Coppell ISD Board Briefs are highlights of select items from the CISD Board of Trustees meetings.

• The Board approved the awarding of contracts to:

  • Replace tile floors Austin, Cottonwood Creek, Mockingbird, Town Center, and Wilson Elementary schools;

  • Purchase furniture and equipment for the new campuses and renovations (Coppell Middle School West and Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus); and

  • Construct bleachers and a press box, and add field lighting to the Coppell Middle School East athletic field.

• Trustees voted to have a Special Board Meeting on Monday, May 14, to canvass the votes from the May 6 election for Pace 2, 6 and 7, and host a Budget Workshop.

• The Board also adopted updates to:

• Policy BE (LOCAL): Board Meetings requiring all agenda topics to be submitted in writing by at least two Board members is being requested.

• Policy FDA (LOCAL):  Admissions - Interdistrict Transfers now permitting a student who qualifies for Open Enrollment to enter CISD as a high school student and to attend New Tech High @Coppell for his/her high school experience. This was done in order to maximize the programs offered at New Tech at Coppell, as well as to bring in additional revenue to CISD to support the programs.

• Policy FNCE (LOCAL):  Student Conduct - Personal Telecommunications/ Electronic Devices allowing the District to require listen-in technology to be disabled in student personal telecommunications/electronic devices while the device is on a campus, because of student privacy concerns.

• Trustees also took action regarding the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Policy Update 110, affecting (LOCAL) policies by approving an update that places district choices about elections processes in a local policy and not a legal policy, which is consistent with the structure of other policies in the manual. 

• In addition, the Board  approved the Monthly Budget Amendments for 2017-2018 and the January 2018 Financial Report.  

Several recent CISD achievements were highlighted at the meeting, including:

• CISD Maintains AA+ Credit Rating from Fitch and Standard & Poor's

• Dr. Linda Cook elected as Region D Director for the National Science Education Leadership Association;

• CISD Athletes Committing to Colleges on National Signing Day;

• May Voltz, 5th grade designer at Richard J. Lee Elementary, named as a finalist for 2018 H-E-B Excellence in Education Award;

• CISD Black History Month Activities including CHS and New Tech Honor Societies participation in Race to End Racism forum at SMU; and

• Texas Public Schools Week March 5-9.

During the Awards portion of the meeting:

• Mockingbird Elementary students Richard Chen and Aayush Shah were recognized for their top 4 placement in 2017-2018 National TUFTS Novel Engineering Challenge, and

• The CISD Child Nutrition Department was recognized for receiving the Texas Department of Agriculture's “Best of the Bunch” Award.

Bond Issuance Report

Chief Financial Officer Kelly Penny and Hilltop Securities presented a report on the second bond issuance results to the Board of Trustees.

Digital Learning Highlights

Director of Instructional Technology Nancy Garvey shared updates on Digital Learning within CISD.

Construction Update

Louis Macias, Executive Director of Facilities and Special Projects, updated the Board on ongoing construction projects, including the new CMS West, Coppell High School 9th Grade Campus, District-wide bathroom renovations, CMS East athletic field renovations and more.

Strategic Design Update

Director of Community Engagement Tammy Taylor shared an update on the district’s Strategic Design process.

School and Staff Safety

Associate Superintendent Sid Grant and Director of Student and Staff Services Dr. Shane Conklin presented an update on CISD School and Staff Safety.

Trustees Discussion and Report Items

Trustees also gave a Legislative Update, and gave reports on the Bond Oversight Committee, Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Risk Management Fund Quarterly Meeting  and the North Texas Area Association of School Boards.