The Board of Trustees for DeLeon ISD met in regular session on Monday, October 16 in the DeLeon High School library. The Board was presented with an overview of the Texas Educator Excellence Grant. Perkins Middle School qualified to submit a grant application to receive a grant in the amount of $40,000. The application provides an incentive plan for all staff members, based on the initiative provided by the staff. The application was completed by members of the middle school staff.

It was noted that the reason that the middle school was the only campus participating was due to the standards set by the Texas Education Agency, not by any decision made by the district. “We want every campus to participate in this program, noted DISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Mohundro, “however, it is TEA that is making the determination on which campuses do and do not get to participate.” Mohundro also noted that the program would expand next year and he hopes to have the other campuses included then.

The Board had a lengthy consent agenda to consider during the meeting. In addition to the standard reports and action items the board also addressed the following issues:

• The administration briefed the Board on the settle-up from the state due to the sale of WADA to Lake Travis ISD. The state owes the district approximately $198,000 and that payment should be made to the district in this month’s state payment. The Board was also apprised of three different offers the district had received concerning the sale of WADA for the current school year.

• The Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) report was presented to the Board. The FIRST report is the district’s financial report card regarding the handling of the district’s finances and business operations. The district received a “SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT” rating by the state, the highest rating possible. Dr. Mohundro praised the efforts of Mrs. Mary Jane Atkins, his predecessor for her efforts in this area.

• The Board approved a contract with Global Roofing Consultants to work with the district on the upcoming roofing project that resulted from the May hailstorm. Bids for the project are now being solicited and Global will handle all details of the project including specifications, reviewing bids, and overseeing the project. The cost of using Global is included in the settlement the district received from its insurance carrier.

• The 2006 Tax Roll and Levy was approved by the Board which calls for a total levy of $1,677,706.46 based on a tax rate of $1.2492 on a total district tax base of $139,937,804.
The consent agenda was approved unanimously by the board.

As matters of action, the Board approved the Superintendent’s recommendation to hire CADCO Architects and Engineers, Inc. of Abilene to conduct a facility master plan study for the district. It was noted that the District Facility Committee would be making this recommendation in the near future and by moving forward now, the Board would have the report in a timelier manner.

The study will look at the current state of all of the district’s facilities, including mechanical and engineering issues and will explore possible solutions, including their cost.

The Board also directed the Superintendent to submit a statement of impact to the state agency regarding the recent application of the Paradigm Charter School’s application to increase the number of students that may enroll in that school from 100 to 500. Dr. Mohundro noted, “Paradigm only requires their students to work through the basic program of 22 credits, while the state has pushed and requires districts to put all students on the Recommended program. The state should require them to play by the same rules.”

As matters of discussion, the Board went into closed session to be briefed by the administration on an ongoing student discipline incident and a possible personnel problem. No action was taken by the Board on either item.

The Board was also briefed on new procedures that had been implemented by the administration regarding the handling of cash and the process for making deposits.

The final discussion item included the Board reviewing possible dates for upcoming required Board training.

Following the adjournment of the regular meeting, the Board held a special meeting for the purpose of receiving training on the issue of the Texas Open Meetings Act utilizing materials provided by the state Attorney General’s office.