Board Highlights

• Kevin Morosin of Campbell Middle School was recognized for leading his students in winning the State Championship 5A Junior High School High Point Award and earning second place in Championship Quality Percentage Index Award.
• Jerry Turner and Rachel Baxter of Thornton Middle School were recognized for serving as a sponsor for the winners of the Middle School Excellence Award. In addition, Baxter was also recognized for being named Advisor of the Year.
• Larry Carlton, Brad Lievsay, Tim Evans and Clyde Johnson of Cy-Fair High School were each recognized for having students who earned top honors at the State Industrial Technology contest.
• Lois Thomson of Cypress Creek High School and Robin Richard of Langham Creek High School were recognized for each having students who earned awards in the Extemporaneous Health Poster Contest.

Bond Steering Committee co-chairs Pam Wells, CFISD associate superintendent for general administration, and Mike Brezina, community volunteer, made a presentation to the Board on the committee’s process for developing a bond recommendation, which Brezina announced would be presented at the Trustees’ September 6 meeting. The 27-member Bond Steering Committee is comprised of parents, business and community members as well as district staff. Assisted by at least an additional 84 volunteers who serve with those committee members on five subcommittees, the Bond Steering Committee has spent the last several months learning about the district’s programs and facilities in order to assess current and future needs. Brezina announced that a public forum would be held Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. so that the committee can gather public input before making its recommendation to the Board.

Superintendent Rick Berry gave the Board an update on the district’s progress throughout the summer. Beyond the district’s regularly busy schedule with summer classes and staff development, many of the renovation and construction projects stemming from the 1998 bond election were carried out at nearly every district facility during the summer break. Some of the projects included the installation of new gymnasium floors at 10 elementary campuses, roofs on three elementary campuses and one high school, and new carpeting in five schools. Final touches to construction and other preparations were made for the opening of Goodson and Aragon middle schools, which came with the first day of school Aug. 14. Berry announced that construction at Cy-Fair High School is expected to be complete this fall — a full year ahead of schedule, and that construction on Sampson Elementary and Cy-Ridge High School remained on schedule to open those campuses with the start of the 2002-03 school year.

Based on the TAAS scores for students attending schools in CFISD as of October 27, 2000, the district is again expected to receive a "recognized" rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for 2001. Results show that every grade level and every student group scored above the 83 percent passing mark and that the district equaled or ranked first and second when compared to area school districts with a student enrollment over 30,000. Likewise, CFISD students’ performance consistently ranked in the upper half or better when compared with other large surrounding school districts.

Considering the total number of elementary students "promoted" to and "placed" in the next grade level, 33 of the 34 elementary schools maintained the district’s goal of having at least 90 percent of all students in grades 1-5 experience academic success. "Placed" students are those who are working below level or have earned a D/F in one or two of the four core subjects but whose overall performance does not warrant repeating an entire grade level. Should those students be removed from the evaluation, then 17 of the 24 elementary schools actually maintained or exceeded the district’s 90-percent success goal. Meanwhile, end-of-year grade distributions continue to reflect the "J-curve" based on the percent of students who earned A/Bs.

Trustees approved the implementation of the Evening High School Program at Windfern High School for the 2001-02 school year. This program is planned for any in-district student who meets the prerequisite requirement for the course and has permission from a guidance counselor. Depending on the course offering, classes will meet from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. Students will attend their courses for approximately 90 clock-hours per semester, which will allow time for mastering essential knowledge and skills. The same rules of conduct and guidelines that apply to students attending classes during the regular school day will be in effect for the evening classes. In addition, a nine-week adult education course will be offered in conjunction with the Evening High School Program for any out-of-school youth or adult resident of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD wanting to earn the GED.

On second reading, the Board adopted two new policies and made revisions or consolidations to several preexisting policies based on changes in the law or the need for clarification. A new policy concerning the planning of and amendments to the annual operating budget was adopted as policy CE (Local). Another new policy was adopted to replace the previous policy concerning field trips by defining the differences between those trips made as part of extracurricular, curricular and co-curricular activities.

With the start of the 2001-02 school year, employees beginning year-round services shall be eligible for two weeks of vacation based on changes made to DED (Local). Additionally, employees with 10 years of creditable service shall be granted three weeks of vacation while those with 15 years of creditable service shall receive four weeks.

Three policies regarding student retention and promotion in elementary, middle and high school as well as two policies on student schedules for middle and high school were consolidated to conform to the Texas Association of School Board’s coding system.

In one reading, the Board approved an amendment to police DEC (Local), which pertains to the attendance incentive reimbursement at retirement. The change relates to an amendment adopted by the Board in January 2001 that clarified the definition of an employee who is eligible for payment of an attendance incentive at retirement as one who qualifies for a standard annuity that is unreduced for early retirement. The latest change sets the effective date for the previous amendment to July 1, 2001. The new guidelines for compensation of unused leave or absences have been articulated in the 2001-02 Employee Handbook.

Additionally, the Board approved on first reading revisions to polices regarding the following subjects: Board meetings; public participation in Board meetings; nonrenewal of the superintendent’s contract; equal employment opportunity; employee salaries, wages and stipends; nonrenewal of term contracts; employee standards of conduct; harassment; searches and alcohol and drug testing; employee complaints and grievances; employee welfare; equal educational opportunities; admissions and attendance; interdistrict transfers; physical exams; student activities; rights and responsibilities pertaining to student expression; student complaints; public complaints; and community use of school facilities.

The Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Harris County Juvenile Board (HCJB) to participate in the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) for the 2001-02 school year. Under the agreement, the district is reserving 16 spaces for 180 days at a cost of $35 per day per student who is expelled or is returning to school during an ongoing semester after having spent time in a correctional program. While the total cost to the district will be $100,800, the JJAEP will refund $32 of the $35 daily fee for each day that is not used by the district. This year marks the sixth year that CFISD has participated in the JJAEP with HCJB.

The Board approved a schedule for the sale of the remaining $64.66 million from the 1998 bond election and the refinancing of $50 million in bonds from 1992, and requests for underwriting proposals on this action will begin Sept. 7. By selling the final installment of the 1998 bonds and refinancing the 1992 series, the district expects to take advantage of current favorable market conditions and secure a lower interest rate on both transactions. The refinancing of the 1992 bond series could save the district between $4 to $5 million depending on the interest rate at the time of sale, which is expected to come before the Board for authorization at the Nov. 8 meeting. Combination of the sale and refinancing as one transaction will also save the district approximately $200,000 by incurring a single underwriting expense.

Based on a recommendation by district staff and PBK Architects, a contract for $1,065,200 was awarded to Smith Commercial Contracting for the construction of the district’s new security building. The funding for the construction was made possible through interest earnings and project cost savings from the 1998 bond election.

In other agenda items, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees:

• received a written report on the district’s investment policy per state law;
• received a written report on the electrical energy deregulation program;
• received a written report on legislative issues and the activities of the State Board of Education, Texas School Alliance and the Fast Growth School Coalition;
• approved 30 bids and contracts with vendors for various goods and services;
• authorized tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or the Harris County Education District;
• authorized the sale of three tax resale deeds for three individual properties;
• approved an Interlocal Government Agreement for recreational facilities between the Harris County Municipal Utility District #168 and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD for construction of playground equipment at Emmott Elementary School;
• approved an Instrument To Follow (ITF) document with Reliant Energy/Houston Lighting and Power (HL&P) for electrical service for Nancy Marsh Sampson Elementary School;
• approved the revised 2001 Harris County Constable Contract for police services provided to the district, which includes an increase of $34,073 for two officers to cover Aragon and Goodson middle schools;
• discussed an invitation from the North Harris Montgomery Community College District to hold an informal meeting with its governing Board of Trustees;
• approved a resolution amending Texpool-authorized representatives; and
• approved personnel recommendations, employments, resignations, retirements, promotions, terminations