The DeLeon ISD Board of Trustees faced a lengthy agenda as they met in regular session on March 10 in the district’s administrative offices. In addition to the regular monthly reports on the consent agenda, several additional items were included for the month of March.

The Board approved resolutions and participation agreements for the district to join the TexPool Investment Service. TexPool is the municipal pool of different governmental entities where funds are consolidated for investment purposes.

The administration sought membership into the service to ensure that the schools would have access to the service as it continues to work with its local depository for its main source of investing the district’s fund balance.

As explained by the administration, the use of the fund would be for in and out purposes, with no substantial funds being held in TexPool for an extended period of time.

Approval was given to the administration to seek proposals for auditing service for the 2007-08 fiscal year. Invitations for proposals will be solicited and brought back to the Board for their April meeting.
In matters related to the May 10 election, the Board officially called for the election of two trustees and approved a joint election agreement with the City of DeLeon.

The two positions up for election this year are the slots held by Lisa Nowlin and Dr. Brandon Gilmore, both of whom have filed for reelection. (Ed. note: Zachary Paul has also filed as a candidate in the election.)
The final matter on the consent agenda was the approval of an interlocal agreement that allows the district to purchase a used school bus from another district. The bus purchased will be used as a spare bus for the district’s transportation services.

As matters of action, the Board authorized the administration to sell the district’s excess portable buildings at the elementary campus through an interlocal agreement with another Texas school district.
The buildings which have been housing the Comanche County Special Education Coop/SSA will soon be vacated and no longer viable for use by the district. Interest has been shown by other school districts to purchase the structures and relocate them.

A major teacher incentive and student incentive program was reviewed, discussed, and approved by the Board. DISD has opted to participate into two different state grant programs that will fund a new incentive program for teachers in the district based on the results of TAKS performance of students.

The teacher incentive program provides for weights to be applied for different categories of student success including students passing the test, reaching commended performance, and for improvement of students that are not successful on the test. The program will be implemented on a limited basis this year utilizing local funds, with teacher incentives ranging from $500 to $2,000. Next year, when state funds become available, the incentives could grow to a range of $2,000 to $5,000.

The second piece of the incentive program approved by the Board is the Stars for Student Success. This program provides incentives for all students in grades 3-11 who take state assessment test. The incentives are educational field trips with the type of trip based on the level of success experienced by the student. Trips vary from museum trips to Fort Worth to a visit to the nation’s capital in Washington D.C. The program consists of seven different levels.

Stars for Student Success is based on a program from another Texas school district near El Paso. After implementing the program they saw a dramatic increase in the level of performance by their students on state assessments.

As was explained by the administration, many students see no real reason to want to excel on these assessments because of no real tangible benefit to them. By providing a reason to want to not only pass, but to excel and reach commended level on these state assessments, the district hopes to increase the level of performance for all students.

It was also noted that if incentive programs are being designed and encouraged by the state, then the next step is to provide quality incentive programs to the students who are taking the assessments.
The Board then entered into Closed Session for the purpose of discussing personnel. After approximately forty minutes, the Board returned and heard the recommendation of the superintendent to renew contracts for 2008-09 for the following individuals:

High School – Elaine Gibson, Josh Hodges, Becky Pair, Jennifer Rucker, Dustin Altmiller, Brad Janek, Rusty Bennett, Kevin Bartley, Dudley McCarty, Mark Wygle, Lori Campbell, Charlene Everett, Gloria Hodges, Terra Jobe, Chuck Jordan, Michelle McIlvain, Michelle Simpson, Molly Smith, Jerry Walker.
Perkins Middle School – Dotty Hare, Mandy Hooker, Penni Mohundro, Rebecca Murphree, Liesa Nowlin, Dick Senter, Leslie Wilson. Intermediate – Shelly Stone, Pat Koonce, Diana McCarty, Laura Spurlen, Roxanna Thiebaud, Sherry Weaver.

Elementary – Dosha Butler, Kallie Hare, Crystal Stipes, Maggie Thayer, Cindy Abbey, Annette Bennett, Kendall Brinson, Terrill Casey, Diana Denson, Deanna Downs, Pam Fox, Angela Gooden, Rick Green, Brenda Huddleston, Jody Janek, Vicky Lee, Donna Schuman, Leah Sides, Lori Womack. Co-op/SSA – Tina Henry, Cecile Fishback, Debbie Gilder, Melina Harrington, Jill Hodges, Angela Huffstutler, Darlene Mathis, Linda Moore, Malinda Padgett, Jessie Uptergrove, Nanya Young.

The Board was also informed that resignations had been received and accepted from Michael Nix and Crystal Hughey effective the end of the current school year.

As matters of discussion the Board discussed two different topics. The first concerned a review and consideration of a possible update to the cheerleader constitution and operation procedures.

Various topics were reviewed including: eligibility criteria; selection processes and procedures; standards of conduct; consequences for inappropriate behavior. After a healthy discussion, the information was referred back to the high school and middle school campuses for further review. A recommendation will be made at the next Board meeting related to the matter.

The second topic of discussion was a review of bus driving responsibilities for extra-curricular activities. The center of the discussion was the issue of sponsors that did not feel adequate to drive their own buses and the ability of the district to find enough drivers to fill the needs. Following the discussion, the administration was directed to further research the topic and develop a recommendation that would address issues of compensation of sponsors that drive their own buses and how to fill slots when drivers were needed.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.