With furniture lining the hallways while classrooms are under construction, the Meyersville ISD board held their regular meeting July 9 with two members of the public in attendance.
The board discussed a number of issues, including the preliminary budget and the proposed transfer agreement with Cuero ISD. They also approved several items, such as appointing a new board member and resetting the unexpected construction- cost set aside.
Vice president Kyle Newman presided in the absence of board president Johnny Jank.
Superintendent Kelly Dunn praised the employees working hard to move things around and complete construction projects in time for school to start.
“They (contractors) are moving right along, and we hope we can move in and start school on Day 1,” Superintendent Kelly Dunn said. “They’re rockin’ and rollin. And we appreciate the job that Weaver & Jacobs and SZS Architecture are doing for us.”
The trustee vacancy that opened after Stephanie Egg’s moving out of the district was filled by Brent Coates, who has two children attending the school. Coming up in November, the board positions now held by Pat Barto and Kyle Newman will be up for election. The filing period is from July 20 to Aug. 22.
In the preliminary budget discussion, Dunn said they have a “best case scenario dependent on how many kids show up which impacts us pretty big.”
The current revenue expectations are $1,790,000 and expenditure expectations $1,734,000.
Dunn said it was a tight budget with no big items planned.
Payroll is the largest line item with an estimated total of $1,029,471. Dunn said some grants may help to drop the total a little. He said there were increases in prices across the board, including a 10% rise in the Region III services. Dunn said this year all the vendors are quoting about the same increase.
On August 13 the board will receive the tax valuations and proposed budget at its regular meeting. Then on Aug 29 they will meet to adopt the 2024/25 budget.
In the payroll discussion, the superintendent said there have been no raises for teachers in the last few years (above when they go up a career step), but the district has been keeping up with insurance increases.
Regionally, he said the payscale is competitive with middle- and endof- career salaries, but not early career salary. Dunn said he had told previous boards they would need to do something for teachers this year.
In the safety report, the superintendent said that the renovations and asbestos abatement done by Weaver & Jacobs is improving the safety and security of classrooms. He said that previously the walls were paper thin and now there is a solid barrier with the outside. He said the windows will even have security film that makes them more secure as well.
On the STAAR standardized test report, Dunn said there were no surprises. He said each student did as well as expected and some did even better than expected. He said the ones that struggle are often new students that are closing a gap from their previous school.
Board member Pat Barto commented that grades 3 and 6 ELAR typically struggle on STAAR, but Meyersville was above regionally in those scores.
“For some kids this test is cruel,” Dunn said. “We try not to stress them out too much, but we are proud of our kids.” He said the school holds its own in state rankings, especially with 8th graders taking algebra.
“They are ready for high school,” he said, adding that they have had good reports of the academic readiness of Meyersville students in Cuero ISD.
Assistant Principal Beth Howell reported on grants with GVEC’s donation helping install lights in the parking lot, and HEB helping get iPads. She said they have $30,000 available through the Local Farm Fresh Fruit Grant, but providers have found that the amount of paperwork is not worth it.
In the discussion of the Cuero ISD transfer agreement, Dunn said that, traditionally, the district had universal acceptance of its students, but now more selective measures will be in place. He said the district’s lawyers advised not putting the district’s name on the agreement. Dunn said he has shared the feedback from district lawyers with CISD Superintendent Dyer.
Board member Rhonda Goebel, who attended the last Cuero ISD board meeting, shared her impressions of where the board stood on the issue and that CISD would approve the agreement in August. Newman said he would like clarification on the acceptance criteria and that Meyersville families will likely be upset having to apply.
The board decided to reach out to the Cuero board members to organize a meeting and communicate about what can be done for the county’s students.
Agenda items that were approved include the Gifted/Talented 2024/25 Plan, the payroll calendar, the employee benefits, the annual engagement of auditor, the DeWitt County Tax Assessor/ Collector to certify property values and calculate tax rate for 2024, the TASB Insurance Policies and replenishing the construction expenditure and owners betterment fund.
During the summer renovation, the superintendent had a $25,000 “use-it” pool for construction costs so that work would not be delayed while a board had to convene to approve expenditures.
Dunn said that the renovation of the middle bathroom wound up doubling the estimated amount, from $30,000 to $60,000. Board members nodded knowingly, commenting that the restrooms had been the ones they used in 1958. Since the pool had been depleted by the bathroom expenditure, the board re-approved a $25,000 set aside for unexpected construction costs.
Before adjourning into executive session, Newman urged members to take note that “On this day we do not have a bus in the shop!”
