[1. CALL TO ORDER AND ESTABLISH QUORUM] [00:00:03] GOOD EVENING. WE HAVE CONVENED FOR A REGULAR MEETING OF THE DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES ON THIS MONDAY, MARCH 30TH, 2026. THE TIME IS NOW 6.01 P.M. THIS MEETING IS BEING RECORDED. WE HAVE A QUORUM WITH ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT THIS EVENING. WE WILL BEGIN WITH OUR OPENING CEREMONIES, AND I AM PLEASED TO WELCOME THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS FROM WALNUT SPRINGS ELEMENTARY TO HELP US WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES FLAG FOLLOWED BY THE TEXAS FLAG AND A MOMENT OF SILENCE. WE HAVE, I'M GOING TO BUTCHER THIS, HOLES DISHER, A FIFTH GRADER, KENNEDY DISHER, SECOND GRADER, AND ARIANA MINNIS, FOURTH GRADER. PLEASE RISE FOR THE TEXAS FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOLLOWED BY THE TEXAS FLAG. IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE PLACE YOUR RIGHT HAND OVER YOUR HEART. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. NOW THE TEXAS PLEDGE. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS, ONE STATE, UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE. AND NOW FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [3. ANNOUNCEMENTS] ANNOUNCEMENTS? WELL, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LADY TIGER SOCCER TEAM ON ADVANCING TO REGIONAL FINALS. THEY WILL FACE AUSTIN VANDERGRIFT TOMORROW AT BIRKELBACH FIELD IN GEORGETOWN AT 7.30 P.M. A REMINDER FOR PARENTS THAT OUR PRE-K LOTTERY CLOSES TOMORROW, MARCH 31ST. FAMILIES INTERESTED IN BEING INCLUDED IN THE LOTTERY CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO REGISTER. REGISTRATION IS ALSO OPENING FOR SUMMER CAMPS ON THURSDAY, APRIL 2ND AT 7 A.M. AND THAT IS ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL. THERE WILL BE CAMP OFFERINGS AND A LINK TO REGISTER. AND THEN A REMINDER THAT FRIDAY, APRIL 3RD, IS A DISTRICT HOLIDAY. THAT MEANS NO SCHOOL FOR ALL THE KIDS IN THIS ROOM. AND THEN DSISC WILL BE HOSTING A TEACHER JOB FAIR ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8TH, HERE AT 4.30 TO 6 P.M. ATTENDEES WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH CAMPUS PRINCIPALS, LEARN ABOUT ALT-CERT PROGRAMS, CONTINUING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES, AND AN EFFORT TO SUPPORT RESOURCES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE TEACHING AS OF TODAY. FUTURE CAREER. [4. LEARNING SPOTLIGHT] ALL RIGHT, NEXT TO OUR LEARNING SPOTLIGHT FROM WALNUT SPRINGS ELEMENTARY. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US TONIGHT. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF OUR DAY WITH YOU AND TO LET THESE KIDDOS REALLY SHOW YOU WHAT THEY DO TO KICK OFF EACH DAY AT WALNUT SPRINGS. LAST YEAR WHEN WE WERE ADDING THE TIME TO OUR SCHOOL DAY, WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT THAT. WE HAD ALREADY BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOW WE REALLY WANTED TO ENHANCE OUR MORNING MEETINGS. WE WANTED TO EXTEND THAT TIME. AND TO MAKE IT MORE ROBUST AND INTENTIONAL. AND WE WERE HAVING A HARD TIME FIGURING THAT OUT. AND THEN YOU GUYS GAVE US THAT GIFT. SO THANK YOU. SO THIS MORNING WE WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT OUR MORNING MEETING AND HOW WE START EVERY SINGLE DAY AT WALNUT SPRINGS. AND IT REALLY STARTS WITH THE DISTRICT VISION AND MISSION AS WELL AS OUR MISSION. AND WE FOCUS ON THE KEY WORDS OF BEING LIFELONG LEARNERS AND POSITIVE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE WORLD. AND HOW WE CAN BUILD EACH ONE OF THESE STUDENTS UP AS THEY GO THROUGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO REALLY BE EXCEPTIONAL ADULTS ONCE THEY'VE ENTERED THE WORLD. SO AT WALNUT SPRINGS, AND THAT IS OUR MISSION, AND WE SAY THAT EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TRULY TRY TO EMBODY. [00:05:01] AND AS A PART OF OUR MORNING MEETING, WE TAKE A LOOK AT ALSO THE PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE, AND WE TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE SOFT SKILLS THAT CHILDREN ARE GOING TO LEARN. AND THAT THEY'RE GOING TO INCORPORATE WITH THE ACADEMICS THAT THEY'RE LEARNING THROUGHOUT THE DAY. HOW THEY CAN BE THESE PROBLEM SOLVERS, HOW THEY CAN BE LIFELONG LEARNERS, HOW THEY CAN COMMUNICATE WELL, HOW THEY CAN COLLABORATE WELL AND GET ALONG WITH ONE ANOTHER. AND SO WE DO THAT IN OUR MORNING MEETINGS AND THEY'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT WHAT LOOKS LIKE IN THEIR DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS DURING THEIR MORNING MEETINGS. SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT OUR MORNING MEETING LOOKS IT STARTS RIGHT AT THE CLASSROOM DOORS WITH TEACHERS BEATING EACH ONE OF THEIR KIDS WITH REACH AND RESPOND. AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS WE USE A PBIS STRATEGY. THE STUDENTS COME UP AND THEY FIST BUMP. A FLAT FIST BUMP MEANS I'M HAVING A GOOD DAY. A TOP FIST BUMP MEANS I'M HAVING A GREAT DAY AND MAYBE I HAVE SOMETHING I WANT TO SHARE AND CELEBRATE. AND A BOTTOM FIST BUMP WOULD MEAN THAT MAYBE THEY'RE HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF A HARD TIME THAT MORNING. AS THE TEACHER OR THE KIDS COME IN, THE TEACHERS WOULD UTILIZE THE TIME WHEN THEY'RE PUTTING AWAY THEIR BAGS TO GO AND MEET WITH THE KIDS AT FIST BUMP ON THE BOTTOM AND CHECK IN WITH THEM AND JUST SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY AND WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL IN THE CLASSROOM. AFTER THAT... WE HAVE OUR LIVE TIGERS NEWS FLASH. THAT IS LED BY OUR TNF LEADERSHIP TEAM. IT IS BROADCAST ACROSS THE ENTIRE CAMPUS. IT'S A TIME WHERE THEY REALLY MODEL FOR ALL THE KIDS WHAT LEADERSHIP LOOKS LIKE. THEY CELEBRATE THE STAFF, THEY CELEBRATE STUDENTS, THEY LEAD IN PLEDGES, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE. AFTER THAT, WE HAVE OUR SHARE AND CONNECT TIME. THAT IS A TIME WHERE WE'RE REALLY TEACHING THE KIDS HOW TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, BUT ALSO HOW TO COMMUNICATE AND BE A LISTENER, AND HOW TO COMMUNICATE AND BE JUST PART OF A CLASSROOM COMMUNITY. AND THEN WE REALLY DIG INTO THAT SEL TIME. THAT, JUST LIKE AN ACADEMIC TIME, IS A TIME WHERE TEACHERS HAVE LOOKED AT THE STUDENT DATA AND GONE, WHAT DO MY KIDS NEED, AND PLANNED THE LESSONS AROUND THAT. I DIDN'T INTRODUCE MYSELF. I'M MAUREEN JAMEL, THE VERY PROUD PRINCIPAL AT WALNUT SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND I'M SHANA COCKRELL, THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL. WE WERE SO EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT OUR KIDDOS. SO WE TAKE THIS VERY FIRST 25 TO 30 MINUTES EVERY DAY, AND WE START IT AS A SCHOOL-WIDE COMMITMENT. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN OUR SCHOOL CONTRIBUTES TO THIS TIME. REALLY FROM THE TIME THAT THE 730 BELL RINGS AND THE KIDDOS ARE RELEASED TO GO TO THEIR CLASSROOMS, THAT'S WHEN THE TEACHERS START DOING THE REACH AND RESPOND AND WELCOMING THE CHILDREN INTO THE CLASSROOMS. AND THEN THROUGHOUT THAT MORNING TIME IS WHEN WE ARE ENHANCING THAT TIME USING OUR SEL, USING THINGS LIKE LEADER IN ME, EMERGENT TREE, THE KAGAN STRATEGIES THAT WE KNOW, AND ALSO OUR ZONES OF REGULATION. IT STARTS WITH OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS AT FOUR-YEAR-OLDS, AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH OUR FIFTH GRADERS. AND IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT TO US. EVERY SINGLE PERSON CONTRIBUTES. IF YOU'RE NOT A CLASSROOM TEACHER, IF YOU'RE SUPPORT STAFF, IF YOU'RE A PARAEDUCATOR, YOU'RE PUSHING INTO A CLASSROOM. WE HAVE A SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS WHERE THEY GO IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE CLASSROOMS AND THIS TIME AND WHAT'S HAPPENING. SO IT TRULY IS OUR WHOLE ENTIRE SCHOOLHOUSE. IT IS ALL OF US CONTRIBUTING. THE ADMINISTRATORS AND THE COUNSELORS WILL GO AND WILL SUPPORT ANY KIDDOS THAT MIGHT HAVE A PARTICULAR NEED THAT MORNING. SO WE'RE FLOATERS. THE FOUR OF US FLOAT. BUT EVERYBODY ELSE IS IN A CLASSROOM. SUPPORTING THE CHILDREN AND PARTICIPATING. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE SPECIAL TO US AT WALNUT SPRINGS. WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT INCLUSION AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE FEELS LIKE THEY HAVE A PLACE AND HAVE A HOME. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE FEELS WELCOMED AND FEELS SAFE. WE DO THAT THROUGH THE REACH AND RESPOND. WE DO THAT THROUGH OUR SEL LESSONS AND WE JUST WANT TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT THE KIDDOS ARE STARTING THEIR DAY OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT SO THAT WHEN OUR INSTRUCTION TIME STARTS. WITH ACADEMICS, THEY ARE READY TO GO. THEY HAVE, THEY'VE BEEN BUILT UP, THEY'VE GOT THAT CONFIDENCE, ANY CONCERN THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD FROM THE MORNING HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF, AND THEY ARE READY TO LEARN. SO I'M GOING TO START US OFF WITH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN PRE-K. PRE-K REALLY BLEEDS IN ZONES AND REGULATIONS AS A BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE STUDENT'S SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL NEEDS. SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE THAT THAT IS CODED THROUGH COLORS AND THEY HAVE THE BLUE ZONE WHICH IS SAD OR TIRED, THE GREEN ZONE THAT IS HAPPY AND CALM, THAT'S THE GOAL FOR THE DAY TO SHOW THAT THEY'RE READY TO LEARN, THE YELLOW ZONE WHICH IS FRUSTRATED OR SILLY, AND THEN THE RED ZONE WHICH IS ANGRY OR OUT OF CONTROL. THE TEACHERS MEET WITH THE STUDENTS ON THE CARPET EVERY MORNING. THEY AND THEIR PARAPROFESSIONAL [00:10:01] MODEL THE ZONES FIRST FOR THE KIDS, AND THEN EVERY CHILD GOES AROUND AND SHARES WHAT ZONE THEY'RE IN AND WHY THEY'RE FEELING THAT WAY. AND THE REASON BEHIND THAT IS THOSE FEELINGS, ALL THE DIFFERENT POOR FEELINGS COME OUT THROUGHOUT THE DAY, AND WHEN THEY'VE BEEN TAUGHT THOSE EXPLICIT LESSONS AROUND THOSE, THEY'RE BETTER READY TO PREPARE AND ENCOUNTER THOSE CHALLENGING SITUATIONS. HEY, SO ON OUR NEXT SLIDE WE HAVE KINDERGARTEN AND THEY HAVE INCLUDED A WEEK'S WORTH OF THEIR SEL LESSONS, THEIR LESSON PLAN. THIS IS ACTUALLY LAST WEEK'S LESSON PLAN AND SO YOU'LL SEE THEY START EACH DAY WITH THEIR AFFIRMATION SONG AND THEN OUR KINDERGARTEN HAS DONE A BEAUTIFUL JOB OF UTILIZING OUR PLC TIME WITH CAROLINE ROGERS TO REALLY DIG INTO THE DATA AND LOOK AT WHAT EACH KID IN THEIR CLASS NEEDS. THEN BASED THOSE LESSONS EACH DAY AROUND THE STUDENT DATA JUST LIKE WE WOULD FOR READING OR MATH OR ANY OTHER AREA. SO WHAT THAT MEANS FOR OUR KINDERGARTENERS IS THEY'RE LEARNING TO BE A PART OF A TEAM, THEY'RE LEARNING COMMUNICATION SKILLS, THEY'RE LEARNING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, AND THROUGH OUR LEADER IN ME CURRICULUM THEY'RE LEARNING TO BE A LEADER. AND I'M GOING TO HAND THE MIC OFF NOW FOR WHO YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR FROM. WALNUT STUDENT LEADERS AND THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE LEADING THEM YOU THROUGH THEIR GRADE LEVEL. VAN MILLER, FIRST GRADE. AT WALNUT SPRINGS, FIRST GRADE STARTS THEIR DAY OFF BY RECITING THE EIGHT HABITS CHANT. GRETA BARKER, FIRST GRADE. WE USE THIS TO MAKE SURE ALL STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE HABIT. KNOXVILLE, FIRST GRADE. THIS IS TO REMIND US OF THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE DAY. WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW FIRST GRADE. IT'S A FUN WAY TO REMEMBER HOW TO BE YOUR VERY BEST SELF. NOW, BE PRACTICE. BE. THINK. MENTAL. THINK. WIN. EVERYBODY. YOU. WIN. WIN. HABIT FIVE, SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD. LISTEN WITH YOUR EARS, YOUR EYES, AND YOUR HEART. HABIT SIX, STRATEGIZE. TEAMWORK, WORK TOGETHER. TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK. HABIT SEVEN, SHARPEN THE SKULL. RELAX, TAKE CARE OF YOUR MIND, YOUR BODY, AND YOUR HEART. I BET THEY FIND YOUR VOICE, HELP OTHERS FIND THEIRS, BE KIND TO YOURSELF, CONNECT OTHERS UP. ANNIE FREDENBERG, THIRD GRADE. GOOD EVENING. EVERY DAY AT SCHOOL WE SAY AFFIRMATIONS. AFFIRMATIONS ARE POSITIVE WORDS. WE SAY TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT WE ARE STRONG, CAPABLE, AND IMPORTANT. CASH SHIPMAN, THIRD GRADE. AFFIRMATIONS REMIND US THAT OUR CHOICES MATTER. WHEN WE CHOOSE A GOOD ATTITUDE, BELIEVE IN OURSELVES, AND STAY READY TO LEARN. WE CAN HAVE AN AMAZING DAY. QUINDELION, THIRD GRADE. AFFIRMATIONS REMIND US THAT OUR CHOICES MATTER. WHEN WE CHOOSE A GOOD ATTITUDE, BELIEVE IN OURSELVES, AND STAY READY TO LEARN. WE CAN HAVE AN AMAZING DAY. SO WHEN WE SAY THESE AFFIRMATIONS, SAY THEM LIKE YOU MEAN THEM. BELIEVE THE WORDS YOU ARE SAYING. AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE STRONG, CAPABLE, AND READY TO LEARN. WE'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU. I AM STRONG AND DETERMINED. I CHOOSE MY ATTITUDE. [00:15:01] I AM CAPABLE. I MATTER. I CAN GET THROUGH ANYTHING. I WILL HAVE... HI, MY NAME IS BUSY CAMPBELL, 4TH GRADE. TODAY I WILL BE TELLING YOU ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDIES. ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDIES ARE WHERE YOU'RE ASSIGNED A PARTNER. YOU WILL TALK ABOUT A GOAL. YOU WILL ASK THEM EVERY THURSDAY HOW YOUR GOAL IS GOING. YOU'LL GIVE THEM AN ENCOURAGING FEEDBACK AND POSITIVITY. HELLO, MY NAME IS AUSTIN JONES. I WILL GIVE YOU SOME QUOTES. SOME GOALS, READING, WRITING, AND GREEN LIGHT. YOUR GREEN LIGHT IS WHEN YOU GET ONTO YOUR COMPUTER AND YOU ANSWER SOME MATH FACTS. AND THAT'S IT. AS YOU KEEP GOING, YOU WILL FILL UP THE LITTLE GREEN CIRCLE. THAT MEANS THAT YOU'VE GOT THE LITTLE GREEN LIGHT. EXPECTATIONS. EXPECTATIONS IS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PARTNER, STAY AT A LEVEL VOICE ONE OR TWO. TO NOT FIND A NEW ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER, YOU WILL STAY WITH YOUR BUDDY THE WHOLE YEAR. AND THEN AT THE END OF THE YEAR, YOU WILL SAY YOUR GOODBYES. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY GOAL. HOPE YOU ENJOYED. GOOD EVENING, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TONIGHT. MY NAME IS SUTTON. AND I AM BENSON. AND I AM KAYDEN. WE ARE PROUD FIFTH GRADERS AT WALNUT SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND WE ARE HERE TO SHARE A TRADITION CALLED THANKFUL THURSDAY. THANKFUL THURSDAY IS A SPECIAL WAY THAT OUR CLASS BUILDS A STRONG COMMUNITY. EVERY THURSDAY WE WRITE OUR NAMES ON A STICKY NOTE AND PLACE IT ON THE BOARD. OUR TEACHERS THEN HAVE US SELECT A RANDOM NOTE. WE CHECK THE NAME ON THE BACK AND WRITE A SINCERE, THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE TO THE CLASSMATE. WE WORK HARD TO MAKE SURE EVERY NOTE IS MEANINGFUL AND PERSONAL. AFTER WE POST THEM, MRS. KNAPP READS EVERY NOTE OUT LOUD SO THE WHOLE CLASS CAN SHARE IN THE POSITIVITY. WE KEEP THESE IN OUR MINI COMPOSITION NOTEBOOKS. WHICH WILL GO HOME WITH US AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AS A LASTING REMINDER OF OUR FRIENDSHIP AND FIFTH GRADE YEAR. THANKFUL THURSDAY HAS SHOWN US THAT A SMALL NOTE CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. THE MOST REWARDING MOMENT IS SEEING A CLASSMATE'S FACE LIGHT UP WHEN THEY HEAR A KIND WORD WRITTEN JUST FOR THEM. SO WE HAVE THESE COMPOSITION NOTEBOOKS, AND INSIDE WE HAVE LITTLE NOTES FROM PEOPLE. HERE'S ONE THAT REALLY STICKS OUT TO ME. I'M THANKFUL FOR SUTTON BECAUSE SHE IS CARING, SMART, AND FUNNY. SHE ALWAYS HAS SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SAY, AND I LOVE COMMUNICATING WITH HER. NOW WE THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO HOW WE ARE SPREADING KINDNESS THAT WON'T EXPLAIN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING A PART OF OUR DAY WITH OUR KIDDOS AND FOR GIVING US THE CHANCE TO GIVE YOU A PEEK INTO WHAT WE DO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NICE TO SEE OUR LITTLE BOARD MEMBERS LITTLE. OH, OF COURSE. WELL, I JUST WANT TO SAY THE FIRST YEAR, WALNUT SPRINGS TIGER, WE REALLY HAVE FELT THE INCLUSIVENESS, THE KINDNESS, THE CULTURE THAT YOU HAVE BUILT, MR. MALE, IS, I MEAN, JUST REALLY, REALLY IMPRESSIVE. AND SO WITH YOUR RETIREMENT THIS YEAR. I KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE... LOTS OF OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THAT IS GOING TO, I JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S GOING [00:20:01] TO CONTINUE FOREVER ON. AND I'M SO THANKFUL THAT WE'RE HERE THIS YEAR. SO THANK YOU. EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD. YOU GUYS PRESENTED SO WELL. BUT I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT. OUR YOUNGEST GROUP RIGHT HERE WAS THIS FIRST GRADE. MAN, Y'ALL CAN READ WELL. THAT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE. GREAT JOB TO EVERYBODY. AND Y'ALL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR US, I THINK. WHICH OF THE EIGHT HABITS MEANS MOST TO YOU AND WHY? COME OVER HERE FRONT AND CENTER, GIRLFRIEND, SO WE CAN SEE YOU, OKAY? COME SCOOT. TAKE TWO BIG STEPS TO THE RIGHT. THERE YOU GO. THERE YOU GO. WE DID HEAR. SO AFTER LISTENING TONIGHT, I WISH I COULD PICK ALL OF THEM. Y'ALL DID AN AMAZING JOB, AND I'M SO THANKFUL THAT YOU ARE INTERNALIZING ALL OF THEM. BUT IF I HAD TO PICK ONE, I WOULD SAY SYNERGIZE BECAUSE TOGETHER IS BETTER, RIGHT? BETTER TOGETHER, AND THAT JUST COMES FROM MY WORK IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR. AND SO IF YOU'RE TACKLING A PROBLEM LIKE HOW TO HELP VETERANS OR HOW TO HELP FOSTER KIDS, YOU NEED ALL THE MINDS WORKING TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH A BETTER. SOLUTION. BUT AGAIN, LOVE ALL OF THEM. WHAT POSITIVE MESSAGE WOULD YOU GIVE TO STUDENTS? I LOVE THIS QUESTION. AND WHAT I REALLY, I REALLY LIKED YOUR EMPHASIS ON CHOICES. AND SO I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU ONE THING THAT I TELL MY KIDS, AND QUINN DOWN HERE CAN ATTEST TO THIS, THAT IN THE MORNINGS, WHENEVER I'M SENDING MY KIDS OFF TO SCHOOL, THERE'S USUALLY TWO THINGS THAT I TELL THEM BEFORE THEY GET OUT OF THE CAR, AND IT'S I LOVE YOU AND MAKE GOOD CHOICES. AND SO I LOVE THE EMPHASIS THAT YOU ALL PUT ON HOW YOUR CHOICES IMPACT YOUR DAY. SO I WOULD JUST, THAT'S THE POSITIVE MESSAGE THAT I WOULD SAY, IS THAT HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. WE SAY THAT A LOT IN OUR FAMILY TOO. AND SO WHETHER IT'S MAKING A GOOD CHOICE TO BE KIND TO A FRIEND OR A GOOD CHOICE IN THE LUNCHROOM WITH WHAT YOU'RE EATING OR ANY KIND OF GOOD CHOICE, THAT'S. THAT'S ONE POSITIVE MESSAGE THAT I WOULD SAY RESONATES IN MY FAMILY. WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART ABOUT BEING ON THE SCHOOL BOARD? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. WE JUST CAME OUT OF A BUDGET WORKSHOP. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SAY BUDGET. IT'S TOUGH TO BALANCE. A BUDGET EVERY YEAR AND MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR EVERY STUDENT IN THIS DISTRICT BECAUSE WE WANT YOU TO HAVE THE BEST RESOURCES AVAILABLE, THE BEST TEACHERS, AND THE BEST PROGRAMS. AND SO WE DO OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED ALL THE WAY THROUGH 12TH GRADE AND WE'RE PROUD OF EACH OF YOU. Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB TONIGHT. THANK YOU. I THINK WE'RE TAKING A PICTURE. [5. RECOGNITIONS] ALL RIGHT, NOW WE BEGIN OUR RECOGNITIONS. WE WILL FIRST HEAR OUR WRESTLING STATE QUALIFIERS. WOO THANK YOU. [00:25:10] ALRIGHT, I GUESS WE'RE GOING FIRST. I'M GOING TO LET EACH OF THESE KIDS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO YOU. HI, I'M ROSSINI. I'M A SOPHOMORE AND I WRESTLED AT 145 AND I'M A DISTRICT CHAMPION AND I GOT FOURTH AT REGIONALS. HI, I'M ESTRELLA. I AM A SOPHOMORE. I WRESTLED AT 135. I'M A DISTRICT CHAMP AND I GOT SECOND AT REGIONALS. HI THERE. MY NAME IS CALEB. I WAS A DISTRICT CHAMP. I WRESTLED AT 165 AND I WAS A REGIONAL RUNNER-UP AND I'M A SENIOR THIS YEAR. MY NAME IS NOAH WILLIAMS. I'M A SENIOR AND I WAS A DISTRICT RUNNER-UP AND A REGIONAL RUNNER-UP. MY NAME IS DANIEL KILLIAN. I'M A SENIOR. I WRESTLED AT 285 AND I WAS A DISTRICT RUNNER-UP AND I GOT FOURTH PLACE AT REGIONALS. HI, MY NAME IS JOSEPH AUSTIN. I'M A JUNIOR. I WRESTLED AT 144. I WAS A DISTRICT CHAMPION AND REGIONAL FOURTH PLACE. HI, MY NAME IS TUCKER LONDON. I'M A JUNIOR. I WRESTLED 157. I WAS A DISTRICT CHAMPION AND I GOT FOURTH AT REGIONALS. I'M CHARLIE LUNDIN. I WRESTLED 138. I WAS A DISTRICT CHAMP AND A REGIONAL RUNNER-UP. ALL RIGHT, I'M JUST GOING TO SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS GROUP. THIS IS A SPECIAL GROUP WE HAD THIS YEAR. BOTH TEAMS WERE DISTRICT CHAMPIONS. BOTH TEAMS WERE REPEATED AS DISTRICT CHAMPIONS. THE GIRLS WERE WON BY OVER 100 POINTS. AND THE BOYS WON IT BY QUITE A BIT TOO. BOYS TEAM GOT SECOND AT REGIONALS AND GIRLS GOT FIFTH. BOTH PROGRAM BESTS. GIRLS BY FAR PROGRAM BEST. SO AND THEN THESE KIDS STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU GETTING TO THE STATE TOURNAMENT IS NO EASY TASK. I CRUNCHED SOME NUMBERS BASED ON UIL PARTICIPATION AND IF YOU CAN QUALIFY FOR THE STATE TOURNAMENT. YOU'RE IN LIKE THE TOP TWO AND A HALF, THREE PERCENT IN THE ENTIRE STATE. SO THAT'S A LOT OF HARD WORK, A LOT OF SACRIFICE ON THESE KIDS' PART. AND, YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE ONES THAT ARE COMING BACK. AND I'M GOING TO MISS THE ONES THAT ARE LEAVING. AND I JUST WANT TO THANK THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR INVITING US TO RECOGNIZE THEM. ALL RIGHT, NEXT IS OUR HIGH SCHOOL STATE SWIM QUALIFIERS. WE DO HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS TO RECOGNIZE THIS EVENING, SO IF WE CAN HOLD APPLAUSE UNTIL THE END OF EACH GROUP, THAT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. HELLO, EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU FOR INVITING US TO THE BOARD AND EVERYONE OUT THERE. WE HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU OUR FIVE YOUNG LADIES THAT REPRESENTED THE TEAM AT STATE THIS YEAR. REALLY TOUGH ACCOMPLISHMENT AS FOR ANYBODY TO MAKE IT TO STATE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. IT'S KIND OF FAST. SO WE HAD A FEW INDIVIDUAL SWIMS AND A COUPLE OF RELAYS, AND I'M GOING TO LET THEM TALK. I'LL SAY A LITTLE MORE AT THE END. I'M GOING TO LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES. HI, I'M FAIRLANE BYNUM. I'M A SOPHOMORE, AND I SWAM THE 200 FREESTYLE RELAY AND THE 400 FREESTYLE RELAY. I'M IZZY BULGIC. I'M A JUNIOR, AND I SWAM THE [00:30:01] 4X100 FREESTYLE RELAY. HI, I'M CHARLOTTE RUFFALO, AND AT STATE, I QUALIFIED FOR 200 FREE AND 2 AND 4 FREE RELAY. HI, I'M LEXI LANDRUM. I'M A SOPHOMORE, AND I QUALIFY FOR STATE ON THE 200 FREESTYLE RELAY. HI, I'M LAUREL HOSKOVEC. I'M A SENIOR. AND I QUALIFIED FOR STATE IN THE 500 FREE, 200 FREE, 2 FREE, AND 4 FREE RELAY. SO, YEAH, WELL, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO WAIT UNTIL THE END, EVERYBODY. WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO SAVE YOUR TIME. BUT I'M JUST REALLY PROUD OF THESE YOUNG LADIES. FIRST OF ALL, IT'S CHALLENGING TO MAKE IT. A LOT OF KIDS JUST MAKING IT TO STATE, IT'S SORT OF THEY ARRIVE, AND THEN IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT NOT TO TAKE A NOSEDIVE ON THE FIRST DAY OF STATE. TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, TYPICALLY, ON THE PRELIMS DAY, THERE'S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 15 AND 25 PERCENT BEST TIMES. THESE GIRLS WERE ABOVE 80 PERCENT. AND SO WE SHOWED UP AND WE OUTPERFORMED ALL OF OUR SEEDS, WHICH IS SUPER RARE. THEY'RE A REALLY TOUGH GROUP. I CAN BRAG THAT, POUND FOR POUND, I HAVE THE FASTEST TEAM IN THE STATE BECAUSE THEY'RE TINY. BUT THEY, LIKE THEY SAY, IT'S NOT THE SIZE OF THE DOG IN THE FIGHT, IT'S THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE YOUNG LADY AT THE STATE SWIM MEET. SO I WAS REALLY PROUD OF THEM. THEY STEPPED UP. THEY SWAM REALLY FAST. THEY ALL ACHIEVED ALL-AMERICAN CONSIDERATION TIME, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY ARE LIKELY TO BE ONE OF THE TOP 100 TIMES IN THE COUNTRY IN THEIR PARTICULAR EVENTS. A COUPLE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. I GOT TO SAY, THEY MADE FINALS IN BOTH THE RELAYS. WE HAD A FRESHMAN QUALIFY FOR STATE. CHARLOTTE WAS THE FIRST ONE THAT WE'VE HAD AS A FRESHMAN QUALIFY IN AN INDIVIDUAL EVENT. AT 6A STATE, SO THAT WAS A BIG STEP FORWARD FOR US. AND THEN LAUREL HERE WAS OUR LONE SENIOR, SO MOST OF THESE GIRLS ARE COMING BACK NEXT YEAR. SHE WAS ABLE TO BREAK TWO SCHOOL RECORDS, AND SHE GOT A BRONZE MEDAL IN THE 500-YARD FREESTYLE, WHICH WAS PRETTY AWESOME. IT WAS OUR FIRST BRONZE MEDAL, SO THAT WAS PRETTY COOL. ANYWAY, REALLY PROUD OF THEM. THEY REPRESENTED DRIPPING SPRINGS VERY WELL, AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT ALL OF THEM DO IN THE FUTURE. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND WE'LL PASS THIS OFF. ALL RIGHT, NEXT IS OUR AG GRAND CHAMPIONS. IT'S YOUR TURN THIS YEAR. OKAY. HELLO, MY NAME IS DAVID SAENZ. THIS IS MELISSA GOLD AND THEN JASON WHITNEY'S OVER THERE. WE ARE THE FFA TEACHERS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. THESE ARE WONDERFUL, BOTH 4-H FFA KIDS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE HAYES COUNTY SHOW AS WELL AS MAJORS ACROSS THE STATE. I'M GOING TO PASS IT OFF AND THEY'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PROJECT AND HOW THEY DID. HI, MY NAME IS KELLEN EMBRY. I'M A SENIOR AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. I'M ALSO THE DRIPPING SPRINGS FFA CHAPTER PRESIDENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. I GOT A GRAND CHAMPION MARKET LAMB AND GRAND CHAMPION MARKET GOAT. MY NAME IS QUINCY RAINES. I'M IN EIGHTH GRADE AND I GO TO DRIPPING SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL AND I WAS RESERVE CHAMPION MARKET LAMB. HI, I'M MEGAN MCCLELLAND. I WON RESERVE BREED CHAMPION AND RESERVE BREED CHAMPION FINE WOOL CROSS. HI, I'M MADISON DEMARCO. I'M A SOPHOMORE AND I GOT FINE WOOL CROSS BREED CHAMPION. I'M LAWSON HENRY AND I GOT RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION MARKET RABBITS. I'M CLAYTON DOYLE. I WON THE LIGHT OPBS AND THE PIGS. I'M LARAMIE DOYLE. I'M IN 8TH GRADE AT DSMS AND I WON THE YORK SHOES. I'M TRENT HENRY. I'M A JUNIOR. I WON GRAND CHAMPION AG MECHANICS. I'M TY GIBSON. I'M A SENIOR AND I WON RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION OVERALL AND GRAND CHAMPION. I'M JADEN PATTERSON, ALSO A SENIOR, AND WON RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION AND WON THE CLASS. [00:35:01] I'M GAVIN HYDE, AND I WON GRAND CHAMPION OVERALL AG MECHANICS AND GRAND CHAMPION SHOWMANSHIP. I'M MATEO NASO. I WAS WITH GAVIN AND TRENT AND THEN ALSO ASHER AND JOHN, SORRY. WE WERE ALL IN A GROUP. WE ALL WON GRAND CHAMPION. OVERALL IN SHOWMANSHIP. I'M STUART HERZOG, I'M AN 8TH GRADE AND I WON INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION IN PHOTOGRAPHY. I'M SAWYER DOYLE AND I WON SWINE SHOWMANSHIP AND CATTLE SHOWMANSHIP. ANNIE JAMES-FREDENBERG AND I WON RABBIT SHOWMANSHIP. I'M COLE GIBSON AND I WON RESERVED GRAND CHAMPION FOR BROILERS. AND WE COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF THESE STUDENTS. THEY SPEND HOURS AND HOURS WITH THEIR PROJECTS WHETHER IT'S ANIMALS OR AG MECH. SO THEY ARE DEFINITELY VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO BUT I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT EACH ONE OF YOUR AG TEACHERS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. WELL WE ARE IMPORTANT BUT Y'ALL ARE... Y'ALL ARE IMPORTANT AND WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF Y'ALL. ALL RIGHT, NEXT I'LL WELCOME UP OUR YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT. HI, I'M JERRY IBARRA AND I'M HERE TO SHOW OFF MY YOUTH AND GOVERNMENT STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE LEADERS. TALK ABOUT A LOT OF TIE-INS TONIGHT BETWEEN THE LITTLE KIDS WITH THEIR LEADER AND ME ALL THE WAY THROUGH AGRICULTURE BECAUSE I'M GOING TO HAVE COHEN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HE SPONSORED AT STATE. I TOOK SEVEN KIDS TO STATE. THEY QUALIFIED AT DISTRICT COMPETITION IN THE FALL. AND WHAT WE DO IN YOUTH AND GOVERNMENT IS SIMULATIONS OF REAL GOVERNMENT TYPES OF ACTIVITY IN THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES. SO WE HAVE LEGISLATIVE HERE TONIGHT, AND WE ALSO TOOK A MOCK TRIAL TEAM WITH TWO ATTORNEYS AND THREE WITNESSES. COMPETED AGAINST. IT'S REALLY CHANGED OVER THE YEARS. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR ABOUT 13 YEARS AND IT USED TO BE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, STATE SCHOOLS AND NOW THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE A LOT OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS AND MAGNET SCHOOLS WHO ARE NOW COMPETING AGAINST US AND IT'S BECOME VERY, VERY COMPETITIVE TO GET ANYBODY THERE BECAUSE WE GO AGAINST LAW MAGNETS FROM [00:40:02] DALLAS. AND SO THESE TWO PEOPLE HAVE DONE INCREDIBLE JOBS AND SO I'M GOING TO LET THEM TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEMSELVES. I DO WANT TO SAY THAT A LOT OF THE BILLS THAT WE WRITE IN LEGISLATION HERE IN YOUTH AND GOVERNMENT AND HERE AT DRIPPING SPRINGS ENDS UP ON THE DOCKET. YOU KNOW IN THE FUTURE WE'VE HAD SEVERAL THAT STARTED OUT WITH YOU KNOW STUDENTS AND THEN THESE BILLS ACTUALLY GET IN THE HANDS OF ACTUAL LEGISLATORS AND THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE SOURCE BUT KNOWING WHAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN AND EVEN YOUNG PEOPLE WHAT THEY'RE WILLING TO PUT INTO IT SO UM I WANT TO GIVE THE FIRST PERSON THAT I WANT TO INTRODUCE IS COHEN COHEN WAS A MOST DISTINGUISHED LEGISLATOR IN THE FALL FOR HIS BILL AND THEN WHEN HE WENT TO STATE HE ALSO SPONSORED A COUPLE OF BILLS AND I WANT YOU TO TELL THEM A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING ABOUT THE AG BILL THAT YOU SPONSORED BECAUSE IT TIES IN WITH ALL OF OUR AMAZING AG PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY WON AWARDS TODAY. HI, I'M COHEN BAUMEISTER. I'M A FRESHMAN AT DURBAN SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH YOU GUYS PROBABLY KNOW. I WAS ABLE TO SPONSOR A BILL AT STATE. WE WERE ABLE TO GET IT TO PASS TO THE GOVERNOR, AND THEN THEY PASSED IT. THE BILL STATED THAT SCHOOLS SHOULD... BE ORDERING MORE FOOD FROM AGRICULTURAL LIKE COMPANIES BASED IN TEXAS AND FARMERS IN TEXAS. THAT WAY WE COULD GET LOCALLY GROWN SCHOOL LUNCHES. SO THAT WAS A REALLY COOL ONE THAT I GOT TO SIT IN AND WATCH AND THEY GOT IT THROUGH. THE GOVERNOR SIGNED IT SO THAT WAS EXCITING. AND THEN ANVIKA JAIN, SHE CAN TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HERSELF BUT THIS GIRL HAS TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF EVERYTHING IN THIS PROGRAM SINCE SHE STARTED WITH ME IN HER FRESHMAN YEAR. AND SHE HAS MANAGED TO BE THE EPITOME OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN A LEADER. NOT ONLY WAS SHE AMBITIOUS, BUT SHE ALSO LEARNED HOW TO REALLY COOPERATE WITH OTHER PEOPLE, NETWORK WITH OTHER PEOPLE. WE ARE A REALLY SMALL PART IN AUSTIN OF THE WHOLE YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. WE ARE OUTNUMBERED A GREAT DEAL IN DALLAS, FORT WORTH AREA. SO I'M GOING TO LET ANVIKA TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS SHE'S DONE, WHICH ARE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. HI, ALL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY. SO AS MS. YBARRA SAID, I'M ANVIKA, AND I AM CURRENTLY THE PRESIDENT OF OUR DRIPPING SPRINGS YOUTH AND GOVERNMENT CHAPTER. BUT ALONGSIDE THAT, I WAS ELECTED AS THE 2027 YOUTH GOVERNOR FOR TEXAS YOUTH AND GOVERNMENT. AND SO IN THIS POSITION, I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU. IN THIS POSITION I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PASS STUDENT LEGISLATION AND HONESTLY LEAD THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROGRAM IN TERMS OF LOGISTICS. AND SO AS COHEN WAS SAYING EARLIER, THE BILL THAT HE SPONSORED GOT PASSED BY THE GOVERNOR, SO THAT'LL BE MY JOB NEXT YEAR. VERY EXCITING STUFF, BUT I'VE BEEN WITH YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT SINCE MY FRESHMAN YEAR, AND THAT KIND OF IS WHAT STARTED ME INTO THE ENTIRE YMCA REALM. AND SO... WITH THE YMCA, I'M ALSO ON THE NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND I'M ON OUR LOCAL BOARD AS WELL. AND I WAS ALSO THE YMCA YOUTH ADVOCATE FOR LAST YEAR, AND SO I GOT TO SPEAK TO OUR LEGISLATORS UP IN D.C. ABOUT CHILD CARE AND HEALTH CARE FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY ONE LAST THING, AND THAT IS THAT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THROUGH K-12, IT ALL COMES TOGETHER IN BEING LEADERS AND MAKING DECISIONS FOR THE FUTURE. AND THIS IS OUR FUTURE, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY BRIGHT. THANK YOU. [00:45:03] ALL RIGHT, NEXT IS OUR DECA STATE QUALIFIERS. HEY, Y'ALL. MY NAME IS STEPHANIE FREEMAN. I'M THE DECA SPONSOR FOR THESE GUYS AND GALS. THIS IS ONLY ABOUT A THIRD OF THE GROUP THAT QUALIFIED FOR STATE. IT'S A REALLY BUSY TIME FOR THESE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS RIGHT NOW. I'LL LET YOU TELL THEM WHAT YOU COMPETED IN AND WHERE YOU QUALIFIED. HI, MY NAME IS ADVE MARWA. I AM A JUNIOR. AND, SORRY, I QUALIFIED FOR STATE. AND I DID THE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT OPERATIONS RESEARCH. AND MY PROJECT WAS ON UW FOOTBALL. HI, MY NAME IS AVA LOVELACE. I'M A FRESHMAN. I QUALIFIED FOR STATE. AND I COMPETED IN SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT AND MARKETING. HI, MY NAME IS ANUSHA MANDA. I'M A SOPHOMORE AND I QUALIFIED FOR STATE AND WAS A STATE FINALIST FOR RESTAURANT FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT. HI, MY NAME IS AMELIA CHIRITA HERNANDEZ. I'M A SOPHOMORE AND I COMPETED IN THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM TEAM DECISION MAKING. I'M AVA ANDREWS. I'M A SOPHOMORE AND I MADE STATE IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM TEAM DECISION MAKING. HI, MY NAME IS CECILIA LOADING. I'M A SOPHOMORE AND I COMPETED IN BUYING AND MERCHANDISING TEAM DECISION MAKING. SO LIKE I SAID, THIS IS ABOUT A THIRD OF OUR TEAM THAT QUALIFIED FOR STATE. OUR DECA CHAPTER CONSISTS OF ABOUT 145 MEMBERS. WE TOOK 109 TO DISTRICT, AND THEN WE ENDED UP WITH 24 AT STATE. AND WE HAVE TWO INTERNATIONAL QUALIFIERS WHO ARE NOT HERE, BUT WILL BE GOING TO COMPETE IN ATLANTA FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AT THE END OF APRIL. SO THESE ARE OUR GUNS. YAY ALL RIGHT, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, OUR VERY OWN COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. FLIPPING ROLES. BLAKE AND BRANSON. I KNOW Y'ALL ARE HAPPY. COME RIGHT HERE. YEAH, COME STAND IN THE MIDDLE. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT HERE. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY, SO IN FEBRUARY, WE ATTENDED OUR STATE CONFERENCE, AND THESE GUYS. RECEIVED SEVERAL AWARDS SO WE'RE EXCITED TO RECOGNIZE THEM TONIGHT WE RECEIVED A BEST OF CATEGORY AWARD FOR A FEATURE VIDEO ON TIGER BAND BRANSON HARDCASTLE IN ADDITION UM THE DISTRICT WAS ONLY ONE ONE OF ONLY FIVE DISTRICTS STATEWIDE TO RECEIVE THE CRYSTAL CERTIFICATE OF MERIT FOR THE BOND ELECTION CATEGORY FOR ITS COVERAGE OF THE 2025 BOND ELECTION BLAKE BARRINGTON IN ADDITION TO THOSE CATEGORY AWARDS, WE ALSO RECEIVED GOLD STAR AWARDS FOR VIDEO MARKETING FOR THE HEART OF DRIPPING SPRINGS, WHICH IS A VIDEO THAT YOU ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH. ORIGINAL ART FOR BASEBALL AND BASKETBALL GRAPHICS AND PHOTOGRAPHY FOR A BAND AT SUNSET PHOTO, ALL BRANSON HARDCASTLE. AND THEN SILVER STAR AWARDS FOR TEMPLATE-DRIVEN WEB DESIGN FOR THE 2025 BOND WEBSITE, SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL. PHOTOGRAPHY SO THAT'S A COMBINATION OF BLAKE AND BRANSON SO OF COURSE THESE GUYS MAKE US ALL LOOK REALLY GOOD MAKE MY JOB REALLY EASY AND I'M REALLY HONORED TO RECOGNIZE THEM TONIGHT THANK YOU I'M SO [00:50:42] PROUD OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING AND HAVE REALLY DONE SOME REALLY, REALLY INCREDIBLE PROJECTS AND SOME INCREDIBLE ART. SO, YOU DID WONDERFUL. VERY WELL DESERVED. [6. LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT] AMEN. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON. CYPRESS SPRINGS CAMPUS VISIT. OLIVIA, LET'S JUST BRING BACK OLD TIMES. IT DID BRING BACK OLD TIMES. IT WAS VERY, VERY NOSTALGIC. SORRY, I REALLY WASN'T PREPARED. WE HAD A GREAT VISIT. WELL, I THINK THIS WAS THE TAKEAWAY. TO SEE THE COLLABORATION, I THINK THAT THE DISTRICT HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB WITH PRINCIPAL PLACEMENT, SUPPORT PLACEMENT, AND TO SEE HOW THE TEAM THERE IS GELLING AND WORKING AND THE WAY THAT THEY COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER WHEN THEY'RE PRESENTING. THE STUDENTS DID A WONDERFUL JOB, LOVED EVERYTHING THAT WE SAW. BUT A TAKEAWAY WAS HOW WELL, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS OUT FROM A PRINCIPAL CHANGE IN THAT CAMPUS, HOW WELL THIS TEAM IS DOING. ALL RIGHT. AND WE HAD SEVERAL DIFFERENT EVENTS THIS MONTH. IT WAS KIND OF A FAST MONTH. YES, WITH SPRING BREAK AND EVERYTHING. WE'LL JUST GO LEFT TO RIGHT ON PHOTOS. MARY JEAN? SO ON THE LEFT IS GOVCAMP, WHICH IS THE CONFERENCE THAT FOCUSES ON STUDENT VOICE. AND I THINK I'VE ALREADY SHARED MAYBE A COUPLE OF MY FAVORITE SESSIONS. ONE, WHICH I DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER, WAS SHANDA'S HOMETOWN, APPARENTLY. AND IT WAS... HOW MANY SINCE THEN? I DIDN'T KNOW. NO. SO CROWLEY ISD HAD A SESSION ON THEIR IMPLEMENTATION OF STUDENT TRUSTEES WHO SIT ON THE SIDE, STAY FOR THE WHOLE MEETING, AND THEY BRING CELEBRATIONS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND THEIR CONCERNS, ALTHOUGH THEY CAN'T COME WITH A CONCERN UNLESS THEY HAVE A PROPOSED SOLUTION. BUT THE ADULTS IN THE ROOM SEEM TO LOVE THE PROGRAM AS WELL. AND THEN GEORGETOWN ISD, WHICH IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN WE ARE, BUT I WENT TO THEIR SESSION ON THE 18 PLUS PROGRAM IN THE CULINARY ARTS. AND SO I AT LEAST TOOK A LOT OF NOTES ABOUT COMMUNITY PARTNERS BECAUSE WE HAVE A FEW OF THE SAME. AND THEN THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER WAS ALL ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HE USED TO WORK FOR GOOGLE AND MCKINSEY. AND I THINK MY MAIN TAKEAWAYS ARE THAT, YES, AI IS ELIMINATING. JOBS AT A PHENOMENAL RATE, BUT IT'S ALSO CAUSING THE CREATION OF JOBS, NOT ONLY IN UTILIZING THE AI, BUT PEOPLE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PROBLEM SOLVE. AS WE SAW OUR YOUNGEST KIDDOS, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO COLLABORATE AND TO SOLVE PROBLEMS TOGETHER. SO I LEFT VERY HOPEFUL. THAT MIDDLE PICTURE IS TIGER MADNESS, AND THAT EVENT ACTUALLY STARTED BACK IN 2007 AS A MARCH MADNESS ACTIVITY, AND IT WAS STARTED BY ONE OF OUR FORMER TEACHERS, ANDREA MCCARTHY, AND SHE WANTED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE ATHLETES TO SHINE IN FRONT OF THEIR COMMUNITY AND TO COMPETE WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND IT'S EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS, AND NOW THEY SET UP ALL OF THESE STATIONS THAT THE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN, AND I THINK MY FAVORITE PART OF THE EVENING BEFORE THEIR DANCE, THEY HAVE A LITTLE GLOW DANCE WHERE THEY WEAR GLOW NECKLACES AND THEY CAN'T WAIT TO GET THOSE ON, IS THE SLAM DUNK CONTEST. BECAUSE EACH STUDENT HAS THEIR OWN STYLE OF RUNNING HALFWAY ACROSS THE COURT AND DOING A SLAM DUNK. AND IT IS THE MOST FUN THING TO WATCH. BUT TO SEE OUR COMMUNITY COME OUT AND TO SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM ALL THESE YEARS, IT'S ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. OF MY YEAR TO GET TO ATTEND THIS EVENT. I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, BUT IT WAS FUN. AND THEN THE PICTURE THERE, I WANTED THE REST OF MY FAMILY TO STAY WHILE I FULLY EMBARRASS MY FRESHMEN. WE ATTENDED THE NATIONAL [00:55:02] JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTION AT DRIPPING SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND 76 STUDENTS WERE INDUCTED INTO NJHS THAT NIGHT. I THOUGHT... WHAT WAS REALLY IMPRESSIVE ABOUT THE CEREMONY IS IT WAS COMPLETELY, THEY'RE POSING NOW, IT WAS COMPLETELY STUDENT-LED. AND SO THE MEMBERS, THE OLDER MEMBERS OF THE NJHS LED THE ENTIRE THING. YOU WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN KNOWN WHO THE SPONSOR IS BECAUSE SHE WAS COMPLETELY HANDS-OFF. SO THEY DID THE INTRODUCTIONS, THEY HANDED OUT THE PROGRAMS, THEY LIT CANDLES AND TALKED ABOUT EACH OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NJHS AND THEN THEY HANDED OUT THE CERTIFICATES CALLED OUT THE NAMES AND HANDED OUT THE CERTIFICATES TO EACH OF THE INDUCTEES AND SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS A REALLY SPECIAL NIGHT FOR ALL 76 OF THOSE KIDS. OKAY YOU ALL CAN GO NOW. I DON'T HAVE A PHOTO OF THIS BUT FIELD DAYS ARE UNDERWAY AND I WAS AT I SPENT THE GREATER HALF OF THE DAY ON FRIDAY AT OUR WALNUT SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FIELD DAY AND IT WAS SO FUN BECAUSE WE'RE NEW TO THAT CAMPUS SO THE ONLY FIELD DAY I'D EVER SEEN PRIOR WAS SYCAMORE SPRINGS ELEMENTARY AND IT'S SO FUN THEY ALL A LOT OF THINGS ARE THE SAME BUT A LOT OF THINGS ARE DIFFERENT AND JUST YOUR OWN PERSONALITY THAT KIND OF THRIVES AT EACH DIFFERENT CAMPUS AND IT WAS IT WAS JUST A REALLY FUN SPECIAL DAY IT WAS REALLY GREAT WEATHER TOO ON FRIDAY SO ENDED UP WORKING OUT IN OUR FAVOR SO. I DON'T KNOW. I KNOW WE'VE GOTTEN A COUPLE MORE INVITES FOR DIFFERENT FIELD DAYS. SO IF YOU GUYS ARE AROUND, I KNOW SYCAMORE ACTUALLY HAS NOT DONE THEIRS YET. SO, ALL RIGHT, LIAISONS, WE'LL START WITH KIM AND GO THAT WAY. NO REPORT THIS MONTH. I DID NOT MAKE IT TO THE SHAC MEETING BECAUSE I WENT TO THE 18 PLUS. BUT WE HAD A REALLY GOOD TIME, THE THREE OF US FOR SURE. AND IT WAS FUN. VERY BRIEF, FOR PARKS AND REC, WE HAVE OPENED, WE DID A RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE NEW ARENA AT DRIPPING SPRINGS RANCH PARK, WHICH WILL GIVE OUR EQUESTRIAN LOVERS SOMETHING NEW TO DO AND ACTUALLY BRING THE HORSES OUT. AND SO IT WAS A BIG INVESTMENT, BECAME HIGH PRIORITY ON OUR COMMUNITY SURVEYS OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. SO THAT'S NOW DONE AND OPEN AND HAVE NOTHING FOR CTE LIAISON. HIGH SCHOOL 2 NAMING AND BRANDING IS UNDERWAY AND I JUST WANT TO SHARE SOME FACTS WITH Y'ALL BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS UNTIL I KIND OF PULLED IT UP. SO THERE'S 64 PEOPLE ON THE COMMITTEE. IT WAS PRETTY MUCH ANYONE WHO APPLIED. NO ONE WAS TURNED AWAY UNLESS THERE WAS DUPLICATES WITHIN A FAMILY UNIT AND THEN IF IT WAS A SPOUSE OR CHILD OF THE SAME THEY JUST CHOSE ONE OF THE FAMILY. THERE ARE 10 TOTAL SECONDARY STUDENTS. I DON'T KNOW MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL BUT A GOOD BREAKDOWN OF EACH CAMPUS REPRESENTED. THE FIRST MEETING, THERE WAS ABOUT 69% ATTENDANCE, ABOUT 44 ATTENDEES, AND THE MEETING TWO WAS CLOSE TO 88%. THERE WAS A TON OF PEOPLE AT MEETING TWO. SO REALLY GOOD ENGAGEMENT. THERE WILL BE ONE MORE MEETING HERE IN MID-APRIL, ANOTHER MEETING IN MAY. WITH THE HOPE, AT LEAST THAT WAS THE INITIAL CHARGE, WE'LL DISCUSS IF THAT'S STILL GOING TO BE POSSIBLE, THAT WE WOULD VOTE AT OUR MAY MEETING ON THE PACKAGE THAT THEY PRESENT. SO THEY WILL PRESENT ONE FORMAL NAME, COLORS, MASCOT WITH TWO ADDITIONAL NAME CHOICES FOR US TO CONSIDER BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S IN POLICY, BUT REALLY ONE MAIN PACKAGE. I CAN TELL YOU A LITTLE UPDATE ON THE SURVEY DATA THAT WE DID GET. THERE WAS ALMOST 4,000 PEOPLE THAT FILLED OUT THE SURVEY. SO LOTS OF GOOD NUMBERS. AND ABOUT 30 TO 34% WERE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT FILLED IT OUT. SO REALLY GOOD. AND THERE'S ACTUALLY NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY PULLED, HOLLY AND I, AS SOME COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE TALKING AT THE LAST MEETING, PRETTY SIMILAR DATA POINT FROM WHETHER YOU'RE PULLING AT IT THROUGH STUDENT VIEWPOINT AND THROUGH PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, OTHER PEOPLE CONNECTED. SO THERE'S ALSO 10 STAFF MEMBER ON THE COMMITTEE. I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID THAT, BUT WE HAVE REALLY KIND OF A GOOD ARRAY. LIKE THERE'S... BAND FINE ARTS REPRESENTED, THERE'S SPORTS REPRESENTED, THERE'S COACHES, THERE'S A COUPLE TEACHERS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD RECOGNIZE. LOTS OF REALLY KIND OF BROAD REPRESENTATION ON THE COMMITTEE. I THINK I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT THE OVERWHELMING NAME OF CHOICE AFTER TWO MEETINGS IS DRIFTWOOD OR DRIFTWOOD SPRINGS. AND THAT IS FLOATING AROUND THERE. AND I WILL JUST CONFIRM IT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM THAT. EVEN AFTER SOME RATHER KIND OF HEATED PRESSING AT THE LAST MEETING, IT'S STILL PRETTY MUCH DRIP, BUT IT IS ALL THEY CAN KIND OF GET PAST. SO COLORS IS A LITTLE MORE [01:00:02] SPLATTERED. THERE'S STILL SOME MAROONS HANGING ON. THERE'S SOME NAVY AND GOLD. THERE'S SOME BLACK AND GOLD DISCUSSED. OR GREEN AND GOLD. I THINK THOSE ARE KIND OF THE TOP FOUR COLORING CHOICES THAT WE'RE SEEING. MASCOTS ARE ALSO A BIT SPLIT. INTERESTING IN THE LAST MEETING THAT WAS MOSTLY ABOUT MASCOTS AND WE JENNIFER HAD EVERYBODY PHYSICALLY MOVE TO FOUR CORNERS OF THE ROOM AND YOU HAD DIVIDED IT BASED ON THE BIGGEST SURVEY RESULTS AND I'M GOING TO BUTCHER THIS PART BUT WHAT SO ONE GROUP WAS THE LARGE CATS WHICH WOULD INCLUDE TIGERS ANOTHER GROUP WAS HILL COUNTRY ANIMALS ANOTHER GROUP WAS OTHER TEXAS THEME AND THE OTHER WAS OTHER LIKE EVERYTHING YEAH YEAH WHATEVER ELSE AND IT WAS A SOLID 25%, 25%, LIKE IT WAS JUST SPLIT. YEAH. AND THEN THOSE GROUPS CAME UP WITHIN THEIR CATEGORY OF THEIR TOP THREE CHOICES. AND SO WE GOT, THERE WAS DIAMONDBACKS, THERE WAS WOLVES, THERE WAS LIONS, BOBCATS, WILD CATS WAS A FAVORITE. WRANGLERS AND RANCHERS. WRANGLERS. WHAT WERE SOME OTHERS? WOLVES HAD A COUPLE CHOICES EVEN. BRUINS. STALLIONS. BRUINS IS MAKING A RUN. YEAH. YEAH. SO, BUT EVERYONE RESOUNDING WAS MAKING THEIR MASCOT CHOICE BASED ON DRIFTWOOD BEING THE NAME. SO, THAT WAS EVEN WHY THE WOLVES BECAUSE IT WAS A W. AND SO, ANYWAY, IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING. THE THIRD MEETING IS WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO KIND OF NAIL DOWN. I DON'T THINK THE NAME'S GOING TO BE REALLY BIG. DISCUSSION POINT ANYMORE, BUT WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO KIND OF START THE FIRST ITERATIONS OF THINGS. AND THEN THEIR FOURTH MEETING IS MAY. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN BROUGHT TO HOLLY THROUGH THE COMMITTEE. ACTUALLY, THE LAST MEETING, IT CAME UP FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS AS WELL AS MYSELF ON POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR ANOTHER ANOTHER DATA POINT OF SOME KIND POTENTIALLY ANOTHER SURVEY OR ANOTHER KIND OF POOLING OF STUDENTS SPECIFICALLY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND SO HOLLY WILL GET BACK TO US ON WHAT'S ACTUALLY FEASIBLE OR WHAT'S A REALISTIC OPTION FOR THAT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY TONIGHT OR JUST STARTED TALKING YEAH SO ALL RIGHT THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE THAT'S GOOD YEAH THAT'S GOOD. THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE. TWO QUICK THINGS. FIRST, SAFETY AND SECURITY MEETS TOMORROW AND AGAIN, OUR QUARTERLY MEETING, WHICH WE CONSISTENTLY DO, BRINGING LAW ENFORCEMENT, EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS TOGETHER TO DISCUSS THAT. AND THEN SECONDLY, WE WILL MEET AND CLOSE TONIGHT. THE SUPERINTENDENT, MYSELF AND SCOTT BERRY WILL HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THE CITY OF DRIPPING SPRINGS AS WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO WHAT I THINK IS A GOOD AGREEMENT. AND SOMETHING THAT WE COULD HOPEFULLY RATIFY BEFORE MAY 1ST, WHICH WAS KIND OF OUR TARGET ON THE WALL. SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT TONIGHT CLOSED. THANK YOU. WELL, DOI IS ON THE AGENDA, SO I'LL WAIT ON THAT. BUT WITH CHAMBER, THEY HAD THE RETAIL COACH, AND THE BIGGEST STATISTIC THAT I TOOK AWAY WITH IS THE TRAFFIC COUNT ON THE MAIN STRETCH OF 290 IN 2006. IT WAS 18,000 CARS A DAY, AND LAST YEAR IT WAS 43,000 CARS A DAY. AND SO WE KNEW THAT ALREADY, BUT IT WAS A PRETTY BREATHTAKING STEP. I'VE GOT AN ED FOUNDATION UPDATE. THROUGHOUT APRIL AND MAY, THEY ARE DOING TIGER APPRECIATION EVENTS FOR ALL LOCATIONS. SO EVERY CAMPUS IS GOING TO RECEIVE CHICK-FIL-A LUNCHES. AND THEN A SPECIAL TREAT FROM BEE'S KNEES LEMONADE, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE DONATION ITEMS AT THE GALA, SO SOMEONE BOUGHT THE DONATION FOR ALL THE TEACHERS TO RECEIVE THAT. AND THIS KIND OF INITIATIVE IS EMPHASIZING THEM, KIND OF OUR AGREEMENT WITH THEM AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN WANTING IS FOR THEM TO SUPPORT THOSE WHO MAKE A DAILY IMPACT IN SCHOOLS. AND SO THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. CLAYS FOR CLASSROOMS IS THURSDAY STARTING AT 8 A.M. AT HOG HEAVEN. AND SO ALL BOARD MEMBERS, ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE INVITED. TO COME OUT TO RAISE MONEY, SPEND TIME NETWORKING, ENHANCING RELATIONSHIPS FOR, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN OUR COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS. SO I'LL BE THERE. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE COMING OUT FOR THAT. AND THEN I HAVE A REALLY BRIEF SLACK REPORT THAT I DO WANT TO GIVE YOU BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT IN CLOSED AS WELL. BUT WE HAVE HAD ANOTHER SLACK MEETING. WE HAD A VIRTUAL MEETING LAST WEEK. AND SO I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU NOW THAT DR. KIDD DID OUTLINE THE... NEW PROCESS THAT SHE SHARED WITH US AT OUR WORKSHOP. AND SO THAT WAS WELL RECEIVED BY THE SLACK COMMITTEE. THEY WERE APPRECIATIVE OF THOSE CHANGES IN NOT HAVING TO FEEL THE PRESSURE [01:05:01] OF INTERPRETING THE LAW. AND SO THAT WAS A CHANGE THAT I THINK IS GOING TO BE POSITIVE MOVING FORWARD. SO I KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IN CLOSE, BUT WANTED TO SHARE THAT FROM OUR LAST MEETING. [7. PUBLIC HEARING] ALL RIGHT. NEXT IS OUR TAPER REPORT. GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DR. MORRIS KOONTZ. I'M HERE TONIGHT TO PRESENT THE 2024-2025 DISTRICT ANNUAL REPORT. MY NAME IS DANIEL BROWN. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY. INCLUDED IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT WILL BE A REVIEW OF OUR TAPER AS WELL AS SOME PREVIOUSLY SHARED PEMS FINANCIAL STANDARD REPORTS. OUR DISTRICT ACCREDITATION STATUS, SPECIAL EDUCATION DETERMINED STATUS, AS WELL AS OUR ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS, A REVIEW OF OUR DISTRICT AND CAMPUS PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, A MANDATORY REPORTING ON VIOLENT OR CRIMINAL INCIDENTS, OUR STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION, AND AGAIN, OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS HOUSE BILL GOAL 3S. AND THESE ARE ALL REQUIRED ELEMENTS THAT KEEP US IN LINE WITH TEXAS EDUCATION CODE. A LITTLE BIT OF REMINDER, THE TAPER DATES TO A TIME FROM THE LATE 1900S BEFORE THE INTERNET WAS WIDELY AVAILABLE. AND IT IS A PDF REPORT THAT PULLS TOGETHER A BUNCH OF DATA THAT IS ALREADY PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. THERE'S NO NEW INFORMATION IN HERE THAT OUR DISTRICT LEADERS HAVEN'T SEEN OR REVIEWED OR BEEN ACTUALIZING THIS YEAR. BUT IT IS PULLED TOGETHER ALL AT THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR AND SHARED OUT. WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THERE IS OUR PEIMS INFORMATION, OUR STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA, AND AGAIN, IT'S PUBLISHED AS A PDF. AND INCLUDES THAT WIDE RANGE OF INFORMATION, AGAIN, ALL THAT HAS BEEN WIDELY SHARED AND AVAILABLE. DIVING INTO OUR TAPER, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT STUDENT PERFORMANCE IS BROKEN OUT BY STAR PERFORMANCE, BY GRADE LEVEL SUBJECT AND STUDENT GROUP, AS WELL AS PERFORMANCE LEVEL DESIGNATION. WE'LL LOOK AT OUR EOC SUBJECTS, ALL GRADES, SCHOOL PROGRESS, AS WELL AS OUR BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. AND FURTHER ADO, I'M GOING TO DIVE US INTO SOME NUMBERS. WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS OUR ALL STUDENTS MATH PERFORMANCE. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL OUT. OUR MAROON IS OUR APPROACHES, MEETS IS GRAY, AND OUR GOLD STANDARD IS MASTERS. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE DISTRICT HAS MAINTAINED A ROBUST STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND MATH SCORES ACROSS ALL GRADE LEVELS TESTED, WITH THE DISTRICT OUTPERFORMING THE REGION AND STATE, AS YOU WILL SEE ON THE NEXT SLIDE. AND AGAIN, THIS IS A FIVE-YEAR LOOK AT OUR DATA. AGAIN, AS YOU CAN SEE, FOR THIS MOST RECENT YEAR, THE DISTRICT CONTINUED TO OUTPERFORM. BOTH THE REGION AND THE STATE AT BOTH THE APPROACHES, MEETS, AND MASTERS LEVEL. AGAIN, MAINTAINING THAT STRONG PERFORMANCE IN MATH. SIMILARLY, IN READING, YOU WILL SEE, AGAIN, A TREND OF STRONG PERFORMANCE OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS WITH THE DISTRICT, AGAIN, OUTPERFORMING THE REGION AND THE STATE AS WELL. MOVING FORWARD INTO ATTENDANCE RATE. THE DISTRICT CONTINUES TO SEE STEADY INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR ATTENDANCE RATE TOWARDS OUR DISTRICT GOAL OF 96%. UNOFFICIALLY, OUR LAST YEAR'S RATE WAS 95%, SO NOT REFLECTED IN OUR PEMS DATA JUST YET, BUT IS OUR UNOFFICIAL NUMBER. AND OUR YEAR TO DATE, AS OF TODAY, UNOFFICIAL WAS 95.2. SO AGAIN, CONTINUING TO TREND UPWARDS FROM THOSE 94S TOWARDS THAT GOAL OF 96. HERE YOU SEE OUR DROPOUT AND GRADUATION RATE. I WANT TO DO CALL OUT SOME CONTEXT TO THESE NUMBERS. THE TOP CHART IS A LONGITUDINAL RATE, SO THAT'S LOOKING AT THE SAME GROUP OF STUDENTS OVER A FOUR-YEAR PERIOD, SPECIFICALLY FROM WHEN THEY ENTERED HIGH SCHOOL AS FRESHMEN TO THEIR EXPECTED GRADUATION IN 2024. I WANT TO CALL OUT THAT LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF OUR DICD STUDENTS WERE CONSIDERED DROPOUTS OVER THAT FOUR-YEAR PERIOD. AND IF YOU LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT THE BOTTOM BOX YOU WILL SEE THAT IN THE 23-24 SCHOOL YEAR SPECIFIC TO THAT SCHOOL YEAR WE HAD NO ANNUAL DROPOUTS IDENTIFIED SO AGAIN OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF ARE DOING A GREAT JOB OF KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL GETTING THEM GRADUATED AND ON TO THE NEXT PHASE [01:10:01] OF THEIR LIFE LOOKING AT OUR GRADUATE PROFILES WE SEE THAT JUST OVER 94% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE GRADUATING ON THE HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATIONAL PROGRAM WITH THE DISTINGUISHED LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT WHAT THAT MEANS IS OUR STUDENTS ARE TAKING ADDITIONAL MATH AND SCIENCE COURSES THAT ALLOW THEM TO COMPETE FOR AUTOMATIC ADMISSIONS AS TOP 10% GRADUATES AT ALL TEXAS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND ARE ACHIEVING A HIGHER LEVEL. AS WE MOVE ON INTO OUR CCMR DATA, YOU CAN AGAIN SEE A STEADY TREND OF IMPROVEMENT IN OUR CCMR PERFORMANCE OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. A QUICK REMINDER, CCMR DATA LAGS A YEAR AS THE STATE TAKES A LONG TIME TO RECEIVE AND PROCESS ALL THAT DATA. AS SUCH, THE DATA REFLECTED BELOW IS THE YEAR OF GRADUATION, NOT NECESSARILY THE YEAR IT WAS APPLIED FOR ACCOUNTABILITY PURPOSES. BUT AGAIN, SEEING A STEADY TREND IN THE UPWARD DIRECTION. SAME DATA, AGAIN, COMPARED TO OUR REGIONAL AND STATE NUMBERS. WE CAN SEE WE STARTED WITH A MUCH LARGER GAP. AND THE STATE AND THE PAST, THE STATE AND REGION THE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE CLOSED THAT GAP, BUT AGAIN, WE ARE STILL AS A DISTRICT IMPROVING IN OUR CCMR PERFORMANCE YEAR OVER YEAR. JUST OUR STATE AND REGIONAL FOLKS ARE IMPROVING A LITTLE BIT FASTER RATE. DIVING INTO OUR CCMR DATA, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS TOP NUMBER HERE. JUST OVER 74% OF DEISD GRADUATES FROM THE CLASS OF 2024, WE'RE IDENTIFIED AS COLLEGE READY. THAT IS OUR PRIMARY INDICATOR IN CCMR. AND AGAIN, CCMR STANDS FOR COLLEGE CAREER MILITARY READINESS. THERE ARE 13 WAYS THAT A STUDENT CAN SHOW CCMR. AND AGAIN, THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS ARE GOING TOWARDS THAT COLLEGE READY PATHWAY, WHICH AGAIN IS REFLECTIVE OF OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS. BELOW YOU SEE OUR CAREER AND MILITARY READINESS. AGAIN, WITH OUR NUMBER IN THESE AREAS, AROUND 18.2% OF OUR GRADUATES ARE GRADUATING EITHER CAREER OR MILITARY READY. THIS, ON A SIDE NOTE, THESE ARE THE HARDEST AREAS TO ADDRESS BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SPECIALIZED PROGRAMMING AND STAFF. AND SO IT'S A MORE SLOW-MOVING SHIP. SOME OF YOU GUYS HAVE SHOUTED OUT JULIA FISCHBACH AND HER AMAZING WORK WITH CTE OVER THE YEAR. AND SO THIS IS REALLY REFLECTIVE OF THAT AREA. DIVING DEEPER INTO OUR COLLEGE READINESS, I WANT TO CALL OUT THAT OF OUR STUDENTS THAT TAKE AP EXAMS, JUST UNDER 80% ARE MEETING OR EXCEEDING THE STATE CRITERIA FOR RECEIVING, FOR SCORES ON THAT, WITH A WHOPPING 52% OF OUR STUDENTS ENGAGING IN DUAL CREDIT COURSES. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE TAPER, DEMOGRAPHIC DATA INCLUDES INFORMATION ON OUR ENROLLMENT, STUDENT ETHNICITY. IDENTIFICATION INDICATORS, DISABILITY ELIGIBILITY, JUST A BUNCH OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA THAT AGAIN PROVIDES CONTEXT TO THE DATA AND PAINTS THAT PICTURE FOR THE OF THE DISTRICT. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, AS PART OF OUR ANNUAL REPORT WE HAVE OUR FINANCIAL STANDARDS REPORTS. THESE WERE PREVIOUSLY SHARED AT THE OCTOBER MEETING. QUICK NOTE ON THE PEMS DISTRICT FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORTS, THAT IS THE MOST RECENTLY AVAILABLE OF 23-24 AS OUR NEXT LAYER DATA WAS RECENTLY SUBMITTED SUBMITTED IN JANUARY, SO THE STATE JUST HASN'T. UPDATED THEIR SIDE OF THE EQUATION YET. MOVING ON TO SECTION THREE, THIS IS OUR DISTRICT ACCREDITATION STATUS. AGAIN, WE HAVE A SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT, AN A RATING IN OUR FINANCIAL INTEGRITY RATING SYSTEM OF TEXAS, OUR FIRST RATING. THAT IS AN A. OUR DISTRICT HAS A STRONG A TO F ACCOUNTABILITY RATING AT A B, SPECIFICALLY AN 89, VERY CLOSE TO THAT A MARK, WHICH WE ARE STRIVING FOR. AND OUR ACCREDITATION STATUS IS WE MAINTAIN OUR ACCREDITATION. AS A REMINDER, ALL DISTRICT AND CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT WANT TO VIEW THEM ON THE DISTRICT'S WEBSITE, AS WELL AS THE CENTER FOR LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP OR THE APPROPRIATE CAMPUS OFFICE. SO IF FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT DISTRICT AND CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS, THOSE ARE YOUR POINTS OF CONTACT. AS PART OF OUR, AGAIN, PART OF SECTION 4 FOR OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, SPECIFICALLY IN THE AREA OF RESULTS-DRIVEN ACCOUNTABILITY, WE WERE AT THE METS REQUIREMENTS, WHICH IS OUR HIGHEST LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE. IT'S NOT A VERY IMPRESSIVE SOUNDING TITLE, BUT IT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE. AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS OUR REPORT ON VIOLENT AND CRIMINAL INCIDENTS. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAD ONE INCIDENT THAT FELL INTO THIS CATEGORY FROM OUR PREVIOUS YEAR. POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION ENROLLMENT. JUST A COUPLE UPDATES ON THIS [01:15:02] DATA BECAUSE THIS SLIDE AND THE NEXT SLIDE THEY SOUND THE SAME BUT THEY ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT COHORTS OF STUDENTS. THIS DATA IS FROM OUR 23-24 GRADUATES WHO WERE THEN ENROLLED IN THE FALL OF 24. SO THAT SEMESTER IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THEIR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION. A QUICK REMINDER THOSE NOT FOUND STUDENTS ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR STUDENTS THAT ATTEND OUT-OF-STATE UNIVERSITIES GO INTO THE WORKFORCE. AND OR JUST HAPPEN TO OPT OUT AS IS THEIR RIGHT AS THEY BECOME ADULTS ON THE SHARING OF THEIR INFORMATION. SO AGAIN, NOT NECESSARILY A COMPLETE DATA SET, BUT IT IS THE MOST ACCURATE ONE WE HAVE PROVIDED BY THE TEXAS PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION BOARD. THIS SLIDE, VERY SIMILAR, IS OUR STUDENTS AFTER ONE YEAR OF ENROLLMENT AND HOW THEIR GPA BREAKS DOWN. AGAIN, SO THIS WOULD BE OUR CLASS OF 22-23 GRADUATES. THEIR SECOND YEAR IN THE SCHOOL. SO THEY HAD COMPLETED THAT FIRST YEAR AND HOW THEIR GPAS ARE STACKING UP. SO AGAIN, WE CAN SEE THAT OUR KIDDOS PERFORMING PRETTY WELL HERE IN THE 3.0 TO 3.5 CATEGORY. AGAIN, THAT'S AFTER ONE YEAR OF ENROLLMENT. NOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE INTO OUR PROGRESS ON HOUSE BILL 3 GOALS. AS A QUICK REMINDER, SOME CONTEXT ON THE NEXT SLIDES. AS I SHARED EARLIER, THE STATE SETS THREE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ON STAR EXAMS, WITH THOSE BEING APPROACHES GRADE LEVEL, MEETS GRADE LEVELS, AND MASTERS GRADE LEVEL. A STUDENT PERFORMING AT ANY OF THOSE STANDARDS IS CONSIDERED PASSING, WITH MEETS AND MASTERS GRADE LEVEL REPRESENTING HIGHER LEVELS ACHIEVEMENT. HOUSE BILL 3 SPECIFICALLY REQUIRES THAT A GOAL BE SET AT MEETS GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. AS WE CAN SEE... OUR BASELINE DATA INDICATED THAT IN THE 2017-2018 YEAR, 56% OF OUR THIRD GRADE STUDENTS WERE PERFORMING AT THE MEETS GRADE LEVEL. AND OUR MOST RECENTLY AVAILABLE DATA ARE FROM OUR 2025 YEAR. 71% OF OUR THIRD GRADERS WERE PERFORMING AT MEETS GRADE LEVEL. THAT IS AN AMAZINGLY STRONG FOUNDATION OF LITERACY THAT CARRIES FORWARD INTO THE DISTRICT AND OUR PERFORMANCE. MOVING INTO EARLY CHILDHOOD MATHEMATICS, AGAIN, SEEING WHERE WE STARTED WITH OUR BASELINE OF IN 2017-2018, OUR OVERALL THIRD GRADE PERFORMANCE AT MEETS GRADE LEVEL WAS AT 52%. WE FELL SHORT OF A VERY AMBITIOUS GOAL OF 62%, LANDING HERE AT 59% OVERALL, AGAIN, AT MEETS GRADE LEVEL. I DO WANT TO CALL OUT THAT WE HAD SEVERAL STUDENT GROUPS WHILE WE FELL SHORT OF OUR OVERALL GRADE. TARGET, SEVERAL OF OUR INDIVIDUAL STUDENT GROUPS IN HERE MET OR EXCEEDED THEIR SPECIFIC GOALS. AND CIRCLING BACK TO CCMR, AGAIN, STARTING AT 72% IN 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR, WE SET VERY, VERY AMBITIOUS TARGETS FOR OURSELVES AT 95% THIS PAST YEAR, OR FOR THE CLASS OF 2024. WE CAN SEE THAT OUR PERFORMANCE ROUNDED OUT TO ABOUT A 79% OVERALL. SO WHILE FALLING SHORT OF OUR GOAL, I DO WANT TO CALL OUR ATTENTION THAT OUR THREE MOST VULNERABLE STUDENT POPULATIONS OF STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS, AND EMERGENT BILINGUALS ALL MET OR EXCEEDED THEIR TARGETS IN CCMR. SO AGAIN, WHILE WE DID NOT END UP WHERE WE WANTED TO BE, THERE'S A LOT TO BE PROUD OF IN THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENED IN THIS. AND AGAIN, REALLY TARGETING OUR SPECIAL POPULATIONS AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL STUDENTS HERE IN DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD ARE RECEIVING A QUALITY EDUCATION. AND LASTLY, THE TEA PROVIDES A GLOSSARY FOR AN EXPLANATION OF HOW ALL OF THESE NUMBERS ARE CALCULATED THAT IS AVAILABLE AT THAT LINK AND IS AVAILABLE THERE. AND IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME. THERE IS MY EMAIL AND MY PHONE. THAT'S ALL I GOT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THIS WAS SO HELPFUL. WHAT QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, BOARD MEMBERS? MARY JANE? DAN, CAN YOU JUST REMIND ME ON POST-SECONDARY ENROLLMENT? ARE THOSE PERCENTAGES INCLUDED IN OUR OVERALL GRADE AS A DISTRICT? NO, MA'AM. THEY ARE NOT. NOW, AS WE TALKED ABOUT AT WORKSHOP LAST WEEK, THE LEGISLATURE DID MAKE THAT A GOAL FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO SET AS FAR AS THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED. SO THAT WILL BE A NUMBER WE'RE SPECIFICALLY TRACKING MOVING FORWARD ONCE WE GET GUIDANCE FROM THE AGENCY. JUST AS A FOLLOW-UP, I'M JUST SO STRUCK BY HOW SOME STUDENTS CHOOSE NOT [01:20:02] TO DIVULGE BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WASN'T COUNTED AGAINST US. ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST CRITIQUES OF THE SYSTEM IS IT'S DEPENDENT ON THE AVAILABLE DATA. AND WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS THAT GO OUT OF STATE AS THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. AND SO, AGAIN, THAT DATA IS NOT ALWAYS REPORTED BACK TO US. I THINK ON THE, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE MATH SCORES, I THINK THE BUILDING THINKING CLASSROOMS THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ARE REAL, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE A HUGE RISE IN OVERALL MATH SCORES. SO I'M PLEASED WITH THAT. THE CCMR, LOOKING AT THAT COMPARED TO THE STATE AND COMPARED TO, YOU KNOW, AREA DISTRICTS OR WHATEVER, WE SEEM LIKE WE'RE JUST DROPPING A LITTLE BIT. I MEAN, DO WE? I KNOW THAT'S A TOUGH AREA TO BRING UP BECAUSE THE STATE DRASTICALLY CHANGED WHAT THAT PASSING RATE WAS GOING TO BE. I MEAN, DO WE HAVE ANY PLANS TO WORK ON IMPROVING THAT? I MEAN, THAT WAS MY CONCERN. ABSOLUTELY. SO OUR HIGH SCHOOL TEAM IS ACTIVELY MONITORING THEIR CCMR DATA IN MUCH MORE INTENTIONAL AND DELIBERATE WAYS WITH THIS GROUP. THEY'VE ALSO INSTITUTED A COUPLE INITIATIVES AT THE HIGH SCHOOL TO HELP REALLY TARGET AND... CATCH KIDDOS WHO DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE EARNED THAT CCMR INDICATOR ANYWAY. ONE SUCH WAY IS TSIA TESTING AS PART OF ALGEBRA 2 AND ENGLISH AND SO REALLY, AGAIN, PROVIDING OUR STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW HOW AMAZING THEY ARE AND, AGAIN, EARN THAT CCMR INDICATOR. THOSE EFFORTS ARE GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE WHILE TO JUST SHOW UP. LIKE, WE KNOW WE'RE DOING THE WORK AND ALL OF OUR NUMBERS INTERNALLY ARE TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. BUT, AGAIN, IT BEING A LAGGING INDICATOR, IT MAY BE A YEAR OR TWO. BEFORE THAT SHOWS UP IN OUR ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS AND OUR PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA. THANK YOU. I'LL BE QUICK. I'LL BE QUICK. FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, LAST WEEK MY COLLEAGUES AND I, WE'VE WORKED TWO HOURS AND 15 MINUTES, BECAUSE I TALK TOO MUCH PROBABLY, DID A DETAILED WORKSHOP ON SO MANY ACADEMIC INDICATORS THAT WE'RE DOING, DIVING INTO MAP DATA, EVEN LOOKING SPECIFICALLY INTO GRADE-LEVEL CHALLENGES WE'RE HAVING. WITH A LOT OF THINGS. SO JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, JUST KNOW THAT THIS BOARD IS VERY INVESTED IN THAT. THANK YOU FOR THE HIGH-LEVEL REPORT. LET ME JUST DO THIS REAL QUICK. LET ME VALIDATE THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR WORK SPECIFICALLY. I KNOW YOU WERE BROUGHT HERE TO REALLY HELP US LOOK AT NUMBERS, EVALUATE WHAT WE'RE SEEING, WHETHER IT BE CCMR, WHETHER IT BE NAPMAP, WHATEVER IT IS. IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT BECAUSE LET ME GIVE YOU AN ANECDOTE THAT I'M PROUD TO REPORT, BUT ALSO LIKE, EVERY SINGLE NUMBER IN THERE IS A KID. AND THAT KID IS ON A JOURNEY. AND AGAIN, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE ALL PHILOSOPHICAL OR EMOTIONAL HERE, BUT I'M GOING TO SPEAK ABOUT MY KID. SO SPECIFICALLY, WE IDENTIFIED HER AS A TIER 3 INTERVENTION REQUIREMENT DUE TO READING COMPREHENSION CHALLENGES. RIGHT? I MEAN, OFF THE CHARTS AND THE MAP DATA, WE'RE IN THE 20 PERCENTILE, WAY BELOW THE RIT, WAY BELOW THE WHATEVER IT WAS. AND THE INTERVENTION TEAM WENT TO WORK OVER FOUR YEARS. RIGHT? AND AGAIN, COMING UP ON ALL REPORTS AS AN ISSUE, AS A CHALLENGE, AND WHAT WE IMPLEMENTED THE STRATEGY WE HAVE TO CLOSE THE GAPS. RIGHT? SHE'LL BE INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY IN TWO WEEKS. THAT'S AMAZING. SO I'M DOING THIS TO BASICALLY, NUMBER ONE, CELEBRATE MY KID PUBLICLY, WHICH I'M HAPPY TO DO, BUT ALSO LET'S REMIND OURSELVES BEHIND ALL THIS DATA, THAT COULD BE THE STORY FOR WHETHER IT'S A GROWTH ISSUE, WHETHER IT'S AN INTERVENTION CHALLENGE. WHETHER IT'S A SPECIFIC AREA OF FOCUS. LET'S JUST REMIND OURSELVES WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, RIGHT? AND IT'S THAT. FOR EVERY SINGLE KID, THE KIDS THAT ARE A HIGH CATEGORY OF ACHIEVEMENT ALREADY OR KIDS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE THE GAP AND GROW, AND YOU PROVIDE US THROUGH WHAT YOU'RE DOING A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HELP THE ACADEMICS TEAM AND EVERYBODY ELSE FIGURE THAT OUT. SO I'M TELLING YOU THAT TO BASICALLY VALIDATE THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR WORK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PROVIDING OUR REPORTS TO US. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HELPING OUR TEAM GET ALL OF OUR KIDS WHERE THEY NEED TO GET. FAIR ENOUGH? ABSOLUTELY. NO, I DEFINITELY THINK OF MYSELF AS SUPPORT. I RUN NUMBERS. I HELP FOLKS PROVIDE THEM WITH INFORMATION SO THEY CAN GO DO THE HEAVY LIFTING WITH OUR KIDS EVERY DAY. AND THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE DO HERE. BUT IT'S A TEAM. AND WITHOUT YOU, YOU'RE A PART OF THAT TEAM. AND IN MY MIND, AS AN ANALYTICAL GUY MYSELF, TO MAKE DECISIONS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE WHERE WE'RE AT. SO PLEASE KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY TO OUR TEAM, EVERYBODY WHO PERSONALLY HAD A ROLE IN MY DAUGHTER'S SUCCESS, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BECAUSE, MAN. AS A DAD, AS A PARENT, LIKE YOU'VE GOT A KID STRUGGLING, IT'S TOUGH. AND NOW THROUGH THE WORK OF HER AND THE TEAM AND THE TEACHERS AND EVERYBODY WHO'S INVESTED IN HER, I GET TO CELEBRATE HER AND THE NEXT MILESTONE IN HER ACADEMIC CAREER NEXT WEEK, AND I JUST REJOICE IN THAT. WITH THAT, MADAM PRESIDENT, [01:25:01] I'LL SHUT OFF. THANK YOU. THANKS, VILLAGE. OLIVIA. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT WAS EXCELLENT. AND KIM, I HAD KIND OF THE SAME QUESTION, AND I DO HAVE A COUPLE POINTS IF I CAN BE VERY QUICK FOR MY COLLEAGUES. THROUGH THE CTE COMMITTEE, AND THROUGH CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD, THE CCMR AND THE CTE PROGRAMMING GOING STARTING IN EIGHTH GRADE, AND NOW THAT FUNDING WILL BE TIED TO NOT JUST OFFERING THE PROGRAMMING BUT FINISHING THE PATH, I THINK THIS ALL TIES IN AND IT'S ALL KIND OF COMING TOGETHER. I UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES AND I KNOW THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. MY QUESTION, THOUGH, DO WE HAVE ANY INDICATION ON WHY WITH TODAY'S NUMBERS WE ARE WHERE WE ARE IN COMPARISON TO THE REGION AND THE STATE? SO THERE'S SOME UNDERLYING DATA FROM THE STATE AND THE REGION THAT THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A SPECIFIC SERIES OF COURSES CALLED COLLEGE PREP COURSES THAT THE TEA HAS DEEMED TO BE LOW QUALITY AND ARE ACTUALLY PHASING OUT EASY ACCESS TO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE DONE HERE AT DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD. LIKE OUR KIDDOS ARE TRULY EARNING THEIR CCMR RATHER THAN SITTING IN A, FOR LACK OF A WORD, A PRETTY BLOW OFF CLASS. AND SO IT'S A REAL... A TESTAMENT TO OUR COMMITMENT OF DOING THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. SO WE MIGHT LOOK BETTER IN A FEW YEARS. WE WILL ABSOLUTELY LOOK BETTER IN A FEW YEARS. THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGES. THIS IS ONE OF THEM. AND MAYBE I LOOK WORSE. WE DON'T KNOW. NO LOOKING WORSE. ONLY LOOKING BETTER. NO, IN TERMS OF THE REGION. LIKE THE REGION MAY BE AFFECTED BY SOME OF THOSE CLASSES. ABSOLUTELY. I'M NODDING OUR HEADS. YES. WITH THE PHASE-OUT OF COLLEGE PREP PROGRAMS AVAILABILITY, YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE STATE AND REGION NUMBERS DECREASE SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THAT MAKES SENSE. [9. PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSION] THANK YOU. THIS WAS WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS EVENING. WE WILL MOVE RIGHT INTO OUR 18-PLUS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT UPDATE. ALL RIGHT. I'LL INTRODUCE THIS, AND THEN I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO JAMES CONKLE AND DARYL PEARSON. IN VERY LATE DECEMBER, EARLY JANUARY, WE RECEIVED THE GMP FOR THE 18 PLUS PROJECT. IT HAD EXCEEDED THE BUDGET BY QUITE A BIT. AND SO THE TEAM VERIFIED THAT THE GMP WAS ACTUALLY WHAT WAS CORRECT, AND SO THEN WENT TO WORK ON VALUE ENGINEERING. DURING THAT TIME, THE DISTRICT INSTRUCTED THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION TEAM THAT THE BUILDING MUST FUNCTION. IT IS INTENDED. THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT. IT IS THE CURRICULUM FOR THOSE STUDENTS. IT IS MEANT TO PREPARE THEM FOR A TRANSITION INTO ADULTHOOD, LIVING ON THEIR OWN POSSIBLY, AND ALSO A VOCATION. SO THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT WE TOLD THEM. THE SECOND, IT MUST BE WITHIN THE BUDGET, THE ORIGINAL BUDGET. THE THIRD IS THAT IT NEEDS TO MATCH THE EXISTING AREA OUT THERE, AND IF WE CAN, WE WANT IT TO LOOK EXACTLY LIKE IT IS. EXACTLY LIKE WHAT WE SHOWED YOU. AND THEN THE LAST PIECE IS THE TIMELINE HAS TO BE EXPEDITED. WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS TO BUILD IT FAST. SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO DARYL PEARSON WITH PBK AND WITH JAMES CONKLE WITH THE DISTRICT, AND THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A MORE DETAILED UPDATE AND A PLAN FOR MOVING FORWARD. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT REINHOLD, TRUSTEES, DR. MORRIS-KUNTZ. I'M GOING TO EXPAND ON WHAT MR. BERRY MENTIONED. I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH YOU THE PROJECT TIMELINE AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED, SOME TASKS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AND THEN AN UPDATED TIMELINE OF WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THE PROJECT. SO THIS IS THE SCHEDULE THAT WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED. SO IN THE SUMMER OF 2025, EARLY PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS AND PLANNING GOT UNDERWAY WHILE SITES WERE BEING EVALUATED FOR THE FACILITY. SO THE PLANNING TOOK PLACE. WE WENT THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS AND DEVELOPED CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS. AND THE SCHEDULE FOR THE BOARD PRESENTATION OF THOSE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS AT 100% COMPLETE IN DECEMBER FOR PERMITTING AND CONSTRUCTION TO TAKE PLACE TO HAVE THE FACILITY OPEN THIS SUMMER. DURING THAT WINDOW OF TIME, SO BASED ON THE SCHEDULE THAT WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED, THE PROJECT WOULD BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION TODAY. I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE TIMELINE AND WHERE WE ARE. YOU SEE THAT WINDOW OF TIME THAT'S TAKING PLACE HERE. WE WOULD BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION TODAY, EXCEPT FOR SOME CIRCUMSTANCES. I'M GOING TO EXPLAIN THOSE TO YOU. WALK THROUGH THE PROCESS DURING THAT TIMELINE AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING. SO DURING JANUARY THROUGH TODAY, ON DECEMBER, YOU'LL SEE, AND I'LL WALK THROUGH THIS IN MORE DETAIL, IN DECEMBER WE PRESENTED THE 100% CONTRACT DOCUMENTS THAT THE BOARD APPROVED. WE RECEIVED THEN AT THAT TIME A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE PUT [01:30:01] FORWARD TO US IN JANUARY FROM SWINERTON. WHEN ERTUN GAVE US THAT NUMBER, WE IMMEDIATELY SAID THAT FAR EXCEEDS THE BUDGET. WE WENT THROUGH A PROCESS HERE, AS YOU CAN SEE, MEETINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE MULTIPLE TIMES, EVEN EVERY WEEK UP UNTIL NOW, SO THAT WE COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THIS BACK INTO BUDGET. AND THEN NOW WE'VE GOT A SCHEDULE PUT TOGETHER FOR WHAT I'LL SHOW YOU ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE AND WHERE THE PROJECT'S GOING. SO THAT'S YOUR OVERALL TIMELINE FROM JANUARY TO TODAY. UH-OH, DARYL, WHAT'D I DO? HOLD ON. I'VE GOT IT. SO IN DECEMBER, WE PRESENTED THOSE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, BOARD APPROVED IT. SITE PLAN, RENDERINGS, THOSE ARE WHAT WAS PRESENTED DURING THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY. AT THAT POINT, WE HAD THE DOCUMENTS COMPLETED AND APPROVED. THEN WE GOT NUMBERS BACK IN JANUARY FROM SWINERTON, AND THE PROJECT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY OVER BUDGET, TO THE POINT THAT WE SAID, HOLD ON, IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE. WE'VE GOT TO STOP. DURING THAT TIME FRAME, WHILE THEY WERE BIDDING IT, WE ACTUALLY TOOK IT UPON OURSELVES TO GET AN INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATOR. IT SHOWED US THAT WE'D BE A LITTLE BIT HIGH, BUT NOTHING OUT OF THE REALM THAT WE COULDN'T VALUE ENGINEER DOWN WITH A FEW MODIFICATIONS. BUT THE NUMBER WAS SO SIGNIFICANT, WE PRESSED PAUSE. SO AT THAT POINT, WE SAT DOWN WITH SWINERTON AND SAID, OKAY, WHAT ARE OUR NON-NEGOTIABLES HERE? WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE PROGRAMS. WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANY OF THE SPACES. WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE HOW THE BUILDING FUNCTIONS. WE'RE NOT CHANGING THE AESTHETICS. SO WE SAT AND SAID THAT CAN'T CHANGE AND WITH THAT AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE A BUDGET THAT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. SO WITH THAT WHAT CAN WE DO? SO WE LOOKED AT COST REDUCTION MEASURES. THIS ISN'T JUST VALUE ENGINEERING. THIS IS TAKING APART EVERY COMPONENT OF THE BUILDING, EVERY COMPONENT OF THE SITE TO EVALUATE. THIS STARTED IN ABOUT MID-JANUARY AND WE BROKE EVERY COMPONENT OF THE BUILDING DOWN BECAUSE WE HAD SUCH A BIG DELTA IN THE NUMBERS THAT CAME BACK FROM SWINERTON. AND WHAT WE HAVE IS A BUDGET. SO WE BROKE DOWN. LET'S LOOK AT ALL THE SCOPE. LET'S MEET WITH THE SUBS. LET'S FIND OUT, DOES EVERYBODY FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS SCOPE? LET'S LOOK, DO WE HAVE ANY OVERLAPPING DUPLICATION OF SCOPE? EVERY PIECE OF THIS, BASED ON THE NUMBERS THAT WE GOT BACK, WE BROKE THAT DOWN. THEN WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF LOOKING AT COST REDUCTION, HAVING COST REDUCTION MEETINGS. SO HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS MORE EFFICIENT? HOW CAN WE MODIFY THE FOUNDATION? EVERY PIECE OF THIS. HOW CAN WE? MOVE THE BUILDING TO MITIGATE THE AMOUNT OF SITE WORK BECAUSE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY ON THE SITE. SO LOOKING AT EVERY COMPONENT TO LEAVE THE BUILDING WHERE IT WAS, LEAVE THE COMPONENTS AS THEY ARE, AS IT'S DESIGNED, AND ALIGNING WITH THE BUDGET. AND THEN LOOKING AT DIFFERENT BUILDING SYSTEMS. WHAT IF THIS WAS A WOOD-FRAMED BUILDING? WHAT IF THIS WAS A PRE-ENGINEERED METAL BUILDING? SO LOOKING AT EVERY COMPONENT THAT WENT INTO THIS BUILDING, ROOFING SYSTEM, HVAC. SO WE WENT THROUGH THAT PROCESS, AND SO WE IDENTIFIED SOME COST-SAVING MEASURES. AND AGAIN, WE LOOKED AT EVERY COMPONENT. HOW DO WE REDUCE PAVEMENT BUT STILL HAVE ROOM FOR A BUS, STILL HAVE ROOM FOR PARKING? WHAT CAN WE REMOVE THAT WASN'T ORIGINALLY IN THE PROJECT? WHAT CAN WE KEEP? AGAIN, LET'S NOT CHANGE ANYTHING THAT'S GOING ON INSIDE THAT BUILDING, BUT HOW CAN WE MAKE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO REDUCE THE COST? SO YOU'LL SEE A LIST OF THEM THERE. THEN WE JUST REVISITED THAT WITH... THE BUILDER AND WITH THE DISTRICT TEAM JUST TO CLARIFY WE'RE NOT GOING TO EXCEED THAT BUDGET THAT'S BEEN ESTABLISHED AND APPROVED SO THEN FEBRUARY MARCH WE WE TOOK IT UPON OURSELVES TO SAY HOW CAN WE EVALUATE THAT SITE HOW CAN WE DEAL WITH SOME OF THAT TOPOGRAPHY THAT'S THERE SO WE MITIGATE THE EARTHWORK UTILITY WORK AND HOW CAN WE RECONFIGURE THE PARKING TO MAKE THAT MORE EFFECTIVE SO IT'S LESS EXPENSIVE SITE WORK AND THEN WE MADE SOME MODIFICATIONS THAT YOU SEE HERE LISTED IN THESE BULLET ITEMS. AND THEN AGAIN, WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE BUILDING. CAN IT BE WOOD-FRAMED? CAN IT BE A PRE-ENGINEERED METAL BUILDING? CAN WE REDUCE SOME OF THE DIMENSIONS OF THE BUILDING A BIT TO STILL GIVE THE APPEARANCE, BUT MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE EFFECTIVE FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES? CAN WE MODIFY THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM SO IT STILL FUNCTIONS JUST FINE, BUT MAYBE ISN'T A ROBUST COMMERCIAL SYSTEM, BUT MAYBE A SPLIT SYSTEM THAT STILL SERVES THE BUILDING BASED ON ITS SQUARE FOOTAGE? SO WE LOOKED AT EVERY COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT, AMEN. WE DECIDED THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO BEAT THAT ESTABLISHED BUDGET. WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SOME MODIFICATIONS OF THE BUILDING. IT'LL STILL HAVE EFFECTIVELY THE SAME APPEARANCE THAT WE'VE ALREADY PRESENTED, BUT DOING THE BUILDING A BIT DIFFERENTLY TO REDUCE COSTS. SO WE MET AS A TEAM AND AGREED WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF CHANGING THOSE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, MEETING WITH SWINERTON TO FINALIZE THESE COMPONENTS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR THE BUILDING TO MAKE SURE IT MATCHES THE BUDGET. AND THEN WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT... ALL THE PERMITTING EFFORTS ARE STILL UNDERWAY, THAT THAT'S ALL TAKING PLACE SO THE BUILDING CAN GET INTO CONSTRUCTION RAPIDLY, AND ACCELERATING AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO STILL MAKE SURE THAT THE [01:35:01] PROJECT HAPPENS AS WE'RE GETTING NUMBERS TO MAKE SURE THEY ALIGN WITH THE BUDGET. SO IF YOU LOOK FORWARD, MOVING AHEAD, WHERE'S THIS PROJECT GOING? THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, THE UPDATED CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS FOR THE NEW BUILDING, THE REVISED BUILDING, THEY'RE GOING TO BE COMPLETED AT THE END OF THIS WEEK, APRIL 3RD. SWINNERTON IS COMMITTED TO HAVE A NUMBER TO US FOR THE FOR GMP ONE WHICH EFFECTIVELY YOUR SITE UTILITY WORK ON THE 15TH OF APRIL THAT WILL BE COMING WE WILL BE ISSUING THEM THE DOCUMENTS FOR PACKAGE ONE ON THE I'M SORRY THAT WILL BE COMING TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL IN YOUR APRIL BOARD MEETING THEN SWINNERTON IS GOING TO MOBILIZE AND BE ON SITE THE BEGINNING OF MAY THEN THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE, WE'LL BE ISSUING CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PROJECT SO THAT THEY CAN DELIVER A GMP IN JUNE. AND THEN CONSTRUCTION TO BE COMPLETED JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS OF THIS YEAR. SO WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, BACK UP TO ANY SLIDES. THAT'S A LOT IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY CAPTURED THAT PROPERLY AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE. HONESTLY, ACTUALLY, LET'S JUST DO THAT. IF EVERYONE DOES HAVE QUESTIONS, CAN WE GO DOWN THE LINE AND KEEP YOUR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS MINIMAL? BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL DO HAVE THINGS TO SAY. SO WE'LL START WITH YOU, SHANDA. WE'LL START WITH MARY JANE. ROB, MAYBE YOU ACTUALLY GO LAST. LET'S DO KEN. THANK YOU, DR. WENDELL. SURE, SURE. I'LL START. OKAY. OKAY, I HAVE FIRST SOME COMMENTS. I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS PROJECT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS OUT THERE WHO HAVE BEEN JUST WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING FOR THIS TO GO. AND THE TIMELINE THAT WE HAD GIVEN THEM WAS A GOOD TIMELINE FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, AND SO THEY WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. AND I WAS REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT. YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO THE GROUNDBREAKING, WE DID ALL THE THINGS THAT WE DO. AND THEN IT'S TAKEN A REALLY LONG TIME FOR THIS PROJECT TO GET GOING AND I'M SUPER SAD ABOUT THAT FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT THAT ARE A PART OF THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY ARE AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT EXACTLY WOULD HAVE HAPPENED? DID THEY NOT UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT? LIKE WHAT WENT WRONG? SO WE'VE DISSECTED EVERY PIECE OF THIS PROJECT. MORE THAN YOU WOULD FOR A BUILDING SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER PROPORTIONS THAN THIS 18 PLUS PROJECT. TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST WHAT WE MIGHT EXPERIENCE, DEPENDING ON SINCE THIS PROJECT GOT LATE IN THE BOND CYCLE, WE WENT OUT AND GOT AN ESTIMATOR AND SAID, LOOK, ARE WE IN JEOPARDY HERE? WE FOUND A LITTLE BIT OF OVERAGE, BUT NOTHING WE COULDN'T OVERCOME. WE WERE COMPLETELY SURPRISED THAT THE MARKET FROM SWINDLETON AND SUBCONTRACTORS TOLD US THE PROJECT WAS GOING TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY OVER BUDGET. SO AT THAT POINT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IRRESPONSIBLE FOR US TO NOT STOP AND SAY, WE'VE GOT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AND DISSECT EVERY PIECE OF IT. SO TO ANSWER, GIVEN THAT WE DON'T ENGAGE SUBCONTRACTORS, GIVEN THAT WE DON'T PULL THOSE NUMBERS, BUT WE CERTAINLY COULD REACT TO THEM AND BREAK THE JOB APART THE SECOND THAT WE FOUND THAT OUT. IT'S CAUSED TIME TO TAKE BY. SO WHEN YOU SAY WHAT HAPPENED, WE WERE REALLY SHOCKED AT WHAT THE MARKET TOLD US, BUT IMMEDIATELY RESPONDED, AND IT'S TAKEN SOME TIME. OKAY. YEAH, I MEAN, I AGREE WITH THAT, AND I KNOW CONSTRUCTION, AND I KNOW IT'S HARD, AND IT JUST IS. I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF DISAPPOINTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND SO I'M REALLY SAD FOR THEM. WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REMOVING A GARDEN, WHAT TYPE OF GARDEN WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN? I MEAN, OR EVEN THE REMOVAL OF ITEMS THAT COULD BE ADDED LATER. IN MY BRAIN AS A TAXPAYER, I'M LIKE, LET'S BUILD IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. WHAT EXACTLY WOULD THAT MEAN? DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS, IT WAS EXPRESSED THAT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE, IF WE COULD, A GREENHOUSE AND A GARDEN SPACE IN THE BACK. AND SO THAT WASN'T ORIGINALLY A PART OF THE SCOPE. IT BECAME A PART OF THE SCOPE. WE MADE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT WE COULD AND COULDN'T REDUCE FROM THE SCOPE AS IT EVOLVED. THAT WAS ONE OF THEM. OKAY. KEEP IN MIND ALSO, I'LL JUST ADD, THAT THAT CAN BE ADDED ON. RIGHT. SO WE HAVEN'T SPENT BOND FUNDS. WE CAN GO BACK AND ADD A GARDEN BACK IN. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW THAT THAT PROGRAM IS GOING TO WANT, AND SO WE'RE STILL GOING TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM THAT. OKAY. YEAH, AND THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. IT'S JUST THE TRIGGERING OF WE'LL COME BACK LATER. I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WANT THIS PROJECT. BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE, YOU KNOW, THE TIMELINE, BUT JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE BEING MINDFUL OF THAT. NO DOUBT. THANK YOU. ARE WE GOING FOR THE DISTRICT? [01:40:02] I JUMPED BACK IN. I'M TRYING TO GO DOWN THE ROAD. I'M SORRY. YOU CAN GO AHEAD AGAIN. YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE WALLS, LIKE BUILDING A DIFFERENT KIND OF WALL. I MEAN, WE JUST REPLACED AWNING. AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE IT BLEW OFF IN THE WIND. IS THIS A GOOD REPLACEMENT WALL THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT? NONE OF THIS WOULD CHANGE THE DURABILITY OF THE BUILDING, BUT IT WOULD CHANGE THE CONSTRUCTION TYPE. IT'S NOT COMMON, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT A BUILDING LIKE THIS WOULD BE WOOD-FRAMED. IT'S NOT COMMON THAT THIS MIGHT BE A PRE-ENGINEERED METAL BUILDING. IT COULD BE ANY OF THOSE THINGS. THIS WAS A STRUCTURAL STEEL PROJECT ORIGINALLY DESIGNED. WITH A MORE ROBUST FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT IT. WE'VE LOOKED AT REEVALUATING THAT TO STILL GET YOU THE SAME BUILDING, THE SAME FUNCTIONALITY, THE SAME DURABILITY, BUT IN A LESS EXPENSIVE, MAYBE NOT AS CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION METHOD THAT YOU'D HAVE IN A BUILDING LIKE THIS TYPE OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT. OKAY. OKAY. AND THEN I'M HOPING IN THE FUTURE THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT CARRYING OVER BALANCES FROM PREVIOUS BONDS THAT WE DON'T COMPLETELY... EXPAND THAT WE COULD MAYBE LOOK AT GETTING MONEY FOR THEIR GARDEN OR THEIR, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT THEM TO HAVE THE THINGS IN THAT BUILDING FOR THOSE TRANSITION SERVICES. AND I JUST THOUGHT THAT GARDEN WAS A REALLY GREAT OPTION, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE BALANCES AS WE START CLOSING OUT THOSE BOND PROJECTS TO MAYBE CONSIDER JUST A THOUGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'LL TRY TO BE VERY QUICK. THE FIRST THING IS THE NUMBER, THE GAP BETWEEN THE BOND APPROVED AMOUNT, WHICH I THINK WAS LIKE 3.1 OR 3.2 AND THE 2.75, THAT'S THE SOFT COST, CORRECT? YES. SO THERE'S STILL GOING TO BE 2.75, WE'RE TALKING VERTICAL. WELL, OKAY, CONSTRUCTION COST ONLY. IN THE PROCESS, AT WHAT POINT DOES THE CONTRACTOR, THIS MIGHT BE FOR HIM, NOT FOR YOU, BUT AT WHAT POINT DOES THE CONTRACTOR RECEIVE THE BUDGET? I UNDERSTAND WE DESIGN FIRST AND THEN WE GO TO MARKET. THIS ONE WAS BUILT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE WE WERE IN A RUSH TO GET THIS THING DONE. WE ACTUALLY PROCURED PBK TO GET STARTED ON THIS BEFORE. SO SWINERTON WAS KIND OF BEHIND A-BALL ON THIS ONE BECAUSE THEY GOT A FINISHED DESIGN TO PRICE OUT. SO THIS ONE WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. BECAUSE THE SPEED FACTOR. OKAY. SO IN OTHER WORDS, THEY REALLY DIDN'T START WITH A BUDGET. WE JUST GAVE THEM THE DESIGNS, WE HAD FINISHED CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, AND THEN WE GOT THE WE HAD SOME INTERNAL MEASURES. LIKE PPK HAD THEIR OWN. I HAD MY OWN. OBVIOUSLY, I'M THE ONE THAT BUILT THE BUDGET. THAT'S WHY I'M STANDING UP HERE. SO THIS IS A BUDGET MISSED BY ME, BY THE DISTRICT. BUT WE BUILT THIS IN 22. AND THIS ONE LANDS IN A WEIRD AREA BECAUSE WE DON'T GET OUR BIG SUBS BIDDING THIS, LIKE THE GUYS THAT ARE GOING TO DO THE HIGH SCHOOL OR THE ELEMENTARY, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE HOUSE GUYS DOING IT EITHER. SO IT IS IN THIS MIDDLE LANE, AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK THE OFFSET'S REALLY HURT US BAD. IT'S A SMALL MARKET, AND THOSE GUYS, THEY KNOW WHERE THEY'RE AT, AND IT'S NOT A BID. OKAY. AND THEN I'LL HOLD THIS FOR THE DISTRICTS LATER. THANK YOU. ROB. ALL RIGHT. A COUPLE THINGS. FIRST, I WANT TO START WITH THE POSITIVES. I'VE BEEN IN THE SPORT NOW ALMOST FOUR YEARS. I'M GOING TO START MY FOURTH YEAR. YOU GUYS HAVE EARNED A LOT OF TRUST WITH ME BECAUSE WE DO THIS WELL. WE DO. HOW MANY MILLIONS, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS HAVE WE OVERSEEN SINCE WE'VE ALL BEEN TOGETHER? 300 PLUS MILLION? THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED BEFORE. SO FIRST, LET'S ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. A LOT OF GOODNESS, A LOT OF HARD WORK, AND A LOT OF EXCELLENCE. THIS ONE FELL SHORT OF ALL THOSE EXPECTATIONS. AND IT'S SAD BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY BROKE GROUND FOR THIS. SO IT'S A LITTLE EMBARRASSING FOR US. I SEE Y'ALL SEE THAT A LITTLE BIT. WE'RE NOT OKAY WITH THIS. ALL RIGHT, SECONDLY, SO WE GOT NO PRICE AT DD FOR THIS, AT 50% DD. THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THE CMR PROCESS. WE GOT RELEASED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS AND COMPLETED THOSE INSIDE OF A MONTH. SO ON A VERY COMPRESSED TIME FRAME. SO NOBODY PRICED DD? DURING THAT, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A CM ON BOARD, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER ON BOARD, WE TOOK IT UPON OURSELVES TO ENGAGE. A COST ESTIMATOR TO MAKE SURE WITHIN SOME GUARDRAILS OF WHERE THIS THING WILL LAND COMPARED TO THE BUDGET. IT DID SHOW THAT WE'D COME IN A LITTLE BIT HIGH, NOTHING ON THE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE OF WHAT WE RECEIVED FROM SWINERTON. SO BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE PRE-CONSTRUCTION SERVICES WITH THE CM RIDING WITH US THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE THOUGHT LET'S GIVE OURSELVES A GUT CHECK AND GO OUT TO THE, AT LEAST GO OUT TO A COST ESTIMATOR TO SEE WHERE WE'RE LANDING. BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF SOMEONE PRICING THAT ALONG WITH US, WE TOOK THAT MEASURE. AND FELT FAIRLY COMFORTABLE WE'D BE A BIT HIGH, BUT NOTHING LIKE WE RECEIVED. WELL, NORMALLY YOU GIVE, WHAT, A 10% TO 20% ESTIMATED CONTINGENCY IN A PROJECT, RIGHT? WERE WE STILL WITHIN OUR GUARDRAILS, ROUGHLY? CORRECT. OKAY. YES, SIR. AND I'M FINE WITH THAT. AND AGAIN, TO JAMES' POINT, WE RUSHED THIS, AND I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT IT, BUT I DIDN'T STOP IT. AND THAT'S ON ME. IF I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT IT, I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED IT THEN, AND I DIDN'T, SO I'M NOT GOING TO BLAME ANYBODY FOR THAT BUT ME. OKAY? ALL RIGHT, SPEAKING OF THAT, OKAY, SO WE BROUGHT ON A NEW CMAR, BRAND NEW TO DRIP. ARE WE CONFIDENT? [01:45:02] AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS, THAT WE HAVE THE TRADE BASE WITHIN THAT GROUP TO FACILITATE THIS PROJECT BASED ON THE REVISED DESIGN THAT YOU ARE PUTTING TOGETHER. I'M ASKING FOR AN HONEST ANSWER HERE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PAST THE POINT OF MODIFYING OUR DELIVERY METHOD FOR THIS PROJECT. HONEST, SWINBURTON HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT SLOW KIND OF GETTING TO THE GAME ON THIS. I MEAN, THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CMR EXPERIENCE WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS. WE KNEW THAT WHEN WE HIRED THEM, A BIG COMMERCIAL FIRM. ACTUALLY, THE WAY THAT WE'RE GOING ABOUT WITH THIS BUILDING... LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE A WOOD CONSTRUCTION. THEY HAVE A SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE IN THAT. SO I THINK THAT'S GOING TO COME BACK TO HELP US. WE HAVE A MEETING TOMORROW TO ACTUALLY FIGURE THAT OUT, TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE METAL BUILDING COMES BACK AND THE WOOD FRAME COMES BACK. I DO HAVE SOME EARLY NUMBERS FROM THE WOOD FRAME, AND WE'RE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD. THIS IS THE BIGGEST BUDGET PROBLEM I'VE EVER HIT IN MY WHOLE CAREER. ALL THE WAY BACK TO LAND OR I'VE NEVER HAD SOMETHING THIS BIG. SO IF WE ACTUALLY LAND THIS PLANE WITH THIS BUDGET, I'LL BE PRETTY PROUD. WELL, IT'S TIGHT. I WILL AGREE. IT'S TIGHT. WE ALL KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A LITTLE TIGHT. SO WE'RE THINKING EITHER PREFAB, METAL BUILDING OR A TIMBER. IS THAT WHERE WE'RE AT? TIMBER IS PROBABLY LEADING THE WAY RIGHT NOW. OKAY. JUST SWINDLER'S IS A LITTLE BIT BETTER AT THAT. AND I JUST ASK FOR HONESTY. AND THAT'S NOT CORRECT. I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY THAT. WHAT I'M ASKING FOR IS US BEING REALISTIC AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT PARTNER AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT DELIVERY METHOD. BEFORE WE CONTINUE TO PROCEED. IS THAT FAIR TO SAY? AND TO ASK FROM YOU ALL TO MAKE SURE I DON'T THINK WE'RE PAST THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN BRING THAT BACK TO US AND WE NEED TO MODIFY THAT BECAUSE IT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THIS BUILDING. HERE'S WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO. I DON'T WANT TO COMPROMISE THIS PROJECT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE BASE, THE TRADE BASE, TO GET IT WHERE WE NEED IT TO GET IT. THAT'S WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT. SO I'M EVEN OPEN TO ANOTHER DELIVERY METHOD IF WE THINK WE WILL ACTUALLY DELIVER MORE BUILDING FOR A BETTER PRICE. I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT'S THE CASE. I AM SAYING THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S ON THE TABLE FROM MY PERSPECTIVE FOR CONSIDERATION. THIS IS PROBABLY TAKING ABOUT 30% OF MY TIME. I KNOW WE MADE A JOKE AT PBK'S OFFICE. THEY'RE GOING TO NAME THEIR CONFERENCE ROOM AFTER ME BECAUSE I'M THERE SO MUCH. BUT WE'VE BEEN PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORT INTO THIS. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT. AND TO KEEP THE BUILDING WE WANT. WE'RE GOING TO KNOW, ROBERT, I WAS TRYING TO GET, AS I WAS TRYING TO GET THAT ANSWER FOR YOU FOR THIS MEETING, WE'RE ABOUT A WEEK AWAY FROM HAVING THAT. ALL RIGHT. WELL, I THINK WE NEED TO KNOW, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO BRING US NUMBERS. LET ME GET TO MY NEXT DEAL. MADAM PRESIDENT, I'M DOWN. I PROMISE. OKAY? ON THE 27TH MEETING, I HAVE THREE IN ORDER TO GET ME TO A YES, THERE ARE THREE THINGS THAT MUST BE DELIVERED. AND COLLEAGUES, I HOPE THAT YOU SHARE THIS DESIRE TO SEE THESE THREE THINGS. FIRST, I WANT REVISED RENDERINGS. EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THIS BOARD NEEDS TO SEE WHAT THIS BUILDING IS GOING TO GET FOR THE $2.75 MILLION THAT WE'RE GOING TO AUTHORIZE FOR THE PROJECT. WE DON'T HAVE IT, SO WE NEED THAT. SECONDLY, I WANT TO SEE REVISED CDS. AND THIRDLY, I WANT TO SEE A BY-DIVISION COST ESTIMATE, HARD COST, BY-DIVISION FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT. NOT ESTIMATES, NOT ROMS, HARD COST THAT WE'RE READY TO GO THAT PRECEDES BOTH GMP1 ON THE 27TH OF APRIL. AND GMP NUMBER TWO ON THE 22ND BECAUSE WHAT I DO NOT I'M NOT COMFORTABLE VOTING FOR IS APPROVING YOU TO GO FORWARD WITH GMC1 ON THE 27TH OF APRIL, NOT FULLY KNOWING WHAT THE BUILDING COST IS GOING TO BE BASED ON HARD COSTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM OUR TRADES. ARE THOSE FAIR REQUESTS? I WOULD SAY THEY'RE FAIR. I'M A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT GIVING YOU GUYS OR GIVING YOU HARD COSTS. I MEAN BID IT. I MEAN EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ESTIMATED. WE NEED TO BID IT. WE NEED TO BID IT. WE'RE GOING TO BID IT OUT TO OUR SUBCONTRACTORS NEXT MONTH. I'M CONCERNED BECAUSE WE CAN'T PROVE GMP1 IF WE DON'T KNOW AND WE HAVEN'T BID THE BUILDING. WE THINK WE'RE THERE, BUT WHEN YOU'RE SAYING 100% GUARANTEE, I CAN'T DO THAT UNTIL THE SUBS ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT. WELL, I'LL SAY BASICALLY TO GET FIDELITY, I NEED THOSE THREE THINGS. BECAUSE HERE'S THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IS WE'RE NOT AT IT, NOT EVEN CLOSE. THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IS WE SPEND MONEY ON THIS PROJECT, AND NOW WE HAVE A COST OVERRUN, A SUBSTANTIAL ONE. WHICH IS WHAT WE WOULD HAVE FACED IF WE APPROVED GMP 1 TO BEGIN WITH. I AGREE. THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. SO, MADAM SUPERINTENDENT, I DO ASK THAT THOSE THINGS BE PROVIDED TO THE BOARD TO WHATEVER EXTENT IS FEASIBLE TO GIVE US FIDELITY THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO REACH ANOTHER PROBLEM DOWNSTREAM. WE PROBABLY NEED ONE MORE MONTH, AND THAT WOULD ELIMINATE GMP 1 AND 2. WE'D JUST BRING YOU ONE. AT THAT POINT, WE'D HAVE A FULLY BID JOB, AND WE'D JUST BRING YOU ONE GMP. AND I'LL END WITH THIS, MADAM PRESIDENT. I DO APPRECIATE US ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM AND GOING, STOP, LET'S FIGURE THIS OUT BEFORE WE GET TOO FAR DOWN THE RIDE AND WE DELIVER SOMETHING THAT EITHER COST WAY TOO MUCH OR WE HAD TO VALUE ENGINEER THE PROJECT OR CUT SO MUCH OUT OF THE PROJECT THAT IT DIDN'T MEET THE INTENT. SO FOR THAT, I DO APPRECIATE THAT EFFORT VERY, VERY MUCH. WITH THAT, I YIELD. THANK YOU. SO EVEN AFTER LISTENING TO SEVERAL COLLEAGUES, I'M STILL UNCLEAR OF THE WHY BEHIND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS OUTSIDE ESTIMATOR BECAUSE I KNOW YOUR FIRM WOULD ONLY GET A HIGHLY QUALIFIED ONE. I'M STILL NOT UNDERSTANDING HOW [01:50:01] THERE COULD STILL BE THAT CHASM IN BETWEEN ONE SET OF NUMBERS AND THE OTHER. SO I CAN TELL YOU, NOR DO I, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY WE IMMEDIATELY STOPPED THE PROJECT, BECAUSE I WOULD RATHER BE HERE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT A GAP IN TIME WHERE WE'VE BEEN WRESTLING WITH THIS PROJECT. THAN PROCEEDING KNOWING WE'RE OVER AND KNOWING WE DIDN'T HAVE A PATH TO REEL THAT BACK IN. AND THE GAP WAS SO SIGNIFICANT, UNLIKE I'VE SEEN ON A PROJECT OF THIS SCALE OR ANY OTHER SCALE. THAT IT CAUSED US TO HAVE TO STOP IMMEDIATELY. I MEAN, COULD WE PROBABLY HAVE BEEN BACK TO YOU IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE SO YOU SAW THIS WAS GOING? COULD HAVE. BUT GIVEN THAT WE'RE HERE, WE STOPPED THAT BECAUSE IT WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH THAT THAT BAD NEWS WAS NOT GOING TO AGE WELL. AND SO WE IMMEDIATELY JUMPED ON IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A BIG GAP BETWEEN THIS. BETWEEN THIS ESTIMATE THAT WE HAD PUT TOGETHER BY A PROFESSIONAL ESTIMATOR AND THE NUMBERS WE JUST GOT BACK. SO WE IMMEDIATELY HAD TO REEL IN. WE DON'T NORMALLY PULL PEOPLE, SUBCONTRACTORS IN. WE DON'T NORMALLY ENGAGE THEM TO PICK THINGS APART. WE HAD TO UNDO EVERY SCREW IN THIS BUILDING AND EVERY PIECE OF MATERIAL IN THIS BUILDING AND BREAK IT DOWN. AND THAT'S ALSO NOT SOMETHING THAT A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER IS USUALLY USED TO US DOING AGGRESSIVELY WITH THEM THAT WAY, BUT WE'VE HAD TO. AND SO THAT... SO IF YOUR QUESTION IS WHY THE AMOUNT OF TIME, IT'S THAT. AND IT'S BEEN PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. SMALL PROJECT, VERY IMPACTFUL, VERY IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT A LOT TO UNCOVER TO FIGURE OUT WHY ARE THOSE NUMBERS SO HIGH. OKAY, AND THEN SECONDLY, JUST LOOKING AT THE LONG LENS OF HISTORY WITH THIS SPECIAL POPULATION, I JUST HOPE THAT WE DON'T, IN A RUSH, TO FIX IT. AND A RUSH TO NOW BE DONE BY DECEMBER, IF THERE'S AN ALTERNATIVE PATH, IT WOULD JUST TAKE A FEW MORE MONTHS. I MEAN, WE ARE WHERE WE ARE, BUT I'M STILL REALLY UNCLEAR ON ALL THIS, AND I GUESS IT'S PART OF WHAT ROB WAS GETTING TO OF THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE CHANGING THE LOCATION ON THE SITE TO SAVE ON SITE WORK. I MEAN, SOME OF THAT CAN BE, YOU KNOW, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. YEAH, AND WITH THE... THIS WILL BE THE POTENTIALLY FOREVER SITE FOR THIS PROGRAM. SO IT'S REALLY MORE FOR MY COLLEAGUES THAN FOR YOU, BUT I JUST DON'T WANT TO RUSH. JUST TO REITERATE ONE THING, JUST IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. WE HAVE BEEN SO STEADFAST IN WHY IT'S TAKEN SOME OF THE TIME THAT IT'S TAKEN. I MEAN, ANYBODY THAT'S A TAXPAYER HERE, WE DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF DELIVERING SOMETHING THAT THE VOTERS APPROVED AND THE VOTERS HAD COMMITTED, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMETHING THAT'S IMPACTFUL LIKE THIS FACILITY IS. AND NOT HAVE IT LOOK LIKE YOU GOT MOST OF THE WAY THERE BUT NOT QUITE RIGHT AND YOU SPENT GOOD MONEY ON IT BUT DIDN'T GET WHAT YOU WHAT YOU PRESENTED TO THE TAXPAYERS THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS EFFORT IS FOR AND WE WE VERY UPFRONT WHEN WE STOP THIS PROCESS PUT SOME WHAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO COMPROMISE ON PARAMETERS IN PLACE AND GUARD RAILS AND THE BUDGET STILL LEFT WHERE IT IS AND SO WE'VE HELD FAST TO THAT AND YES IT'S TAKEN SOME TIME IT CERTAINLY HAS BUT I WILL TELL YOU WE DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF DELIVERING A PROJECT THAT FELL SHORT OF WHAT WHAT THE VOTERS APPROVED AND WHAT YOU FOLKS PUT IN THE CONFIDENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY. WE JUST DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. I THINK WE'RE ALL KIND OF IN SHOCK OVER THIS, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OUR ORIGINAL BOND AMOUNT FOR THIS PROJECT INCLUDED BUYING LAND, RIGHT? OKAY, SO THIS WAS ORIGINALLY ONLY THE BUILDING. OKAY, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT. ADDED TO MY SHOCK THAT I WAS FEELING. AND I DON'T KNOW WHO ASKED IT, BUT HOW DID SWINERTON, YOU'RE SAYING THEY DIDN'T KNOW OUR BUDGET GOING INTO THIS? THEY KNEW OUR BUDGET. I MEAN, THEY WERE TALKED ABOUT IN A MEETING, BUT THE BUDGET MEETING REALITY IS NOT THE SAME. SO YOU CAN KNOW THE BUDGET. WAS EXACTLY. WAY OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE COULD AFFORD. NO, NO. THAT'S WHAT'S SO HARD FOR US TO ANSWER. THAT'S WHAT I DON'T GET. IS THE SIZE OF THIS BUILDING IS JUST KIND OF ITS OWN LITTLE... MOST OF THE TIME, ESPECIALLY IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WE'RE BUILDING 100,000, 500,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDINGS. THIS THING'S 5,000 SQUARE FEET. THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF VE ROOM FOR IT. AND THAT SUB-MARKET JUST MISSED IT. WE MISSED IT. SO THERE'S NOT A GOOD EXPLANATION. WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF... LIKE I SAID, WHEN WE GET THE BIG GUYS, WHEN I GET THE SMALL GUYS, WE'RE JUST IN THAT MIDDLE MARKET, AND IT'S PRETTY AGGRESSIVE. I ADDED 15% TO THIS THING WHEN I BUILT THE ORIGINAL BUDGET IN 22, KNOWING IT WAS GOING TO BE IN KIND OF A FLUFF MARKET. THAT MARKET, THAT WAS WAY, WAY, WAY LOW. I MEAN, THIS MARKET WAS ALMOST DOUBLE WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN [01:55:01] IF IT WAS A LARGE-SCALE PROJECT. I'LL KIND OF STAND WITH MARY JANE HERE THAT MY, YOU KNOW, THE SLIDE ENDS ON SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR DECEMBER? SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION. MOVE IN. THAT MEANS IT'S DONE, DONE. DONE, DONE. I SHARE THE SAME CONCERN ABOUT GETTING TO DECEMBER AND BEING IN THE SITUATION AGAIN OR GETTING CLOSE AND THEN SAYING, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING IT AGAIN. SO I JUST WANT A REALLY CLEAR. TIMELINE KIND OF WHAT WHAT ROB WAS SAYING AND WHERE WE'RE NOT IN THIS SITUATION AGAIN WHERE WE'RE HAVING TO SAY SORRY WE'RE PUSHING IT BEFORE BEFORE WE HAVE A FINAL DECISION. I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE TO KNOW THAT I WOULD SAY TO ACCOMPLISH YOU GUYS GOALS WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE WOULD FINISH WE FINISH 100% DDS GET READY TO GO TO OUR CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS WE ACTUALLY BID THAT OUT TO SWANTON PICK OUR DELIVERY METHOD WHETHER WE HAVE A WOOD OR METAL BID THAT THING OUT, HARD BID THAT OUT. WE HAVE THE PLANS, FULL SET OF PLANS, A FULL BUDGET FOR YOU THAT WAS ACTUALLY TO THE SUB-MARKET THAT WAS GUARANTEED, GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE, AND THEN BRING THAT TO YOU. THAT WOULD SATISFY BASICALLY ALL YOUR REQUIREMENTS. FULL PRICE GUARANTEE, FULL TIMELINE GUARANTEE, FULL DELIVERY METHOD GUARANTEE. THAT'S HOW WE DO THAT. THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY WAY TO ACCOMPLISH ALL YOUR QUESTIONS IN ONE SUM. I JUST WANT TO REWIND FOR A MINUTE, NOT DIRECTLY TO Y'ALL, BUT JUST FOR THIS PROJECT AS A WHOLE, BECAUSE I DO WANT TO MAKE CLEAR TO THIS BOARD BODY, AS WELL AS ANYBODY LISTENING, THE REASON IT HAS TAKEN SO LONG IS BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH CARE AND DILIGENCE TOWARDS THIS PROJECT. THIS IS A VERY HIGHLY SENSITIVE POPULATION. IT'S A VERY VULNERABLE POPULATION IN OUR DISTRICT, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING BECAUSE SOME OF THE EARLY CONVERSATIONS WE HAD, THERE WAS TALK THAT ACTUALLY A HOME WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD INVESTMENT FOR THIS PROJECT. AND THEN IN VERY EARLY RUDIMENTARY CONVERSATIONS, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT TO RETROFIT A HOME WOULD ACTUALLY COST MORE THAN WHAT WE ENDED UP PUTTING INTO A BOND LINE ITEM. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF BOTH BUDGET EARLY CONVERSATIONS EVEN BEFORE WE EVER EVEN WENT TO BOND WORKSHOPS FOR THIS PROJECT. AND EARLY, LIKE REALLY CARE AND CONCERN. I MEAN, I REMEMBER A CONVERSATION WITH HOLLY THAT THOUGHT REALLY A HOMEY ENVIRONMENT IS MAYBE THE BEST FOR THIS KIND OF, FOR THIS PROGRAM IN OUR DISTRICT. AND SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT. I JUST DON'T, I WANT TO BE CLEAR. I DO NOT WANT TO THROW ANYBODY UNDER THE BUS. I DO NOT THINK THIS WAS ANY ONE PERSON'S FAILURE, ULTIMATELY. THERE MAY BE ONE PEOPLE THAT I'M MORE UPSET WITH THAN OTHERS, AND THEY'RE NOT IN THIS ROOM. BUT I DO THINK THAT I AGREE WITH SEVERAL OF MY BOARD COLLEAGUES. IF IT WILL TAKE LONGER TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, TO NOT RUSH TO FAILURE, I WANT TO ENTERTAIN WHATEVER THAT OPTION IS. BECAUSE MY FIRST FEELING HEARING THIS IS... IS THIS GOING TO BE LIKE A BARN DOOR WHERE, YOU KNOW, IS THIS GOING TO BE LIKE OUR CHURCH BUILDING WHERE WE HEAR THE WIND AND WE HEAR THE BAND NEXT DOOR DURING CHURCH SERVICE EVERY SUNDAY BECAUSE THE MATERIALS ARE SOMEWHAT CHEAP ON THE WALLS AND IT'S THIN AND THIS IS GOING TO BE ON A FAIRLY BUSY ROAD AND THIS IS GOING TO BE FOR THE PERPETUITY OF THIS ENTIRE PROGRAM. SO I PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TWO THOUGHTS. ONE, WHY DO THEY GET THE COST SO DIFFERENT FROM THE THIRD-PARTY COST ESTIMATOR, AND TWO, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO, IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO REALLOCATE BOND FUNDS THROUGHOUT A PROJECT? OR THAT WOULD, WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO GET IT WITHIN, LIKE WHAT ARE, I'M CURIOUS FROM THE LEGAL LEGISLATIVE LIMITATIONS MOST RECENTLY ON BOND FUNDS, IS THERE ANY WAY TO USE THANK YOU. LIKE SOME OF OUR LAND DOLLARS TO, YOU KNOW, BUFFER. I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT ARE EVEN, IF THERE IS AN OPTION FOR THAT. BECAUSE IF IT'S SAYING SOMETHING LIKE $3 MILLION, I'M JUST THROWING OUT A NUMBER, OR EVEN $3.5 TO GET IT RIGHT AND KEEP US ON A GOOD TIMELINE HERE, AND IT'S WITHIN LEGAL PARAMETERS THAT WE WOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH OUR BOND FUNDS THAT ARE UNSPENT, I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN THAT. KIND OF OPTION TOO. BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER MATERIALS END UP GETTING USED ARE NOT CHEAP. I KNOW YOU SAID, DARYL, THEY'RE NOT CHEAPENING, BUT I REALLY... I WANT TO PUSH YOU ON THAT. ARE WE NOT CHEAPENING THIS PROJECT? I'M JUST GOING TO THROW OUT TWO. [02:00:01] I CAN IMAGINE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF ADA REQUIREMENTS, A LOT OF FEDERAL THINGS THAT GO INTO A BUILDING LIKE THIS. THIS IS NOT JUST LIKE BUILDING A HOME. THIS IS ACTUALLY QUITE A BIT. AND SO I'M GUESSING SUBS HAVE GOTTEN MORE EXPENSIVE BECAUSE THEY PROBABLY HAVE MONOPOLY ON THEIR LITTLE AREA OF EXPERTISE. I MEAN, I KNOW LABOR IS A HUGE SHORTAGE RIGHT NOW. PEOPLE ARE CHARGING A LOT MORE FOR THEIR SERVICES. JUST TO CLARIFY, BECAUSE NONE OF US WANT, AND WE'VE HELD TO THIS, IF WE CHANGE THE FRAMING MATERIAL OF THE BUILDING, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE THAT BUILDING TO WHERE ANYONE'S GOING TO EXPERIENCE THAT BEING A DIFFERENT BUILDING, A DIFFERENT AESTHETIC. WE'VE HELD TO EVEN MAKING SURE, HOW MANY FRAMES OF THAT BUILDING, AND EXTERNALLY, WE WANT TO SEE THAT BUILDING LIKE WHAT YOU PRESENTED TO THE COMMUNITY. WE WANT TO FEEL THAT BUILDING INTERNALLY, LIKE WHAT YOU PRESENTED TO THE COMMUNITY. SO THOSE GUARDRAILS AND HOLDING TRUE TO THOSE IS A PART OF WHAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN STRICT ABOUT AND ALSO HAS BEEN PART OF OUR CHALLENGE. WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR DUE DILIGENCE. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, JAMES. I KNOW THIS HAS PROBABLY TAKEN UP A LOT MORE TIME THAN WHAT YOU ALL HAD EVEN ANTICIPATED, BUT IT IS AN IMPORTANT PROJECT, AND I SHARE IN THE FRUSTRATION. I WAS JUST GOING TO SHARE WITH MY COLLEAGUES, AND I WOULD ASK ROB TO MAYBE NOD OR WHATNOT, BUT IN MY CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE, IN MY OPINION, THIS SIZE OF A BUILDING GOING WITH A WOOD FRAME, I HAVE NO CONCERNS ABOUT THE INTEGRITY, THE LONGEVITY. IT IS A REALLY GOOD ALTERNATIVE BECAUSE THIS IS ARCHITECTURALLY NOT A SOPHISTICATED BUILDING. IT'S GOING TO LAST THE SAME 70, 80 YEARS, SO I'M REALLY GOOD WITH THAT. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD COST SAVINGS. I BELIEVE, IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT YOU PRESENTED TODAY, WE ALREADY DID LOOK AT ANY LAND EXCAVATION SAVINGS, MADE THE PARKING LOT SMALLER. SO TO MARY JANE'S POINT, WE HAVE EXPLORED THAT, AND WE'VE ALREADY DRAWN THAT. SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK WITH PRICING ON IS GOING TO BE LOWER. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION WAS WHERE STEPHANIE WAS GOING, AND SCOTT, I THINK THIS IS FOR YOU. IF WE COME BACK, WE'RE GOING TO DO THE BUILDING RIGHT. WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE SACRIFICES ON THE FUNDAMENTALS. WE'VE AGREED ON THAT. I WANT TO SECOND WHAT ROB SAID. WE DID THIS BACK IN 2022. I THINK THE INITIAL NUMBERS, LAND WAS IN A SEPARATE LINE ITEM. WE THOUGHT POTENTIALLY WE WERE BUYING SOMETHING WITH LAND AND BUILDING. AND WHEN I SAW THE BUDGET NUMBER AND KNEW KIND OF WHERE WE WERE IN THAT SURGE THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MANY, MANY MONTHS, IN MY GUT, I THOUGHT THAT NUMBER SOUNDS REALLY LOW TO GET WHAT WE NEED. AND I THINK ROB... ROB DID TOO, AND NOW HERE WE ARE, SO MAYBE WE COULD HAVE EVEN VOICED THAT THEN. BUT THE QUESTION IS, WHAT STEPHANIE WAS SAYING, SCOTT, IF THIS COMES BACK, TO REMIND EVERYONE, WE HAD 3.4 BOND APPROVED, WE'VE GOT 650 IN DESIGN, SOFT COSTS, AND THEN 2.75. IF THIS COMES BACK AT 3.1, WHATEVER THAT X FACTOR IS, THE GAP BETWEEN, IT'S A WHAT? RANDY QUESTION? OKAY. ON WITH THE LEGISLATIVE CHANGES ON BOND ALLOCATION, CAN WE USE THAT MONEY FROM ANYWHERE ELSE? SO I WILL CHECK WITH OUR BOND COUNCIL, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING ON 23 BOND, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THAT WE'VE MADE A COMMITMENT FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. THE BUDGET... I AM REMEMBERING THIS AS YOU'RE TALKING. YOU HAVE TO USE, YOU HAVE TO GET TO, WHAT IS IT, SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION OF ALL BOND PROJECTS BEFORE YOU... YES, AND WE HAVE SPOKEN WITH BOND COUNCIL ABOUT THE USE OF LAND MONEY FOR THAT. AS LONG AS WE'VE SET ASIDE LAND MONEY, THEY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN USE THAT. THAT'S WHAT BOND COUNCIL SAYS. SO HOLLY HAD JUST SAID, THIS IS AN INTERESTING POINT BACK TO PATRICIA, SO SOMETHING LIKE THE GARDEN OR EXCESS OR EVEN MORE PAVING, THINGS LIKE THAT. COULD POTENTIALLY USE ANY EXISTING FROM THE 2023 BUT IT WOULD BE I MEAN IT'D BE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL TWO OPENS BECAUSE THAT IS IN NOW THE HIGH SCHOOL TWO IS ON THE 25 THE CONSTRUCTION'S ON 25 BOND SO WE'RE TALKING MY FIRST REACTION IS THAT WE COULD USE SAVINGS FOR IT BUT SINCE SO MUCH HAS CHANGED WAS THE LEGISLATIVE. I WOULD LIKE TO DOUBLE CHECK THAT WITH OUR BOND. DID I HEAR A WINDOW THERE FOR LAND USING POTENTIALLY PARKING LOTS, EXCAVATION, YOUR HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT? AM I HEARING A POTENTIAL FOR THAT COMING OUT OF THE LAND? WELL, OUT OF ANYTHING FROM 2023, RIGHT? BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETE LAND. SO THERE'S THE POTENTIAL FOR 2018, WHICH IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENTLY. AND OLIVIA, JUST TO YOUR POINT, IF I COULD INTERJECT WITH YOU REAL QUICK, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THAT? I AGREE ON THE BUDGET NUMBER. IT WAS KIND OF SMALL, BUT I ANTICIPATED A LARGER BUILDING. LIKE, LET ME JUST PUT THIS IN [02:05:02] YOUR BRAIN AND YOU TELL ME IF I'M CRAZY. WE'RE ABOUT 5,500 SQUARE FEET. DARYL, IS THAT ABOUT RIGHT? JUST OVER 5,000. JUST OVER 5,000 SQUARE FEET. AT 5,500, WE'RE AT 500 A FOOT. THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY A FOOT. THESE ARE VERY... I DON'T KNOW. I THINK THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. I MEAN, WHEN YOU IMAGINE HOW THEY MAKE ADA HOUSING FOR EVEN PATIENTS OR SPECIAL NEEDS, I MEAN, THOSE HOMES ARE ONLY 01,800, 2,000 SQUARE FEET, AND THOSE ARE $2 MILLION HOMES. SO, I MEAN, EVEN JUST FROM A RESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE ON A SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATION, THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT HAS TO GO INTO THIS BUILDING THAN A TYPICAL... I AGREE. AND SO THAT'S WHY 500 FOOT MAY BE THE CLOSEST NUMBER. BUT FOR US TO START EXPENDING $400, $500... FOOT ON A 5,000 SQUARE FOOT. THAT'S A LOT. IT'S A BIG NUMBER. SO MAYBE BEFORE, I LIKE THE COURSE OF ACTION THAT WE'RE ON. I THINK YOU WOULD AGREE WITH ME THAT WORKING TO THE BUDGET NUMBER THAT'S BEEN ALLOCATED WITH THE AMOUNT OF SQUARE FOOTAGE IN THE BUILDING THAT WE'VE ALREADY AUTHORIZED THROUGH THESE MEANS AND METHODS MAY BE OUR BEST APPROACH WITHOUT TRYING TO NECESSARILY LOOK FOR OTHER FUNDS AND REALLY TO CHALLENGE THAT OPPORTUNITY WITH THE MARKET. BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK YOU'VE GOT A LOT TO WORK WITH. THAT'S A LOT TO WORK WITH PER SQUARE FOOT. I DO JUST WANT TO RESPOND TO THAT AND BE CLEAR. IT WAS NOT MY SUGGESTION TO LOOK FOR OTHER FUNDS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE BEEN HERE, SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND THE... I THINK WE'RE JUST ALL LOOKING AT LOTS OF... I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. I WANT US TO FINISH THIS AT WHAT WE PUT FORTH, WHAT WE VOTED ON. I JUST THINK WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC. WE ALSO PUT A NUMBER OUT THERE FOUR YEARS AGO. BUT THE NUMBER ONE OBJECTIVE IS WE HAVE A NUMBER. I THINK WE CAN GET THERE FOR 05,000 SQUARE FEET. AND IT IS TRULY, ARCHITECTURALLY, IT'S NOT A COMPLICATED BUILDING. TRICIA? I HOPE WE COME BACK AND IT'S UNDER BUDGET AND WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT WE WANT, RIGHT? THAT'S THE GOAL. THAT'S ALWAYS THE GOAL. BUT I DID WANT TO ASK, SO THIS TIMELINE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT HERE WITH ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES' COMMENTS, CONCERNS, AND QUESTIONS, ARE WE STILL GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT WITH THIS TIMELINE OR DO WE FORESEE ANY OF THESE MILESTONES MOVED? I THINK I HAVE TO BRING THAT BACK TO YOU NEXT MONTH. OKAY. SO WE HAVE A MEETING THIS WEEK. WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH WAY WE'RE GOING. AFTER THAT, WE CAN ACTUALLY FINALIZE THE DOCUMENTS WITH THEM. THEY CAN FINISH THOSE DOCUMENTS UP, STRUCTURAL, ALL THE OTHER DISCIPLINES. WE HAVE FULLY ENGAGED PBK, BUT WE HAVE IT WITH THE SUBCONTRACTORS BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY WE'RE GOING WITH THE SUBCONSULTANTS. SO WE NEED TO RELEASE THAT TO THEM, GET THEM GOING, GET THE FULL DOCUMENTS OUT, BID THEM. SO WE HAVE THAT PRICE. WE KNOW WHAT THE PRICE IS. SO I THINK THAT WOULD MOVE A MONTH. AND THEN SWINERTON HAS BEEN. PRETTY MUCH TELL US HOW GREAT THEY ARE WITH WOOD. SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPEED SAVINGS THERE BECAUSE THEY ARE GEARED UP FOR THAT. SO THAT MIGHT BE WHERE WE CAN MAKE UP SOME TIME. BUT WE'RE GOING TO LOSE A MONTH NOT BRINGING GMP NEXT MONTH. WAIT ONE MORE MONTH. I HAVE A FULLY RACKED GMP FOR YOU GUYS THAT'S GUARANTEED, AND WE HAVE THE FULL CDS AND EVERYTHING ELSE TO SHOW YOU GUYS. OKAY, THAT'S PERFECT. THAT WAS ALL THAT I HAVE, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A PROCESS, AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME AND COMMITMENT THAT HAS GONE THROUGH TO THIS, AND I KNOW OUR KIDDOS ARE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PROGRAM. KIM? YEAH, MY FINAL COMMENT IS I WANT THESE KIDS TO HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. I DON'T WANT US TO SHORTEN ANYTHING BECAUSE OF THE BUDGET OR, I MEAN, IF WE HAVE TO TAKE AN EXTRA MONTH TO GET THESE KIDS WHAT THEY NEED. THEY DESERVE THIS FACILITY, AND I JUST DON'T WANT THINGS CUT OUT OF THIS PROJECT THAT THESE KIDS DESERVE. AND THAT'S JUST VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I APPRECIATE THE REPORT. I THINK IT'S A TOUGH SITUATION, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I WANT THESE KIDS TO HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. IF YOU GO BACK TO THE FIRST SLIDE WHERE DARYL STARTED, THAT WAS ONE OF OUR NON-NEGOTIABLES FROM THE DISTRICT'S PERSPECTIVE TELLING THEM. SO OUR FIRST MEETINGS, THAT WAS NEVER ON THE TABLE. SO THAT'S NOT PART OF THIS DISCUSSION. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, GUYS. THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. OKAY. BOARD MEMBERS, I'M MAKING THE CALL. WE'RE GOING TO SOLDIER THROUGH. WE ONLY HAVE THREE ACTION AND SOME QUICK REPORTS AND INFORMATION, AND WE HAVE A FAIRLY LONG CLOSED AS WELL. [10. CONSENT AGENDA] SO IF YOU NEED TO EXCUSE YOURSELF. BUT WE'RE GOING TO SOLDIER THROUGH UNTIL CLOSED. ALL RIGHT, NEXT IS CONSENT. I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS OR A MOTION ON THE FLOOR. MARY JANE. I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION FROM MARY JANE, SECOND FROM ROB. [11. ACTION] ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT, 7-0. OKAY, OUR FIRST ACTION CONSIDERATION APPROVAL OF THE 2026 AMENDMENT AND RENEWAL OF THE DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD INNOVATION PLAN. OKAY, GOOD EVENING. [02:10:01] I AM GOING TO BE PRESENTING THIS WITH BOTH HR AND THE BUSINESS OFFICE. SO AS YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE UP FOR RENEWAL AND AMENDMENT OF OUR DOI PLAN, DISTRICT OF INNOVATION. JUST A QUICK BACKGROUND, IT STARTED IN 2016. IT WAS INITIATED. WE DID A RENEWED PLAN IN 2021 AND NOW HERE WE ARE READY FOR AN AMENDMENT AND RENEWAL. AN AMENDMENT BECAUSE SOME OF THE RULES HAVE CHANGED AROUND WHAT YOU CAN EXEMPT AND WHAT YOU CAN NO LONGER EXEMPT. AND SO JUST AS A REMINDER, THE TIMELINE FOR THIS, IT HAS TO BE PUBLICLY POSTED FOR 30 DAYS. SO AFTER OUR LAST MEETING WITH DOI, WE DID GET IT POSTED, AND IT HAS BEEN SITTING ON OUR WEBSITE FOR 30 DAYS. AND THEN ONCE WE SEE WHAT THE BOARD WANTS TO DO TONIGHT, WE WILL THEN, IF IT GETS APPROVED, WE WILL SEND IT TO TEA FOR NOTIFICATION. TEA DOES NOT APPROVE THEM. THEY JUST GET NOTIFIED. JUST AN INTERESTING LITTLE SIDE NOTE. THESE ARE THE AREAS OF EXEMPTION THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN PLACE. SO FIRST DAY OF INSTRUCTION, THE RULES SAY YOU CAN'T START BEFORE THE FOURTH MONDAY IN AUGUST. YOU KNOW THAT WE LIKE THAT EXEMPTION SO THAT WE CAN FINISH IN MAY WHEN WE DO. SO WE'RE ASKING FOR THAT EXEMPTION AGAIN. OUR CLASS SIZE RATIO CURRENTLY, ANYTIME YOU GO OVER A CLASS SIZE RATIO, THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO DO A WAIVER TO THE STATE. IT HAS WORKED IN THE PAST SINCE 2016 TO FOREGO THAT WAIVER THAT REPORTING REQUIREMENT AND JUST HAVE SUPERINTENDENT REPORT TO THE BOARD ANY CLASSES OVER THAT WAIVER SIZE TEACHER CERTIFICATION THIS IS AN AREA THAT HAS CHANGED AND THE RULES HAVE CHANGED AROUND IT TYPICALLY WE COULD HAVE AND I'LL LET LINDA SPEAK TO THIS WE COULD HAVE HIRED A TEACHER FOR HIGH NEEDS AREA AND ALSO DIFFERENT AREAS BUT NOW THE STATE HAS SAID NOPE YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CERTIFICATION SO WE ADJUSTED THAT A LITTLE BIT AND LINDA DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING WE ARE ONLY KEEPING THE STATE RECOMMENDED CTE FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, SO WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE ANY UNCERTIFIED TEACHERS IN OUR CORE ACADEMIC LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH OR ANY OF THOSE OTHER AREAS. AND SO WE FOUND THAT OUR CTE AREAS, WE REALLY HAVE FANTASTIC, EXPERIENCED TEACHERS WHOSE WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY OR THE NON-EDUCATIONAL WORLD REALLY BENEFITS OUR STUDENTS. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM WITH OUR L&I TEAM WITH ALL THE THINGS IN THE CLASSROOM THAT THEY NEED BECAUSE THEY ALREADY BRING SUCH DEEP KNOWLEDGE FOR THE CONTENT AREAS. AND THEN THE LAST AREA THAT WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IS OUR EXEMPTION FOR T-TEST, EVEN THOUGH THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING T-TEST FOR TIA. THIS GIVES US FLEXIBILITY AS WE TRANSITION INTO THE T-TEST REALM. THE NEW AREAS THAT WE ARE WANTING... TO CONSIDER IS PROBATIONARY CONTRACTS. THAT IS ALSO HR. WE ARE LOOKING RIGHT NOW WE USUALLY ONLY HAVE OUR PROBATIONARY TEACHERS WHO'VE TAUGHT SOMEWHERE ELSE BUT NOT DSISD IF THEY HAVE FIVE OF THE LAST EIGHT YEARS THEY'RE ONLY ON PROBATION WITH US FOR ONE YEAR AND WE FOUND THAT THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS GIVE OUR PRINCIPALS AND OUR ADMINISTRATORS ENOUGH TIME TO TEACH THEM THE DSISD WAY AND COACH THEM UP AND SUPPORT THEM AND SO AS OPPOSED TO MAKING A DECISION TO NOT BRING THEM BACK AFTER ONLY A YEAR OR EVEN MAYBE EIGHT MONTHS IF THEY'RE COMING IN LATE WE'D LIKE TO MOVE TO ALL OF OUR NEW TEACHERS HAVING THREE YEARS OF A PROBATIONARY PERIOD SO THAT OUR PRINCIPALS CAN REALLY HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO WORK WITH THEM OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES CAN HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO SUPPORT THEM AND COACH THEM UP BUT IT'LL HELP US AND ALSO SHOWS THEM THAT WE'RE REALLY INVESTING IN TEACHERS AND SO AS FAR AS A PIPELINE AND RETENTION WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO GIVE SOMEBODY ONE YEAR AND THEN NECESSARILY MOVE THEM ON. WE'RE REALLY SHOWING THAT WE WANT TO INVEST IN OUR TEACHERS AND GIVE THEM ALL THE SUPPORT AND COACHING WE CAN. AND THEN THAT SECOND NEW AREA FOR EXEMPTION, IT GOES IN TANDEM WITH OUR OUT-OF-DISTRICT TRANSFERS. THE RULES SAY THAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP THOSE STUDENTS FOR A YEAR. HOWEVER, WE WANTED A PROVISION THAT IF THEY'RE NOT MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS TO STAY IN OUR DISTRICT, EITHER BEHAVIORALLY, ATTENDANCE-WISE, THAT THEY HAVE THE OPTION OR WE HAVE THE OPTION TO REQUIRE THEM TO GO BACK TO THEIR HOME DISTRICT. INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS IS ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'RE SEEKING EXEMPTION FROM. THE L&I DEPARTMENT IS DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB OF MAKING OUR FAMILY GUIDELINES MORE TRANSPARENT ON OUR WEBSITE. WHAT THIS ACTUALLY THE RULES SAY IS EVERY TEACHER IN THE DISTRICT HAS TO FORWARD THEIR SEMESTER-LONG PLANS TO THE DISTRICT SO THAT THE DISTRICT CAN THEN POST THEM ON THE WEBSITE. AND OUR COMMITTEE AND OUR TEACHERS FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT OF... MAYBE STRAPPING THEM TO SOMETHING AND IN TOO MUCH DETAIL WITH THE LESSON PLANS. WE CURRENTLY IN OUR SECONDARY, OUR TEACHERS DO PROVIDE SYLLABUS FOR FAMILIES. I THINK WE'VE WORKED THROUGH IT THIS YEAR. WE ARE UP IN THE AIR ABOUT THIS ONE, BUT OUR COMMITTEE SAID THEY REALLY LIKE THAT RELIEF OFF OF A TEACHER. AND THEN WE'LL MANAGE THE TRANSPARENCY FROM THE L&I SIDE. THE FOURTH AREA OF EXEMPTION IS AROUND OUR GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES. THE RULES HAVE CHANGED A LOT WITH HOW YOU COUNT THE NUMBER [02:15:01] OF DAYS FOR F&G. AND FNG IS THE... PROCESS. IT TURNED FROM 10 CALENDAR DAYS FOR OUR RESPONSE TO 20, I'M SORRY, 10 BUSINESS DAYS OR SCHOOL DAYS TO 20 CALENDAR DAYS. AND WHEN WE GET A GRIEVANCE RIGHT AROUND THE HOLIDAY, WE HAVE TO COUNT THE HOLIDAYS. AND SO THERE ARE SEVERAL EXAMPLES THIS YEAR ALONE WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TO MEET WITH A PARENT ON CHRISTMAS OR SEND A RESPONSE ON A HOLIDAY. MAKING SURE THAT TIMELINE CONTINUES TO WORK. WE'VE HAD VERY GREAT SUCCESS WITH OUR GRIEVANCE PROCESS AND PROCEDURES, AND WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE GO BACK TO WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE TO REALLY ALIGN DGBA, ALL OF OUR GRIEVANCE AREAS, DGBA, GF, AND F&G ALL TOGETHER. AND SO WE'RE WORKING WITH HALEY TURNER ON GETTING THAT WORDING EXACTLY RIGHT FOR THAT POTENTIAL POLICY CHANGE. THE NUMBER FIVE, I THINK YOU'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW, THE PARENT ENGAGEMENT POLICY, WHILE THAT SOUNDS LIKE, YES, WE WANT THAT POLICY, WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT WE CAN'T HAVE BOARD MEETINGS OUTSIDE OF TYPICAL WORK HOURS, OR WE HAVE TO HAVE THEM OUTSIDE OF TYPICAL WORK HOURS. AND YOU GUYS ARE WELL AWARE, WE HAVE MORE PARTICIPATION WHEN OUR WORKSHOPS AND OUR SPECIALLY CALLED MEETINGS ARE HAPPENING DURING THE DAY. AND SO THIS EXEMPTION IS ACTUALLY FOR THOSE SPECIAL MEETINGS, SO AGENDA REVIEW WORKSHOPS AND SPECIAL MEETINGS. THAT WE CAN HAVE IT AT A TIME THAT WORKS BEST FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AND, OF COURSE, AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE DRAFT, WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT WITH HAVING OUR MEETINGS RECORDED, FOLLOWING ALL THE GUIDELINES THERE. IT'S JUST HOW WE CAN GET MORE ENGAGEMENT IN DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD IS TO HAVE THOSE MEETINGS AT THE TIMES THAT ARE MOST SUCCESSFUL FOR US, AND THAT GIVES US THAT FLEXIBILITY TO DO SO. AND THEN THE LAST TWO ARE MR. RAO'S AREA OF EXPERTISE, MANAGEMENT FEES UNDER CERTAIN COOPERATIVE PURCHASING CONTRACTS. SO NUMBER SIX ESSENTIALLY DEALS WITH THE REPORTING REQUIREMENT AND IT IS THAT REPORT IS IN OUR BOARD PACKET TONIGHT. DOI AND IT WOULD ALLOW US NOT TO HAVE THAT REPORTING REQUIREMENT. IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING WITH PURCHASING CO-OPS. UH PURELY A REPORTING MECHANISM AND THEN ON THE DEPOSITORY CONTRACTS IT JUST ESSENTIALLY REMOVES THE TIMELINES THAT WE ARE UNDER AND HOW OFTEN WE HAVE TO GO OUT FOR A DEPOSITORY CONTRACT RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE TO GO OUT FOR BID EVERY SIX YEARS YOU HAVE TWO RENEWAL OR THREE TWO-YEAR RENEWAL PERIODS AND THIS WOULD ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT TO GO OUT TO BID DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T IT'S JUST WHEN WE COULD OKAY AND I WE WALKED THROUGH THAT REALLY QUICKLY BUT THERE IS ALSO A VERY THICK ATTACHMENT THAT SAYS DRAFT ON IT WITH ALL THE EXPLANATION IN THERE IF NO QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. OH, SORRY, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. SO FOR THE PROBATIONARY CONTRACTS, THOSE ARE STILL RENEWED EVERY YEAR, RIGHT? CORRECT. OKAY, JUST MAKING SURE. I THOUGHT I KNEW THE ANSWER TO THAT, BUT IT'S STILL AN ANNUAL RENEWAL. SO IF WE HAVE A TEACHER WITHIN THAT FIRST YEAR WHO WE KNOW MAY NOT BE A FIT WITH OUR DISTRICT, THAT'S STILL, IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S, OH, THEY'RE HERE FOR THREE YEARS. IT'S THE OPTION TO BE HERE FOR THREE YEARS. OKAY. JUST CLARIFYING THAT. THANK YOU. ROB. YOU READY FOR IT, MADAM PRESIDENT? GO FOR IT. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE THE 2026 AMENDMENT AND THE RENEWAL OF THE DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD INNOVATION PLAN AS PRESENTED. MOTION FROM ROB. SECOND FROM KIM. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? 7-0. ALL RIGHT. LAST ACTION ITEM, OUR GMP2 FOR THE DSC EXTERIOR PROJECT. ALL RIGHT, SO JORIS IS OUR CMAR FOR THIS PROJECT. IN FEBRUARY, THEY PRESENTED GMP NUMBER ONE IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,804,962. THIS WAS FOR LONG LEAD ITEMS. THEY NOW HAVE SUBMITTED THE GMP2 FOR $3,618,264. THE BUDGET FOR THIS PROJECT IS $6,649,500, AND THESE TWO GMPS COME IN AT A TOTAL OF $6,423,226. SO IT IS BELOW BUDGET. THIS PROJECT IS USING A LITTLE BIT OF 23 FUNDS FOR WINDOWS, AND THEN THE EXTERIOR PART IS THE 25 BOND PROGRAM. [02:20:06] THANK YOU. OLIVIA. SHANDA. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE THE GMP AMENDMENT NUMBER 2 IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,618,264 FOR THE DRIPPING SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EXTERIOR PROJECT. I FURTHER MOVE THE BOARD TO DELEGATE AUTHORITY IN THE SUPERINTENDENT TO EXECUTE THE GMP AMENDMENT NUMBER 1 IN A FORM APPROVED BY LEGAL COUNSEL. MOTION FROM SHANDA. SECOND FROM TRICIA. ANY MORE DISCUSSION? QUICK COMMENT, MADAM PRESIDENT. I SPENT, WHAT, FIVE MINUTES TALKING ABOUT THE LAST ONE DIDN'T GO RIGHT. I GOT TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME TALKING ABOUT THE ONE THAT DID. THIS IS EXCELLENT. THESE NUMBERS ARE GREAT. AND THIS IS A TRICKY ONE. THIS IS A TRICK. HEY, HOW'S IT GOING, GEORGE? APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. THIS IS A TRICKY ONE, RIGHT? THESE ONES WHERE THERE'S ALL THESE VARIABLES. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VAPOR BARRIER. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EXISTING BUILDING FACILITIES. THERE'S SOME RISK IN A BUDGET FOR THAT PROJECT TO COME IN LIKE THIS. THIS IS THE STANDARD. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR GOING THROUGH AGAIN, BUT WE DID THE PROCESS THAT WE ALWAYS DO. WE FOLLOWED IT. SO, JURORS, NICE JOB ON THE PRICING. GOOD JOB. OKAY, JAMES, I KNOW YOU TOOK SOME HEAT ROUNDS IN THE LAST ONE. HEY, THIS IS THE STANDARD. I KNOW YOU KNOW THE STANDARD. I KNOW WE KNOW THE STANDARD. LET'S JUST KEEP DOING THIS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WITH THAT, I LOOK FORWARD TO APPROVING THE GMP. [12. REPORTS AND INFORMATION] ALL RIGHT. MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? 7-0. ALL RIGHT. COMMUNICATIONS REPORT. ALL RIGHT, SO WE'LL JUST POWER THROUGH THIS REALLY QUICKLY. Y'ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR, OF COURSE, WITH ALL OF THE EVENTS, SO I DON'T NEED TO HEAD ON THAT. AS FAR AS SOCIAL MEDIA GOES, I ALWAYS ENJOY HIGHLIGHTING OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL CONTENT. SO FACEBOOK, COOPER REED SIGNING WAS OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL PERFORMING CONTENT, AND THEN COMING IN A CLOSE SECOND WAS OUR INFORMATION ABOUT THE WALKOUT. SO, YOU KNOW, BUT I AM PROUD OF THAT AS FAR AS JUST THE EXECUTION OF THAT. I DO THINK THAT WAS. THERE WAS A LOT OF MOVING PARTS THAT HAPPENED REALLY QUICKLY SO I DO FEEL LIKE THE TEAM MOBILIZED REALLY WELL AS FAR AS ADMINISTRATION SERENA DR. MORSE CAN'T SO I THINK THE EXECUTION OF THAT WAS RELATIVELY CLEAN GIVEN ALL OF THE OPINIONS AROUND THAT SO THAT'S AS FAR AS FACEBOOK THE FACEBOOK PERFORMANCE AND THEN INSTAGRAM AS WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME INSTAGRAM IS A LOT IS A YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC SO WE SEE A LOT MORE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THAT CHANNEL SO HIGHEST PERFORMING CONTENT THERE WAS THE UIL REALIGNMENT, AND THEN SECOND PERFORMING, AGAIN, WAS THAT WALKOUT CONTENT. AS FAR AS FOLLOWER TRENDS FOR THIS QUARTER, SO I'M PRETTY STRICT ON MY RATE BECAUSE I ONLY REPORT TO Y'ALL QUARTERLY. SO THIS IS A CUTOFF OF FEBRUARY. SO THIS INCLUDES DECEMBER, WHICH IS A LIGHT MONTH FOR US BECAUSE WE HAVE THE HOLIDAY. SO IF YOU COMPARE BACK TO THE LAST REPORT, THIS IS A LITTLE LIGHTER, BUT STILL. ALL POSITIVE TRENDS AS FAR AS UPWARD TRENDS IN ALL OF OUR FOLLOWERS. SO WE'RE FEELING GOOD AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT VERY CLOSELY. AND THEN LASTLY, I'LL JUST POINT OUT IN THE STORE, WE HAVE A UNIQUE THING TO REPORT. I INCLUDED A PICTURE OF OUR LITTLE RETRO TIGER. WE DID A COOL COLLABORATION WITH COACH PAYNE. HE ASKED, TOGETHER WITH BRANSON, THEY COLLABORATED, THEY TOOK THE RETRO TIGER. AND CREATED A BASEBALL VERSION OF THAT. AND SO WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THAT LITTLE ICON IS THE BASEBALL TEAM IS GETTING HATS WITH THAT RETRO TIGER ON IT. THE BOOSTER CLUB IS PURCHASING THOSE FOR THE VARSITY TEAM. AND THEN NOW WE WILL MARKET THAT GEAR AS, OF COURSE, EVERYTHING IN OUR STORE IS OFFICIAL GEAR. BUT BECAUSE THE TEAM WILL ALSO HAVE IT, IT'S A FUN PARTNERSHIP. COACH Z, WE'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT THINGS FOR THE FALL FOR THE FOOTBALL TEAM AS WELL. SO THAT WAS A COOL PILOT THAT COACH PAYNE REACHED OUT AND WANTED TO EXPLORE WITH US. SO IT'S BEEN A FUN COLLABORATION, AND WE'RE HOPING TO REPLICATE THAT WITH OTHER PROGRAMS. ALL RIGHT, L&I REPORT. OKAY, YOU HEARD A LOT OF WHAT'S IN THIS REPORT. LAST WEEK DURING THE BOARD WORKSHOP SO I'LL BE VERY BRIEF AND QUICK. ONE THING YOU DIDN'T HEAR IS OUR GT ASSESSMENT WINDOW WE'RE QUALIFYING ABOUT 24 PERCENT OF OUR TESTERS SO THAT IS GREAT. YOU HEARD ALL ABOUT OFF-CAMPUS PE BUT FOR THE RECORD I JUST WANT TO SET IT STRAIGHT THAT CATEGORY ONE WHICH IS 15 HOURS OR MORE OF WORK OUTSIDE IN ATHLETICS OR IN YOUR PROGRAM IT'S $300 FOR FAMILIES TO JOIN IN CATEGORY ONE AND $100 FOR CATEGORY TWO CATEGORY TWO IS FIVE HOURS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL OUR PRE-K TUITION OR PRE-K REGISTRATION CLOSES ON TOMORROW TOMORROW, SO WE'LL START WORKING ON THOSE NUMBERS AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO NOTE ON PAGE TWO ALL OF OUR STAR ASSESSMENT DATES ARE POSTED [02:25:02] THERE AS WELL AS APRIL 14TH THERE IS A FENTANYL AWARENESS AND NARCAN EDUCATION NIGHT FOR FAMILIES THANK YOU. GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING. ALL RIGHT, FINANCE. WE GOT A NICE BUDGET UPDATE. OH, I'M SORRY. I SKIPPED HR. THIS IS A THING. IT'S BECAUSE I MOVED SEATS. IT'S OKAY. I LOVE HR REPORT, TOO. SOMEHOW ON MY... I DON'T KNOW IT AESTHETICALLY WHEN I LOOK ON THE SCREEN. I'M SO SORRY. WE NEED TO TELL YOU THE HR REPORT AND IT CAN DO FINANCE. WE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING INNOVATIVE WITH... RECRUITING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES AND SO OUR TEAM BROUGHT SOMETHING NEW THIS YEAR WITH CAMPUS TOURS AND SO WE ARE TAKING STUDENT TEACHERS AND TEACHERS WHO'VE COME AND DONE OBSERVATION HOURS OR HAVE JUST EXPRESSED INTEREST AND WE'RE LETTING THEM TAKE A TOUR OF OUR SCHOOLS AND KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY WANT TO BE THEY GET TO MEET WITH OUR PRINCIPALS AND GET TO SEE SOME OF OUR KIDS BUT IT'S JUST ONE MORE WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED WITH US WE DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF RESIGNATIONS SUPER EARLY AND SO WE WANT TO KEEP THEM ON THE HOOK BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE HERE SO IT HELPS US TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION SO THAT WHEN WE DO HAVE A RETIREMENT OR SOMEONE MOVES OUT OF STATE BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE EVER LEAVE DRIPPING SPRINGS BUT WE'VE GOT SOMEBODY IN THE PIPELINE WHO OUR PRINCIPALS HAVE MET THEY'VE SEEN OUR CAMPUS THEY ALIGN WITH OUR PHILOSOPHY ON INSTRUCTION BUT IT'S JUST CONSTANTLY AND CONSISTENTLY TRYING SOMETHING NEW AND THEN WE'LL ALSO HAVE OUR TEACHER JOB THERE ON THE 8TH LIKE I SAID WE OUR RESIGNATIONS AND ARE REALLY LEAVING THE AREA, LEAVING THE STATE OR RETIREMENTS, AND SO WE ALREADY HAVE OVER 70 RSVPS FOR OUR JOB FAIR. AND SO PEOPLE WANT TO BE HERE. THEY WANT TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW WITH OUR PRINCIPALS AND JUST GET THAT CHANCE TO BE A TIGER. ALL RIGHT. NOW FOR FINANCE REPORTS. OK. I DO HAVE AN E-NOTE, SOME OF THE DETAILS, SO I'LL JUST KIND OF COVER THIS BRIEFLY. BUT OUR GENERAL FUND FINANCIALS ARE THROUGH THE MONTH OF JANUARY. OUR REVENUES ARE CURRENTLY AT 79% OF THE BUDGET. MOST OF THAT IS OUR PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS HAVE STARTED COMING IN. OUR LOCAL REVENUE IS AT 81%. WE ARE... LOOKING AT OUR EXPENDITURES AT 44% OF THE BUDGET, THAT'S TRACKING IN LINE. AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR THROUGH SEVEN MONTHS, WE HAVEN'T PAID ANY RECAPTURE YET. SO AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR, THIS IS WHERE YOU KIND OF START SEEING THE REVENUES OUTPACE THE EXPENDITURES, BUT WE'RE PROBABLY AT OUR PEAK. OUR FUND BALANCE IS CURRENTLY AT $84.2 MILLION, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT GOING DOWN NOW BECAUSE WE'VE COLLECTED THE BULK OF OUR TAXES. SO IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE AT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW MUCH WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. IT'S ESSENTIALLY TIMING AND IT'S EXPECTED. IT'S KIND OF WHERE WE WERE AT THIS POINT IN TIME LAST YEAR. OUR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS. WE'VE GOT 4.8 IN REVENUE, 4.8 IN EXPENSE. THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED. THEY'RE REIMBURSEMENT-BASED FUNDS. YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALSO THEN CHILD NUTRITION, WHICH IS ANOTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUND. WE'RE ABOUT $400K TO THE GOOD, ABOUT $2.1 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE. OUR DEBT SERVICE EXPENDITURES ARE AHEAD OF REVENUES DUE TO THE TIMING OF THE DEBT PAYMENTS. BUT WE'LL... STILL BE RECEIVING COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND SPEAKING OF COLLECTIONS WE'RE AT 84 PERCENT ON OUR TAX LEVY THROUGH THE END OF JANUARY THE ITEM THAT WE ARE DOI-ING IS ACTUALLY THAT PURCHASING CO-OP REPORT WE'RE MEMBERS OF 24 CO-OPS AND WE PAY 650 DOLLARS THREE OF THEM IN TOTAL. TRISHA, I SHOULD HAVE, AND THIS IS PROBABLY A SILLY QUESTION, BUT WHY DO WE PAY REGION 4? WHAT IS THAT FOR? IT'S PROBABLY TRAINING. THEY DO SOME OF THE SPECIFIC, LIKE SOMETIMES WHEN Y'ALL HAVE BOARD TRAININGS AND THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO, SOME OF OUR REQUIRED TRAININGS COME OUT OF OTHER SERVICE CENTERS WHO MAY LEAD THAT CHARGE. SO IT'S USUALLY PROFESSIONAL [02:30:01] DEVELOPMENT. I FIGURED IT WAS TRAINING. I BELIEVE THAT I'VE TAKEN TRAINING FROM REGION 4. YEAH, I THINK YOU ALL HAD TO TAKE SOME DIFFERENT TRAINING. IT'S YOUR MONEY. IT'S PROBABLY MORE THAN JUST YOU. BUT, OKAY, THAT MAKES SENSE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT. SCOTT, ARE YOU SUPERINTENDENT? NO. SORRY, Y'ALL. I'M SO TIRED. I'M SO TIRED TODAY. I GOT A MONDAY'S. OKAY, OPERATIONS. ALL RIGHT. I'LL JUST TOUCH ON CONSTRUCTION. IF YOU HAVEN'T DRIVEN BY HIGH SCHOOL NUMBER TWO, IT'S INCREDIBLE THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S THAT'S BEING DONE THERE. THEY ARE MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS. SO TAKE A MINUTE AND DRIVE BY AND SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING. AS FAR AS TECHNOLOGY GOES, THIS TEAM CONTINUES TO WORK FEVERISHLY. 760 HELP DESK TICKETS CLOSED THIS LAST MONTH. THEY SPENT, A FEW OF THEM SPENT SOME TIME OVER SPRING BREAK COMPLETING SOME ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE UPGRADES FOR NETWORK AND DOOR ACCESS CONTROLS. ONE OF OUR TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SPECIALISTS EARNED THE JAMF PRO CERTIFIED. TECHNICIAN CREDENTIAL AND THAT THAT'LL JUST HELP US TO DO MORE IN-HOUSE JUST CREATING EXPERTISE WITHIN OUR PEOPLE. FACILITIES THEY ALSO AND THE WHOLE WATER ISSUE AND THE WAY OUR FACILITIES TEAM STEPPED UP FOR THAT WILL BE ON THE NEXT BOARD REPORT THIS ONE HAD TO BE IN BEFORE THAT TIME CAME BUT THEY SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED 414 WORK ORDERS THEY DID HAVE A LUNCH AND LEARN OVER THE LAST MONTH AND THEY FOCUSED ON PLAYGROUND MAINTENANCE AND SAFETY SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACES ARE COMPLIANT AND SECURE. THE LEADERSHIP IN THAT GROUP WENT TO TASBO, THE ENGAGE CONFERENCE, AND THEY PARTICIPATED IN SOME CLASSES, SOME SPECIALIZED EDUCATIONAL FACILITY MANAGEMENT, AND THEN THERE WERE A LOT OF AI CONFERENCES, JUST HOW THAT CAN WORK WITHIN THE MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES GROUP. SO THEY SPENT SOME TIME LEARNING THAT. TRANSPORTATION, THEY'RE ALREADY PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR AND FOR SUMMER. SO IT'S VERY PRELIMINARY, BUT THIS IS ONE WAY THAT WE STAY PROACTIVE, AND IT SEEMS SEAMLESS WHENEVER WE ACTUALLY START A SCHOOL YEAR, BUT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING THAT. THEY ALSO HAVE HIRED A NEW MECHANIC, AND THIS IS A REALLY DIFFICULT, IT'S A HIGH-SKILL POSITION. WE'RE HAPPY TO WELCOME THEM. AND THEN FINALLY, SIX OF THE NEW BUSES FROM OUR 25 BOND HAVE BEEN DELIVERED AND SO THEY HAVE SEATBELTS AND ALL OF THAT IS IS GOOD. IN FACT, THEY'VE ACTUALLY BOUGHT ALL THE BUSES THAT THEY'RE THAT ARE PART OF THAT BOND. THAT'S MY REPORT. OKAY, SCOTT, AS I WAS READING THROUGH ALL THESE REPORTS THIS WEEKEND, WHEN I READ YOUR REPORT, I THOUGHT OF TWO THINGS. I THOUGHT OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE UNDER YOUR SUPERVISION THAT WE NOTICE WHEN WE GO TOUR THESE BUILDINGS AND GO TO THESE EVENTS AND THEN I RUN INTO SOME OF THOSE EMPLOYEES IN THE COMMUNITY. AND HERE'S WHAT I NOTICED. THEY'RE HAPPY, THEY DON'T COMPLAIN, AND THEY WORK HARDER THAN ANYBODY I'VE EVER SEEN WORK. AND I THINK THAT IS A TESTAMENT TO YOUR LEADERSHIP WITH THOSE PROGRAMS. I HAVE SPECIFICALLY NOTICED IT BECAUSE THOSE ARE TOUGH AREAS. BUT WITHOUT THOSE AREAS BEING SUCCESSFUL, OUR DISTRICT WOULD NOT BE WHAT IT IS TODAY. AND I JUST NOTED THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS AN EMPLOYEE IN THIS DISTRICT. AND DAY IN AND DAY OUT, THOSE ARE TOUGH, TOUGH, TOUGH POSITIONS TO MANAGE AND RUN AND MAINTAIN. BUT THE SUPPORT THAT YOU HAVE FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES AND THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING, MAN. I JUST HAD TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU. I'M JUST SO PROUD OF THAT ENTIRE OPERATIONS PROGRAM. KIDS AND I'M PROBABLY THE THING IT MAKES ME FEEL THE BEST ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING. THE WATER THING YOU GUYS DID AN AMAZING JOB I JUST WANT I MEAN WHEN I WOKE UP AND I HAD NO WATER AND I TEXT HOLLY AND I'M LIKE WEIRD QUESTION IT DOES EVER DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE WATER YOU KNOW AND SHE'S LIKE LET ME FIND [02:35:02] OUT YOU KNOW IT JUST WAS LIKE IT'S ONE OF THOSE FREAK MOMENTS THAT DON'T, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AND YOU GUYS DID IT AMAZINGLY. AND SO, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, YOUR TEAM DID AN AMAZING JOB HELPING OUT WITH THE BATHROOMS AND, YOU KNOW, JUST ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU JUST DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF AT 6 A.M. ON THE, YOU KNOW, ON A MORNING. AND SO I... EVERYBODY THAT I HAD SPOKEN WITH, THEY WERE ALL QUESTIONING, LIKE, WHY AREN'T WE CLOSING SCHOOL? OR WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? BUT I THINK YOU GUYS DID SUCH AN AMAZING JOB. AND I KNOW IT WASN'T PERFECT, BUT YOU CONQUERED A SITUATION THAT WAS ON THE FLY AND VERY QUICKLY. SO THAT'S AN AMAZING JOB TO YOU GUYS. AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU PUT INTO THAT. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. BUT THAT WAS A... IT WAS EVERYBODY. THAT WAS A HUGE GROUP. CAMPUSES, EVERYBODY. IT WAS NOT THE BEST DAY WHENEVER WE WOKE UP THAT EARLY, BUT I WILL SAY THAT EVEN FROM THAT, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET BETTER. SO WE'RE ALREADY PUTTING IN SOME WAYS THAT IF, I HOPE IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN, BUT IF IT DOES, WE'RE GOING TO BE BETTER NEXT TIME. I CONCUR WITH EVERYTHING MY COLLEAGUES SAID. HEY, HIGH SCHOOL TOO, ARE WE GOING TO PUT UP LIKE A BIG COMING SOON SIGN FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE THAT AMAZING HIGH SCHOOL WE'RE BUILDING? WE MIGHT NEED A NAME FOR IT FIRST. OH, DO YOU WANT TO DO A NAME FOR IT FIRST BEFORE YOU PUT IT UP? I DON'T KNOW, WAS THAT IN THE BUDGET FOR AMERICAN SCHOOL? LET'S DO A NAME FOR IT FIRST. I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THEIR GMP YET. I THINK IT WAS. I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS. WE DO? I THINK WE NEED LIKE A, YOU KNOW, THE RENDER IN WITH THE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? PEOPLE ARE SO CONFUSED ABOUT WHERE THE HIGH SCHOOL'S GOING. I DO, THERE ARE, WE CAN'T ASSUME 100% OF THE COMMUNITY'S ENGAGED IN WHAT WE'RE DOING ON A DAILY BASIS, AND I JUST THINK THAT WOULD BE... AGAIN, SMALL ITEM, BUT IF WE COULD ACCOMMODATE THAT, ESPECIALLY ANTICIPATION FOR THE GROUNDBREAKING. THAT'S JENNIFER YOU'RE ASKING. JENNIFER? JENNIFER'S GOT A GOOD SIGN. NICE BIG MAROON SIGN. SIGN FOR JENNIFER. OKAY, MAROON COLORS. BECAUSE THE GROUNDBREAKING. TIGER ON THERE TOO, MAYBE. I LIKE HOW GOD'S LIKE, SURE YOU CAN HAVE A SIGN, AND I'M LIKE, YOU'VE GOT TO ASK JENNIFER. SOME FLIMINAL, MAYBE BEFORE THEY VOTE, SOME FLIMINAL MESSAGING OUT THERE. JUST GET THE CHEERLEADERS. GET THE CHEERLEADERS TO MAKE IT, JENNIFER. THEY'LL MAKE A BANNER. MAKE SURE IT'S MAROON. AND THEN FOR THE GROUNDBREAKING, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD HAS A TRADITION. IT STARTED HERE IN THE LAST TWO, WE ALWAYS GOT TO BE ON A BULLDOZER. IT'S THE ADDRESS, YOU KNOW. OKAY, SO MAKE SURE THERE'S A BULLDOZER OUT THERE WE CAN GET ON, BECAUSE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT TRADITION FOR THIS BOARD. WE'VE DONE IT ONCE, I THINK. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A TRADITION. WE STARTED IT WITH WILDWOOD, REMEMBER? WE ALL GOT ON THE BACKHOE AND EVERYTHING. THIS YEAR I WANT TO DO IT, I'M GOING TO DO IT ON A BULLDOZER. I STILL HAVE GREASE ON MY PANTS THAT I WORE TO WILDWOOD. YEAH, SO TELL RANGER I WANT A BIG OLD BULLDOZER OUT THERE. WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE ON IT. OKAY, THAT'S ALL. THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT ITEMS, EVERYBODY. I'M GOING TO NEED THE HEADS UP ON MY ATTIRE FOR THAT DAY. OKAY. I WANT TO SHARE ONE THING ABOUT THE WATER AND THEN WE'LL BE DONE. BUT AS MUCH AS SOCIAL MEDIA IS A PLACE TO COMPLAIN, I DID SEE A POST GIVING SUPER KUDOS. AND I'M SURE JENNIFER SAW IT. AND IT WAS A DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD TRUCK PULLING A TRAILER FILLED WITH CASES OF WATER BOTTLES. AND IT WAS LIKE 7 A.M. AND IT WAS SOMEONE SAYING, WELL DONE, DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD. LIKE I'M SEEING THIS TRUCK DRIVE DOWN AND THEY'RE TAKING WATER TO THE SCHOOL. SCHOOLS AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A POST GIVING KUDOS FOR AS MUCH AS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SOCIAL MEDIA IS A PLACE TO COMPLAIN AND IT WAS GIVING ACCOLADES. SO, WELL, WITH THAT, WE SHOULD PROBABLY SHOUT OUT BOTH HEBS IN THE AREA. SERENA, WHEN I GOT A HOLD OF HER AT 7 A.M., GOT ON THE PHONE WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND GOT A HOLD OF BOTH HEB MANAGERS WHO DONATED TWO PALLETS OF WATER EACH. SO, ALL OF THAT WATER CAME FROM OUR... OPERATIONS TEAM COMING IN EARLY BECAUSE THEN IT WAS LIKE WE NEED YOU ALL HERE NOW EVERYONE COMING IN EARLY AND GETTING THAT OUT SO WE CAN GET THAT OUT TO ALL OUR CAMPUSES. THAT'S AMAZING. I LOVE HEB. NOW SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT. WE HAVE TWO OUT-OF-STATE STUDENT TRAVEL. ONE IS OUR HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH AND DEBATE TEAM WHICH IS GOING TO THE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY AND THEN WE SAW DECA HERE TONIGHT. THEY ARE DOING THEIR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA, BUT OKAY. IT'S LIKE A CHEER WORLDS IN NEW JERSEY. ALL [13. CLOSED SESSION] RIGHT, THAT'S IT. I'M SO USED TO HEARING A DEVELOPMENT UPDATE, BUT I GUESS NO NEW DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. THE BOARD WILL NOW CONVENE IN A CLOSED MEETING TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS POSTED ON OUR AGENDA THIS EVENING AS ALLOWED BY THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. SECTIONS 551.071, 551.0. NO VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE CLOSED MEETING. ANY ACTION THE BOARD WISHES [02:40:01] TO TAKE AS A RESULT OF DISCUSSION IN CLOSED SESSION WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THE BOARD RECONVENES. IN THE OPEN MEETING, THE BOARD [14. OPEN SESSION] WILL RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE CLOSED MEETING. ALL RIGHT, BOARD IS BACK IN OPEN SESSION AT 1030. WE HAVE ONE ACTION ITEM THIS EVENING. OLIVIA, I'LL MOVE TO MAKE A MOTION. I MOVE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE HIRE DR. PESTA AS OUR NEW PRINCIPAL AT WALNUT SPRINGS ELEMENTARY. MOTION FROM OLIVIA, SECOND FROM TRICIA. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? 7-0. WELCOME ALL RIGHT, NO FURTHER ACTION. WE STAND ADJOURNED 10-31 AND WE WILL GET A PICTURE. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.