“Success for Every Student”For the meeting ofMay 13, 2015

Board members present: Patty Rivera, J.C. Avila, Petra B. Ramirez, Minnie R. Rodgers, Roy Vela, Veronica R. Mendoza.

The meeting was opened with Mission Jr. High School student, Anna Vela, leading everyone in the Pledges of Allegiance.

The student recognition portion of the meeting honored over 125 district students. The list included: Special Olympics athletes who competed at the state Winter Games; high school graduates ranked as the top three; Mission Academic Excellence Award recipients; Veterans Memorial High School Student Council for state honors; Mission High School academic UIL team and One Act Play Team for district championships; Veterans Memorial High School academic UIL students advancing to state competition; Veterans Memorial High School wrestlers who advanced to state competitions; Veter-ans Memorial High School baseball team for district and bi-district championships. The district was also recognized by Edwards Risk Management for employee wellness efforts.

During presentations to the board, the district’s internal auditor pro-vided a quarterly report of activities. The board was also provided with information on the summer employee wellness program.

Approval was given for the purchase of professional development services from Solution Tree. Federal funds will be used for this item that will continue the implementation of professional learning com-munities within the schools.

The board approved the purchase of Chromebook computers to continue the implementation of the district’s 1-to-1 initiative. The purchase will involve 2,400 computers and 40 Chromebook carts at a cost of $660,360 from Dell.

The purchase of office furniture for the new Mission Collegiate High School building was approved at an estimated cost of $30,000.

Nine additional days were approved for the completion of running tracks at the elementary schools due to bad weather.

Change proposals were approved for the ongoing canopy projects at Alton Memorial Jr. High School and Mission Jr. High School that provide additional days for completion and the relocation of electri-cal conduits.

Geo-Technical and material testing was approved for the cafeteria building construction project at Mission Jr. High School. The services will be provided by Raba Kistner.

Four change related requests were approved for the Veterans Memo-rial High School cosmetology lab project. These involve additional days, framing, exhaust vent relocations, and a change in some floor-ing material.

The board approved construction documents for the new barn facility at the Joe Correa Ag Farm.

After some discussion, the board approved a motion that granted administration authorization to negotiate a final price with Econ Group and sign a contract with the firm if a final agreement is made. This will be for the demolition and infrastructure relocation portion of the renovation project at Mission High School.

The summer schedule for central office employees was approved. The district will continue a tradition of changing work hours for the summer to work-weeks that consist of four, ten-hour days. Administra-tive offices will be closed on Fridays during the summer, beginning the week of June 8. Central office will be closed for vacations June 29-July 13.

After executive session, the board approved an employment agree-ment for a central office administrator.

All of the items included in the consent agenda were approved. How-ever, one item was pulled for separate discussion and consideration. That item was for the approval of bank depository services. After the discussion, BBVA Compass Bank was approved.

The district’s Child Nutrition Program will contract to provide catered meals to students at Agape Christian School.

Proposed changes to Board Policy FNCE(LOCAL) will bring it more in line with current instructional uses of cell phones and other elec-tronic devices in the schools. Adoption of the policy changes will be considered in June.

The purchase of classroom furniture for the new Mission Collegiate High School will cost about $110,000.

Silsbee Ford will be used for the purchase of eight new box trucks for the Child Nutrition Program at a cost of $391,928. These will replace aging trucks in the department’s fleet.

Child Nutrition Program funds will be used for needed equipment purchases for the central kitchen at an esti-mated cost of $130,000.

The purchase of dining furniture for Mission Collegiate High School will be done through the Edu-Source Cor-poration at a cost of approximately $90,000.

The Career Technical Education department will make a computer purchase to replace aging computers at Mission High School, Veterans Memorial High School, and Mission Collegiate High School. CTE funds will be used for the purchase. The estimated cost is $265,000 for 229 computers.

The purchase of new textbooks required by the state will cost the district $2,313,038 beyond what the state allocates for textbook purchases.

The district will continue to contract with the Hidalgo County Tax Office for the collection of school district prop-erty taxes. The fee is unchanged from the previous year at $71,676.

The district will respond to a statement of impact amendment from Harmony Science Academy indicating it will impact the district to a significant degree.

The district will dispose of old and surplus items through donation and an online auction.

Cash donations accepted for the months of March and April total $4,624. Non-cash donations total $19,734.

Tax related collections for the month of March total $1,055,270.

Board Highlights is designed to be a brief review of actions taken by the Mission CISD Board of Trustees. It is not, nor should it be considered official minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting(s).