Public Meeting Agenda: October 24, 2023 at 5:30 PM - Regular Board Meeting

1. 5:30 PM - CALL REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER - BOARD ROOM (OTHER)

2. PLEDGES (OTHER)

Discussion: Trustee Anne Darr: Has FWISD considered having students lead the meeting attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance? This was a practice prior to COVID.

Response: We will ask a member of the ROTC to lead the meeting attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. RECOGNITION (OTHER)

3.A. Recognition of Student Greeters

4. REPORT/PRESENTATION (OTHER)

4.A. Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System Outcomes
Presenters: Dr. Gracie Guerrero, Associate Superintendent and Marie Mendoza, Executive Director of Bilingual

5. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORT (OTHER)

Attachments: (1)

Board Committee Report

6. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT (OTHER)

Attachments: (1)

Superintendent Report

Discussion:

7. CALL PUBLIC HEARING TO ORDER (S and T)

7.A. Public Hearing to Discuss the District's 2023 Financial Accountability Rating (School First)

Attachments: (1)

School First Presentation

7.B. Public Comment to Discuss the District's 2023 Financial Accountability Rating (School First)

8. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING (S and T)

9. PUBLIC COMMENT (S and T)

10. EXECUTIVE SESSION (S and T)
The Board will convene in closed session as authorized by the Texas Government Code Chapter §551.

10.A. Seek the Advice of Attorneys (Texas Government Code §551.071)

10.B. Deliberation Regarding the Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, Reassignment, Duties, Discipline, or Dismissal of a Public Officer or Employee, Including but Not Limited to Action Items Related to the Recommendation to Terminate Certain Continuing Contract Employees for Good Cause, the Recommendation to Terminate Certain Term Contract Employees for Good Cause and the Recommendation to Terminate Certain Probationary Contract Employees for Good Cause (Texas Government Code §551.074)

10.B.1. Chief Talent Officer

10.B.2. Chief Technology Officer

10.C. Security Implementation (Texas Government Code §551.076)

10.C.1. Intruder Audit Findings and Corrective Action

10.D. Real Property (Texas Government Code §551.072)

11. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS (S and P)
(Action by the Board of Education in adopting the "Consent Agenda" means that all items appearing herein are adopted by one single motion, unless a member of the Board requests that such item be removed from the "Consent Agenda" and voted upon separately.)

11.A. Board of Education Meeting Minutes

Attachments: (1)

Minutes

11.A.1. Workshop Minutes - September 12, 2023

Attachments: (1)

September 12th Minutes

11.A.2. Special Minutes - September 19, 2023

Attachments: (1)

September 19th Minutes

11.A.3. Regular Minutes - September 26, 2023

Attachments: (1)

September 26th Minutes

11.B. Governance and Strategic Communications, Toni Cordova, Chief

11.B.1. Approve Second Reading - Revisions to Board Policies CCGB(LOCAL), CFB(LOCAL), CKE(LOCAL), CKEC(LOCAL), CLB(LOCAL), CRF(LOCAL), CVA(LOCAL), and CVB(LOCAL)

Attachments: (2)

11.B.2. Approve Ratification of 2023 - 2024 Council of the Great City Schools Membership Fees

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Trustee Anne Darr: Why wasn't this expense brought to the board prior to July 1, 2023? Is there a way to move this membership due date to later in the year since July 1 is the first date of the new fiscal year?

Response: FWISD received the invoice from the Council of Great City Schools, or CGCS, on September 8, 2023. We will work with the CGCS regarding the due date for next year.

11.C. Administrative Services, Karen Molinar, Deputy Superintendent

11.C.1. Business and Finance, Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, Chief Financial Officer

11.C.1.a. Approve Budget Amendment for the Period Ending September 30, 2023

Attachments: (4)

11.C.1.b. Approve Ratification for the Continuation of the District's Employee Assistance Program

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Trustee Roxanne Martinez: What are the EAP utilization rates for previous years of this contract?

Response:

EAP Engagement Reporting Chart

Year		EAP Engagement
FY23	9/1/22 - 8/31/23	2.81%
FY22	9/1/21 - 8/31/22	2.92%
FY21	9/1/20 - 8/31/21	3.24%
FY20	9/1/19 - 8/31/20	2%
FY19	9/1/18 - 8/31/19	2.22%

The National Average is 2-4%.

11.C.1.c. Approve ERP Project Management Consultant Services

Attachments: (1)

Project Management Consultant Services

11.C.2. Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, Dr. David Saenz, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

11.C.2.a. Approve Purchase of Charging Carts for Students at the Leadership Academies at Forest Oak Middle School and Forest Oak 6th Grade

Attachments: (2)

11.C.2.b. Approve 2023 - 2024 District Improvement Plan

Attachments: (1)

District Improvement Plan

11.C.2.c. Approve Purchase of Consulting Services to Support the System of Great Schools Initiatives

Attachments: (2)

11.C.2.d. Approve Memorandum of Understanding Between the JPS School-Based Pediatric and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services and Fort Worth ISD for Behavioral Health Services

Attachments: (2)

11.C.2.e. Approve Memorandum of Understanding Between University of North Texas Health Science Center and Fort Worth ISD for Health-Related Services and Projects

Attachments: (2)

11.C.2.f. Approve Renewal of a Unified Enrollment System

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Trustee Anne Darr: How pleased has FWISD administration been with the use of this registration platform for the 2023-2024 school year? Has it met the needs of both parents and staff?

Response: The initiative did meet the needs of the majority of our families and campuses. However, the 1st year implementation did have its share of opportunities for improvement. The biggest opportunities for improvement were the Pre-K application process and the transfer of data back into our Student Information System (SIS). After investigating, the issues were both with the product and some with our internal processes.

The FWISD team gathered concerns from parents and campuses during the implementation. We also revisited those concerns as a part of our after-action review. We then met with the vendor to review our first-year implementation. The vendor did provide solutions to the concerns related to the product itself. We believe that we also have solutions to the issues that were caused by internal issues. After further review, the decision was made to continue with the current product for this school year. This is an ESSER-funded initiative and will be reviewed again this year as a part of our AROI process.

Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: What does this resource actually do? The description says that it manages multiple systems for various school operations. Do we need to improve our technology department so using available databases, we can utilize our own staff and thereby save funds?

Response: This is the system that manages the application and registration for our families. In the past, we had different processes to manage the Gold Seal application, transfer system, Pre-K application, bilingual program application, and general registration. The goal was to establish one location where families could access these processes. This is an ESSER-funded program and will be reviewed again this year. As a part of that review, we are also exploring the option of managing this process internally in the future.

11.C.3. Talent Management, Woodrow Bailey III, Interim Chief Talent Officer, Talent Management

11.C.3.a. Approve Application for the Waiver of the 2023-2024 Request for Maximum Class Size Exception

Attachments: (1)

Class Waiver

Discussion: Trustee Roxanne Martinez: Please provide a complete list of classrooms by campus with the grade and number of students per classroom. How has the district addressed staffing among campuses that have been on the class waiver list for multiple years?

Response: A full list of classrooms by campus, grade and number of students over ratio will be provided in the Friday Communique. The report will provide comparison data from mid-September and the beginning of October. The Administration began the process of leveling classes across the district in September. If classrooms are out of compliance and enrollment continues to increase an additional FTE has been allocated to that campus. A campus administrator; however, may choose to continue with the class size over the ratio due to lack of available certified and quality candidates to fill the position. Fort Worth ISD created a structure to compensate teachers with additional students when their classes remain over capacity.

11.C.3.b. Approve Human Resources Service Agreement for Pay Systems Review

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Trustee Roxanne Martinez: When was the last pay systems review completed? How often is this review done? Why doesn't this review include pay for extracurricular duty assignments?

Response: Information gathered from previous administration indicates this is the third year the district has contracted TASB to perform a pay systems review. A complete restructuring of the compensation plan was recommended and provided the first year of engagement.

Last year, TASB provided support and guidance to department leadership as they addressed the organizational restructure and the addition of so many positions funded by ESSER. This year, the major focus of the survey is to bring alignment to some positions within the district as they compare to the market and to address compression. As an experienced human resources administrator and compensation manager, I am used to contracting TASB for their services once every three to five years. With capable staff, functional data systems, and adherence to compensation procedures in the district, we can maintain the plan, provide projections, and execute the approved structure without assistance for the next few years.

Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: I second the questions from Trustee Martinez. In addition, TASB has the data on-hand so the price for their services is out of line. Can we negotiate a better cost?

Response: In general, the cost of the TASB Survey is based on the number of employees. I definitely understand the concern on cost and that is why I would not recommend committing to this expense year over year. I would recommend a three-to-five-year update depending on the changes in the market and other factors that may impact salaries. The district would benefit from their support this year to ensure we have a solid plan moving forward.

11.C.3.c. Approve Appraisers for the T-TESS Appraisal System Certified Since September 27, 2023

Attachments: (2)

11.C.3.d. Approve Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) New and Higher Designations Processing Fee

Attachments: (1)

Teacher Incentive Allotment

11.C.4. Accountability and Data Quality, Sara Arispe, Associate Superintendent

11.C.4.a. Approve Addition of Rolling Hills Elementary School to the Eduphoria Premium Suite Purchase

Attachments: (2)

11.D. Learning and Leading Service Networks

11.D.1. Service Network #1, Melissa Kelly, Associate Superintendent

11.D.1.a. Approve Ratification Purchase for the Renewal of Online Reference Databases and Streaming Media

Attachments: (1)

Online Reference Databases

Discussion: Trustee Anne Darr: Thank you for including the specific usage data for the previous twelve-month period. That information is helpful.

11.D.1.b. Approve Addendum and Purchase of Literacy Professional Learning Services for Schools and Community Success Partners

Attachments: (3)

11.D.2. Service Network #2, Charles Garcia, Associate Superintendent

11.D.2.a. Approve 2023 - 2024 Campus Improvement Plans

Attachments: (1)

Campus Improvement Plans

11.D.2.b. Approve Proposed Course Changes for the 2024-2025 School Year

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Trustee Anne Darr: It is unclear that the courses listed on the agenda item are all course additions, not deletions.

Response: We have edited the title of the attachment. There are both deletions and additions.

11.D.2.c. Ratify Approve Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) and Tarrant County College (TCC) for the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Academies

Attachments: (2)

11.D.2.d. Approve Purchase of a Career and Technical Education Data Collection and Analysis Program

Attachments: (2)

11.D.3. Service Network #4, Dr. Tamekia Brown, Associate Superintendent

11.D.3.a. Approve No-Cost Extension of Cooperative Agreement Between U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office on Trafficking in Persons and Fort Worth Independent School District

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Trustee Anne Darr: If FWISD does not receive the grant from the U.S. Office of Grant Management, will this program or another human trafficking program still be available to FWISD students?

Response: TEC § 28.017 is an unfunded state-mandate. The Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education (HTYPE) program was approved by the BOE in 2020 upon receipt of grant funds. In addition, Health and Physical Education provides the HTYPE-funded PROTECT® curriculum to students in grades 6 and 9 in order to satisfy the requirements of the Health TEKS. However, we currently do have PROTECT® which is the only curriculum approved by the Office on Trafficking in Persons, TEA, and the FWISD BOE. So, although we cannot utilize the US Office of Grant Management moving forward our PROTECT curriculum will continue to support the work.

Trustee Roxanne Martinez: Provide data from previous years. How many teachers have been trained? How many students have been served through the program?

Response: All district employees have been provided the abbreviated human trafficking training via the SafeSchools annual training. Approximately 1,843 educators have received FLEX and SBEC credit for taking the supplemental course, PROTECT® HT 101-103 in the Canvas platform. To date, we have educated over 10,000 students in grades 4-12 with the PROTECT® curriculum with parental consent. Parental consent for PROTECT has risen 300% since last year, with over 31,000 students being opted-in. In addition, we have screened 17 students and have served 4 students who have been trafficked and connected to services through FWISD staff trained on the curriculum and the Commercial Exploitation Identification Tool (CSE-IT)

11.D.3.b. Approve Consulting Agreement Between Big Rock Educational Services, LLS (BRES) and Fort Worth Independent School District

Attachments: (2)

11.E. Operations

11.E.1. Technology, Steven Wentz, Interim Chief Information Officer

11.E.1.a. Approve Purchase of Student Device Repair Services

Attachments: (2)

11.E.1.b. Approve Purchase of Career and Technical Education Student VDI Managed Services Renewal

Attachments: (2)

11.E.2. Operations, Carl Alfred, Senior Officer Operations

11.E.2.a. Approve Erosion Control Project at Westcliff Elementary

Attachments: (2)

11.E.3. Athletics, Kellie Spencer, Deputy Superintendent

11.E.3.a. Approve Ratification and Future Purchase of Athletic Uniforms and Supplies

Attachments: (1)

Athletic Uniforms and Supplies

11.E.4. Capital Improvement Program, Kellie Spencer, Operations

11.E.4.a. Approve Closeout Contract with Hester Environmental, LP dba TEAM Enterprise, and Authorize Final Payment in Conjunction with the 2017 Capital Improvement Program

Attachments: (1)

Closeout Contract

11.E.4.b. Approve Authorization to Enter into a Contract with a Construction Manager at Risk for Pre-Construction Services for Applied Learning Academy Renovations in Conjunction with the 2021 Capital Improvement Program

Attachments: (1)

Pre-Construction Services

11.E.4.c. Approve Authorization to Enter into a Contract with a Construction Manager at Risk for Pre-Construction Services for Rosemont Middle School Renovations (RFQ #24-007) in Conjunction with the 2021 Capital Improvement Program

Attachments: (1)

Rosemont Middle School Renovations

12. ACTION ITEMS (S and P)

12.A. Item/Items Removed from Consent Agenda

12.B. Personnel

12.B.1. Chief Talent Officer

12.B.2. Chief Techology Officer

12.C. Administrative Services, Karen Molinar, Deputy Superintendent

12.C.1. Legal and District Records Management, Lynda Jackson, Senior Counsel

12.C.1.a. Consider and Take Action to Terminate the Chapter 21 Term Contract of Elizabeth Nipper

12.D. Learning and Leading Service Network

12.D.1. Service Network #2, Charles Garcia, Associate Superintendent

12.D.1.a. Approve Purchase of Musical Instruments for the Secondary Instrumental Music Programs

Attachments: (1)

Musical Instruments

12.E. Operations

12.E.1. Operations, Carl Alfred, Senior Officer Operations

12.E.1.a. Approve Additional Elevator and Wheelchair Lift Parts and Contracted Services

Attachments: (1)

Elevator and Wheelchair Lift

12.E.1.b. Approve Additional Purchase of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Equipment and Services

Attachments: (1)

HVAC Repairs

12.E.2. Capital Improvement Program, Kellie Spencer, Operations

12.E.2.a. Approve Budget Amendment for Polytechnic High School Betterment Project in Conjunction with the 2017 Capital Improvement Program

Attachments: (1)

Polytechnic High School Betterment Project

12.F. Consider the Level III Grievance of Adrian Davis (Convene in Closed Session)

12.F.1. Presentation by Complainants and/or Representative(s)

12.F.2. Presentation by District Representative

12.F.3. Questions from Board Members

12.F.4. Board Deliberation

12.F.5. Render Decision, if any, on the Complaint Hearing (In Open Session)

13. COMMENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS OR SUPERINTENDENT ON CURRENT DISTRICT ACTIVITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (OTHER)

14. ADJOURN (OTHER)

October 24, 2023 at 5:30 PM - Regular Board Meeting

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