January 14, 2021 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Background: The District employs full-time professional employees in positions requiring a certificate from the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC), nurses under a probationary or term contract, and other designated employees. The purpose of this agenda item is to facilitate Board approval of these contracts.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the employment of these individuals as indicated on the attached list.
 

Description:  Background: The monthly financial reports presented to the Board for consideration will include budget amendments (when applicable), budget summary year-to-date reports, construction summary report, outstanding investments, and tax office reports.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees accepts the financial reports for November 2020.
 

Description:  Background: The attached report is a summary of the purchases valued over $25,000 but not exceeding $50,000 that have been made from November 1, 2020 through November 30, 2020.

Recommendation:   It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees accepts the Purchasing Report for the period of November 1, 2020 through November 30, 2020 as presented.
 

Description:  Background:  Education Code Sec. §44.0331 requires school districts to present an annual written report which describes any and all contract-related fees paid to any purchasing cooperative.

The report must be submitted to the Board of Trustees as an agenda item in an open meeting and shall describe the purpose of any membership or transaction assessed by any cooperative purchasing program.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees accepts the Cooperative Purchasing Fee report as submitted.
 

Description:  Background: The Texas Government Code §791 and Texas Education Code §44.031 (a)(5) allows for governmental entities, i.e. state agencies, local governments, and school districts, to enter into cooperative agreements to allow the procurement process to be performed by a single entity on behalf of all those electing to participate. The benefit of an agreement like this is to reduce administrative costs for each participating member. This code also requires the governing body of each party to authorize the contract. 

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD has identified a purchasing contract for basic service commodity processing, procured and administered by the Region 10 Education Service Center (ESC), which would be an advantageous contract vehicle for use by the Student Nutrition Department. 

The Region 10 ESC will be the Administrative Agency under this agreement; however, each member entity will be responsible for its own orders and each vendor will bill each agency separately. 

Purchases made under this agreement utilizing federal funds adhere to all requirements for expenditures under Federal Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections 200.326 for participants in the National School Lunch Program.

This agreement is a one (1) year agreement (beginning July 1, 2021) for commodity processing services. The District reserves the right to rebid this service through its own procurement process at any time.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves and authorizes the interlocal agreement with Region 10 Education Service Center for procurement of commodity processing for the Student Nutrition Department and delegate the authority to execute and complete any necessary documentation for this agreement to the Superintendent or his designee. 
 

Description:  Background: CFBISD entered into the Operation Connectivity Matching Grant program with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in order to participate in the Bulk Order Purchase program for hotspots, Chromebooks, and iPads for remote learning.  The District placed an order for $2,281,172 for these items in August and TEA matched that funding with an additional $2,281,172 for the purchase.

Federal funding has also been provided under the Coronavirus Relief Fund to state and local governments to aid with expenditures incurred in response to second-order effects of the COVID-19 public health emergency.  The cities and counties within CFBISD were required to allocate those funds for such purposes.

The Operation Connectivity program encouraged districts to work with their city and county partners to request funding for 25% of the district’s portion. All funds provided by city and county partners will be matched dollar for dollar by the TEA.  The District reached out to all of the potential entities to pursue such a partnership.  The Board of Trustees approved an agreement in October to receive $50,000 from the City of Coppell and later, the City of Dallas determined that they would offer CFBISD $53,000.

Approximately 3,458 students in CFBISD live in the City of Dallas.  Based on the number of CFBISD students residing in Dallas and the available funds as part of Operation Connectivity, the City of Dallas will provide $53,000 in funding for matching for those eligible students.  These funds would offset the $2,281,172 spent by CFBISD and a matching value would also be provided by TEA, further offsetting the District’s investment.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the Operation Connectivity Agreement with the City of Dallas.
 

Description:  Background: On Thursday, December 10, 2020, TEA released information in its SY 20-21 Attendance and Enrollment FAQ allowing districts with an approved asynchronous plan the option to request a waiver to schedule periodic (nonconsecutive) asynchronous instructional days during the spring of 2020-2021 for a maximum of 2100 minutes (5 calendar days).  According to the release, these days may be requested to provide additional planned professional development, teacher preparation days, or to focus on teacher planning and student engagement.  With this request, teachers would assign engaging lessons for all students to complete asynchronously at home on the dates requested below.  This is allowable as CFBISD has provided technology devices to all students and hot spots to those who need internet connectivity.

CFBISD would like to request a waiver for four (4) days on the following dates:  February 26, March 26, April 16, and May 7.  (Note:  Students involved in AP testing on May 7th would be required to attend school on this date for the time they would be involved in testing.) 

While students are working independently on asynchronous learning at home, staff would be involved in the following activities: data dives to understand where students are and next steps for whole class and small group instruction, planning for targeted instruction to increase student engagement, specific professional development to improve student learning, and administering and evaluating state/district assessments.  Time may also be spent contacting parents and/or students regarding attendance and progress. 

Staff members would be required to be on campus these days, and administration will monitor the use of time as well as outcomes.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board of Trustees approves the use of four (4) of the allotted five (5) school days for asynchronous instruction during the second semester.
 

Description:  Background: In conjunction with the 2018 Bond Program, the need to audit construction costs is essential to provide an accurate accounting of all construction related costs. To accomplish this, CFBISD issued a Request for Qualifications to prospective firms to submit a response to this solicitation.
Eight (8) responses were received on November 18, 2020 and evaluated in a two-step process. Step one included evaluation of the qualifications statements of each firm, and resulted in a ranking according to their demonstrated competence. Following step one, the top four firms were invited to an interview to learn more about their approach to the construction audit and determine a fee structure.
After the conclusion of the interviews, firms were scored based on their interview, presentation and fee structure. R.L. Townsend & Associates, LLC was the top ranked firm and is recommended to be awarded this agreement to conduct construction audit services for the 2018 Bond Program.
Costs for these services is not expected to exceed $300,000. This not to exceed amount represents almost 0.1% of the bond program. It is highly likely that this amount will be completely offset by reductions in contractor payments that will be found and recommended by the auditors. We expect the addition of the auditors to the Bond 2018 to have an overall positive impact to the bond funding level.
The District reserves the right to purchase or re-procure this solution at any time according to any procurement method allowable under Texas Education Code §44.031 as the District’s needs require.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board approve RFQ 2020-11-028 for Construction Audit Services and award this agreement to R.L. Townsend & Associates, LLC as presented.
 

Description:  Background: Through a survey to the District Improvement Council, parents, and staff, the following calendar was chosen for the 2020-2021 school year.  1,573 respondents took the survey.

The calendar includes:
•    78,300 minutes (180 days)
•    187 teacher days

Academic Calendar Highlights:
•    Teachers return to work on Tuesday, August 3rd.
•    First day of school is Tuesday, August 10th.
•    Last day of school is May 25th. 
•    Thursday, May 26th and Friday, May 27th are Bad Weather Days.
•    Friday, May 31st is a teacher workday.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the 2021-2022 Academic Calendar as presented.
 

Description:  Background: This is an exclusive contract to provide employee benefits consultant services for the District. This agreement was initially approved at the January 17, 2019 Regular Board meeting, Consent Agenda Item 4.l.  Financial Benefits Services (FBS) is the awarded vendor for this agreement.

FBS will conduct market analysis for the District’s voluntary insurance products, including voluntary disability, basic life, AD&D, voluntary dental, vision, cancer plans, and Section 125 administration, and provide claims review assistance as needed.   FBS will provide District staff a thorough review of annual plan offerings and make recommendations based on their understanding of the voluntary insurance market and cost that are in the best interest of CFBISD employees.

FBS will be paid standard commissions included in supplemental products reviewed and selected through our RFP process. This will allow the District to provide our employees with the best and most competitively priced products.

This is the second of four (4) extension options (beginning January 15, 2021) included in this RFP.

The District reserves the right to purchase or re-procure this solution at any time according to any procurement method allowable under Texas Education Code §44.031 as the District’s needs require.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees exercises the second extension option for Consultant Services for Employee Benefits from Financial Benefits Services (FBS) and to authorize the Superintendent or his designee to execute renewals as provided in the RFP in the best interest of the District through the term of this contract.

 

Description:  Background: This is a non-exclusive contract which provides as-needed purchases of electrical supplies and equipment to be utilized throughout the District.

CFBISD staff determines which vendor to use from the awarded vendors under this contract based on the campus or departmental needs and District standards.  Staff will continue to work closely with the Purchasing Department by obtaining competitive quotes from vendors awarded under this agreement, where practical, to ensure the District receives the best value for each purchase.

Individual purchases above $25,000 will be submitted to the Board of Trustees through the Purchasing Report. Individual purchases of $50,000 or above will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval in accordance with policy.

Purchases made under this contract utilizing federal funds adhere to all requirements for expenditures under Federal Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).

This is the fourth and final (beginning January 15, 2021) renewal option as specified in the RFP. 

The District reserves the right to purchase or re-procure this solution at any time according to any procurement method allowable under Texas Education Code §44.031 as the District’s needs require.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the extension of RFP 16-35 Electrical Supplies and Equipment with the recommended vendors and to authorize the Superintendent or his designee to execute renewals as provided in the RFP in the best interest of the District through the term of this contract.
 

Description:  Background: In conjunction with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in place at Ranchview High School and other campuses within the District, the purchase of registration fees for courses taken through this program is required.  Also required are school registration fees and costs for required staff training.

For the 2020-2021 school year, CFBISD has spent $67,351 for participation in this program.  Spring 2021 registrations and additional training costs are estimated to be $40,000.  It is not known what other expenses are anticipated for the 2020-2021 school year.  This request is for the total amount of $107,351 to be spent for this program.

This purchase will be made from International Baccalaureate under the provision for sole source purchases and in compliance with Section §44.031 of the Texas Education Code at an anticipated cost of $67,351 with an additional amount of $40,000 not to exceed $107,351.  

The District reserves the right to purchase or re-procure this solution at any time according to any procurement method allowable under Texas Education Code §44.031 as the District’s needs require.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the purchase from International Baccalaureate for registration fees, testing materials, and training for district-wide use for the initial one (1) year term with the recommended vendor and to authorize the Superintendent or his designee to execute renewals as provided in the best interest of the District through the term of this contract.
 

Description:  Background: To continue building digital literacy and closing the digital divide, Administration recommends the purchase of Chromebooks for use on an as-needed basis. This purchase will allow replacement of damaged or obsolete laptops in the District’s inventory in support of the District’s 1-to-1 initiative.

National and regional resellers were solicited for quotes and the District received six (6) responses. The quote submitted by Delcom Group, LLP, under the provisions of Department of Information Resource (DIR) cooperative purchasing contract number DIR-TSO-4159, represents the best value to the District at a total cost of $246,000. 

The District reserves the right to purchase or re-procure this solution at any time according to any procurement method allowable under Texas Education Code §44.031 as the District’s needs require.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the purchase of HP Chromebooks from Delcom Group, LLP and authorizes the Superintendent or his designee to negotiate and execute contracts for such purchases in the best interest of the District.
 

Description:  Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the minutes of the Pre-Meeting Briefing held on December 3, 2020 at 6:00pm.
 

Description:  Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting held on December 3, 2020 at 7:00pm.
 

Description:  Background: The Audit Committee is scheduled to review the CAFR at a meeting scheduled for 5:30 pm on January 14, 2021.  This committee will make a recommendation to the full Board.

The CAFR has been previously delivered to the Board.

Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the Board of Trustees approves the District’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2019-20.