An 'A' for ECISD's financial grade, an additional year for superintendent

The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees held its October Board Meeting on the 21^st. A recap of the agenda is below.

1.      Roll Call.

2.      Verification of compliance with open meetings requirements.

3.      Alexandra Cruz and Acelynn Young from Nimitz Middle School led the pledges of allegiance.

4.      Children’s Minister Shawn Green from New Dawn Fellowship Church gave the invocation.

5.      The special presentations included the introduction of 21 seniors from New Tech Odessa, Odessa Collegiate Academy, and the STEM Academy for earning College Board Recognition (those from Odessa High School and Permian High School will be introduced over the next two board meetings); recognition of Permian HS’s Yaretzi Barrera for winning third place in the Mexican American School Boards Association Art Contest (the second consecutive year she has won an award in this state contest); the introduction of New Tech Odessa teacher Jennifer Nunez for receiving a 2025 Yale Teacher Award; and recognition of Bonham MS teacher Dr. Ana Espino for receiving a national Teacher Excellence Award from IAM FAME, Inc.  

 

6.      In opening comments, Superintendent Dr. Keeley Boyer introduced a short video highlighting the many ways schools celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month this year and announced that ECISD, OCTECHS and Odessa Collegiate Academy and long-time PHS employee Liz Faught are being given OC Honors Awards on November 12.

 

7.      In public comment, Dallas Kennedy, ECISD teacher, asked Trustees questions about the proposed insurance plan (being presented later in this meeting). They were questions to be addressed during the presentation or as Open Enrollment begins for employees next week.   

 

8.      Bond 2023

 A.     Bond Update:

The foundation placement has started for the new Career & Technical Education (CTE) high school. This project is about 5% complete.

The new middle school is progressing quickly. Blockwork is on-going around the fine arts area, and electrical and plumbing are continuing. This project is about 22% complete.

Demolition has begun at the site where the new Transition Learning Center will be built.

Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing are getting started in the Permian HS renovation. A foundation pad is currently in progress for the new addition and drama room concrete flooring is in place.

Permian’s JROTC facility is being fabricated offsite; footings and leveling work is ongoing.

Fencing is up at the Ag Farm as the first phase of demolition will begin this week. Contractors will enter the facility from a different side of the property than students. Work will be coordinated to allow the students’ programs to continue.

The new Transportation Center is in its design phase.

Priority 1 & 2 roofing projects are underway. Four (4) are nearing completion and five (5) others are in the design and planning stage. At Travis Elementary plumbing replacement is taking place.

Under the technology heading, nine (9) campuses are nearing completion for the PA, Bell, Alarm, and Clock refresh. Twenty-six (26) schools are now equipped with new security cameras. The next three scheduled for installation are Burleson, Sam Houston, and Dowling.

Fine Arts has spent more than $2.8 million ordering 1,469 new instruments and 1,358 have arrived. All middle school risers have now been delivered.

Taking a look at the finances, the dollars allocated for new middle school band uniforms and Mariachi uniforms are being redirected to Priority 1 and 2 campus projects after our bond counsel advised such uniforms were not to be purchased with bond funds (despite the fact it was listed in the approved bond language in 2023). The district will use General Fund money to purchase those uniforms and ensure students receive the items promised in the bond election. Nearly $80 million has now been spent (about 19% of the total bond dollars) and close to $200 million has been encumbered for specific project expenses. A lot of work is happening all across the district. Be sure to keep up with the progress at www.ecisdbond.com.

 

B.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve purchases over $50,000 related to Bond 2023. This is a lengthy list of eighteen (18) items. To see the full list use this link to go to item 8-B - https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=707429.

C.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve an updated agreement for Priority 1 & 2 projects for Burleson and Travis Elementary Schools.

 D.     Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a change order for Burleson Elementary.

 E.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a change order for Travis Elementary.

 

9.      Board Policy

A.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve revisions to CV (Local) Facility Construction. Changes include increasing the construction contract project amount requiring board approval from $50,000 to $100,000, this aligns our local policy to new expectations outlined in state law; adding language giving the superintendent the authority to approve job order contracting jobs, tasks, or purchase orders that are valued up to $100,000 and are entered into as part of a bond program giving administration the ability to complete bond projects in the most expeditious way; and delegates to the Superintendent or their designee the authority to approve change orders administered as part of a bond program.    

B.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve revisions to GKD (Local) Community Relations: Non-school Use of School Facilities. School facilities are available for use by community organizations for non-school purposes. This proposal would delete the text that limits any such agreement to a maximum of 24 months.

 

10.  Public Hearing on Financial Accountability

A.     Trustees held a public hearing on the District’s FIRST report. FIRST stands for Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. Ector County ISD earned an A, scoring 98 out of 100 on the state’s FIRST report which assesses how school districts spend their money annually. This FIRST report is for 2024-25, which is based on financial data from 2023-24. Our District earned a Superior Achievement rating, which is equivalent to a grade of A. This was the eighth time in the past nine years ECISD earned an A. In the 23 years since this report’s inception, ECISD has earned an A in financial integrity 19 times. Created by the 76th Texas Legislature in 2001, FIRST is designed to encourage public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes. The FIRST ratings are calculated using a series of financial indicators, such as administrative cost expenditures; the accuracy of a district or charter’s financial information submitted to TEA; and any financial vulnerabilities or material weaknesses in internal controls as determined by an external auditor. Congratulations to our ECISD Finance Department for their hard work in managing tax dollars responsibly.

 

11.  Action Items

A.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve the certified tax roll. Information from the Ector County Appraisal District shows total taxable value of property in Ector County for 2025 is $18,389,928,188.

B.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve purchases over $50,000. The two items on the list this month are $677,000 to several vendors bus repairs; and $50,000 to Luis Salcido Bilingual SLP Services for supplemental services supporting the Special Services Department.  

C.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve budget amendment #3.

D.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve an updated agreement for non-bond renovations at Burleson Elementary.  

E.      Trustees voted 7-0 to approve two candidates, David Dunn and Mari Willis, to the Ector County Appraisal District Board.  

 

12.  Trustees voted 7-0 to approve the Consent Agenda. The consent agenda is a group of routine, or previously discussed items presented together for a single approval vote. This month’s Consent Agenda included minutes of meetings; bills for payment; acceptance of donations over $10,000*; the updated 2025-26 T-TESS and T-PESS appraisers list; out-of-state travel to Hawaii for Odessa HS fine arts programs; out-of-state travel to Orlando, Florida, for Permian HS Panther Paws; consent to assign interest in oil & gas lease; library materials; and a TEA-approved innovative course.

 

13.  Report/Discussion Items

A.     Trustees received an update on the school district’s medical plan. Looking at the cost of claims over the past eight (8) years show an increase from around $20 million in 2019 to a projected $29 million by the end of this year (2025).

There were no benefit or rate changes from 2018-2023, slight increases in 2024, then in 2025 higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums but no rate increase for Option I or Option III and rate decrease for employees with dependents on Option III HSA (Health Savings Account).

For 2026, adjustments are necessary for rising healthcare costs. A 7% premium increase across plans (Employee Only HSA remains no cost); a transition from Aetna back to Blue Cross Blue Shield for improved network discounts and savings; a transition from PCA Rx to LucyRx for better pricing, international sourcing and co-pay assistance with prescriptions; separate out-of-pocket maximums for medical and pharmacy expenses; programs like CareATC Clinic, RECURO, Virta, etc. remain unchanged.

Large claims continue to be the primary driver of plan costs. This year 17 large claims total $4.3 million or 22% of total costs. This is not unusual, since 2021 less than 1% of employees account for 20-30% of plan costs. The goal of the plan is to try to offset some of those uncontrollable costs with savings in other areas of the plan. You can use the link in item #15 below to see this presentation and the 2026 plan changes and the 2026 rates for each plan.

Open Enrollment begins October 27 and runs through November 21 with in person, online and telephone options for enrollment.

 

14.  Trusteed moved to closed session for the superintendent’s appraisal and contract. After the closed session Trustees voted 7-0 to extend Dr. Boyer’s contract by one year, with the ending date to now be June 30, 2030. Changes will also include new, mandatory language for superintendent’s contracts introduced by the Texas Legislature during the recent session.  

 

15.  Information items - https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1406?meeting=707429    

16.  There were no closing remarks.

17.  The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.  

 

 

*$55,000 from SDS Construction LLC for supplies and labor for turf in additional workout space at OHS

  $30,784.50 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for the second of four installments for 2025-26 school year for director of STEAM Initiatives and special projects positions

  $13,000 from Odessa HS Gymnastics Booster Club-Diana Ramirez for the purchase of AAI 4 Vault System and Canyon Bar Block Set