The Board President or his/her designee will call the roll of members.

The Board of Trustees will recognize various achievements of students and staff in the district.

Each nine-weeks the middle school and high school faculties select an outstanding student from their respective campus.  Students are rated on a scale of 1 to 10 on such criteria as grades, honesty, enthusiasm, cooperation with teachers and their peers, class participation and leadership.

Samuel Praditbatuga, an eighth grader, has been selected as the outstanding student for the first nine-weeks from Smithville Junior High. Samuel is the son of Michael and Adrienne Praditbatuga.  Two students have been selected as outstanding students from Smithville High School for the first nine-weeks.  They are Amanda Vinklarek and Israel Barragan, Jr..  Amanda  is in the twelfth grade and is the daughter of Gregory and Jennifer Vinklarek. Israel is also in the twelfth grade and is the son of Israel and Lara Barragan.
Our congratulations to all of these students!
 

Citizens wishing to address the Board of Trustees have so indicated by listing their name on the Communications from the Public sign-in sheet located on the table at the entrance to the boardroom if the meeting is done in person, or at the link provided on the published board agenda if conducted remotely. Those signing have given a brief indication of the topics to be addressed.
Comments to the Board of Trustees under this provision will be limited to three minutes.
The members of the Board of Trustees will listen to citizen presentations during this portion of a regularly scheduled meeting, but they will not comment or participate in a discussion of the topic. 

Board members routinely approve items on the consent agenda as a group.  These are routine agenda items.  Board members have the option to ask questions regarding any of the items listed under "consent agenda".

State law requires that a record be kept in the form of official minutes on each meeting held by a governmental body and that these minutes be approved at the next regular meeting.
Included in the board packet are the minutes of the November 16, 2020 regular meeting and the December 7, 2020 board workshop.

Monthly reporting of financial position in relation to the budget.  The Board is provided monthly financial statements.

Meet legal reporting requirements for investments.
In order the meet legal reporting requirements for investments, the Board receives quarterly reports on District investments.

The Board has requested a monthly status report of earned state aid in relation to the budget.

The Board has requested a monthly status report of earned state aid in relation to the budget.

Attached is the Tax Assessor-Collector's Report.

Budget amendments are necessary to properly appropriate funds for necessary expenditures of the District.  Budget amendments on the function level require Board approval.  The CFO routinely performs monitoring of District finance and reports to the Board any potential areas that require amendment and the reason the amendment is necessary.

The Chief Financial Officer, Jean Ann McCarthy, will review the financial disbursements for the previous month with the Board of Trustees.  No action is required.

The Superintendent will update the Board on important issues pertaining to the District.

Representatives from PBK Architects and Drymalla Construction will be present at the meeting to update the Board on current progress and timeline for renovations as included in the 2016 Bond.  They will answer any questions the Board may have about the process and progress.

Smithville ISD administrators will present an update on COVID-19 as it pertains to instruction and mitigation plans for the district.

Tentative items to be included on the January agenda are:

a.  Public Hearing - Present F.I.R.S.T. Ratings
b.  Financial Report
c.  Superintendent's Report
c.  2016 Bond Phase 3 Update from PBK and Drymalla Construction
d.  COVID-19 Report
e.  Call for Regular School Board Election, May 1, 2021
f.  Consider Approval of Election Services Contract with Bastrop                   County
g.  Consider Approval of Joint Election Agreement with the City of         Smithville
h.  Personnel
i.  Superintendent’s Evaluation/Contract Renewal

As required by the Texas Education Agency, an annual audit of financial information is conducted to assure that all legal requirements are being met and sound fiscal responsibility is maintained.  The audit was conducted by Eide Bailly, LLP.  Kevin Randolph who is an Audit Senior Manager with Eide Bailly will present the audit virtually.  The presentation will be presented in a manner that allows the board to have conversation with presenter.  Included in the board packet is the Management's Discussion and Analysis and Exhibit C-2 for the Board's review. 

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act took effect on April 2, 2020 and is set to expire on December 31, 2020.  The Emergency Paid Sick Leave allows up to 80 hours of leave for an employee who seeks a medical diagnosis for COVID-19, is diagnosed with COVID-19, or is caring for a child or individual due to COVID-19.  Because leave benefits include paid leave, to avoid a gift of public funds issues, the Board is required to make findings in the form of a resolution that the extension of paid benefits is for a public purpose.

The Superintendent informed the Board of the resignation of Teri-Dawn Tiroff.  No action was required.

According to Board Policy DC [Local], the Superintendent has the authority to make recommendations to the Board regarding the selection of all personnel.

The Superintendent recommended employment of the following personnel:

Sara Parks - Teacher
Degree - Bachelor of Science from Texas State University
Certification - Generalist (Grades EC-4)
Years of Experience - 8 years
Campus - Brown Primary (kindergarten)
To replace Jaimie Burns

Devon Behrens - Teacher
Degree - Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M
Certification - Alternative Certification for Generalist (EC-6)
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville Elementary (3rd grade)
To replace Teri-Dawn Tiroff

Board Policy BJCD [Legal] requires the Board to annually evaluate the Superintendent.  One part of the appraisal process involves the superintendent completing and providing to Board members a self-evaluation.  After the superintendent completes her self-evaluation, and prior to the regular January meeting, Board members will individually complete an evaluation form on the Superintendent and submit it to the Board President who will compile a consensus evaluation of the Superintendent.  The formal evaluation of the Superintendent will be given to the Superintendent at the January board meeting in closed session.  The Board will then return to open session and act upon the contract of the Superintendent.

The Superintendent will deliver her self-evaluation to the Board of Trustees. Materials for evaluation of the Superintendent will be distributed to the Board and a deadline set for return of the completed form to the Board President.
 

Smithville ISD administrators will present an update on COVID-19 as it pertains to instruction and mitigation plans for the district.