Key Agenda Items

Board Of Education Meeting Agenda

June 11, 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 The 2020–2021 Recommended District Budget
(A.3) Approval Of Emergency Board Monitoring Update: Presentation Of Emergency Constraints 3 And 4 Progress Measures
(F.2) Approval Of The 2020–2021 Code Of Student Conduct
(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 Districtwide and School-Specific Programs
(I.7) Approval Of 2019–2020 Year-End Budget Amendment
(K.1) Approval of Proposed Revisions to Board Policy EL(Local), Charter Campus or Program — Second Reading

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

A.2 Approval Of The 2020–2021 Recommended District Budget (S)

The Board is scheduled to vote on the 2020-2021 district budget at this meeting. The budget totals over $2 billion, which includes step increases for employees on the teacher salary schedule and police officers and a $9.3 million district contribution to health insurance to prevent additional costs for employees. Originally, the district proposed additional employee raises for teachers and support staff, but reduced the proposal to step increases after receiving news that the district would not be allocated funding in the manner it anticipated from the CARES Act. The budget deficit is $18,434,625 and will be funded from the assigned fund balance for North Forest construction projects. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HISD anticipates significant uncertainty about future revenues beginning in the 2021-2022 school year.

Core Value Evaluation: Stewardship

Overseeing the district budget is one of the key responsibilities of school board trustees, who act as stewards of taxpayer money to ensure students receive the resources and funding they need. The goal should always be to have a balanced, sustainable budget that aligns with district goals. If the Board is going to make amendments to the proposed budget, they should avoid decreasing the Per Unit Allocation for students, allowing recurring costs to be covered by fund balance, and cutting costs without understanding the impact on student learning and outcomes.

A.3 Approval Of Emergency Board Monitoring Update: Presentation Of Emergency Constraints 3 And 4 Progress Measures (I)

The Board will receive the board monitoring update on Emergency Constraints 3 and 4. Emergency constraint 3 states “the superintendent will not operate without engaging all students in learning.” Constraint 4 states “the superintendent will not operate without protecting the health and safety of employees.”

F.2 Approval Of The 2020–2021 Code Of Student Conduct (E, L)

The Code of Student Conduct (Code) illustrates the rights and responsibilities of HISD students and the expected student conduct in schools. Additionally, the Code specifies the disciplinary consequences in response to student misconduct and the appeal options for parent and guardians in response to disciplinary consequences.

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: HR Acuity, LLC; Houston First Corporation (City of Houston); AmplioSpeech Inc.; Communities in Schools of Houston, Inc.; Aries Building Systems, LLC; GroundFORCE Building Systems, LLC; JR Thomas Group, Inc.; Panorama Education, Inc.; Education Networks of America, Inc. dba ENA Services, LLC; Pear Deck, Inc.; Airgas, Inc. dba Airgas USA, LLC; Balfour Campus Supply; Taylor Publishing Company dba Balfour/Balfour Publishing; Arbor Masters Tree Service; Asplundh Tree Expert; Metropolitan Landscape Management; Yellowstone Landscape; Data Management, Inc. dba TimeClock Plus, LLC; Double Oak Erosion, Inc.; KKS Environmental, LLC; Microsoft Corporation; Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless; John Deere dba Deere & Company; Justin Seed; MasterTurf Products and Services; Pioneer Manufacturing Company; Sports Field Solutions; The Grasshopper Company dba Moridge Manufacturing, Inc.; Thomas Turfgrass Winfield; School Specialty, Inc.; SDI Innovations, Inc. dba School Datebooks

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: AIRGAS USA, LLC; The Mission Continues; William B. Travis Foundation, Inc.; HISD Foundation on behalf of CITGO and ABC 13; National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW); Christian Community Service Center (CCSC); HISD Foundation on behalf of Walmart, Inc.; The Sasol Fund of the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana

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: Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC); Asia Society Confucius Classrooms Network

I.7 Approval Of 2019–2020 Year-End Budget Amendment (S, L)

The Board must approve the Year-End Budget Amendment that illustrates the fiscal adjustments to the estimated revenues and appropriations for fiscal year 2019-2020.

K.1 Approval of Proposed Revisions to Board Policy EL(Local), Charter Campus or Program — Second Reading (S, L)

The Board will consider revisions to Board Policy EL(Local), which governs in-district charter agreements. Additions on second reading include: disclosure of related party transactions, a requirement for fair market value on facility rental transactions, a requirement for parent/guardian notification that a school has been or may be placed on probationary status, a requirement for teacher certification, and a commitment to equity for students.

Core Value Evaluation: Leadership

HISD oversees charter schools that operate in the district. Over the last several years, the Board has voted on whether to approve charter agreements late in the year, putting the district in a position in which it might close a school only a few months before the new school year begins. The changes to EL(Local) would guide administration in changing the language for charter agreements to be more stringent and allow for greater oversight by the Board of Education, while also requiring the Board to notify campuses of nonrenewal by October 31, giving parents and children more time to adjust to the change.

L.2 2020–2021 Resource Allocation Handbook (I, E)

The Board must approve the Year-End Budget Amendment that illustrates the fiscal adjustments to the estimated revenues and appropriations for fiscal year 2019-2020.

Other agenda items to be voted on during the meeting:

(A.1) Approval of personal services performed by the Superintendent.
(B.1) Approval of the appointment of a representative to the board of directors to tax increment reinvestment zone 18 with the City of Houston.
(B.2) Approval of the appointment of a volunteer subject matter expert to the Board’s Audit Committee.
(D.1) Approval of the submission of course waiver request to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for Texas Connections Academy.
(D.2) Authorization for the superintendent to execute the agreements and interlocal memorandums of understanding with community agencies, residential facilities, and educational service providers for appraisal, related, instructional, and consultant services as needed for students with disabilities.
(D.3) Authorization to negotiate and execute agreement renewals with community agencies, organizations, and public institutions for health and medical programs.
(D.4) Approval of waivers from local board policy, submission to the TEA of requests for waivers from state policy, submission to the TEA of waivers for low attendance days, and submission to the TEA of waivers for COVID-19.
(D.5) Approval to waive some of the requirements for an annual appraisal in Board Policy DNB(Local) for campus administrator employees in light of the COVID-19 crisis and the change and disruption of employee duties.
(F.1) Approval of the use of state and industry certifying agencies for students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programming for the next two years.
(F.3) Authorization to negotiate and renew the agreement with Young Scholars Academy for the 2020-2021 school year.
(I.4) Approval of the resolution and ordinance adopting residence homestead exemptions for individuals living in HISD for tax year 2020.
(1.5) Approval of the recommended 2020-2021 budgets for Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV, Carl Perkins, and Idea-B grant funds and authorization to submit the 2020-2021 Every Student Succeeds Act Consolidated Federal Grant Application and other federal program applications to the TEA.
(I.6) Authorization for year-end encumbrances and fund commitments from fiscal year 2019-2020 to be carried forward and re-appropriated for fiscal year 2020-2021.
(I.8) Adoption of the resolution approving the cash management and investment policy and authorized brokers.
(I.9) Adoption of the resolution approving the debt management policy.
(I.10) Approval and adoption of the portions of the Harris County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Action Plan that apply to HISD.
(J.1) Approval of the 2020–2021 panel of law firms engaged to provide legal services.
(J.2) Approval of the 2021 Internal Audit Plan
(K.2) Approval to waive Board Policy BF(LOCAL) and approval of proposed revisions to board policy DED(LOCAL), Compensation And Benefits: Vacation And Holidays (First Reading) to allow employees to carry over vacation days in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(K.3) Approval of the proposed revisions to Board Policy EHBB(LOCAL), Special Programs: Gifted And Talented Students (First Reading) to comply with policy requirements from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB)
(L.1) Presentation of the District’s Investment Report
(L.3) Approval of the 2020–2021 HISD Compensation Manual.

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. Last June, the HISD Board had to convene for a last-minute special meeting to pass a budget for the 2019 – 2020 school year. In order to prevent another last-minute budget vote this summer, the HISD Board needs to collaboratively and collectively ensure next year’s budget is aligned with district goals. The Board plans to vote on the district budget on June 11, 2020 and should work diligently not to postpone the vote, pushing it closer to the deadline.

2. The closure of the district, while necessary to ensure the safety of the HISD community, has exacerbated inequities amongst students. [email protected], the district’s online education portal, was launched to ensure student instruction could continue from home, however, the last publicly available login data show that even in the schools with the highest login percentages, all students do not have access. In the schools with the top 10 login percentages, 5%-18% of students have not been able to logon. All of the other schools in HISD have even higher percentages of students without access to education. The Board should continue to receive updates from administration about what efforts are being made to ensure all students are able to continue their learning.

3. The HISD Board should terminate their legal actions against the TEA. The Board is using taxpayers’ dollars from unassigned funds, running HISD into a deeper deficit, to pay for their lawyers. With delays in court due to COVID-19, the lawsuit is moving slowly. Especially now, when the school district is facing hurdles with making sure students have access to instruction and basic necessities, the Board and district finances should be focused on our kids.