School board discusses roof replacement
From left, Superintendent Gary Bitzkie, Board President Brittany Hicks, BHS seniors Luke Barnett, Mathew Staton and Reese Mazurek, Athletic Director Joel Fontenot-Amadee and BHS Principal Dr. Ken Vogel. These seniors were honored for academic prowess duri
The Bandera ISD Board of Trustees met earlier this month for their regular monthly meeting. By far, the most discussed item on the agenda was the acceptance of a bid to replace the Bandera Middle School Roof. Other items discussed and voted on included refurbishing gym floors, staff contracts and Chromebook purchases.
BISD Director of Operations Dayle Heiner presented the bid and explained the three components of the work: full replacement of the roof; raising the curbs of the air conditioning units; and full replacement of 25 air conditioning units. The HVAC units are 16 years old.
The board discussed at length about whether the project should include an increase in insulation on the roof. The twoinch increase in insulation was not a part of the original project. The Board seemed open to increasing the level of insulation from three inches to five inches if it became cost effective. The completed project would total $3,047,800 dollars. The roof project was awarded to Port Enterprises from New Braunfels. In other business, the board voted to refurbish three gym floors around the district: the gym at Bandera Middle School, the Practice Gym at Bandera High School, and the Competition Gym at BHS. Heiner remarked to the Board that none of the floors had been stripped down to the wood and refinished since they had been installed. The work will be done by RFS Flooring. The money to refurbish the floors will come out of cost savings gained through the district changeover from contracted landscaping to in-house landscaping services.
The board authorized the Superintendent to offer contracts to professional staff through the months of April, May, June, July and August. This will allow the superintendent and principals to secure highly sought-after teacher candidates for hard-to-fill positions in the district.
Technology Director David Brown presented an agenda item on the purchase of student and staff Chromebooks from SHI-Government Solutions. These would be purchased using reserved federal grant money and are a part of the One-to-One Technology Initiative. Students in transition grades 2, 6, and 9 would get new Chromebooks to better meet their academic needs. Eighty-eight teachers would get replacement Chromebooks to replace the models they received in 2016. The Board approved the purchase of the computers.
The board approved changing the date of the June meeting to Monday, June 27, so the Business Department could present the 2022-2023 budget for approval without adding an extra meeting.
Superintendent Bitzkie reported that BISD enrollment was at 2324 students which was comparable to 2014 enrollment numbers. The average daily attendance percentage was at 90.8% and no COVID 19 cases were reported in the district.
Bandera High School Librarian Regina Johnston proposed the Bandera High School Library be renamed the Patsy Small Memorial Library in honor of the long time BHS librarian who served the district for 26 years and was widely regarded as an expert in the field of school library services at the state level. Small passed away in 2011.
Director of Special Services Patricia Galm reported on Special Education identification trends and dyslexia services. She was assisted in her presentation by Dyslexia specialists Jan Groff, Naoma Karageorge, and Kelly Garcia.
Director of Federal Programs and CAO Donald Tosh reported out-of-district transfers. The district has 88 transfer students who live outside of the district, some of whom are teachers’ children who live in other districts, and half are from the Holiday Villages subdivision. BISD gets its largest percentage of transfers from Hondo ISD. In recognitions, Alkek Elementary recognized Students of the Month Katelyn Ansaldo and Levi Osteen. Faculty Member of the Month from Alkek was veteran paraprofessional Margie Hay.
Athletic Director Joel Fontenot-Amadee recognized seniors Luke Barnett, Reese Mazurek, and Kaloeb Son for being named to the Texas High School Coaches Association Academic All State Honorable Mention team.
Mathew Staton was named to the THSCA Academic All State Second Team. Basketball coach and 2015 BHS graduate Brady Keane was recognized as a finalist in the Basketball Coach of the Year.
The next meeting of the BISD Board of Trustees will be on May 9 at 6 p..m