001Good evening everyone. I hereby call this meeting to order. It is 6:01 p.m. Next item on the agenda is roll call. If you could go ahead and inform me if you're here today, starting from my right. >> Jessica, present. >> Carlos Margo, present. >> Travis, present. >> Alisa, present. >> Some Jr. present. Okay. So, we are as of right now, Dr. Hernandez is not here. Um, so we do have quorum. Next item on the agenda is the pledge of allegiance. If you're able to do so, I ask that you stand and face the flag. >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for its one nation, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. You may be seated. [laughter] >> Welcome everyone. Next item on
002the agenda is our public comment section. Do we have anyone that sign up? If so, um let me uh remind everyone if you've signed up, uh identify yourself, you do have three minutes. And after your three minutes, um we will inform you if you're going a little long, uh that your time is up. So, has anyone signed up? >> Yes. If we could have Miss Magda Eva Sto make your way to the podium, please. >> Thank you, Blanca. >> Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Magoto and I'm a seventh grade student speaking on behalf of the students and staff of an Richard Middle School. Based on our district's data and Richard serves 660 students and employs 43 to 54 staff members. Closing our school would push our students into other campuses
003that are already close to capacity, creating overcrowded classrooms and less attention for each student which causes low academic performances. Our school also have a 79 academic rating which shows that we are one point away from being a B campus. Through hard work and dedication, we see that other schools with lower academic rating are staying open, which is not fair. This movement does not automatically improve academic results. From a student's perspective, and Richards is not just a number on a chart, is where we feel supported, where teachers know us and our names, and we are able to learn and grow. Taking that away is like taking away our home. Students are being told, myself included, that they will be divided between two other middle schools like Memorial and Irene Garcia Middle School. This type of change
004causes mental and academic strain on us as students. Losing a teacher or favorite counselor might not be a big thing for some people, but for some of us, it's sad to know that we will not be starting the year with the faces we've grown up with these past couple of years. As a fellow seventh grader, becoming an eighth grader, making the most of the the year is far from my mind. Now my thoughts are consumed with thoughts of having to make new friends, making having to know new teachers, and feeling afraid for what's to come. And Richard's middle school is a place I call home. This is where I get to see Miss Portillo down the hall welcoming the students into her class and where I feel comfortable to walk into my counselor's office and
005talk about what might be on my mind. I know that data might say one thing, but please listen to the students and staff's voices as well. When we say that this school is more than just numbers on a paper, but a family, and I hope that I can stay that way for years to come, thank you for giving me the time to speak for the students and staff at Am Richards Middle School. Thank you very much. Thank you, [applause] Madam Secretary. Miss Pñena, do we have anyone else that signed up? >> Yes. If we can have Miss Bernel Selenas make her way to the podium, please. >> Miss Selenus, it's nice to see you again. >> Hi. Thank you. Likewise. And I did ask for additional time. Maybe about 30 seconds just in case. >>
006That's fine. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Good evening. President Alvarez, Dr. Sorenson, and members of the board. I'm here this evening as president of La Hoya FTA representing our members, educators, and staff who are deeply dedicated to their careers, to to this district, and most importantly to our students. Tonight's agenda item, the recommendation for the closure of the five campuses is a significant operational decision. This recommendation is before the board for review, consideration, and action this evening. Approximately 80 of our members will be impacted. These are professionals who have continued to show up for students often through challenges that existed long before this administration and whose work and commitment continues to be valued across the this district. La Hoya understands La Hoya understands that the district leadership is sometimes required to make difficult decisions
007and we are here or we're not here to create conflict with the district and conflict has never been our goal. Our goal has always been and continues to be collaboration and solutions. I want to acknowledge that when La Hoyft reaches out to Dr. Sorenson, to her cabinet team, and the central office staff we work with, we receive timely professional responses and great customer service. On behalf of our members, I want to thank the district leaders and staff who exemplify professionalism and partnership, helping us share accurate information and better support to better support our members during transitions. Our requests are not about pressure or influence. They're about clarity, consistency, and fairness. For members who are listening, please know that your union is present. You're not alone, and we have your back. Much of our uh work
008happens professionally behind the scene because confidentiality matters and every situation is different. Protecting privacy does not mean nothing is being done. Advocating calmly, respectfully, and through the proper channels is real, meaningful work, and it happens every day on your behalf. If this recommendation is approved tonight, our members who wish to remain with La Hoyd, they deserve a fair and meaningful opportunity opportunity through established internment processes. How this transition is handled will refle reflect this district commitment to supporting employees who choose to stay despite the challenges ahead. We will navigate this together with the guidance of our administrative leaders. At the same time, we must also recognize that many student successes happen across the district. Those successes exist because of the dedication, professionalism, and the heart of our educators and staff. And to our members, hats
009off to you for your continued commitment to our students and to La Hoya ISD. As long as our prof professional partnership with the district continues to be grounded in respect, transparency, fairness, and open dialogue, La Hoyft remains committed to collaboration and supporting our members with integrity, professionalism, and care. To Dr. Senson, thank you. And to your hardworking team for listening to our members concerns, meeting with us, engaging in civil dialogue. Those conversations especially around policy, curriculum, and expectations help our members better understand decisions when they hear them directly from district leadership. To the board, thank you for your leadership and service in guiding the district. You inherited a miss. We all inherited a miss and we know that this work is not easy and we appreciate your commitment to La Hoyd. Regardless of the board
010decision this evening, La Hoyft remains committed to working collaboratively with district leadership to ensure that any resulting decision is implemented thoughtfully, transparently, and respect to our members who will be affected. May everyone have a blessed evening and thank you very much. >> Thank you, Miss Selenas. Thank you very much, [applause] >> Secretary Pña. Do we have anyone else who had signed up? We do not have any more speakers for tonight. >> Okay. Thank you for all those who provided uh comments tonight. Uh our next agenda item uh will be our school recognition. I'm going to ask Blanca, our public relations communications director, if she can make her way to the podium and it'll be 5.1 recognition of La Hoya ISD school board members. January is school board recognition month. Obviously, that's the reason why we're
011wearing our swag. And so I want to thank the schools who've provided us with such gifts and we're very grateful for that. Blanka, it's all yours. >> Thank you. Um, we see the swag. Awesome. We hope you enjoyed it as well. Um, good evening board president, Dr. Sorenson, superintendent, and board members as we recognize board recognition month. We want to take a moment to thank our board members for the time, care, and commitment you continue to give La Hoya ISD. Over the past couple of weeks, we've had the opportunity to welcome you into our campuses, and we've hope you enjoyed those visits and the warm welcomes from our students and staff across the district. From classrooms, walkthroughs to conversations with principles, teachers, and students, your presence does not go unnoticed. Our campuses truly value the
012time you take to be visible, engaged, and connected to our work happening every day. Those warm welcomes reflect the respect our community has for your service and leadership. Your campus visits give students and staff the chance to see the individuals who help guide and direct our district and make important decisions with students at the center. We are grateful for your dedication, your thoughtful questions, and your willingness to listen and learn alongside our campuses. Thank you for the steady leadership you provide to our students, families, and employees and the entire La Hoya ISD community. At this time, we have a small token of appreciation for each of our board members. We invite you to please come forward and join us for a photo. >> Board members, >> board president Julian Alvarez the third [applause] Vice President,
013Miss Anita Chavez. [applause] Board Secretary, Miss Alisa Pñena. [applause] Board member, Mr. Selza Gomez, Jr. >> [applause] [screaming] >> Board member Dr. Rosalva Ernnandez, board member Dr. Carlos Marggo, and board member Miss Jessica Ooa. On behalf of La Hoya ISD family, thank you again for your service, leadership, and continued commitment for our students in our community. And if we can have Dr. Marcy Sorenson please join us for the photo as well. [applause] >> [applause] >> Thank you so much. [clears throat] Thank you so much, Blanca. Our next item on the agenda will be 5.2 recognition of LS uh Loy ISD school board by the athletic department and honor school board appreciation month. This will be done by Mr. Jose Pñena, executive director of athletics. Mr. Pñena, it's all yours. >> Good evening, Mr. President, Madam
014Superintendent, and school board members. Uh I brought my team tonight, so I'm going to need you guys to come on up again real quickly if you don't mind. Board members. [applause] Thank you guys. As we all know here in La Hoya ISD, the spring season is a time when many of our athletic programs traditionally make a deep run into the playoffs. I think all of us know that which brings a lot of pride to our campuses, to our families, and to our beloved district. Tonight, the athletic department [clears throat] along Quadis Lincoln High School, Palm View High School, and our Lady Kyos from La Hoya High School would like to present each of you with your custom jersey as a small token of our appreciation for your continued support for our student athletes and athletic
015programs. This gesture represents our gratitude and our excitement as we are prepared for another outstanding spring season and deep playoff runs. To assist me in presenting these jerseys to our board members this evening, please help me welcome our first student from Wattis High School, Steven Hernandez. [applause] First and for first and foremost, we want to appreciate everybody in the community from abroad. Um, we'd like to appreciate you guys from recognizing us and knowing like what we do and all the stuff that y do for us guys for our palmu for the huskys and for the coyotes. We also like to appreciate you guys for all the [laughter] support that y'all do to us. We know that in every deep playoff run we do, we get a big recognition from you guys and we appreciate you
016guys for all that. And I just want to appreciate my team, all our husky, all our district for everything that everybody does for us. And let's let's go. [clears throat] [applause] So, for a little token from our Huskys, we're going to go ahead and present you with your custom Husky soccer jersey with the year 2026 on the back and your last name. If the person in front of you is We go right here. >> [clears throat] [clears throat] >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Good luck. [applause] Once again, thank you, Huskys. [clears throat] School board members, I'd like to now present you two young men from Palm View Baseball. First, I'd like to introduce Mr. Hime Cordova. [applause] Uh, good evening everybody. Uh, Dr. Sor, school board members, and everybody's here. Good evening
017to y'all. Um, I would just like to say thank you guys for all your support and because without you guys none of this would be possible. Our winnings not just la and our winnings are not just for us. It's not for our school but it's for all of you guys and to show that all your dedication and support is not going to waste and it's we do this guys. We do everything we do for you guys. Thank you. [applause] Up next, please welcome student Joseph Martinez. [applause] >> Good evening. Uh my name is Joseph Martinez. Uh I'd like to thank y'all for uh everything I do. Um even past, future, uh just thank y'all and just to have a blessed day. >> [applause] >> And now I would like to present you with a Palm
018View baseball jersey from our Palm View baseball team. [applause] [laughter] Thank you very much. Yeah. Thank you. I'm going to show you Make sure you >> [applause] >> All right. And now last but not least, our mighty Lady Kyles from La Hoya High School. I present to you Alexia Wahoo. [applause] >> Good evening. For board appreciation month, I s want to sincerely thank our board members for their time, leadership, and dedication. Your work often happens behind the scenes, but its impact is felt every day. We are especially grateful for your support and vision in helping make the new turf field and scoreboards a reality. These improvements will benefit our students, athletes, and community for years to come. Thank you for your thoughtful decision-making and commitment to our district. On behalf of our staff and leadership,
019we truly appreciate your service and belief in our mission. Thank you. [applause] Here come the Lady Kyos from La Hoya High School. [applause] So just curious. Oh, nice. >> Yeah, we used to I walk away. [clears throat] >> Yeah. [cough] Make sure [laughter] >> [cough] [clears throat] [applause] [laughter] >> Goodbye. See you later. Goodbye. Thank you, Lady Kyle. I'm so excited. >> U Mr. President, Madam Super uh superintendent, just want to say that I want to say thank you to these kids, parents, teachers, staff, all the district employees that helped these kids get to where they are today. They represent the best of La Hoya. Uh we're super proud of them. Uh you could tell by the way they carry themselves that they're amazing student athletes and want to thank you for your continued support
020and can't wait to see you wear those jerseys on Tuesdays and Friday nights. and just want to say thank you from the athletic department. Have a blessed night. Thank you. [applause] Thank you, Mr. Pñena. So, before we move on to the next agenda item, uh I want to take this opportunity to thank you, coach, and uh everyone else that was involved in uh tonight's presentation. Uh it's, you know, I love the fact that we have our athletes here and they get an opportunity to to stand here, take a picture with the with the board and and and we're very humbled by that. But what I'm most appreciative of is the uh the athletes that were here before us tonight making comments. I mean, I was as I was looking at them, listening to them, I
021was wondering which one of those individuals will be sitting here in a couple of years in my spot. So, I look forward to that in the near future. With that said, um I would like to move on to agenda item number six, which is Well, before I do that, is there anyone from the board that would like to say anything specifically on board appreciation month? I know that many of you have had a chance to go to the schools. Would anybody like to say anything before we move on to agenda? >> I would, Mr. President, just want to say thank you to all the campuses I visited. I did five already and were all extremely warm welcome that I received. And I do want to extend my appreciation Dr. Sornson to the staff, principles, assistant
022principles, everybody. And just extremely impressed with the students. I mean, I I really need to do more that more often because it was really rewarding to see the students at work and uh I got a chance to do that at most of the schools I attended. So, uh um yeah, just truly exemplifying excellence when it comes to the to the principles and staff and students. So, thank you for the opportunity. >> Absolutely. My pleasure. >> Thank you, madam. >> Same for myself. It was overwhelming. um event at every campus. The teachers, the staff, the students just brighteyed and so cheerful. Uh they are so proud of their campus and they showed it. So I was proud to see that. I was had the opportunity to go through classrooms and walkthroughs and observe PLC's. So thank
023you. You know, I I hope that we can continue this and we're it's a proud moment to see our work in action. So thank you everyone. Well said. Anyone [snorts] else? >> Yes. I want to echo the same sentiments as my fellow board members. Um being able to be at the campuses um around the kids, right? Is uh reassuring and and uplifting when you kind of see their faces. We know why we're here, right? It it really is for them. Um and I I said this a few times, but it's like the best part of what we get to do uh and and see our work in in action. Um just just across the board. So very appreciative, very humbled. Um I'm very grateful that um we get to do this. >> Mr. Gomez. >>
024Yes. I just want to say thank you to all the campuses I visited. Um I it was a heartwarming welcome from every single campus. Um I got to meet students, had conversations with students with volunteer parents and uh everybody was very open to the conversation and it was amazing. So I appreciate it and I thank you so much. >> Thank you madam vice president. Well, I have not been to my campuses yet, but I look >> Hey, time's up. [laughter] >> But I look forward to and it sounds very exciting. If it's anything like last year's visits, I'm sure it'll be amazing and it's always a warm welcome going to these campuses. So, thank you. I look forward to them. >> Yes, well said everyone. Uh before I close, I turn it over to Dr.
025Sorenson on our visits. Um I did get an opportunity to visit with Trovinho Gonzalez and as you can see, that's why I'm wearing some of the swag tonight. I promised him that I would do that. Um, as I promised the players that I would wear their jerseys from, uh, I think from between now and the end of the year, I'll have enough clothes where I don't have to wear a suit anymore, [laughter] right? >> But, but what I did want to share with you all is after visiting the campuses, um, it's it's certainly humbling to see the students, how much work they put in, whether it's the choir, the forkloric dancers, the drill team. Um, I've I've been able to go to a middle school and uh an elementary school and um uh I'm just
026very humbled and grateful. I keep telling them, you know, the attention should not be focused on the board. We know that you all have to do this, but really the focus is on the great leadership of your principles, the cafeteria workers, the bus drivers, the folks behind the scenes that make things possible. So, I'm so grateful for that. And so when I left every one of the campuses, I I was able to sit in my vehicle before I left to to work and just just sit down and think, man, I'm I'm glad that I was put in this position to to help out this school district. It it's certainly humbling. I can see all the hard work that the students put in to, you know, to make sure that everything went perfect. Um and so
027I'm very grateful for that. But I just wanted to tell you we're very humbled by that. and um I'm I'm very grateful um for the hospitality that the schools have shown each and one of my board members. So, thank you to all of you. >> Dr. Sorenson, >> um I will just round it out with um it's wonderful to not only hear from the board members about their visits and how wonderful it is, but the excitement that exists in our principles and our campuses to have you there. Um it means a lot to them for board members to be there and for board members to see their work. Um you know I was having the conversation with Secretary Pena and she was like I saw their wigs. I saw their wildly important goals. Um, and
028so when we tell board members about the work that we're doing, for you to be able to see it alive on campuses and have students come up and tell you about their MAP scores and how they themselves have goals for themselves about the star and, you know, for you to walk in PLC's and see the work that we tell you about actually live and in action um, and see teachers implementing curriculum and talk about the work that we talk about here. Um, our principles and our teachers, um, our educators, our students are so proud of that work because it is hard work. And so your acknowledgment of it, making the visit much more than a dog and pony show, but actually making it a visit that is authentic about instruction and making it about children
029and making it about being a board member that cares about student outcomes is incredibly important to those that we serve. And so I thank you for that. And I know that those that are on campuses from the cafeteria workers to those who make our schools look beautiful and pristine, right? Our our custodial staff um to those who actually, you know, bring our kids back and forth to school, our bus drivers, they appreciate that you see them for the work that they do every single day. And so I I am just grateful for that in addition to being able to serve with you on this board. >> Thank you, Dr. Sorenson. Again, thank you. We will move on to the next agenda item. And I see that Dr. Little has made him way to the podium.
030U this particular agenda item is 6.1 school action overview. Dr. Little, this is all yours. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Good evening, board, superintendent, and the community. Uh we are back this evening after a roughly two-monthl long process uh related to our school action recommendations. So we are presenting our final recommendations to the board this evening and asking you to vote on and and based on our recommendation approve uh these items for next school year. So just to remind everybody um you know what we presented in November and what we're here presenting this evening. We are asking the board for approval for five school actions. The first four are all similar in terms of structure and that is to close Benvdz Elementary, Pena Elementary, Leo Elementary, and Annne Richards Middle School. The fifth one is
031a bit different in the sense that we would close JD Selenas, but we would use next school year as a design and planning year to build a firstofits-kind career academy middle school for the district. and that would reopen at JD Selenus Middle School for the 2728 school year, supporting and serving students across the district. So, that is the core recommendations that we're going to dig into more uh this evening, as well as share what we've heard and learned from all of our engagement with the community through this process. So to start off, our three reasons have have remained consistent uh in in the spirit of these recommendations and what we are certainly uh striving for and committed to as an organization. Number one is always academic excellence. So from our our vision to our goals
032to our GPMs to our northstar to everything that we are doing every day, it is to ensure that students are getting higher quality academic services and ultimately uh stronger and improved academic outcomes. We've got to get to a place based on our commitment to our Northstar goal of 90% of students in A&B rated schools. We know this year we currently sit at 47%. Each one of these school action recommendations moves us closer to that 90% because in every case students would be assigned to a higher rated higher quality academic setting. The second thing that we've talked a lot about over the past two months with the community and is certainly part of this recommendation is the reality that our district like so many across the state and country are facing significant enrollment declines and challenges.
033In the last 10 years, we have dropped 27% in terms of our student population. That's almost 8,000 fewer students over the last decade. The Hoya ISD is not alone in that challenge. There are other districts in the valley also facing similar constraints and having to make hard decisions like this uh to close schools. There are certainly many across Texas and the country that are also in the same position. Nonetheless, we have to recognize that with 8,000 fewer students, we need fewer schools and we need less classrooms. And that's certainly a part of this recommendation as well. And then number three ties this together to say that we always will strive to make sure that we uh can make the investments that our students need and our community wants uh for the students in La Hoya
034ISD. And through these school actions, we do uh free up budgetary options that we can then reinvest directly back into our students. And that's an important consideration certainly as we go back to number one here in our pursuit of academic excellence. So a little bit more context on each of these three reasons starting with academic excellence and what we are all super familiar with [snorts] here uh because it's the anchor of really every presentation that we give and that's our vision and mission. Again, we're committed to educational excellence for every student. We literally say in our vision that it's the right of every student. And so that is work that we are doing every day to make that a reality. These school actions get us closer to that reality. They don't get us all the
035way there and we're always going to acknowledge that. We still have a lot of work to do, but they are an important part of our journey to actually realizing this vision with a community. The other key piece here is in our progress towards our goals and our our goal progress measures. You know, most of the time I'm up here. This is what I'm sharing with you is our data and where we are. Uh you have set and and we are working towards incredibly ambitious and rigorous goals over the next four and five years. And so part of these recommendations are doing what's necessary to ensure our students have access to the highest quality educators in the best and strongest environments. And again, that's what will happen as part of each of these actions that we
036are proposing. Same thing with our goal progress measures, ensuring that is a strong academic continuum from preK all the way uh through our high school space and that we can ensure that students have more opportunity to excel and achieve at the levels that we set out in these goal and GPM targets. And then as I mentioned, our big north star is is ensuring that we have quality seats. We talk about that in our quality seats analysis. That's part of our work with system of great schools is to ensure that that students and families have incredible options within La Hoya ISD and that there is consistent and ubiquitous quality across our district. Again, we've got work to do over the next four years to reach this target. Uh but we we sincerely make this recommendation to
037the board tonight knowing as you heard that it is it is a heavy and hard decision to certainly think about changing where students and families and and teachers and staff sort of go to school and work. Uh but it is totally in service of of our commitment to excellence and outcomes for students. The other big piece and backdrop to this is the strategic plan. Uh it hasn't made its one-year birthday yet. It's still new. uh this school year, but it is a big part of how we think about uh the decisions and recommendations that we make certainly as an administrative team, but also that we ask you to make uh as a board. These school action recommendations really tie to priorities two and three, empowered graduates and thriving students. Uh recall that empowered graduates is
038all of the work that we're doing to ensure that we've got incredible academic outcomes and opportunities for students that in those core content areas and beyond through college and career readiness that we are creating options for students when they leave La Hoya ISD they're in a position where they can choose amongst a number of things that they want for their life and these school actions again are an investment in that journey. The thriving students piece relates to these recommendations in a couple of ways. one recall that thriving students is about our sort of beyond the academic classroom work. So thinking about uh our work with intervention and support systems, mental and behavioral health, social um and emotional supports for students. It's also where we respond to the community's call to do things differently and to
039create new programs and opportunities that don't currently exist in La Hoya ISD. So that fifth recommendation for JD Sel Selenus is exactly part of that vision and response to the thriving students priority where we will be the first district in the valley to actually create a dedicated middle school space that exposes students to and prepares them for career and technical education opportunities and more importantly to be able to graduate the district and enter the workforce in a high wage high demand career with the credentials that they need uh to do that. So that's part of the the thriving students call to action as well in the strategic plan. A a quick reminder on the academic data. Uh we have highlighted in this light pink the five schools that are part of this recommendation. Four of
040them are currently DNF- rated schools based on last year's outcomes. Uh we also do have Annne Richards which is a C-rated school. Uh and the thing to note about all five of these is these are schools that have not just last year but over the past you know three to four years certainly since co seen consistent academic decline. So this is not just looking at one data point from last year's results but also taking into account where the schools have been um particularly since since the co accountability pause. Uh we also as I've mentioned are committed to ensuring that students who are impacted by these school actions are reassigned to higher rated higher quality schools and again that is the case in every one of these uh recommendations. The other point I'll note and we
041mentioned this in in November and we certainly have have the same slide in the appendix for the community um if they want to see it. There are DNF- rated schools that are not highlighted pink and are not part of tonight's recommendations. What we clarified for you in the community in November is still our commitment. We are monitoring and working with those schools incredibly closely. Uh we are expecting improvement and growth. All of them to the wig comment earlier, all of them have a wildly important goal to no longer be a D and F-rated school and many of them have a goal to become a B-rated campus. And so that's the work that we are are doing every day with the support that that you've uh provided to us throughout the school year. And the other
042thing that we acknowledged in November and is also still true is that for Dr. Sin's middle school, we will come back to the board in the public in August after we get this year's final accountability results and make a final recommendation on whether we are proposing a school action for that school. Again, that would not impact next school year, but we have committed to that date transparently for when we will come back with a recommendation for signs. And then not part of tonight's conversation, but just acknowledging uh we are in year one, not even all the way through year one with Garza and Sigin and our ACE implementation, and that was a three-year commitment. So, we have two more years uh at least with the the ACE work for those two campuses. So to turn
043our attention to number two here with the enrollment declines. We have fewer slides here u but still want to situate the context. We shared this line graph in our original presentation which shows the enrollment decline over the last decade. Again going from a district of almost 30,000 students 10 years ago to now less than 22,000 students. What we've added and what we shared through our community meetings is this table on the right which shows the percentage of enrollment decline for each of the five schools. And you can see for four of the five that's significantly higher than the district average overall. Uh Benvdz for example is almost half as small as it used to be 10 years ago. That's a significant change uh in population. And as I mentioned, districts across the state, across the
044valley, and across the country are facing these same challenges. It's also been acknowledged uh previously in this room, like in 2022, there was a presentation to the board at the time acknowledging enrollment declines and and the district having to sort of recognize and start to grapple with that reality of a loss of students. And that was even, you know, four years ago at this point. And then lastly for financial sustainability which is number three. Uh we shared this table at the top in our original proposal and obviously the big headline here is these school action recommendations uh equate to a roughly $27 million opportunity for reinvestment. Some of that money is currently in the budget right now because it is paying for the faculty and staff at these schools. It's paying to operate those buildings.
045Uh, and that's, you know, a big chunk of this $27 million, over roughly half [snorts] of it. And then the other thing that is important to recognize here is we know that our buildings need um investment and and they need upgrades in some cases. And so that's the last piece of this big ticket item uh estimation where by not occupying the building, by not continuing to hold school in there, at least for the time being, we get to defer some of those costs. So we don't have to redirect budget into those spaces. And so that's how this total uh potential comes about. The other thing that we've shared not only through our engagement sessions but also through something I'll show in a minute which is all the communication that we've done around this is is
046where that money can go. Um we know that we continue to make heavy investments academically. Again, you've made almost $4 million in investments this year alone in direct support to our teachers and leaders with HQIM and curricular implementation. Uh the board approved another $3 million this year in technology upgrades and investments for new devices for students at sort of transition grade levels. Uh we're also you just had a great opportunity to spend some time with our athletes like making investments in our athletic programs and departments as well. in a month from now, we'll have a happy ceremony to to really reveal one of those investments at the La Hoya softball field. Those are just some of the examples in how we know we have opportunities and needs that we need to invest in. We also
047know there's not a lot of money coming, if any, from outside the district. So, we've got to think about reinvestment with the resources that we have. And again, that is part of this school action recommendation and consideration. And so as we start to turn the corner into the the last part of this presentation and looking at what we heard, just a reminder again to summarize those three things. We are bringing these recommendations forward because they will help us ensure that students are in the highest rated academic environments possible because we also have an obligation to be as judicious and efficient with our resources as we can. And that requires us to respond to the fact that we've seen such significant enrollment loss. and we've got to create space to invest in our students in the
048ways that we need to moving forward. So all three of those reasons come together as why we are making these five recommendations to you this evening. So I want to talk a little bit about uh what this means for students in particular and families uh and what it will mean from a transportation perspective. So first this has stayed consistent over the last two months. Just a reminder that we in every school we have sort of two types of students from an enrollment perspective. We have transfer students meaning they live in another place in the district but they've transferred into the school where they attend. An example tonight I could be a student at Pena but I live in the JFK school zone. So I had to apply in previous years to transfer to PA and
049that's where I go uh every day. In that case, all of our transfer students at these five schools are being defaulted back to the home school where they live. So, in my example, the assumption is that student defaults back to JFK for next school year. Uh, but I told you I think four or five times in the presentation I gave last week, our transfer window is open right now. It opened last week on the 12th. It stays open till February 6th. And so, we're supporting families to think about any transfer opportunities they want to pursue for next year. So that could be a family, you know, saying, "Hey, I actually want to go with my friends that I've been in school with all along to either Clinton or Gonzalez in this case and apply for
050a transfer to those two schools or anywhere else in the district." We have committed to prioritizing families from these five schools in the transfer process. What that simply means is they will get access to any open seats before anyone else in the district does. So they essentially have first rights uh within the transfer process. The thing to remember though and what we've stressed is we don't provide transportation to transfer students. We haven't and we're not going to moving forward. So the family is still responsible for getting their child to and from school in those cases. On the other hand, we have our neighborhood students. They live in the school zone where they attend. So in my example, I live in the PA school zone and that's where I go. In this case, we are recommending
051the new school that those students will be assigned to. So based on their address and based on where they live, they would get a new home school because that is the school that they're designated to. Now, as long as they meet eligibility or requirements for the bus, they can use district transportation to get to and from school. And so what we want to do now is actually share with you and and the community our final proposed recommendations for how these school boundaries change. that does become relevant to what I just said because it determines the new place that you live uh now as a a neighborhood student. Uh and we have shared these with our community sessions as well and I'll share some feedback on one that we got in just a second. Uh there
052are a couple that are super straightforward. This first one is one of those. So we are proposing the closure of Benvitz and all of those students would be reassigned to Sam Ford Ice Elementary School. that takes students from a D-rated campus into a B-rated campus just immediately through this school action. So the map just to orient you, the one on the left is what we currently have right now today. The blue is the Benvitas school zone and the purple is the Sam Ford school zone. If the board approves this recommendation, all of that becomes purple because it's all now the Sam Ford elementary school zone. Uh and again you can see the number on the bottom right in terms that roughly impacts about 250 students uh at Benabitz. This next one is our first um
053example where we would actually split students into two different campuses. So this involves Pena Elementary. Uh the map on the left, PA is in the middle, that green um box. The top gray part that's quite large is the Clinton Elementary School zone. And then at the bottom right in the light blue is the current Gonzalez elementary school zone. So we would be dividing this into two where some students go to Clinton and others go to Gonzalez. In both cases again students are moving from a D-rated campus into B-rated campuses. Uh we are dividing this boundary north of four mile line. So if I live north of four mile line and west of Tom Gill, I'll be zoned to Clinton. So that becomes gray. And if I live south of Tom Gill and east of or
054sorry south of four mile line and east of Tom Gill that is now zone to Gonzalez and that becomes blue. This is a place where we did get feedback in the community session. We originally proposed um a divider line that was a little bit more north at Circle 6. We had families in the room that pulled us aside and said, "Hey, that doesn't make sense because you're excluding a neighborhood literally like half a mile away, much closer to Clinton." We looked at that on the map with them. we went back and confirmed that the building could hold that number of students. It wouldn't impact transportation. In this case, it actually helped from a transportation perspective. And so, we made that change. So, what we're presenting to you here tonight uh already includes the direct feedback
055that we got uh in that session. And then the third one, LEO. This is the one that has probably changed the most uh since we first presented it to you because when we presented it in November, um we said that we would need to divide students between Flores and Eie Raina. Again, after looking at building capacity, looking at current enrollment and number of transfer students, um essentially all the students currently at LEO will be reassigned to Flores. So you see on the left you get that sort of pink color which is currently Flores. The purple is currently Leo. All of that now becomes a bigger Flores school zone. There are truly a handful of students that would be assigned to Eevee Raina, but that's because they live in that school zone. Um, so this essentially
056keeps uh those two intact. And then for Ann Richards, this is our other case where the school zone uh is going to to two locations. So the map on the left, there's a couple things to to note here. The big green area is the current Ann Richard school zone. The orange at the bottom is Garcia and that like slender pink box is Memorial. So in this case, students would be assigned either to Garcia or to Memorial. Students go from a C-rated campus into B-rated campuses. North of five mile line would be assigned to Memorial. So you see both of those are now that pink color. South of five mile line would be assigned to Garcia. uh this is nearly an even split. So the same number of students roughly are being assigned to each of
057those two campuses. And then finally with JD Selenas uh on the map on the left it is the the big gray area is the zone for JD. That tall slender blue box is the current zone for Trovinho. Uh same recommendation has has existed here the whole time where all of the JD students would be reassigned to Trovinho. Uh we're again taking students right now from a D-rated campus into a C-rated campus. Uh Trevinho is also working very hard to get a B. Uh and that's again our commitment with them all along. The other thing to remember here is if the board approves these recommendations, there would no longer be a JD Selena school zone in the future because when we reopen that campus as the Career Academy middle school, it would have a district-wide school
058zone. So any student in the district would be able to apply to attend um that middle school campus. We shared this table with you back in November and wanted to bring some updates. When we originally shared it, we had some some red over there in the Delta space. So in that we might be a little above capacity. again as we've gone back and like fully scrubbed current enrollment and current transfer numbers. Um this is the updated uh data and all students will fit within all of these buildings. Uh we thought that was the case. Now we actually show it as we we've done the data scrub of current enrollment. And so finally uh what we heard from community is always incredibly important to us and we enter those conversations sincerely. So we want to share
059uh what that feedback has been first by looking at just the scale of engagement that we conducted. So from our first presentation to you back in November uh to tonight we have held 20 engagement sessions. Seven of those were unique to faculty and staff at the campuses and another 13 included parents, community and and students as well. across all 20 of those sessions, more than 900 people like attended and were able to hear this information, have the opportunity to ask questions uh and provide direct feedback. That feedback um also was informed by all of what our communications team put out to the public. Um we launched a web page. It warehoused all of our information, including all of our presentations. Uh we also worked together to put what you see on the right, which is
060a whole series offormational one-pagers uh out to the community. Some of that was like direct response to what we were hearing in the engagement sessions to help put some some facts and information out there to the community. Others were just trying to make sure folks understood what these recommendations are uh and why we were making them. That also is is coupled with significant outreach to our media partners including lots of social media posts uh as well uh for the public's purpose. That link uh on there the full details here does take you to all of that information. That website is still up and still active so folks can can continue to see that. So want to share big themes that we heard from these sessions. In the sessions, we also provided an opportunity for folks
061to give us digital feedback. So, we had a form that they could fill out if they wanted to ask additional questions uh or to provide additional feedback. In reality, people used the in-person opportunity. So, they asked us the questions in the room or they they pulled us aside after to talk to us. We had fewer than 15 digital responses out of all of those 900 plus people um that were in attendance. But what we heard live in the room and what's in those uh responses is what we are sharing here as the the broad themes and takeaways. Number one, we heard this from uh families, we heard it from faculty and staff, we heard it from students in attendance. And it's really the the push to to want to understand like why is this happening
062to my campus? Why is it happening right now? Can we get more time? like that that whole concept of essentially why us, why now? As I've laid out hopefully clearly in tonight's presentation, those three reasons about academic excellence, enrollment declines, and financial uh sustainability require us to act on behalf of our students and community in the district. And as we looked at the data, we understood the context of these campuses, including the need of their physical infrastructure. um these are still the five schools that we believe are the right recommendations to make that best set our district up for success in the future and serve and support those students well um that are attending those schools right now. Um so that's why we're we're coming back with ultimately the the same recommendation that we made
063in November in terms of big concept. The second one I'm actually going to flip the slides to show a visual on this. We also heard this this comment and concern in in this evening's public comment. Probably the number one or at least number two thing that we consistently hear is are classes going to be overcrowded? Is the building going to be overcrowded? And the answer to both of those is factually no. The emotional answer though is harder for people to like hear and sort of resonate around. And that's what we're trying to show visually on this slide. It was also one of the one pagers that our communications team created and put out. The reality is is we've lost 8,000 students in the last decade. Um we haven't lost many campuses or classrooms. So you
064got a lot of classrooms out there that are partially full. Um I'll use Gonzalez and PA specifically in this example. Like this could very much be real for some of their grade levels. You got a teacher in one of those buildings that's got 12 students in the classroom. Even though Texas state ratios based on research say that classroom could have up to 25 students in there from a financial point remember number three that means we're paying the whole cost of a teacher salary for half the number of students that they can impact and teach. So down the street at the other school you got a teacher in the same grade level with 13 students in there. So that teacher those students and those families have gotten used to a really small class. In this recommendation,
065they will combine together to be one classroom with one teacher. That's the, you know, combined classroom in the im image on the right of 25 students. But we did not change our staffing ratios. We are not out of line with what research expectations show. And the other reality, and our staff acknowledged this in the meetings, um, because we are blessed to have people who have worked here for a long time, like they've committed their lives and their career. So many of our teachers actually were in those same buildings 10 years ago when they had 25 students and they know that that is possible and that is the work that they're ultimately asked and expected to do as a teacher. What we have been transparent of all along though is it's going to feel different to
066the student. It'll feel different because now I've got 12 other classmates in my room. To parents it'll feel different and to the teacher it will feel different. But our commitment all along has been to maintain those ratios against those research standards and Texas um ratio guidelines and to ensure that we continue to support teachers to provide educational excellence. And then the third one on here I mentioned already um only in one case in that Penton sorry Pena Clinton Gonzalez example did we get feedback on the proposed school zones uh and we made that that request like we accommodated that request and made that change and that's what we we presented here for you this evening. Three other things uh the first one here related to special education is the conversations that typically occur after the
067meeting. So the the parents come up, they pull us aside and you know, their student is served in a self-contained special education classroom and they legitimately are are concerned and questioning like, "How am I going to be sure that you're going to support my child through this transition?" Transitions for many of those children is difficult on on a normal basis, certainly when they're changing schools. And our commitment to families has been a few things. Number one, the services that your child is provided through the IEP will not change. like we are obligated and committed to those services regardless of the location uh of your school. Number two, for our families and students that are in self-contained environments, we will essentially one- on-one walk them through the process. So, we will work in the spring to
068arrange school visits. We will, you know, provide humanto human sort of interaction and touch points to support those families through this process and make sure that they are at a school that they feel really comfortable with and confident in. The second one here relates to staff and that's um the question about why do we have to reapply for our role? We have been uh clear and consistent in this response all along and it goes back to our academic excellence reason. Number one, these are pure school closures. And so that's important for you as you consider your vote this evening is it is a pure school closure. Uh our policy and our program change practice means that that then results in in non-renewal of those staff and so they go back through an application process. Part
069of that though also best ensures that we are bringing back into the district which we very much want and need to do our highest quality team members at these locations. When we talk about our commitment to academic excellence, that means that we are selecting and retaining the best people to work with students. And so through a rigorous, fair, and transparent selection process, that's how we can best guarantee that we are ensuring um that our best educators and team members continue to be part of La Hoya ISD. Our human capital team has also made the commitment uh where we will ensure that folks are informed, they are supported, they have resources to answer their questions and they know how to go through that application process and that timeline. And then the the last one, not satirically
070because this did come up multiple times uh in the conversation uh is most likely the frustration and it's essentially like if we would just take the funding that we pay for the superintendent in the cabinet, we would not have to make this recommendation. Remember when I talked about number three with financial sustainability? That's up to a $27 million impact to reinvestment opportunity. There are not enough of us in cabinet, the superintendent or the whole executive leadership team to even come close to that number or to even come close to the number that one school represents in the potential financial savings. So we certainly stand here like humbly and lucky to do this work and to serve this community but also owe transparency in that we are talking about a much bigger scale of financial need
071and support for our students than what is provided in compensation to these team members. So that leaves us uh with a reminder on the staffing and program change piece. So, if the board grants these recommendations and you vote to approve them this evening, um that does result in us taking these five school actions. So, the four schools would close, JD Selenas would close, and then we would work to redesign and reopen it as a new school in the future. Uh you have from a staffing perspective done the first two steps of the program change process. So, you did those leading up to this point. that helps everyone be super informed and clear on the process and helps us to ensure that we provide uh adequate time for staff to plan and prepare. Uh if you
072approve this tonight, we will come back at the next board meeting on the 11th for the final step in the program change process uh which is the last step of approving that program change and implementing those non-renewals. And then the other thing that we want to share because it's also an action item for you um this evening when I first presented these recommendations in November, we also commented and it was on the slides that we would uh remove the designations, the specialty designations that campuses have uh through this process that particularly impacted um two of our middle schools that are receiving campuses in this case, Memorial and Trevvinho, but it really covers our elementary and middle schools um totally. So tonight we are asking you to start the process for us to be able to
073do the program changes for those designations. That has much more limited impact in terms of scope compared to the school action recommendations. We only have dedicated staff due solely to the designation at some of our middle schools. um that is not true at our elementary schools at this point where there is additional like unique staffing uh in that case. But the other thing that we wanted to step back and and sort of discuss with you and the community is why we're making this recommendation on the campus designations. Uh it's hard to remember sometimes more than a year ago when we did our first quality schools analysis or state of the district. Part of what we did was actually go visit every school and look for evidence um that these designations were impacting programming and opportunity
074or or curriculum or instructional experience for students and there was none. We shared that through that quality of schools process and indicated then more than a year ago that we would work to to remove the designations, wait for the strategic plan to come about which we now have and then start the work of designing what the community wants and needs from us moving forward. Again, that's part of that thriving students priority. So, these really are in name only. They just on beautiful signs out in front of the school and that's essentially it. Um, so we are now at the place where we're saying we need to be honest with the community that this is not the programming. this is not the experience by and large that students are are getting at these schools, particularly our
075elementary schools, and then start the work with them to define what that's going to mean moving forward. As we answer the question about future programs and pathways, uh we then get to build that together as a community within the district. This is just a list to share with you and in the public transparently on what those current designations are uh by each of these campuses. And so with that, uh Mr. President, uh obviously happy to take questions. >> Members of the board, do we have any questions for Dr. Little? So let me know. >> Yes. >> Hi, Dr. Little. Thank you for the presentation. I had a couple of questions. you mentioned that you all counted um like now you're going to be moving all the students from Leo to Flores that's the projection now
076instead of how you had them divided and then on page 29 when you're talking about the recommendations align to current current enrollment and improve academic quality when you're doing that sort of analysis about projected enrollment versus the capacity it seems like you're taking into account EB Raina as well with the 1200 capacity um it would that still how would you then I guess show just for flo just for Leo going photos and not going to both. >> Yeah, it does include both schools. What you'll notice when you look at the Eevee Raina row um is that there was not much capacity ever to begin with at EV Raina. So even when we made the initial proposal, we knew far fewer students would be assigned there than two Flores because there was you know capacity of
07760 plus uh in that case. Again, five students right now are designated to be assigned to EB Raina. Um, so that's not changing much of of the experience or capacity at that school. Um, the rest are being assigned to Flores and we we still have room in that case for those students because remember a couple of things. Um, number one is transfer students are being defaulted back to their home campus. They then will decide where they want to apply for a transfer moving forward. And number two, as we've seen enrollment change in the district, um that typically means our youngest cohorts are coming in smaller. So as fifth graders leave, what's left in the preK4 population is a smaller set of students. So that actually frees up some capacity that the chart doesn't actually communicate.
078>> Okay. And then my second question was when I went to um the Leo engagement um session that they had, one of some of the a couple of the parents had mentioned um that in their opinion, right, that when you compare Leo Leo to Flores building wise, just not even taking into account academics that they were stating that the Flores elementary had better facilities like maybe I think they mentioned larger cafeteria, larger classroom, just the amenities seemed higher quality. So if if this closure um proceeds, is it something that you all think of? Well, maybe I'm not sure if it's true. I never been to Florus, but it let's say Florus does have better or Leo has um better facilities that you maybe keep the students move Florus to Leo type of thing. you keep
079the building but um you keep the school you kept open but you keep the building that's a better quality as a working facility. >> Yeah. And and to be clear on our recommendation here it is to put students in the Flores elementary building. That was our original recommendation in November. That's still the recommendation that we are making. Yes, we heard some of those concerns. Um we've been in Fletus Elementary multiple times including like a week ago. It is a lovely place uh to be in school. Many families experience that directly uh when they came to the the session earlier this week. In fact, we had over 125 people attend the Florida's community session. So, those were families from LEO coming to meet some of those teachers and team members and staff um and see the
080building. And so, understand that that concern was raised. don't think it changes our recommendation at all which is why we're proceeding as I've shared tonight. >> Right. No, I didn't think it was going to I wasn't asking that to see though change the recommendation. I was just saying in the terms of if the LEO facility itself was better than um for how they made it sound like well can everyone just come to the LEO make the school floatus right type of thing. They were just trying to say that well these amended the fac the classroom is bigger more space right type of newer cafeteria. That was I think what they were trying to say like oh you know not negating that this needs to happen but they were just saying you know the campus is
081better but okay thank you. >> Any other members of the board have any questions for Dr. Little? >> Dr. Little. So you started your presentation and great presentation by the way. You started your presentation by saying that La Hoya ISD is not unique to what's going on. These are the same challenges that other school districts not only in South Texas are having but throughout the state and the country. So appreciate that. You also stated and again for those that are watching us and those that are present that this discussion was taking place in year 22. So just years ago we were having the same discussion. And so it's not something that was just brought on the last couple of months. This is something that has been in the plans, I'm sure, for the last couple
082of years. So, we appreciate you stressing that. And then the data that you've been collecting to confirm everything that you just stated in front of us is very important. So, we appreciate the fact that you've done that. Um, I don't really have any questions except that I'm very thankful for you as referenced by my colleagues here that they attended some of these meetings, these stakeholder meetings with the public and I appreciate it. the fact that we had over 900 plus people attendees provide comments. Um um certainly we're very appreciative of of those folks that took time from their busy schedules to to visit with us. So thank you for that. Um, I really didn't have any questions except, you know, just to for clarification purposes was to say that um that we're very grateful again
083for meeting with the public and and I'm assuming and I'm especially grateful to to Blanca and her staff for making sure that that the public is kept uh aware of what's happening and and that all our messaging is in both in English and Spanish because I've seen that. So, thank you for that. >> Thank you. >> Members of the board, do we have anything else? >> President, can I >> Yes, Dr. Sorenson. Um [snorts] to add to your point that the conversations um are were also had previously. Um I think that the board and the community are also aware because we had to take action as a board to resend um five 1882 partnerships that were entered into by a previous board um for five elementary schools that were going to enter into an 1882
084partnership with region one upon our entry. And so those were due to not only underperformance but also low enrollment. And so those conversations were entered into and agreements were entered into by previous boards for reasons that we're addressing today which are under enrollment and poor performance. And so agreements were made and decisions were made by previous boards around 1882 agreements to have those schools be operated by region one. And so when we walked in in February of 2024, there wasn't yet enough work that had been done for us as a board to be confident yet for those schools yet to be handed over. And so um in partnership with region one, we decided to pause on those agreements. And so again, I know the community is aware of those um and that action that was
085taken by a previous board and and we actually made a decision as a board to undo that agreement. So just wanted to point that out that these conversations and decisions were made previously. >> Thank you, Dr. Sasonen. Members, no other questions. >> Okay, before we proceed, thank you Dr. Little for the presentation. Um before we proceed uh just uh for the record at 6:54 Dr. Hernandez showed up to the board meeting so everyone is here present. Next item on the agenda is item number seven uh board restraints. This will be done um by um Dr. Bara. Dr. Baras stage is yours. >> Good evening board um Mr. [clears throat] Alvarez and Dr. Sorenson. Today I bring you a conversation about one of the constraints that you guys developed and approved. Um the particular constraint or
086guardrail is that the board would not give operational advice or instructions to district personnel or district leadership. So these constraints are guardrails, right? These are these are guardrails that the board has placed upon themselves to make sure that they're staying in line with effective board practices. And this board has been trained um initially for two hours and many many um updates [clears throat] in the last two years since we've been together on the Texas framework for effective board practices which is the integrity instrument for lonear governance within this tool that we use to evaluate ourselves or you use to evaluate yourselves. Um I'd like to ask you to turn to page 30 which is the synergy and teamwork area. So this constraint that you guys wrote it it comes from somewhere. So I want to
087share with the community it lives and is rooted in this effective board framework. If you look at preparing to focus the uh fourth third and fourth bullet down [clears throat] you guys agree that a committee's role is to advise a board not to advise the staff and more importantly you agree that a board officer each of you are board officers your role is to advise the board and not advise the staff. This [clears throat] is this is difficult for for many boards to understand and everybody means well. Everybody thinks that they have great ideas to share. But but this was written like this for a reason because we want to make sure that the person who you have hired to run this district is a superintendent. And in our case, it's Dr. Sorenson. and we
088need to give her all the authority she needs to be able to make decisions on behalf of the board. So if you look at meats focused the second bullet says we agree that all members have adhered to all policies governing board operating procedures and if you recall we approved that I believe back in November. in those board operating procedures, we used this very framework to uh guide and to um cement our work. So all of this framework is in there. So we mentioned that several times. If you look at the master's focus column, this one is a hard one to achieve because it says we agree that all board members have adhered to all adopted board constraints during the previous three months. That means none of these things have happened. We're just talking about one
089constraint today. But when we evaluate ourselves, when you evaluate yourselves, you've got to answer this. And if if you can say if not everybody can say that this happened, then you go back to the meat as we've done before. The last bullet in master's focus is agree that no board member has given operational advice or instructions to staff members during the previous three months. Again, these are very clear as to board responsibilities. And so today, the reflection we bring to you is for board constraint number three. Board will not give operational advice or instructions to personnel or district leadership. So there are some questions that we have for you to think about as you prepare to um rate yourselves on this. So public statements, have I made any statements that could be interpreted as operational
090advice? Again, this you may not intend to provide operational advice. If others perceive it is that way, um that's an issue because we want to make sure that all board members are very clear on their role. Social media, have I posted or shared content that could be interpreted as operational advice? The question for community engagement. Have I made comments or suggestions that could be interpreted as operational advice. When answering questions from community members, did I redirect any conversation that was moving toward operational details back to a governance level discussion? Remember, you can talk all day and night about governance, about policy, about your responsibilities as the board. But when we start getting into operational issues of the school district, we need to let that lie with the superintendent and her staff district meetings. Does what
091and how I communicate support governance level discussions aligned to student outcome goals? So on the next page is an evaluation that we have. So we want you to decide for yourself right in the clarity of role in the past quarter did I make any comments or suggestions to district staff and leadership that could be interpreted as operational advice. So on yours a simple yes or no. The second one is regarding community trust. When engaging with the community, did I redirect any conversation that was moving towards operational details back to the governance level discussion? Yes or no? And if you wrote yes on any of these, I really want you to think about that [clears throat] and um jot it down so that it doesn't happen again. And this is not an I gota or anything.
092This this instrument was written to keep us on track. These guard rail guard rails were written by you again to keep us on track. And all of this work that you guys have done and all of the training. It centers you and the district on um operating at a high level so that we can yield high performance of student outcomes. So overall overall how well do you think that you adhere to board constraint three and the court three board constraint three this quarter pardon me. So we want you to scale use a scale of one to three one meaning needs improvement and three excellent. So board now it's time for you to have a discussion. We don't need actual um I don't I don't need anybody to talk about who did what, but it's a
093yes or no. And do we think that we um we have adhered to our constraint. So I'm going to open the floor to you guys. >> What are your thoughts? >> Board members. I feel that since we started, you know, back in August before TEA um came in and uh when our very first training started, um they were very clear about and telling us how we were supposed to do our role, focus on um policies rather than intervening with the day-to-day operations. And I feel that it has been ingrained um from like you said not only the first two hours where we started um trainings but it has been something that's been brought up to the front uh several times and you guys have helped us lead whenever somebody comes to us uh asks us
094for any questions specifically like you said the daily operations um we figure out who that specific topic it correlates with and direct them appropriately. >> Okay. Thank you. Anybody else? Any other comments? >> Any other comments? >> Yeah, I'd like to say that yes, we're continually re-educating and going through trainings to ensure we are in compliance. And of course, we have yourself as our coach to to continuously guide us. So, thank you for that. >> You're welcome. >> Anyone else? Okay. So, as a group, does anybody want to throw out a number? Where do you think that you rate between a one or a three? >> I want to say three. >> What would you say? >> Three. >> You would say three. >> I'd say a three. >> Anybody else? >> Three. >> Do
095we Do we feel that it's a three? I mean, if we only have the choice of one or three. Yeah, of course. >> Well, you could choose a two. >> Well, I don't think anyone's excellent. I mean, that's just the way I feel. I mean, there's still always room for improvement, right? So, >> well, there is always room for improvement, but this is a a definite have you done it? Have you I see it kind of like is somebody pregnant or not? >> [laughter] >> so I I bring this up and I know we we um we prepped for that in previous conversations. We prepped for this. We know that when we do our next evaluation. This will determine how we score ourselves, how you score yourself. And I've I've coached already four different boards
096in the state of Texas. And everybody wants to get the highest score just like we all do. We all want to show yes, we're good. We're good. It feels good to win, right? And it feels good to do well. But I tell other boards all the time. Um progress is not linear. It doesn't just go like this. You've seen our data. Sometimes there's dips in the data. There's things that happen. It doesn't we don't we don't change you know the whole strategy right but we understand there's it's a learning curve. So does anybody want to change it or is are we thumbs up everybody on a three >> thumbs up? Anybody have anything different? And again, this is you guys modeling that you're reflecting and you are keeping yourselves in check. >> I think a
097go ahead. >> I say I think a pretty self a safe self assessment is a two. Going back to your point um Han that there's always room for improvement and to kind of redefine our roles is important with the community. So um I would say a two. >> Anybody else? Well, because I'm a team player as you referenced in your remarks and some of my colleagues have referenced they would like to be a three. How about 2.5? >> Well, I second the motion. [laughter] >> No. Uh, again, that's just my personal opinion that uh there's always room for improvement and every day that that I step foot on this campus or in this district and and I listen to presentations like that was just shared with us, there's always room for improvement and there's things
098that I learn all the time. So I couldn't say that I was excellent or that this board is, but we strive for that. [clears throat] >> As your governance coach, I work and I um learn with and from many many different members of of this team. I was on a couple of campuses today in fact and so people feel the need to come and tell me things or ask me, hey, is this, you know, is this okay? Is this cool? is this, you know, uh, behavior that, um, they hear us having these conversations, they hear us doing these self- assessments. And so they asked me, does is this appropriate board behavior or do you think there's, you know, some uh overstep and and I would agree that in the past three months there's been a
099few missteps, right? Um, and so I don't think the score of a three would be appropriate. Um, two is two. I I I can live with the two, but I want to make sure you guys feel and understand that because again, you're rated as as one board. There are seven of you, right? There are seven of you, but you are rated as one board. So, can we say it's a two? Everybody thumbs up if if you're okay with the two or if you have something different to say, please please shift. >> Dr. Markle, >> I think originally when um we were discussing the adherence as a board to uh BC3, I think excellent in that context did not necessarily mean perfect, but I think we all did rather well in in at least attempting to
100be perfect. But um I think that's >> just to clarify that. I think when we said three, we're not necessarily saying that we're perfect, but um definitely room for improvement. I'm okay with a two where the rest of the board is. >> If that to us signifies room for improvement or defines it, then I'm okay with two. But I I still think that a three still left room for improvement. >> That that a three what? I'm sorry. >> I still think that a three would have still left room some wiggle room for improvement. But if we're looking at it more as a two having that room for improvement, then I'm okay with two. Well, knowing that excellence is here at the very top, when that means at the very top, that means everybody's up there.
101That's that's my uh interpretation. >> If that's a scale, then yes, I understand. >> Right. Right. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Board member Aoya, do you have anything you want to add? And Mr. >> No, I mean the the main thing is like is each of us rate ourselves, right? and we can look at our paper and say, you know, we're we might be a three, but then, you know, we talk about as a board collectively, then then yes, you know, I would go back to being a two and still working our way to make sure that we are flawless and have no mistakes, right? And we're excellent 100%. Then yes, I would say a two would be justifiable >> and understand board and and community. My role as the governance coach is to challenge
102you. All of these, you know, the goals and the constraints that were written, they are written to challenge the organization, not to make you look good. And this is a learning experience not only for you but for the community much more importantly because we want uh we want the next board that's elected that comes back. We want them to continue with this mindset and to think about um their behavior differently. So I thank you all for your openness and for your feedback and um we'll go with a a two for this constraint or guardrail. Does anybody have any questions or comments, >> members? Thank you, Dr. B, and thank you for making the trip to South Texas. >> All right, next item on the agenda is 7.2 uh Lonear governance time tracker. This is Joseph.
103>> Thank you, Joseph. Yes, sir. Good uh good evening, Mr. Board President, members of the board. Dr. Sorenson. Um pleased to bring you our January 7th time use tracker report. Um, of course, this this stems from our Lonear government work where we as a district are working handinhand with the board um on a continuous M improvement model where we're laser focused just on one thing and that's improving student outcomes. It's everything that we do. Um so for last meeting um our January 7th meeting, here's our report. Um I'm pleased to share that uh for the first meeting in in the last couple meetings um we've hit our threshold of of of time spent on student outcomes over 50% of the meeting. Uh so if you look at the left hand column that indicates where student
104outcomes minutes were generated six minutes um for adult behavior minutes that was a total of 34 minutes. Um the total meeting length was a super efficient um 88 minutes in length. Um so which which uh translates to 90.91% of the time we were addressing student outcomes andor adult behaviors. And then for student outcome minutes a total of 52.27 minutes. that of course um we strive for every board meeting um to to have to have uh the the the agenda in our presentations addressed more than 50% of the time student outcomes. With that, I'm happy to take any questions from the board. >> Members of the board, any questions for Joseph? >> Seeing that we have none. Thank you, Joseph. Appreciate the work. >> All right. Next item on the agenda, ladies and gentlemen, um is
105our consent agenda item. Do I have a motion? >> Oh, sorry. We have one more report by Diana. >> Diana, do you have your agenda item number eight? The conservative report. TA's conservative report. >> Sorry. >> Good evening, board. That's okay. Board, Dr. Sorenson. [clears throat] We had a short month in December. Um we're still behind on October and November in our reporting to you. So um we're making progress on our exit criteria. Definitely the strongest one that we have is governance, but I still like to challenge you to push you to be better. Um so that's where we've made the most progress. We've made lots of progress within the business office as they're working on all of the um audit recommendations. They are ahead of where we thought we were going to be at
106this point. They've been working diligently with Albert and Marsal to make sure that um all the processes and procedures and the controls um are solid and they'll allow us to be sustainable uh to have sustainable practices in the future. And then with academics, again, lots of progress in the area of special ed. Um, and again, building all of these processes and procedures so that our students um continue to become continue to be the center of all of our work. Um, we we continue to implement or campuses continue to implement the instructional framework. the district continues to check on them and uh support them and coach them. I know that we are currently in round three of spot checks. I visited two campuses today um with the team. Um and so this is just part of
107the process, right, of we're not just telling campuses you have to meet this goal, this is the number, go and do it. We're providing the framework. We're providing the leadership. We're providing the support. And I was part of conversations today where there's additional support needed in certain uh in certain campuses or certain areas of a campus. And these are conversations that happen with that team on a daily basis. Um and so I'm very proud of the work that uh Dr. and and his team have been doing and um and also Dr. Sorenson, she is right there um in the mix with Dr. Little. She is not leaving this to Dr. Little and his team. She's very involved in this process. And so I have a lot of um respect for the leadership and I've seen
108a shift already. I was a part of the second spot checks. I didn't do the first ones, but I did another I I did some other walkthroughs before they were called spot checks, right, when we were when they were working on the instrument. And I can tell you that as of today, I have seen progress. And so, it's nice to see that um in our exit criteria and in the classrooms. And so, the next thing is we need to make sure that we continue to see that in the data. Any questions? Members, any questions for Dr. Betta? >> Thank you again, Dr. Ba. Have a safe trip back back home. We now move on to our consent agenda. Do I have a motion? >> I move to approve our consent agenda. >> Do I have
109a second? >> I second a motion. >> All in favor signify by saying I. >> All oppose. Motion carries. At this time, it is 7:41 p.m. We will be going into close session under section Texas Government Code 551.001. 001 551.071 551.072 551.074 551.076 551.129 and 551.0821 concerning any and all purposes permitted by the act including but not limited to the sections and purposes that we have listed below. We are now going into close session. Oh, here. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we are back from close session. It is 8:29 p.m. Next on the agenda is poll one, approval of recommendation to permanently close four campuses, Benvdes, um, yes, Leo, uh, Pñena and Richards, and temporarily close the restructure and restructure of one campus, Selenus Middle School, and approve campus zoning boundaries as presented. Do I have
110a motion? I move to approve the administration's recommendation to close Benvidas Elementary School, Benny Elementary School, Leo Elementary School, and Richard's middle school prior to the start of 2026 through 2027 school year, and to temporarily close Selenus Middle School pending its reopening as a middle school of choice for the 2027 through 2028 school year. >> Do I have a second? >> I second the motion. >> So before we vote, do we have any discussion? Anyone have any discussion on this particular item, agenda item? Seeing we have none. All in favor signify by saying I. >> All oppose. Motion carries. >> 12.2 approval of districtwide copier rentals CPS number 22026-26. Do I have a motion? >> I move to approve. >> Do I have a second? >> I second the motion. >> All in favor signify
111by saying I. >> I. >> All oppose. Motion carries. Item 12.3 considering take possible action to approve resolution 2026-01 adopting program change and removing [clears throat] of campus specialty designations. >> Do I have a motion? >> I move to approve item 12.3. >> Do I have a second? >> Second the motion. >> All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> All oppose. Motion carries. Last item on the agenda is 12.4. considering take possible action to terminate a chapter 21 term contract employee. Do I have a motion? >> I move to approve item 12.4. >> Do I have a second? >> I second the motion. >> All in favor signify by saying I. I. >> All oppose. Motion carries. Next item on the agenda is our calendar January 23rd under days of school. Date
112correction from the agenda. January 26 through the 20 January 26 through the 30th, the Great Kindness Challenge. January 26 through the 30th, Holocaust Remembrance Week. January 31st, Texas Citrus Parade. February 20 February of 2026 is Black History Month, Career and Technology Education CT, Children's Dental Health Month, and Heart Health Awareness Month. February 1st, La Hoya ISD employee wellness volleyball tournament. February 2nd through the 6th, National Counseling Week. February 5th, World Read Out Loud Day. February 7th, National Wear Red Day. February 9th, Bad Weather Day, Central Administration will be closed and there will be no classes for students. February 11th, uh, International Day of Women and Girls in Science. February 11th, regular board meeting. School board members, before we adjourn, do we have any, uh, comments you would like to make at this time? >> Yes.
113Bad. Vice President, >> um, I would just like to thank the athletic department for our jerseys. They were great. We really love them. We were just talking about them right now post session, how awesome they are and how excited we are to be able to wear them. Thank you for that. Thank you for, you know, allowing us to be part of your community, be part of your team. And we look forward to as um visiting all the campuses for board appreciation month. We really love these opportunities to be with the community, to be with the students and staff and see what you all see. And thank you for that. And um we look forward to um more times together like this. Thank you. >> Any other board members have any comments or questions at this
114time? >> Dr. Sorenson, do you have anything to say? board president. Thank you. Um I just want to acknowledge that um what was just decided by the board is a challenging decision for the community and it was not a decision um that I know that the board entered into lightly. And so um while I thank the board for um approving the recommendation, it was also not a recommendation that I and my team entered into lightly. None of what we do um as a team um that I do as a superintendent is entered into um lightly. We know that at the end of every single recommendation um our students and families and children and educators and employees and people who are impacted by our decisions. And we know that there is history and tradition and legacy
115and excellence that lives here in La Hoya. And so we want to acknowledge that. And because lately I'm living in this space of both and we also have an obligation to look to the future. And that future has to include what is fiscally responsible for our district. New investments for our children. Ways in which we allocate funds that go back to our children. Ways in which our children are exposed to all that they deserve inside and outside the classroom. ways for us to be innovative and create programming that prepares them for the future, ways in which we can invest in our employees and our infrastructure. And so that comes with the really hard recommendations that I have to make as a superintendent when our district experiences population change that we as a community have been
116discussing for years. And so I am here to discuss it with anyone who wants to discuss. We are open to hearing you as we continue these processes. We want to help our families make these shifts and changes. And I also thank the board for trusting us to do what is right for our district because it is not always easy to do what is right. But our hearts and our minds are 100% on doing what's right for our students and our district, our employees in moving us forward while still honoring tradition and history and legacy. [clears throat] >> Thank you, Dr. Sorenson. Well said. Members of the board, anyone else have any comments before we adjourn? Seeing that we have none, do I have a motion to adjurnn? I move to adjourn this meeting at 8:37
117p.m. >> Do I have a second? >> I second the motion. >> All in favor signify by saying I. >> All oppose. Motion carries. We are ajourned.