January 30, 2024 at 5:30 PM - Regular Board Meeting

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: Same Question as with 11.B.1 Why is there a need to limit any individual trustee from having an item placed on the agenda?

Response: BE(LOCAL) revisions were proposed by the Board Policy Committee.
 

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan:  Why is there a requested change to board policy BE (local) Any trustee should be able to have an item placed on the agenda.

Response: BE(LOCAL) revisions were proposed by the Board Policy Committee.

Anne Darr: What are some other districts in Texas that have implemented similar changes to their BE(LOCAL) policy? 
 

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: What is the reason/cause for an approximate 70% increase in Transportation costs?

Response:  The increase in transportation (function 34) increased as a result of the carryover on unspent TRE transportation funds as well as encumbered purchase orders from the prior year.   For example, a purchase order in the amount of $5.9 million that was placed in February 2023 for charter and activity buses is included in this number.   This purchase was placed in the prior fiscal year but due to production and lead times, the buses will not be delivered until fiscal year 2023-24.
 

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: Is $400,000.00 in charter transportation funding enough to cover all necessary travel? I would think that any trip over 100 miles should be on charter in addition to any travel that would be delayed due to regular bus route times. e.g. football game in Sanger. Buses on regular routes finish after 5:00pm. Band, Cheer, Drill and team need to arrive 1-2 hours before the game but waiting an hour or two for a route bus to arrive means arriving at the games after they start considering the traffic at that time.

Response:  With regard to the amount requested, this was based on the prior year's expenses as follows:

2024 - $240,055 (Purchase orders so far, but does already include several upcoming Spring trips)
2023 - $384,602
2022 - $368,201
2021 - $28,063 (Affected by COVID-19)
2020 - $259,131 (Affected by COVID-19)
2019 - $349,055

Anne Darr: What guidelines, parameters, and rules will be created to determine the use of a charter bus?
Will a minimum distance to be traveled or a minimum number of travelers be required? 

Response: 

Current Guidelines:

For Athletics, the following parameters:

·Trips exceeding 200 miles round trip (100 miles one way)
·Student roster must exceed 40 students
·UIL Playoffs or Advancement Competitions

For Visual and Performing Arts, the following parameters are in place below for charter buses:

· Trips exceeding 100 miles one way
· Overnight stays
· Trips during blackout times for school buses
· UIL Events
· TMEA/MidWest/Organization Honor Groups
· Conference or competition travel

Note: Consideration regarding the use of charter buses will be made when FWISD buses are not available for use. All FWISD will have the ability to utilize a charter bus based on available campus/department funds, including approved fundraising activities. Fundraising activities should cover the cost of any additional or incremental cost outside of the above authorized parameters. Deviations from the above are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by Deputy Superintendent for Operations.

Will charter buses only be available for UIL events, or can a group use a charter bus for optional activities that require travel?

Response:
Charter buses are scheduled on an as-needed basis by any department and/or student activity group that requires a bus charter for travel. Having a group of pre-selected vendors allows the department and/or student group to select the best option for their specific travel. Additionally, there is no need to obtain three quotes (other than federal) so this expedites the process further.
 

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: I am for paying the AP Fees. What are we doing to make sure that students taking the tests are qualified and ready to take the exam? I have watched too many students over the years use the test time as a way out of their regular classes and simply place their name on the exam or bubble in random answers.

Response: 

• Campus counselors and Post-Secondary Specialists encourage students to enroll in Advanced Placement courses by explaining the benefits and possible outcomes to assist students in their post-secondary journey.  Preparing these students is a high priority for the campus and the CCMR department. The initial preparation is done by the class syllabi being approved by both the College Board and campus administration prior to instructional delivery.

• Professional development is provided at various AP professional learning seminars throughout the year. The CCMR Department pays for this training and helps to support teachers in ensuring that they are well-prepared to provide quality instruction.

• In addition to current content-specific PLCs at individual campuses, the CCMR Department is developing an enhanced Professional Learning Community (PLC) model for AP teachers to collaborate around the district. This opportunity for teachers to plan with others teaching the same materials will ensure that we share best practices and skills necessary to help students succeed.

• To ensure our students take these exams seriously, an email communication will be sent to parents/guardians prior to testing to explain the importance of AP testing for their student to gain college credit. AP teachers will also communicate with students the importance of preparing all year for the exam.

• The campus Post-Secondary Success Team (Principal, Assistant Principals, Specialist, Counselors, etc.) on each campus, in alignment with the district Post-Secondary Success Coordinator, will provide training in proper testing protocols to ensure an ideal testing environment, thereby fostering student success. The testing environment is monitored to the same levels as any other State/National level testing (STAAR, EOC, SAT, PSAT, etc.).

Trustee Anne Darr: Do FWISD students have access to AP exam preparation products, materials, modules, online instruction, etc. in addition to classroom instruction? 

Response: Directly through the College Board (CB), students enrolled in an Advanced Placement course have access through their CB account to multiple free online resources to prepare for the examination and provide extra assistance during the course both inside and outside the classroom. The resources below are available in the "About the Exam" tab on The CB My AP Classroom website:

AP Daily Practice Sessions
AP Daily Videos
AP Daily: Live Review Recordings

Beyond these resources, each campus may choose to offer in-person, teacher-led test prep sessions before the exams.
 

Discussion: 
Anne Darr: How are students identified as GT in addition to one's performance on the NNAT3?

Response: Students are identified using multiple data sources in compliance with the 2019 Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted Talented Students. Specifically, the plan states the following: "Qualitative and quantitative data are collected through three (3) or more measures and used to determine whether a student needs gifted/talented services." 

Below are the various data points considered once a parent or guardian gives permission for their student to be screened:

·Parent feedback
·Teacher feedback
·Available achievement data (i.e. MAP and STAAR)
·NNAT3
·Student work 

The various data collected is then presented to a committee of educators from the campus (i.e. campus leadership, teachers, and a G/T teacher) to determine if the student meets the threshold of the TEA definition of G/T (Please see below).

A gifted/talented student is a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:

·exhibits high-performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
·possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or
·excels in a specific academic field. (Texas Education Code §29.121)

(source: https://tea.texas.gov/academics/special-student-populations/gifted-and-talented-education)

Ultimately, G/T screening and identification seeks to find potential and/or talent to develop through the various enrichment and acceleration opportunities provided by our G/T Teachers.  We call them Talent Scouts. The G/T committees are afforded the ability to make data-driven decisions to best meet the unique needs of each student.
 

Discussion: 
Anne Darr: Is the number of elevator phones that need to be replaced known?

Response: All 125 District elevators will be installed and converted to cellular communication. Rolling Hills Elementary is excluded from this number as the elevator was already installed with this feature.

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: Shouldn't this wait until the facilities survey is complete?

Response: Riverside MS is the only middle school feeder for Riverside HS.  While the facility master plan could include information that initiates conversations regarding the future consolidation of HS campuses, actual recommendations would be made to a future board and would, most likely, be contingent upon a future bond that addresses high school campuses.  It would be the intent of Administration to recommend that elementary facilities be considered first.

The work planned for Riverside MS was informed by a facility condition assessment that was completed for Bond 2021.  The facility data collected as part of current master facility planning will be available to inform any additional considerations as part of this project.  There is no need to delay approval of the CMAR in order for this to occur. 
 

Discussion: 
Anne Darr: Knowing that many FWISD staff members live outside FWISD, are these calendars as similar as possible to the calendars of neighboring districts? 

Response: The District calendar is developed with a focus on the needs of Fort Worth ISD students as the priority. In addition to input from various District stakeholder groups, the calendars of neighboring districts in Tarrant County are taken into consideration if they are available at the time of calendar development. There are similarities in First Day, Last Day, Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break. The differences in Spring Break can be attributed to our alignment with the Tarrant County College calendar due to our partnership for Early College programs throughout the District.
 

Discussion: 
Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan: So I am assuming that the additional Quarter Million plus dollars is to address unforeseen groundkeeping issues over and above mowing, trimming and weeding. Is that correct?

Response: In November 2022, we issued the RFP #23-005 for Lawn Mowing Services. This service's maximum cost was $1,446,369.60 to cover the expenses from March 2023 through February 2024. The board approved this item to address the lawn mowing services required for our campuses during this period. However, we need additional services to finish the year from February 2024 through June 2024. Please note that the request is not for any extra services but for the necessary lawnmowing services required to complete the year.