College Station Independent School District

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December 2020 Board Meeting Recap

December 2020 Board Meeting Recap
Posted on 12/15/2020
December 2020 Board Pledge Kids

Note:  This is an overview of some of the items on the December workshop and meeting agendas.  This recap does not include every item on the agenda. Official meeting minutes will be made available on www.csisd.org following approval at the January board meeting.  A video and audio recording of the meeting will be made available within seven business days of the meeting at csisd.org.

 COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The College Station ISD Board of Trustees met Tuesday, December 15.  The following discussions and actions are of note.

 WORKSHOP

 Discussion regarding CSISD’s future bond capacity and planning:  Chief Financial Officer Amy Drozd led the board through continued discussion regarding bonding capacity and future bond referendum planning.

 The board discussed scenarios to determine how a November 2021 bond election could impact the tax rate.  For instance, it is estimated that with a two percent decline in property values for fiscal year 2022, CSISD could authorize $44.5 million in bond sales with no increase to the tax rate.

 The board discussed a possible timeline should they decide to pursue a bond election for November 2021, which includes a committee to determine the district’s needs in the spring.  The deadline to call the bond election is in August 2021.

 The bond could potentially include items in facility renovations, safety & security, fine arts, maintenance, land acquisition, buses and technology.

 Since 2017, CSISD’s total tax rate has dropped from $1.398 per $100 of valuation to $1.229, a decrease of 12.1 percent.

 MEETING

 Policy EIC (Local): Pre-AP and Honors course name changes:  Recently, the College Board released new requirements surrounding its Pre-AP courses.  The changes, which go into effect next school year, include a less-rigorous curriculum and increased testing requirements.

 In response to these upcoming changes, CSISD Administration and the Board of Trustees began discussions regarding this matter in September, and a committee of high school students, teachers, counselors and administrators was formed to consider options and develop a recommendation around the future of Pre-AP and our other advanced courses in order to best meet the needs of our students.

 The committee’s top priority was to determine the future status of Pre-AP courses in the district.  The committee quickly decided that due to the College Board’s changes to the program, Pre-AP courses will no longer meet the level of rigor necessary to be considered for the 5-point grading scale in CSISD.

 Beginning next year, all Pre-AP and Honors courses will be named “Advanced.” Please click the link below to compare current course offerings to next year’s course offerings for the four core-content areas.

 The board approved a simple language change related to “Pre-AP” and “Honors” in policy EIC(Local) in order to allow this adjustment.

 In Math, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, and Career and Technical Education, the transition is simply a name change.  Again, any course named “Pre-AP” or “Honors” will now be called “Advanced.”

 In English I and II, the Honors and Pre-AP course offerings will be combined into a course titled “Advanced.”  In English III and IV, the Honors classes will be renamed to “Advanced.”

 All advanced courses will remain on the 5.0 grade-point scale.  That being said, CSISD will take a comprehensive look at the grade-point scale and course grade-point weighting in the fall of 2021.  Any potential changes to the grade-point scale that might result would be implemented with an incoming cohort of high school students.

 Approval of College Station High School Principal:  College View High School Principal Justin Grimes was approved for the position of Principal of College Station High School.

 Annual enrollment report for policy FC (Local):  Superintendent Mike Martindale made a presentation regarding an annual enrollment review, outlined by board policy FC (Local) pertaining to school attendance areas.

 The policy states the administration shall annually review facility and enrollment projection data, including current demographic data, and five-year enrollment and school-capacity projections and present the results to the board.  The policy also states the administration should specifically inform the board of any school that has an enrollment below 85% or above 110% of building capacity.  No schools are above 110% of capacity.

 Using the updated demographic information from Templeton Demographics, Martindale outlined projected CSISD enrollment growth.

 Year:  Enrollment (% Growth)

  •  2020-21:  *13,701 (-1.5%)
  •  2021-22:  14,220 (3.8%)
  •  2022-23:  14,615 (2.8%)
  •  2023-24:  14,918 (2.1%)
  •  2024-25:  15,272 (2.4%)
  •  2025-26:  15,524 (1.7%)

 * Taken from enrollment data on October 2, 2020.  The enrollment number reported via PEIMS on the annual snapshot date at the end of October was 13,665, and the enrollment number as of December 14 was 13,785.

 CSISD is projected to have capacity at all grade levels for the next few years.

 Additionally, the policy requires the administration to provide the board with current proportions of economically disadvantaged students at each school.

 The following table shows current percentages of economically-disadvantaged students at each intermediate, middle and high school campus.  Elementary schools are not included in this data per policy FC (Local) due to three of the schools being Title 1 schools.

 School: Percent low-SES

  •  Cypress Grove:  35.80%
  •  Oakwood:  45.35%
  •  Pecan Trail:  25.26%
  •  AMCMS:  43.36%
  •  CSMS:  37.63%
  •  WMS:  25.38%
  •  AMCHS:  30.51%
  •  CSHS:  26.91%

 There were no adjustments recommended at this time.

 Annual fiscal financial report:  Rebecca Goldshein, a representative of Weaver & Tidwell, L.L.P. gave a report on the annual financial and compliance audit for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2020.

 The compliance audit resulted in an “unmodified opinion,” which is considered a clean report.  There was one finding resulting in a material weakness in internal controls related to federal programs and time and effort.  That weakness has been addressed by administration with related corrective action.

 The General Fund shows expenses exceed revenue by $1.7 million compared to the original adopted budget of a $3.4 million deficit.  Much of the loss is due to how the district was required to offset federal assistance due to COVID-19.  The audited budget shows the district’s fund balance - or saving account - stands at $36,130,171.

 Purchases/Bid Approvals:

  •  Approved an amendment to the funding source for the technology purchase in the amount of $249,936 from Avinext on September 15, 2020 to be $228,957 from the General Fund and $20,979 from ESSER (CARES Act) Funds.
  •  Approved the purchase of an annual license for Cardonex, a master scheduling software, from Education Advanced in the amount of $62,901 from the General Fund and CSISD Foundation Funds.
  •  Approved the design proposal from VLK Architects for athletic field lighting improvement at A&M Consolidated High School and College Station High School in the amount of $72,000 utilizing 2015 Bond Funds.

 -csisd-

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