Student Recognitions
The Board of Trustees recognized Brazosport and Brazoswood High School students named by the Texas High School Coaches Association to the Academic All-State Football Teams for the 2004-2005 year.  Athletes are selected using a system that awards points for each student’s GPA, class rank, and SAT or ACT score.  The student athletes are then placed on teams according to the number of points they have earned.  The following student athletes received Academic All-State recognition:

Brazosport High School:

Brazoswood High School:

Plato Labs
Kyle Nichols, Account Manager for Plato Learning, Inc., presented Board members with a demonstration of the Plato lab system currently being used in the District, highlighting the many features available in the software package.  Mr. Nichols noted that Plato systems are currently being used by Brazosport and Brazoswood High Schools, Clute Intermediate School, and the Lighthouse Learning Center, but that courseware is available for all instructional levels.  Mr. Nichols reviewed a “scope and sequence” booklet describing Plato lab applications available for each instructional level.  Mr. Nichols stated that Plato’s challenge is capturing and maintaining students’ attention and that the courseware has many uses in addition to traditional credit recovery.  Mr. Nichols concluded by stating that a meeting has been scheduled to discuss how an enhanced version of the Plato system might allow TAKS data to be used to develop personal learning paths for students.  Board members thanked Mr. Nichols for his presentation.

Crisis Management/Emergence Response Grant
Grant Coordinator, Sandra Antill, introduced Randy King, with Solutions and Specialized Innovations (SASI), to present Board members with an update on the District’s Crisis Management and Emergency Response Grant.  Mr. King informed Board members that the grant, which spans eighteen months and totals approximately $250,000, will provide funding for the review, testing, and overall strengthening of the District’s existing crisis management plan.  Specifically, Mr. King stated that grant funding will provide on-site training opportunities for staff members across the District and was recently used to purchase new cellular radios for the District’s schools.  The grant will also facilitate partnering with other responders; such as fire and police departments, EMS staff, city and county officials, and local industry.  Mr. King concluded by presenting Board members with a brochure from the U. S. Department of Education entitled, “Practical Information on Crisis Planning,” and by expressing his pleasure working with the District.

TEA Class-Size Waivers
The Board of Trustees approved requesting class-size waivers from the Texas Education Agency for three of the District’s elementary schools for the spring 2005 semester.  The waiver request also includes a compliance plan describing steps being taken to bring the District into compliance with the 22:1 class size ratio for the affected campuses.

TASB Policy Update 74
The Board of Trustees reviewed legal policy changes, as well as additions, modifications, and deletions to local policies, as included in Localized Policy Manual Update 74 and as recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), and agreed to table consideration of the policy changes to a later meeting.

Order of Trustee Election for May 7, 2005
The Board of Trustees ordered an election to be held on Saturday, May 7, 2005, for the purpose of electing trustees to fill the expiring three-year terms of the following Board members:

Applications for a place on the ballot must be received by 5:00 p.m., Monday, March 7.  Early voting by personal appearance will be conducted at the Administration Building on weekdays, beginning Wednesday, April 20, and concluding on Tuesday, May 3.

Agreements for the Education of Nonresident Students
The Board of Trustees approved “Robin Hood” agreements with Angleton and Grand Saline Independent School Districts for the 2004-2005 school year.  Under the terms of the agreements, the District will send approximately $3.2 million to Angleton and $1.6 million to Grand Saline during the upcoming school year to partially equalize its wealth per student.  Executive Director of Business Services, Michael Abild, explained that the two agreements will provide 1,272 of the approximately 3,998 attendance credits the District is required to purchase for the current year, and that the District is still seeking other districts to partner with for 2004-2005.  Mr. Abild explained that the District will benefit from the agreement by qualifying for a 5% efficiency credit from the State, while Angleton and Grand Saline Independent School Districts will benefit from higher overall levels of funding.

Sale of Refunding Bonds
The Board of Trustees voted to approve selling bonds to refund (refinance) approximately $14.53 million of the District’s Series 1997 bonds.  The refunding had been recommended by the District’s financial advisors, Coastal Securities, Inc. (Coastal).  Lewis Wilks, with Coastal, explained to Board members that the current interest rate market has given rise to an opportunity to refund the 1997 debt at a significant savings to the District.  Mr. Wilks reported that, based on existing interest rates, the District will realize an approximate 5.89% present value savings, or roughly a $1 million cash-flow savings.  The savings to the District will be spread over the remaining life of the bonds (through 2016).  Board members thanked Mr. Wilks and his firm and voted unanimously to approve an order authorizing the issuance of the refunding bonds.

Change Orders for Brazosport High School, Lanier Middle School, and Hopper and Slade Fields
The Board of Trustees voted to approve change orders relating to constructions projects undertaken or underway at Brazosport High School and Lanier Middle School.  The change orders had been recommended by the District’s architects, PBK Architects, Inc., in response to scope modifications incidental to each project’s construction.  Board members agreed to delay consideration of a change order related to the installation of artificial playing surfaces at Hopper and Slade Fields.

Freeport High School
Board members agreed to table a recommendation to modify a deed conveying the former Freeport High School to the City of Freeport to allow the City additional time to formulate a plan for the renovation of the former High School.  The Board’s action came in response to a request from Freeport City Council, at the request of the Freeport School Foundation, to modify the deed and irrevocably transfer ownership of the property to the City.  The current deed calls for the City to commence renovation of the former school within one year and to complete renovation and restoration activities within three years.  If the City is unable to do so, ownership of the former school reverts back to the District, with the City being responsible for any subsequent demolition costs.

Employee Attendance Program – Fall 2004
Mark Broaddus, Executive Director of Human Resources, informed Board members that monetary attendance awards for the fall 2004 semester had been distributed to eligible employees with their January 31, 2005, pay checks.  Mr. Broaddus stated that the awards were in connection with the District’s Employee Attendance Award Program that provides employees having perfect attendance during a semester with a $100 award.  Employees having only one absence during a semester are similarly awarded $80, and employees having no more that two absences are eligible for a $60 award.  Mr. Broaddus announced that a total of $77,140 was awarded to 936 employees for the past semester, as follows:

Texas Economic Development Act
Executive Director of Business Services, Michael Abild, reported that the District had recently received an Application for an Appraised Value Limitation on Qualified Property from the BASF Corporation in connection with their plans to construct a new $110-$160 million super absorbent polymers manufacturing facility at BASF Corporation’s Freeport site.  If ultimately approved, the resulting agreement would benefit BASF by setting a limitation on the taxable value of the project and would benefit the District by reducing future “Robin Hood” payments to the State.  The agreement would also require BASF to create new jobs in connection with the project, compensate the District for any revenue loss resulting from the agreement, and continue to maintain a viable presence in the District.  Mr. Abild stated that the application must first be reviewed and recommended by the State Comptroller, and an economic impact study completed, before a final agreement may be considered by the Board.  The application is similar to one submitted by the Dow Chemical Company and approved by the Board of Trustees in December 2002.  The Board will likely consider the application at the May 2005 meeting.

Brazosport High School Baseball Field
Van Franks, with PBK Architects, Inc., presented Board members with a layout and design for the new Brazosport High School baseball field.  Mr. Franks reported that the proposed location of the new baseball field is east of the campus and south of the existing softball facility on property owned by the City of Freeport.  The new ball field will feature new bleachers, lighting, restrooms, and press box/concession facilities, and will utilize existing parking at the site.  Board members questioned Mr. Franks at length regarding the field’s orientation, dimensions, drainage, storage facilities, restrooms, expandability, and spectator accommodations.  Mr. Franks expressed his hope that the Board could approve a final plan at the March meeting, with construction beginning shortly thereafter, and completion scheduled for December 2005.

Other Actions
In other actions, the Board approved the official minutes of the January 11, 2005, Board meeting, approved the financial statements for December 2004, awarded bid contracts for band and orchestra instruments and for computer network cabling, and approved a recommendation by the Brazoria County Property Tax Resale Committee to sell delinquent tax property held in trust by Brazoria County.