand [Applause] See, it passes. [Applause] And now for our rising star awards. Our rising stars have shown incredible growth, making positive changes and improving attendance. We are confident that their hard work will continue to positiv positively impact their entire school experience at Southwest ISD. And we're going to have Mr. Chris help us with the awards. Um, first up is going to be Medio Creek Elementary. Romani Niles Thompson. Please come forward. [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] Next up is McNair Middle School's Christopher Cervantes Jr. [Music] [Applause] and then stand
006right behind. Next up is Southwest High School's Beijier. [Applause] And then I'll put this here and then you shake your hand and then you can come stand right and the parents of these students will you please stand because we are so proud of you. We want to recognize you for your coming to school is very important. So parents, thank you so much for making sure that they're always here. So we are so very proud of them. And now we'll take a picture. You want to take a picture, too? Sure. Come on up. Thank you. [Applause] At this time, we'd like to recognize our top two graduating students from each high school. First up is Southwest High School Saludiatoran Austin Walsh. Please come forward. A Austin is a four-year letterman in cross country and currently serves
007as the vice president for the National Honor Society. She is a member of the National Technical Honor Society and Business Professionals of America and has earned her certification in medical assisting. Austin is currently back on uh currently on track to earn her associates degree from PaloAlto this spring and she has taken dual credit courses throughout high school. Austin plans to attend the University of Texas in Austin where she will major in biology. Her ultimate goal is to become a dentist and she plans to participate in marathons to continue her running journey. Southwest High School is so proud of Austin and they can't wait to see what the future holds for her. [Applause] Congratulations. Next up is validictorian Isabella Moreno Sandival. [Applause] Isabelle is a true leader on campus. She'll be graduating with her associates degree
008from PaloAlto College and receiving her high school diploma as she has challenged herself with dual credit courses throughout her high school career. She is the senior class historian, secretary of the national honor society and parliamentarian for the Spanish honor society and she particip participates in multiple clubs. Along with her associates degree, Isabella has earned her certification in medical assisting. She has been accepted to and earned a full academic scholarship to [Applause] NYU. She plans to attend in the fall and major in biology. Congratulations. We can't wait to see what you accomplish next. [Applause] Congratulations. If the parents of these two young ladies, will you will you please stand because that is an amazing honor. So, you must be in the audience. So, please [Applause] stand. Thank you so much. Southwest Legacy High School's top two
009students aren't only um academically amazing, they are also working. So, we will be recognizing them in May. Next up is Cass STEM saludiatoran Javeth Nadine Phillips. Please come [Applause] forward. Javeth has combined academic excellence with hands-on experience and strong leadership. Throughout high school, she has been an active member of the National Honor Society and a driver for the electric car team, showcasing her passion and innovation and teamwork. She has also taken on key leadership roles, serving as vice president of the class of 2025 and as a project manager for a PBL initiative that was proudly presented at the SUSO conference. Her leadership style is driven by collaboration, creativity, and a strong sense of purpose. Upon graduation, she plans to attend Texas Tech University to complete a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with a pre-professional focus
010in physical therapy. With her dedication, she is well on her way to making a difference in both engineering and healthcare. Congratulations. Cast STEM validictorian John Daniel Busamante. Please come forward. [Applause] John has excelled in academics while staying active in groups like the National Honor Society, theater technology student association, and the Electrathon engineering team. He's taken on leadership roles such as NHS president, TSA treasurer, senior class historian, and thespian society secretary. After graduation, John will attend the University of Texas at Austin to study biology or nutrition with plans to become a dermatologist. With his mix of ambition, kindness, and hard work, there's no doubt John will make a difference in the world of medicine. [Applause] Congratulations. If the parents of these two incredibly smart individuals, would you please stand? I know that you're very proud of
011them. Congratulations. Let's take another one. I don't want anybody to miss your picture. This is very very important. Anybody else that wants to This is something to be proud of. Absolutely. Once in a lifetime event. Absolutely. Congratulations. [Applause] And now we'd like to recognize some fine arts students. First up is Natalyia Pettz, a talented senior at Southwest High School. Come forward. She recently earned a perfect score at the VA art competition, advancing to the state level. With four years of dedication to her craft, Natalyia continues to impress with her creativity and commitment, winning multiple awards along the way. Next up is Southwest Legacy High School artist Grace Esparza and um um Mirani Rea. [Applause] They placed top the top 10% of region 20 and bass. Their hard work, skill, and artistic passion stood out among
012tough competition. These students have brought pride to Southwest ISD and set a shining example for future artists in our district. We'd also like to recognize their teachers who worked really hard with them. If y'all could please stand up. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. Perfect. Thank you for your hard work. to the parents also for y'all for all they do to help you, right? So, thank y'all. Thank you so [Applause] much. Okay, good. And now for some athletic recognitions. First up is Southwest High School powerlifting. We have Alexis Navaro. Please come forward. She is a sophomore who participated in powerlifting for the first time and she placed second at regionals in the 114 lb weight class which qualified for her state. [Applause] Congratulations. Sophia Pustorii, please come forward. She is a junior who is backto back state
013qualifier. She placed fourth at regionals and at state in the 220 lb weight class. [Applause] Congratulations. Next up is Daniela Daniel Vfane. She is a junior who is the region five champion in the 181 pound weight class. She followed up that performance with second place finish at state. Congratulations [Applause] Benito Lial, please come forward. [Applause] Benito is a senior who qualified for state with a 950 lb total school record holder with a 225 lb 25 lb bench press in the 123 lb weight class. Congratulations. Grant Griffin, please come forward. Grant is a senior and a four-year powerlifting participant who qualified for state with a 1,200 lb total school record holder with a 335 lb bench press and a total of 1,230 lb in the 140 lb weight class. Congratulations. [Applause] Next up is Reagan Gonzalez.
014Keep it going. Reagan is a senior and a four-year powerlifting participant who qualified for state with a 1400 pound total lift at regionals. Congratulations. Ethan Paws, please come forward. Ethan is a senior who qualified for state with a 1500 lb total lifted at regional school record holder with 425 lb bench press and the 242 lb weight class. [Applause] Congratulations. And that's it for Southwest High School. Is there one more? Yeah. I want you to sit down. Very strong individual. Did you also [Applause] And now for the Southwest Legacy High School powerlifting. We're excited to recognize girls and boys. They represented Southwest um with great character and competitive spirit. Uh, first up is sophomore Zavana Vargas. Weight class of 97 total 620 and came in fourth place. Congratulations. Junior Marissa Chabaria, please come forward. She had
015a weight class of 181 totals, 985 third place. Congratulations. Congratulations. Sophomore Aiana Sanchez, please come forward with a weight class of 242 plus totals 1,035. Third place. Congratulations. [Applause] and senior Alexander Reetta Perez, please come forward. He had a weight class of 242 totals 1,730 lbs. Two more years it Thank you for all you do for us. Coaches, please come forward. I know. If the parents will please wave at us. [Applause] Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you. And now for our Southwest Dragon boys basketball. It is our honor to recognize the Southwest Dragon basketball team on their fantastic season. The Dragons were 2215 overall in the SE season and advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. The Dragons defeated Highlands 8450 in the by district championship and Leander 5852
016in the area championship. The Dragons were led by a large group of exceptional seniors. Waqin Zamora, Azerian Boss, Trey Martin, Travis Hoon, Nathan, Nathaniel Deagarza, AJ Franco, Enrique Torres, and Na Nathaniel Cerna. The Dragons will return four players next season. Um, we also had uh yeah, the four seasons that the players that will be returning are Javon Means, Elijah Summers, and Isaiah Logan. Congratulations to the Dragon Basketball team for a historic season and looking forward to more. [Applause] Thank you for all the entertainment. Thank you for the show. Good show, man. Thank you for the show. We enjoyed watching you guys. Taking care of our kids. [Music] The short one. We need to find find some. There's only four coming back. Can you dunk it? The parents will stand and wave at us so we
017can recognize you also for your hard [Applause] work. Thank you so much. Great job. And next, we would like to recognize our emerging educators. These are teachers in their first one to three years of teaching. They have made quite an impression on their first few years of teaching, and we are so honored to recognize them. First up from Big Country Elementary, Areli Trainho, please come [Applause] forward. Congratulations Bob Hope Elementary's Jaclyn Sagura for our kids. Congratulations Elm Creek Elementary. Serena Brown. [Applause] Hidden Cove Steam Academy. Cameron Jones. [Applause] Indian Creek Elementary. Gabriella Lopez, [Applause] Creewall School of the Arts. Miranda Shabari. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. Medio Creek Elementary. Anastasia Mallister. Congratulations. not present, but we'd like to recognize their name. Sky Harbor Elementary, Miriam Garcia. Oh, she is here. I'm glad I said your name. What
018you do for our children? I was also told Southwest Elementary Caitlyn Gilbert wasn't here, right? We're going to recognize them [Applause] anyway. Spicewood Park Elementary's Ilana Selenas, please come forward. Somebody McAuliff Middle School. Hannah Wagner. Watch your fan club, huh? McNair Middle School. Luis Garza. [Applause] Resnik Middle School. Raul Ruiz. Congratulations, Scobby Middle School. Joseph [Applause] set. Good job, sir. Joseph, Southwest High School, Tyler Doge. [Applause] Thank you for all you do for our kids. Congratulations, sir. Congratulations, Southwest Legacy High School. Joe Vega [Applause] Thank you for Thank you for taking care of our kids. Tell them how to pronounce your name. Crossroads Academy Michael Cordelius is not present, but we wanted to recognize him. And now for our district winners, the elementary district emerging educator is Sun Valley Elementary's Candace Vega. Congratulations [Applause] And
019the secondary district emerging educator is CASTM High School's Ivon Medina. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you for taking care of our children. Wow. So, y'all didn't know that teaching was going to be so much fun, right? So, I I really want to thank these individuals because you were able to recognize our kids. Yes, sir. Definitely. Many of these individuals just recently started, but they've already become sponsors for different even sponsored which that's commendable. They've already worked many Saturdays. They've already worked many long hours and already sacrificed a lot of things. Teaching is not an easy profession. that it is truly the most rewarding profession and these individuals early in their career have already been recognized for doing outstanding work and on behalf of the senior staff and the board. We truly appreciate everything that you do for
020our soful work and for picking Southwest Iowa State to come and work for picking the profession of being an educator and a teacher. So, thank you all so much. in your bag is a little small token. We can never repay you for all you do, but in your bag, um there's if you are a nominee, there's a check for $100. If you were a finalist, there's a check for 250. And then our two district award winners, there's a check for $500. [Applause] You're buying any family members of these individuals. So, please stand because we want to recognize you. So, [Applause] please while they're taking their photos, I want to let you all know that um on social media and in our board report, all of the pictures that we're taking here tonight will be available.
021We'll send out the link as soon as we um edit them. Truly congratulations. Thank you for everything you do. May we one day be honoring you at your retirement after 30 years. So may you stay that long. Okay. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, now I understand we have two people signed up to speak. Want to let them go first? Okay, let's take a break. Everyone's excused. Another routine. Everyone's excused. We're going to take a two-minute break. If you you can. If you'd like to stay, you can. Okay. Okay. We plan to go. We got to watch the people, all the grand. Okay. We We're going to get back on to our meeting. a little bit. Item number four, we have two people signed up.
022Is that correct, Brandon? Yes, sir. Okay. You want to call first? Use your mic. Yes. Uh let me go over some rules of engagement when addressing in a public hearing. Uh when addressing the audience during the public forum, speakers commentary must hear to the following. Everyone must model courtesy and respect. Speakers shall not employ profane or threatening language, nor shall they engage in any personal attacks. The board of trustees request requests that derogatory or inflammatory statements and personal attacks on individuals be avoided. In accordance with board policy beed local, the board shall not deliberate or respond to any subject that is not included on the agenda posted with the notice of the meeting. Speakers who have signed up to speak on a specific agenda item must focus their items, their own comments on the posted
023agenda items. We have two persons uh two different individuals signed up to speak to general public comments this evening. The first speaker is Miss Luna and Miss Tandre with the Southwest FFA. So I invite them up. Yes. Hello everybody. My name is Crystal Tandre and I'm the FFA vice president. And I'm Maya Luna. I'm the um reporter. We would just like to um formally invite you all to our um annual FFA banquet on May 13th, which is going to be a Tuesday. Thank you. Now, appreciate it. Thank you. by you know what? Put it right here. We'll get it to her. Thank you. Thank you, ladies. Sir, our next speaker is Mr. Contro. He would like to speak and if you could come up, sir. You have three minutes, sir. Hello, guys. Uh, my name
024is Thomas. I'm the PTA president at Creewald Road School of the Arts. We are a proud PTA group and we are just having a blast this year. Um, so many of our members have deep roots in the Southwest District. We have former employees. We have former Southwest students in our ranks. And today we wanted to express the fun we are having this year at Que. Um, with a little token of appreciation to the board today, we had this Fiesta Medals made. We are so proud to present them to y'all. We would like to invite y'all to the Crewald Cesta event on April 24th. We are also having a fundraiser event for our fifth grade class field trip tomorrow from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Sonic on Marbach and6004. Um, you don't have to
025mention anything. You just go eat there and the proceeds will go to the fifth grade field trip. Um, and thank you guys for all the support this year. Thank you. Thank you. from 10 to 8 p.m. the time for the event. Yes. So the Sonic event is tomorrow from 5 to 8 p.m. April 24th. The April 24th is our CISTA event where we have um food, we have drinks, and we have activities for the kiddos. And what time is it? 5 to 6:30 for our Ciesta event. Thank you. Thank you guys. Okay. Now, uh, we're going to amend the agenda and go to item 11. That's okay with the rest of the board. I see nobody saying no. We're going to go into close session pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.074. discussion on personnel and
026administrator employment resignations, reassignments, leaves of absences, and contract renewals. And pursuant to Texas Government Code section 551.071, attorney consultation regarding legal issues related to a level three grievance process. And pursuant to Texas government code section 551.074 and 551.8 8 082 here and consider level three parent grievance. At this time we will now go into close session 642. It is 7:26. We're coming back into open session and we're going to item 12B. consider and take possible action regarding level three parent grievance. I move to uphold the level two decision. Second. We have a motion to uphold the level two decision and it's been seconded. Board members, all in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Thank you. We will now go to item five, consent agenda. Board members, you've all had that before you.
027I move. I second. Have a motion and second to accept. Not hearing any questions. All in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Items of information, construction update. Yes, sir. Thomas is finished. uh bring up the different presenters to talk about some of the construction projects. So we have three of our projects here tonight. Uh first we're going to start with the central office project. So Carr is here with RVK and Bob Square with Ken Connor here. You have a hand out too. Yes, sir. officer. There you go, sir. Good evening, Mr. President, members of the board, Dr. Ball, everyone. Thank you so much. I want to just give you a brief update on where we are in construction. Um we uh were actually last with you all um right at the beginning
028of this year and have not had a chance to give an update uh in the meantime uh formally at a board meeting. Um although I know some of you were able to join us uh in person for a walkth through um after one of your brown bag meetings uh at the beginning of last month. So even since that time for a few of you who were able to be there we've continued to make progress. This was an aerial photo at the beginning of the year. Um, a month later, much more progress could be seen on building A. That's the singlestory portion of the building where the boardroom and communications is. Uh, and that brings us forward to the most recent aerials which came um just about a month ago uh in March. Um, looking around
029the building, what you see is that uh the masonry work has continued. the masonry on building B. Our twotory portion of the building is actually now almost fully complete. Uh and we're looking forward to getting the brick masonry started on building A here shortly. Um back in January when we were looking, you see here they've got the the mastic in place in anticipation of the brick and all of the openings for our fistration, but now the uh windows are all in place uh on our two-story building. um uh as well as uh the windows on building on the singlestory portion of the building are also installed and that helps as we begin to look towards work on the interior. So from this vantage point we're over on campus loop um uh in front of Southwest
030Elementary looking at the big building building at the beginning of the year. Uh this is where we were uh just about three weeks ago uh from that same that same vantage point. So, uh, really all of our building is now dried in, which, um, while some of our exterior work continues, it's really allowing Ken Con and all of their subcontractors to make a lot of great progress on the inside of the building, which you don't necessarily see as well just from driving by. So, we just had a meeting last week uh, with some of the district's representatives from the furniture vendor who's going to be working with you all to outfit all of the furnishings in the buildings. And the meeting was a chance for us to be sure that um there weren't any there
031weren't anything that we needed to do to be able to adjust uh right now while it's still feasible to do so to accommodate the the furniture installation. Um but in these photos what you see is uh in our two-story building. These two particular images are taken in the uh portion of the building for business and finance and for admin and human resources. Uh we are not only uh dried in, we've actually got the first coat of paint started. Uh you see duct work overhead for all of the HBAC systems. This is on the first floor. And if we go upstairs, you see that same work underway. So we're we're well in well in hand with all of those trades. I thought you would enjoy seeing the photo on the right. This is uh our main
032lobby that you step into, our two-story space um that we looked at in terms of uh some of our interior renderings. where we'll see more of our finishes as the project progresses. And then lastly, just looking at the lobby on the other side of the building where folks like us will be coming when we have board meetings uh that that point of entry into the building. So, uh we are on schedule. Um that is not yet uh uh rocked in, but um all the framing is in place. Um they're working on everything that goes inside the wall uh in order to be ready to close up those walls. And on the left, what you're really looking at between the studs is looking into the back of the boardroom where the dis will ultimately be on
033the right. Then you're standing in the same position, but just turned pivoted this way towards where there's a kind of an open seating area in the lobby for folks waiting to attend the meeting. Um, as of the end of last month with our payout, we are just over halfway through. Uh, and again, I'll say we are on schedule for completion this fall. We really weren't uh greatly impacted by any sort of weather days. Um, we're seeing our mason's work on building A, the singlestory portion, but the work is also continuing on building B where we're getting the rest of the metal panels uh installed above the CME masonry that's there and also on the sophet. So that's the underside of the roof that we can see. Um and then on the inside where drywall is
034being hung on the second floor, the trades and crew are ahead of that uh on building A on the first floor kind of getting ready for all of that scope. That's correct. Do you have any questions for comments? It's looking good. Yeah, we're very excited. And I like the on on time on calendar. Yep. So, thank you. Great. Thank you all. Appreciate it very much. That's probably I hit escape, but it probably wasn't. Thank you, sir. Next up, we have the Bob Hope Elementary Edition renovation. So, I have James Moore with OCR and Paul Rston with Kenton here to give an update. Mr. President, board members, Dr. Ball, thank you for having us today. Uh, just giving you an update on construction for Bob Hope. So, as you recall, this is a mostly an interior
035renovation project, but with a building addition on the back end for classrooms. So the overall ma uh master plan uh the area A is library and some administration areas. Uh B, C and D are classrooms and then E is classrooms with a renovation of the old library just as a refresher. So the first part of this is uh the green area of the old library has already been turned over to the to the campus and is operational currently as classrooms for the for the campus. The yellow portion is the brand new portion of the building. Um we're anticipating it to be uh renovated or finished renovation at the end of the during the summertime. Uh we're really super close. Uh it's just the exterior windows and some of the glazing that still needs to go
036on on that addition. Uh where the library area uh the library itself is very close to being uh completed. Just floors are left. You can see in the photographs where the paint is on the walls. Uh the acoustical bat ceilings where the student activities center in the center of the library has also been installed. Uh so we're just we're uh King Kong has been doing an excellent job trying to keep everybody uh the campus and uh the students engaged so that that way uh during the summertime we can turn over all of it. Uh the administration portion will be probably turned over uh at the end of this month back to the campus is ready to be occupied and the life skills area is also in that same boat. They'll be turned over probably at
037the end of this month. The next chunk will be uh area B which is next to the library or sorry next to the cafeteria that will uh start tackling the demolition and then renovation. We are in contract uh we are on schedule and we're just a little over 65% complete construction at this point. Are there any questions? I do understand you're a little ahead of schedule. We're in say we can't say that officially, but I know I know, but but I can we are we we did we did a little walk and and and it looks really good. We're really happy and we Thank you. Thank you guys. Any questions? Anyone? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. [Music] one. And the last group we have tonight, O'Neal Himenez with Marma Mach and James Mitsko
038with Joris are here to present on the Alvarado Elementary. Good evening. I'll introduce myself. I'm Onell Himenez. I haven't presented before uh but I'm very honored to be here for the first time. Um, so, um, we're here to talk about Juan M. Alvarado Elementary. Um, give you a little bit of a update on the construction progress. Can you go to the first slide? Oh, all right. There we go. There's this. So, this is a uh drone video. showing the current job site. This was taken today. So, uh you can see the activity that's going on. There is a concrete pour. So, there are two portions of the area that is formed that uh were being poured today and uh we expect that to be completed today. So this is a a significant milestone for the
039project to um considering that construction just began in January. So the work completed at this point and we're about 12% completion of construction. Uh site utilities have already been installed uh around the perimeter of the building. Uh that includes installation of fire and water lines, sanitary sewer lines from the building, communication and electrical rough ends under the slab, natural gra gas rough ends to the building, storm drain lines as well. All of the foundation peers have already been poured. You can see them in the concrete area of the video there. And then uh all of the mud slab uh has also uh been poured which is that concrete area that you see and it also runs beneath the area where the concrete pores are currently taking place in the video. Work that's currently in progress
040is a concrete slab which you see being uh formed or being poured and uh form work, steel reinforcements that that you can see also in the areas that are not yet poured and uh plumbing and electrical rough ends in the slab also ongoing. We can also see in the foreground here of the video uh the roadway and parking lot base is in progress and there's also uh on the site underground electrical for sight lighting that's ongoing. Can you stop right there? James can you explain to the board to the difference like on the right they see that this But that's actually the mud slab that's underneath the building and you'll be able to go under the building. Want to kind of talk about this is this is kind of this is your crawl space area.
041So we'll pour the slab the finish floor slab will be up here where you see the top of the peers and then underneath is where you've got your mud slab. You'll run a lot of utility lines underneath that uh that what we call a crawl space area. It's just basically a under floor section of a building that you can service those lines. And I was on it today on this side where they're pouring and it's a good five foot above above ground. And then they're going to build up the side. So that middle area right there is actually courtyard. When you're on top of it, the courtyard's 5 foot down. So they have to build that up. Remember the soils there similar to res building these on. We can we can talk about that also
042on the photos. So we have a couple of photos also. The by the way this uh drone footage and the photos were provided by uh Joris. This is basically the verbiage that I'm reading to you, but this is a photo also of that area. And you can see uh as uh Thomas was pointing out, the area that you see that's poured. This this is the gym. And then this area is your fine arts or band or music and art. And then cafeteria is in this area. Special ed. And then that portion that you see that we talked about that is has the mudslab. That's the two-story classroom portion of the building. We have one more photo also kind of same thing. You can see the and the area in the middle. That's that's the courtyard.
043I also have a a uh site plan that kind of gives you a little bit of the orientation as well. These are those areas that you saw today that mentioned section here. So, we're kind of moving backwards, if you will, in sequence. So, B, C, B, and A will be the last area. And again, you see here the floor plan. That's the gym, cafeteria, music, and art, admin, and then the twotory classroom section. And that's the second floor, Sean, second level. That's pretty much it. Do you have any questions? Questions. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Monthly tax report. Yes, sir. We're at 93%. Monthly financial report, monthly investment report, reporting gifts and requests. Board members, you've had all this before you. Any questions? Stop me. Enrollment report page 99. How we doing there? 149. I
044almost hit that 15 number 141 14941. Review of purchases over 50,000. Okay. Board of trustees continuing education report. I will read this. Board members are required to participate in trading each year. In a non-legislative year, members are required to earn eight hours of credit. New members have additional requirements and must attend 16 hours of training. Below is the current status of training requirements. Local district orientation not applicable. Intro to the Texas Education Code also not applicable. Tier 2 T of eight board members and superintendent scheduled for May 14th, 2025. Required board training, child abuse prevention. All board members have completed. Cyber security deadline due is uh 6:14. Completed are Jose pending. Evaluating and improving student outcomes completed by all board members. Post legislative update to TEC completed by Don Garo, Lorita Bernal, Sylvester Vasquez Jr.
045All others will complete soon. School safety completed by Dio Caro, Florinda Verdal, Arisa Dulkan, Jose Diaz, uh James Gonzalez, James Sullivan, and Sylvester Vasquez are pending. Tier three discretionary continuing education. All board members have met or exceeded their continuing education requirements. Board members, any questions, any corrections? Hearing none, that has been read. CAST STEM High School update. Tada. Yes, we have Miss Rodriguez Jackie that's going to come up and share. They've really done a fabulous job in sharing the great information the Cass does um and the enrollment for the ninth grade class is um increased. We'd also like to acknowledge and thank Gan Russell in the audience for her continued support. So, thank you Jean for being here with us and thank you Jackie. Thank you. Good evening board. Dr. Val, thank you for allowing
046us the opportunity to present on our campus. We have some amazing things that have happened this year that we wanted to make sure that everybody was aware of. So, um just to start off within this past month, um we had some exciting things happening around campus. So, our one act play advanced to by district. Um our technology student association took 18 students to the state competition in Fort Worth a couple weeks ago. and our electric car team um raced uh in the ACE race this past weekend and brought home a second place trophy. Uh so very exciting things again just recently that that we wanted to highlight. Um so just a couple things about our campus. Uh we align with our CAS school's mission which is to maximize opportunity for all students and to prepare
047them for college and career after they leave us. Um we still have our three programs of study in engineering, logistics, and our unmanned drones. Um and then we are an early college high school that we partner with uh Palo Alto College. And so what makes us a little bit unique than some of the other campuses is our way of learning. And so we um we pride ourselves in our project based learning. Um career connected learning is really important. Place-based learning. So we take them outside of the classroom and and take them um to experiences. And then of course blended learning. And that um as a whole um gives our students a totally different experience from just the traditional classrooms. So at CASTM um all of our students are exposed to the college atmosphere and thank
048you for your support for allowing us to be at PaloAlto College. Um we have access to the college resources um state-of-the-art facilities which our students use on a on a regular basis. We do have flexibility with dual credit options. So, um, we are able to to modify some of our degree plans because there are we're at the college. So, if a student wants to take a a class in, um, you know, that's not on like the what we would call the traditional associates degree, we talk to the counselor, we can do a course agreement and put those students in our classes. So, with that, um, we do offer 30 plus dual credit offerings and students are that students are successful in there at Palo Alto. And then of course preparing them for any STEM career
049um or college program upon their graduation. Um again as I mentioned students are learning beyond the classroom through authentic learning um and making sure that we're connecting careers. So uh one of the things that we are able to do is take our 10th and 11th grade students to HUP foundation camp. Um we've been doing that for um three years now that they opened back up after COVID. And so, um, we take our students there, they learn, um, it's team building and they bond. Um, we also in partnership with our with the CAST network, some of our students who are on the advisory board are able to take an international trip to Mexico and learn about what they're doing over there um, in industry and as well as in education. And then of course this year,
050some of our we we job shadowing and field experience is a really important part of what we do at CASTM. Um and so in particular this year um we we have partnered with Bear County, CPS, Greater SATX, JCB, Lancer, SAMA, and Toyota to take uh to give our students these experiences. And so um one of the things that we want to make sure that that um everybody knows about our campus is that there it's just not going to school at the college campus and leaving. Our students are competitive and they like to be challenged in different areas. So, our electric car team um did we went from uh two cars uh well, one car, two cars, and now we're at six cars. Uh we raced all six cars this past weekend, and they stayed in
051the race the whole time. And so, um we're very proud of that and the work that the the students are doing. Um of course, they're doing drone competitions, academic decathlon, um math competitions, speak up, speak out, uh technology student association, as I mentioned earlier. We also add the the A into the steam. So we have our theater um that is doing one act play. Um and then we also have right now we have 12 students currently participating in UIL fine arts and athletics with their home campuses Southwest and Legacy and they they're they're being successful in that. Um our students also participate on um our superintendent advisory board for the district as well as the network student advisory and we have over 20 clubs for students to participate in. So there's a lot for them
052to do while they're at our campus um to keep them busy and engaged. So just a few highlights. Our class of 2024, we had 100% graduate college and career ready. 100% graduated with at least nine college uh credits. And I I put that because that's a cast promise. And so across all the cast schools, they would like all of their students to graduate with nine college credit hours. And we're we're hitting that um uh you know, every year. um 17% graduated with an internship experience and then 67% graduated from Palo Alto with with an associates degree or level one. So, as we look at our projections um for this year, you'll see that we do have an increase. Of course, they 100% will graduate college and career ready. 100% have already met the nine hours.
053Um we do we're projecting to have 30% graduate with an internship experiences up from 17. And then this year we will have 87% of our class graduating from Palo Alto with an associates degree or level one. And so again, the the the neat thing is that they will graduate two days before um at Palo Alto before they graduate from Southwest High School. So they'll be college graduates before they're high school graduates. But uh we're very proud of that and those accomplishments of those students. Um and then not only do we know we do a lot of focus on our our end goals, but while our students are there right now, um our goal is for 50% of our 10th graders. A lot of times the getting them that co that career experience um can be
054challenging just because of the the restrictions that some of our partners have. But we have started to do mentorships and so we are um our goal is to get 10 uh 50% of our 10th grade students to participate in that and then move into apprenticeships and then internships. um 40% um as we end this year to participate in an internship and then 20% of our students this year we're hoping will earn their FFA part one drone uh part 107 drone license. So we already have 11 students who are certified. Um and we have another group who will be testing from now until the end of the year. Um, and with that, uh, you know, starting, this was something new to me. Starting out, they make about 60,000, but average drone, uh, pilot, you know, with
055as a job is 120. So, we're we're definitely setting these students up for for success, um, by getting this this C, uh, this pilot license in high school. So, those are just some of our our goals. Um, and then, as I end, I wanted to to highlight um, where we are. As I mentioned, we've had a really great year. We started the year at Palo Alto um strong. We now have something to show off and to showcase. The events that we've been having on campus have been well attended. If you've had a chance to come by, I've seen several of you there. Um but we we started off um a couple years ago showing, you know, I wanted to show an update on our ninth grade acceptances. um going from 57 last year was 45
056and then this year right now we have 135 acceptances which means that we have over 200 applications but these students have accepted their seat saying they're going to come to CAST STEM next year we had a an event last month where we did a signing ceremony for them and we had over 70 students come and commit to our campus. So we are we are um sure that we're going to meet that that 100 goal and go over that um which it will automat you know looking at our total enrollment which will increase um that 240 we're being a little bit um that's a little bit conservative because that's with a little over a hundred freshmen that we would have but we also have a group of 10th and 11th graders who are looking to come
057to our campus next year that we are going to enroll. So, we I'm I'm pretty positive we're going to be close to closer to 250 um or over um by the beginning of next year as we're we're continuing to get enrollment um and students interested weekly. So, um so that's the end of, you know, wanted to end on that that note. We we see great things happening and again wanted to thank everybody for their support of our campus and and what's happening over there. So, thank you, Jay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. Yes. Okay. Item seven, we have no items. Uh eight, business finance a consider award of the McNair Middle School re- roof for project. Thomas. Yes, sir. As you note, McNair Middle School was completed in 2009. uh over the years
058it's got a four ply built-up roof and over the years we've uh been fighting some leaks that we have not been winning. So uh in the past couple of rains that that just the overall deterioration of the roof and it's it's meeting its it's about to be at its life expectancy and our warranty is no longer we don't have a warranty anymore on that roof because of the age of it. So, we're looking to do what we did at Southwest Elementary back in 2013 is take all the gravel off the top four layers of that builtup roof and put a 2-in 2 and a half inch foam roof on top. So, u we went through the process of of working with Brazis urethane who is the company that's been working on all the additions and
059on uh we'll be doing Alvarado Elementary and uh I'm sorry, the legacy edition. So, uh, with them, they're a member of the, uh, co-op, the Choice Partners Co-op, and we worked with them to get a quote. So, district staff is recommending that this summer, uh, 2025, once school is out, that we award the contract to Brazis Urethane to provide us a new 20-year warranty foam roof at McNair Middle School uh, for the contract amount of $1,144,512. And that will be funded by the 2023 bond funds. Did you say 20 year warranty? It would be a 20 year warranty this year. When we did Southwest Elementary, they weren't given 20-year warranties. They're only doing 15. So, it's actually about to be up on its warranty next year. So, we may have to do a recote and
060stuff there. But, we do have we will have a 20-year warranty at Daniel and Joe. There's a motion and a second that the board approve Brazil's Urethane Incorporated as a contractor for McNair Middle School re-roofing project with a contract in the amount of 1.144 512 questions anyone all in favor please say I oppose motion passes consider approval of furniture replacement for Bob Hope Elementary yes sir so does you saw tonight with the the update, we're nearing the completion uh of Bob Hope during this coming summer. So, we went out for bids. This the district did or went out for quotes for new furniture for the entire campus. So, u we are the district staff is recommending that we use JR incorporated for the contract amount of $173,287. Uh this purchase will be from the 2023
061bond funds and it is a replacement of everything that was not in the contract. So if it's not bolted down desk, kid uh student desks, teacher desk, things like that, we're going ahead and replacing all of that. The stuff that everything that's there that's still good and in good use, we will use that to supplement in other places throughout the district. And if it's not worth it, we'll be putting it in the online auction. I move second. We have a motion and second that the board approve the purchase of the new furniture from JR Incorporated at the cost not to exceed $173,287 for Bob Hope Elementary. Questions? Anyone? All in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Consider approval of purchase of digital radio repeaters for district campuses. Good evening, board. Our current
062district-wide digital radio communication system was installed back in 2021. This project supported transportation, our police department, and both Legacy and Southwest High Schools. There are still a number of our locations throughout the district that experience major coverage issues and they're not able to get out to our dispatch once you get into the interior part of the building. So, one of the things that we're looking to do is is to improve communications and install repeaters at all of our campuses so that uh when they're using their handheld radios, they're able to get in to dispatch if there's an emergency within the interior part of the building. Southwest ISD staff is recommending purchasing digital repeaters for district-wide communication as it provides clearer radio transmission between the campuses and our police department. District staff edited several local vendors
063for possible solutions to improve our communications. Quotes were obtained from Bearcom Industrial Communications and Bosion. Bearcom offered the best overall value for Southwest ISD and was the original vendor that installed the 2021 repeater project. Bearcom is a member of the byboard purchasing cooperative. The purchase and installation of the communication system for campuses will cost $171,778.64. Funds for this project will come from the TA awarded safety and facilities enhancement or safe grant cycle one grant. It's recommended that the board approve Bearcom for the purchase and installation of the district-wide communication system for campuses at a cost of $171,77864. Excuse me, real quick. Mark, what's the big spread on the 35,000 versus the 131,000? What's that all about? So, the other two vendors, Bearcom and Industrial, they came and out and tested communications. They came to all
064of our sites. OAN just made a proposal with four repeaters. So the recommendations from both those vendors uh industrial came during the Christmas break and Bearcom came uh over a couple of weeks to test the system out. So how many repeaters is Bearcom going to put in? They're putting in 16 uh 16 repeaters at our remaining uh 18 campus versus four versus four. Okay. They were looking at trying to install repeaters that would address certain uh the nearest campuses, but that has proven not to work. Could we take the other Yes. the other 12 and we're right there where the other ones are. I move. I second. Have a motion and a second. Any other questions? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Motion passes. Thank you, co. Okay. Consider approval to award
065contract RQ2425-120 for insurance agent. Good evening board. Excuse me. The uh district requested qualifications for certified and licensed insurance agents for property and casualty insurance as well as risk management service. The RFQ was advertised and issued and seven proposals were received. We evaluated those proposals and we are recommending Frost Insurance to be awarded the contract. You should have a copy of the score sheet at your desk for reference. This is a one-year contract with four one-year renewals. Any questions? I move. Second. We have a motion, a second uh we approve Frost Insurance a Insurance Agency for contract RFQ 2425-120 as our insurance agent as presented. Any other questions? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Thank you. Consider approval of 2025 2026 stipens. Who's hand? That's I'm hand on
066this. So, uh, as you know, as part of our, uh, strategic goal to find ways to cut our deficit, uh, by $4 million, uh, we've formed a budget committee. The first round of the budget committee was to talk about staffing ratios. So we brought the staffing ratios to the board back in January and we went through staffing. Uh the second phase is to look at stipens uh and areas where we have stipens that are no longer uh being used. Stipens that are no longer we feel like uh are you know worth the investment uh and stipens that we are going to replace with the TIA which is a teacher incentive a lotment. Uh so those recommendations were taken to the committee. Uh they were reviewed by subcommittee. We had different departments that that looked over
067their different stipens. And so we have a two different lists for you. The the drafts list is the actual stipens that we're asking the board to approve. There's another list or the stipens that we went through. Uh and either they were stipens that we had in our plan that we've had for years that we weren't even using and giving to people. Uh so unfortunately there won't be any savings on those because a lot of them some of them were just things that we've had over time and we just never really took off the list. There are stipens in here that will bring value uh and help us get to an area where we feel like it'll it'll help us get to our our strategic goal of the $4 million. Uh and then there's stipens on
068here that we felt like we've had for a long time, but we have directors and people in place that no longer do we need leads of certain uh departments and uh different groups. Uh I can use an example like uh lead social workers. We had we have somebody in charge, a director of social workers that oversees them. So we don't need the leads on each campus anymore that oversees. So that would just be an example. So uh what we're asking the board is to approve the stipen list. We will continue to look at those and as though they come along we could possibly still add some back if we feel like there's a need. But tonight the recommendation is to approve the current 25 26 typing list. And the reason why we're really bringing it
069this early because some of these uh we want to get out in front and let people know that we're no longer providing these types. So if people want to make choices, they're allowed to in enough time. So, uh, open up for questions or Oh, we if there's no question, we would recommend that you'all approve the stipen list as presented today. I move to approvement. Second. There's a motion and a second questions, anyone? Yeah. Were all of these approved by the budget committee? Were they in line with everything? They were presented to the budget committee and we came to a consensus that these were be we would be recommen make a recommendation to the board on these. The budget committee doesn't move, right? They just say recommend they agreed. Correct. Any other questions? Board members, all
070in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? Motion passes. And I want to thank staff. I know these are tough decisions to make. Uh please pass it on to everyone that was involved. Uh thank them. Okay. Consider approving the resolution dealing with wage issues for employees involving the half-day school closing for Southwest High School. Yes, sir. Due to travel conditions and the the championship game, uh the district made a decision to close Southwest High School. Uh due to the fact that we had a lot of employees and staff and teachers that were going to the game, it was going to be hard for us to staff with substitutes that the amount that we would need to provide for coverage. Uh and also giving people plenty of time to get to the game. So we're uh due
071to the fact that we shut down half a day, we don't want to take any adverse uh conditions to somebody that would lose wages because we did close early. So it has to be required by the board to pass a resolution for us to go ahead and compensate those employees for us making the decision to close early. And so that's the recommendation is that the board approved the resolution so that we can continue to pay people for a full day's work on Friday even though we shut down half a day. Board members, you've had the resolution. Second. We have a motion, a second. Any questions? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Thank you, staff. Okay. Curriculum and instruction. Consider approval of Southwest ISD scholarship committee recommendations. Yes. Good
072evening, board, and good evening, senior staff, and thank you for the opportunity. And so we're bringing Southwest ISD scholarship committee recommendation for the 2025 school year. So the committee met uh earlier uh in in April uh to review, update, and set the amount that will be awarded for the 2425 school year. The scholarship fund will also continue to support the students that win the Toyota car giveaway through the means of uh paying for the tax, title, and license for up to $1,750 for each student. and for the for the two vehicles given away totaling 3,500. In addition, the Southwest D scholarship fund will provide 25 self-reporting scholarships of $500 each for students who have completed a FAFSA and receive a college acceptance letter, 10 for each at Southwest Legacy and Southwest High School, and then
073five for CAST STEM. This would leave a balance of $224,220 to distribute uh to the awardees for the scholarship for the 2025 school year. So finally, this year there are a total of 186 students who are eligible and who completed all the requirements to receive the scholarship from the committee. That includes 26 from CAST STEM, 63 from Southwest Legacy, and 97 from Southwest High School. This year, the amount that will be awarded to each qualifying student is $1,25 per student. And so, we are recommending that the board approve the Southwest ISD district scholarship committee recommendations of these amounts. I move on the scholarship committee's recommendation. Second, we have a motion, a second. Questions? Anyone? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Thank you. Thank you. Consider approval of the purchase of
074an alignment rack and alignment machine from Carl Turner Equipment. Good evening. Um, Southwest Board of Trustees, uh, Dr. Ball and senior staff. Um, the item that we have is, uh, requesting the purchase of an approval of an alignment rack. It will help support Southwest Legacy Automotive Program. Um it will enable students to practice um their knowledge and skills necessary for industry. It'll also be in line with industry standards. Um so we are requesting approval um from Turner Carl Turner Equipment Incorporated. I move second. We have a motion second purchase of Carl Turner equipment not to exceed 75,000 from CTE funds. Questions? Anyone? All in favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Thank you. Motion passes. Consider approval of purchase of aircraft materials from Aviation Nation Incorporated. So, CT is requesting the purchase from Aviation Nation
075to purchase aircraft materials. This is to support the purchase of the kits that are remaining for airplane number two. And so at this point we are um going to buy the fuselage kit, the power plant kit, and the prop kit. Um so we are requesting to purchase from Aviation Nation Incorporated. You're going to be using the funds we Yes, sir. So we're going to be using the funds that we when we sold the the first plane to make this I move. We had two moves. One of you want to change to a second? I'll second that. have it. I'll second. Okay. Floss and Joe seconds. Thank you for being a gentleman, Joe. Okay. The board approved the purchase from Aviation Nation not to exceed 130,000 uh used from CTE grant funds. Questions? Anyone? All in
076favor, please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Thank you. Now we have consider approval of 2025 2026 secondary new courses. So curriculum and instruction collaborated with the high school campuses to see what uh courses would be needed for next year's master schedule. So today we'll be presenting some of the courses that will help support CTE at both middle school and high school. The first course um it's actually a CTE course code change by TEA. So career prep had a different course code. So we are um bringing this course forward. Um we had additional courses. We had two at Southwest High School, building maintenance technology 1 and building maintenance technology 2. And so this is to ensure that the students have access to uh two courses that are more comprehensive that offer not only carpentry
077but also plumbing and electrical and other items that will uh give them better industry experience. Um the other course we have is at Southwest Legacy and it'll support legal studies. It's advanced legal skill and professionals. We also have one course at both that's will be offered at both Southwest High School and Legacy or could potentially be offered um computer science 2 um as well as one course that will be offered at McNair and Resnik uh digital communications in the 21st century. So that will help support the AV programs at both Southwest High School and Southwest Legacy. Does anybody have any questions regarding any of the courses? So at this time we are requesting approval of all the CT courses. I move a second. We have a motion to second the board approved the 2025 2026
078secondary new courses as presented. Questions? Anyone? Hearing none. All in favor please say I. I. All oppose. Motion passes. Thank you. Have a good night. Okay. special programs. No items before we go back into close session. Dr. Ball, you have any items you want to bring up? Just again want to congratulate all the amazing things that are happening in our district. Um certainly this weekend was an amazing weekend. Um our soccer team, we are very proud of them. Want to congratulate them. Want to congratulate the fine arts. Uh did a fabulous job in advancing also. So they uh performed on Saturday. So very proud of them. very proud of the cast students that um did an amazing job in racing. Um so lots of great things going on and of course lots of activities at
079this time. So we will help you to try to remind you of each and every one of them but if you put them on your calendar. We have our circle of excellence um that is coming up the the penguin project and then today you also got another invitation for FFA. We also have our secondary art show and then numerous events uh lots of fiesta events at the campuses. So just lots of great things that our staff does. Thank you board members. You have everything to say. Now we will pursue a Texas government code 551.074 discussion of personnel and administrative employment resignations, reassignments, leaves of rapidness and contract renewals. We will go the back of the close session at we come back into open session 844 and we'll go to item 12A superintendent recommendations on personnel
080administrator employment resignations and assignments absences and contract renewals. Yes. I move that we approve the superintendent's recommendation on personnel. Second. Have a motion, a second. All in favor, please say I. All oppose. Motion passes. Anyone have any other business? Yes. I'd like to invite everybody to our softball game on Thursday where Legacy and Southwest High School will be playing. So, everybody's invited on Thursday. Fire and armorable for softball. Fire and armor. [Music] Board members, do you all have anything? Hearing nothing. This meeting is now closed at 8:45.