Teacher contracts

Ector County Independent School District trustees voted unanimously to renew about 1,800 teacher contracts Tuesday evening.
 
The teachers are secondary- and elementary-level educators and professional support educators. Trus­tees approved administrative contracts in February.

Trustees voted 6-1 to approve a budget amend­­ment for additional appropriations including computer lab construction at Career Center and district fingerprinting services for certain employees. The total increase in appropriations is expected to be $128,923 while the net decrease in the general fund is expected to be $361,923.

Trustee Dr. Ray Beaty voted against the measure. Beaty said he doesn't disapprove of the center or its redesign toward a more career and technology focus, but he voted against the amendment because he didn't want to see the district move too quickly with the project.
Beaty said he hopes trustees don't have to come back three years down the line to rework the labs into a different project.

"I just feel like I've got to be wise in the way we're using taxpayers' money," Beaty said.

Trustees Carol Gregg, L.V. "Butch" Foreman III, Donna Smith, Doyle Woodall, Randy Rives and Fay Batch voted for the amendment.

In addition, trustees unanimously approved Jaclyn Gaona, Midland College Upward Bound director, as the new ECISD Education Foundation director.

ECISD interim superintendent Hector Mendez said Gaona is expected to tell him her start date in the coming days. 

The Education Foundation director position came open when former executive director of ECISD's Education Foundation director Linda Lentz left ECISD in January for a similar job in Mesquite ISD.

The two finalists for the position were Gaona and Sandra Tisdale, executive director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Midland Inc.  

In other business, Winette Hillger and Linda Bentley, Sam Houston Elementary special education educators, addressed trustees Tuesday to encourage them to consider teacher assistant pay ranges since the state Legislature has recently required educators in those positions to have a two-year degree.

Hillger, a special education teacher, said Sam Houston has five self-contained teaching aides in the special education department and if pay isn't competitive then it's likely the district will lose them.

"They're the backbone of special education," Hillger told trustees. "Without them, we do not succeed."

Hillger presented a proposed salary change for teacher aides based on number of years as an educator and compared with teacher salaries.

According to Hillger's proposal, ECISD pays a minimum of $15,214 for a self-contained teacher aide on a 187-day annualized wage and Hillger suggested the same individual be paid a minimum of $22,158 due to the new requirement and how much work the aides
perform.

Hillger said after her presentation that she wanted to address the pay issue with trustees prior to the district's budget planning for the following school year.

Trustees heard an update on the technology infrastructure upgrade from Brian Combs of Combs Consulting Group.

ECISD's instructional technology department started recabling 45 of ECISD's campuses and buildings in August 2006. 

IT staff are working on building cabling networks at each site parallel to the existing cables and completing other tasks including putting in a data network.

ECISD trustees approved the project in December 2005.

In some cases, each computer system at a campus will need new software installed, he said.  

Combs said all campuses should be completed with rewiring in mid-July and estimated the total project budget to be about $15.6 million.

Some campuses already completed with an entire new database and rewiring include Lamar Early Education Center and Hays Magnet Academy, Combs said.

Trustees also approved a 2008-'09 year-round calendar for Gale Pond Alamo and Cooper Construction Co. LLP as the manager-at-risk for the 2008 elementary bond completion of remaining renovation projects at Zavala Magnet Elementary, Murry Fly Elementary and the Alternative Education Center.

Trustees presented ECISD Police Officer Jeff Daniels with a Life Saving Award prior to the meeting because he performed CPR on an Oklahoma man and saved his life while out in the community in January.