Mercedesindependentschool District

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MERCEDESINDEPENDENTSCHOOL DISTRICT

Mercedes, Texas

The Mercedes Independent School District Board of Trustees met in RegularSession onMonday,February 13, 2012.

Present:
Daniel R. Salinas, President / Monte R. Churchill, Member
Don Vogel, Secretary / Ron McVey, Member
Absent: George Cardenas, Vice President; Benjamin F. Castillo, Member;
Oscar A. Hernandez, Member
Present from the District:
Dr. Daniel Trevino Jr., Superintendent / Patricia Masso, MHS Principal
Dr. Wilma J. Smetter, Asst. Supt., C&I / Jeanne Venecia, MECA Principal
Olga Hinds, Chief Financial Officer / Sylvia Carlin, MAA Director
Dr. Andrea Cruz, Exec. Dir., Human Resources / Orlando Rodriguez, MJHS Principal
Jesus Carrillo, Maint/Facilities Director / Rene Guajardo, JF Kennedy Principal
Eddie Churchill, Safe Schools Director / Michelle Guajardo, R Hinojosa Principal
Dr. Cynthia Wise-Galvan, Dir., ACE, Parental Invlmt / Elva Rivera, North Principal
Delia Garcia, Business Ofc. Accounting Director / Lisa Cantu-Reyes, Taylor Principal
Gloria F. Garza, Bilingual/ESL Director / Pearl Guerrero, Travis Principal
Paulita Guzman, Sp Ed Director / Evangelina Gracia, MECC Principal
Roland Handy, Technology Director / Cesar Lopez, Purchasing Agent
Adan Vallejo, Transportation Director / Attorney Michael Salinas
Walter Watson, Fed. Programs Director / Eva Cuadra, Administrative Assistant
Debbie L. Winslow, CTE Director

President Salinas called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 6:35p.m. He noted that a quorum was present. Mr. Churchill led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and Mr. McVey gave the invocation.

Superintendent’s Report

A. Attendance/Enrollment Report

Dr. Trevino, Superintendent, passed the floor to Mr. Roland Handy, Technology Director, to present the report. Mr. Handy presented the report forJanuary 16 to February 13, 2012, comparing each campus’ enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA) to the previous year for the same time period.

Campus / 2011 / 2012
Enrollment / ADA % / Enrollment / ADA %
MercedesHigh School / 1,107 / 92.07 / 1,077, -30 / 94.62, +2.55
MercedesAcademicAcademy / 76 / 83.91 / 97, +21 / 86.37, +2.46
DAEP / 62 / 82.04 / 38, -24 / 89.21, +7.17
Mercedes Early CollegeAcademy / 235 / 95.38 / 279, +44 / 96.71, +1.33
Mercedes Junior High / 776 / 94.67 / 770, -6 / 95.81, +1.14
Taylor Elementary / 554 / 95.74 / 556, +2 / 96.98, +1.24
Travis Elementary / 669 / 95.71 / 636, -33 / 97.55, +1.84
MECC / 729 / 93.57 / 753, +24 / 95.84, +2.27
R Hinojosa Elementary / 641 / 95.88 / 583, -58 / 97.05, +1.17
JF Kennedy / 374 / 95.07 / 474, +100 / 96.31, +1.24
North Elementary / 485 / 95.94 / 455, -30 / 97.28, +1.34
District Summary / 5,714 / 94.18 / 5,719, +5 / 96.06, +1.88

B. Student Recognition

Dr. Trevino congratulated everyone being recognized for their accomplishments, saying the Administration and Board members were very proud of them.

Dr. Trevino said the City of Mercedes Mayor and Commissioners had issued a Proclamation designating the month of February 2012 as Career and Technical Education Month.Representing two of the CTE programs in the district were Criminal Justice students and FFA (Future Farmers of America) students. Ms. Debbie L. Winslow, CTE Director, thanked the Board and Dr. Trevino for their support of the CTE program.

Dr. Trevino introduced the elementary students who had earned 1st Place at the UIL Invitational Meet held in Sharyland on January 21, 2012. The students and their coaches were:

Emily Veloz2nd Grade (Spanish Storytelling)Travis Elementary Monica Serrato (Coach)

Max De Leon3rd Grade Number SenseTravis Elementary Ruben Ramirez (Coach)

Everardo Abundis3rd Grade Spanish Storytelling Travis Elementary Hilda Marquez (Coach)

Viviana Villalobos5th Grade Art ContestTravis Elementary

Dominique GonzalezIrene Casares (Coach)

Nathan Rohr

Lizette Conde5th Grade Ready WritingHinojosa Elementary

Jennifer Salinas (Coach)

Next, Dr. Trevino recognized District Spelling Bee Winner Gavin Gracia, 6th grade student at JF Kennedy Elementary with his coach Ms. Deedre Williams.

The next student to be recognized was Marcos Joaquin Garcia IV, Senior at Mercedes Early College Academy for being selected by the Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol for the “Head of the Class” Award. Dr. Trevino said for 16 years the RGV Sector Border Patrol has administered this educational program to recognize high achieving students in the Rio GrandeValley. He reviewed the criteria which included the student living a drug free lifestyle, volunteering in their school and/or community, helping meet his/her family’s financial needs which can be the case in some families, and maintaining an 85% (B+) grade point average or better. Dr. Trevino also read from the recommendation letter written by Marcos’ English teacher that pointed out his qualities as a leader and role model for younger students, being very deserving of consideration for the Border Patrol’s ‘Head of the Class” award.

The last group of people to be recognized were not students but individuals who had given of their time and means for the students of the District. Their donation of full-size and baby quilts had been accepted at a previous board meeting. From the Pine to Palm Quitters the ladies and gentlemen were Corvin and Bonnie Stark, Dianne and Morton Montly; from the Pine to Palm Knitters the knitter was Yvonne Coltrin. Dr. Trevino thanked them on behalf of the District.

Mrs. Sylvia Carlin, Director at MercedesAcademicAcademy said the Pine to Palm quilters and knitters had initially donated quilts for the teen parents, however their donations had increased, which allowed for other students with special financial needs to be given quilts.

C. Notice of Selection – Texas Literacy Initiative

Dr. Trevino said the District had been given the opportunity to write a grant for this literacy initiative. He asked Dr. Wilma Smetter, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction to provide more details since she had led the effort in applying for the grant. Dr. Smetter said she was very pleased to announce the district had been awarded the Texas Literacy Initiative Grant for $2,127,301.00, with the grant period being from March 8, 2012to August 2013. She said 434 districts had applied and only 30 had been selected, Mercedes being one of them. She said it had been confirmed with the director of the initiative that the District could apply for another $2.1 million for the 2013-2014 school year.

Dr. Smetter said the implementation of the grant will involve working with children in local daycare centers and children in the district from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, specifically targeting the reluctant readers. She said print and electronic mediums will be used, the main focus being called “Anytime, Anywhere Learning”. She concluded the report saying the writing of the grant had been a team effort involving curriculum & instruction staff, campus principals and their staff and her. She said everyone was looking forward to utilizing these funds for the benefit of the community’s children.

Mr. Churchill addressed the Chair to request a deviation from the agenda. Motion was made by Mr. Churchill and seconded by Mr. McVey to deviate from the agenda, to take a short recess. Motion carried.

Open Forum

Elvia Sandoval: “Good evening members of the Board and Dr. Trevino. My name is Elvia Sandoval, a retired educator, concerned citizen, and taxpayer. I am here tonight to make a request but before I do, let me inform you why I am making this request. If you have not read or heard aboutthe article on the front page of The Valley Morning Star, dated January 24th, 2012, I have a copy for your reference. It is no secret, or should I say it is obvious that our school district has had many problems with the newly renovated schools and the one built by the ex-superintendent of Mercedes ISD, whose picture is on the front page of The Valley Morning Star.

The architect firm he recommended to do the job for Mercedes ISD was Perspectiva from El Paso, Texas. Three of the board members at the time questioned why not a local firm. The ex-superintendent was adamant to hire Perspectiva from El Paso and it was approved by the Board, I believe with a vote of 2 to 4.

Building committees were formed to agree and approve everything the architect presented. My sister and I were removed from the high school building committee because we did not agree or approve of the towers, because in our opinion they were a waste of money and a haven for pigeons, which could become a health problem for the students and staff.

From the beginning Taylor Elementary had water leaks in the main entrance; Travis Elementary had problems with its library; Mercedes Early Childhood Center had problems with the quality of the air in the building; Hinojosa had flooding in its new gym; Mercedes High School had water leaks in its new cafeteria area, and of course Kennedy was the one with the most problems. I don’t have written proof but the files and records may provide information of all the damage that had to be repaired or replaced.

Some of us remember what happened during this ex-superintendent’s tenure and will never forget how this individual used Mercedes ISD and its staff for his own benefit. There were several red flags. These are just a few: he had some board members and staff visit El Paso and on their return flight had them carry boxes of his personal belongings, to help him with the cost of moving; brought teachers of another country and paid homeowners to house them; if I am not mistaken he, some board members, and some staff were the ones providing this housing; his wife was appointed the Project Alegria director; staff was reassigned if they did not abide by his requests and some were promoted for the good job, well done he requested them to do. There was a sexual harassment complaint against him and some of us taxpayers were stunned beyond comprehension with the move that required Mercedes ISD to pay all legal expenses in the event he would need legal representation. The Board at that time, I believe approved, and an Austin attorney soon after became known as his attorney.

There were many Mercedes ISD staff members affected negatively but they would not speak up for fear of losing their jobs. We were told over and over – be careful what you say and where you say it. If you did not abide you were ostracized, you were considered a non-team player. The community became divided and those that were not in agreement with this individual were made to appear to be trouble makers. Some of the board members were harassed by disgruntled staff members and members of the community. It got so bad that one board member got a heart attack and another began to have heart problems, who later resigned from the board. All they were trying to do was to protect Mercedes ISD from all the waste of taxpayer money and also looking out for the best interests of the Mercedes ISD students and staff.

So, members of the Board, I request that you put forth an investigation against this individual so possibly Mercedes ISD may recover some of its taxpayers’ monies, and use it to help out our school district. Or members of the Board members do you believe that Mercedes ISD taxpayers gained while this person was the superintendent or do you agree all should forgotten and let the current students and staff be content with the outcome of all that this particular superintendent was responsible for. Or do you feel you have no obligation to set forth an investigation, to show this District and the community what was or was not. Like I said earlier, I do not have written proof but I did experience this Gandarian era. And like the saying goes – where there is smoke there is fire.

I look forward to next month’s board meeting and hopefully finding out that you have looked into this matter, since all you can do tonight is listen. Thank you.”

Esmer Guerrero: “Good evening Dr. Trevino, Board members, ladies and gentlemen here present. I think Mrs. Sandoval covered it very well. I know I had firsthand experiences with Mr. Gandara. I am sure you are all aware of what’s going on over there in Sweetwater or wherever it is, over there in California; maybe he is not there anymore. I feel very strongly also that what he did in California, what he did as superintendent of schools over there is just a repeat of what he did here in Mercedes. And what he did here in Mercedes is probably a repeat of what he did where he came from. I don’t know why we allowed this to happen, but I am also requesting an investigation; it’s never too late to do the right thing, for our taxpayers, our voters from here from Mercedes.

Like I said all these trips going to Germany, going to South Padre Island, Corpus, and Mexico, bringing teachers from Mexico and housing them themselves and paying themselves for housing these teachers that they would bring from Mexico. You know, I don’t think that was right, catering to people that would comefrom Mexico; I know one of the board members was at Taylor and he experienced firsthand;information also of all the food that was brought to cater to these individuals and the community was not aware. I was aware because my daughter had to play with the Mercedes mariachi “Nuevo Sendero”; that’s how come I was aware of a lot of things that were going on. When I saw the article in The Enterprise that there were teachers being housed I came to inquire what were the requirements because I wanted to house a teacher. Not only were they being paid, also they were getting paid for food, they were getting voucher for food, traveling and all this other stuff. A lot of people did not know what was going on. I have all the information because I requested it in written form. The money that was sent from Project Alegria, you know, it was money that was supposed to be spent on the students, yet they were getting used, old instruments, buying them from students in Weslaco. They were paying individuals that had used instruments to bring them to our students when we had enough money to spend – it was about $9.something million dollars.

I am also requesting an investigation. I think it is owed to us and like I said it’s never too late to do the right thing. Look at the condition our schools are in. It saddened me to see that the Kennedy elementary was torn down. That was such a waste. That’s an insult to our people, our taxpayers. I am requesting this; look into it and look at all the renovations you have right now on the agenda. Please look into it and we look forward, hopefully you all will do something about it. Thank you.”

Action Agenda

1. Report and discussion on Analysis of General Fund Revenues and Expenditures

Dr. Trevino passed the floor to Ms. Olga Hinds, Chief Financial Officer to present the report. Ms. Hinds said the report was a ten-year comparison taken from the annual audit report. She noted the tax rate had remained the same at $1.29 since the 2007-2008 school year, the ADA had increased by 124 students since the 2009-2010 school year, the revenues had increase over the years, and the fund balance had increased over the last three years. Ms. Hinds reviewed parts of the second page of the report which showed the percentage spent for each function.

Mr. Vogel commented it was a very informative report, to be able to see how the numbers have gone up in some areas while they have come down in others. Mr. McVey said as he was studying the report he wondered why the report was done, was there something the Board needed to be aware of. Ms. Hinds responded it was a recommendation that it be presented to show trends based on audited records, to show how the district has remained conservative in its operations. Mr. McVey said he felt this was very valuable information that could be discussed in greater detail in a workshop setting. Mr. Vogel added the information needed to be taken into consideration in the coming year’s budget planning. This was a report only. No action was taken.

2. Report and discussion on Analysis of General Fund Monthly Expenditures

Dr. Trevino passed the floor to Ms. Hinds to present the report. Ms. Hinds said the previous report had been a summary of the revenues and expenditures; this was a detailed report on the monthly expenditures for the general fund as it analyzed by amount and percent of how much of each function code is spent in which object code. She said it also analyzed payroll expenses by employee type. There were no questions. This was a report only. No action was taken.

3. Report and discussion on Federal Grants

Dr. Trevino passed the floor to Ms. Hinds to present the report. Ms. Hinds said the report provided information on all the grants awarded to the district - the name of the grant and the percentages and amounts spent as of January 31, 2012. She said there were some grants that were no longer there from the previous yearsuch as Safe and DrugFreeSchools, State Stabilization Fund (SSF),and others.

Mr. Vogel asked if the new grant mentioned in the Superintendent’s Report was a one-year grant and if it was a state or federal grant. Dr. Smetter responded it was a one-year grant, however if the District did everything it was supposed to do, it could apply for a renewal and that it was a state-funded initiative.