Board Report

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
February 7, 2022

The Brownwood ISD (BISD) Board of Trustees met for a regular session meeting on Monday, February 7, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. The session was called to order by Board President Michael Cloy. Dr. Todd Gray, Pastor at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church, gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Coggin ntermediate students Logan Goodrich and Kaytli Castenada.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE

Coggin Intermediate School Music Teacher Holly Bush led fourth-grade students as they performed the National Anthem followed by a rendition of the song “God Bless the U.S.A.” written by Lee Greenwood.

INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS

BISD Deputy Superintendent, Liesa Land provided an update regarding the calendar options for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year. Due to a required change from minutes back to 180 days, there are not enough days to keep all the existing holidays, staff development days, and starting and ending days we currently have. Land also noted the importance of starting on a Wednesday for the first week of school. Parents and teachers of all grades have indicated the benefits of starting with a shorter week, especially for
the younger students who are adjusting to going back to school or are attending a new school for the first time. A survey was utilized to determine what was most important to teachers and staff regarding holidays built into the calendar. The results of the survey indicated that two weeks off at Christmas, one week at Spring Break, and one week at Thanksgiving were the top three priorities for scheduling vacation days into the calendar. One long weekend per month and ending before Memorial Day followed in that order. Calendar options will be created taking into consideration the top priorities reflected in the survey. The 2022-2023 school calendar will be presented to the board for approval in March.

RECOGNITIONS

The following groups and individuals were recognized by BISD and were presented with
certificates highlighting their achievements.

BISD SPOTLIGHT
The BISD Spotlight recognizes members of the faculty and staff who go the extra mile to ensure excellence
in education for all our students. Spotlight recipients are chosen from peer nominations. February 2022
honorees were Northwest Elementary Kindergarten teacher Jamie Villanueva and BISD Instructional Technologist Elizabeth Gilmore. Spotlight honorees are pictured with BISD Trustee Amary
Doremus and Northwest Elementary Principal Allison Northcutt (top), and BISD Deputy Superintendent Liesa Land and BISD Trustee Eric Evans (bottom).

BROWNWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL ONE-ACT PLAY
The Brownwood Middle School (BMS) One-Act play cast was recognized for their
accomplishments as the District 6-4A Junior High One-Act Play Champions. Pictured are cast
members along with BISD Trustee Eric Evans (left), BMS One-Act Play Director Reagan Fraze,
and Assistant Director Ben Cox.

BROWNWOOD LIONS VARSITY FOOTBALL
The Brownwood Lions Varsity Football team was recognized for their individual player and team
accomplishments this season as District 5-4A Varsity Football Bi-District Qualifiers. Pictured are
team members along with BISD Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Sammy Burnett and
BISD Trustee Eric Evans.

REGION 15 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR
Woodland Heights Elementary Assistant Principal Kassie Russell was recognized for being
selected as the Region 15 Assistant Principal of the Year. Pictured is Ms. Russell along with BISD
Trustee Amary Doremus and Woodland Heights Elementary Principal Jeanette Lancaster.

BROWNWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS
BMS Science teachers, Shantel Elrod, Mendy Green, Johna Elliott, and Tim Thomas were
recognized for their exemplary service in strengthening student academic achievement. The
teachers are pictured below along with BMS Principal Sandra Richardson and BISD Trustee Eric
Evans.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Young provided the following updates and information:
• BISD was closed due to weather conditions February 3
rd and 4th. BISD has enough
minutes built into the calendar that the bad weather days will not affect upcoming early
releases or holidays.
• On Monday, February 21, Brownwood High School (BHS) is holding an Academics &
Endorsements meeting for 8th grade parents and students at 5:30 p.m. in the BHS
auditorium. Also on this date at 6:00 p.m. BHS will feature the Business, Industry, and
Trade Showcase (BITS), highlighting the great programs and endorsements at BHS.

DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

Budget Calendar: A calendar was provided that contained target dates for regular budget
activities and processes through September 2022.

School Nutrition Report: Southwest Food Service Excellence (SFE) provided a report regarding
the status of the School Nutrition Department and ongoing initiatives including district-wide
free lunches and various promotions and events. BISD Assistant Superintendent of Business and
Finance Mitch Moore noted that SFE has been great throughout the pandemic and beyond,
filling in any gaps and continuing to provide meals for students and staff even with hardships
such as supply shortages and staff absences due to COVID. In 2021, from July to December,
116,410 breakfasts were served and 169,478 lunches were served.

Pre-K, Kindergarten, & Head Start Roundup: Dates and times for upcoming pre-k and
kindergarten pre-registration events was provided. Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year,
three-year-old children will be eligible for Brownwood ISD pre-k. Pre-registration events will be
held at Brownwood ISD Central Support Center on Tuesday, April 5, from 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
and on Wednesday, April 6, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A flyer with dates, times, and eligibility
information has been prepared and will be released to the community.

Project Neighborhood Update: New attendance boundaries have been drawn. Parents with
students that wish to attend a school other than where they are zoned, including any utilizing
existing transfers, will need to file a new transfer request. Transfer applications will open April
1, 2022, and will close April 15, 2022. A proposal to the Board for Project Neighborhood
approval is scheduled to be made in March. Additional community meetings regarding the
progress on Project Neighborhood are scheduled for the following days:
• Tuesday, February 15, at Northwest Elementary – 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 22, at Woodland Heights Elementary – 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 1, at BISD Central Support Center – 6:30 p.m.

PUBLIC HEARING ON TEXAS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE REPORT (TAPR):
At 7:14 p.m. the Board entered a public hearing for the TAPR report. The TAPR pulls together a
wide range of information on the performance of students in each school and district in Texas
every year. Performance is shown disaggregated by student groups, including ethnicity and
socioeconomic status. The reports also provided extensive information on school and district
staff, programs, discipline, and student demographics. The TAPR report will be available on
each campus and on the district’s website. The public hearing ended at 7:20 p.m.

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE RETENTION STIPEND
Throughout the year, campus instructional aides in the district have gone above and beyond in
fulfilling their duties. Due to the current environment, aides are often used to assist
with classroom coverage and other tasks that often fall outside their work assignment
In a good faith effort to retain current BISD instructional aides, the district recommended that
all campus instructional aide positions receive a $1500.00 retention stipend. To receive the
entire $1500.00, an aide must have been an employee with BISD since September 1, 2021. The
stipend amount for aides hired after September 31, 2021, will be prorated by their start date.
On the February 2022 payroll, instructional aides will receive $250.00 of their stipend amount.
The remaining stipend will be paid out per paycheck over the next six pay dates. The total cost
of the aide retention stipends is approximately $88,500. BISD currently has unfilled
instructional positions, which allows the district to implement the retention stipend plan with
little impact on the current budget. BISD Trustee Eric Evans made a motion to approve the
Teacher Aide Retention Stipends for the 2021-2022 school year as presented. BISD Trustee
Amary Doremus seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

CONSENT AGENDA
The following items were listed for consideration on the Consent Agenda.
1. 2022-2023 Adult Breakfast Price Increase
2. Minutes from the January 10, 2022 Board Meeting
BISD Trustee Doremus moved that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented, with BISD
Trustee Roderick Jones seconding the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The Board entered executive session at 7:25 p.m. to discuss personnel matters including
replacement for the Place 7 Board member and administrator contracts. The Board exited the
executive session at 7:51 p.m. and returned to regular session.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF ADMINISTRATOR CONTRACTS FOR 2022-2023
BISD Trustee Evans made a motion to approve administrator contracts for 2022-2023, as
presented. Trustee Doremus seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.

PLACE 7 BOARD MEMBER REPLACEMENT UPDATE
BISD Board President Michael Cloy announced that there were ten candidates interested in
filling the Place 7 vacancy. A decision was made to not appoint a new member at this time but
to allow voters to decide at the upcoming election in November.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Reminders were announced for the following upcoming events:
• Staff Development Day – February 11, 2022
• School Holiday (Bad Weather Day) – February 14, 2022
• Project Neighborhood Meetings – February 15, 22, & March 1
• Early Release Day – March 4, 2022
• Spring Break – March 7-11, 2022
• Next Board Meeting – March 14, 2022
• Bluebonnet Relays – March 24 & 25, 2022
• Early Release Day – March 25, 2022
The meeting adjourned at 7:54 p.m.