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

Students from the House of Compassion at Smithville Elementary will lead the group virtually in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Those students are:

Lynleigh Roberts - 3rd Grade
Gianni Kelley - 3rd Grade
Reagan Gonzalez - 3rd Grade
Scarlett Knight - 4th Grade
Bexley Berget - 4th Grade
Kohner Cooper - 4th Grade
Carley O'Neil - 2nd Grade
Karmyn Quinley - 2nd Grade
Lance Deary - 2nd Grade
Ruby Olivares - 5th Grade
Caroline Benitez - 5th Grade
Nathan Thomas - 5th Grade
Aubree Luna - 1st Grade
Yaleyza Perez Jaimes - 1st Grade
Garrett Hamilton - 1st Grade

Student guest speakers will be present at each board meeting to read a short essay on the Character Trait of the Month. 
This month, the Board will hear from Brookelyn Hardeman, a second grader in Mrs. Blackwell's class, and Savannah Marx, a fourth grader in Mr. Vasquez's class, on the character trait, compassion.

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.

Konleigh Helgren and Marlon Ellington-Betancurth, both eighth graders, have been selected as the outstanding students for the first nine-weeks from Smithville Junior High. Konleigh is the daughter of Clinton and Tara Helgren, and Marlon is the son of Kelly Ellington.  Two students have been selected as outstanding students from Smithville High School for the first nine-weeks.  They are Evyan Parnell, an eleventh grader, and Hector Gonzales, a senior.  Evyan is the daughter of Lelia Joy and Joshua Parnell.  Hector is the son of Joe and Victoria Gonzales.
Our congratulations to all of these students!
 

High School students excelled in College Board assessments and schoolwork to earn these awards, which colleges use to identify academically competitive underrepresented students Smithville, TX - Smithville High School students have earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These National Recognition Programs grant underrepresented students with academic honors that can be included on college and scholarship applications and connect students with universities across the country, helping them meaningfully connect to colleges and stand out during the admissions process. Colleges and scholarship programs identify students awarded National African American, Hispanic, Indigenous and/or Rural/Small Town Recognition through College Board’s Student Search Service. The five students recognized from Smithville High School are:
Blain Stockton: NRSTA*
Colton Towry: NRSTA*
Crystal Lopez Digat: NHRA**, NRSTA*
Evyan Parnell: NRSTA*
Moksh Patel: NRSTA*

Tiger Award recipients are nominated by peers.  Each campus and department will nominate a representative.  Final nominations will be voted on by a select committee.  Each campus and department will have an award winner that will be recognized at the board meeting every 9-weeks. 

Tiger Award winners:
Brown Primary - Rachel Castillo
Smithville Elementary - Megan Lowery
Smithville Junior High - Denise Miles
Smithville High School - Tessa Otten

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.

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 allow for  properly appropriated funds for the necessary expenditures of the District. Budget Amendments on the function level require Board approval.
The business office provides monthly monitoring and reporting to the Board of Trustees of potential areas that require amendment and the reasons they are 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.

The Board will be presented with curriculum and program area highlights on a regular basis.  The purpose of each presentation is to keep the Board informed of the academic progress within the district and on campuses.

The program highlight for this month is a curriculum update.  Dr. Logan will be present at the meeting to highlight curriculum - Close Like a Boss and CATCH.

Dr. Michael Caudill, Assistant Superintendent, will report to the Board on measures being taken in the district to address safety and security for students and staff.  

Chris Allen, with RBC Capital Markets, LLC, was present at the September meeting to give an update to the Board of Trustees on the current bond environment and tax rate impact analysis for Smithville ISD.  After lengthy discussion, the Board made a request for additional information.  Mr. Allen has gathered the information as requested and Jean Ann McCarthy, Chief Financial Officer for SISD, will discuss the update with the Board.

This item has been included on the agenda to keep the Board of Trustees updated on bond finances and to seek their input/questions.

Candy Biehle, Child Nutrition Director, will be present at the meeting to report to the Board on numerous activities that she and her staff are involved in throughout the year.  The Child Nutrition department is responsible for the meals programs for breakfast, lunch, the After School Program, and Summer Feeding.  They also offer catering services for school activities on a fee basis.  This department is funded through federal dollars and regularly operates in the black paying for all expenses including salaries and benefits of its employees.
This information report is presented in an effort to keep the Board informed of various programs and activities within the Child Nutrition Department.
 

TEC 7.028 states: (b)The board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school has primary responsibility for ensuring that the district or school complies with all applicable requirements of state educational programs.  Whitney Brown, Special Programs Coordinator, will provide the report to the Board as required by the Texas Education Code.

Annual
Experienced Board Member Training Requirements (More than one year of service)
Cybersecurity - 1 hour (See the Texas Department of Information Resources for Providers
Team Building - 3 hours ( Available through TASB or other registered providers)
Additional Required Training - 5 hours online; up to 1 hour using self-instructional materials (Available through TASB or other registered providers)

Biennial
Sexual Abuse, Human Trafficking, and other Maltreatment of Children (Child Abuse Prevention) - 1 hour (Available through TASB or other registered providers)
Update to Texas Education Code - Sufficient length 1-2 hours after each legislative session (Available through TASB or other registered providers)
Evaluation and Improving Student Outcomes - 3 hours by the second anniversary of completion of previous training (Available through TASB or other registered providers)
School Safety - 2 hours (Provided through TEA Learn)

New Board Members
First 90 Days
Open Meetings Act (OMA) - 1 to 2 hours (Available through TASB's Online Learning Center or other registered providers)
Public Information Act (PIA) - 1 to 2 hours (PIA training may be delegated through district policy)
First 120 Days
Local District Orientation - 3 hours (Provided by your district)
Orientation to the Texas Education Code - 3 hours (Provided through your local Education Service Center-ESC)
Sexual Abuse, Human Trafficking, and other Maltreatment of Children (Child Abuse Prevention) - 1 hour (Available through TASB or other registered providers)
Evaluation and Improving Student Outcomes - 3 hours by the second anniversary of completion of previous training (Available through TASB or other registered providers)
School Safety - 2 hours (Provided through TEA Learn)
Within First Year
Cybersecurity - 1 hour (See the Texas Department of Information Resources for Providers
Team Building - 3 hours ( Available through TASB or other registered providers)
Additional Required Training - 10 hours (Available through TASB or other registered providers)

a.  FIRST Ratings Public Hearing
b.  Financial Report
c.  Superintendent’s Report          
d.  Review and Approve 2021-2022 School District Audit
e.  Voting for Bastrop Central Appraisal District Board of Directors
f.   Personnel

The district is in receipt of a request from Ellen Owens, Tax Assessor/Collector for the Smithville Independent School District, for approval of the attached document in accordance with Texas Property Tax Code 26.09(e).  This document requires that the Board of Trustees approve the original certified tax levy.

The purpose of this agenda item is to authorize the purchase of Elementary playground upgrades for our 3rd grade area.  These upgrades include making our playground more available for wheelchair access.

A budget amendment was presented in the consent agenda to utilize $200,000 for the playground upgrades.  If it is decided that Smithville ISD would like to proceed with Option 2, an additional budget amendment will be presented at the November Board Meeting.
 

The Superintendent is informing the Board of the resignation of Leah Steinbrink, teacher at Smithville Junior High and Lacie Jeffrey, teacher at Smithville Elementary.

No action is 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 recommends employment of:

Jessica Pack - Teacher
Degree - BS in Animal Science from Texas A&M University
Certification - Generalist Grades EC-4, ESL Supplemental Grades EC-4
Years of Experience - 7 years
Campus - Brown Primary School