TRUSTEES TO ORDER. WOULD YOU BE SO KIND? THANK YOU. [I. CALL TO ORDER (Part 1 of 2)] [00:00:06] THANK YOU. AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING OF THE MESQUITE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO ORDER. LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT A QUORUM OF THE BOARD MEMBERS IS PRESENT. THIS MEETING HAS BEEN DULY CALLED, AND THE NOTICE OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT AT THIS TIME. THE FIRST ACTION WE'RE GOING TO DO IS OPEN AN AUDIENCE PORTION AND FOR ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON THE SWEAR IN. MISS SMITH, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY TO SIGN IN TO SPEAK? OKAY, MR. PRESIDENT. NO. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. WITH THAT, WE WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION, AND WE WILL BEGIN WITH THE PUBLIC HEARING. [Additional Item 1] WITH THE SWEARING. OKAY. DO YOU WANT TO START WITH MISS BOWERS? MISS BOWERS, IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND TO COME FORWARD. REPRESENTATIVE BOWERS? YEAH. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS REPRESENTATIVE REPRESENTATIVE RITA BOWERS. SHE IS A VERY GOOD FRIEND OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND THIS DISTRICT. SO WE APPRECIATE HER BEING HERE. THANK YOU. AND CASSANDRA. HERE WE GO. MS.. MORRIS. MISS MORRIS. SIT RIGHT HERE. WELCOME. GO AHEAD. YOU DO YOUR THING. YOU READY TO GO? I THINK SO. OKAY. SO IT IS AN HONOR TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL TONIGHT. I BRING YOU GREETINGS FROM YOUR STATE CAPITOL. AND TRUSTEE ELECT CASSANDRA MORRIS, IF YOU WILL REPEAT AFTER ME AND PUT YOUR NAME RIGHT HAND UP. RIGHT HAND UP. THANK YOU. I CASSANDRA MORRIS. I, CASSANDRA MORRIS, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE. THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE. THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL. TRUSTEE OF SCHOOL TRUSTEE. PLACE THREE. PLACE THREE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WILL DO TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, AND WILL DO TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY PRESERVE, PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROTECT AND DEFEND AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION, THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND OF THIS STATE AND OF THIS STATE. SO HELP ME GOD, SO HELP ME GOD. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. I THINK. YES. OKAY. OKAY. I'LL PUT THIS ONE OUT THERE. HI, GREG. HI, GREG. EVERETT. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE. THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL TRUSTEE. PLACE FOR SCHOOL TRUSTEE. PLACE FOR. OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, PRESERVE, PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION, AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF THIS STAGE AND OF THIS DATE. SO HELP ME GOD, SO HELP ME GOD. THANK YOU. HI, ROBERT. HI, ROBERT. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE. I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL TRUSTEE. PLACE THREE. SCHOOL TRUSTEE. PLACE 505. AND OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY AND WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. PRESERVE, PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROTECT AND PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION. PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER STATE AND OF THIS STATE. SO HELP ME. SO HELP ME GOD. THANK YOU. DOCTOR. DOCTOR. SUSAN. WILLIAMS. HI, DOCTOR. SUSAN WILLIAMS. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR. DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE. [00:05:04] I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE OFFICE. THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL TRUSTEE. SCHOOL TRUSTEE. PLAY SIX OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, PRESERVE, PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF THE STATE OF THE STATE. SO HELP ME GOD, SO HELP ME GOD. WELCOME TO THE PARTY. I HAVE CERTIFICATES FOR ALL OF THEM, SO ASK HER TO PRESENT. OKAY. OKAY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD FOUR BOARD MEMBERS SWEARING IN THE SAME DAY. WE MAY EVEN BREAK THE RECORD LATER TONIGHT. BREAK THAT RECORD. EXCELLENT. MISS BOWERS, I THINK YOU HAD A PRESENTATION TO MAKE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. PRESIDENT KARBO AND SUPERINTENDENT RIVERA TO OUR NEWLY SWORN IN TRUSTEES AND THOSE COMING BACK. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT OUR OFFICE HAS TO JUST DECIDED TO DO, BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE IT'S NECESSARY TO RECOGNIZE THOSE, WHETHER THEY'RE ELECTED FOR THE FIRST TIME, COMING ON TO THE SCHOOL BOARD TO SERVE WHETHER THEY'VE SERVED FOR MANY YEARS, THEY'VE BEEN REELECTED OR WHETHER THEY'RE TURNING OUT. SO THE OFFICE HAS DECIDED THAT WE WILL BE HONORING EVERYONE THAT WAS SWORN IN TONIGHT. I KNOW YOU SAID THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU ALL HAVE HAD FOUR. BUT THERE ARE OTHER MEMBERS THAT, THAT WE WANTED TO RECOGNIZE AS WELL. SO IF ROBERT BOB SEWARD WILL COME FORWARD, CAN, CAN THEY COME DOWN? I DON'T KNOW IF THEY CAN COME DOWN. YEAH THEY CAN. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND WE'LL JUST DO THIS REAL QUICK SO IT WON'T TAKE UP MUCH TIME. WE'RE OUR OFFICE WANTED TO RECOGNIZE ROBERT SEWARD OR TRUSTEE SEWARD IN RECOGNITION OF HIS REELECTION AND SWEARING IN TODAY TO THE MESQUITE ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES. PLACE FIVE ON THIS EIGHTH DAY OF JUNE 2026, AND I'M GOING TO READ YOURS. IT IS IN WITNESS THEREOF AND PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME. I HAVE HEREUNTO SET MY SEAL, HAND AND SEAL OF OFFICE AT AUSTIN, TEXAS ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF JUNE 2026. THANK YOU FOR YOUR MANY YEARS OF SERVICE. IT'S AN HONOR TO SERVE ALONGSIDE YOU. THANK YOU. VERY MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT UP WE HAVE. IS IT ILION? ILION. HORNSBY. OH, ELAINE. ELAINE. SHE'S STEPPING DOWN. SHE'S NOT HERE TONIGHT. OKAY, SO WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE RECOGNIZING HER FOR HER DEDICATED SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP AS A MEMBER OF THE MESQUITE ISD BOARD. BUT I WANT TO HOLD THIS ONE. I'M GOING TO GIVE IT BACK TO YOU, JADEN, SO WE CAN MAKE A CORRECTION ON THERE. DOCTOR SUSAN WILLIAMS, IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR ELECTION AND SWEARING IN TO THE MESQUITE ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PLACE SIX ON THIS EIGHTH DAY OF JUNE 2026. CONGRATULATIONS. AND WHAT AN HONOR. THANK YOU ALL FOR LETTING ME DO THIS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE ABOUT STUDENTS FIRST, I KNOW THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YES. THANK YOU. SHE'S GOT TO GET IT. YES, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. SO WE DO HAVE ONE FOR GARY BINGHAM. IF HE'S NOT HERE TONIGHT, WE'LL GIVE IT TO YOU ALL. IF HE IS. PLEASE COME. HE'S NOT HERE. HE'S NOT HERE. HE'S NOT HERE. OKAY. IT IS IN RECOGNITION OF HIS DEDICATED SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP AS A MEMBER OF THE MESQUITE ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES. [00:10:05] PLACE THREE. EXCELLENT. YEAH. CAN YOU PASS IT ON TO ME? AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT HE RECEIVES THAT. THANK YOU. AND WE'LL GET ELAINE HORNSBY'S HER. HERS. GREG EVERETT. TRUSTEE. GREG EVERETT, IN HONOR AND RECOGNITION OF YOUR REELECTION AND SWEARING IN TO THE MESQUITE ISD SCHOOL BOARD. PLACE FOUR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK. YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. LAST ONE UP, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST IS TRUSTEE CASSANDRA MORRIS IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR ELECTION AND SWEARING IN. TO MESQUITE ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PLACE THREE. IT WAS MY HONOR TO SWEAR YOU IN TONIGHT. I FEEL ODD. WAIT. LET ME SWITCH. OH. AGAIN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, REPRESENTATIVE BOWERS. IT'S AN HONOR TO SERVE WITH EACH OF YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO AT THIS TIME, THE BOARD WILL MEET IN CLOSED SESSION UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE [Additional Item 2] 551-8-071 AND 551 DASH .082. TO CONDUCT A LEVEL FOUR GRIEVANCE HEARING OF JOSHUA AND CANDACE FERNANDEZ. WE SHALL RETURN. WITH THAT, AT THIS TIME, WE WILL RECONVENE FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION. WELCOME, EVERYONE. VERY INTERESTING MEETING SO FAR. I PROMISES TO BE CONTINUE. [I. CALL TO ORDER (Part 2 of 2)] FIRST ITEM. OUR NEXT ITEM IS OUR INVOCATION. THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING FOR REVEREND HAROLD. BEING THERE NONE. I AM GOING TO ASK BOARD MEMBER GREG EVERETT IF HE WOULD BE SO KIND TO DO THE INVOCATION TODAY. HE CAN'T. OH. THAT'S RIGHT. SORRY. MY ATTORNEY KEEPS ME STRAIGHT. I LOVE THIS GUY BECAUSE I AM SUCH A FREE SPIRIT. HE CAN'T. YES YOU ARE. YES I AM. I KNOW I AM, AND I CAN'T DO IT EITHER. SO. YEAH. WE'LL START WITH THE PLEDGES. LET'S GO WITH THE PLEDGE. WELL, AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO GO WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WILL BE LED BY OUR JUNIOR ROTC VANGUARD HIGH SCHOOL CADET KEVIN OROZCO AND SERGEANT MAJOR WALTER DUNN. SPONSORS LIEUTENANT COLONEL ERNEST BURTON, JR. WHERE ARE MY GUYS? HERE WE ARE. 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. AND NOW THE TEXAS PLEDGE. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THEE. TEXAS. ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE INVISIBLE. VISIBLE. THANK YOU. CADET. OKAY. MOVING ON. NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE TEAM OF EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS. [II. TEAM OF EIGHT MOMENT] DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SHARE? WE JUST HAD GRADUATION. IT WAS AWESOME. IT WAS FANTASTIC. [00:15:04] LIKE JUST HAD GRADUATION. I YOU GET TO SEE ALL THE KIDS AND HEAR ABOUT THE AMAZING STUFF THEY'VE DONE OVER THE YEAR. AND YOU'RE JUST LIKE, YEAH. MAKES YOU PROUD AND READY FOR THE NEXT ONE. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, MISS COLLIER. DOCTOR RIVERA, I THINK YOU HAD SOMETHING FOR THAT. I DO. MR. PRESIDENT THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO I WANT TO PAUSE TODAY AND CELEBRATE ONE OF OUR TRUSTEES. AND IT IS NONE OTHER THAN MISS TIA COLLIER SERVING FIVE YEARS ON THE BOARD. AND SO SHE GOT HER FIVE YEAR PIN. CONGRATULATIONS, MISS COLLIER. OH. THANK YOU. SO MILESTONE FOR HER. YEAH. THAT'S AWESOME. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? BEING THERE? NONE. WE'RE GOING TO GO TO STUDENTS AND STAFF GUESTS. [III. STUDENT AND STAFF GUESTS] DOCTOR RIVERA. RECOGNIZE TODAY. COME ON DOWN, MR. PRESIDENT. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU PRESIDENT. THIS EVENING WE HAVE A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS FROM MCKENZIE ELEMENTARY WHO ARE HERE WITH US. THEY WERE OTHERWISE ENGAGED WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES WHEN WE HAD OUR BIG SPRING RECOGNITION CEREMONY. BUT THESE ARE STATE QUALIFIERS, SO WE WANTED TO BRING THEM HERE AND PRESENT THEM TO YOU. FIRST UP, WE HAVE FROM MACKENZIE ELEMENTARY, SAVANNAH ORTIZ, JOSELYN RODRIGUEZ, AND ZURI MONTOYA. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO GO FORWARD, THEY WERE THIRD PLACE AND STATE QUALIFIER IN THE TEXAS TEXAS STATE HISTORY DAY CONTEST. THEIR SPONSOR IS KELLY CALDWELL. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. NEXT UP WE HAVE ISABELLA FIGUEROA. SHE WAS A STATE FINALIST IN THE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTARY POSTER CONTEST AT THE TEXAS STATE HISTORY DAY, AND WE WANTED TO PRESENT HER WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL AWARD. HER SPONSORS ALSO KELLY CALDWELL. CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE STUDENTS. WE'RE VERY PROUD OF YOUR HARD WORK. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US HERE THIS EVENING. AND BEFORE YOU GO UP, DOCTOR RIVERA AND PRESIDENT CARBO, I THINK WE HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL RECOGNITION SPECIAL HERE TONIGHT. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME FROM THE REGION. TEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CENTER BOARD MEMBER DEBBIE GILLEPSIE AND RACHEL FROST, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING, WITH A PRESENTATION. ON THE BOARD. YEAH. WELCOME AND WELCOME. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT CARBO, TRUSTEES AND DOCTOR RIVERA AND MEMBERS OF THE MESQUITE ISD COMMUNITY. AND JUST REAL QUICK, I WANT TO SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROBERT SEWARD SPECIAL. I DIDN'T COME HERE JUST FOR YOU TONIGHT THOUGH. SO SORRY. THAT'S THAT'S HAPPY 80. AS A MEMBER OF THE REGION. TEN BOARD OF DIRECTORS, I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF REPRESENTING REGION. TEN THIS EVENING, AND I'M HERE WITH SOME VERY EXCITING NEWS. EACH YEAR, REGION TEN RECOGNIZES A SUPERINTENDENT WHOSE LEADERSHIP EXEMPLIFIES VISION, INTEGRITY, INNOVATION, AND AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO STUDENTS, STAFF AND COMMUNITY. THIS RECOGNITION IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST HONORS WE BESTOW BECAUSE IT REFLECTS NOT ONLY MEASURABLE SUCCESS, BUT ALSO THE HEART OF LEADERSHIP AND THE IMPACT OF A SUPERINTENDENT HAS TO THE PEOPLE THEY SERVE. TONIGHT, IT IS MY GREAT HONOR TO ANNOUNCE THAT DOCTOR ANGEL RIVERA HAS BEEN SELECTED AS THE 2026 REGION TEN SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR. THIS. THIS RECOGNITION REFLECTS EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP AND THE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS TAKING PLACE ACROSS MESQUITE ISD. SINCE BECOMING SUPERINTENDENT IN 2022. DOCTOR RIVERA HAS LED WITH CLARITY, PURPOSE AND A DEEP BELIEF IN WHAT HE CALLS THE MESQUITE PROMISE. THE IDEA THAT EVERY STUDENT AND EVERY STAFF MEMBER BELONGS IS MADE TO EXCEL AND HAS IMMEASURABLE VALUE. [00:20:06] UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, MESQUITE ISD HAS STRENGTHENED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, IMPROVED ACCOUNTABILITY OUTCOMES, EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN FINE ARTS AND CTE, AND BUILT STUDENT LEADERSHIP PATHWAYS THAT BEGIN AS EARLY AS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. BUT BEYOND THE NUMBERS AND PROGRAMS, WHAT STOOD OUT MOST TO THE SELECTION COMMITTEE WAS THE CULTURE HE HAS CULTIVATED ONE GROUNDED IN DIGNITY, BELONGING, TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST. DOCTOR IS KNOWN FOR BEING VISIBLE, APPROACHABLE AND DEEPLY CONNECTED TO HIS SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY. WHETHER MEETING WITH PRINCIPALS, LISTENING TO FAMILIES, ENGAGING COMMUNITY PARTNERS, OR SUPPORTING STUDENTS, HE LEADS WITH AUTHENTICITY AND PURPOSE. HIS ABILITY TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AROUND A SHARED VISION HAS STRENGTHENED MESQUITE ISD AND POSITIONED THE DISTRICT FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS. THE COMMITTEE WAS ALSO DEEPLY IMPRESSED BY THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DOCTOR RIVERA AND THE MESQUITE ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES. EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND STRONG SUPERINTENDENT LEADERSHIP GO HAND IN HAND, AND IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS BOARD SHARES A UNIFIED COMMITMENT TO STUDENT SUCCESS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. DOCTOR RIVERA'S CAREER REFLECTS SERVICE IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD FROM HIS TIME IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION TO MORE THAN TWO DECADES DEDICATED TO PUBLIC EDUCATION. HE EXEMPLIFIES THE KIND OF LEADERSHIP OUR STUDENTS DESERVE AND COMMUNITIES NEED. ON BEHALF OF REGION TEN, SC AND THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR SELECTION COMMITTEE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISION, YOUR LEADERSHIP, AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE. PLEASE JOIN ME ONCE AGAIN IN CONGRATULATING. THE BOARD. PLEASE JOIN ME ON THIS PICTURE. PLEASE. THIS IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL EVENT. CAN Y'ALL COME DOWN AND JOIN ME, PLEASE? THAT'S COOL. I'M. IN THE MIDDLE OR RIGHT THERE IS FINE. AND THEN I WANT TO JUST SAY. CAN I GET. THERE. PERFECT. ALL RIGHT. AWESOME. OKAY. HERE WE GO. OKAY. I MIGHT TAKE A COUPLE RIGHT HERE. OKAY. YOU READY? ONE. TWO. THREE. OH, GREAT. PERFECT. AND ONE. JUST BOARD. SURE. ALL RIGHT. READY? ONE. TWO. THREE. THAT WAS GREAT. OH. OKAY. AWESOME. ALL RIGHT, MR. PRESIDENT. MR. PRESIDENT, MAY I. SO I WANT TO SO UNEXPECTED. OBVIOUSLY, I DIDN'T PREPARE A SPEECH FOR TONIGHT FOR THIS RECOGNITION. IT IS SO UNEXPECTED. BUT I WILL SAY THAT I WANT TO THANK THE MESQUITE COMMUNITY. THIS HAS BEEN I'M A LITTLE BIT INTO MY FIFTH YEAR AS SUPERINTENDENT OF MESQUITE AND IT'S BEEN A JOURNEY. IT'S BEEN AN ADVENTURE, BUT IT'S BEEN AN HONOR AND PLEASURE TO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY THAT MY FAMILY AND I TRULY, TRULY LOVE. WITH THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'RE HAVING WE WE JUST SWORE IN FOUR TRUSTEES, [00:25:04] TWO REELECTED AND TWO BRAND NEW TRUSTEES. IT'S BEEN A JOURNEY WITH THE SAME SEVEN TRUSTEES THAT HIRED ME. EXCEPT FOR STARTING TONIGHT, THERE'S A PERIOD OF CHANGE. AND I WANT TO THANK THOSE SEVEN TRUSTEES THAT TRUSTED ME, TOOK A GAMBLE AND HIRED ME TO LEAD THIS AMAZING DISTRICT. IT WAS A HARD TASK, AND I'D BE LYING IF I SAY THAT THE LAST FOUR YEARS HAVE NOT BEEN HARD BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN HARD. BUT JUST AS HARD, THEY'VE BEEN REWARDING. AND IT'S SUCH A REWARDING EXPERIENCE TO SERVE ALONG THE AMAZING PRINCIPALS, ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF. CUSTODIANS. CAFETERIA WORKERS. CROSSING GUARDS IN THE ENTIRE MESQUITE ISD COMMUNITY UP TO AND INCLUDING THE MESQUITE PD, WHICH WE ARE PARTNERS WITH IN THE SRO PROGRAM. AND OBVIOUSLY I DIDN'T PREPARE ANY WORDS TONIGHT. THESE ARE ALL COMING OUT OF MY HEART. I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR RECOMMENDING ME FOR THIS AWARD AND GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT THERE. I HAD NO CLUE THAT A 20 MINUTE INTERVIEW THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE 35 WOULD GET ME THE RECOGNITION OF SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR FOR REGION TEN. SO THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU TO MY EXECUTIVE TEAM AS WELL. THAT WORKED HARD TO WORK ON THE NOMINATION. AND SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AND I'M JUST HONORED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS KEY COMMUNITY. WELL, SUPERINTENDENT, IT'S WELL DESERVED. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE LITTLE TOOLS THAT WE COULD PROVIDE YOU, YOU TURN THEM INTO MAGIC OUT THERE WITH THOSE KIDS. WE DID SEE GRADUATIONS THIS PAST WEEKEND AND THERE WERE A LOT OF SMILES. AND WHEN YOU GO TO THOSE ACTIVITIES, TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND THE HIGH SCHOOLS, MIDDLE SCHOOLS, THERE IS A CULTURE IN MESQUITE. AND I'M REALLY PROUD OF THAT. AND YOU'RE A BIG PART OF IT. SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. GOOD. NOW STOP CRYING. OKAY. OH, OKAY. WHERE WERE WE NEXT? WE'RE GOING TO THE FIRST AUDIENCE PORTION FOR TO SPEAK ON ANY ITEMS ON THE AGENDA. WE HAVE NO MISS SMITH. OKAY. THANK YOU GUYS. MAKE MY JOB EASY. NEXT, WE'RE GOING TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. [IV. CONSENT AGENDA] WE HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. IF ANYBODY WANTS TO PULL AN ITEM. IF NOT, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. MR. PRESIDENT, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. OKAY, SO, EVERETT, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? MISS COLLIER? THERE'S A MOTION BY MR. EVERETT, SECOND BY MISS COLLIER TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS WRITTEN. ANY COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. OPPOSED. SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FROM THERE, WE'LL MOVE INTO REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT. [V. REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT] FIRST SECTION IS PERSONNEL. FIRST ITEM IS A REPORT. ADMINISTRATIVE TERM CONTRACT. SOCIAL STUDIES. THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY REPORT TO YOU. I DO HAVE A REPORT. OKAY. YOU DO HAVE A REPORT. SO I'M GOING TO I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL. WE HAVE JUST FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE IN THE AUDIENCE, USUALLY IN THE IN THE REGULAR SCHOOL YEAR BOARD, THE BOARD ACTUALLY VOTES ON HIRES. BUT EVER SINCE SCHOOL ENDS, TO EXPEDITE THE HIRING, ENSURE THAT THE CAMPUSES HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. WE THEY GAVE ME THE AUTHORITY. SO THANK YOU. THEY GAVE ME THE AUTHORITY TO HIRE OVER THE SUMMER. SO ALL THESE THAT WE'RE GOING TO NAME ALREADY BEEN HIRED, BUT I WANT TO INTRODUCE THEM TO THE BOARD AND I WANT TO INTRODUCE THEM TO THE COMMUNITY. SO I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL MY DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT TO THE LECTERN, AND SHE WILL PROCEED WITH PRINCIPAL HIRING, AND THEN SHE WILL PASS THE BATON TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS CHIEF, WHICH WE WILL CONTINUE ON WITH THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS. TAKE IT AWAY, DOCTOR FIELDS. GOOD EVENING AND CONGRATULATIONS, DOCTOR RIVERA. WE COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF YOU. ALL RIGHT. PRESIDENT TRUSTEES AND DOCTOR RIVERA, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU OUR FIRST NEW PRINCIPAL OF THE EVENING, GABRIEL CADBURY, THE NEW PRINCIPAL OF AGNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL. COME ON UP, MR. CADBURY. MR. CADBURY HAS OVER 16 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, MOST RECENTLY SERVING AS AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL IN MESQUITE AT MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. AT MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL, MR. CADBURY HELPED LEAD INITIATIVES THAT PRODUCED THE HIGHEST AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE GROWTH AMONG MISD HIGH SCHOOLS WHILE STRENGTHENING INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND FAMILY INVOLVEMENT. PRIOR TO BECOMING A SKEETER, HE SERVED FOR THREE YEARS AS AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT VANSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. BEFORE JOINING MESQUITE ISD, MR. CADBURY SERVED AS AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL IN RICHARDSON ISD AND HELD CAMPUS AND DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP ROLES IN ROCKWALL ISD, [00:30:02] KAUFMAN ISD AND KEMP ISD. MR. CADBURY HOLDS A BACHELOR OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AND A MASTER OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM FROM NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. PLEASE HELP ME WELCOME THE NEW PRINCIPAL OF AGNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD EVENING. I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN BY THANKING THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, DOCTOR RIVERA, DOCTOR FIELDS, DOCTOR HENSLEY AND DOCTOR LAPLANTE FOR THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY AND FOR TRUSTING ME WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF AGNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY MENTORS, MELISSA SMITH, PRINCIPAL OF VANSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND JEFF JOHNSON, PRINCIPAL OF MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL, FOR BELIEVING IN ME, CHALLENGING ME TO GROW AND PREPARE ME FOR THIS MOMENT. THANK YOU AS WELL TO MY FELLOW ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, JEREMY GARCIA, RICARDO PELAYO, CHRISTIE CORONADO, DOCTOR, LAUREN. EVANGELISTA, SHARON. LACY, DOCTOR SHAWNA. THOMPSON, DOCTOR. TONELLI. HALEY. I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO WORK ALONGSIDE OUTSTANDING LEADERS WHO TAUGHT ME THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIPS, TEAMWORK, AND KEEPING STUDENTS AT THE CENTER OF EVERY DECISION. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY PARENTS, A FORMER HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AND A FORMER COLLEGE PROFESSOR, FOR INSTILLING IN ME THE VALUE OF EDUCATION AND HELPING ME UNDERSTAND ITS POWER TO TRANSFORM LIVES. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANT TO THANK MY WIFE AND MY CHILDREN, ENRIQUE AND CAMILA. I TRULY COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT THEIR LOVE AND SUPPORT. IN FACT, JUST MOMENTS BEFORE INTERVIEWING FOR THIS POSITION, MY WIFE SENT ME A TEXT MESSAGE THAT SAID, WE LOVE YOU. REMEMBER, YOU ALREADY HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT PRINCIPAL. THOSE WORDS STAY WITH ME AS I REFLECT ON THIS MOMENT. I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST DECIDED TO PURSUE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP. I WENT ON SO MANY ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL INTERVIEWS THAT HONESTLY, AFTER A WHILE, I STOPPED COUNTING. IT TOOK ME THREE YEARS TO EARN THAT FIRST ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL POSITION. BUT THOSE EXPERIENCES TAUGHT ME PERSISTENCE, RESILIENCE, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING. LOOKING BACK NOW, I REALIZE THAT EVERY CHALLENGE, EVERY SETBACK, AND EVERY LESSON HELPED ME PREPARE FOR THIS MOMENT. I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE WHO BELIEVED IN ME, CHALLENGED ME AND SUPPORTED ME. BUT THAT ALSO RAISES AN IMPORTANT QUESTION DO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE THAT? I DON'T WANT OUR STUDENTS TO BE LIMITED OR DEFINED BY THE BARRIERS THEY CARRY IN THEIR BACKPACK OF LIFE, WHETHER IT'S A LANGUAGE OR A CULTURAL BARRIER, SOCIOECONOMICS OR HOME SITUATION. EVERY STUDENT DESERVES ADULTS WHO BELIEVE IN THEM, CHALLENGE THEM TO EXCEL AND SUPPORT THEM WITH CARE AND COMPASSION. THAT IS MY MISSION. I WANT TO LEAD A SCHOOL WHERE EVERY STUDENT IS KNOWN, VALUE CHALLENGED, AND EMPOWERED TO PERSEVERE TOWARD A FUTURE THEY MAY NOT YET SEE FOR THEMSELVES. TO THE TEACHERS AND STAFF OF AGNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL, I'M HONORED TO SERVE ALONGSIDE AS YOUR PRINCIPAL. I KNOW THE SUCCESS OF THIS SCHOOL IS BUILT ON THE DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT OF OUTSTANDING EDUCATORS. I CANNOT WAIT TO VISIT YOUR CLASSROOMS, LEARN FROM YOU, AND CELEBRATE THE INCREDIBLE WORK YOU DO AS EDUCATORS. OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TOO IMPORTANT TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN OUR BEST. WE'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING LIVES. MY COMMITMENT IS TO CHALLENGE, SUPPORT AND EMPOWER BOTH OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF SO THAT TOGETHER, WE CAN CONTINUE BUILDING ON AGNEW'S TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE. AT AGNEW, WE WILL BELIEVE IN EACH OTHER. WE WILL CHALLENGE EACH OTHER AND WE WILL SUPPORT EACH OTHER. TOGETHER, WE WILL ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE. DOCTOR RIVERA, I'M HONORED TO SERVE AS THE NEW PRINCIPAL OF AGNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL. I'M READY TO GET TO WORK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ANOTHER INTRODUCTION THIS EVENING. MR. FERNANDO RUBIO, THE NEW PRINCIPAL OF SHANDS ELEMENTARY. MR. RUBIO, PLEASE COME ON UP. FERNANDO RUBIO BRINGS MORE THAN 16 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, MOST RECENTLY SERVING AS PRINCIPAL OF BUCKNER PREPARATORY IN CITYSCAPE SCHOOLS. PRIOR TO THAT ROLE, HE SERVED AS ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL FOR FIVE YEARS IN DALLAS ISD, WHERE HE LED SUSTAINED CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS THAT RESULTED IN INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS, STRONG ACADEMIC GROWTH, AND IMPROVED STUDENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT. MR. RUBIO WAS PART OF THE UNT DALLAS PRINCIPAL IMPACT COLLABORATIVE AND HAS SERVED ON THE BOARD OF THE ASSOCIATION OF HISPANIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS. HE HOLDS A BACHELOR OF ARTS IN HISTORY WITH A MINOR IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND A MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING FROM AUSTIN COLLEGE. WELCOME TO THE NEW PRINCIPAL OF SHANDS ELEMENTARY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, DOCTOR RIVERA, LEADERSHIP TEAM [00:35:09] AND THE BROAD MESQUITE COMMUNITY. MY NAME IS FERNANDO RUBIO JUNIOR. I STAND HERE BEFORE YOU HUMBLED, FILLED WITH GRATITUDE AND LOTS OF ENTHUSIASM FOR THE HONOR AND OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE SHANNON'S ELEMENTARY COMMUNITY. I MAKE THREE COMMITMENTS TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY COMMITMENT. ONE IS TO HONOR, CELEBRATE, AND BUILD UPON THE STRENGTHS AND TRADITIONS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. COMMITMENT TO. TO BE HUMBLE, TO LISTEN, LEARN AND TO COLLABORATE WITH EVERYONE. COMMITMENT. NUMBER THREE MAINTAIN A LASER FOCUS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THIS HONOR AND OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY. THIS TIME I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE OUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, IF YOU WILL STAND WHERE YOU ARE. WE'RE GOING TO GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BIT. FIRST OFF, WE HAVE MISS TAMIKA RILEY, NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL. THIS IS THE NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT THOMPSON ELEMENTARY. TAMIKA RILEY HAS BEEN A PART OF THE MESQUITE ISD FAMILY FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS. SHE CURRENTLY SERVES AS STUDENT SUCCESS LIAISON AT SMITH ELEMENTARY. SHE SPENT THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF HER CAREER AS A FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE TEACHER AT GALLOWAY ELEMENTARY. MISS RILEY HAS BEEN AWARDED TWO GRANTS FROM THE MESQUITE ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION AND RECENTLY COMPLETED MY ASPIRING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PROGRAM. SHE HOLDS A BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND MARKETING AND A MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION FROM STEPHEN F AUSTIN UNIVERSITY, AS WELL AS A MASTERS OF EDUCATION IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP FROM TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COMMERCE. YOUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT THOMPSON ELEMENTARY. NEXT UP WE HAVE JEREMY WELLS. THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT RANGE ELEMENTARY. JEREMY WELLS BRINGS MORE THAN 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CURRENTLY SERVES AS AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL IN FRISCO ISD. PRIOR TO HIS CURRENT ROLE, HE SERVED AS A DISTRICT LITERACY COACH IN CARROLLTON-FARMERS BRANCH ISD AND A DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL COACH IN DENTON ISD, SUPPORTING INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE AND TEACHER DEVELOPMENT ACROSS MULTIPLE CAMPUSES. MR. WELLS HOLDS A BACHELOR'S OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGY AND A MASTER OF EDUCATION IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS. YOUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT RANGE ELEMENTARY. NEXT UP, CASSIDY SIRAGUSA. THIS IS YOUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT GALLOWAY ELEMENTARY. MISS SIRAGUSA HAS SERVED MESQUITE ISD FOR EIGHT YEARS AND CURRENTLY TEACHES SECOND GRADE AT PRICE ELEMENTARY, WHERE SHE SERVES IN SEVERAL LEADERSHIP ROLES INCLUDING GRADE LEVEL CHAIR, PACE MENTOR, K-12 VERTICAL ALIGNMENT LEADER, DATA ACTION MATH FACILITATOR. SHE BEGAN HER CAREER AS A SECOND AND THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT THOMPSON ELEMENTARY, WHERE SHE WAS NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR IN 2021. MISS SIRAGUSA IS AN ETIP SCHOLAR AND COMPLETED THE MESQUITE ISD'S ASPIRING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PROGRAM. SHE HOLDS A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES AND A MASTER OF EDUCATION IN CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION FROM TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COMMERCE. MISS KASSIDY SIRAGUSA, NEW AP AT GALLOWAY. NEXT UP, MISS ELIDA GILL, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, FLOYD ELEMENTARY. MISS GILL COMES TO US FROM GARLAND ISD, WHERE SHE SERVED AS AN ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT TEACHER. SHE PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS A DUAL LANGUAGE TEACHER. LPAC, LEAD TEACHER AND CURRICULUM SUPPORT TEACHER IN GARLAND ISD, WHERE SHE EARNED TEACHER OF THE YEAR HONORS IN 2022. SHE ALSO SERVED AS THE BILINGUAL ESL PRE-K SUMMER SCHOOL FACILITATOR IN 2025 AND 2026. MISS GILL HOLDS A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS AT DALLAS AND A MASTER OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS. MISS GILL, YOUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT FLOYD. NEXT UP, WE HAVE CIERRA FINLEY. OUR NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT CROSS ELEMENTARY. MISS FINLEY BRINGS MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CURRENTLY SERVES AS A FIFTH GRADE READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER AT CROSS. PRIOR TO JOINING MESQUITE ISD, MISS FINLEY SERVED AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL MENTOR IN TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND HELD INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLES AS A DEPARTMENT CHAIR, SITE COACH AND TEAM LEADER. IN TULSA, AS WELL AS HOUSTON ISD, ALIEF ISD, KATY ISD AND SPRING ISD. [00:40:02] MISS FINLEY COMPLETED THE MESQUITE ISD'S ASPIRING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PROGRAM AND HOLDS A BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE FROM PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY AND A MASTER OF EDUCATION IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION FROM LAMAR UNIVERSITY. MISS SIERRA FINLEY, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT CROSS. RIVER. I HAVE ONE MORE BOARD THAT YOU APPROVED AT OUR MAY SPECIAL MEETING, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT WITH US SO WE CAN INTRODUCE MISS ESSER ANY ALANIZ. SHE IS GOING TO BE THE NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT RURAL ELEMENTARY. SHE'S JOINING MESQUITE ISD, BRINGING A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE IN BOTH GENERAL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION. MOST RECENTLY, SHE SERVED AS AN AMPLIFY THIRD GRADE READING BILINGUAL TEACHER AT MENORAH STEM ACADEMY, WHERE SHE ALSO TAUGHT THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE MATH AND SCIENCE. PRIOR TO HER TIME AT MENORAH, MISS ALANI SERVED IN DALLAS ISD AS A BILINGUAL READING TEACHER, READING INSTRUCTIONAL COACH AND CAMPUS FACILITATOR. SHE EARNED A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION FROM TEXAS WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY AND A MASTER OF EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FROM TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY. MISS ALANIZ, NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT ROUGLE. AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU. YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF YOU. OKAY, NEXT WE ARE GOING TO CONSTRUCTION. FIRST ITEM IS AN ACTION ITEM TO APPROVE AWARDS FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR OF SEMAR FOR MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. ADDITION AND RENOVATION. A 2025 BOND PROJECT. MR. POOLE? HELLO. HOW ARE YOU, SIR? THANK YOU. PRESIDENT CARBO, DOCTOR RIVERA, SCHOOL BOARD. WE'RE HERE TONIGHT TO. TO NAME THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR FOR POTEET HIGH SCHOOL. ON THIS ONE RIGHT HERE. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS FOR C M AT RISK NUMBER 2026-2 FOR PETTITE. HIGH SCHOOL. RENOVATION AND ADDITIONS WERE RELEASED ON APRIL 16TH, 2026. 28 VENDORS WERE NOTIFIED AND 15 RESPONDED AND RECEIVED THEIR BIDS. THE PROJECT ESTIMATE AT THIS TIME IS $47,923,899. THE ADMINISTRATION THAT THE BOARD. THE. TO THE ADMINISTRATION, WE RECOMMEND TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO AWARD THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR TO CORE CONSTRUCTION WHO WAS THE BEST EVALUATED EVALUATED OFFER AS WE GRADED. BOARD MEMBERS MR. PRESIDENT MOVED TO APPROVE CORPS AS THE CONTRACT CONTRACTOR AT RISK FOR POTEET HIGH SCHOOL. OKAY, I'LL ENTERTAIN A SECOND. COLLIER. THERE'S A MOTION BY MR. SEWARD, A SECOND BY MR. COLLIER TO APPROVE AWARD FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR TO SEYMORE FOR MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. ADDITION AND RENOVATION 2025 BOND PROJECT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? WE JUST DID POTEET, THOUGH. YES. HE GAVE ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEAM. OH WELL YOU WENT TO ITEM NUMBER TWO. OH. WELL WE'RE GOING TO DO ITEM NUMBER TWO NOW. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER TWO. NO, YOU ALREADY READ IT. OKAY. ALREADY READ NUMBER TWO. WE'LL APPROVE THAT ONE. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO DO ITEM NUMBER TWO. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. OPPOSED. SAME SIGN. EYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. I GUESS I FAILED A TEST. YOU WERE TESTING ME, RIGHT? YEAH. THAT'S OKAY. NOT REALLY. BUT WE'RE STILL FRIENDS, MR. POOLE. OKAY. NOW WE'RE GOING TO TRY ITEM NUMBER ONE ONE. OKAY. WHICH IS TO APPROVE THE AWARD FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR OF SEYMOUR FOR MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. ADDITION AND RENOVATION. A 2025 BOND PROJECT. OKAY. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS FOR THE CM AT RISK PACKAGE, 2026-2 FOR THE MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. ADDITIONS AND RENOVATIONS WERE RELEASED ON APRIL 16TH, 2026. 28 VENDORS WERE NOTIFIED AND 14 RESPONSES WERE RECEIVED. THIS PROJECT ESTIMATE IS AT $51,997,579. THE ADDITION THE ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE AND AWARD THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR TO CORE CONSTRUCTION, WHO WAS THE BEST EVALUATED OFFER NOW BY CHOOSING CORE CONSTRUCTION. WE WERE, WE WERE ALLOWED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COMBO PACKAGE, WHICH LOWERED THEIR FEE FROM 1.95% TO 1.75% ON BOTH PROJECTS. AND SO THE ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVED THIS. [00:45:05] MR. PRESIDENT, I LIKE A BARGAIN. SO I MOVE TO APPROVE POOR CONSTRUCTION AS THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK FOR MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. IT'S A NEW VOICE. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU, MISS MORRIS. OKAY, THERE'S A MOTION BY MR. EVERETT, SECOND BY MISS MORRIS, TO APPROVE THE AWARD FOR GENERAL CONTRACTOR FOR MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL. ADDITION AND RENOVATION OF 2025 BOND PROJECT. ANY QUESTIONS OR CORRECTIONS? BEING THERE? NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED. SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. ACTION ITEM NUMBER THREE. APPROVE SCHEMATIC DESIGN FOR THE PRE-K CENTER. OKAY. THANK YOU. BOARD. AGAIN TONIGHT THE DLR GROUP, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR NEW ARCHITECTS, WILL PRESENT THE SCHEMATIC DESIGN FOR THE EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING ACADEMY. WITH US TONIGHT FROM DLR GROUP IS GARY RADEMACHER. RICHARD HUNG AND CRAIG BORKENHAGEN. THANKS, DON. NO. MR.. GOOD EVENING. PRESIDENT. TRUSTEES. DOCTOR RIVERA, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR AWARD TONIGHT. IT'S REALLY A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU TONIGHT. I'LL INTRODUCE MY COLLEAGUES. WITH ME IS OUR SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, RICHARD WONG. IS DOING ALL OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT WORK ON YOUR ON YOUR PRE-K CENTER. AND THEN CRAIG, YOU'LL HEAR FROM HIM. BORKENHAGEN IS DOING OUR PROJECT ARCHITECTURE ON THE JOB. SO LOCAL TEAM, WE REPRESENT OUR DALLAS OFFICE WITH DLR GROUP, REGION TEN BASED. AND SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT. AS WE GET STARTED HERE. I WANTED JUST TO LET YOU KNOW HOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THIS PROJECT IS TO MESQUITE ISD. WE HAVE WE STARTED THIS JOURNEY WITH YOU IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. AND WITH AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF HELP STARTING WITH DOCTOR RIVERA AND HIS TEAM, DOCTOR FIELDS TO DON AND TO JAY, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF INPUT SINCE JANUARY TO BRING YOU TO THE SCHEMATIC DESIGN PRESENTATION HERE. WE BELIEVE IT'S EXCITING. AND YOU'RE GOING TO FIND SOME SOME REALLY FUN THINGS WITHIN THE PRE-K. AND REALLY AS YOU JOURNEY INTO THIS NEW ENDEAVOR. SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO CRAIG AND HE'LL TAKE YOU THROUGH AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MAKE SURE I CAN USE THIS. RIGHT. SO AS GARY MENTIONED, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF REALLY WONDERFUL COLLABORATION WITH THE DISTRICT ON THE DESIGN OF THIS PRE-K CENTER UP TO THIS POINT, STARTING WITH A FEW PICTURES THAT YOU SEE HERE, SOME VISIONING SESSIONS WITH THE DISTRICT WHERE WE REALLY FOCUSED ON THREE KEY THINGS THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SITE, THE, THE SITE AT THE MACRO SCALE, THE ORGANIZATION OF THE BUILDING ITSELF, AND ALL THE CLASSROOMS AND OTHER SPACES WITHIN IT AT THE MICRO SCALE. WHAT ARE THE KEY ADJACENCIES AND, AND RELATIONSHIPS OF, OF CLASSROOMS TO ADMINISTRATION, TO NURSING THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THEN ALSO WHAT ARE THE, THE DISTRICT'S VALUES THAT THEY WANT TO BE EMBODIED WITHIN THIS NEW PRE-K CENTER? THE OUTCOME OF THOSE EXERCISES YOU SEE IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THIS SLIDE WERE THREE SCHEMATIC DESIGN LEVEL OPTIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE BUILDING THAT WE THEN DIGITIZED AFTER THE EXERCISES WE WENT THROUGH IN THIS VISIONING SESSION. THEN GOING TO THE SITE OVERALL WE STARTED TO ORGANIZE THE SITE THINKING WHERE DO WE WANT THE, THE BUILDING TO SIT ON THE SITE? IT'S LOCATED FAIRLY CLOSE TO FENTON P LUCAS AND MACKENZIE ROAD. THIS IS THE BEST VIEW OF THE SITE. SO YEAH, SO PEOPLE COMING ON FAITH ON LUCAS OR MACKENZIE HAVE A REALLY NICE VIEW AND VISTA OF, OF THE, OF THE BUILDING. WE HAVE PARENT DROP OFF COMING IN FROM MACKENZIE ROAD AND STACKING AND LOOPING OFF OF THAT WITH A BUS LOOP TO THE NORTH PLAN NORTH OF THE SITE. AND THEN THE BUILDING ITSELF IS ORGANIZED KIND OF AROUND AN OUTDOOR COURTYARD THAT YOU SEE KIND OF WITH THAT NUMBER FIVE THERE IN THE MIDDLE. SO MOVING TO THE NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS HOW THE BUILDING IS ORGANIZED OVERALL. WE HAVE ABOUT 28 CLASSROOMS WHICH ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR LEARNING PODS WITH THE NECESSARY STORAGE AND RESTROOMS AND TEACHER SPACES IN EACH OF THOSE PODS. EACH POD IS EXACTLY THE SAME. ONE KIND OF INTERESTING THING, AND I'LL GET INTO THIS IN A LITTLE BIT, IS THAT WITHIN EACH POD, [00:50:04] WE'RE WORKING WITH AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT THAT DOES A SPECIAL KIND OF CLASSROOM CALLED, WE'RE CALLING IT IMMERSIVE LEARNING. BUT AGAIN, I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT. SO WITHIN EACH POD, WE HAVE IMMERSIVE LEARNING CLASSROOMS. WE HAVE YOUR MORE CLASSIC LEARNING CLASSROOMS ALL SURROUNDED OR ALL SURROUNDING, RATHER THIS KIND OF ZONE IN YELLOW, WHICH IS A COLLABORATION ZONE WITH SOFT SEATING NOOKS FOR READING. WE HAVE A LIBRARY CORNER IN THE CORNER OF EACH POD JUST OPENS UP A LOT MORE DIVERSE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AT THE PRE-K LEVEL, AND WE'LL SEE SOME IMAGES LATER IN THE PRESENTATION AS WELL. THAT'S EACH LEARNING POD. THE ENTRY TO THE SCHOOL COMES IN FROM PLAN SOUTH. WE HAVE THIS NICE WIDE CORRIDOR THAT OPENS UP INTO A VIEW OF THAT OUTDOOR PLAY AREA IN THE CENTER CENTER OF THE SPACE, TO THE LEFT OF THE CORRIDOR. THE MAIN CORRIDOR IS OUR ADMINISTRATION WING, KIND OF IN RED. AND THEN TO THE RIGHT IS OUR NURSING SUITE, OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION SUITE IN PURPLE, AND THEN A DAYCARE IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER WHERE YOU KIND OF SEE THAT NUMBER ONE. NEXT. SO I MENTIONED WE REALLY WANTED THE VALUES OF THE DISTRICT TO BE EMBODIED IN THIS BUILDING. AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IN THE COLORED LETTERS ON THE LEFT. WE WANTED THIS BUILDING TO REALLY BE WELCOMING AND INSPIRING. WE WANTED IT TO BE INTERACTIVE AND EXPLORATORY. WE WANTED STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AND PARENTS ALIKE TO FEEL SAFE AND CONNECTED. WE WANTED THE SPACES THEMSELVES TO BE FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE TO THESE DIFFERENT KINDS OF LEARNING MODALITIES THAT THE DISTRICT WANTS TO, TO USE. AND THEN WE ALSO WANTED THIS TO BE AS INCLUSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERY STUDENT, PARENT, AND TEACHER AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS A COUPLE QUICK DIAGRAMS OF THE MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM, WHICH ACTUALLY LET ME GO BACK A COUPLE TO THIS PLAN BECAUSE I SKIPPED OVER SOMETHING. SO THOSE ARE THE PODS. WE HAVE THE ENTRY WING ADMINISTRATION WING IN THE MIDDLE. WE ALSO HAVE SPLIT DINING IN THESE KIND OF GREEN ZONES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE OUTDOOR PLAY AREA. IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DISTRICT, WE UNDERSTOOD THAT'S THE WAY WE WANTED THIS BUILDING TO WORK. SO STUDENTS CAN DINE ON EITHER SIDE, THEY DON'T HAVE TO WALK TOO FAR TO ONE. A LARGE DINING ROOM ON ONE SIDE OF THE BUILDING, TO THE LEFT, IN THAT LARGE YELLOW SQUARE YOU SEE IS OUR MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM, WHICH IS GOING TO DOUBLE AS A STORM SHELTER. AND THEN TO THE RIGHT IS WHERE THE KITCHEN IS GOING TO BE. MOVING FORWARD AGAIN. SO THAT MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM IS GOING TO BE, AS I SAID, OUR STORM SHELTER, BUT IT'S STILL GOING TO BE A REALLY BRIGHT AND INVITING AND FUN SPACE WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT KIND OF STRIPING ON THE FLOOR THAT WE'RE STUDYING TO LET THE STUDENTS USE THE SPACE IN AS MANY INTERACTIVE AND DYNAMIC WAYS AS POSSIBLE. SO NOW I'LL TAKE YOU THROUGH A FEW JUST KIND OF SCHEMATIC DESIGN LEVEL IMAGES OF WHAT THE PROJECT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE FROM THE OUTSIDE. WE HAVE MOMENTS OF GLASS, MOMENTS OF BRICK, AND THEN MOMENTS OF THIS HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE PANELS THAT ARE REALLY SEEKING TO RECALL THE, THE FLAVOR AND, AND COLORS AND FEEL OF THE DISTRICT AND OF THE CITY OF MESQUITE. THERE WILL BE A DEDICATED ENTRY FOR THE DAYCARE, WHICH YOU SEE IN THIS IMAGE HERE, AS WELL AS A DEDICATED SMALL OUTDOOR PLAY AREA THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS BUILT UP WITH, WITH HARD PLAY STRUCTURES AS COMPARED TO THE OVERALL PLAY AREA. THIS IS THE END OF ONE OF THOSE LEARNING PODS. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE BUT THAT LARGE GLASS FACADE IS THE END OF THE LEARNING POD, THE END OF THE COLLABORATION ZONE, MORE HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE PANELS. AND THEN TO THE LEFT, YOU SEE THIS KIND OF BRICK TEXTURING GOING FROM A DARK TO A LIGHT GRADIENT. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT, WHAT LOOKS LIKE WOOD IS ACTUALLY ALUMINUM PANELS JUST SO THAT HOLDS UP BETTER IN THE EXTERIOR AND DOESN'T GRAY OR ANYTHING. THEN THIS IS AN OVERALL SHOT OF THE SCHOOL LOOKING AT HOW THOSE PODS AND THE ADMINISTRATION, THE KITCHEN AND THE STORM SHELTER MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM ARE ALL KIND OF ARRANGED AROUND THAT OUTDOOR PLAY AREA, REALLY GIVING THAT FEELING OF CONNECTEDNESS AND SAFETY THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR. THEN YOU SEE THE BUS LOOP IN THIS IMAGE ON THE, THE BOTTOM OF THE IMAGE, AS WELL AS THE PARENT STACKING LOOP AT THE, THE TOP OF THE IMAGE. UPPER RIGHT IS PHAIDON, AND THEN UPPER LEFT IS STARTS WITH AN M AND I ALREADY FORGOT IT. [00:55:06] THE. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. THIS IS A VIEW OF THAT OUTDOOR PLAY AREA. REALLY LOOKING TO INCORPORATE A BUNCH OF OR MANY DIFFERENT STYLES OF PLAY, ALLOWING THE STUDENTS TO USE THE SPACE IN DYNAMIC WAYS. THIS IS A VIEW OF THE RECEPTION AREA, TRYING TO BRING A LOT OF THE, AGAIN, FLAVORS AND STYLE OF MESQUITE INTO THIS NEW PRE-K CENTER, MAKING IT AS FUN AND INVITING FOR STUDENTS AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS A VIEW OF THE LEFT HAND DINING AREA WITH A NICE STOREFRONT VIEW OUT TO THE OUTDOOR PLAY AREA. SO THIS IS THE KIND OF EXPERIENCE STUDENTS WOULD GET IF THEY WERE DINING. THEN THIS IS A VIEW OF THE LEARNING POD COLLABORATION ZONE. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF SPACE FOR TACK BOARDS AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF SEATING AND DESKS AND, AND CASEWORK YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT, AS WELL AS AN OPEN TO THE STRUCTURE CEILING ABOVE WITH SOME INTERESTING LIGHTS AND CEILING BAFFLES. AND THEN WE HAD THAT EXTERIOR VIEW OF THE STOREFRONT FROM THE OUTSIDE. THIS IS THE SAME VIEW FROM THE INSIDE WITH THAT NICE GLASS VIEW TO THE OUTSIDE AT THE END. I MENTIONED BRIEFLY IMMERSIVE LEARNING A FEW MINUTES AGO. WE'RE WORKING WITH THE DISTRICT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT WANTS TO BE LIKE, HOW BUILT OUT THOSE CLASSROOMS WANT TO BE. BUT THOSE WILL BE MUCH MORE HEAVILY THEMED TOWARDS SPECIFIC THINGS. AND WE JUST THREW A COUPLE IMAGES UP HERE TO GIVE AN IDEA. THIS IS NOT A FINALIZED IMAGE BY ANY MEANS OR FINALIZED CONCEPT, BUT IT GIVES THE IDEA THAT IT'S NOT YOUR TYPICAL LEARNING CLASSROOM. AND THEN I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY THIS. OH, PERFECT. THIS IS AN ANIMATION EXPLAINING OUR KIND OF DESIGN FROM A VERY CONCEPTUAL LEVEL UP TO THOSE IMAGES THAT YOU JUST SAW. RIGHT NOW, COVERED WITH LOTS OF TREES. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS. AND WITH THAT, WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOUR APPROVAL FOR THE SCHEMATIC DESIGN FOR THE EARLY [01:00:06] CHILDHOOD LEARNING ACADEMY. I'M GLAD YOU PUT THE NAME OF THE. EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING CENTER. AND SINCE SHE'S HERE, I'M GOING TO MENTION IT. SO. BOARD MEMBERS. THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION IF YOU SO CHOOSE. MOTION TO APPROVE. DOCTOR WILLIAMS. YES. SECOND. YEAH. OH, YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. SHE'S SO CASUAL. YES. OKAY. THERE'S A MOTION BY DOCTOR WILLIAMS, A SECOND BY MISS COLLIER TO APPROVE THE SCHEMATIC FOR DESIGN FOR THE PRE-K CENTER. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? ECHOES LIKE SOME OF THE LIGHTING THAT I SAW IN THERE. WAS THAT ON PURPOSE? OKAY, COOL. YES, I DID LIKE THE SOUNDS OF THE CHILDREN WHEN THEY SHOWED THE PLAYGROUND. THAT'S PRETTY COOL. ANYWAYS. OKAY. BE. NO COMMENTS. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED. SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AT THIS POINT, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK. I WAS GOING TO TAKE ONE EARLIER, BUT I WANTED THOSE THAT WERE HERE TO SEE THE SCHEMATIC. I THINK THIS WAS GOING TO BE A GREAT PRESENTATION. SO THANK YOU FOR INDULGING. WE'LL TAKE FIVE MINUTES. AT THIS TIME WE WILL RECONVENE. OUR NEXT SECTION IS SECTION B WHICH IS EFFECTIVENESS REPORT. AND WE HAVE A REPORT ON ARTS. DOCTOR RIVERA. YEAH THAT'LL BE MR. PRESIDENT, THAT'S MR. STRINGER. HE'S GOING TO TAKE IT FROM HERE. GO AHEAD, SIR. THERE IT GOES. GOOD EVENING. PRESIDENT. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR, DOCTOR RIVERA. WE'RE VERY GLAD TO BE HERE TONIGHT AND TO PRESENT ON THEATER AND VISUAL ARTS THIS EVENING. SO WE HAVE LOTS TO PRESENT ON. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'LL JUST GET STARTED. OUR DEPARTMENT VISION FOR OUR FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT IS WE SERVE TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP THAT IS BOTH EMPATHETIC AND EMPOWERING. WE WANT TO ADVANCE THE ARTS THROUGH ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT, DEVELOP A SOPHISTICATED EXPERIENCE IN THE ART, WHICH ALLOWS ALL CHILDREN TO ACHIEVE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. AND WE WERE REALLY INTENTIONAL WITH THE WORD SOPHISTICATED. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR TEAM HAS REALLY PUT TOGETHER. WE INSTITUTED A NEW TEAM THIS YEAR CALLED, WE CALL IT OUR CAST. AND SO OUR CAST REALLY HELPED US REFINE THIS AND REALLY SAY, WHAT IS OUR VISION FOR OUR STUDENTS? WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GETTING THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ARTS POSSIBLE IN MESQUITE ISD. SO STARTING WITH THEATER ARTS, OF COURSE, ENROLLMENT IS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THAT. SO YOU'LL SEE THE GRAPH HERE. WE PUT BOTH VISUAL ARTS AND THEATER ARTS ON THE GRAPHIC HERE. SO YOU'LL SEE THAT WE HAD A REALLY BIG UPTICK IN 2020 425 AND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A DOWNSWING IN BOTH THEATER AND VISUAL ARTS. AND THIS YEAR, THAT'S FOLLOWING THE TREND OF OUR REDUCTION IN ENROLLMENT FOR THE DISTRICT, ACTUALLY. SO MIDDLE SCHOOL, WE HAVE 1352 STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THEATER, HIGH SCHOOL, 1187 STUDENTS ENROLLED. BUT WE HAVE INCREASED THE PERCENTAGE OF OVERALL STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE ARTS, 80.56% OF ALL MISM ISD STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED IN A FINE ARTS COURSE, WHICH IS HUGE. I ALWAYS SAID WHEN WE GET TO 80%, WE'RE IN THE PROBABLY TOP 5% OF FINE ARTS DEPARTMENTS IN TERMS OF ENROLLMENT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. SO WE ARE ALMOST THERE. LAST YEAR WE WERE LIKE 79.41 AND WE WENT OVER 80% OF OUR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN FINE ARTS THIS YEAR. WE'RE REALLY, REALLY PROUD OF THAT. OF COURSE, WE HAVE LOTS OF ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS IN THEATER. WE DO AN MR CHILDREN'S SHOW, FALL PRODUCTION. WE BRING ALL THE THIRD GRADERS AND OUR STUDENTS ACTUALLY PERFORM THIS FOR THE THIRD GRADERS. THIS YEAR, THE JOHN HORN JAG THEATER DEPARTMENT PERFORMED FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENT THIRD GRADE STUDENTS. WE BROUGHT THEM ALL TO HORN HIGH SCHOOL. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. OUR HIGH SCHOOL MUSICALS, ACTUALLY, THE PICTURE ON THE SLIDE HERE IS FROM ANNIE WEST MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL'S MUSICAL THIS YEAR. OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL ONE-ACT PLAY COMPETITION. WE'VE ACTUALLY EXPANDED THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT AND STARTED PLAYING WITH OUR FRIENDS. JUST, JUST TO THE, TO THE WEST OF US, IRVING ISD AND GOT SOME REALLY GREAT THINGS. MCDONALD MIDDLE SCHOOL ACTUALLY WON THAT COMPETITION WITH IRVING ISD, OUR HIGH SCHOOL ONE-ACT PLAY COMPETITION. I'LL REPORT ON IN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE IN A MINUTE. WE HAVE LOTS OF FALL AND SPRING PRODUCTIONS. [01:05:04] ALL OF OUR THEATER DEPARTMENTS, ESPECIALLY AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, ARE VERY ACTIVE. THEY USUALLY DO ABOUT FOUR SHOWS A YEAR. OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS DO A FALL AND A SPRING PRODUCTION, ONE OF THOSE BEING A ONE ACT PLAY. AND OF COURSE, WE DO SENIOR DIRECTED SHOWS WHERE ALL OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, THEY WRITE A SHOW AND THEN THEY GET TO DIRECT THEIR OWN SHOW. WE. AND THEN WE TAKE THEM THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS THAT OUR DIRECTORS GO THROUGH. WE TAKE THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING THEIR SHOW APPROVED BY OUR ADMINISTRATION AND EVERYTHING ELSE BEFORE THEY GET TO DO THOSE SHOWS AWARDS AND HONORS FOR THE YEAR. THIS YEAR IN THEATER UIL, ONE ACT PLAY IS OUR BIGGEST, BIGGEST THING. WE HAVE EIGHT STUDENTS IN MESQUITE ISD WERE NAMED TO THE HONORABLE MENTION ALL STAR CAST. TEN STUDENTS WERE NAMED TO THE ALL STAR CAST. SEVEN STUDENTS WERE NAMED ALL STAR TECHNICAL CREW MEMBERS, AND THE WEST MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL WAS NAMED THE BEST TECHNICAL CREW AT DISTRICT COMPETITION, SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THEM. WEST MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL ADVANCED TO THE FIVE A BI-DISTRICT ROUND, AND JOHN HORN HIGH SCHOOL ADVANCED TO THE SIX A BI-DISTRICT ROUND. SO HAVING TWO PLAYS ADVANCE AGAIN THIS YEAR WAS REALLY, REALLY INCREDIBLE. HORN HIGH SCHOOL REPRESENTING US VERY WELL IN SIX A IT'S THE FIRST TIME SINCE I'VE BEEN IN THE DISTRICT THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO ADVANCE IN SIX A WE GOT TO SEE THEM AT WACO MIDWAY PERFORM AND THE BI DISTRICT ROUND. AND THEY WERE JUST INCREDIBLE THIS YEAR. MOVING ON TO VISUAL ARTS, ENROLLMENT IN VISUAL ARTS. AND BY THE WAY, ALL OF THE PICTURES YOU SEE HERE ARE ACTUAL ARTWORK CREATED BY OUR STUDENTS THIS YEAR. ENROLLMENT IN THE VISUAL ARTS. YOU CAN SEE WE JUST PUT THE CHART HERE ONCE AGAIN SHOWING BOTH THEATER AND VISUAL ARTS ENROLLMENT. YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE HAVE LOTS OF ENROLLMENT AND WHERE, WHERE WE'RE MOVING MOVING FORWARD. AND MOST OF THESE ARE BASED ON THE SIZE OF SCHOOL THAT WE HAVE AS WELL. YOU CAN SEE THE BIGGER SCHOOLS HAVE A BIGGER ENROLLMENT IN BOTH OF THESE THINGS. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ALL PRE-K THROUGH FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS ARE SERVED BY 25 VISUAL ARTS EDUCATORS IN THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. THAT'S REALLY GREAT. AND THEY GET WEEKLY INSTRUCTION IN VISUAL ARTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND EVERY STUDENT GETS THAT INSTRUCTION IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, WE HAVE 2282 STUDENTS ENROLLED THIS YEAR, AND IN HIGH SCHOOL, WE HAVE 2620 STUDENTS ENROLLED THIS YEAR. ALONG WITH ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES, WE DO THAT FOR VISUAL ARTS AS WELL. WE HAVE ART SHOWS FOR ALL LEVEL, AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING DIFFERENT WAYS TO SHOW OUR ARTWORK OFF. WE DON'T HAVE A CENTRALIZED GALLERY, SO A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL SEE THE HALLWAYS OF THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING LINED WITH OUR ART. WE DO A LOT OF ART SHOWS HERE AT THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. WE ALSO HAVE BEEN USING THE VISION ROOM THIS YEAR TO GET MORE OF OUR COMMUNITY INVOLVED. WE ACTUALLY HAD TWO SHOWS THAT WERE SO BIG WE WE KIND OF BLEW OUT THE VISION ROOM. WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ROOM FOR EVERYBODY IN. SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING FOR A LARGE VENUE SPACES TO HAVE OUR ART SHOWS BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MUCH COMMUNITY ATTENDANCE AT THAT REGION AND STATE TAEA COMPETITIONS TAEA IS THE TEXAS ART EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION. THEY SPONSOR ALL OF THE ART COMPETITIONS. WE DON'T HAVE A U.I.L FOR ART, SO THEY SPONSOR ALL OF OUR ART COMPETITIONS. VASE STANDS FOR VISUAL ARTS SCHOLASTIC EVENT. AND THEN SO THAT'S THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL. JUNIOR VASE IS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL AND ELEMENTARY TEAM. IT'S OBVIOUSLY FOR THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. WE DO A VERTICAL TEAM SHOW, SO WE WANTED. ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO SHOW IS THAT YOU CAN BE IN VISUAL ARTS, ALL OF THE FINE ARTS, ALL THE WAY FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE. THERE'S NO STOPPING. SO ONE OF ONE OF THE SHOWS THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IS THIS VERTICAL TEAM SHOW, WHERE WE HAVE STUDENTS FROM EVERY ELEMENTARY, AND WE GROUP THEM BY FEEDER PATTERNS SO THEY CAN SEE. AND IT WAS JUST REALLY AWESOME TO WATCH THE STUDENTS COME IN AND THE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL ARTWORK AND THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DESCRIBING THEIR ARTWORK TO THE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS AND TELLING THEM HOW THEY COULD CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IT'S JUST A REALLY NEAT EVENT FOR US TO SHOW. YOU CAN KEEP CREATING ART ALL THE WAY THROUGH. WE DO AN ELEMENTARY FINE ARTS FESTIVAL. WE DO BOTH FOR MUSIC AND VISUAL ARTS. THE VISUAL ARTS SIDE. WE DO A BIG ART SHOW AND THIS THAT WAS THE ONE THAT WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, WE WE WERE WORRIED THE FIRE MARSHAL MIGHT COME AND SEE US, BUT HE DIDN'T, SO WE WERE GOOD. SO WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. BUT THAT ELEMENTARY FINE ARTS FESTIVAL IS A HIGHLY ATTENDED SHOW FOR US. AND OF COURSE, WE DO PRINCIPAL CHOICES AWARDS WHERE EVERY SCHOOL WE GIVE THE PRINCIPAL A FEW. THE ART TEACHER TAKES A FEW PIECES OF WORK TO THEIR PRINCIPAL, AND THE PRINCIPAL CHOOSES A FIRST PLACE WINNER. AND THEN WE DISPLAY THAT IN THE HALLS OF THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING WITH A BIG PRINCIPAL CHOICE RIBBON THAT THEY GET TO TAKE HOME AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AND WE DO THE HOLIDAY CARD CONTEST. YOU GUYS REALLY HELP US WITH THAT. WHEN THE BOARD SENDS OUT THEIR CARD, IT'S ALL ARTWORK CREATED BY OUR STUDENTS, AND WE SPLIT THAT UP BETWEEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEN THE ELEMENTARIES AWARDS AND HONORS AND VISUAL ARTS. THIS YEAR WE HAD THE HIGH SCHOOL VASE COMPETITION. WE HAD 127 TOTAL ENTRIES FROM MESQUITE ISD. THAT'S UP BY ABOUT 50 ENTRIES FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. SO THAT'S REALLY GREAT. WE'RE REALLY SEEING SOME REALLY GREAT WORK COMING THROUGH THERE. 107 WORKS RECEIVED A RATING OF FOUR, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST RATING AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL, FOUR STUDENTS QUALIFIED FOR THE STATE COMPETITION, [01:10:05] AND THEN THE TWO WORKS YOU ACTUALLY SEE ON THE SCREEN RIGHT HERE ARE TWO WORKS THAT WERE AWARDED A BLUE RIBBON AT THE STATE COMPETITION AND MIDDLE SCHOOL AND JUNIOR VASE COMPETITION. WE HAD 76 ENTRIES FROM MESQUITE ISD. ALL OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED. THIS YEAR, 43 WORKS RECEIVED A RATING OF FOUR, AND ONE STUDENT FROM FRAZIER MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS AWARDED A PLATINUM LEVEL. WHICH MEDAL? WHICH IS THE HIGHEST RATING. THEY DON'T ADVANCE TO ANOTHER LEVEL IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND THIS IS THAT PARTICULAR WORK THAT RECEIVED A PLATINUM MEDAL AT JUNIOR VASE COMPETITION. WE ALSO ENTERED SOME STUDENTS IN THE TEXAS STATE YOUTH ART MONTH COMPETITION. SO REBECCA ROSAS FROM TOSH ELEMENTARY HAD ARTWORK TITLED SUNSHINE AND CITRUS, AND THAT WAS DISPLAYED AT THE BOB BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM DURING MARCH 26TH AS A PART OF YOUTH ART MONTH. SO IT'S THE FIRST TIME, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN THE FINANCE DIRECTOR THAT WE'VE HAD A STUDENT HAVE THEIR ARTWORK DISPLAYED IN AUSTIN, AND WE GOT TO GO DOWN AND SEE IT AND TAKE PICTURES WITH IT. AND IT WAS JUST A REALLY COOL MOMENT FOR OUR STUDENT. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DISTRICT HISTORY, WE HAVE WON ANOTHER AWARD FOR FINE ARTS. WE ARE A DISTRICT OF DISTINCTION BY THE TEXAS ART EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR AWARD. IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO EARN IT. AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT OUR VISUAL ARTS FACILITATOR, MISS CHERYL LOTT. SHE'S BEEN WITH US FOR TWO YEARS NOW. ONE OF THE GOALS SHE SET FOR HERSELF WHEN SHE CAME INTO THE POSITION WAS THAT SHE WAS GOING TO HELP US EARN THIS AWARD, AND IT'S A LOT OF PAPERWORK ON HER PART. SHE CAN'T BE WITH US TONIGHT. SHE HAD A PLUMBING EMERGENCY AT HER HOUSE AND WAS WAITING ON A PLUMBER EVEN ABOUT 15 MINUTES AGO WAS TEXTING. I'M STILL WAITING ON THE PLUMBER, BUT CHERYL LOTT IS WITH US. I SHOULD ALSO RECOGNIZE MISS BRIANNA TURNER, WHO IS OUR FACILITATOR OF THEATER AND DANCE. SO SHE HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO WITH THE THEATER PART OF THIS. SO WE'RE LOOKING AHEAD NOW. WHAT'S NEXT FOR OUR FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT? WHERE CAN WE IMPROVE? WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO IMPROVE, ALWAYS LOOKING TO GET BETTER. CONTINUED FOCUS ON RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, ESPECIALLY THE RETENTION SIDE. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY WORKING ON RIGHT NOW TO INCREASE ADVANCED COURSE PROGRAM ENROLLMENT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF THOSE REALLY ADVANCED PLAYS OUR SENIORS GET TO DO THE SENIOR DIRECTS. WE SEE A LOT OF THE AWARDS COMING FROM THAT. AND THEN ALSO OUR AP ART PROGRAM REALLY FOCUSING ON GETTING MORE OF OUR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE. WE DO AN AP ART SHOW ADJUDICATED SHOW AT THE END OF THE YEAR WHERE WE HAVE AN OUTSIDE ADJUDICATOR COME IN, LOOK AT ALL THE AP PORTFOLIOS AND THEN JUDGE THEM AND GRADE THEM. AND THEN WE HAND OUT A FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PRIZE FOR THAT PARTICULAR SHOW AS WELL. SO REALLY LOOKING AT MAKING THAT EVEN BIGGER. I THINK WHEN MY FIRST YEAR HERE, WE HAD THREE STUDENTS THAT SHOWED ARTWORK AND THIS YEAR ONCE AGAIN, WE HAD VISION ROOM ONE AND TWO THAT WERE COMPLETELY FULL OF ARTWORK THIS YEAR. SO TO CONTINUE THAT, MAKING SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE ADVANCING THROUGH AND KNOWING THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE THE FINE ARTS ALL THE WAY THROUGH THEIR SCHOOL CAREER HERE IN MESQUITE ISD FOSTER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY BY CREATING NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO DO. ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, MESQUITE HIGH HAS BEEN DECORATING DOWNTOWN MESQUITE. IF YOU SEE ALL OF THE BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN MESQUITE, ALL THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS THAT ARE PUT ON THE WINDOWS, THAT'S ALL DONE BY THE MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL ART CLUB. SO THEY GO OUT AND PARTNER WITH THE LOCAL BUSINESSES, BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE FAIR THAT COMES IN EVERY EVERY MONTH, WORKING WITH THEM TO HAVE SOME MORE ARTWORK, AS WELL AS OTHER FINE ARTS EVENTS COMING. WE'VE HAD THE MARIACHI ENSEMBLE PERFORM OUT THERE THIS YEAR, AND SO WE'RE JUST, WE'RE WORKING TO GET THAT GOING WITH, WITH ALL OF OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AND OF COURSE, INCREASED PARTICIPATION IN TEXAS THESPIAN INDIVIDUAL THEATER EVENT COMPETITION. SO WE EVERY YEAR WE IN GRAPEVINE, THEY DO A REGIONAL LEVEL OF THAT AND THEY CAN ADVANCE OR STATE LEVEL THAT THEY CAN ADVANCE TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL, WHICH IN THE SUMMERS THEY CAN GO COMPETE IN. I BELIEVE IT'S THE BEAUTIFUL STATE OF INDIANA FOR DURING THE SUMMER AND GET THAT ALL GOING. SO BUT WE DO WANT TO HAVE MORE OF THE INDIVIDUAL THEATER COMPETITIONS AND THEN MORE OF OUR STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE VISUAL ARTS COMPETITIONS. AND FINALLY, I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH. THIS BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE ADMINISTRATION HERE IN MESQUITE ISD SUPPORTS OUR FINE ARTS SO INCREDIBLY WELL. WE ARE ABLE TO SUCCEED SO HIGHLY JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DO EVERY DAY. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF FINE ARTS EDUCATION, MESQUITE ISD. YEAH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. STRINGER. ANY QUESTIONS? I WILL TELL YOU, WE DO LOVE THE ARTS AND THAT'S GREAT. AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH HAVING HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, WORKING WITH ELEMENTARY KIDS, THAT'S GOING TO PAY OFF INCREDIBLY GREAT. [01:15:01] SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THAT. AND CONGRATULATIONS ON DISTRICT OF DISTINCTION. FIRST TIME EVER. HEY. VERY EXCITED. FANTASTIC. YOU GUYS ARE DOING VERY WELL. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OUR ADMINISTRATION LOOK AT FIRST. AND THAT IS ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO, LEVEL FOUR GRIEVANCE HEARING OF JOSHUA AND CANDACE FERNANDEZ. BOARD. MR. PRESIDENT, I MOVED TO UPHOLD THE LEVEL THREE GRIEVANCE HEARING DECISION. SECOND. THERE'S A MOTION. THERE'S A MOTION BY MR. EVERETT, A SECOND BY MISS COLYER, TO UPHOLD THE LEVEL FOUR, LEVEL THREE GRIEVANCE DECISION. THE HEARING FOR JOSHUA AND CANDACE FERNANDEZ. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT WE ARE MOVING INTO BUSINESS. THE FIRST ITEM IS A REPORT. THE AUDITOR'S ROLE PRESENTATION. OH THAT WAS OKAY. WE DID THAT ONE IN THE WORKSHOP, GUYS. SORRY, BUT. IT WAS A GOOD ONE. OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO GO TO ITEM NUMBER TWO. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED SCHOOL BUDGET AND TAX REPAIRS. AND I HAVE TO READ THIS. OKAY. SO AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO OPEN PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS AND ITEMS THAT'S POSTED TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET AND THE SCHOOL RATE ON MESQUITE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND REQUIRED TO, WAS REQUIRED TO ADVERTISE AND HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING. IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD REGARDING THIS? MISS SMITH, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY? ANYBODY. YOU COULD, IF YOU WANT. ANYBODY? OKAY. BEEN THERE? NONE. I'M GOING TO CLOSE THIS PUBLIC HEARING. I NOW DECLARE THE MEETING CLOSED OF PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. OKAY, THAT TAKES CARE OF ITEM NUMBER TWO. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE REAL NUMBER THREE. AND THAT IS TO APPROVE THE BUDGET FOR 2026 2027 SCHOOL YEAR. DOCTOR RIVERA WE HAVE A MR. PRADO COME UP. YEAH WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MR. PRADO COME UP TO THE LECTERN AND ENLIGHTEN US. ENLIGHTEN US. I LIKE THAT. WELL GOOD EVENING, BOARD OF TRUSTEES. SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR, DOCTOR ANGEL RIVERA. SO I ALSO WANT TO CONGRATULATE MR. STEWART. MR. STEWART, FOR HIS BIRTHDAY. KEPT IT UNDER WRAPS. MISS MORRIS AND MISS WILLIAMS. CONGRATULATIONS, AND WELCOME TO AN AWESOME TEAM. CAN'T WAIT TO WORK WITH YOU. SO, WITH THAT, SAID PRESIDENT CARBO. I WILL BRIEFLY GO THROUGH A PRESENTATION RELATED TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2627. JUST A QUICK AGENDA. I'LL COVER SOME LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. I'M GOING TO WRAP 3 OR 4 ITEMS TOGETHER TO KIND OF GIVE A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HOW WE GOT HERE. SO I'LL TALK ABOUT THE FIVE YEAR ENROLLMENT TREND, FIVE YEAR BUDGET TO ACTUALS AND HOW WE LANDED EACH YEAR. GIVE YOU A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TAX RATE AND ALSO OF PROPERTY VALUES. SO I WILL WRAP THOSE 2 OR 3 ITEMS TOGETHER AND THEN TALK ABOUT HOW WE GOT TO THE 2627 PROPOSED BUDGET LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS. WE'VE DONE ALL THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY STATE LAW. NOTICE A PUBLIC HEARING ON TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET WAS POSTED IN THE LOCAL PAPER BUDGET SUMMARY WEB POSTING IS ALSO POSTED OUTSIDE THE BUILDING WITH THE AGENDA, A TAXPAYER TAXPAYER IMPACT STATEMENT AND PROPOSED BUDGET REQUIRED BY HB 1522 AS WELL IS [01:20:03] POSTED OUT WITH OUR AGENDA. AND THAT IS BASICALLY STATING WHAT THE MEDIAN HOUSE WOULD COST BASED ON OUR TAX RATE. WE DON'T HAVE THE MEDIAN VALUES, BUT WE DO USE AN AVERAGE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE POSTED OUTSIDE. ALSO, WE JUST HAD THE OPEN HEARING. SO WE'VE MET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET. AS I STATED EARLIER, I'LL GIVE YOU A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING TO OUR DISTRICT. FIRST AND FOREMOST, AS ALL OF YOU KNOW, OUR FUNDING IS DRIVEN BY ENROLLMENT AND AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. AND BACK IN 2021, 2022, WE HAD AN ENROLLMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 38,356 KIDS. AND CURRENTLY WE ARE PROJECTED FOR THE 2627 BUDGET AT 36,000 KIDS. ADDITIONALLY, I WANT TO SAY THAT AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE EVER SINCE COVID HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, FOR OUR STUDENTS. PRIOR TO COVID, OUR AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE WAS APPROXIMATELY 96%. AND AGAIN, IF KIDS ARE NOT IN THEIR SEATS, FUNDING IS NOT DOES NOT COME TO THE DISTRICT. CURRENTLY WE ARE AT 94.4, BUT WE HAVE PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN BETTER SINCE 20 2022 WHERE WE STOOD AT 93%. IN 23, IT WAS 93.5% IN 2024 93.8. AND AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, CURRENTLY WE'RE PROJECTING TO BE AT 94.4%, WHICH IS TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'RE HOPING TO GET BETTER AS THE YEAR COMES. BUDGET TO ACTUALS. I WANTED TO PUT THIS SLIDE TO PUT THINGS INTO CONTEXT. IF YOU LOOK AT THE YEAR WHERE WE WERE AT 2122, YOU WOULD SEE A BUDGET OF APPROXIMATELY A BUDGET OF APPROXIMATELY $400 MILLION. OKAY. AND THAT YEAR, OUR EXPENSES CAME IN RIGHT AT ALMOST $400 MILLION. SO IT WAS FAIRLY BUDGET WISE AND EXPENDITURE WISE, I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT THESE THREE YEARS THAT I'M ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT WERE DURING THE TIME WHERE WE GOT A LOT OF ESSER FUNDING, IF YOU RECALL, WE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS. SO I KIND OF MENTIONED THAT AS AS I TALK ABOUT IN 2020 223, OUR BUDGET WAS APPROXIMATELY 410 MILLION AND OUR EXPENSES CAME IN AT 401. SO THAT YEAR, WE ADDED TO THE FUND BALANCE. AS WE MOVED FORWARD TO 2324, OUR BUDGET WAS AROUND 438 MILLION. WE CAME. WE CAME IN AROUND 439 MILLION THOSE TWO YEARS, 22 AND 23 AND 23 AND 24. WE LEVERAGE ESSER FUNDING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE WITHIN BUDGET, AND WE WERE ABLE TO ADD SOME OF THOSE SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS INTO THE FUND BALANCE. HOWEVER, IN 2425, THERE WERE NO MORE ESSER FUNDS. OKAY. AND I RECALL THAT OUR ENROLLMENT CONTINUES TO TREND DOWN AND WHAT DRIVES REVENUE, ENROLLMENT AND AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. WE'VE NOTICED AND OBVIOUSLY STARTED TO REALLY FOCUS ON WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THERE ARE 3 OR 4 AREAS THAT KIND OF CAME TOGETHER. ONE IS INFLATION CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE, RIGHT? ALL THOSE SORT OF CONTROL. WE ALSO INCREASED COMPENSATION. WE ALSO HAD TO DO A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE MANDATES FROM THE STATE THAT WE HAD TO FUND. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, PROGRESSIVELY EXPENDITURES GOT A LITTLE BIGGER AND OUR REVENUE DID NOT KEEP UP WITH THAT. IT BECAME NO NEW REVENUE, SIGNIFICANT REVENUE TO THE DISTRICT. SO AS REVENUE CONTINUES TO GO DOWN, OUR EXPENSES CONTINUE TO GO UP. WE KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN AND TO RIGHT SIZE THE DISTRICT. AND SO WE WENT INTO 2526 AGGRESSIVELY MAKING SOME CUTS. AND THE CUTS WERE MORE FOCUSED ON NON POSITION ITEMS, A LOT OF NON PERSONNEL ITEMS. WE CUT APPROXIMATELY $17 MILLION OUT OF THE BUDGET EXPENSES THAT YEAR. HOWEVER WE ALSO HAD TO FUND SOME MANDATES SUCH AS SAFETY AND SECURITY WHICH WAS ABOUT $1 MILLION. [01:25:03] HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUES TO GO UP. WE NEEDED $3 MILLION TO OFFSET THAT EXPENSE AND OTHER ITEMS. SO ULTIMATELY THAT YEAR, IT WAS A NET OF ABOUT $12 MILLION THAT WE CUT WITH ALL THOSE CUTS. STILL, WE CAME IN AT A $15 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT. THAT WAS FOR 24, 25. SO IN 2026, AGAIN, WE WENT IN BUDGETING TO DO SOME MAJOR CUTS. AND AGAIN, WE WERE PREDICTING TO BE IN A $23 MILLION, 22, $23 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT. WE SIMPLY COULD NOT AFFORD TO CONTINUE THIS TREND. SO THE BOARD, THE SUPERINTENDENT, CABINET ALL WENT IN THE SAME DIRECTION TO RIGHTSIZE THE DISTRICT. AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT. AS WE PROPOSED THIS BUDGET. ADDITIONALLY, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION RELATED TO OUR TAX RATE. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE'RE HEADING. IN 2020, OUR TAX RATE WAS ACTUALLY IN 2022, OUR TAX RATE WAS APPROXIMATELY $1.28 FOR EVERY $100 WORTH OF VALUATION. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS SLIDE, 2024. WE WENT DOWN APPROXIMATELY $0.19. AND THEN IN 2020 223 YEAR. ALSO THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED A TREE FOR $0.03 TO INCREASE THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS. CURRENTLY, WE'RE PROJECTING TO BE AT 110 FOR THE COMING YEAR WITH A MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TAX RATE OF 0.6969 AND AN INS TAX RATE OF 0.41. I DO WANT TO STATE THAT THE INS TAX RATE IN 2020 WAS $0.48, AND SO WE DECREASED IT IN 2021 BY $0.04. AND THEN AGAIN IN 2022 BY AN ADDITIONAL $0.04. AND THEN THE TAX, THE COMMUNITY, THE MESQUITE ISD COMMUNITY AGAIN SUPPORTED A BOND PROGRAM OF $600 MILLION THAT REQUIRE A $0.01 INCREASE TO THE INS TAX RATE. SO THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE THROUGH THE TREE, THROUGH THE BOND. AND YET YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHERE WE'VE BEEN TRENDING IN TERMS OF TAX RATES. AND WE'RE NOT ANTICIPATING TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE FOR NEXT YEAR UNLESS THERE IS SOME COMPRESSION DRIVEN BY FORMULAS FROM THE STATE. ADDITIONALLY, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION RELATED TO WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN TERMS OF OUR PROPERTY VALUES. PROPERTY VALUES IN MESQUITE CONTINUE TO INCREASE EITHER WHETHER IT'S NEW CONSTRUCTION, WHETHER IT'S JUST THE VALUE OF EVERY HOME AND EVERY BUSINESS GOING UP EVERY YEAR WE HAVE. SO I'VE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE FIRST PRELIMINARY VALUES. AND THEN ULTIMATELY WHERE WE LAND IN TERMS OF CERTIFIED VALUES. AND EVERY YEAR PRELIMINARY VALUES ARE HIGH, RIGHT? AND THEN EVERYONE BEGINS PROTESTING THEIR VALUES AND SO ON AND SO FORTH, BUSINESSES SPECIFICALLY, SO THAT THEN YOU CAN SEE BY THE TIME WE GET TO CERTIFIED VALUES, THE VALUES ARE THE TAXABLE VALUE THAT WE ACTUALLY IMPOSE. THE TAX RATE THAT I JUST SPOKE ABOUT TENDS TO GO DOWN. HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO STATE THAT ANY TAX INCREASE, TAXABLE VALUE INCREASE DOES NOT BENEFIT THE DISTRICT IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE. AND WE DON'T SET THOSE TAX VALUES. THAT IS THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT THAT DOES THAT. ULTIMATELY, AN INCREASE IN TAXABLE VALUE BENEFITS THE STATE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTRIBUTE LESS BECAUSE WE COLLECT MORE TAXES ON THOSE VALUES. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO WITH THAT JUST A BRIEF HISTORY, I KNOW I PROBABLY WENT A LITTLE LONG IN TERMS OF GIVING YOU WHAT HAS HAPPENED. IT'S PROBABLY MY VOICE. IT'S A LITTLE CRACKLING, SO I APOLOGIZE. I JUST HAVE TO SPEAK A LITTLE SLOWER THAN NORMAL. SO BUILDING THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR TOOK A LOT OF WORK. THIS IS THE CULMINATION OF A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS CONTRIBUTING TO WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO YOU, STARTING WITH THE STRATEGIC COMMITTEE THAT WE SET BACK IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND PROVIDED SOME GREAT GUIDANCE TO THE BOARD. THANK YOU TO THE BOARD FOR THE SUPPORT. THANK YOU TO THE SUPERINTENDENT FOR ALL AND THE CABINET AND ALL THE COLLABORATORS TO GET TO WHERE WE'RE AT ARE AT TODAY. BUT THE CHARGE WAS THIS FROM THE BOARD. WE NEED A BALANCED BUDGET. [01:30:03] WE CAN CONTINUE TO APPROVE DEFICIT BUDGETS LIKE WE DID THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND TAPPING INTO A FUND BALANCE THAT'S SHRINKING. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT. SO OUR PROJECTED ENROLLMENT IS 36,000 KIDS IN TERMS OF REVENUE. AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IS 94%. OUR TAX RATE AT 110 AND TAXABLE VALUE IS APPROXIMATELY A 3% IN TERMS OF EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS. AGAIN, A LOT OF STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE BUDGET EXPENSES. THE STRATEGIC REDUCTIONS AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, PAYROLL BUDGETS SPEND RATE AT 97.5% AND ON PAYROLL BUDGET SPENDING 93% TO BUILD SOME CONTINGENCIES. THOSE ARE THE ASSUMPTIONS OF REVENUE AND EXPENSES. HERE ARE A LIST OF THE ITEMS THAT WE REDUCED IN TERMS OF ALIGNING OUR BUDGET TO BE BALANCED. WE DECREASED FUNDING FOR MORE THAN 400 FTES TO THE TUNE OF $25.8 MILLION IN TERMS OF PAYROLL. THAT IS ONE OF THE PIECE THAT OBVIOUSLY DRIVES OUR OUR OUR BUDGET. 88, 85 TO 86% OF OUR BUDGET IS TIED TO PAYROLL. AND AGAIN, OTHER DEPARTMENT REDUCTIONS TO THE TUNE OF 5.6 MILLION. AND THEN OTHER PAYROLL REDUCTIONS OF 2.9 MILLION, FOR A TOTAL OF $34.3 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF EXPENSE REDUCTIONS FOR THIS COMING YEAR. THAT IS ON TOP OF THE 17 MILLION THAT WE DID FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR. IF YOU ADD THOSE TWO TOGETHER, IT'S OVER $50 MILLION WORTH OF REDUCTIONS THAT WE HAVE MADE IN TERMS OF THE EXPENSES. THOSE ARE NOT EASY THINGS TO DO FOR OUR DISTRICT. AND THEY'RE VERY HARD, VERY PAINFUL. BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE VERY EFFICIENT AND OPTIMIZE WHAT IS LEFT TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN AFFORD TO CONTINUE OUR FUNCTION AS AS A DISTRICT. HERE ARE SOME OF THE INCREASES TO THE TUNE OF 8.1 MILLION. A LOT OF THEM HAD TO DO WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION. SPECIAL EDUCATION CONTINUES TO BE A BIG COST DRIVER FOR THE DISTRICT. SO THE 2.5, THE 1.4 WAS RELATED TO SPECIAL EDUCATION INCREASES, AS WELL AS THE $1.1 MILLION FOR THE DEAF PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE IN THE DISTRICT HEALTH INSURANCE FOR A MILLION. AND AGAIN, SECURITY. WE HAVE TO ADD ANOTHER MILLION DOLLARS APPROXIMATELY TO CONTINUE FOR OUR SECURITY PROGRAM. THEN THAT IMPACT WHEN YOU ADD THOSE TWO TOGETHER IS 26.2 MILLION. THOSE ARE HARD COSTS THAT WE HAVE REDUCED. HERE IS JUST AN ILLUSTRATION ON THE LEFT. AND THEN WE ARE PROPOSING TO THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION A BALANCED BUDGET FOR THE 2627 SCHOOL YEAR. AND THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED. OF COURSE, I SPOKE MOSTLY ABOUT THE GENERAL OPERATING FUND ON MY PRESENTATION, BUT OF COURSE, YOU'RE ALSO APPROVING THE DEBT SERVICE FUND TO SUPPORT OUR DEBT AND THE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES BUDGET FOR OUR FOOD SERVICE DEPARTMENT. AND WITH THAT, I WILL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS. I CAN SEE NOW WHY YOUR VOICE IS CRACKING. I JUST WANT TO GO BACK ON THE TAXES WE REDUCED. I KNOW YOU STARTED WITH 2022, BUT I THINK WE GO BACK TO 2019. HAVEN'T WE DROPPED IT APPROXIMATELY $0.41? YES, SIR. I DID HAVE THAT FIGURE UP BECAUSE I KNEW YOU WOULD ASK. WE ACTUALLY IN 2019, OUR TOTAL TAX RATE WAS $1.45. RIGHT. AND AGAIN, WE ARE AT 110. SO WE $0.34 OVERALL SINCE 2019 THAT WE HAVE DECREASED OUR TAX RATE FOR OUR TAXPAYERS. YES, SIR. JUST ONE OTHER QUESTION. I KNOW WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK OUT THREE FOUR YEARS. WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THE HORIZON AS FAR AS THE BUDGET? I SEE HARD TIMES CONTINUING, ESPECIALLY IF NO SIGNIFICANT REVENUE COMES IN FROM THE STATE. AGAIN, THEY'RE PLUGGING HOLES. AS YOU'VE KNOWN, MOST OF THE INCREASES THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR WAS ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHER PAY RAISES TO THE TUNE OF 10.8 MILLION. VERY LITTLE DISCRETIONARY FUNDING, ALTHOUGH THANK YOU FOR THE A, B, C ALLOTMENT FOR SOME OF THE INCREASES. BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THAT ADDITION BARELY MADE A DENT ON THE INCREASES THAT WE EXPERIENCED YEAR TO YEAR. SO LEGISLATIVE SESSION STARTS IN JANUARY. I KNOW THERE IS A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS CURRENTLY DISCUSSING WHAT HB TWO DID OR DIDN'T DO. [01:35:01] AND SO TO LOOK INTO THE FUTURE FROM WHAT WE'RE THE WAY WE'RE FUNCTIONING AS A TEAM, THE SUPERINTENDENT WOULD WOULD SAY THIS IS WE WILL CONTINUE TO REFINE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUT THE RESOURCES WHERE MOSTLY IMPACTS OUR KIDS IN THE CLASSROOM. WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS WE CAN WITH THE DOLLARS AND THE LOCAL CONTROL THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE DISTRICT, BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WE HAVE. SO, MR. PRADO, BASIC QUESTION, REALLY, THERE ARE A LOT OF DISTRICTS IN THE STATE ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING WE'RE GOING THROUGH. THERE'S A LOT OF PAIN IN THAT. BUT WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD THAT OTHER DISTRICTS ARE DOING? WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE? SO HERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS. OF COURSE DISTRICTS ARE RIGHT SIZING LEFT AND RIGHT. I MEAN, THAT IS JUST WHAT'S HAPPENING. THERE IS YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME OF THEM ARE A LITTLE AHEAD AHEAD OF, OF THE CURVE. OTHERS ARE CATCHING UP. YOU'VE HEARD A LOT, A LOT OF CHATTER IN TERMS OF CLOSING SCHOOLS, CLOSING NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS IN THE, IN THE DISTRICT'S ASSAY METHOD AS A WAY TO REDUCE EXPENSES AGAIN. MESQUITE ISD HAS NOT DONE THAT. MOST OF THE DISTRICTS, I WILL SAY, I JUST WANT TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE AS AS A DISTRICT, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE TAX RATES THE, WE ARE THE LOWEST, HAVE THE LOWEST MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TAX RATE IN ALL OF THE REGION. TEN EXCEPT FOR HIGHLAND PARK. EVERYONE ELSE AROUND US WHO ARE WE ARE IN, IF YOU CAN, IF YOU MAY LET ME SAY THAT WE'RE IN COMPETITION WITH BECAUSE EVERYONE'S OPEN ENROLLMENT NOW, ALL OF THEM HAVE TAPPED INTO THE ADDITIONAL PENNIES AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL CONTROL APPROVED BY OUR TAXPAYERS. I MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THE COMMUNITY WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE TREE THAT WE PROPOSED BACK IN 2223. MOST OF THE COMMUNITIES IN THE SURROUNDING DISTRICTS HAVE ALREADY TAPPED THAT TO ITS MAXIMUM. WE HAVE SOME PENNIES AVAILABLE THAT THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO TO THE DISTRICT. BUT AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT CURRENTLY WE ARE THE LOWEST TAXABLE DISTRICT IN REGION TEN. NOW, ON THE INS IT IS FOR THE DEBT SERVICE. AND AS WE CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN TERMS OF OUR TAXABLE VALUES, THAT RATE WILL BE MODIFIED. BUT RIGHT NOW THAT IS WHAT WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR DEBT THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY OUR TAXPAYERS. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES, MR. PRADO. I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM, BUT ALSO ALL THE STAFF MEMBERS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT THAT YOU'VE DEALT WITH AND WORKED WITH TO TRY TO COME UP WITH THE CUTS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, THAT $50 MILLION, THAT'S NOT EASY WORK. I KNOW THAT IT'S TOUGH. I KNOW THE BOARD HAS GIVEN A DIRECTIVE THAT WE WANT TO BALANCE THIS BUDGET, AND YOU GUYS HAVE COME THROUGH, AND IT'S IT'S HARD TO DO, BUT THAT'S ON US AS A BOARD. BUT WE'RE HAVING TO DO THAT BECAUSE OF THE ISSUES WITH FUNDING FROM THE STATE. AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE AS A BOARD TO ADVOCATE IN AUSTIN FOR SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING ESPECIALLY ON THE BASIC ALLOTMENT. MR. EVERETT PROBABLY TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THEY ONLY GAVE US A $50 INCREASE AND THEY ACTUALLY OFFSET SOME OF THAT WITH THE COMPRESSION OF THE GOLDEN PENNIES. THAT IS CORRECT. AND THEY SHOULD HAVE GIVEN US ALMOST $1,200 INCREASE, WHICH WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF ALMOST EVERY DISTRICT IN THIS STATE. TO MOVE US FORWARD, TO PUT THE RESOURCES WHERE IT BELONGS, WHICH IS TO THE STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM AND OUR STAFF. BUT KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF. GREAT WORK. I KNOW IT'S LONG HOURS AND IT'S TOUGH. WE APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WELL, BOARD, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. MR. PRESIDENT, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE PROPOSED 2627 BUDGET AS PROPOSED. OKAY. THERE IS A MOTION BY MR. SEWARD, A SECOND BY MR. EVERETT TO APPROVE THE BUDGET FOR 2026 2027 SCHOOL YEAR. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? BEING THERE? NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. OPPOSED. SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. AND MR. PRADO, THANK YOU. ONE MORE ITEM. APPROVED BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR 2025 2026 BUDGET. [01:40:02] YES. SO THE FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT IS REALLY TO ALIGN WHERE WE THINK OUR EXPENSES ARE GOING TO LAND AND WHERE OUR REVENUE IS COMING IN. AND I'VE DISCUSSED THIS WITH YOU ON A COUPLE OF SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THIS IS THE FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE YEAR. IT GIVES US A GOOD INDICATION. AGAIN, WE'RE WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A 22 TO $23 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT. AND THESE AMENDMENTS ADDRESS BOTH ALL THREE FUNDS THE GENERAL OPERATING FUND, THE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES FUND, AND THE DEBT SERVICE FUND. OKAY. BOARD. THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND. THERE'S A MOTION BY MISS COLLIER, A SECOND BY MISS MORRIS TO APPROVE THE BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR 2025 2026 BUDGET. ANY QUESTIONS BEING THERE? NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED. SAME SIGN. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR.. AT THIS POINT WE ARE GOING TO GO OUT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. [Additional Item 3] WE HAVE TWO ITEMS. ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD AND APPROVE APPOINTMENT. TALK ABOUT THE APPOINTMENT OF THE TRUSTEE TO FILL VACANCY FOR PLACE TO THE BOARD WILL NOW MEET IN CLOSED SESSION MEETING ON THE AUTHORITY OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 551071 AND 551074 TO DISCUSS THE ELECTION OF BOARD OFFICERS AND APPOINTMENT OF A TRUSTEE TO FILL THE VACANT POSITION TO. WITH THAT, WE STAND ADJOURNED FOR NOW. WE SHALL RETURN IN A MINUTE, LIKE 30 MINUTES. AT THIS POINT, WE'RE RECONVENING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE JOHN COMES RUNNING OUT, AND WE NEED TO PUT ON MY MICROPHONE. WE HAVE TWO ITEMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO ENTERTAIN. [Additional Item 4] THE FIRST ONE IS UNDER ADMINISTRATION. ITEM NUMBER THREE IS AN ACTION ITEM, AND THAT ITEM IS THE ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD. ELECTION OF BOARD OFFICERS, BOARD MEMBERS. I MAKE A MOTION TO NOT APPOINT. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A POINT ELECT. ELECT ROBERT SEWARD AS PRESIDENT. GREG EVERETT AS VICE PRESIDENT, AND KEVIN CARBO'S SECRETARY. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? NO. OKAY. THERE'S A MOTION BY MISS COLLIER. THERE'S A SECOND BY MISS MORRIS. TO ELECT ROBERT SEWARD AS PRESIDENT. GREG EVERETT AS VICE PRESIDENT AND KEVIN CARBO AS SECRETARY. ANY QUESTIONS? ANY COMMENTS? ANYONE RUNNING OUT THE DOOR? OKAY. WITH THAT, WE'LL SAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. CONGRATULATIONS, MR. SEWARD. MR. EVERETT AND ME. THAT'S WHAT HE WANTED. OH, OKAY. OKAY. NEXT WE'RE GOING TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR UNDER ADMINISTRATION. IT'S AN ACTION ITEM. APPOINT POSITION TWO, REPLACING EDDIE ROSE. MR. EVERETT. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. BACK SEVERAL MONTHS AGO WHEN WE HAD MR. ROSE THAT SUBMITTED HIS RESIGNATION. KEVIN APPOINTED A COMMITTEE OF T COLLIER, KEVIN AND MYSELF, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS APPOINTMENT FOR A FEW MONTHS, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE, AS A COMMITTEE HAVE A GREAT RECOMMENDATION IN MIND FROM SOMEONE THAT WE KNOW. WELL, THAT HAS BEEN HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR A LONG TIME. AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS APPOINTMENT, IF THE BOARD APPROVES, WILL DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANT LEADERSHIP ON THE PART OF THIS GOVERNING BODY SO THAT THIS APPOINTMENT WILL BE A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO THE CURRENT TEAM OF SEVEN THAT WE HAVE. AND SHE WILL MOVE INTO THAT TEAM OF. EIGHT POSITION WITH US. AND OUR COMMITTEE MAKES A RECOMMENDATION TO APPOINT SUZANNE HAUCK TO POSITION TWO. PLACE TWO. AS A PART OF THAT COMMITTEE, WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR WAS SOMEBODY WHO LOVED THIS TOWN AND LOVES THE KIDS OF [01:45:09] THIS COMMUNITY, AND WAS WILLING TO SAY THAT OUT LOUD AND BE PROUD OF THIS TOWN, AND BE WILLING TO WORK HARD AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE SERVANT SITUATION. THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. AND THEN I HEARD IT AND I WAS LIKE, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, SO I'M ALL IN. YEAH. SO SECOND. SECOND. YEAH. TO REPLACE EDDIE ROSE ON POSITION TWO. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I'M VERY PROUD OF THIS COMMITTEE FOR ALL THE WORK YOU PUT IN. AND I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD ONE HERE. GENTLEMEN. MA'AM. YEAH. MR. PRESIDENT, AFTER THE BOARD TAKES A VOTE. IF. IF IT IS AFFIRMED. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A FEW MORE COMMENTS REGARDING MRS HAWK. OKAY, SO WITH THAT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE. OH, DID YOU MAKE A MOTION OR DID YOU MAKE A RECOMMENDATION? WHAT DO YOU DO? I MOVE TO APPOINT SUZANNE HAWK TO PLACE TWO. YEAH, YOU SAID SECOND. SECOND. I DIDN'T DO IT. NO. HE MOVED. OKAY. WITH THAT SAID, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? SAME SIGN. AYES HAVE IT. MOTION CARRIES. SUZANNE. WE'RE BACK TO A TEAM OF EIGHT. WITH THAT MR. SUZANNE, I'VE GOT SOME SOME COMMENTS THAT I'VE I'VE WRITTEN DOWN IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS. SUZANNE IS A FORMER TEACHER AT PRICE ELEMENTARY, AGNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND WEST MESQUITE HIGH SCHOOL AND SUZANNE LANGSTON HAUCK SERVED AS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AND THEN THE PRINCIPAL AT MACKENZIE ELEMENTARY HERE IN MESQUITE. AND A FEW YEARS AGO, SHE WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO AN APPOINTMENT AT REGION TEN EDUCATION SERVICE CENTER. SO SHE'S BEEN WORKING WITH THE REGION TEN FOR A FEW YEARS. BUT MR. KARBO, MISS COLLIER AND I MET WITH SUZANNE SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, AND WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS FOR HER TO ANSWER. AND NOT ONLY DID SHE PROVIDE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT SHE ELABORATED. SHE ELABORATED SO ELOQUENTLY ON THEM. AND THE THREE OF US WERE ACTUALLY JUST BLOWN AWAY BY THE COMMENTS THAT SHE MADE. IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME. WE MET WITH HER LESS THAN 45 MINUTES, BUT THE COMMITTEE CONSIDERED OTHER MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY, SOME REALLY FINE PEOPLE, BUT WE JUST FELT LIKE THAT, THAT MRS HAWK WAS GOING TO BE THE BEST FIT FOR THIS BOARD AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME. WE FELT THAT SHE WOULD BE OUTSTANDING. AND AS WE JUST COMMUNICATED A FEW MINUTES AGO, THIS IS NOT A POSITION OF GREAT ESTEEM. AND I KNOW THAT THAT SUZANNE'S DAD HAS SERVED AS A TRUSTEE IN KAUFMAN ISD AND CHIP LANGSTON. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY YEARS YOU SERVED AT KAUFMAN, BUT YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT AN ESTEEMED POSITION, BUT IT'S A A POSITION OF OF SERVICE. SUZANNE IS GOING TO BE A SERVANT OF THIS COMMUNITY, AND CASSANDRA AND DOCTOR WILLIAMS WILL SOON LEARN THAT AS WELL. BUT THE LORD GIVES US MANY BLESSINGS. THOSE OF US THAT HAVE SERVED ON THIS BOARD FOR AS LONG AS SOME OF US HAVE AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE. THE FRIENDSHIPS THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING, AND I WOULDN'T TRADE THEM FOR ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS WORLD. BUT I THINK PROBABLY THE MOST PROFOUND THING I CAN SAY REGARDING SUZANNE HAWKE IS THAT SHE'S A CHRISTIAN AND SHE LOVES THE LORD, AND I BELIEVE THAT SHE'S GOING TO BE A TREMENDOUS ROLE MODEL FOR NOT ONLY US AS TRUSTEES, BUT THE STAFF AND THE STUDENTS OF MESQUITE ISD. HER HUSBAND, DOCTOR JACOB HAWKE, IS WITH HER, AND HER MOM AND DAD. CHIP AND SUZANNE LANGSTON ARE HERE. AND AND JACOB'S MOM AND DAD ARE HERE AS WELL. BUT WE WELCOME THEM. AND WE WELCOME SUZANNE HAWKE TO THIS TEAM OF EIGHT. WITH THAT, MISS HAWKE, IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND TO COME FORWARD AND YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE OATH. OKAY. FIRST YOU GOTTA SIGN. OH, YEAH. FIRST YOU GOTTA SIGN IT. COME UP HERE. YOU GOT A SIGN? YEAH. COME AROUND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU WANT TO SIT DOWN HERE? [01:50:06] I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. LOOK AT THIS SIGN HERE. I KNOW. THAT'S EXCITING. THEN YOU CAN SIGN THIS ONE WHILE WE'RE DOING. WE'LL DO THE NEXT. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. NO, NOT AT ALL. COME OVER HERE. STAND BY THE AMERICAN FLAG, PLEASE. THANK YOU. THANKS. I. SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE, AND I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE DUTIES OF OFFICE. THE SCHOOL. TRUSTEE FIVE SIX. THE DUTIES OF OFFICE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES. PLACE SIX THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY AND WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, PRESERVE, PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF THE STATE AND OF THE STATE. SO HELP ME GOD, SO HELP ME GOD. THANK YOU. DID YOU SAY PLACE SIX? PLACE TWO. YOU COULD SAY. I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT. OKAY, SO BEFORE WE CONCLUDE AGAIN, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE OUR SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR, DOCTOR RIVERA. THAT IS A GREAT, GREAT THING TO GET. AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. SEWARD. MR. PRESIDENT, WITH THAT, MR. SEWARD, IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND TO COME OVER AND COME AND GET YOUR GAVEL. TO GAVEL. IF THERE'S NO OTHER BUSINESS BEFORE THIS BOARD, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION BY MISS MORRIS AND SECOND BY MISS COLLIER. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. WE ARE ADJOURNED. MR. PRESIDENT. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.