Brazosport ISD Board Highlights

BISD Holiday Card
The Board of Trustees recognized Jose (Angel) Martinez, an 8th grade student form Clute Intermediate School, as this year’s Holiday Card Contest winner and presented him with a framed copy of the card he designed. Executive Director of Administrative Services, Stuart Dornburg, explained that each year Brazosport Independent School District sponsors a holiday card contest involving all elementary school students, with the intent of using the winner’s design as the District’s official holiday card.

Gold Performance Acknowledgments
Campuses were recognized by the Board for Gold Performance Acknowledgements. The Gold Performance Acknowledgement system recognizes campuses for high performance on indicators other than those used to determine accountability ratings and are earned by campuses whose students have reached the prestigious Commended Performance level on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The following campuses earned Gold Performance Acknowledgement in one or more academic areas for Commended Performance or Comparable Improvement and/or Attendance:

2006-2007 AEIS Report
The Board held a public hearing to review the 2006-2007 Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) report. Rebecca Rinehart, Executive Director of Curriculum & Accountability, stated that the AEIS report is the District’s annual “report card” and informed Board members and the audience that her presentation would focus on demographics and statistics; improvements in ratings, gold performance indicators, and other new indicators and reports; and student performance data not previously reported. Mrs. Rinehart reviewed the 2006-2007 accountability ratings for each campus and the District, noting that 5 campuses were rated Exemplary (4 new campuses for 2006-07) and 5 campuses were rated Recognized (3 new campuses for 2006-07), with 9 campuses and the District earning a rating of Academically Acceptable. Mrs. Rinehart also noted that the District and all campuses met their 2006-2007 Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) targets specified by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and recognized campuses qualifying for 2007 Gold Performance Awards. Mrs. Rinehart concluded her presentation by reviewing the District’s TAKS performance by student groups, projected accountability for 2008 science, the new English Language Learner measure, results of the Texas Success Initiative, and the Class of 2006 and 2007 exit-level cumulative passing rate. Following the public hearing, Board members voted to approve the 2006-2007 AEIS report and thanked Mrs. Rinehart for her presentation.

2008-2009 District Calendars
Board members voted to approve “Draft 2” as the official school calendar for the 2008-2009 school year. Stuart Dornburg, Executive Director of Administrative Services, explained that the proposed 2008-2009 calendars were developed in cooperation with the District Educational Improvement Council (DEIC) and reflect the later school starting date required by recent legislation. The 2008-2009 calendar establishes Monday, August 25, 2008, as the first day of instruction and includes 9 staff development and teacher preparation days, 4 early dismissal days, a 3-day Thanksgiving recess, and a week-long spring break coordinated with Brazosport College. Classes dismiss on Friday, December 19, 2008, for winter recess and resume on Monday, January 5, 2009. The last instructional day is June 4, 2009. A copy of the approved 2008-2009 calendar is attached to this issue of the Highlights (Acrobat pdf).

Pepsi Early Termination Agreement
The Board approved an early termination and associated release of the exclusive vending agreement between the District and Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG). Executive Director of Business Support Services, Michael Abild, informed Board members that PBG breached the agreement by its discontinuance of annual sponsorship fee payments and that, under the terms of the agreement, non-payment of annual sponsorship fees justifies immediate cancellation. Mr. Abild reported that PBG has agreed to an early termination of the exclusive vending agreement prior to its expiration date in March 2011, and has agreed to compensate the District for any unpaid annual sponsorship payments.

TASB Policy Update 81
The Board of Trustees reviewed legal policy changes and voted to add, revise, or delete local policies, as included in Localized Policy Manual Update 81, and as recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).

2008-2009 Program of Studies
The Board of Trustees approved modifications to the District’s Program of Studies for the 2008-2009 school year, as follows:

Executive Director of Curriculum & Accountability, Rebecca Rinehart, stated that funding needs for the new courses will be reviewed as part of the 2008-2009 budget process.

Health Plan Amendments
The Board of Trustees approved the following changes to the District’s medical and dental benefits plans:

Medical and Dental Premiums For 2008

Monthly Medical Insurance Premiums:
(Coverage 2008, Premium)
Employee Only, $71
Employee + Spouse, $401
Employee + Child(ren), $285
Employee + Family, $577

Monthly Dental Insurance Premiums (No Change):
(Coverage 2008, Premium)
Employee Only, $40
Employee + Spouse, $69
Employee + Child(ren), $86
Employee + Family, $124

New Urgent Care Facility
A new urgent care facility in Lake Jackson (Brazosport Regional Urgent Care) may be accessed by all covered employees and their covered dependents with a $75 per visit co-payment.

Coordination of Benefits (Covered Spouse)
Effective 01/01/08 the District will require covered spouses to select other group health coverage if coverage is available through their employer.

Rx for Smoking Cessation
Brand and generic drugs for smoking cessation are covered under the plan, effective 01/01/08.

Formulary Changes Effective 01/01/08:
Brand & generic name drugs have been added to the preferred drug list (formulary) and some brand name drugs have been removed.

Additional School Resource Officer
The Board of Trustees approved contracting with the Clute Police Department for an additional school resource officer for the Clute attendance area on an “as-needed” basis.

Paperwork Reduction
Superintendent Ripple encouraged staff members to continue their efforts to reduce paperwork for teachers and stated that some progress has already been made, particularly in the areas of grade reporting and attendance. Superintendent Ripple stated that he is looking for other opportunities to eliminate unnecessary forms and reports that take teachers away from the classroom and requested principals and all staff to help identify other areas for paperwork reduction.

Other Board Actions
In other actions, the Board approved the official minutes of the November 6, 2007, Board meeting; approved the financial statements for October 2007; awarded contracts for school and office furniture and equipment; approved a recommendation from the Brazoria County Property Tax Resale Committee to sell delinquent tax property held in trust by Brazoria County; and approved requesting a waiver from the Texas Education Agency to modify class schedules on TAKS testing days.