NZISD gets superior grade

Roxanne McKnight with The Meteor

NZISD has received a grade of Superior on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for 2006-07.

The report was made at the regular board meeting on Thursday, Oct. 10. Superintendent Roy Gilbert said the district received 81 of 85 points.

On a different audit, two individuals from Region VI made a security audit of the school. They were generally pleased with the level of security, but made a few recommendations. Gilbert said they were already taking some of their suggestions, such as ensuring there was a printed escape route plan in every room, adding a defibrillator in the elementary school and replacing a missing fire extinguisher. They are considering others, but some, he said, are impractical, such as keeping every interior door locked.

Gilbert gave an update on Collier Construction's work on the ADA items, which until completed will keep the district from making the final payment to Collier for the work they did on the new school. Collier made repairs and addressed warranty items, such as repairing lights and a dryer that wasn't working. Collier still has to make adjustments to the shower area, Gilbert said.

The board approved the revised Cheerleading Constitution. Changes include shared sponsorship by teacher Carol Imhoff and teacher-coach Rebecca Boatcallie. The main change to rules, Gilbert said, was that the rules were restated as positive directives rather than negative strictures.

The board agreed to accept a bid of $6,137 to install carpet tiles in the old library. Gilbert noted that the old library will eventually be used for board meetings, professional development and for large group meetings, both by the school and the community. The board declined to put carpet tiles in the laundry room and storage room, opting instead to have the concrete floor painted.

Gilbert also reported on improvements to the new library, noting that more electrical outlets had been added. He said they are waiting for more shelves to arrive, and that the doors have been delivered but installers are tied up elsewhere because of Hurricane Ike.

The board made slight modifications to the NZISD Board Operating Procedures, including limiting outside speakers to five-minute time limits unless granted extra time by the board president. Another change is removing the 24-hour requirement to report complaints to the board president, rather saying that the complaint should be reported in a timely manner.

Gilbert also reported that providing lighting for the baseball field would cost between $95,000 and $120,000, though he noted that this expense would be for the future.

“I'm just sharing with you,” he said. “I know we're not ready to jump in yet.”

Gilbert complimented the level of involvement by teacher Debi Lindsey.

“Mrs. Lindsey is doing a good job of meeting with out seniors early and often,” he said. “We've got a lot of kids taking the SAT, some will be taking the PSAT next week.”

Lindsay, he said, had arranged a bus trip to Texas State Technical College so the seniors are exploring different options.

Elementary principal Rinza Stewart reported on the Gifted and Talented program. Stewart said teacher Trevor Adams completed the testing and there were 12-13 referrals in grades 1 through 6. Students not referred will receive enrichment activities.

Stewart said the school had finished K-6 reading and math inventories, and she thanked teachers Lynn Ogle and Megan Bright for their help.

She also reported on the Character Development assembly held Friday, Oct. 3. A motivational speaker from Commandos USA gave an anti-bullying message.

Board member Craig Murphy suggested she bring the results of the next student assessment, which she said would be in November, to the December board meeting.

High school principal Tim Waldrip reported on the junior high and high school, as well as sports on behalf of Coach Karen Heintz. He said golf is very popular now, and that 21 students are involved.

Waldrip reported on career night, calling it “fabulous” and “by far the best we've ever had.” He said the previous year's career night had only one-fourth the presenters and one-third the students attending. One reason was the inclusion of Iola, he said, which made the venue more attractive to presenters.

In other action, the board:

€ approved early dismissal on Nov. 24, when the elementary school will host Day 2 of the District Elementary Academic UIL Meet.

€ approved submitting waiver requests for school days lost when Hurricane Ike cut power to the school.

€ agreed to meet Oct. 17 at 6:30 for a Team of Eight training with a trainer from Region VI.

€ presented a certificate of appreciation to board member Craig Murphy and his brother Rodney Murphy for constructing a circulation desk for the librarian.

At the conclusion of the meeting, board members shared the more significant lessons they had learned at the TASB convention.