Summary Of February 14, 2011 School Board Meeting

The school board met Monday evening to address the following items:
Special Recognitions
The board was treated to musical performances by students of Junior High choir directors Jennifer Walker and Rhonda Swanson, and Junior High band director Rebecca Carter.  Presenting their winning competition pieces were an 8th grade girls’ choir ensemble, a 7th grade girls’ choir soloist and an 8th
grade band flute ensemble.

An awesome presentation of the “No Excuses” program at Morningside was given by Stan Stroebel and a representation of teachers from their staff.  A video and testimony from teachers informed the board of the success of this program on their campus.

Other items of special recognition listed in the board book were also noted.
Consent Agenda
A motion was made by Patty Willis, seconded by Kevin Weatherford and carried by a 6-0 board vote to approve the January 24, 2011 meeting minutes as presented.
A motion was made by Kirk Pope, seconded by Patty Willis and carried 6-0 by the board to accept the following gifts as presented and to amend the budget to spend them as requested by donors.
• $2,348.72 from the Green Acres PTO for Flashmaster hand held computers
• $1,000.00 from the Dumas Golf Boosters for Boys Gold Student Travel
Policy Updates, DB, DEE, DPB and GKDA – 2nd Reading
A motion was made by Johnny Schmucker, seconded by Kirk Pope and approved with a 6-0 board vote to accept the updates for Policies DB, DEE, DPB and GKDA.  These updates had been discussed at the previous meeting and were returned for action by the board. {{more}}

Personnel
The following personnel items were presented to the board.
Appointments: None
Resignations: Jessica Sutterfield, Director of Special Education and Textbook Coordinator
Retirements: Joyce Holland, 4th Grade Reading at Morningside Pam Cox, Special Education Teacher at Morningside
Because there were no appointments to be voted on, no action was taken.  Resignations
and retirements no longer require approval by the board.

INFORMATION ITEMS
Grades 6-8 Pre-AP Math Instruction Sally Heaton and Kelly Legg were in attendance to present a plan for strengthening the level of learning for all students in Pre-AP Math and Algebra I.  Questions from the
board were answered.Texas Budget Shortfall Implications for DISD With the State of Texas facing an estimated $27 billion budget shortfall for the next biennium, the first drafts of the new State budget include cuts to public education of nearly $10 billion, forcing schools in Texas to face a possible 15% reduction in the amount of funding available to provide services.
We are hearing that there may be some hope that the Comptroller will adjust the revenue projection up before the final budget is adopted because sales tax revenue has been increasing in recent months and that trend could lead to higher revenue over the biennium.  In addition, the state is exploring other options in order to reduce the amount of expected shortfall.
A more realistic expectation is that most schools are looking at cuts that average between 5% and 8%.  For Dumas ISD, that still means cuts of $1.8 to $2.9 million.  The administration has been studying the budget in order to determine what reductions can be made with minimal impact on student instruction and staff.  A budget planning meeting for the board was set for Monday, March 7th
 .
Enrollment Report
Current enrollment is 4,539 as opposed to 4,541 last week and 4,368 this time last year.

Election Calendar
A calendar of major dates for the May school board election was presented.   Monday, February 14th
was the first business day for persons who are interested in running for the school board to sign up.
Terms for school board members Joe Ballard, Kevin Weatherford and Brent Clark are scheduled for the election.  On Monday, Ballard and Weatherford both completed their application for a place on the ballot for full three year terms.   Clark is currently completing the remainder of the 2010-2011 school year for former board member Len Sheets and has indicated he is planning on running for the remaining one year
unexpired term.  The last day to file for a place on the ballot is Monday, March 14th, and the last day for
unregistered voters to register for this election is Thursday, April 14th.  Early voting will run from May 2nd
through May 10th, with Election Day scheduled for Saturday May 14th.
Persons who are interested to applying for a place on the ballot for the school board election should contact the Dumas ISD Superintendent’s Office at 935-6461 or come by the Administration Building at 4th
& Miller.

Purchasing Report
In accordance with Policy CH Local, administration presented information regarding fuel purchases for the 2/1/11 – 1/31/12 period.  The bid was awarded to Jack Oldham Oil, Inc.

Construction Update
An update on construction projects was presented to the board.

The next scheduled meetings are Monday, March 7th for a budget planning workshop and Monday, March 28th, 7:00 p.m. for a regularly scheduled board meeting at DISD Central Office.