“Success for Every Student”For the meeting ofMarch 19, 2014
Board members present: Oscar Martinez, Raymond R. Longoria, Patty Bazaldua, James E. Olivarez, J.C. Avila.
The meeting was opened with the audience being led in the Pledge of Allegiance by student Andrea Perez from Mims Elementary School. Anna Paola LLanes from Marcell Elementary School led the Texas Pledge.
A total of 259 students were recognized for various accomplishments. Veterans Memorial High School volleyball player Gabrielle Lerma and football player Jorge Cavazos were recognized for honors earned by Texas Sports Writers. Wrestlers from Mission High School and Veterans Memorial High School were recognized for advancing to the state wrestling meet. Band and choir students who are advanc-ing to state UIL solo and ensemble competitions were recognized, as were students from the high school BPA and DECA organizations for advancing to state and national competitions. Robotics teams from Mission High School, Alton Memorial Jr. High School, K. White Jr. High School, and R. Cantu Jr. High School were recognized for advancing to state competitions. Destination Imagination teams from Midkiff Elementary School, O’Grady Elementary School, K. White Jr. High School, and R. Cantu Jr. High School were honored for qualifying for state competitions. The science bowl team from Alton Memorial Jr. High School was recognized for their regional championship and for advancing to national competitions.
The board approved the 2014-2015 school calendar. Two options were voted on by district employees. Option “A” received the over-whelming majority of votes, and was the one approved by the board.
The best and final offer from Rigney Construction was approved by the board for the ramp enclosure project at Leal Elementary School. The final price is $704,275. The district will now enter into a contract with the firm for the construction project.
Approval was given for the best and final offer from Hellas Construc-tion for artificial turf and track replacement projects at Tom Landry Stadium and the Veterans Memorial High School Stadium. The final amount is $2.7 million. The district will now enter into a contract with Hellas Construction for the work.
The board approved a proposal from PBK Architects and an estimated budget for renovations and expansion of the Mission Jr. High School
Cafeteria building. The budget is $3.5 million.
The board accepted a proposal by PBK Architects and the budget for canopy projects at Mission Jr. High School and Alton Memorial Jr. High School. The budget is $1.1 million.
Javier Hinojosa Engineering was approved as the project engineer for elementary school tracks. The board also approved seeking pro-posals for the construction of the tracks.
The final completion, credits, and payments regarding the MEP project at R. Cantu Jr. High School was approved. The district will receive a credit of $20,000.
The final completion, credits, and payments associated with the new field house at Veterans Memorial High School was approved. Liquidated damages were assessed against the contractor in the amount of $73,500. The betterment fund to be credited to the district is about $24,962.
Final designs and a budget were approved for an expansion of the Child Nutrition Program Central Kitchen facility. This will add much needed dry storage and cold/freezer storage. The total project budget is $2.4 million.
A change order granting nine weather related delay days for the Mis-sion High School Field House construction project was approved. The new substantial completion date is May 23.
The final designs for construction of a permanent campus for Mission Collegiate High School was approved. The total estimated budget is $12.9 million. Officials plan to have the campus completed before the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.
Approval was given to conduct a feasibility study associated with a proposal to build a new central office building adjacent to the existing building. EGV Architects was approved for the study. Javier Hinojosa was approved as the civil engineer.
The board approved a memorandum of understanding with the City of Mission for a feasibility study on the Northside Swimming Pool, located next to Mission High School. The feasibility study is the first of three possible phases to address issues with the pool. The two other phases will involve construction and maintenance. The study will address issues that include: competition swimming lanes, heating, drainage, filtration, maintenance, and the possible enclosure of the competition portion of the pool. The district has a long term lease with the city to share in the use and maintenance of the Northside Pool.
After meeting in executive session, the board voted to give the super-intendent authority to negotiate liquidated damages claims with NM Contracting. This is for ramp enclosure projects at Mims Elementary School and O’Grady Elementary School.
No recommendation was made regarding the position of assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
The board approved Erika Miller Morales for the position of coordina-tor for RTI/Section 504/Dyslexia Services. Morales will be coming to the district from McAllen ISD.
Two new positions were approved by the board. They are: secretary to the director for fine arts and secretary to assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
The board indicated a decision was forthcoming regarding a level three grievance.
The entire consent agenda was approved. The remainder of this report will review the items approved as a part of the consent portion of the meeting agenda.
Changes to Board Policy EIC(LOCAL) will allow dual credit courses taken at STC and UTPA to be included in the calculations for class rank, beginning with the freshmen of 2014-2015.
The new textbooks approved include: Math, Science, Technology Applications, Computer Science, and Digital Video/Audio Design.
Approval of an out-of-state trip will allow the Alton Memorial Jr. High School science bowl team to compete at the nationals in Washing-ton, DC.
The board certified that the use of instructional materials allotment funds in 2014-2015 met state requirements.
Items declared as surplus will be donated to a school in Reynosa, Mexico.
Cash donations reported for the months of January and February total $1,159. Non-cash donations total $6,445.
The tax related collections reported for the months of December and January total $6,399,215.
Board Highlights is designed to be a brief review of actions taken by the Mission CISD Board of Trust-ees. It is not, nor should it be considered official minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting(s).
