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

Students representing the House System at Smithville Elementary will lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Those students are:
 

Connor Behrens - 3rd
Camree Oertli - 3rd
Adirana Agustin - 3rd
Kinslee Wyatt - 1st
Weston Dominy - 1st
Asher Vanegas - 1st
Bailey Goertz - 2nd
Owen Chaloupka - 2nd
Zamyah Williams - 2nd
James Rogers - 4th
Saige Cooke - 4th
Kendrick Fisher - 4th
Madison Corbin - 5th
Oscar Uribe Vera - 5th
Ana Perez Jaimes - 5th
 

Student guest speakers will be present at each board meeting to read a short essay on the Character Trait of the Month. 
The guest speakers for this month are Dawsyn Behrens, a fourth grader in Mrs. Kaatz's class, and Harper Hodges, a second grader in Mrs. Heimann's class.  These students will read their essays about Confidence.

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.

Lyla Vinklarek and Daniel Yougone have been chosen as outstanding students for the second nine-weeks from Smithville Junior High.  Lyla is in the 8th grade and is the daughter of Kevin and Crystal Vinklaek.  Daniel is a 6th grader and is the son of Franck Yougone and Dwan Ervin. 
Outstanding students chosen from Smithville High School are Kaitlyn Berryann, 12th grade daughter of Doug and Ana Berryann, and Talon Hensley, 12th grade son of David and Deborahday Hensley.
Congratulations to these students for their outstanding achievement!

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 - Vicki Vinklarek (Teacher)
Smithville Elementary - Brande Natal (Teacher)
Smithville Junior High - Jenny Davis (Teacher)
Smithville High School - Evelyn Pease (Paraprofessional)
ISD - Jamie Porter/John Armstrong (Technology)

The district staff has prepared and published the 2021-2022 Texas Academic Performance Report, and it will be reported in the public hearing.  A copy of the report has been provided to each board member, and copies of the report will be placed in libraries in the district, the city library, the chamber of commerce and the city hall.  The report will also be placed on the district website.

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.

The minutes from the December 12, 2022 regular meeting and the January 9, 2023 special workshop are attached for the Board's approval.

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.

First National Bank and LoneStar Investment Pool, depositories for Smithville ISD, require that the Board pass a resolution each time we wire transfer our bond payment.

Attached is a resolution for the Board’s approval.
 

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.

A format has been designed for an end of the year status report, which allows the Board to monitor the implementation of the District and Campus Improvement Plan. District and campus site-based committees have reviewed the progress of the implementation of each plan and staff members have prepared the status reports for the respective improvement plans. The principal, staff, and site base committee are responsible for evaluating each improvement plan. Dr. Bethany Logan, Director of Curriculum, will review the status of the District Improvement Plan and each campus principal will review the Campus Improvement Plan status.

Tentative items to be included on the February agenda are:

a.  Financial Report
b.  Superintendent’s Report          
c.  School Safety and Security Report
d.  SHAC Report
e.  ESSER III/Continuity of Services Update
f.   Review and Approve 2023-2024 District Calendar
g.  Consider Renewal of District of Innovation
h.   Personnel
i.   Administrative Contract Review/Renewal

In accordance with Texas Education Agency requirements and law the district is required to have an annual financial audit performed.  In 2021, the Board of Trustees voted to approve the firm of Armstrong, Vaughan & Associates, PC.  The Board voted to renew the contract in January 2022, and the recommendation is approval once again for the 2022-2023 school year.

State statute requires that annually each governing body call for an election to be held in accordance with existing election law.  The Smithville Independent School District Board of Trustees, being a governing body and electing representatives by place, must call for the election.
The Smithville Independent School District Board of Trustees has established the first Saturday in May as its regular election date.  This year, the election falls on Saturday, May 6, 2023.   Two places are up for election.  They are:
                            Place 1 - Chris Hinnant
                        Place 2 - Grant Gutierrez
                     

An election calendar is attached for member information, as well the actual Order of Election.
 

As of January 2006, Smithville ISD has been contracting election services with the County of Bastrop.  Since that time, the Bastrop County Elections Administrator has overseen all elections ordered by the school district for a 10% administrative fee.  The total cost of the May election for Smithville ISD including supplies, polling place personnel, administrative fee, etc. is estimated at $16,098.63  The district would like to continue to contract elections services from Bastrop County. 

As of January 2006, Smithville ISD has been contracting election services with the County of Bastrop.  Since that time, the Bastrop County Elections Administrator has overseen all elections ordered by the school district and will continue to do so for voters who reside within the county.  However, Bastrop County Elections has taken action to approve a county-wide polling program, which means that any voter of any jurisdiction located in Bastrop County is allowed to cast a vote in any polling place in that county.
Currently, Smithville ISD has 169 voters who reside in Fayette County.  The elections administrator for Bastrop County has notified us that they will no longer be able to provide services for our Fayette County voters as of the May 2022 election, due to implementation of the county-wide polling program.  The concern is that it would be difficult to monitor voter residence for multiple counties at such a large number of polling places. Fayette County Elections has kindly agreed to contract services for SISD constituents who reside in Fayette County for an estimated $750 plus cost of election officials.  The proposed contract is included in the board packet for approval. 

Multi-Region Purchasing Cooperative (hereinafter "R10MRPC") requires all Interlocal Agreements (hereinafter "Agreement") to be approved by each Contracting Entity’s Board of Trustees. Completed Agreements must be submitted with proof of Board approval. R10MRPC is also utilizing an annual, single-year agreement that encompasses both membership roles and responsibilities along with bid participation for the Agreement term. This packet includes the complete Interlocal Agreement for Contracting Entities (hereinafter the "CE") participating in the School Nutrition Programs that wish to purchase foodservice products through the R10MRPC formally procured and awarded bids. If the CE does not plan to purchase from any of the awarded bids, there is no need to complete an Interlocal Agreement. The Interlocal Agreement (pages 3-11) is both a "membership and participation" agreement that commences on July 1st and extends through June 30th of the following calendar year. By signing the Agreement, you are agreeing to the General Provisions of Member Roles and Responsibilities along with your bid participation selection(s) indicating your entity’s purchasing commitment. Members are now required to provide estimated quantities for each product planned on each bid category selected. This is done through a specialized software created by R10MRPC called "Maestro Forecasting." The Multi-Region Purchasing Cooperative is a fully self-funded entity through a Vendor Participation Fee. This fee is collected directly from the awarded commercial-only vendors. Fees are used to cover expenses related to the administration and operation of R10MRPC and growth in services. Studies indicate that school districts benefit through cooperative participation with a considerable cost savings. While the purchasing power of the R10MRPC is significant, the costs of goods and services continues to rise annually. Studies prove that schools participating in a child nutrition purchasing cooperative receive better pricing and higher selection of products with higher fill rates. Additional benefits of participating in the R10MRPC include reduced costs associated with advertising, paperwork, reduced time, and worry spent on the bidding process, as well as Industry-specific workshops, trainings, and technical support for child nutrition programs.

The District must update and maintain its policies with the most recent legislation and educational regulation changes.  In your packet of information, you have been provided the Update 120 Local Policy Overview. The board should not adopt (LEGAL) policies, but TASB recommends that they be reviewed. Therefore (LEGAL) policies are included for review in Update 120. The attachments provide you with information concerning the policy changes found in the update.  The information included in the board packet is a summary of each of the policy changes. The update includes changes to the following local board policies: CKC(LOCAL): SAFETY PROGRAM/RISK MANAGEMENT - EMERGENCY PLANSm FNG(LOCAL): STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES - STUDENT AND PARENT COMPLAINTS/GRIEVANCES, FO(LOCAL): STUDENT DISCIPLINE.

The Superintendent would like to inform the Board of the resignation of Leanne Vinklarek, Veronica Donahue and Hanna McDorman, teachers at Smithville Elementary, and Deanna Seidel, teacher at Smithville High School.  These teachers resigned effective immediately.

We also have a resignation from Stacey Schmidt.  She will be retiring at the end of the school year.

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 hire of the following individual for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year: 

Katarina Barlow - Teacher
Degree - Bachelor of Arts from University of Central Florida
Certification - Emergency Teaching Permit for Elementary 1-6
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville Elementary
To replace Leanne Vinklarek

And hire the following individuals for the 2023-2024 school year:

Sara Peterson - ARD Facilitator
Degree - Masters of Science from Western Governor's University
Certification - Special Education EC-12, Generalist EC-4, Generalist 4-8, ESL Supplemental EC-12,  Principal EC-12
Years of Experience - 18 years in education
Campus  District-wide
New position

Theresa Ritchie - ARD Facilitator
Degree - Masters in Special Education from Lamar University
Certification - Special Education EC-12, ESL Supplemental EC-12
Years of Experience - 15 years in education
Campus - District-wide
New position

Crystal Roberts - Speech Language Pathologist
Degree - Master of Science in Communication Disorders from Texas State University
Certification - State and nationally certified Speech-Language Pathologist
Years of Experience - 6 years
Campus - District-wide
New position

Ryan Fowler - Support Specialist
Degree - Masters of Education in Education Administration from Lamar University
Certification - Special Education Supplemental EC-12, Science 4-8, Generalist EC-6, Mathematics 4-8, Science 8-12
Years of Experience - 13 years in education
Campus - District-wide
New position

Sue Borel - Educational Diagnostician
Degree - Masters Degree in Educational Administration from University of Texas
Certification - Educational Diagnostician EC-12, Elem. Self-Contained 1-8, Generic Special Education PK-12, ESL Supplemental PK-12, Sec. Secretarial Business 6-12, Vocational Data Processing 6-12, Vocational Office Education 6-12
Years of Experience - 15 years in special education
New position

Katherine Pena - Educational Diagnostician
Degree - Masters of Special Education from Lamar University
Certification - Educational Diagnostician EC-12, Special Education EC-12, Elem. Self-Contained 1-6, Generalist EC-4, ESL Supplemental EC-12
Years of Experience - 21 years in education
Campus - District-wide
New position

Board Policy BJCD [Local] requires an annual evaluation of the superintendent.  The Board received a self-evaluation of the superintendent at the December meeting.  Board operating procedures call for the Board to complete the evaluation document and deliver the evaluation to the superintendent in closed session.
 

The superintendent is currently in the first year of a three-year contract continuing through August 1, 2025.  According to state law, the Board employs a superintendent by contract to serve the school district for a term not to exceed five years.  The superintendent’s current annual salary is $145,605.  Board members will discuss the contract in closed session but official action may only take place in open session of the board meeting