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The monthly expenditures is presented for the Board of Trustee review in the Revenue and Expenditures Report and the Check Register in the Financial Update Section.

Administration Requests Approval of Amendment:
General Fund:
*Carryover of Capital projects from Prior year Fn 81 $835,616
*ACT Testing costs fn 11 $20,000
*Revenue & Expense (fn 52) for Texas Political Safety Grant $19,520
*Transfer between functions with zero impact 
This amendment increases deficit budget by $875,136 for a projected deficit of $1,355,267.

Child Nutrition:
*Carryover from prior year for Serving line at Fine Arts Academy for $296,788.
This amendment creates a deficit budget of $296,788.

Debt Service:
Increase tax revenue & bond payment for early payoff of bonds in the amount of $2,700,000.
This amendment has zero impact to fund balance.

Due to holidays and scheduling conflicts, staff recommends changing the date of the Regular September Board Meeting to the 22nd, the Regular January Meeting to the 20th, February Meeting to the 23rd, March Meeting to the 23rd, and the Regular May Meeting to the 11th.

Pursuant to Texas Education Code (TEC) 25.081 this waiver allows the district or charter school to train staff on various educational strategies designed to improve student performance in lieu of a maximum of 2100 minutes of student instruction.
 

The Student Code of Conduct is the district's response to the requirements of Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code that addresses student discipline. The current Student Code of Conduct must be adopted each year.  A copy of the revised Student Code of Conduct is attached.

 

The teacher appraisal process requires at least one certified appraiser. An appraiser must be the teacher’s supervisor, or a person approved by the Board. A list of appraisers who will be responsible for conducting teacher appraisals is attached.

Pursuant to TEC §25.001(e) this general waiver allows the district to limit the number of foreign exchange students to a number that is less than five per high school. 
 

The district engaged Ideal Fire & Security to perform the required annual fire sprinkler inspections across district facilities. The original inspection cost was $11,375, which did not require board approval. During the inspections, significant deficiencies were identified in one of the systems, necessitating immediate repairs. The district authorized these repairs at a cost of $19,185, bringing the total expenditure for inspections and repairs to $30,560.
 

In January 2025, the Board approved MCCi as the vendor for the digital conversion of large-format permanent records. The volume of documents sent for scanning was substantially higher than originally estimated, resulting in a change order to reflect the actual scope of work and associated costs.

With this change order, the total project cost is $62,018, to be funded from bond proceeds.
 

The District issued Request for Proposal (RFP) 2526-01: WSISD Special Education Services, receiving 27 responses. The attached list identifies the recommended vendors to provide professional and consulting services for special education during the 2025-2026 school year.

If the primary vendor is unable to fulfill a requested service, an alternate vendor from the Board-approved list will be utilized.

Funding for these services is included in the 2025-2026 budget.
 

The District participates in the federal E-Rate program, which provides discounts on eligible telecommunications and internet access services to schools and libraries. Through this program, the District has received favorable pricing for connectivity services provided by AT&T.

The district recommends entering into a contract with AT&T for district-wide connectivity services], in accordance with the terms and pricing established through the E-Rate program. This agreement will ensure reliable and cost-effective internet access to support instructional technology, administrative operations, and digital learning initiatives.

Board approval is also requested for the corresponding E-Rate agreement, which will allow the District to receive the applicable funding support for these services.
 

Tarrant County 4-H membership is requesting all local school districts to adopt a resolution which sanctions 4-H as an extra-curricular activity. This will allow students who participate in the Tarrant County 4-H Program to attend the activities without receiving an unexcused absence. It is requested that the Board approve the Tarrant County Extension Agent as an adjunct faculty member, so that they may direct and supervise all activities and participation of students during 4-H activities. This appointment is solely for the purpose of complying with the new State Board of Education amendment, and the adjunct faculty member is not an employee of the district and does not receive any compensation as such.

The 89th Texas Legislative session convened beginning in January 2025. Several bills were passed that require immediate action by the district.
HB 1481 requires school boards to adopt a policy prohibiting students from using cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, radio devices, paging devices, or any other electronic device capable of communication while on school property during the school day.  Exceptions in the law include devices provided by the district and personal communication devices that are required by the student for health reasons or for the implementation of the student’s special education individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan.
 

In accordance with the requirements of Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, the district has reviewed and updated Board Policy EFB (Local) regarding the selection, review, and management of library materials and other instructional resources.
Key Updates Include:

• Alignment with SB 13 mandates for transparency and parental access to library materials.

• Clarification of procedures for the acquisition and review of instructional resources.

• Designation of responsibilities for campus and district-level review processes.

 

White Settlement ISD holds certain bonds that may be redeemed prior to their stated maturity dates at the District’s option. Redeeming a portion of these bonds is in the best financial interest of the District.

The proposed Order Authorizing the Redemption of Outstanding Bonds delegates authority to the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, individually, to execute all necessary actions to complete the redemption process.

The district recommends approval of the Order to enable timely execution of the District’s redemption option.
 

The District is proposing a 2025 tax rate of $.7035 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations (M&O) and a $.4600 per $100 valuation for interest and sinking (I&S) for a total tax rate of $1.1635 per $100 valuation.

The M&O tax rate is calculated and certified using the TEA Tax Rate Survey template. The M&O compressed rate calculated was $.5735. The District is allowed to add $.05 to the compressed rate without an election. The District passed a Voter Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE) in November 2021 to add this $.05 plus $.08. The total proposed M&O tax rate is $.7035, a reduction in taxes of $0.0434.

Administration is recommending a 2025 property tax rate of $.46 per $100 valuation for Interest and Sinking (I&S), bond payments.  The Board of Trustees have a resolution to approve an Order Authorizing Redemption of Outstanding Bonds.  This order allows the District to adopt an I&S rate above the calculated rate for the purpose of paying off bonds before their scheduled maturity date.  The prior year I&S tax rate was $.46.  The rate will remain the same.

The total proposed tax rate is $1.1635 per $100 valuation.  This is a decrease of $.0434 or 3.5% less than last year’s rate saving Taxpayers approximately $81.16 per year on an average home cost of $187,000.
Although the tax rate is lower, the proposed tax rate is $0.1068 higher than the No New Tax rate calculation of $1.056746 on the Comptroller’s Form 50-859 which triggers the exact motion below.

The district has received Certificates of Substantial Completion from BTC for the following bond projects:
 

• Brewer High School Additions and Renovations Bond Project
• Brewer High School Track Resurfacing Bond Project
• Brewer Middle School Additions and Renovations Bond Project, Package 1
• Brewer Middle School Additions and Renovations Bond Project, Package 2a
• Brewer Middle School Additions and Renovations Bond Project, Package 2b
• Brewer Middle School Additions and Renovations Bond Project, Package 3
• Brewer Middle School Renovation of Athletics Facilities Bond Project
• West Elementary Early Learners Academy Additions and Renovations Bond Project
• Liberty Elementary Additions and Renovations Bond Project

All work for these projects has been substantially completed to the District’s satisfaction. Final inspections and punch list items requested by the District will be completed prior to issuance of final payment.
 

The District contracted with ServiceMaster for custodial services during the 2024-2025 school year and wishes to continue with this vendor for the 2025-2026 school year.

The total cost for regular custodial services in 2025-2026 will be $1,775,735, representing an increase of $44,527 over last year. Due to recent facility changes, this increase is lower than originally anticipated.

This expenditure is included in the approved budget for the 2025-2026 school year.