BISD School Board Update

President Jim Scott brought the October meeting of the BISD School Board to order at 6:00 Monday evening, 10/19. Scott and Superintendent Jackie Thomason reported on the TASB School Board Convention they recently attended, from which the Board President came away with renewed ambition for the students of BISD. "We need to encourage our kids to think big, dream big and reach for the stars! In our great country, anything is possible," Scott shared.

The superintendent also presented the facilities report which included an update on the progress of the new facilities. Most of the building is totally enclosed and the remaining portion soon will be. In a related agenda item later in the meeting, Mr. Thomason also went over a list of change orders which have been executed and others which still need to be addressed. After review, the Board authorized proceeding with several of the changes with the stipulation that the charges would be discussed with the architect at a later time. BHS Principal Don Elsom was also consulted about the phone system for the new buildings, and proposals for digital and VOIP phone systems were discussed at length.

During Mr. Thomason's enrollment report the Board was apprised that the recent brief school closing due to high absenteeism did help break the cycle of illness. "Attendance since then has been better -- I believe we dodged that round," the superintendent stated. School enrollment was also the focus of the recent UIL "snapshot" for reclassification and realignment. BHS reported 251 students on that date, still well within the current 2A classification. A UIL decision in February will determine the new district alignments, and there is a possibility that schools may be further divided into Large 2A and Small 2A, depending on how the voting went. "Of course all the little schools voted for it," Mr. Thomason stated, "It would be a lot better to be competing with schools with close to the same as our size, rather than 251 versus 428."

Academic Coordinator Tracy Gleghorn reported that 100% of the district's teachers have "Highly Qualified Teacher" status on that annual review. She also shared that the district's Technology Committee is looking at how to spend a T3 Grant of $116,000 earmarked for technology software, hardware and staff development.

BJHS Principal Lacy Freeman offered the State of the Campus report for the junior high, boasting on his staff and explaining steps being taken to address relatively low scores in science. He also reported on the records of the athletic teams and the numbers in the bands, and described upcoming events including NJHS Induction on November 9th.

Each campus principal summarized their Campus Improvement Objectives for 2009-10 and the Board unanimously approved them.

The Board also: - - approved the establishment of a collaborative with BVCAA for a Head Start program for the district; - approved the list of members for the 2009-2010 Textbook Committee; - reviewed the bids for a new bus, and voted to purchase one used Blue Bird bus.

considered and approved expanding the current employee benefit program to include 457 Benefit Program, with the stipulation that employees not pay by payroll deductions.

Finally, the Board was asked to consider using interest from the endowed funds from the Casey Estate for expenditures such as a new ag trailer. No action was taken.