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RECOGNITIONS

The Board of Trustees recognized the following students and staff members for their achievements:

• Students from Hamilton Middle School who placed first in the Global Destination ImagiNation Competition on May 23-26 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. Team K.I.A.W. won the DI-rect Flight Challenge, represented by sixth-grade team members Drew Allen, Eddie Bruccaleri, Nathalie Charlton, Sally Cogan, Hayden Passon, Daniel Schlomer and Michael Sliva. Team managers are Denise Cogan and Cathy Sliva and the school sponsor is Mary Young-Miller; and

• Students who placed first or second at the state track and field meet last month in Austin. Allison Pye of Cypress Creek High School won first place in both the 3,200-meter and 1,600-meter events; Grecia Bolton of Cypress Springs High School won first place in the 100-meter dash; Sam McGuffie of Cy-Fair High School won second place in the long jump; Blake Shaw of Cypress Falls High School won second place in the 800-meter run; and Mike Barbas of Jersey Village High School won second place in the discus throw.

Additionally, the superintendent recognized a group of staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:

• Five additional team winners in the Global Destination ImagiNation Competition. Team DI-namites from Yeager Elementary School won fifth place in the DI-rect Flight Challenge. Fourth-grade team members are Alex Brogan, Allison Godfrey, Matt Granger, Shawn Killalea, Austin Michals and Lindsey Miller; Cy-Woods #1 won sixth place in the Switching TraDItion Challenge and eighth place in DI Max, an event in DIeXtreme. Team members are Bryan Gray, Kelsey Sallade, Matt Wheeler and Phillip Wozny; the Squirrels from Hamilton Elementary School won seventh place in the CSI-DI Challenge, Flight 1. Fifth-grade team members are Colin Chappell, Casey Cogan, Erin Curby, Brooke Hanley, Mitchell Shockley, Ross Tuzin and Kirsten Williamson; team Fly High DI from Yeager Elementary School won eighth place in the DI-rect Flight Challenge. Third-grade team members are Sam Cartwright, Jonathan Cook, Jordan McGaughey, Bradley Stevens, Tommy Watson, Hayden Wilkerson and Jake Willingham; the Velcro Masters from Jersey Village High School won ninth place in DI Max and 11th place in Super Max—two events in DIeXtreme. Ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade team members are Kurt Bilanoski, Matt Caughman, Jordan Fauser, Jesse Pyle, Heather White and Sarah Wisterman;

• A seventh-grade GT Texas History class at Bleyl Middle School that embarked on an effort to secure a new state symbol, the cowboy boot, as the official state footwear of Texas. The students in Kay Pechacek's class proposed a resolution to Rep. Dwayne Bohac, which has been approved by the House and Senate and was sent to Gov. Rick Perry for approval on May 28. Last month, the students met with Rep. Bohac and Gov. Perry at the State Capitol. The students are Christen May, Lucas Bounds, Michael Pratt, Megan McGrath, Stephanie Aschbacher, Katy Johnson, Kory Lee, Tyler Lee and Joy Atkinson;

• Cypress Woods High School student Anthony Villamagna, for being selected as the Outstanding Male Ambassador of the Hugh O'Brien Youth (HOBY) Leadership Conference, held at Rice University on June 1-3. Villamagna was one of 200 students from Texas who attended, and he will represent CFISD and the Texas Gulf Coast at the HOBY World Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., in July;

• The CFISD Food Service department, which was recognized at the recent Texas Association of School Nutrition Conference. The district was recognized for increasing student breakfast and lunch participation by more than 10 percent during the 2006-2007 school year. The department received recertification for the TASN Standards of Excellence Program, and received a $5,000 grant from Dairy Max to promote breakfast in the classroom;

• Four CFISD athletes who were recognized as the Houston Athletic Committee Scholar Athlete of the Year in their respective sport. CFISD winners were Jeff Onstott, Langham Creek High School, Baseball; Kyle Kahlden, Cypress Creek High School, Boys Basketball; Michael Dobson, Cypress Falls High School, Swimming; and Allison Pye, Cypress Creek High School, Girls Track and Field; and

• Baseball teams who finished in the regional semifinals and beyond in the UIL postseason tournament. The Cy-Fair High School Bobcats won the district's first state championship in baseball by defeating Harlingen South, 6-1, in Round Rock last weekend. Coached by Woody Champagne, Cy-Fair also defeated Klein Collins in the state semifinals and swept Kingwood in the regional finals. Langham Creek High School ended its 34-4 season as regional semifinalists, and had entered the playoffs ranked No. 6 in the nation by Baseball America.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS AND PROMOTIONS

The administration announced the naming of the new associate superintendent of Governmental Relations and Communication:

• Dr. Cheryl Salyards, the current assistant to the superintendent, was promoted to associate superintendent of governmental relations and communication, effective July 1. 

BOND UPDATE
A written report was given on the progress of the bond study process. Five Bond Study Committee meetings have been held thus far; the first two meetings focused on committee and subcommittee charges and presentation of enrollment data, and the next three allowed the Student Growth, Instructional/Support Facilities and Technology subcommittees to analyze data specific to their charges.

On Monday, June 18, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Instructional Support Center, the community is invited to participate in an Open Forum. During the 45-minute forum, community members can provide input for the Bond Study Committee, after which BSC members will meet to discuss the input.

On Thursday, June 28, during the Board of Trustees' special-called meeting, the Bond Study Committee will give its final 2007 bond recommendation to the Board.

In other bond-related news, the Board:

• Authorized the Superintendent to enter into a miscellaneous professional service contract related to Package A & B-2005 Miscellaneous Renovations for Adam, Hancock, Horne and Moore elementary schools up to $85,000 for HVAC System Testing and Balance;
• Authorized the Superintendent to enter into a purchase and sales agreement with Friendswood Development Company for the purchase - at $1.15 per square foot - of approximately 14.62 acres of land located on Schiel Road and Fairfield Place Drive in Fairfield, and to complete final negotiations of the terms of the contract and to execute the documents on behalf of the district pursuant to the terms discussed in closed session; and
• Authorized the Superintendent to enter into a purchase and sales agreement with GP Bridgeland, LLP, for the purchase - at $1.15 per square foot - of approximately 14 acres of land located on North Bridgeland Lake Parkway and Cypress Cove Park Drive in Bridgeland and to complete final negotiations of the terms of the contract and to execute the documents on behalf of the district pursuant to the terms discussed in closed session.

2007-2008 BUDGET
The Board unanimously approved the adoption of the 2007-2008 budget. Total revenues and expenditures are projected to balance at $605,657,795.

Based on an anticipated $1.024 Maintenance and Operation tax rate, 2007-2008 revenues will be comprised of tax revenue ($303,014,268), state revenue ($298,772,012) and miscellaneous federal revenue ($12,110,000).

Expenditures have been divided into payroll costs ($541,504,488), purchased and contracted services ($38,584,344), supplies and materials ($16,339,194), other operating expenses ($6,989,702) and capital outlay ($2,240,067).

2007 TAKS RESULTS
The administration reported on the 2007 TAKS results for grades 3-11, SDAA II results for grades 3-10 and TELPAS results for grades K-12.

Among CFISD third-grade students, 88 percent passed the TAKS Reading test on first administration, 94 percent passed Reading on second administration and 88 percent of students passed the Math test; among fourth-grade students, 84 percent passed Reading, 91 percent passed Math and 91 percent passed Writing; among fifth-grade students, 84 percent passed Reading on first administration, 91 percent passed Reading on second administration, 91 percent passed Math on first administration, 95 percent passed Math on second administration and 86 percent passed Science; among sixth-grade students, 93 percent passed Reading and 81 percent passed Math; among seventh-grade students, 87 percent passed Reading, 79 percent passed Math and 94 percent passed Writing; among eighth-grade students, 92 percent passed Reading, 75 percent passed Math, 92 percent passed Social Studies and 77 percent passed Science; among ninth-grade students, 90 percent passed Reading and 70 percent passed Math; among 10th-grade students, 88 percent passed ELA, 72 percent passed Math, 91 percent passed Social Studies and 69 percent passed Science; and among 11th-grade students, 93 percent passed ELA, 83 percent passed Math, 96 percent passed Social Studies and 83 percent passed Science.

Among CFISD third- through 10th-grade students, 88 percent met Reading ARD expectations for the Texas State Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA II); and 84 percent met Math ARD expectations. Among fourth-, seventh- and 10th-grade students, 71 percent met Writing/ELA ARD expectations. A total of 84 percent met ARD expectations for all tests taken.

Among K-2 students, 76 percent progressed at least one proficiency level in the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS), and 20 percent achieved an overall rating of Advanced High. Among 3-12 students, 64 percent progressed at least one proficiency level and 45 percent achieved an overall rating of Advanced High.

SUPERINTENDENT'S BRIEFING

Dr. David Anthony thanked members of the Board and district employees who helped organize, participate and assist at the eight high school graduation ceremonies over the Memorial Day weekend, during which 5,078 graduating seniors were awarded their high school diplomas at the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center. The graduation exercises were also broadcast live over Channel 16.

On June 18, there will be a community Open Forum for the Bond Study Committee beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room at the Instructional Support Center. The forum will end at 7:15 p.m. or with the final speaker, whichever comes first. Community members may begin signing up at 6:15. Dr. Ed Hogan, the chair of the Bond Study Committee, anticipates bringing the committees final recommendation to the Board of Trustees at the special-called Board meeting on June 28 at 6 p.m. Additional information is available on the district's website at www.cfisd.net.

The enrollment total for this year's summer school is 15,886 students, including 7,308 at the elementary level (regular ed. & Bil/ESL), 8,002 at the secondary level and 576 in the ESY (Extended School Year) summer program. The secondary enrollment figure includes 3,404 students taking original credit courses, 1,980 students taking make-up credit and 2,618 secondary students in special programs. Summer school graduation has been scheduled for July 27 at 7 p.m. at the Richard E. Berry Center.

The Texas Student Success Initiative requires students to pass selected TAKS tests in order to be eligible for promotion to the next grade. Currently, third-grade students are required to pass the TAKS reading assessment to advance to Grade 4, while fifth-grade students must pass the  reading and mathematics assessments to advance to Grade 6. Testing dates for the summer are:

• Grades 3 and 5 Summer TAKS Retesting
• Grade 5 Math - June 27
• Grade 3 5 Reading - June 28
• Exit Level TAKS Retesting
• English Language Arts - July 10
• Math - July 11
• Science - July 12
• Social Studies - July l3

These dates are also posted on the district website at www.cfisd.net.

The Facilities Planning and Construction and the Maintenance and Operations departments are currently managing projects at 60 campuses and 14 facilities. The Facilities and Planning and Construction department is overseeing the final stages of construction and the Purchasing Department is purchasing equipment for Elementary No. 46, Warner Elementary School; Elementary No. 47, McFee Elementary School; and Middle School No. 15, Hopper Middle School. These new schools will open in August 2007. Construction is underway for Elementary No. 48, Elementary No. 49, High School No. 9 and High School No. 10. The two elementary schools and the two high schools will open in August 2008.

A special-called meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for June 28, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Board room of the Instructional Support Center at 10300 Jones Road.

AGENDA ITEMS
In other action, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees approved:

• The list of students for Off-Campus Physical Education, Category I, for the school years 2007-2008 (Fall) through 2009-2010;
• Bids and contracts to the recommended vendors;
• Tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Harris County Education District
• The list of financial institutions and brokers/dealers eligible to provide investment services to Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District;
• Additions, deletions or revisions to district policy;
• The Consent to Encroach Agreement with West Harris County Regional Water Authority for storm drainage for Robinson Elementary School (No. 49);
• The granting of a 20-foot Roadway Easement to Harris County for the widening of Spring Cypress Road on the Cypress Woods High School, Spillane Middle School and Robinson Elementary School site;
• Cancellation of the Board meeting scheduled for July 16, 2007;
• The naming of Bob Covey as delegate and John Ogletree as alternate delegate to the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) annual delegate assembly;
• A waiver to policy GKD (LOCAL) COMMUNITY RELATIONS: NONSCHOOL USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES as requested by Saint Aidan's Episcopal Church;
• The recommendation for stipends for employees for the school year 2007-2008;
• The Superintendent's salary recommendation for employees for the school year 2007-2008;
• The annual contract for General Manager Beth Wade of the REB Educational Support Center; and
• The authorization for a settlement agreement in Gabrielle, et. al v. Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Cause No. H-06-299, in the Southern District of Texas.