001Okay, good evening. We're going to start the special board meeting assembly with CISD Board of Trustees today's May 28 2026 And that calls me to order exactly 5 32 p.m Roll call or on the Lopez present Israel but real Selena Gonzalez, dr. Errol Cruz Mr. Hernandez Rudy Corona, but I'll abrigo present. Mr. Feroz Perez present and mr. Tony Torres Thank you. Let's go on to the agenda item number two public comment The two-part public comment I shall be limited to items on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting. I'm sorry. Yes The first speaker is Mary Maney Good evening superintendent president Lopez board members staff and community that are here My name is Mary Maney, and I am a math teacher at San Benito High School I do have a couple of questions just
002basically coming from this but before I do that, I like the new public speaking Public comment video. You've done a really good job with those But the first question I had it so I was reading through this I know we've got attorneys and we've got lots of different attorneys for different things but this ballots are Salazar which Part does he do because I mean mr. Torres does the regular board. I don't know which Specialty he is if somebody could clarify during that that would be very nice And the other one was in dealing with things were in the open session I notice it just says one assistant principal for the high school. We're losing at least two So hopefully we you have some information on that or who the replacement principal is going to be
003Just curiosity trying to figure out where I'm going with all this and going I do appreciate your time. Thank you. I do Apologize for those that are brand new that I did not get to go to the last meeting. We were at Talladega and For some reason Alabama in here are not close enough to come to a meeting. So But thank you and good luck and congratulations on all your new posts. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Mini The next speaker is Liz Chavez Good evening board trustee superintendent and administration My name is Liz Chavez and I'm here tonight as a longtime community advocate Basketball booster member and as a partner who has worked alongside this district in supporting our youth tonight I'm speaking in support of the agenda item regarding the gymnasium project For more
004than a few decades generations of student-athletes have stepped onto the court representing the district With pride discipline and excellence. They've brought home wins championships school spirit and community pride Yet the same outdated flooring scoreboard have remained in place over many years in my opinion The current gym flooring has exceeded its optimal lifespan and no longer provides the level of shock absorption traction and surface consistency needed for safe athletic and recreational use in an effort to partner with the district and support this vision the basketball booster club has committed to contributing an Additional piece of equipment to complement the new scoreboard slash video boards that the district may be considering From my understanding this level of partnership and contribution has never been done before in this capacity But we're ready to step up and it demonstrates
005how invested the community is in the success of our students together Our students deserve student facilities that reflect the left for the level of effort that they give every day For many students the gym is where the disc where they discover discipline Belonging and purpose when we invest in those spaces We are investing in youth development school culture and community pride and this project goes beyond athletics alone The addition of these new upgraded interactive sideline table and video boards creates real educational opportunities for our students That we have at the high school interested in media marketing broadcasting and graphic design High school classes and or students clubs could help create the advertisements the digital content displayed during these games giving these students Real hands-on experience on real world projects It also opens a door for
006new revenue opportunities that can benefit athletic booster clubs across campus Advertising partnerships and sponsorships generated through this new technology That many other districts already have or have had for the past five to ten years Can help supplement needs for teams that may not always have full budget support they require during their seasons Many booster clubs already work tirelessly to fill those gaps and this creates another innovative way to support our students This is an opportunity for the district and the community to work together to leave a lasting investment for future generation of students Years from now our students will remember their community believed in them enough to invest in these spaces Where they grow competed learned and represented their school I encourage the board to support this project and continue showing our students that excellence
007deserves investment. Thank you very much Thank You miss Chavez We have no further public public comments Thank you Let's move on to action item our action agenda in 3.1 consider 3.1 this consideration of possible actions terminate legal services agreement with about the south side of side attorney-at-law PLLC and related matters there to regarding said services I got a motion can have a second second. I got a second. My mr. Marial all in favor motion carries What is going to be the process moving forward for this are we going to look at contingency RFQ hourly? Okay Yeah, right now. We're kind of just in this limbo area. So it's a And that that will just Signify to the court that we are switching we're in them switching legal services And is it already decided that the
008RFP will go for contingency rather than hourly or flat? Social I'm sorry and that was gonna be my next question because I know that we so just just to The board will hire this attorney because This current council that we have for construction was hired by the previous superintendent, but that will not be the way it will be moving forward Okay, so we will do an RFQ and then we can decide whether it's contingency flat fee or hourly So I think moving forward just so everybody's just so just to answer some questions from the community so mr. Salazar was brought in for the bond project and and You know several years ago. So this moment in time, you know, I guess we thank him for his services But we're gonna go in and move on
009in a different direction But more importantly, we want we want the reason that language is like that and good questions are you so the thing is just to be? Just to be clear that we need to see exactly where we're at, you know There's a lot of misconceptions here and misconceptions was kind of you know, not to get into the weeds But we're just a lot of unclarity for the amount of time that he was here So we're gonna give you know Our superintendent and the attorney an opportunity to to filter through all the fluff and find out exactly what we got and then from there Yes, sir Our current attorney absolutely No, no, no, Tony and then so from there then the end the board will come come back together and then we'll go
010through the process of what the next the best step is Like you said we can wait till the next meeting that way we have time to do things properly instead of rushing in the night right So y'all will draft the RFQ or already submit and then we will look at the RFQ and then move forward from there Okay. Thank you very much. Let's move on to three point two Consideration of possible action regarding the Bobby Moore track and fill replacement project as recommended by administration through cooperative approved vendors subject to satisfactory terms and conditions to better Yes, so as we know we were discussing the last two years about our track being Needed to be replaced we were able to stretch it out one more year the life of that track is Is done any
011of us that I've walked it it is hard We're starting to get teams that are telling us they're not gonna participate in our relays because it's that so it is time to Replace the track my recommendation is we do a full It's a replacement of the service resurfacing of the track and I recommend we go with field turf resurfacing or replacing So what's gonna happen is they're gonna remove everything that is there now if they see any damage any breaks anything that needs to be leveled They will do that. Obviously if we have to do a change order We will but we're praying we don't have to the track seems to be leveled enough So we won't know until we remove everything but as of right now, it's a resurfacing of the top layer So
012should we I guess consider maybe getting both prices at this time before we We're in a time crunch. Then this was what happened to those last summer as we started talking about it we got to the middle of summer and we weren't able to do anything because Football season starts right? So that's what I'm saying if we get both prices We can kind of gauge it and approve it that way. There is no delays Moving forward This is the best to for the track It's resurfacing So if I'm not mistaken sir who's just so the board can be clear on this process so it was evaluated by an architect Correct. Yes, so he was the one that made the recommendation. Yes. Okay, so yes, sir Okay, so at this motion can have an approval to
013approve administration recommendation Think so Eddie It's it's still purple right they're going with the same color for the track for the resurfacing of the track We're sticking with the same purple, right? Alternate what colors? Oh the pricing We've worked with field turf before that's If I can add That was also the architects recommendation to use field. Yes, mr Montreal to go in there and look at it We all had a difference on what we need and want so we got the architect to go out there look at it and he did ask questions about the thickness of the of the turf and The warranty on it and I believe the one that's just a little bit higher does has it has like 10 years I believe on the warranty is longer a lot longer. Yes,
014ma'am Or 96 924 and is this coming out of my balance or is this going to be budgeted for next year? Does it come from our budget from last year? I? Would recommend that this come out of fun balance. This is a one-time purchase It is a it is in the best interest of the students. So it is a very legit fun balance purchase I would have a motion the floor by mr. Corona Okay, I second by miss Elina all in favor raise your hand motion carries. Thank you It is more on a 3.3 consideration of possible action regarding the bobby more turf replacement project as recommended by administration through cooperative approve vendors Subject to satisfactory terms and conditions mr. Mr. Pettis. So this recommendation also comes on the safety of the students As we
015know when we've I guess when they originally installed a field that the fields are to they're recommended every 10 years the last time this field was replaced was 12 years ago, so and Seminary uses that field more than most we do a lot of community events and we use it for soccer We use it for football. We use it for a lot of our events So I recommend we go with this and we're actually recommending field turf also. Okay, real quick Miss Vicky, can you can you? Elaborate the mr. Pettis about a good point, but there's different there's different add-ons here an add-on alternative The reason why that add-on alternatives are here is because the amount of traction and the amount of usage on our turf They kind of recommend it as for to go
016with a I guess a higher package or on the field turf if you look at the field turf it has It has the base price and then it has an additional Yes, sir. So we'll just a motion to approve with the add-ons that are recommended by Administration I make a motion to approve the base bid plus the alternate bid one and two Okay, I have a motion second. I second a second. Okay all in favor Motion carries Yes, it's it's one or the other So something I kind of was thinking of Earlier is on these purchases that we're making right now These are kind of things that we have to replace every ten years and things like that I know we have to do it for the baseball and softball fields as well I'm assuming
017so is there a way that we can It's just that we are in such a position financially that we are not operating at a surplus We operate at a deficit. We've been operating at a deficit for several years, but the fact that these Purchases are necessary for the safety of our students Do we put I? Guess I talked to mr. Best about it like a piggy bank Like out of our budget that we can start building up that way It's not such a shock when we're taking a million dollars So we could Put an assigned fund balance amount every year so that we're building that assigned fund balance Specifically for those purchases that we'll need to do They always are yes, ma'am It would be a resolution at the board level saying That we resolve
018to add X amount of dollars into the assigned fund balance and state the purpose for it so that it is earmarked for that specific use and There are other purchases we have HVAC and roofs and buses and fleet management that we have to look at So if anything what we can do With our administration is come up with a list of items that are big ticket purchases that would need to have that kind of repurchasing plan The way the legislators working everything like that I don't see us ever getting to a surplus where we can just Spend all this money on and like I said, these are necessary for the safety of our kids But if we can plan better so that it's not such a big shock that we're taking this from the fund
019balance So Vicki do you guys a budget for depreciation at all No, we don't that may be something for these items that we could do so that by the end of the life of the asset Then we can have funds in there. So now that we're on this topic I think it's it's very important to to give kudos and respect to and all the hard work that our administrators do especially a finance Department because without their without their due diligence and looking out for the best interest of the district But more important your kids I mean we have a you know, pretty healthy fund balance to be honest with you And now it's a pretty good time miss Vicki You want elaborate on that, you know, just so so yes So they know why we
020can we can do this and provide our kids with with you know This you know stuff that we need to to to make sure that their safety is first and foremost. We currently have We currently have 40 million in fund balance We are very conservative with our purchases this year We had an extra five cents of disaster pennies on our tax collections Which has helped boost our revenue and will help with our fund balance overall currently We have a hundred and twenty four days overall of fund balance and that's for all parts of fund balance But just unassigned fund balance, which is what would normally be hit if God forbid We had any kind of emergency on that one We have 95 days and our policy says that we only need 15% of our total
021budget and that is obviously way more than 15% So it's a collaborative effort of being fiscally responsible Being disciplined in knowing what we need and what we want and being able to address these With enough time to do it in a very fiscally responsible manner manner, excuse me Great job. I don't want to once again. That's that's and of course we can't do this You know without that without that effort because like Ariel said and we you know We've been on the board a long time and we know that you know, it's true, you know We're getting less and less money coming from the state. So at the end of the day I mean, I think what we're doing here in seven years pretty good So I want to I want to appreciate you guys
022so much for that and that's the reason why we have these items on here So let's move on to agenda item 3.1 consideration possible action regarding the seminal CIA's degeneration project as recommended by administration to cooperative approved vendors subject to satisfactory terms and conditions, mr. Pettis So we were discussing the gym these last couple of weeks And it's very obvious that our gym floor has to be replaced. I did get a price I think you all have in your packets a price for a resurfacing of the gym and Then we got a price for a replacement of the gym. My recommendation is that we go for a full replacement Just to let you all know the process of resurfacing they have to remove the top layer of the varnish Then they remove they have to
023get down to a certain level of the wood Which takes from that what we were told is it's gonna take from the thickness of the floor Which now is not going to be as comfortable when you're running across it or jumping on it. So It's a little more expensive not by much, but I would recommend we go for a full replacement Very old And we've had a lot of leaks we've gotten the leaks under control The roof was worked on last year in the drains so, you know There's no telling what happens when we lift that floor what's under there because there's still some spots that that are they could be rotted out You said full replacement full replacement Okay, I know we have litigation for the bond project correct Is there any and we
024have not touched an auditorium project? Is there any way that we could just From the original bond project It was yeah But right now we're walk Exactly, we can't we can't we can't talk about that. So at the end of the day, yeah We I mean we want that everybody wants that but at the end of the day We've got to walk before we crawl. I mean crawl before you walk. So in this at this moment at this at this moment We're blessed to have what we have here. So so yeah, but that's a good point Ariel And the thing is we're always trying to collaborate together to do things more You know better for our kids and provide them with with each with the facilities they need to succeed So at this moment I
025have a Another part of this project is we were talking about the scoreboards since I was at the high school We've always had issues with those scoreboard. They go in and out I'm just asking for permission to also go out for prices on that to replace both scoreboards and then look at a digital board Like it was talked about in public comment That's too big it's too big for the gym, you know, we're not we're looking at yeah That's why I need time I want to get prices for these things Yeah, I just if a new gym is something we can pull off in the next couple of years Are we gonna put that much money into the media system in the gym? I was gonna say mr. Pettus Can you look in I'm sorry
026Can you look into the new scoreboard a new sound system? Because I know that that is one of the issues if you go to a basketball game It's always like in and out or and not even just even when we have student events We're always having issues with the speaker system. So that's I want to I want to be able to get a system that has a screen That we can integrate with the sound system. So I think that's wonderful Superintendent I think that our kids deserve that And you know that to go in there with some pride and having a speaker system that works You know the scoreboard and Having a good gym and I know we always think of basketball and volleyball because that's what's usually in the gym But we have wrestling
027we have student events. We have dances. We have a lot of things that that gym is used for We roll out the tarp for that sir, okay, so I got a motion by Rudy can have a second I'll second it. I got a second by miss my Selena all in favor motion carries. Thank you at this moment We move on to closed session in the corner of the Texas government closed open meetings like the board will move into closed session for the following reasons section five five one zero seven one for the purpose of private consultation with a board's attorney on all or or any or all subject matters authorized by law of Section five five one point zero seven four for the purpose consideration appointment employment evaluation reassignment duties Discipline or dismissal of any
028public officer or employee or to hear Complaints or charges against a public officer or employee and we go into detective session at exactly five fifty nine p.m Okay, we're coming back into open session exactly six twenty three p.m. I didn't want to agenda item four point one employment resignations retirements and I mean, sorry, I'm sorry five point one employment resignation retirements and termination mr. Yes, I asked the board to approve the employment Resignations retirements and terminations as discussed in executive session. I got a motion by mr. Mr. Corona. Can I was second? I got a second by dr. Cruz all in favor Motion carries. Thank you Five point two discussion possible action approval assembly in high school Associate principal. Yes. Yes. I have a recommendation for the board. Mr Jesus that was raised as the
029associate principal of San Benito High School Second I got a second by mr. Mr. Abrigo, sorry all in favor motion carries Five point three discussion possible possible approval of seven of seven needle Veterans Memorial Academy principal. Mr Pettis I have a recommendation of Eddie Abrigo as the San Benito Veterans Memorial Academy principal I make a motion to approve. I got a motion by Selena. I got a second by buddy all in favor Motion carries. Thank you this time. I'll take a motion to six point one adjournment. I got a motion by mr. Corona I got a second. I'm sorry. We're all in favor Motion carries. Oh, we we we adjourn this meeting exactly 6 24 p.m