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

The group will recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

The school is required by state laws and board policies CCG [Legal] and CE[Legal] to conduct a public hearing on the proposed budget.  Any taxpayer of the District may be present and participate in the meeting. 

Under board operating procedures the Board will decide at the beginning of the meeting whether or not the hearing will be to (1) gather input only or (2) dialog with the public.  Unless the Board takes action to declare the meeting a dialog with the public, all hearings will be gather input only meetings.

According to law, the public notice of the hearing must be published at least 10 days but no longer than 30 days before the date of the public meeting.  The public notice of this hearing was published in the Smithville Times on August 17, 2023,  which is 11 days before the hearing.  Notice of this hearing has also been posted on the District website.

Mrs. Burns and Mrs. McCarthy will make a short presentation of the 2023-2024 proposed budget.  The public will be invited to participate in the presentation and the Board will hear all comments provided by the public.
 

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 July 17, 2023 regular meeting and the August 7, 2023 special 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.

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 including:

• Enrollment numbers as of August 25, 2023: Total enrollment 1828, with an attendance rate of 94.69%.
• Reminder of the special strategic planning board workshop scheduled for September 11, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
• The Lady Tigers volleyball team will play Lehman at Lehman on Tuesday and will participate in a tournament in Flatonia on Thursday and Saturday.
• The Tigers JV/Freshmen football team will play Sealy at home on Thursday and the varsity will play Sealy in Sealy on Friday.
• Please refer to the new Smithville ISD website for the latest news and resources.

Dr. Logan, Director of Curriculum, will present the Board 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.
 

?Robert Tamble and Clara Becket will present information about a grant received and the potential partnership with SMITHVILLE ISD to utilize the funds available. The grant would pay for upgrades and an additional retention pond for possible future growth. The detention pond will help with the continued need for drainage.
 

School nurse Erin Seale will present a health update for the district.

a.  Financial Report
b.  Superintendent’s Report
c.  Review and Approve District and Campus Improvement Plans and                 Performance Objectives
d.  Personnel  

The Board is required to adopt an operational budget before the beginning of the fiscal year, which begins September 1^st.  Draft 1 and Draft 2 of the budget have been presented to the Board at previous meetings.
The Board is also required to conduct a public hearing on the budget before adopting the budget. The hearing was conducted at the beginning of this meeting.
 

The Board is required to set a tax rate within 60 days of receiving the certified tax roll but no later than September 30^th.  The Board is also required to conduct a public hearing on the budget and tax rate before setting the tax rate.

 The tax rate necessary to fund the proposed 2023-2024 budget is $0.9676 per hundred.  That includes an M&O rate of $0.7876 and an I&S rate of $0.18 representing a combined decreased rate of $0.1353 for M&O and I&S from the 2023-2024 budget year.  The M&O rate is the maximum rate approved by voters in the tax ratification election held May 14, 2011.  The I&S rate is the necessary rate to pay for bonded indebtedness.
The tax rate must be set by passing a resolution from the Board.

The purpose of this agenda item is to authorize the purchase of 2 school buses after September 1, 2023.

The 2023-2024 budget currently has $238,000 budgeted for the purchase of two new school buses.  The District would like to proceed with this purchase as budgeted and approved, after September 1st.
 

The Federal Office of Management and Budget issued revised Uniform Grant Guidance updates that allow school districts to increase their micro-purchase threshold, for federal expenditures, from $10,000 to $49,999 if the LEA is a low-risk auditee for its most recent federal audit.  This item must be reviewed and approved on an annual basis.  This increase will allow Smithville ISD to make annual purchases up to $49,999 without soliciting competitive price or rate quotations if the District considers the price to be reasonably based.

By increasing the micro-purchase threshold, Smithville ISD will be able to continue to work in a more efficient environment when reasonably priced items are obtained. 

A Texas Public School District coalition to freeze A-F (Refresh) Accountability Rating system and assignment of ratings has been formed and is suing TEA to freeze the release of all District accountability ratings in Texas. 
 
Founded by Kingsville ISD, the Coalition’s legal counsel (Nick Maddox of O’Hanlon Law Firm)  is filing suit based on a Texas law that requires TEA to provide the accountability rating system and grading rubric to Texas school districts BEFORE the start of the year of which they are to be graded.
 
The coalition is asking the court to freeze the new system for a minimum until next year, and to maintain district’s current rating this year. 
 
All school districts and any that have experienced a drop in their preliminary accountability scores are strongly encouraged to join!
 

In accordance with the requirements of Senate Bill 1267, the Superintendent shall recommend the District’s professional development plan for all District employees. The Board shall annually review the professional development clearinghouse published by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and annually approve the District’s professional development plan. The District’s professional development plan must:

1. Be guided by the SBEC clearinghouse training recommendations;
2. Note any differences in the District’s plan from the clearinghouse recommendations; and

       3. Include a schedule of the required professional                             development for all district employees.

The Superintendent would like to inform the Board of the resignation of Ashley Gartman, ACE Coordinator.

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 following professional staff have signed contracts with SISD in the past month:

Desiree Sorber - Teacher
Degree - BA from Texas State University
Certification - Sec. Government 6-12
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville Elementary
To replace Raylynne Fillman

Jennifer Holmes - Teacher
Degree - BA from Texas State University
Certification - Alternative Certification pending
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville Elementary
To replace Sara Parks

Willie Henderson - Teacher
Degree - pending
Certification - pending
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville Junior High
To replace Kieran Gibson

Scott Stephens - Teacher/Coach
Degree - BS from Stephen F. Austin University
Certification - Special Education EC-12, All-Level PE PK-12, Health EC--12
Years of Experience - 23 years
Campus - Smithville Junior High
To replace Joseph Nix

Brenda Hughes - Teacher
Degree - BA from Sam Houston State University
Certification - Elem. Self-Contained 1-8, Elem. Reading 1-8
Years of Experience - unknown
Campus - Smithville Junior High
To replace Richard King (who moved to math)

Michael Trost - Instructional Coach
Degree - MS from Sam Houston State University
Certification - ESL Supplemental PK-12, All-Level PE PK-12, Sec. Life-Earth Science 6-12, Sec. PE 6-12
Years of Experience - 21 years
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Lauren Copeland

Bethany Collins - Teacher
Degree - BA from Sam Houston State University
Certification - Alternative Certification pending for English 8-12
Years of Experience - 2 years
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Megan Hancock

Amanda Tyler - Teacher
Degree - BS from Southern New Hampshire University
Certification - pending
Years of Experience - 0 years
Campus - Smithville High School
To replace Justin Benvegnu