The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees approved a timeline for a bond and a committee structure during their meeting Tuesday.
They also approved a budget amendment to pay for three new district police officers.
Between now and December, a bond committee will be formed. That committee will meet from January through May and a recommendation will be submitted to the board in June.
The deadline would be Aug. 15 to call a bond for Nov. 7, 2023, Chief Communications Officer Mike Adkins said.
There will be 144 bond committee members including one parent from each school; one staff member from each school; 10 students; 21 community members (three recommended by each school board member); 10 principals or assistant principals; and 15 administrative department representatives, Adkins said.
The board asked that one alternative staff member and one alternative parent be appointed from each school.
Trustees also approved a $12,215,683 budget amendment that will help pay for three more officers in the police department, plus equipment and training.
Adkins said there will be 32 officers total, including 31 full and one part-time officer.
The new officers will provide added coverage at all schools and work on school safety audits, Superintendent Scott Muri said.
Muri said every school, every week is audited for safety. The state is now conducting audits. In this area, it is Region 18 Education Service Center. They audit every district in their area.
In response to Uvalde tragedy the state now requires every school district to be audited for safety by an external entity. Those audits are done at random. In addition to that requirement, ECISD police are conducting weekly safety
audits at every school, checking that safety precautions are all in place.
A series of schools have now been through the external audit, and at one location not all inside doors were locked (per ECISD requirement). That finding is required to be reported to the school board. The situation is being addressed, and random external audits will continue over the next four months.
Muri also announced the retirement of ECISD Chief Todd Hiner Tuesday, which will be effective Dec. 31.
In his opening comments, Muri welcomed Monica Quintero as the new special assistant to the superintendent. She will officially join ECISD later in the month after serving as the public information officer for the Odessa Police Department.
>> Trustees also held a public hearing, then voted 6-0 to approve amendment No. 1 to the agreement for limitation on appraised valued with GCC Permian, LLC, Application No. 1652 pursuant to Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code. This application was originally submitted in September 2021, and approved by Trustees in April 2022. GCC Permian, LLC has now increased the scope and size of the project.
>> Board members voted 6-0 to approve a series of priorities they would like to advocate for during next year’s legislative session. The list included items that fall under the headings of school finance (increase basic allotment, increase school safety allotment, and others) and human capital (support technical assistance for creative staffing solutions and educator preparation programs, incentivize partnerships between ISDs and colleges/universities to create teacher pipelines, as a few examples), plus initiatives like using data generated from ESSER investments to inform future funding decisions, redesigning the Chapter 313 program for business incentives, opposing voucher programs or similar efforts, and limiting charter expansion. Trustees agreed these priorities could change as the legislative discussions evolve
>> Public Hearing on Financial Accountability. For the third year in a row, Ector County ISD received a perfect score of 100 on the state’s FIRST report. FIRST stands for Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. It assesses how school districts spend their money annually. This FIRST report is for 2021-22, which is based on financial data from
2020-21.
ECISD earned a Superior Achievement rating, which is equivalent to a grade of A. This was the fifth time in the past six years ECISD earned an A. In the 20 years since this report’s inception, ECISD has earned an A in financial integrity 16 times. Created by the 76th Texas Legislature in 2001, FIRST is designed to encourage public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
The FIRST ratings are calculated using a series of financial indicators, such as administrative cost expenditures; the accuracy of a district or charter’s financial information submitted to TEA; and any financial vulnerabilities or material weaknesses in internal controls as determined by an external auditor.
>> Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the 2022 certified tax roll as received from the Ector County Appraisal District.
>> Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to build and maintain a STEM lab center at all elementary campuses and the two early childhood centers over the next two years. Each STEM lab is valued at $33,500. The lab comes with professional learning for teachers and the replenishment of consumable materials over five years.
>> Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the submission of a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The Transition Learning Center (TLC) at Odessa High School is proposing a grant of $25,000 that will allow students, ages 18-21 living with various disabilities, and TLC staff to participate in a series of three camping and fishing trips to the San Angelo State Park. These activities are designed to meet educational objectives aligned with the TLC mission and goals, along
with the students’ individual education plans.
>> Trustees voted 6-0 to approve a Care Coordination Agreement with PermiaCare. The agreement is created to increase access for students who need community-based mental health and/or substance use disorder services. Through this agreement, PermiaCare and ECISD will work together to create student and family centered treatment plans and care coordination activities for those who are served through this partnership.
