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RECOGNITIONS

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

• John Meneces, Tipps Elementary School fourth-grade student, for winning the READ 180 All-Star Award. The award is presented to nine student winners nationwide, and students are selected based on overcoming reading challenges to succeed in school; and
• Students who placed first in the Global Destination ImagiNation competition, held May 20-23 in Knoxville, Tenn.:
• The DI Dynamites from Bang Elementary School won first place in Challenge A, Operation Cooperation. The team designed and built two machines that completed 12 tasks during a theatrical presentation. The team members are James Gutierrez, Ali Zaidi, Kevin Turner, Kaitlyn Zera, Mohammad Zaidi and Mustafa Khan. The team managers are Kathryn and Frank Gutierrez and the school sponsor is Kristine Ashmead; and
• The Sampson Superstarsfrom Sampson Elementary School won first place in Challenge D, Private DI. The team researched film genres, superstitions and famous detectives to incorporate into an improvised skit. The team members are Sharon Zhou, Will Hudson, Alex Duensing, Kate Laymon, Haley Brusen, Yash Chulki and Christian Sullivan. The team managers are Angela Duensing and Laurie Hudson and the school sponsor is Carolyn Young.

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

• Participants in the first annual CFISD Community Health and Wellness Expo, held Saturday, May 16 at the Berry Center. CFISD partnered with the YMCA, Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital, North Cypress Medical Center, Kindred Hospital and TXU Energy to host the event. The district had 3,700 attendees and more than 85 vendors at the event. The recycling drive brought in more than 18 tons of electronics, 1.5 tons of plastic and aluminum and 3 tons of paper. The blood drive brought in 24 units of whole blood, which will save 72 lives. Several Cypress Lakes High School art students spent their time outside in the heat painting chalk squares, one measuring 16-by-16 with the image of an ape with the title, “Every Day is Earth Day.” The choir performances, dance groups, cooking demos and multitude of other activities kept the crowd entertained, while the event placed emphasis on living a healthy lifestyle;

• The Cypress Ridge High School Air Force Junior ROTC unit, coordinated by Lt. Col. Steven Rakel and Master Sergeant Merel Mills, for receiving a Distinguished Unit Award for the fourth consecutive year.  The award recognizes units that perform above normal expectations, distinguish themselves in school and community service and meet the ROTC mission of producing better citizens for America. In addition, two Cypress Ridge cadets have been selected to attend a week-long Aerospace Technology Honors Camp this summer—juniors Jennifer Alvarez and Elizabeth “Libby” Murphey. Requirements to qualify include demonstrating leadership skills and having a minimum GPA of 3.67. Less than 1 percent of all Air Force Junior ROTC cadets are selected in this competitive process. Cadet Murphey plans to become a physician in the future and Cadet Alvarez plans to become an Air Force officer and fly jets;

• Students who advanced to the state and national Science Olympiad tournaments. Jersey Village, Cy-Fair and Cypress Falls high schools and Spillane and Hopper middle schools advanced to the state tournament. Cypress Falls placed second at the state tournament and advanced to nationals, which were held in May in Augusta, Ga. Cypress Falls team members were seniors Cathy Phan, Rachel Lewis, Franco Gallastegui, Anthony Ly, Aurash Ismail and Jose Tamez; juniors Sihe Jiang, Randy Pok, Abhas Mishra and Jasneet Singh; sophomores Nhan Tran, Michelle Lai, John Fortner and Rohit Kumar; and freshmen Norman Ren, Rohit Raghu, Layeeka Ismail, Nicole Chae and Perry Feng;

• Fifteen Cypress Ridge High School students who attended the World Affairs Council of Houston’s Teach Africa Youth Forum. The forum focused on increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of Africa to our global society, and more than 800 students shared projects they had prepared in class. The Cypress Ridge participants were: Garrett Line, Ambereen Ahmed, Melissa Mynatt, Sofia Ruiz, Naiya Patel, Patricia Morales, Antonio Garcia, Ana Mantilla, Matthew Hernandez, Kelsey King, Alexandra Andrews, Stephanie Harpool, Emily Hudgins, Kevin Nguyen and Bryant Salazar. Their teacher is Keishla Ceaser-Jones;

• Seven students from Kirk Elementary, who won the district’s Name That Book contest—a program intended to foster an interest in lifelong reading for third- through fifth-grade students. Associate Superintendent Roy Garcia challenged the students with questions in a Jeopardy! game format. The winning students are Pooja Agrawal, Timothy Angeles, Tiffany Pham Nguyen, Kevin Sheard, Michelle Truong, Jamie Won and Julianna White;

• Six fifth- and sixth-grade students who were selected as delegates in Education in Action’s 2009 Lone Star Leadership Academy-Dallas/Fort Worth. The organization is dedicated to empowering young Texans to become informed and active leaders in their communities. Selections are based on educator recommendations, an 85-or-higher GPA and community or school involvement. The students are Marijke Smet from Arnold Middle School, Janna Pham from Campbell Middle School, Marina Vences from Spillane Middle School, Lauren Skrobarczyk and Caroline Stech from Copeland Elementary School and Matthew Bonasera from Willbern Elementary School;

• Students who placed first, second or third at the UIL Spring Academic Meet. Cypress Falls senior Sara Meghji placed first and senior Saif Kazim placed third in the Lincoln Douglas Debate competition; Cypress Creek sophomore Christine Nguyen placed first in the UIL News Writing competition; and Cypress Woods junior Sophia Nguyen placed second in the UIL Literary Criticism competition;

• Cypress Woods High School junior Cyrus Iqbal, who won the 2009 Coca-Cola Share the Dream Essay Contest. Iqbal wrote on the topic, “Change is inevitable.  How will it impact you?  More importantly, how will you impact change?”  He was selected from 5,000 entries from the Houston and Dallas areas, and his prizes include $2,500 and a laptop;

• The Cy-Fair softball team, for finishing its season as Region II quarterfinalists. Cypress Woods, Cypress Creek and Cypress Falls finished their softball seasons as bi-district finalists;

• The Cy-Fair baseball team, for finishing its season as district champion and area finalist. Cypress Woods finished as district runner-up and Region II area finalist.  Cypress Creek and Cypress Ridge both finished their baseball seasons as bi-district finalists;

• Six CFISD girls soccer players, who were selected for the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches All-Region and All-State teams. The All-State players are Terah Parker, Sarah LaLanne and Michelle Kloss, all from Cypress Creek High School.  Parker has signed a commitment with Pepperdine University. The All-Region players are Samantha Brenz and Sydney Curry from Cy-Fair High School and Ryan Smith from Jersey Village High School;

• The Cypress Woods High School mixed doubles tennis team of Kourtney Howell and Gus Underwood, who were runners up in regionals, advanced to state and finished their season as state quarterfinalists; and

• Track and field athletes who were successful in the postseason. The Cypress Creek High School boys’ track and field team placed first in district, Cypress Springs was second and Cypress Woods was third; and the Cy-Fair High School girls track and field team placed first in district, Cypress Creek was second and Cypress Woods was third. Imani Spivey from Cypress Springs, Leslie Schilsky from Cypress Creek, Peyton Vickers from Cypress Ridge and Cypress Springs senior Kimberlyn Duncan advanced to regionals. Duncan set a record at regionals in the 200-meter dash and advanced to state, where she placed first in the 200-meter dash. She has signed a commitment to run for LSU this fall.

ELEMENTARY GRADING PERIODS
The Board approved on second reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policy EIA (LOCAL) ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: GRADING/PROGRESS REPORTS TO PARENTS. Grade reports will now be issued every nine weeks for elementary students, and interim reports will be issued after the fourth week of each elementary grading period. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students will be graded with a √ or – performance code.

BOND UPDATE
The Board authorized or approved:

• the superintendent or designee to enter into miscellaneous professional service contracts related to the following project: Elementary School No. 52 HVAC System Testing and Balance up to $65,000, Roof Inspection Services up to $60,000 and Material Testing Services up to $60,000;

• the fixed rate conversion of specified maturities of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Unlimited Tax Adjustable Rate Schoolhouse Bonds, Series 2002B and Unlimited Tax Adjustable Rate and Capital Appreciation Refunding Bonds, Series 2005, and enacting other provisions relating thereto;

• the issuance of Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Tax Anticipation Notes, Series 2009; setting certain parameters for the notes; authorizing the superintendent and associate superintendent for business services to approve the amount, the interest rate, price, including terms thereof and certain other procedures and provisions related thereto;

• the issuance of Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Unlimited Tax Schoolhouse Bonds, Series 2009; setting certain parameters for the Bonds; authorizing the superintendent and associate superintendent for business services to approve the amount, the interest rate, price, including terms thereof and certain other procedures and provisions related thereto;

• the contract award for the construction of Elementary School No. 52, to be located on CFISD’s multi-campus site in Towne Lake, and authorized the superintendent or designee to execute all necessary documents related to such contract. The construction award was approved for the amount of $13,649,000 to Purcell Construction, Inc. using money from the 2007 Bond referendum, and was designed by Bay Architects;

• the 0.024-acre CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Easement required to provide electrical service for the Towne Lake multi-campus site and authorize the Superintendent or designee to complete and execute the final easement documents; and

• the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Blanket Utility Easement to provide electrical service for Elementary School No. 51.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING
CFISD’s 5,501 graduating seniors received their high school diplomas during the district’s graduation ceremonies at the Berry Center, which was broadcast on Channel 16 for Comcast Cable subscribers. Dr. Anthony thanked Board members and district employees who helped organize, participate in and assist with the nine ceremonies; and wished the graduates success in their future endeavors.

Approximately 11,253 students have enrolled in summer school, which started this week. Approximately 7,736 students are enrolled at the elementary level and approximately 3,086 students are enrolled at the secondary level—including 2,003 students taking original credit courses, 109 students taking make-up credit and 974 secondary students in special programs. Enrollment for the Extended School Year (ESY) summer program is 431 students. Summer school graduation is scheduled for July 31, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the Berry Center.

Summer TAKS testing will be available for third-, fifth- and eighth-grade students who must pass selected TAKS test in order to be eligible for promotion to the next grade. TAKS testing dates are as follows:

Grades 3, 5 and 8 Summer TAKS Retesting:

• June 30 – Grade 5 and 8 Math TAKS Retesting
• July 1 – Grade 3, 5 and 8 Reading Retest

Exit Level TAKS Retesting:

• July 14 – English Language Arts
• July 15 – Math
• July 16 – Science
• July 17 – Social Studies

The Facilities Planning and Construction and Maintenance and Operations departments are currently managing projects at 62 campuses and 17 facilities. The Facilities Planning and Construction department is overseeing the final stages of construction and the Purchasing Department is purchasing equipment for Smith Middle School (No. 16); Swenke Elementary School (No. 50) and the Alternative Learning Center - West. These new schools will open in August 2009. Construction is underway for Elementary Nos. 51, 52 and 53. These three schools will open in August 2010. In addition, the Facilities Planning and Construction and Maintenance and Operations departments will relocate a total of 36 portable buildings throughout the district. Dr. Anthony thanked the Facilities Planning and Construction, Maintenance, Operations and Purchasing departments, along with the campus administrators and staff who are working as a team to get the new schools ready for students in August.

The Board of Trustees will hold a special-called meeting on June 25 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 2009-2010 through 2011-2012;
• tabled an action item to approve bids and contracts to the recommended vendors and authorize the superintendent, respective associate superintendent or designee to execute all necessary documents related to such bids and contracts;
• approved tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or Harris County Education District;
• approved the list of financial institutions and brokers/dealers eligible to provide investment services to Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District;
• approved on first reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:
  • CDA (LOCAL) OTHER REVENUES: Investments
  • DEC (LOCAL) COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: Leaves and Absences
  • DGBA (LOCAL) PERSONNEL-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS: Employee Complaints/Grievances
  • FNG (LOCAL) STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Student and Parent Complaint/Grievances
  • FO (LOCAL) STUDENT DISCIPLINE
  • GF (LOCAL) PUBLIC COMPLAINTS;
• nominated Lida Woodul for the large district member position on the TASB Board of Directors in TASB Region 4, Position F;
• approved a resolution approving the district’s investment policy and investment strategy, approving the investment officers of the district and the independent sources of instruction relating to investment responsibilities for the investment offices of the district; and
• authorized a public purpose resolution to reduce the number of contractual and duty days to match the revised school calendar for school district employees who were unable to report to work due to district and school closures in April 2009.

JUNE 25 SPECIAL-CALLED MEETING

2009-2010 BUDGET
The Board voted to take no action on removal or reduction of the optional homestead exemption.

In order to adopt a balanced budget, the Board decided not to give an employee raise, except to those designated to receive a raise (teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses and speech pathologists) by HB 3646. This raise is pending approval by the U.S. Department of Education to allow the stimulus funds to be used for this purpose. The Board took action to reduce the budget by $14.2 million, which included a reduction in force of approximately 60 to 75 positions.

AGENDA ITEMS
The Board adopted the salary schedule for the 2009-2010 school year, including a contingency for salary increases for those categories of employees identified in House Bill 3646, if funding is received from the state of Texas for this salary increase.

The Board approved the budget amendments for the period of April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.

The Board approved on second reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:

• CDA (LOCAL) OTHER REVENUES: Investments;
• DGBA (LOCAL) PERSONNEL-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS: Employee Complaints/Grievances;
• FNG (LOCAL) STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Student and Parent Complaint/Grievances;
• FO (LOCAL) STUDENT DISCIPLINE; and
• GF (LOCAL) PUBLIC COMPLAINTS.

The Board approved bids and contracts to the recommended vendors and authorized the superintendent, respective associate superintendent or designee to execute all necessary documents related to such bids and contracts.

The Board approved the tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or Harris County Education District.

The Board approved Board members Bob Covey to serve as delegate and Dr. John Ogletree to serve as alternate delegate to the 2009 Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) annual delegate assembly.