Key Agenda Items

Board Of Education Meeting Agenda

December 10, 2020

*More details on each item and additional areas of concern during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found below the list.

(A.2) Approval Of Board Monitoring Update: Presentation Of Goals 1 And 4 Progress Measures 1, 2, And 3
(B.2) Receive And Act On Report And Recommendations From Board Audit Committee
(E.1) Approval Of Targeted Improvement Plans For Comprehensive And F-Rated Campuses
(I.1) Vendor Awards for Purchases over $100,000
(I.2) Donations for Districtwide and School-Specific Programs
(I.3) Grant Funds in Support of District-wide and School-Specific Programs
(J.1) Approval Of Updated Internal Audit Charter And Audit Plan
(J.2) Approval Of Updated Internal Audit Strategic Plan

Impact (I), Leadership (L), Equity (E), Stewardship (S), Collaboration (C)

A.2 Approval Of Board Monitoring Update: Presentation Of Goals 1 And 4 Progress Measures 1, 2, And 3 (I)

The Board must approve the monitoring update for Goal 1 and 4 Progress Measures 1, 2, and 3.

Goal 1 states: The percentage of 3rd grade students performing at or above grade level in reading as measured by the Meets Grade Level Standard on STAAR will increase 8
percentage points from 42% in spring 2019 to 50% in spring 2024.

Goal 4 states: The percentage of students receiving special education services reading at or above grade level as measured by the Meets Grade Level Standard on the STAAR 3–8 Reading and STAAR EOC English I and II assessments will increase 8 percentage
points from 21% in spring 2019 to 29% in spring 2024.

Core Value Evaluation: Impact

This is the first Board monitoring report for the new goals passed in November. Considering the Board has not actively monitored student outcomes since August, the Board should devote significant time and energy to reviewing how students are doing with the changes to instruction caused by the pandemic. Lone Star Governance recommends that school boards spend 50% of their time on student outcomes. The Board should focus on meeting that recommendation moving forward.

B.2 Receive And Act On Report And Recommendations From Board Audit Committee (S, I)

The Board must accept and act on the annual report of the HISD Board Audit Committee and approve the committee’s proposed Audit Committee Calendar for 2021. The current audit committee does not recommend any substantive changes be made to the charter at this time.

E.1 Approval Of Targeted Improvement Plans For Comprehensive And F-Rated Campuses (I)

Campuses that are designated as Comprehensive Support or received an F campus accountability rating by the TEA must submit a Targeted Improvement Plan (TIP), which includes essential actions, goals, and people as it relates to improving the school. The Board must approve the TIPs for Ashford Elementary School (ES), C. Martinez ES, Codwell ES, Deady Middle School (MS), Edison MS, Foerster ES, Fleming MS, High School Ahead, Holland MS, Isaacs ES, Kashmere High School (HS), Key MS, Liberty HS, Madison HS, Middle College at Fraga, Middle College at Gulfton, Northline ES, Osborne ES, Robinson ES, Rucker ES, Seguin ES, Smith ES, Sugar Grove MS, Texas Connections Academy, Thomas MS, Washington HS, Wheatley HS, Whidby ES, Williams MS, Wisdom HS, Worthing HS, Yates HS, and Young ES.

I.1 Vendor Awards for Purchases over $100,000 (S, L)

The Board needs to approve vendor awards greater than $100,000 and ratify vendor awards under $100,000.

Vendors: Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc., dba Houston Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Brian K. Muck dba Fastlane Services; 806 Technologies, Inc; Advanced Fleet Maintenance; Industrial Power, LLC dba Industrial Power Truck & Equipment; Texas Truck Centers dba Kyrish Truck Centers of Houston; Longhorn Bus Sales; Master’s Transportation, Inc.; National Guaranteed Vinyl, Inc.; Northwest Drive Train, Inc, dba Northwest Drive Train Service; Reliable Transmission Service-Texas, LLC; Rush Truck Centers of Texas, LP dba Rush Truck Center, Houston; Thomas Bus Gulf Coast GP, Inc.; Homer J. Wood dba Wood Alternator and Starter Service; Bearcom Group, Inc.; Motorola Solutions, Inc.; Texas Communications; Visual AV, LLC; MCA Communications, Inc.; SHI Government Solutions, Inc; Altec Inc. dba Global Rental Co. Inc.; Mustang Rental Services of Texas, LLC; Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.; United Rentals (North America), Inc.; Didax Inc., dba Didax Educational Resources Inc.; Quality Reefer Service Inc.; Southern Tire Mart, LLC; Brandt Constructors & Facility Services; Post Oak Construction; Westco Ventures, LLC; Teen and Family Services; The Council on Recovery; Raptor Technologies, LLC; HR Acuity, LLC; Clark Equipment Company dba Bobcat Company; Hustler Turf Equipment, Inc.; Parts Town, LLC; Asteria Learning Inc. dba ECS Learning Systems/Prepworks/TestSmart; Gateway Education Holdings LLC dba Savvas Learning Company LLC; Athletic Supply, Inc., dba Barcelona Sporting Goods; Parts Town, LLC.

I.2 Donations for Districtwide and School-Specific Programs (S, L)

All donations greater than $5,000 must be approved by the HISD Board of Education.

Donors: Alfred and Leticia Buron; Christian Community Service Center (CCSC); FedEx; Discover Brighter Futures Fund via Goldman Sachs; Greater Houston Community Partnership (GHCP); Good Reason Houston; HISD Foundation on behalf of Academy Sports + Outdoors; Houston Texans Foundation; Operation Warm; Port of Houston; Students for Cause; EnCap Flatrock Midstream; HSPVA Friends; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Johnson Space Center.

I.3 Grant Funds in Support of Districtwide and School-Specific Programs (S, L)

All grant funds greater than $5,000 must be approved by the HISD Board of Education.

Grantors: University of North Texas (UNT); School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

J.1 Approval Of Updated Internal Audit Charter And Audit Plan (S, I)

The Board must approve the updates to the Internal Audit Department charter and minor revisions to the audit plan, which was approved in June of 2020.

J.2 Approval Of Updated Internal Audit Strategic Plan (S, I)

The Board must approve the Internal Audit Strategic Plan, developed by the Internal Audit Department. The plan outlines strategic focuses for the department and runs through June 2023.

Other agenda items to be voted on during the meeting:

(A.1) Approval of personal services performed by the Superintendent.
(B.1) Appointment of three HISD representatives to the Houston Land Bank (HLB) board of directors.
(B.3) Discussion of next steps regarding police function in the district.
(F.1) Approval to negotiate and execute an Interlocal Partnership Agreement with the University of Houston for student tutorial services, college application guidance, and mentoring.
(I.4) Approval of the annual report for disaster assistance to the Texas Education Agency to report insurance payments related to rebuilding projects from Hurricane Harvey, which reduced the district’s recapture payments.
(I.5) Approval of the 2020 Certified Appraisal Roll and 2020 Calculated Tax Roll.
(I.6) Approval to negotiate and execute an Interlocal Agreement with 1 Government Procurement Alliance, a nonprofit cooperative, which allows government entities to use existing contracts to purchase goods and services.
(I.7) Approval to negotiate and execute an Interlocal Agreement with Goodbuy Cooperative Lead Agency Region 2 – Education Service Center, which allows members the opportunity to purchase goods and services from contracts that meet state and federal competitive bidding requirements.
(I.8) Approval of the annual report for disaster assistance to the Texas Education Agency to report insurance payments related to repair projects from Hurricane Harvey, which requires an adjustment to the district’s previously reduced recapture payment.
(L.1) Submission of the district’s quarterly investment report.

Areas of Concern:

Although normal school board operations have been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still items the school board must address and new areas of concern created by the current crisis. Houston GPS would like to highlight the following items:

1. The closure of the district, while necessary to ensure the safety of the HISD community, has exacerbated inequities amongst students. Many students have struggled with remote learning, with 42% of students failing at least one class in the first grading period. The addition of face-to-face learning comes with potential disruptions to maintain the safety of students and staff. The December agenda includes concerns about data quality during the pandemic, which must be addressed moving forward if remote assessments are given, so that the Board can accurately monitor student outcomes. The agenda also includes a paper outlining recommendations for state assessments, which the district could potentially use to help mitigate data concerns. Specifically, the district could include opportunity-to-learn information, along with other demographic information, to help provide context for student outcome monitoring reports by showing the circumstances of different student groups compared to their performance on assessments.

2. In June, the Board made a commitment to examine the role of police in the district to confront systemic racism and police violence against people of color. Considering the disproportionate discipline and forced interaction with police that students of color, especially black boys, face in public education, this is a pressing equity concern. The Board plans to discuss next steps at the December Regular Board Meeting.

3. In the past, the Board has faced last-minute changes to the district budget and budget approval votes that cut close to the deadline for the district. Last year, the Board was able to pass a budget without delaying until the end of June, but this was the first time if several years. In order to ensure the budget is passed within a reasonable timeframe and not subject to late amendments, the Board should set its budget priorities early to guide the administration in developing the 2021-2022 budget.