NACOGDOCHES ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting
Thursday, April 18, 2024
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1. CALL TO ORDER
2. EXECUTIVE/CLOSED SESSION
Board entered closed session at 5:01 p.m.
Board returned to open session at 6:01 p.m.
3. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
A. Invocation was provided by Kallie Pitcock.
B. Pledges of Allegiance led by students from Thomas J. Rusk Elementary. Colors were presented by the Navy National Defense Cadet Corps program at Nacogdoches High School.
Thomas J. Rusk Elementary’s four houses led the pledges of allegiance to open Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
The colors were presented by the Navy National Defense Corps from Nacogdoches High School.
4. CELEBRATIONS/INFORMATION ITEMS
A. Student Recognition
1. NHS CTE State Qualifiers – Les Linebarger
Les Linebarger introduced Director of College & Career Readiness Coy Van Valkenburg, who presented students from the high school’s Career & Technical Education Department qualifying for state competitions in HOSA, FCCLA, SkillsUSA competitions and Student Response Team.
Automotive students present at the board meeting with instructor Stan Warren are Ismael Chan-Villa (center) and Alexis De La Rosa.
CTE construction students present were Ben Knepp (left) and Giovanni Servin.
Cosmetology students present with instructor Jan Holland were Anahi Martinez, Jazmine Curbow, Alexis Gibbs and Kili Clements.
Graphics students present with instructor Mary Okray were Wyatt Russell (center) and Ytzabella Miranda Adame.
Student Response Team with instructor Roya Dinbali (back row, from left) Audree Gillespie, Zatayvious Miller, Garrett White, Michael Diaz, Tristan Vidrine, Diego Hernandez and teacher Charles Bennett; (front row) Adorabella Bennett, Yamilet Leon, Karen Caporali and Arriana Lopez.
HOSA student Toni Saucedo, who won the state competition for art, is shown with CTE teacher Stacie Luman.
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B. Teacher Incentive Allotment Recognition – Harold Whitaker
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Harold Whitaker announced NISD’s 10 teachers who earned a Teacher Incentive Allotment designation in the first year of the program in the district.
They include Monica Gryder, Mike Moses Elementary; Emily Drewery and Tamyla Taylor, both from Thomas J. Rusk Elementary; Reagan Reyna, McMichael Middle School; Jennifer Haveman, Rebecca Jaramillo, Andrea Howell, Jody Franks, Becky Martin and Anita Norman, all from Nacogdoches High School.
Shown above in the photo are (from left) Dana Solomon, principal at Mike Moses Elementary, Monica Gryder, Emily Drewery, Thomas J. Rusk principal Paula Harshbarger, Tamyla Taylor, McMichael principal Gerald Fonzie, Reagan Reyna, Jennifer Haveman, Rebecca Jaramillo, NHS principal Stephen Autrey and Becky Martin. Unable to attend Thursday’s meeting were Andrea Howell, Anita Norman and Jody Franks.
C. Superintendent Announcements – Dr. Gabriel Trujillo
Many of you got a chance to see some or all of the Fine Arts Showcase held Saturday at Nacogdoches High School. It was just an outstanding event, one of the best we’ve had. So many of our talented students – from elementary grades all the way up to high school – were on stage Saturday. And this wasn’t only for the performance arts… visual arts were displayed too, and many of those were so creative and well-done. I want to applaud our fine arts department here at NISD, and would like to single out our Fine Arts Director, Deshmond Johnson, for organizing the event. It was a spectacular day for our students!
Also on Saturday, Nacogdoches High School wrapped up its, well… domination, of the district academic UIL contest. In 2023, you might remember, NHS won the district contest for the first time in years. Well, they greatly expanded on that victory this year, scoring a total of 639 points, earning 52 medals in 22 events and winning eight first place team distinctions. Twenty-five Dragons are moving on to the regional level that will take place next weekend at UT-Arlington. Congratulations to the NHS academic UIL team!
Thirty-six employers, East Texas colleges and branches of the military filled Malcolm Rector Center for Advanced Careers & Innovation last week for Nacogdoches High School’s Youth Career Summit. Held in partnership with Workforce Solutions of Deep East Texas, the summit allowed NHS juniors and seniors to visit with East Texas firms that might provide employment and educational opportunities for soon-to-be graduates. Other Nacogdoches County high schools also sent students to tour the summit. Coy Van Valkenburg, our Director of College and Career Readiness, and the entire CTE department had been working towards this opportunity for the past several weeks. I’m grateful – we’re all grateful – for opportunities like this for our students.
STAAR testing around the district kicked off last week and will continue through the end of this month. All students from grades 3-8 have STAAR exams, and our high school students have the end-of-course tests in biology, algebra and U.S. history.
And so much more is going on as we move rapidly towards the end of another school year. Prom is Saturday at the Nacogdoches County Civic Center, and that’s just one of many events still to go before graduation takes place May 24.
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5. PUBLIC COMMENT
No one asked to address the Board of Trustees.
6. CONSENT AGENDA
Unless removed from the Consent Agenda, the Board will take action on items identified under the Consent Agenda at one time.
A. Board Meeting Minutes
1. March 2024 Meeting Minutes.
B. Business Office Reports – Lisa Barbarick
1. Budget Amendments
2. Donations under $2,500
3. Investment Report
4. Miscellaneous Business Office Reports
C. Purchases over $50,000
1. Learning.com – Michael Martin
2. Mobile Communications America Inc. – Maury Tarvin
3. McGraw Hill – Texas Science K-12 – Dr. Daya D. Hill and Dr. Kimberly Welsh
D. Federally funded vendors – Dr. Daya D. Hill and Dr. Kimberly Welsh
E. Mike Moes Gym HVAC Project – Michael Martin
Farshid Niroumand asked to remove agenda item C-3 from the consent agenda. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda, with the exception of item C-3, was made by Mindy Winslow and seconded by James Ervin. The motion was approved.
Item C-3: Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Academics Dr. Daya Hill told the board NISD had learned Texas Education Agency was advising districts to limit the length of commitment on instructional material subscriptions and that the district was now asking for a four-year agreement, which decreased the amount of the cost of the materials. Mindy Winslow made a motion to approve the revised request and it was seconded by James Ervin. The motion was approved.
7. DISCUSSION/ACTION AGENDA
A. Action resulting from executive/closed session – Farshid Niroumand
There was no action resulting from the executive/closed session.
8. REPORTS
A. TASB Energy Cooperative – Fuel Pool Report – Michael Martin
Michael Martin advised the board the district was entering into an agreement to purchase diesel and gasoline through the TASB Energy Cooperative Fixed-Rate Transportation Fuel Pool. The agreement would extend from June 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025. As part of the agreement, prices would not exceed $2.75 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline and $2.99 per gallon for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
B. Annual announcement of continuing education hours for board members – Farshid Niroumand
Farshid Niroumand announced the number of continuing education hours for board members. All NISD trustees have completed or exceeded state training and continuing education requirements in all categories.
9. ADJOURN – Meeting adjourned at 7:09 p.m.