Note: The School Board met Tuesday in a virtual meeting. The Herald re-streamed the meeting in two parts. These are minutes supplied by JISD Superintendent Rob Barnwell.
From Rob Barnwell
Regular Meeting
April 14, 2020
The meeting was called to order by President Jason Bonner at 6:00 pm. (This meeting was conducted by video/teleconference due to social distancing requirements associated with state and local disaster proclamations and shelter-in-place orders.)
Members in attendance were Jason Bonner, Dr. Kent Thigpen, J.P. Abernathy, Kevin Godfrey, Bobby Langbartels, and Leah Cooper. Ned Fratangelo was unavailable to attend.
District personnel attending were Rob Barnwell, Barbra Cox, Jack Smith, Jay Patrick, Stephanie Holman, Mike Wood, Dr. Lynn Phillips, and Dr. Tim Phy.
Mr. Godfrey gave the invocation.
Mr. Bonner led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
Campus Reports
Campus and Administrative reports were given at this time. Mr. Barnwell indicated the normal financial reports were available within the agenda packets. He then praised the efforts of the food service team and maintenance workers/drivers who are involved with the food preparation and delivery of meals to the students in our county. He introduced Ms. Stephanie Holman to allow her to talk more about the program and share some heartwarming stories that have come out of their experiences. Several board members and Mr. Barnwell shared their gratitude and congratulations to those folks for a job well done and encouraged them to keep up the great work. Mr. Barnwell asked if any of the principals would like to share how the remote instruction was going. Dr. Phy gave a report related to that subject. Mr. Barnwell and board members also thanked the teachers, Dr. Phy and the other administrators for their efforts during this trying time. Mr. Barnwell shared information he has been receiving from webinars and press conferences that are led by the commissioner of education and the governor of Texas. His main point to convey was related to the opinion of those in charge at the state level, which was for all districts to be fiscally conservative due to inevitable changes in the state budget which will affect school funding in the near future. Mr. Barnwell noted that that JISD is fiscally sound and he doesn’t foresee any immediate hard times locally, but the district should continue to be diligent regarding budgeting, planning, and spending. Mr. Wood, Business Manager, agreed. Mr. Barnwell said he’d be sharing any updates he receives from the state as he gets it.
No one indicated an interest in, or signed up for, the Public Comment agenda item.
Motion by Mr. Abernathy, seconded by Ms. Cooper, to approve the consent agenda, which included previous minutes. Motion carried, 6-0.
Motion by Mr. Godfrey, seconded by Mr. Langbartels, to approve the resolution amending the grading/class rank policy to allow for flexibility related to those subjects due to the school closure. Motion carried, 6-0.
TEA Waivers
Motion by Mr. Abernathy, seconded by Dr. Thigpen, to approve a resolution to delegate authority to the superintendent related to the submission of necessary waivers to TEA as appropriate. Motion carried, 6-0.
Elections
Mr. Langbartles made a motion to move/postpone the May 2, 2020 board election to November 3, 2020 due to the statewide and local shelter in place orders associated with the COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Thigpen seconded the motion. Motion carried, 6-0.
Teacher Appraisals
Mr. Abernathy made a motion to approve the submission of a waiver related to suspending normal appraisal expectations related to professional employees’ evaluations due to the closure of normal school operations during the COVID-19 crisis. Motion was seconded by Mr. Godfrey.
Motion carried, 6-0.
Audit
Motion by Ms. Cooper, seconded by Dr. Thigpen, to approve the engagement letter/agreement with Knuckols, Duvall, Hallum, & Company to perform the district’s audit for the 19-20 school year. Motion carried, 6-0.
Executive Session & Resignations
The Board convened into executive session at 6:34 pm in order to discuss personnel.
The Board reconvened into open session at 7:06 pm to continue regular business.
Mr. Barnwell asked that the minutes reflect the previous acceptance of resignations from Karen Sellers, Rachel Jones, Venita Watson, Jenny Spearman, Stephen Barnes, Raven Morris, Brad McCann, and Ryne Sikes.
Mr. Barnwell recommended the Board approve the employment of current personnel, through the renewal of current employee/teacher contracts, as presented by the campus principals. Mr. Abernathy made a motion to approve the personnel needs, as recommended. Mr. Godfrey seconded the motion. Motion carried, 6-0.
Due to no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m.