The DCISD school board met in regular session on Monday, July 17, where they addressed a short agenda.
After the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance the board listened to Joe Kay talk about an upcoming tamale festival which will be held in December. He was basically requesting an indoor facility should inclement weather occur on that day. Mr. Davis and the school board assured Mr. Kay that they would find a place for these festivities should the need arise.
Moving on the board approved the minutes from the previous meeting and then quickly moved through the monthly financial information, transportation report, and utilities report.
School architect Craig Wallace was once again in attendance to give his monthly report concerning school projects. He was happy to report the ag farm project was basically finished with only a few punch card items that needed to be addressed before the school could sign off on it. He informed the board that crushed asphalt was being used in the drive areas to make it easier to maneuver the vehicles around.
Wallace went on to inform the board that insurance claims on damaged roofs from the April 12 hail storm should be finished in the near future.
In discussing the new high school Wallace said one of the elevator towers has been completed and the second one was being worked on. He also noted sheet rock and a few windows were also being installed in some areas of the approximately 75,000 square feet that had been built since January.
The roof for the basement, which was the first area to be completed in the new facility, should be finished in the next three weeks. And by the end of July the steel work frame for the new auditorium should be completed.
“Once that goes up people will be able to see that part of the new high school from both ends of Mustang,” Wallace said. “It will be that tall!”
Board President Brad Woosley asked Wallace about the playground equipment at Kelley Elementary. “It definitely needs to be addressed. It is cracking and in bad shape,” Kellie Adams said.
Wallace assured him he would takes pictures of it and put it high on his priority list.
In the next item Business Manager LaChrisha Rains had one budget amendment dealing with the Four County Coop that Denver City withdrew from at the end of the school year. The funds, which totaled $10,172,660, were moved from Function 21 (Instructional Leadership) which relates to the new Director of Student Services position. The position and associated initial expenditures are a result of the District electing to no longer participate in the Four County Coop.
The board also unanimously approved Option 3 of the district’s contract with the states recapture Robin Hood plan. Included was an agreement for the Purchase of Attendance Credits. This amount will be determined by the commissioner in accordance with the Texas Education Code when the final data on the district’s maintenance and operations tax revenue and the number of students in weighted average daily attendance for the school year are available.
Along these same lines the district recently made a Recapture payment on June 9 for $611,562.00. The total payments since October 3, 2016 has totaled $4,692,143.00.
The board also set the date for a public hearing for the Budget and Tax Rate for August 21, 2017 at 6 pm. The board also left the tax rate the same as it was for the past year. The Maintenance and Operation (M&O) rate will be $1.04 and the Interest and Sinking (I&S) rate will be .2133 for a total tax rate of $1.2533.
The board also approved the auditors of Terry & King for next year followed by board members agreeing to sign and abide by the district’s policy on Agreement for Acceptable Use of the District’s Technology.
And in the last item Director of Operations Kellie Adams presented H2S Evacuation Plan for the district. She has submitted a rough draft to Oxy representatives for their approval. She said a mock drill will be performed in August that will involve administrative staff as well as members of the maintenance department, First Responders, and Oxy employees.
The board then approved all new hires, resignations, and reassignments. New hires included Leah David as a Senior English teacher and Coach, Jaci Zingerman as a junior high 8th grade ELA teacher and coach, John (Zack) Duncan as a junior high PE teacher and coach, and Jacklyn Duncan as a junior high science teacher.
Resignations included Mary Ann Mahler as the art teacher in the junior high and Joe Moore as 7th grade Science teacher and coach.
There were no reassignments.
In future business Superintendent Gary Davis said there would be a Budget Workshop on Thursday, July 20, new teacher orientation on August 8-9, back to school breakfast on August 14, back to school luncheon and door prizes on August 17, and a public hearing on 2017-2018 Budget and Tax Rate followed by the next regular board meeting on August 21, which is also the first day of school.
The board adjourned at 6:50 and went on a guided tour of the partially completed part of the new high school.
