Extra Mile Awards
Director of Public Information/Communications, Stuart Dornburg, assisted the Board with presenting “Extra Mile Awards” to the following individuals and organizations.  Extra Mile Awards are awarded to those individuals/organizations who have shown a dedication to their profession and a willingness to “go the extra-mile.”

BISD Bus Driver Volunteers
The following Brazosport Independent School District bus drivers were recognized for their participation in the Hurricane Rita evacuation:

Mr. Dornburg explained that the District had volunteered the use of its buses to city and county officials to help evacuate residents in advance of Hurricane Rita and had asked for volunteer drivers to assist with the effort.  The massive evacuation resulted in the drivers spending nearly one hundred hours caught in traffic jams, loading and unloading passengers, and generally securing the safety of their riders.  Mr. Dornburg stated that these volunteers literally “did go the extra miles!”

Port Freeport
Port Freeport, and its Managing Director, Phyllis Saathoff, were recognized by the Board for the Port’s generous donation of approximately 1,800 clear backpacks to the elementary schools in Freeport to start the 2005-2006 school year.  In addition to the donated backpacks, Port Freeport was also recognized for making a generous donation that allowed the Texas A&M vessel, Karma, to visit the Freeport Harbor and provide an exciting marine educational adventure for forth-grade students in Freeport; including a tour of Port Freeport, hands-on marine lab activities, and a cruise on the Karma.

Walk for Habitat
Art Colwell, representing BASF Corporation, reminded Board members and the audience that this Saturday, November 5, 2005, is the annual Walk for Habitat.  Mr. Colwell announced that the annual event has raised over a half-million dollars since its inception and that the Board of Trustees’ and the District’s support have been an important part of the event’s success.  Mr. Colwell thanked the Board for their continued support and presented them with t-shirts for the upcoming event.

District Counseling Program
Becky Rinehart, Executive Director of Curriculum and Accountability, presented Board members and the audience with an overview of the District’s counseling program.  Mrs. Rinehart explained that counselors at all instructional levels have the following four major responsibilities:

Mrs. Rinehart discussed each of these areas of responsibility and provided the Board with examples of specific tasks associated with each.  Mrs. Rinehart also stated that a fifth responsibility, “other duties as assigned,” includes many time-consuming tasks that must be overseen by the District’s counselors.  Mrs. Rinehart was joined in her presentation by the following counselors, representing each instructional level in the District:

Each counselor presented Board members with an account of a “typical” day and their personal reflections on a counselor’s role.  The presentation also featured a video entitled, “Extraordinary People,” chronicling counselors at work and featuring an entire listing of the District’s counseling staff.  Following the presentation, Board members asked the counselors in attendance numerous questions regarding their responsibilities before thanking the counselors and Mrs. Rinehart for the presentation.

Resolution for Days Missed – Hurricane Rita
The Board of Trustees adopted a resolution prepared by the District’s legal counsel, Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP, excusing employee absences associated with Hurricane Rita.  The resolution states the Board’s belief that it is in the best interest of the District for the 2005-2006 school calendar to remain in effect as originally adopted and that none of the days missed will be made up by District employees, through either instruction of students or performance of other duties.  The resolution further states that a “public purpose” exists to excuse and forgive the absences and pay all employees full compensation for the days missed.  The resolution was in response to the District’s decision to close all schools on September 21-27, 2005, to allow students and staff members to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Rita.

Other Actions
In other actions, the Board approved the official minutes of the October 4 and October 18, 2005, Board meetings; approved the financial statements for September 2005; and named additional teacher appraisers for the 2005-2006 school year (Tanya Jones and Loretta Werling).