Board Meeting Recap

The Board of Trustees met Monday evening for their regular April board meeting. Included below are the most notable information and action items.

The pledges to the flags were led by the following students from Bertram Elementary School:

• Grant Ramon
• Maisyn Ince
• Kinsley Ramirez
• Cruz Mendez
• Emmett Stansel
• Enayah McCurry

Mr. Robby Robertson was honored for his dedicated service as a BCISD Board of Trustee, marking the culmination of his final term. Additionally, Darlene Denton was chosen as the recipient of the TASB Media Honor Roll for her outstanding commitment to supporting BCISD. We celebrated many other noteworthy achievements, including:

• BHS Students of the Month- Cadence Pierce & Ivan Leon. These students were selected from the CTE Department.
• QHS Student of the Month- Braeden McKenzie.
• BHS Band Students for advancing to the State UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest- Peyton Blaine & Aubrey Dean
• BHS Students for advancing to the FCCLA State Leadership Conference- Abby Gatlin, Elaina Alexander-Mabrey, & Nadahlia Bennett (3rd Place Early Childhood Education)
• BHS Student for advancing to the HOSA State Leadership Conference- Robyn Massey (8th Place Physical Therapy)
• BHS Student for being named to the girls Academic All-State Basketball Team- MaeSyn Gay
• BHS Students for being named to the boys Academic All-State Basketball Team- Cade Cavanaugh, Baylor Dawes, Jacob Koenig, Garner Krause, Andre Miller, Trey Petty, Hunter Smith, & Reese Syphrett
• BHS Students for being named to the girls Academic All-State Soccer Team- Kaycie Banton (1st Team), Haylie Bartlett (2nd Team), Reagan Shipley (2nd Team), Jacqueline Contreras (Honorable Mention), Ariana Chavez (Honorable Mention), & Amelia Griffin (Honorable Mention)
• BHS Swim & Dive team members for receiving All-State Honors- These students were unable to attend tonight’s meeting, so this agenda item will be moved to the next Board Meeting on May 20, 2024.

There will be an upcoming Burnet CISD School Board Trustees Election, scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2024. This year, there are four places on the ballot: Place 2, 4, 5, and 6.

For Place 2, we have Angela Moore and Place 4, we have Ross Behrens who are both running uncontested. Place 5 is a three-year term with one year remaining, and the candidates are Amber Cardenas and Katy Duke. Lastly, for Place 6, we have David Bennett who is also running uncontested. There are some important dates for your calendars related to the election:

• Monday, April 22, 2024, which is the 12th day before election day, marks the first day of early voting by personal appearance.
• Tuesday, April 30, 2024, the 4th day before Election Day, will be the last day of early voting by personal appearance.
• And finally, on Saturday, May 4, 2024, which is Election Day, the polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Board also made several significant decisions:

1. The school board approved allowing the newly established Education Foundation to retain all proceeds from the Texas Pioneer Foundation Grant. Additionally, the Education Foundation has elected Officers and a Board. Given the challenges faced in covering initial expenses for the upcoming school year, this decision will help the Foundation start off on a strong footing, leading to better outcomes for BCISD students and staff.
2. An update on the recent Bond Refinancing was provided, with bonds going to market and the District receiving favorable pricing. The new true interest rate on the bonds is 3.868%, resulting in a savings of over $500,000. Furthermore, the District executed its annual defeasance, paying off $3.5M worth of bonds and realizing significant savings on interest costs.
3. Pattillo, Brown & Hill (PBH) was approved as the District's new external auditor. PBH, an established firm from Waco, TX, currently provides audit services for many Districts in the area, including Marble Falls ISD.
4. A new vendor, Canon Solutions America, was approved to provide copiers to the District. Selected from a pool of 8 potential vendors, Canon's solution offers quality copiers and a billing method that allows the District to save money if copy volume is reduced.
5. The Board adopted new Science Instructional Materials recommended by teacher committees and ratified the District's certification to TEA that academic materials address necessary state standards. Teacher committees have been diligently meeting to align materials with new Science standards to be implemented next year.
6. Administrator and teacher contracts for the 2024-2025 school year were approved, along with the addition of new positions: Dyslexia teacher and Bertram SPED teacher.