November Board of Trustees Meeting
November 17, 2008
by Judith Saxton
Above and Beyond Awards were presented to Debra
Williamson (Fowler); Windey Hunnicutt, Ashley Pettit and Brenda
Harkrider (Sims); Debbie Barron (CSS); Jane Carter (Wallace); Mary
Ellen Carey (MPJHS); Gay Miller (MPHS); Teresa Young and Yvonne
Craddock (21st CCLC-Fowler), and William Blackburn (SpecEd).
Gold Performance Awards: Awards were presented to Vivian
Fowler Elementary for Attendance Rate, E.C. Brice Elementary for
Commended Performance Reading/ELA; Community Learning Center for
Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Completion; Annie Sims Elementary
for Commended Performance Reading/ELA, Commended Performance
Mathematics, Comparable Improvement Reading ELA, and Comparable
Improvement Mathematics; and P.E. Wallace Middle School for
Attendance Rate, Commended Performance Science, Comparable
Improvement Reading/ELA and Comparable Improvement Mathematics.
P.E. Wallace Middle School: Principal Rodney Huffman introduced 6th Grader Briniqua Stephens who gave the speech she gave at the Nov. 11 Veteran's Day Program.
Board Business
•Approved overnight trips for MPHS Cross Country to Regional Meet in Arlington (Nov. 7-8); for MPHS FFA to Greenhand Camp, Lindale, (Dec. 5-6); for MPHS Girls Basketball to College Station for Tournament (Dec. 29-31); for MPHS Boys Soccer to Brenham Tournament (Jan. 22-24); and, for MPHS FFA to Fort Worth Livestock Show (Jan. 22-26).
•Tabled the bid for a new 47 Passenger Bus. The bus is not needed right now and the Board decided to wait until they see the status of the local economy as the year progresses.
•Approved the bid of Stewart and Stevenson of Longview to retrofit 36 MPISD busses with new emission filtration systems. The retrofit will be paid for with funds from a nearly $250,000 grant the district received from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as part of their Texas Clean School Bus Grant Program.
•Approved the bid from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) to provide Property/Casualty Insurance for the district for a total cost of $161,191.
•Approved the E-Rate Purchases for 2008-2009. These include basic monthly telephone service from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, monthly long distance service from Ionex Communications South Inc., web-hosting services from Foundation for Educational Services, major rewiring projects at the Child Development Center and Wallace Middle School, new PBX's for CDC, Wallace, Sims, Corprew, Fowler and Brice, and wireless infrastructure installations at CDC, Wallace, Brice, Fowler, Sims and Corprew. The total cost is $472,544.41 but through the E-Rate program the district will pay only $53,916.34.
Reports
Superintendent Terry Myers reported on cost-saving measures the district is undertaking. The district is doing everything it can to save money but are practicing due diligence to make sure nothing bites into instruction or activities that benefit instruction, like certain field trips. Travel is being curtailed as much as possible. The district will be spending all grant monies. Myers and Business Manager Stacie Thompson are looking at a bare bones budget if the district has to operate under dire economic times.
Personnel:
Resignations: Kristy Smart (MPHS Tiger Dolls)
Future Meetings:
Special Meeting: Required Team Building, Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 12:30 p.m., CSS Board Room
Regular Meeting: Monday, December 15, 2008, 5:30 p.m., CSS Board Room
