Brownwood News – The Brownwood School Board met Monday, January 13, 2020 and voted to extend the contract of BISD Superintendent, Dr. Joe Young.

BISD Trustee, Roderick Jones, made a motion to extend Young’s employment contract as Superintendent of Schools from January 14, 2020 to January 13, 2025.  Trustee Eric Evans seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

In other business, the annual financial audit has been completed.  Kevin Randolph from Eide Bailey Accounting Firm presented a clean audit for the 2018-19 school year. BISD Trustee, Roderick Jones, moved that the audit be approved as presented. BISD Trustee, Dr. Lisa Fowler, seconded the motion.  The motion was unanimously approved.

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DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

Enrollment/Transfer Report: 
Dr. Young presented the enrollment and transfer report. Out of district transfers has stayed consistent with 231 students for both August 2019 and December 2019. Current active enrollment is 3,557 students.

Emergency Operations Plan Update:
Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Hector Martinez, provided an overview of the recently compiled Multi-Hazard Emergency Operation Plan. Vick Orlando, BISD Director of Student Services, worked with local law enforcement, emergency responders, and district personnel to create a comprehensive emergency response guide that has been distributed around the district. The plan provides a step-by-step outline to follow for various emergency scenarios and will help to keep responses consistent throughout the district.

Mr. Orlando presented information regarding StayALERT, a new incident reporting system that has been implemented district-wide. StayALERT is available 24 hours a day and reports can be made anytime by phone, text, email or online. Posters and other materials have been distributed to campuses to make the system easily recognized and accessible. A button for reporting has been added to the district and campus websites along with a link to the FAQ.

INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS

BISD Elementary Curriculum Coordinator, Jenny Swanzy, presented a brief summary of the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment for K-6th grade. This is the second year that the district has used the assessment that helps provide early indicators for students that may need additional help with reading. The data continues to show that early intervention is the best and most effective way to prevent reading difficulties in children. Student intervention teams utilize DIBELS results to design plans for students who need additional help based on the data. One example from the assessment results showed that this year’s first graders started the year around 20% higher in their scores than last year’s first graders. Swanzy noted that if the trend continued, it would be beneficial for our students.

Quarterly Financial Report:  Quarterly financials were presented and included the Quarterly Investment Summary and the November 2019 Tax Assessor Collector’s Report.

January is School Board Recognition Month, and Brownwood ISD joins the Texas Association of School Boards and other districts across the state to honor the countless contributions of these locally elected advocates for Texas schoolchildren and public schools. Pictured above are BISD Board of Trustees members, Michael Cloy, Tim Jacobs, Eric Evans, Diane Thompson, Roderick Jones, Sr., Dr. Lisa Fowler, and Codie Smith holding gifts made by students to show their appreciation.