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

The group will recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Dr. Bethany Logan, Director of Curriculum, will conduct a public hearing on ESSER III, ESSA, Perkins Grant to comply with grant requirements.

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.

Attached are the minutes from the June 12, 2023 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.

First National Bank and Lone Star 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.

As per Texas Education Code, Chapter 28, at least annually, the local school health advisory council (SHAC) shall submit a report to the board of trustees.  The board packet includes a report of activities from the 2022-2023 school year.
 

In order to inform the Board and the public of Smithville I.S.D.'s accountability ratings, Dr. Bethany Logan, Director of Curriculum, will review district and individual campus performance in comparison to the state.

The accountability system utilizes STAAR data to evaluate three areas: 1) Student Achievement, 2) Student Progress and 3) Closing Performance Gaps.  The accountability system is designed to insure that campuses and districts are evaluated annually on multiple criteria and performance levels.

The school district staff is currently in the process of developing the proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year.  The process began in January with budget planning at the campus level.  The Board must adopt the final budget on or before August 31, 2023 in accordance with legal requirements.

Budget hearings were conducted with each campus principal and each department director.  Expenditure adjustments from the first draft were made based upon input received from SISD staff as well as the public.

The first draft of the 2023-2024 district budget was presented to the Board of Trustees at the June 12, 2023 regular meeting.  Mrs. McCarthy will present the second draft to to the Board of Trustees.
 

Tentative items to be included on the August agenda are:

a.  Public Hearing on Proposed Budget
b.  Financial Report
c.  Superintendent’s Report
d.  Preliminary STAAR Test Results
e.  Adoption of 2023-2024 District Budget and Tax Rate
f.   Approval of District and Campus Improvement Plans
g.  Senate Bill 1267
h. Personnel  

The Board, along with the Superintendent, is required to participate in at least three hours of team building conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards, or another registered provider, on an annual basis.  A strategic planning meeting would qualify as a team building session.  Jody Duran, with the Texas Association of Mid-Size Schools, will conduct the meeting on the agreed-upon date.

District administrators have been working on an updated salary schedule for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and trades for the upcoming school year 2023-2024.  Salary schedules are necessary to calculate the 2023-2024 budget, and it has been Smithville I.S.D.'s practice to inform staff as early as possible of any changes to the salary schedules.  Salaries have to be set each year and have a major impact on the district budget, which must be adopted no later than August 31, 2023.
The Board of Trustees adopted the salary schedule at its regular meeting on June 12th, 2023.  However, there have been revisions to the adopted salary schedule that require board approval.

The Texas House has passed a bill, HB3, that would require at least one armed security officer at every campus and silent panic buttons in every classroom.  At the board meeting last month, the Board of Trustees discussed options to address these requirements.  The Superintendent will review the options available at tonight's meeting.

The purpose of this agenda item is to authorize contracted services for the 2023-2024 school year.  

Depending on the pathway that the Board of Trustees and Superintendent decide to follow in regards to campus security, Smithville ISD would spend between $93,500 - $140,352 for contracted commissioned security.

During the 2023-2024 school year, Smithville ISD will be utilizing the services of contracted clinicians for our Special Education students. 
We will be utilizing the services of 3rd party companies, Trinity Educational Services, Texas Therapy, Candor Consulting and Diagnostics, LLC, Terraza Consulting and Mindset Assessment Services of Texas  to supply us with Educational Diagnosticians, Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Licensed Specialist in School Psychology.  Currently, we are budgeting $507,000 (from the General Operating budget and federal funds) to be paid for these services.
 

The Texas Department of Information Resources is the leading resource for school districts in all aspects of technology.  By entering into the interlocal agreement with the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), Smithville ISD has the opportunity to work with vendors for different technology needs, especially with cybersecurity, ransomware and disaster recovery). 

The Smithville ISD School Health Committee (SHAC) plans to convene for the purposes of recommending course materials for the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence and human trafficking.  Therefore, the SHAC is requesting that the Board of Trustees adopt a resolution that supports them in their efforts.

The Board of Trustees approved the High School Course Catalog for 2023-24 at a previous meeting. However, there have been edits and editions to the catalog, including an agreement with McMurray Junior College. Smithville ISD is revising the course catalog to include dual credit options for students in grades 9-12 in partnership with McMurray University in Abilene, Texas. Courses offered will transfer to Texas colleges and universities. Courses that will be offered will begin at the fall of the 2023-2024 school year. This edit requires board approval. 

The Superintendent would like to inform the Board of the resignations of: Justin Benvegnu and Rebecca Walla, teachers at Smithville High School, Raylynne Fillman and Sara Parks, teachers at Smithville Elementary, Katie Pena and Sue Borel, educational diagnosticians.

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.

Ava Zapalac - Teacher
Degree - Bachelor of Arts from Tarleton State University
Certification - Core Subjects EC-6 pending completion of program
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville Elementary School
Additional third grade teacher

Wendy Carroll - Teacher
Degree - BA from Sam Houston State University
Certification - Business and Finance 6-12
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Stetson Gommert

Doug Simms - Teacher/Coach
Degree - BS from Missouri State
Certification - Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources 6-12
Years of Experience - 5 years 
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Rebecca Walla

Judy Supak - Teacher
Degree - BS from Texas State University
Certification - Mathematics 8-12
Years of Experience - 11 years
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Deanna Seidel

Leanne Vinklarek - Teacher
Degree - BS from Texas A&M University
Certification - ELA and Reading/Social Studies 4-8, ESL Supplemental
Years of Experience - 9 years
Campus - Brown Primary
To replace Rachel Castillo

Deborah Thorp - Teacher
Degree - BA from University of New Hampshire
Certification - Social Studies 7-12, Special Education EC-12
Years of Experience - 3 years
Campus - Smithville Elementary
To replace Goldie Sunshine

Jordan Trahan - Teacher/Coach
Certification - History 7-12, pending completion of program
Years of Experience - 2 years
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Augie Ramirez's coaching position, and Terri Prihoda's teaching position (moving staff from within)

Susan Schultz - Speech Language Pathologist Assistant
Degree - BS at Arizona State University in Speech and Hearing Science
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - District-wide
New Position

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.  The self-evaluation is presented to the Board in December, and the superintendent’s evaluation by the Board takes place in closed session in January.  The Superintendent would like to provide the Board with a mid-point review of her progress and accomplishments.  She will present this to the Board in closed session.