06/17/10 - Arlington Independent School District

Boardroom NotesJune 17, 2010President Gloria Peña convened the meeting withPeter Baron, John Hibbs, Bowie Hogg, Wayne Ogle,Jamie Sullins and Jerry McCullough present.Program/Presentation• Wall of Fame - The June inductees to the AISD Wall of Fame were introduced and recognized for their achievements.They join the students and staff members who were inducted in May. Wall-of-Fame photos can be viewed at the administrationbuilding throughout the year and can also be downloaded online.AppointmentsThe Board approved the following:• Erma Nichols as principal of Turning Point High School. Nichols started her teaching career in 1973 with theChicago Board of Education. In 1976, she moved to California where she taught and served in several administrativepositions. Nichols came to the AISD in 2000 as principal of South Davis Elementary. She served as executive director ofstudent services for the 2002-2003 school year before returning to South Davis. Nichols holds a bachelor’s degree fromChicago State University and two master’s degrees from California State University.• Emma Davis as principal of Ellis Elementary. Davis started her teaching career in 1995 as a teacher intern at Swiftand Webb elementaries. In 1996, she moved to the Fort Worth ISD as a teacher at McLean Middle School. She moved tothe Grand Prairie ISD in 2000, serving as a teacher, assistant principal intern and assistant principal. In 2006, Davis returnedto the AISD as assistant principal at Ellis. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Texas atArlington.• Nicole Turnipseed as principal of Pearcy Elementary. Turnipseed started her teaching career in 1999 with the DenverPublic Schools, completing a sixth-grade teaching internship, a bilingual second-grade teaching internship and serving as atemporary literacy instructor. In 2000, she moved to Aurora Public Schools as a fourth-grade teacher. Turnipseed came to theAISD in 2002, teaching third and fifth grades at Knox Elementary. She was named assistant principal at Atherton Elementaryin 2007. She has a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University and a master’s degree from the University of Colorado.• Jason Davis as an assistant principal at Arlington High School. He has been a chemistry teacher at Arlington since2007. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and a master’s degree from Lamar University.• James Voronin as an assistant principal at Martin High School. He has served as assistant principal at Kennedale HighSchool since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree from the University of Texasat El Paso.• Bobby Sims as an assistant principal at Hutcheson Junior High. He has been a secondary social studies teacher atClay Academy in Dallas since 2007. He has a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and a master’s degree fromDallas Baptist University.• Erika Vega as assistant principal at Wimbish Elementary. She has served as a bilingual special education teacher in theHurst-Euless-Bedford ISD since 2009. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University and a master’s degreefrom the University of Texas at Arlington.Superintendent McCullough announced the following:• Kathleen “Mandy” Mew as director of budget and cash management. Mew started her career in 1984 as an internalauditor at Wake Forest University. In 1988, she moved to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as the chiefof school finance. Mew moved to the Fort Worth ISD in 2000 as the manager of budget operations and to the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD in 2008 as budget analyst. She has a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University.Open Forum/Agenda Items• Larry Shaw, UEA, spoke regarding CAC-FFC report. Shaw stated that he opposes any further cuts to the AISDbudget.

Action ItemsThe Board approved the following:• 2010-2011 Board of Trustees Meeting Calendar – Traditionally in June the Board adopts a meeting calendar for theupcoming year. This action will give board members, staff and the community advance notice of when the Board will considerschool district business. The Board has the authority to change a scheduled meeting or call additional meetings at any time.Discussion Items• Report from the Citizens Advisory – Financial Futures Committee to the Board of Trustees – Charles Brady,committee spokesperson, presented their recommendations. The committee had 59 recommendations and 26 received amajority support. The estimated impact of 26 recommendations is approximately $4.786 million.• Paperwork Reduction Act – Deputy Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos said that 490 items were submittedfrom 50 campuses. There were 142 unique items. At the district level, responses were received from 24 departments, with142 unique items. The process moving forward is to combine the list of all the campus paperwork submitted and send it toprincipals for accuracy and additions. Campus-based committees will review the list by the end of September, publish thelist and then establish a procedure for cyclical review in the future to add/delete items by campus-based committee. Theproposed district process is similar.Discussion/Action ItemThe Board approved the following:• Student Transfer Policy – Assistant Superintendent of Administration Jimmy Walker presented information onrevising the student transfer policy. After looking at the transfer procedures from large and surrounding school districts, theadministration recommends that an online system be implemented with a two-week window for parents to submit transferapplications and the use of a lottery system to determine placement in the students’ school of choice. The administrationwill work on procedures for a lottery system and bring forward a process for the Board to approve in August.Open Forum/Non-Agenda Items• Luis Castillo, LULAC Council 4353, spoke against using the term qualified minorities.• Dennis Killy, Arlington resident, spoke on his disappointment on the district’s handling of the budget process.Superintendent’s ReportSuperintendent Jerry McCullough began by announcing that several students recently won awards or were elected tooffices at the Texas LULAC Youth State Convention in Austin June 3 – 6. Edgar G. from Bowie High School was chosen as Mr.LULAC Texas. From Lamar, Pedro A. was chosen as the Texas Young Man of the Year, Jessica R. was chosen as the Texas YoungWoman of the Year and was elected Youth State Director, and Pablo C. was elected Youth State Treasurer. Edgar, Pedro andJessica will go on to represent Texas at the National Convention in Albuquerque next month.Destination Imagination teams from Little Elementary and Martin High School competed in the Global Tournament inKnoxville, Tenn. The Little team won the Middle School Renaissance Award, and the Martin team won first place in their event.Bowie High School had the highest student body participation in the McDonald’s High School Challenge for the SusanG. Komen Race for the Cure. McDonald’s Restaurants of Greater North Texas presented sponsor Ronda Lane and some ofher students with the $1,000 award check.School Board's Report• Gloria Peña said the Board traveled to San Antonio this past weekend for a training retreat. She went to the BoardPresident’s Academy and learned a lot.• Wayne Ogle acknowledged Mr. Carter for winning a seat on the Tarrant County College Board of Trustees.• John Hibbs thanked the AISD staff for all their hard work during this last year.