Extended Year Program
Becky Rinehart, Coordinator of
Assessment, presented Board members with an overview of the District’s 2002
Extended Year Programs. Ms. Rinehart stated that the elementary programs
will include Safetytown, ESL/Bilingual, Special Education, Migrant Education,
Summer LEP, and Accelerated Reading, and will concentrate on enrichment and
special needs, while the middle school programs will offer a traditional summer
school program for promotion purposes. The intermediate school program for
2002 will offer a non-traditional approach by featuring a new eighth-grade
work-study program in cooperation with the
Brazosport
College
Community
Education
Center
. High school extended year programs will be offered on a full-day basis
(morning and afternoon sessions) for remedial credit only. Board members
voted unanimously to approve the recommended extended year programs.
Teacher Salary Schedule for 2002-2003
Cindy Clegg, with the Texas
Association of School Boards (TASB), discussed the results of TASB’s recently
completed study of teacher salaries in the Brazosport Independent School
District, and presented a recommended teacher salary schedule for 2002-2003.
Ms. Clegg reported that the District’s current teacher salary schedule is less
competitive on the “low end” and more competitive after ten years of
experience, and contains an irregular pattern of salary differentials for
varying levels of teacher experience. Ms. Clegg recommended the District
raise its beginning teacher salary to $35,000 for 2002-2003, and “build-up”
the first ten years of the schedule to be more competitive with the surrounding
market. Ms. Clegg also recommended a general pay increase of $1,000 for
all teachers, with additional salary adjustments to create pay differentials for
each level of experience. An advance degree stipend was also recommended
for teachers holding advanced degrees. Board members thanked Ms. Clegg for
the study and voted to adopt the recommended teacher salary schedule for
2002-2003, with minor modifications.
Waiver of
Tuition Fee for Nonresident Students
Board members approved
waiving tuition fees for non-resident transfer students for the 2002-2003 school
year. The action is designed to increase the District’s enrollment and
weighted average daily attendance (WADA) and reduce the District’s calculated
wealth per student and associated wealth equalization payments. Current
law allows the District to only include non-resident students who are not
charged tuition in its calculation of WADA and associated “Robin Hood”
payments.
Textbook Selection Committee Recommendations
The Board approved the selection
of new state-adopted textbooks, as recommended by the Official Textbook
Selection Committee. The Committee was appointed by the Board to do an
in-depth study of textbooks and materials on the conforming and nonconforming
lists and to recommend textbooks and materials for use in the District.
Petition For
Annexation
The Board of Trustees approved a
petition for annexation into the
Brazosport
Independent
School District
by residents of Sugar Mill West, Sugar Mill East, and Oak Island Subdivisions.
The boards of trustees of Brazosport and
Columbia-Brazoria
Independent
School Districts
had both previously held public meetings to consider the petition, and C-BISD’s
board had recently adopted a resolution disapproving the petition. In
recommending the action, Superintendent Okruhlik stated that administration
considered the concerns expressed by residents of the affected territory, and
believes the petition deserves further consideration. Under the provisions
of the Texas Education Code, if the board of trustees of only one affected
district disapproves a petition, the decision may be appealed to the
Commissioner of Education for his consideration.
2002-2003
Student Code of Conduct
The Board reviewed revisions to
the Student Code of Conduct, as presented by Dr. J. B. Berryhill, Director of
Special Education. Dr. Berryhill stated that one of the primary tasks of
the review committee was to translate the current Code into a more “customer
friendly” format. Board members suggested several changes to the
document and agreed to postpone adoption of the revised Code of Conduct to the
April meeting.
Project G.R.O.W.
Guidelines
The Board approved program
guideline revisions for Project G.R.O.W., the District’s elementary
alternative education program, as presented by Dr. J. B. Berryhill. Dr.
Berryhill explained that the program has undergone a number of changes over the
past several years, and stated that the recommended changes will bring the
program guidelines in line with current practice. Board members thanked
Dr. Berryhill and the Revisions Committee members for their work on the project.
Bond Election
Board members ordered a special
election for
May 4, 2002
, to consider a proposition allowing the District to issue and sell bonds
totaling $6 million. Mr. Okruhlik explained that the $6 million issue is
an “interim issue” and is only the first step in implementing the
District’s master facility plan that is currently being developed. Once
completed, the master facility plan will serve as a comprehensive
“blueprint” for improving and replacing district facilities over the next
decade. If approved by voters, the $6 million issue would provide badly
needed funds to address district-wide environmental and safety issues, as well
as funding for school buses and technology, maintenance, and athletic equipment
and improvements.
2003 Budget
Workshop
Board members held a budget
workshop to develop budget parameters and contingencies for use in developing
the 2002-2003 budget. Board members identified the following budget
parameters for 2003:
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Grant an employee salary increase
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Maintain the existing tax rate
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Explore strategies to increase enrollment/attendance
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Continue performance incentives
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Continue funding the Dual/Concurrent Program
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Explore cost-saving opportunities to fund salary and
other cost increases
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Conduct a district-wide staffing analysis
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Provide funding for Project Teach
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Continue improving employee stipends
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Increase employee attendance rates/reduce substitutes
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Provide appropriate funding for staff development programs
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Review existing programs for possible continuation, modification, or elimination
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Provide funding for the maintenance and operations audit recommendations
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Continue to develop a cost-savings incentive program
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Consider employing a grant writer
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Provide funding and explore funding alternatives for “boot camp” program
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Avoid increases in any new or ongoing contracts for contracted services
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Review salaries for returning retirees
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Develop the 2003 expenditure budget within revenue parameters, less cost of
equalization
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Continue funding refurbishing efforts by considering alternative funding sources
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Continue funding the Long-Range Technology Plan by considering alternative
funding sources
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Purchase school buses by considering alternative funding sources
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Superintendent Okruhlik reviewed
the results of the workshop with Board members, and thanked them for their
participation and direction in developing the 2003 budget.
Other Actions
In other actions, the Board of
Trustees approved the official minutes for the February 5 and 20, 2002, Board
meetings, approved financial statements for January 2002, awarded contracts for
athletic supplies and equipment and property and casualty insurance, approved
designated polling places and election officials for the upcoming May 4, 2002,
election, and adopted a recommendation by the Brazoria County Property Tax
Resale Committee to sell delinquent tax properties held in trust by Brazoria
County.