Vote count certified for May 1 election
Bond election results, board member recognition and recommendations for district health improvements were discussed among other topics at the Cumby ISD board meeting last Thursday.
Board president Jason Hudson was recognized for 20 years of service on the school board. Hudson’s oldest daughter Lauren Hudson graduated from Cumby and graduated last week with her Master’s degree from TAMU Commerce. Hudson started with getting her associate’s degree through the dual credit program at Cumby ISD.
Hudson said that he thought he’d only be on the board board for three years and ended up being here for 20. He has served as the board president for eight or nine years.
Hudson shared that his goal was to give back to the youth and the community and encourage students. Hudson said he serves with wonderful people and thanked everyone on the board and others who helped the bond to pass and for serving on the board.
Consent agenda approved with no discussion.
Superintendent Shelly Slaughter read the official results of the bond election during Thursday night’s meeting.
Proposition A passed with 61..40% votes for the facility improvements and construction of a new high school and agriculture building, with 38.60% votes opposed.
Proposition B passed with 60.67% votes for the construction of a track with 39.33% voters opposed.
The board voted unanimously to accept the count as official and proceed with the bond process.
Proposition A will allow the district to obtain $7.34 million in bonds to construct a new high school, convert the current secondary school campus to an intermediate school, start renovations to the elementary campus - which includes updated security measures such as fencing - and address drainage issues.
Tax rates for the Cumby ISD will increase from $1.14 to $1.45 per $100 property valuation with Proposition A.
Proposition B will allow for $600,000 in bond funds to construct a new track and increases the tax rate to $1.47 per $100 property valuation.
This is the second bond to be passed in the history of the school, and Hudson hopes that crews will begin breaking dirt within 45 days.
“We hope to beat the curve and get the new building ready for students as soon as possible,” Hudson said.
Surveyors and soil test firms are expected to be presented to the board soon so that things can get moving with additional bond related items to be addressed at another board meeting later this month.
While the board signed the canvassing order, Jason Hudson read a note from the family of kindergarten teacher Katy Romans:
“Just wanted to thank you for the hours and the blood, sweat and tears, I’m sure tears, that all of you have put in, your time away from your families, took much effort on your parts and getting this bond to pass is a major positive for all of our kids for years to come. Y’all are awesome. Thank God for you and what you do.”
The board approved an AIA contract with firm Goodwin-Lassiter-Strong, that would cover the scope of fees and services pertaining to architectural engineering, civil engineering and surveying services for the design and construction of the new high school, junior high and elementary renovations and any miscellaneous campus improvements as approved in the 2021 bond election.
The firm charges 7.5% of the overall cost of construction, not including soft costs, to be paid from the bond funding, not the district funds.
Julianna Osornio, school nurse and head of the School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), then presented the committee’s report.
The SHAC committee is a group of student, teacher, faculty and parent volunteers whose mission is to recommend programs to the district and improve district and community health.
Osornio shared that while putting together the report she “saw in black and white how many changes happened due to COVID-19.”
“The main focus of the SHAC group this year has been keeping our heads above water,” Osornio said. “The fact that we gave our all to accomplish what we did is amazing.”
There was talk of creating a community garden, but due to COVID, it was not a priority this year but is being considered for a future project.
High School Principal Donna George shared that the ESTEEM program didn’t go very well this year.
George shared that when she brought the ESTEEM program up to the eighth graders, “they rolled their eyes and complained that they had been doing the same thing for the past four years.”
George shared that she “sympathized with them and that the program is meant to build upon itself though the middle school years.”
George mentioned trying to incorporate the course into a science or physical education class or forming a health class where children can use what they learn and correlate the information to a real life situation.
Osornio shared that the telehealth clinic for children has helped district the most by providing flu test, strep test and a COVID test to students and immediate family of the student that lives in the community.
Osornio also mentioned that all seniors have received CPR training and those who want to pursue certification will be called back before graduation for the final certification test.
George then shared that the district has applied for a Dual Credit Expansion Grant. The district wishes to expand their dual credit offerings on campus so students don’t have to travel to the PJC campus or go online to complete their courses.
The $140,000 grant that will pays for six teachers to go and complete their master’s degree or add 18 hours to their already existing master’s degree to be certified to teach dual credit courses and credentialed to teach on campus.
In order to qualify for the reimbursement and participation in the grant program, a teacher must maintain an average score of 75%.
Approval will be determined by need of the district and how many students want to take the course.
Upon approval teachers will start the program this summer and must be finished by 2023.
“PJC has said they will employee the teachers who receive the Dual Credit certification,” George shared.
The district is considering if they will continue the Dual Credit certification program after the grant runs out and said they would possibly pay around 50%.
If teachers leave the district for any reason before the contract ends they become responsible for paying the district back a percentage of the grant.
The board then voted to extend a contract with Alliance Bank. The district is able to extend the contract three times. After the extensions, the district must put the contact out for other banks in the form of a public notice,
The board extended their auditing contract with Morgan, Davis and Company, PC for the 2021-2022 school year.
The board then considered adding community members to the dress code committee for the 2021-2022 school year. The board came up with a list of names of community members that will be invited to join the committee.
The board was presented a form to be filled out listing all TEKS materials that will be used by the district with a summary of how they will implemented to meet the TEKS standard for learning.
George shared that “while textbooks are mostly digital now and paper textbooks are mainly used as an extra resource in the classroom, we are required to present this form to TEKS.”
There was talk of combining the athletic and academic banquet and making it a more formal event.
George shared that she “wants it to be as nice as possible for the students after all they’ve endured this year.”
The banquet will be held May 17, 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium.
George also shared that eighth grade graduation will be held June 3 in the high school gymnasium.
High School graduation will be held the next day June 4. George shared that the district is trying to limit attendance with the possibility of overflow space being available in the cafeteria. There will also a live stream option available on the school’s webpage. Shelly Slaughter shared that the district’s tech department has developed an app for Android and Apple that should be available for download within a few months.
The tech department also installed a vape detector and an aggression detector outside the bathrooms of the high school.
The aggression detector is designed to start recording if it detects raised voices, fighting or threatening words.
Superintendent Slaughter emphasized that “the detector was installed outside the bathroom, not inside and only records when it detects a potential issue.”