MINUTES REGULAR BOARD MEETING APRIL 15, 2003 | 6:00 PM

MEMBERS PRESENT Craig A. Patton, President; Martha Contreras, Vice-President; Alex Vidales, Secretary; Brenda L. Castañeda; Guillermo Gandara; Isela Rosales and Dr. Gary D. Brooks, Interim Superintendent

MEMBERS ABSENT Barbara Perez-Peña

CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. by Board President, Craig A. Patton. All members were present except Barbara Perez-Peña. A quorum was present.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Samantha Hilding, a student from O’Shea Keleher Elementary School.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Shelby Acosta, a student at Benito Martinez, performed the song Proud to be an American by Lee Greenwood.

Community members Kirk and Judy Robison were recognized for their donation of dictionaries to O’Shea Keleher.

BOARD HONORS (PRESENTED BY BONNIE KATZ & ROSA JIMENEZ) Two Ernesto Serna School students earned first and second place prizes during the recent Sun Country Regional Science Fair at UTEP. David Gutierrez, an eighth grader, won first place in the biochemistry division. His brother, Danny Gutierrez, won second place in the mathematics division. Their teacher is Chelaine Marion.

The Destination Imagination Team from William D. Slider Middle School is the Champion for the middle school level of competition. Members of the all-girl team include: Kristi Belles, Lauren Howes, Karina Lazcano, Angie Izquierdo, Emily Izquierdo and Cathy O’Hara. Their team manager and teacher is Laura Belles.

In addition to that award, the O’Shea Keleher Elementary School team placed first in the regional competition. Team coaches Mary Whitaker and Antonio Miramontes led the following team to victory: Alan Muñoz, Bianca Vianney Sanchez, Gaby Ramirez, Danielle Peña and Desiree Chacon.

Marissa Ronquillo, a second grade student in Ruby Rivera’s class at Myrtle Cooper Elementary School, was a winner at the 2003 El Paso Public Library’s 13th Annual Poetry Contest.

Arselia Gale, a student at Helen Ball Elementary School, won third place in this year’s Spelling Bee. Her coach is Linda Popp.

An eighth grader at Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School, Isreal “Steve” Donacio, won first place at the El Paso Art Awards Show. Seventh grader Priscilla Rodarte brought home a second place award.

Joan Jameson, a teacher at Jane Hambric School, has some award-winning artists: fourth grader, David Benitez, won first place at the El Paso Community College Art Show; eighth grader, Carlos Rodriguez, won first place in Computer Art; Daniel Dalli, a seventh grader, took first place in Pen and Ink Design.

Regular Meeting – Board of Trustees April 15, 2003

Another winning artist, from Socorro Middle School, is Elizabeth Duarte who won the Dr. Richard Rhodes Presidential Award at the El Paso Community College Art Fair in March. Her teacher is Jan Deragisch.

Also at the El Paso Community College Art Exhibit, Lizeth Valenzuela received a first place award in the kindergarten through second grade division. Her teacher is Laura Mena.

From Horizon Heights Elementary School, Ian Taylor won second place in the 2003 Black History Culture/Art Show sponsored by the Eta Pi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. His teacher is Mary Kay diValentino.

There are some outstanding students from the Business Professionals of America Program. Socorro High School senior, Patrick Carillo, is a national qualifier. He has been a state qualifier for the past three years. His sponsor is Norma Ayala. has two national qualifiers, Amanda Paredes and Natalie Lekkas. Their sponsor is Rachel Gomez.

The Americas High School cheerleading squads have brought back national trophies from the West Coast Classic Cheerleading Competition in Anaheim, California. The Junior Varsity cheerleaders placed fourth in the nation and include: Seth Benavides, Allyson Burrola, Morgan Doby, Jade Gardea, Pia Giannini, Angie Gomez, Isabel Gonzalez, Monica Lazcano, Daisy Martinez, Kendra McCray, Erin Noyes, Omar Quezada, Eva Ramirez, Raul Rivas and Diedre Rojas. Their coach is Antoinette Howard. The second place national title went to the Americas High School varsity squad: Ramon Cossio, Mary Ann Contreras, Clarissa Diaz de Leon, Melanie Madrid, Jennifer Marquez, Ashley Stanford, Manny Arroyo, Jeremy Nelson, Rick Otero and Omar Rodriguez. Their sponsor is Monica Bustillos.

Michelle Dutchover, a reading teacher at Socorro High School, was selected as a Rising Star by the Texas Exes and the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. The award honors teachers who have been teaching for less than three years.

Four educational administrators were honored this year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. James Kelch, Principal of Americas High School, and Robert Abdou, Assistant Principal of Americas High School, were selected as the Outstanding Principal and the Outstanding Assistant Principal for Region 19. Mason Gray, Assistant Principal of Montwood Middle School, was also named an Outstanding Assistant Principal in the Region 19 competition. Montwood Middle School teacher, Michael Huggins, was recognized by the Texas Middle Schools Association for his work during a February 27, 2003 conference in Fort Worth.

The meeting recessed after board honors from 6:33 to 6:41 p.m.

OPEN FORUM Nina Serna, representing State Representative Inocente Quintanilla, presented a congratulatory resolution to the District for its success in TAKS testing.

Community member, Robert Valles, read a letter (attached) from Danelle Ivey regarding block scheduling. Mr. Valles also expressed his concerns regarding block scheduling at and read excerpts from postings on elpasoforum.com.

Natalie Cordero, school nurse, expressed appreciation to the Board for their support and extended an invitation to attend the Lower Valley Health Fair.

LEAVER AUDIT (ADDENDUM ITEM) Craig Gibson, representing Dunbar Broaddus Gibson LLP, reviewed the annual dropout records report for the District for PEIMS Fall resubmission in January 2003. A motion was made by Guillermo Gandara and seconded by Martha Contreras to approve the audit as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Regular Meeting – Board of Trustees April 15, 2003

PROPERTY TAX REPORT Mary Benham, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services, presented the property tax collection analysis for the month of February 2003. The collections in February for the current year totaled $503,160 with year to date collections totaling $44,355,842. The prior year taxes collected in the month were $87,132 and year to date collections for the prior year totaled $995,616. The tax collection in February was at 94.77 percent. Tax collection at the same time last year was at 95.7 percent.

THIRD GRADE TAKS REPORT Esther McCarthy, Director of Elementary Instruction, presented Third Grade TAKS results and provided Board members with a detailed report.

MAINTENANCE REPORT Richard Garza, Director of Operational Services, presented the various activities of the Maintenance Department.

CONSTRUCTION REPORT Gabriel Crespo, Director of Facilities, presented Board members with an overview of the current construction projects in the District. Mr. Crespo reported on the status of the three new schools indicating that all of the projects are on-time.

CONSENT AGENDA A motion was made by Martha Contreras and seconded by Isela Rosales to approve the consent agenda as presented (Item B – Employment of Personnel was withdrawn by the administration). The motion carried unanimously.

Items approved under the consent agenda are: approval of minutes (March 13, 18, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 31, 2003), approval of budget amendments, approval of payment of bills, and awarding of bids (Paper Supplies, CSP No. 199-0325-0344, Electrical Parts & Supplies, CSP No. 199-0325-0346, Cafeteria Utensils & Equipment, CSP No. 199-0306-0341 and Cafeteria Tables, CSP 199-0324-0347), and interlocal agreement with La Porte ISD.

REQUEST FOR USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES Antonio Baca, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, presented a request for use of school facilities for Board consideration from Maranatha Baptist Church for the use of Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School for Sunday services.

A motion was made by Martha Contreras and seconded by Isela Rosales to approve the request as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

CONSIDER 2003-2004 EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS This item was withdrawn by the administration.

CHARTER SCHOOL STATEMENT OF IMPACT Ed Gabaldon, director of Secondary Education, presented a Statement of Impact form submitted by the El Paso School of Excellence, a charter school. The proposed change for the open-enrollment charter school is not expected to impact the District to a significant degree.

A motion was made by Alex Vidales and seconded by Martha Contreras to approve the statement of impact as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

APPLICATION FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT WAIVER FOR 2003-04 & 2004-05 This item was withdrawn by the administration.

INNOVATIVE COURSE APPLICATION Allen Long, Director of Career & Technology, presented an Innovative Course Application for the course entitled Fire Science Technology. This course will be offered at El Dorado High School with a future goal Regular Meeting – Board of Trustees April 15, 2003 to incorporate this program at all high schools. Discussion took place regarding placing the program at a new campus.

A motion was made by Martha Contreras and seconded by Guillermo Gandara to approve the course application as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

SUBMISSION OF IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES GRANT Jo Anne Houchin, Grant Writer, presented a request to submit a grant for improving literacy through school libraries. The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education has made discretionary grant funds available to improve student reading achievement by strengthening school libraries.

A motion was made by Martha Contreras and seconded by Alex Vidales to approve the submission of the grant as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

BOND ELECTION (ADDENDUM ITEM) Dr. Brooks reported that the administration voted unanimously to recommend postponement of the bond election until September 2003. Mary Benham outlined the reasons for the recommendation.

EXECUTIVE SESSION The meeting was closed at 7:55 p.m. to discuss personnel issues and to hear recommendations for Principal of Paso de4l Norte School, Director of Personnel Services, a lateral transfer and to consult with the school district’s attorney under Texas Government Code Sections 551.074 and 551.071.

The meeting was reopened at 9:35 p.m.

PRINCIPAL OF PASO DEL NORTE (ADDENDUM ITEM) Dr. Gary D. Brooks, Interim Superintendent, recommended Debra Carden for Principal of Paso del Norte School.

A motion was made by Guillermo Gandara and seconded by Isela Rosales to approve the recommendation as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL SERVICES (ADDENDUM ITEM) Dr. Gary D. Brooks reported that this item has been postponed until a future meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m.

THESE MINUTES WERE APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ON MAY 20, 2003.