Extra Mile Awards
The Board of Trustees presented Extra Mile Awards for April to the following individuals and organizations:

Brazoswood High School
In assisting the Board with the presentations, Becky Rinehart, Coordinator of Assessment, introduced, “some of the ‘deckhands’ that work behind the scenes to make Brazoswood High School and the Buccaneers a smooth-sailing ship.”  The following 35 parent volunteers were recognized for giving their time to work with Ninth Grade Center and main campus personnel wherever help is needed:

O’Hara Lanier Middle School
The Board recognized Ms. Niva Burchfield as a Lanier Middle School volunteer.  Ms. Burchfield has served on the PTA Board, coordinated the school yearbook for three years, led the campus fundraisers for two years, and assisted teachers in the classroom.

Student/Teacher Recognitions

Brazosport High School
The 2003-2004 Brazosport High School Exporter Basketball Team was recognized by the Board for qualifying for the playoffs after a two-year hiatus.  The Board recognized the Exporter team captains and other valuable contributors, as follows:

Brazosport High School was also recognized for having four Exporter basketball team members named to the All-District Academic Team: Raymond Calvillo, Tramain Jackson, Brandon Wash, and Kory Kaspar.  The Board also recognized Exporter coach, Ondra Waddy, and congratulated him for his leadership.

Houston Comets and Rockets 3-Point Contest
Felicia Stevenson, a freshman at Brazosport High School, was recognized by the Board for placing third among 200 entrants and winning $1,000 for the girls’ athletics program at the Houston Comets and Rockets 3-point shooting contest.

Yearbook Excellence Award
The Board of Trustees congratulated the Brazosport High School yearbook staff and their sponsor, Valerie Prilop, for being recognized by Taylor Publishing with an Award of Excellence for design and coverage in the yearbook.  The annual award is given to the top five percent of yearbook staffs nationwide who demonstrate excellence in yearbook creation.

Campus Recognitions

Jane Long Elementary
Board members joined the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University in recognizing Jane Long Elementary School as a first place winner of the Safe School Campus Award.  The Safe School Campus Award is a competitive award that recognizes exceptional efforts in planning, programs, processes, and improvements related to safety.  Long Elementary was one of only three elementary and intermediate campuses across the state to receive the award.

Just For the Kids High-Performing Schools
The National Center for Educational Accountability has been investigating educational best practices for the past four years.  Schools chosen to be listed on the organization’s web-site are those which have sustained academic performance for three consecutive years (2001, 2002, and 2003).  The following schools were recognized by the Board as Just for the Kids High Performing Schools:

H-GAC Intergovernmental Agreement
Beth Whitehead, with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), approached the Board regarding the District’s participation in H-GAC’s Clean Vehicle Program.  The H-GAC Clean Vehicle Program provides Federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funds to public and private entities to assist their efforts to maximize use of clean vehicles in their fleets, with a primary goal of reducing the amount of ozone-producing chemicals in the air.  Ms. Whitehead explained that under the terms of the program, the District will be required to reduce its overall fleet size by 10 buses until 2007 (by scrapping 1982 and 1983 model buses), and remove 21 buses from service in exchange for $533,737 in CMAQ funding.  The CMAQ funding will, in turn, allow the District to acquire 21 new buses for its fleet as replacements.  Since the District’s Interim and Primary Bond programs contain funding for 25 new buses (10 of which have already been purchased), the remaining bond funds ($900,000) may be applied to cover the District’s share of the cost of the new buses.  The combined funding (CMAQ and bond funding) will allow the District to purchase 21-22 new buses to replace the buses that are removed from service as a result of the agreement with the H-GAC.  Board members thanked Ms. Whitehead for her presentation and voted unanimously to approve an intergovernmental agreement with the H-GAC to participate in the program.

Brazoswood High School Design Development
Ron Bailey, with PBK Architects, Inc., reviewed updated designs for improvements and additions scheduled for Brazoswood High School.  Mr. Bailey stated that the latest designs reflect modifications suggested by Brazoswood High School staff and leadership and are similar to plans presented at the March meeting.  In addition to significant infrastructure upgrades at the campus, major components of the design include: enhanced staff parking on the west end of the campus; a new two-story addition featuring four science labs, eight classrooms, restrooms, and administrative offices; and a redesigned and remodeled food court area for the main campus.  Construction of the new parking area will begin this summer, with the remainder of the $11.6 million project slated for completion in October 2005.  Following Mr. Bailey’s presentation, Board members voted unanimously to approve the design development.

Approval of Lunch Prices for 2004-2005
The Board approved adjustments to the District’s school lunch and breakfast prices for the 2004-2005 school year.  The new pricing will increase elementary and secondary school student lunch prices by $0.25, to $1.75 and $2.00, respectively, and student breakfast prices to $1.25.  Adult breakfast and lunch prices will also be increased, respectively, to $1.50 and $2.75.  The adjustments are in response to rising food and labor costs that have occurred since the last price increase in 1998.

Delinquent Property Tax Resolution
Board members voted to approve a resolution increasing the collection penalty on delinquent taxes from 15% to 20%, beginning with the 2003 tax year.  The action was requested in response to a similar action recently taken by Brazoria County Commissioners Court.  The District contracts with Brazoria County under an interlocal cooperation agreement to collect taxes on the District’s behalf and to provide a delinquent tax attorney to collect delinquent taxes.  The County’s delinquent tax attorneys had recommended that all taxing jurisdictions under contract with Brazoria County execute a resolution officially adopting the revised 20% penalty.

Brazosport High School Guaranteed Maximum Price
Board members tabled a recommendation to consider a “guaranteed maximum price” (GMP) for new construction and renovations at Brazosport High School.  Representatives from the District’s architects, PBK Architects, Inc. (PBK), and the District’s contractor for the project, Drymalla Construction Company, Inc. (Drymalla), reported that construction costs have recently increased significantly (primarily due to recent price increases in steel), and that the current GMP would likely be in excess of the project’s budget.  PBK stated that the District could consider the following three options:

Superintendent Okruhlik reminded Board members that reductions to the scope of the project had already been made prior to the recent price run-ups, and PBK and Drymalla representatives warned that delaying the project could result in still more price increases.  After discussing the timing and methodology of developing a GMP, Board members agreed to authorize Drymalla to submit the project to subcontractors for bids, and present the bid results to the Board at the May meeting.

Retire/Rehire Guidelines for 2004-2005
Mark Broaddus, Executive Director of Human Resources, presented Board members with a proposed set of guidelines to guide the District in rehiring retired teachers and other retired staff.  Mr. Broaddus stated that Teacher Retirement System of Texas rules describe certain conditions and circumstances that must be followed in hiring a retiree for full-time employment.  Mr. Broaddus described the various categories of “retired/rehired” employees (“Teacher Emeritus,” “Administrator Retiree,” and “Paraprofessional Retiree”), as well as how compensation is determined for each respective category.  Mr. Broaddus stated that current law requires the District to give preference to certified applicants who are not retirees, and reviewed the applicable eligibility and selection criteria, retire/rehire employment agreements, and availability of District benefits.  Mr. Broaddus concluded by reviewing the current areas of acute teacher shortages, as identified by the Texas Education Agency, and proposed that the District expand the list to include certified non-retirees unavailable for the following positions: “Any core subject area defined by the No Child Left Behind Act, which includes: English, reading, language arts mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics, government, economics, arts, history, geography, speech therapist, diagnostician, LSSP, and counselor.”  Following Mr. Broaddus’ presentation, Board members voted unanimously to approve the retire/rehire guidelines for the 2004-2005 school year.

Cancellation of Trustee Election for District 4
The Board approved an Order Declaring Election of Unopposed Candidate for Ron Damian, who is unopposed for election as Trustee for District 4.  Under Texas election law, a school district may cancel a trustee election for a single-member trustee district if a candidate whose name is to appear on the ballot is unopposed.

Teacher Appreciation Day/Week
Board members approved a resolution recognizing the week of May 3 through May 7, 2004, as National Teacher Appreciation Week, and May 4, 2004, as National Teacher Day.  Superintendent Okruhlik explained that the annual event is sponsored by the National PTA and is intended to focus attention on the outstanding work of our public school teachers.  The resolution declares that, “teachers should be accorded high public esteem, reflecting the value the community places on public education,” and recognizes teachers for their, “dedication and commitment to educating their students.”  Board members joined Mr. Okruhlik in thanking teachers for their endless service to the students of the Brazosport Independent School District.

Construction Update
Brazosport Independent School District Construction Manager, Alec Journeay, was introduced to the Board of Trustees by Superintendent Okruhlik and presented Board members with an update on construction projects currently underway at Velasco, Ney, and Roberts Elementary Schools; Rasco Middle School; Lake Jackson Intermediate School; Brazosport High School (Hopper Field); and Brazoswood High School (field house addition).

Personnel Actions
The Board of Trustees officially named Monty Burger as the District’s Director of Technology.  Mr. Burger had been serving as Interim Director of Technology prior to his appointment.

Other Actions
In other actions, the Board of Trustees approved the official minutes for the February 17, February 24, and March 2, 2004, Board meetings; approved financial statements for February 2004; awarded contracts for athletic supplies and equipment (football, volleyball, and cross country), band and orchestra instruments, and training room supplies; and approved appointments of election officials for the upcoming May 15, 2004, election.