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RECOGNITIONS
The Board of Trustees recognized the following students and staff members for their achievements:
· Langham Creek High School senior Kevin Kalra who was named a Top High School Volunteer of the Year and a State Honoree in the 2004 Presidential Spirit of Community Awards program.
· Choir Director Jed Ragsdale and Head Choir Director Cathy Wofford of the Langham Creek High School Men’s Varsity Choir, which was selected to perform by the Texas Music Educator’s Association Clinic and Convention.
· Assistant to the Superintendent Cheryl Salyards, Ed.D., for her induction into the Hall of Honor by the Texas Council of Administrators for special education.
Additionally, the superintendent designee recognized students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:
· The works of some of the district’s most gifted young artists will be on display in New York City to compete at the national level in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Gold Key winners include Andrea Nguyen, Cy-Fair High School, for photography; Baylee Arrington and David Bonagurio, Jersey Village High School, for drawing; and Victor Gutierrez, Jersey Village, for sculpture. Gold Key portfolio winners include Will Bliss and Brittany Johnson, Langham Creek High School; and Ernesto Morales, Jersey Village.
· Ms. Wells recently received letters of commendation regarding two staff members from the district’s Communication Department. Craig Eichhorn, director of communication has served on the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) Board of Directors for the past two years and has contributed his expertise in school communication and marketing. Kelli Durham, assistant superintendent for communication, served as a chairperson for one of the TSPRA key committees and contributed her leadership in the field of public school communication.
· At the district Science Olympiad held February 7, Goodson Middle School won first place at the middle school level while Arnold placed second and Labay finished third. Langham Creek earned first place in the high school level while Cypress Falls placed second and Cypress Springs was third. The top two teams will advance to the state Science Olympiad April 23-24 at Texas A&M University. All secondary schools in the district were represented at the district level.
· The Taylor Publishing Company has recognized the Goodson Middle School yearbook staff and teacher Debbie Foe with an Award of Excellence honoring their accomplishments in yearbook design and coverage. The Goodson yearbook is featured in the 2004 Yearbook Yearbook created by Taylor Publishing. Additionally, work from the Cook Middle School publication will be seen and used as a standard of design by yearbook advisors, editors and designers across the United States. Overseeing the Cook yearbook student staff is teacher Frank Gall.
· The Jersey Village High School yearbook staff and teacher Margie Comstock were also recognized by Taylor Publishing Company with an Award of Excellence for yearbook design and coverage. Selected among the best, the Jersey Village yearbook is also featured in the 2004 Yearbook Yearbook. The award of excellence is given each year to less than five percent of yearbook staffs nationwide that demonstrate excellence in yearbook creation.
· The district spelling bee was held February 10 with Jonathan Xu, a fourth grader at Fiest Elementary took first place in the elementary school division. He correctly spelled the words “corrugated” and “suburban” to win the competition. Taha Tayyab, a fourth grader at Walker Elementary, was the second place winner. In the middle school division, the first place winner is Nicholas Goodman, a sixth grader at Thornton Middle School and the runner-up is Snigdha Peddireddy, a seventh grader at Arnold Middle School.
· Cypress Creek High School received congratulations from the Harris County Department of Education Partners in Peer Mediation Program for its students’ participation at the Texas Association of Mediators conference. The students are part of the “Cypress Creek Peacemakers.”
· The Cy-Fair girls’ basketball team was congratulated for winning the District 15-5A title with a perfect 16-0 district record. Cypress Springs was second with a 13-3 district record while Jersey Village and Langham Creek tied for third with 11-5 records. Cy-Fair advanced to the final round of regional play and claimed the title of region semi-finalist champions.
· The Cypress Falls boys’ basketball team won first place with a 15-1 district record. Cypress Ridge was second with a 13-3 record and Cy-Fair was third with a 13-3 record. Cypress Falls and Cypress Ridge won bi-district championships and ended their season in area play.
· Tyler Hill, Cypress Creek High School, placed second with a time of 1:40 in the 200-yard freestyle event at the recent state swim meet. Bryan Beresik, Langham Creek High School, finished second with a time of 21 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle.
· Rayyan Amine and Dr. John Fourqurean from the district’s planning and research department wrote an article that was published in the March 2004 issue of the American School Board Journal. The article outlined the district’s implementation and success with electronic polling, or e-surveys, as an efficient and effective means of gathering input from employees and community members.
SUPERINTENDENT FINALIST
Following a nationwide search to find the next superintendent of schools, the Board of Trustees announced during its March 8 meeting that it had chosen current McKinney ISD (MISD) Superintendent Dr. David G. Anthony as the sole finalist for the position.
The announcement made by Board President William O’Brien came on the heels of an extensive search process that included input from the Cy-Fair community and district employees to develop a candidate profile that reflected the characteristics and qualifications desired of the next CFISD superintendent. With assistance from Bracewell and Patterson, L.L.P.— the firm contracted to conduct the search for highly qualified superintendent candidates, trustees narrowed their quest from a field of 39 applicants and conducted a series of interviews with the top candidates to choose the person that would best serve as the district’s lead administrator.
As per state guidelines for hiring a superintendent, the district must now wait three weeks before officially naming Anthony as superintendent of schools. Texas law requires the Board to give public notice of the name or names of the finalists being considered for superintendent at least 21 days prior to the date of the meeting at which a final action or vote is to be taken on the employment of the person.
PERSONNEL TRANSACTIONS
Following the approval of employee transactions for the month of March, trustees recognized Larry Peil as the district’s new director of athletics. Peil, who has served as associate athletic director for the last 24 years, will replace current CFISD athletic director George Hopper upon his retirement.
HEALTH INSURANCE
George Hobson presented a report on Cigna Healthcare, which was awarded a three-year contract in 2003. The PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) with Cigna Healthcare has approximately 79 percent employee participation and will have no increase in premiums to employees for the 2004-05 school year.
The Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) will have an increase in premiums due to the plan’s richer benefits. In order to hold down the increase in HMO premiums Cigna recommended minor changes to the current plan design. District employees under the HMO plan will notice a 14-19 percent increase in premiums, depending on coverage.
SCHOOL FINANCE STUDY COMMITTEE
Superintendent Designee Pam Wells and Albert Arechiga III, chairman of the district’s School Finance Study Committee, provided information to the Board regarding the committee’s progress. Arechiga discussed the diverse makeup of the committee, which included parents, retirees, business owners and district employees. The committee, which began meeting in November 2003, has been actively seeking solutions to the state’s education funding crisis and creating an advocacy campaign.
The report included statistics on how local school districts are now funding 62 percent of the cost of education— a significant increase from the 45 percent local districts provided in 1945. Of the 1034 districts in Texas, 605 are currently at or above a $1.45 Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Tax rate. These districts represent 81 percent of the state’s student enrollment. The state has capped the M&O rate at $1.50. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD is among the Texas school districts to have reached the tax cap.
SUMMER SCHOOL DATES
The Board approved summer school locations, dates and courses for elementary, middle and high school students. High School original credit courses will be offered at Cypress Falls, Cypress Ridge and Windfern in two sessions. The first session is from June 7-25 and the second session from June 28-July 19. The time schedule for both original credit sessions is 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Make-up credit courses will take place June 10-25 and June 28-July 14 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Middle school courses will be offered at Campbell and Truitt (original credit, make-up credit and ESL classes for sixth- through eighth-grade students) and Cypress Falls and Cypress Ridge (original credit high school classes for eighth-grade students). Dates for original credit sessions are June 7-25 and June 28-July 19. Make-up credit courses will be from June 10-July 14. All middle school classes will be from 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Elementary courses will be offered from June 7-25. Class times are 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and noon to 3 p.m. Locations for elementary summer school are Millsap (for students residing in Ault, Farney, Hamilton, Lamkin, Millsap, Robinson and Sampson attendance zones); Holmsley (for students in Copeland, Holmsley, Jowell and Walker); Lieder (for students in Lieder, Metcalf, Sheridan, Tipps and Wilson); Moore (students in Adam, Hancock, Matzke, Moore and Yeager); Fiest (students in Birkes, Fiest, Hairgrove, Horne, Lowery and Owens); Bane (students in Bane, Holbrook and Kirk); Reed (students residing in Frazier, Post and Reed); Bang (students in Bang, Emmott, Francone, Gleason and Willbern) and Copeland (ESL students).
BOND UPDATE
Trustees approved several construction contract awards for projects that originated from the 2001 Bond Election. In all, the Board approved bids totaling $147,338,632 for construction of the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center and second athletic stadium, LaFaye Johnson Lee and Thomas M. Danish elementary schools, high school #8 and the new Carlton Center. Contract awards for these projects came $5,741,824 under the original budgeted amount.
Pepper-Lawson Inc. was awarded a contract for $50,999,000 to build High School No. 8 and the new Carlton Center on the 182-acre multi-campus site located at Spring Cypress and Skinner Roads. The total figure represents a savings of $4,235,819 under the original budgeted amount.
Collier Construction, Inc. was awarded a contract for $8,675,000 to build LaFaye Johnson Lee Elementary School (No. 41) at a site along West Little York east of North Eldridge Parkway. The total figure represents a savings of $924,500 under the original budgeted amount.
Turner Construction, Inc. was awarded a contract for $9,025,000 to build Thomas M. Danish Elementary School (No. 42) at a site along Fallbrook Drive west of FM 1960. The total figure represents a savings of $575,000 under the original budgeted amount.
The Board also approved the contract award recommendations for the construction of the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center and new athletic stadium to SpawGlass Construction Corp. in the amount of $72,897,808. The contract is $6,005 under the original budgeted amount, not including the $4.2 million previously saved in the decision to build both the ESC and the athletic stadium on the same site.
SUPERINTENDENT DESIGNEE’S BRIEFING
Superintendent Designee Pam Wells announced that Spring Break was set for March 15-19. She extended her best wishes that students and staff enjoy a safe and well-deserved vacation.
Third-grade students took the reading portion of the TAKS test March 3. LEP students in grades 3-12 will be taking the Reading Proficiency Test of English Wednesday, March 24 to measure growth in English. Students in grades 3-11 will take math, reading, science and social studies TAKS tests April 27-29. Ms. Wells wished all students well as they continue to reach higher levels of achievement.
Wells informed the audience of the graduation dates and times for each of the district’s high schools. They schedule is as follows:
· Windfern High School — May 27 at 7 p.m. at Copperfield Baptist Church
· Cy-Fair High School — May 29 at 9 a.m. at Reliant Stadium
· Cypress Falls High School — May 29 at 12:30 p.m. at Reliant Stadium
· Jersey Village High School — May 29 at 4 p.m. at Reliant Stadium
· Langham Creek High School — May 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Reliant Stadium
· Cypress Creek High School — May 30 at 1 p.m. at Reliant Stadium
· Cypress Springs High School — May 30 at 4:30 p.m. at Reliant Stadium
Principals are providing seniors and their parents with more detailed information about graduation activities and guidelines and the number of tickets that will be allocated per student. This information may be found on the district’s Web site at www.cfisd.net.
The district’s bus Road-e-o is scheduled for Saturday, April 3 at the Barker Cypress Transportation Center. This transportation competition is based on driver’s skills in maneuvering a school bus as well as their knowledge of state laws and safety requirements. The top four teams from regular transportation and top three teams from special needs transportation will advance to regional competition set for May 1 at Rhodes Stadium in Katy ISD. Winners at the regional competition will advance to the state competition June 14 in Galveston. The winning team from the state competition will compete nationally in Spring 2005. Ms. Wells encouraged Board members and audience members to attend the April 3 competition, which begins at 8 a.m.
Additionally, CFISD bus drivers Carol Wheeler and Cheryl Costello represented the district at the Road-e-o Nationals in Atlanta, March 5-6 and took 8th place in the competition.
AGENDA ITEMS
In other action, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees:
· 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;
· received a written report on revenues generated through the district’s surplus inventory Internet auction held January 17, 2004 through January 28, 2004;
· received an update on the preliminary budget for the 2004-05 school year;
· approved the District Textbook Committee’s recommendations for 2004-05;
· approved resolutions to participate in four interlocal cooperative purchasing programs: 1) The Cooperative Purchasing Network; 2) Texas Local Governmental Statewide Purchasing Cooperative; 3) Texas Building & Procurement Commission; and 4) Harris County Department of Education;
· approved the external auditors, Deloitte & Touche, to perform the annual audit of the district’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004;
· approved the long-range plan priorities established for 2004-05 at the Goal Setting Workshop;
· approved the student transfer status of district schools for 2004-05;
· approved on first reading five new policies and revisions to three others. New policies pertained to planning and decision-making process; compensation and benefits expense reimbursement; work load: required plans and reports, admissions – homeless students; admissions – school safety transfers. Revised policies pertained to board members compensation and expenses; health requirements and services – medical treatment; and student rights and responsibilities;
· approved the superintendent designee’s contract recommendation for school year 2004-05 of teachers as presented in the 2004-05 Staff Recommendation Book and in the superintendent designee’s memorandum of March 4, 2004;
· approved the superintendent designee’s contract recommendation for school year 2004-05 of non-teaching professional staff as presented in the 2004-05 Staff Recommendation Book and in the superintendent designee’s memorandum of March 4, 2004;
· approved the superintendent designee’s contract recommendation for school year 2004-05 of paraprofessionals as presented in the 2004-05 Staff Recommendation Book and in the superintendent designee’s memorandum of March 4, 2004;
· authorized tax refunds $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or the Harris County Education District in the amount of $42,376.47;
· approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and services; and
· approved 117 personnel recommendations, resignations, retirements, promotions, terminations and discharges. |
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