[0:01] I'm going to go ahead and get started. To call them this meeting of the Divine

[0:04] Independent School District Board of Trustees to order at 6:30. Let the

[0:08] record show that a quorum of board members quorum of board members is

[0:11] present and that this meeting has been duly called and that the notice of this

[0:15] meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas

[0:19] Government Code 551. Let the record show that Ally

[0:22] Buendelhausen, Chris Davis, Carrie

[0:26] Carrie James, and Candace Esparza is present. And

[0:30] of course myself. Carol Brown. All right.

[0:34] This is my first time if you haven't figured it out, so.

[0:38] All right, would you join us with our our invocation first?

[0:43] Mr. Davis, Mr. Davis. >> Yes, pray. Lord, thank you for this

[0:46] evening. Thank you for allowing us to be in here. Lord, thank you for blessing us

[0:49] with the rain that you have and be with those folks that got

[0:52] affected by the flooding. But uh we pray for some more rain. Keep

[0:56] our land wet, Lord. Lord, be with us tonight as we do your

[1:01] business here at the school. Just guide us and direct us in everything that we

[1:03] do, Lord. And forgive us where we fail you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[1:07] » Amen. Would you please join me in the pledge?

[1:10] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to

[1:15] the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with

[1:21] liberty and justice for all.

[1:28] All right, we did have one person sign up for citizen communication.

[1:32] It is Ginger Freezing Khan. Uh she is here about the TASB director

[1:36] endorsement. Um

[1:40] I guess wherever you'd like to stand. >> Thank you. Okay, I'll just stand right

[1:42] here. Uh first I want to say um

[1:46] good evening. >> Good evening.

[1:47] » Vice President Brown, Dr. Granju, and the members of the board. I appreciate

[1:52] for the time that you guys are giving me tonight. Um I just wanted to put a face

[1:56] to the name. I know I've sent this out before, um,

[1:59] but sometimes if it feels disconnected and you guys don't know really what

[2:03] you're voting for, then how do you put your full heart into it? And I know

[2:06] you'll have business to tend to, so I wrote a few things down because my

[2:08] family says I talk too much. And I don't want to take your time. So,

[2:12] uh, again, my name is Ginger Breedon, I serve as a trustee for East Central ISD.

[2:17] Um, I'm here because I submitted my name to continue serving as TASB Region 20

[2:21] Director and I'm honored that you placed my candidacy on your agenda tonight.

[2:25] Serving on the TASB Board of Directors has been one of the greatest privileges

[2:28] of my school board journey. During my time as your Region 20 Director, I've

[2:32] served on the Member Services Committee, the Legislative Committee, the

[2:36] Nominations Committee. I've also had the privilege of completing Leadership TASB

[2:39] and becoming a Master Trustee, where I worked alongside trustees from across

[2:43] the state to strengthen my leadership and better serve our local communities.

[2:47] One thing I love most about this role is getting to represent the voices of

[2:51] Region 20. Whether I'm meeting with legislators in Austin or serving on

[2:55] statewide statewide committees, I never forget that I'm here to represent the

[2:59] districts in our region. I know each district has its unique

[3:03] challenges and priorities and I believe every district deserves to have its

[3:06] voice heard at the state level. While I'm proud of the committees I've

[3:10] served on and the experiences I've had, what matters most to me is being

[3:14] accessible. I want every district in Region 20 to

[3:17] know they have someone they can listen to, advocate for them, and work to

[3:21] ensure their voice is heard. I would be honored to earn your

[3:24] endorsement tonight and have the opportunity to continue serving Region

[3:28] 20. Thank you for your time, your service, and for everything you do for

[3:31] the students, staff, and families of Divine ISD. Fun fact, my dad went to

[3:35] school here. He just mentioned 60-plus years ago. So, it's been a minute, but

[3:40] we still have a good amount of family here. So, we kind of have some roots.

[3:42] That's not to sway your vote in any way, but just to give you some context, but,

[3:46] um, again, thank you for your consideration.

[3:48] » Appreciate you.

[3:51] All right, are y'all going to remain for the meeting?

[3:54] » No, sir. I'm going to go ahead and leave.

[3:55] Y'all take care of your business. I appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you.

[4:01] » All right, we're going to move on to administrative reports and some

[4:03] discussion and I believe Todd wants to give us his superintendent update.

[4:10] » [clears throat]

[4:15] » Great, as we prepare for the start of school in July, our principals have

[4:18] returned to campuses and are working diligently to ensure strong and

[4:21] successful opening for all students and staff.

[4:24] Their leadership and planning reflect our district's commitment to increasing

[4:27] student success by creating a safe, welcoming, and engaging learning

[4:31] environment. Together we've been looking forward and

[4:34] planning to continue our proud tradition of student achievement and providing

[4:38] every student with opportunity to thrive.

[4:41] Our district's partnership with Region 20 Education Service Center

[4:45] continues to make strong progress. Over the last month, our district and campus

[4:49] leaders completed rigorous analysis of all of our student performance data,

[4:53] structural practice, and stakeholder feedback

[4:56] from our comprehensive needs assessment through our DEIC.

[5:00] We use these findings to refine priorities and guide continuous

[5:03] improvement efforts. All of our current vacancies are still

[5:07] posted on the website. And as the district prepares to welcome

[5:11] students back in approximately 4 weeks or so, campuses are focused on

[5:15] finalizing preparations for a successful start.

[5:19] Our campus leaders have completed their star review. They're guiding the work of

[5:24] completed analysis throughout the spring and summer. Even though they

[5:29] are off campus at times, they're still working hard every minute of the day,

[5:34] always thinking about our kiddos. So, our construction progress

[5:38] our construction projects progress across the district continues to make

[5:43] steady uh

[5:45] strides forward in the preparing preparations for the

[5:48] new school year as we move forward. The elementary corridor renovation is

[5:53] about 50% complete. Uh we had our construction meeting today like we do

[5:57] every Monday at 9:00. They feel like they are going to be in a good spot for

[6:01] us to be finished. Our intermediate vestibule remains on

[6:05] the schedule for completion by Meet the Teacher Night and we

[6:09] uh before we get back to school. And planning is also underway for an open

[6:13] house showcasing the new construction along with a dedicated tour for the

[6:17] Board of Trustees. A lot of what we're still doing is

[6:20] trying to finish up the cleanup around um all the other projects and ensure

[6:25] that the facilities are ready to welcome back students, staff, and families.

[6:30] » That's all you got? >> Yeah, that's it.

[6:31] » Dr. Branson, sorry. You used to hold me hostage.

[6:36] All right, does anybody have any questions about the Director of HR Don's

[6:40] reports or business office reports? No? If not, we're going to move on to the

[6:45] consent agenda.

[6:48] Um can I get a motion for the consent

[6:50] agenda? >> Uh yes, Mr. President, I move to approve

[6:54] consent agenda as presented. >> Second.

[6:57] It's been moved and seconded. Uh

[7:00] all right, Ali by Ali. It's been moved by Candace and seconded by Ali.

[7:05] Um does anybody have any discussion or questions about the consent agenda?

[7:10] Nope. Okay.

[7:13] Um if that's the case, can I get a show of hands for all those in favor?

[7:20] All right. All those opposed, same sign. And then

[7:23] the motion passes 5-0.

[7:26] Uh the All right, we're going to move on to the

[7:29] first action item. Um consider and take possible action to

[7:34] approve a new position at DHS to teach the PCC

[7:38] key program in partnership with Southwest Texas College.

[7:42] » So, PCT stands for patient care technician.

[7:47] It's a the exact

[7:50] » [clears throat] >> um direction that we were heading

[7:52] whenever we had our health services program when Nurse Wilson was teaching

[7:56] it for us before. That was two classes this past year.

[7:59] Now, we're having to move into a six-class uh regimen.

[8:04] And we kind of stumbled across a partnership with Southwest Texas

[8:08] uh College. However, we If we employ the person who is teaching the class, which

[8:15] is why we wanted to add this because Nurse Wilson is a certified district

[8:19] nurse, but if we add uh a teaching position to take over this

[8:23] program, >> [clears throat]

[8:24] » it now actually turns into dual credit to Southwest Texas Junior College.

[8:29] And the kiddos that are um

[8:33] involved in the program, we're going to have about 20 per cohort, so 20 per each

[8:38] grade starting this year. Um with that being paid

[8:43] with that teacher being paid out of our um

[8:48] our staff, the dual credit hours are at no cost to the

[8:52] kiddos that are in the program. Um the reason that

[8:57] it makes more sense for us to do this too is they said that they don't have

[9:00] anybody that they can hire. They can't find these people to do this.

[9:04] But, we've had >> [snorts]

[9:06] » a couple of people in the community express interest that are in the field.

[9:11] They will be on the teacher pay scale. So, we're looking at if starting pay

[9:16] with zero years, which it's not going to be zero years because what we're looking

[9:19] for is a bachelor of science in nursing, so that this person is highly qualified

[9:24] to take over the program. Um

[9:28] probably would be around 60 to 62,000. Not like a 5-year teacher, 6-year

[9:33] teacher.

[9:38] » Any Anybody have any questions? >> Does it take over Wilson's classes, too?

[9:43] » Like all of them? >> She won't be able to teach classes

[9:46] anymore. >> Yeah.

[9:47] » [clears throat and cough] >> It wasn't built Chris is like that was

[9:49] not a sustainable model because >> She was doing two classes at first and

[9:53] then if we moved to six classes then it's kind of like worse.

[9:57] » Yeah. >> Plus she did equals plus

[10:00] » Yeah. >> So this is a much more sustainable

[10:01] » And what this also does is helps us on our CCMR piece cuz when we get these

[10:05] kiddos getting an extra dual credit hours

[10:08] we don't [clears throat] know we haven't been able to see it right off the bat

[10:11] yet. >> Like Natalia has the same program with

[10:13] the same college but in CCMR funding they have what they call outcomes

[10:18] bonuses now and so we feel like a good portion of this will come back with some

[10:23] additional CTE funding.

[10:28] » All right. No other questions. Can I have a motion?

[10:32] » Mr. President, I have a motion to approve additional full-time CTE

[10:35] teaching position for the PCT program as presented.

[10:38] » Second. >> All right. I have a motion by Candace

[10:41] and a second by Carrie to approve the additional full-time CTE

[10:46] teaching position for PCT program for the PCT program.

[10:51] All those in favor raise your right hand.

[10:54] All right. The motion passes 5-0. All right. We'll move on to consider and

[10:59] take possible action to approve the new innovative course at DHS.

[11:05] And uh do Is there any questions that y'all have about that? Mr. Wilson is

[11:11] here and he said he'd answer them. >> So I looked at this one Mr. Brown it was

[11:15] This one is for the industry connection for Divine High School. So it's another

[11:19] CTE course designed to

[11:24] match our kiddos up with industry and give them a little bit more experience.

[11:27] Also very valuable in our life skills setting.

[11:31] So which is we're probably going to send grades to these. So, right now we have a

[11:36] um, students working either through the transition program or um, so, this is

[11:40] one of the courses that we can assign them to.

[11:42] Um, and uh, Region 20 advises that this is a

[11:45] really good course because we also receive CTE funding for it. Um,

[11:49] so, that's another advantage to this adding this course in.

[11:53] » And we just have to add you guys at a host that we don't offer currently in

[11:56] the curriculum. It just doesn't cost us any more money.

[11:58] » No, it's it's yes, that's correct. >> Okay.

[12:01] » Yeah. >> We're creating a course to put kiddos in

[12:04] to generate opportunities

[12:08] and everything pathway, like you said, for

[12:10] we're beneficial for our life skills students.

[12:14] » If there are no more questions, I'll accept the motion.

[12:18] » Mr. President, uh, I move to approve the new innovative

[12:21] course, student to industry connection at the DHS as presented.

[12:26] » Second. >> I have [clears throat] a motion by

[12:28] Carrie, a second by Ali to approve the new innovative course,

[12:33] student of industry connection at DHS. All those in favor, raise your right

[12:38] hand. All right, motion passes 5-0.

[12:43] We'll move on to our next item.

[12:47] All right, it is to consider and take possible action to adopt the 2026-2027

[12:52] student code of conduct. Uh, Dawn says she did not need to

[12:55] present, but uh, she's here to answer any questions y'all might have.

[13:01] » The only question I had, some of the things you you don't have yet from TASB,

[13:04] right? And then just have to be put in. >> Right, I was going to meet with

[13:07] leadership next week. I was going to ask the admin team, do y'all want choice A

[13:11] or B, you know, just kind of and reviewing a few things that we haven't

[13:15] talked about in a few years just to make sure what we're putting in the handbook

[13:18] is what we have in place.

[13:23] » All right. That's the only question. We will

[13:26] entertain that motion. >> Mr. President, I move to adopt the

[13:29] 2026-2027 student code of conduct as presented.

[13:34] » Second. >> All right. I have a

[13:36] motion by Candace and a second by Ali to approve or adopt the 2026-2027

[13:42] student code of conduct. Uh all those in favor, raise your right

[13:46] hand. All right. Motion passes 5-0.

[13:50] We are moving. All right. Next one on the

[13:56] agenda is consider to take possible action to endorse TASB Board of Director

[14:00] candidates. >> Did you skip one?

[14:03] » Did I? >> Substitute.

[14:04] » Which one? >> The substitute.

[14:06] » You was going to come back to that one. >> Oh, there it is. Okay.

[14:11] All right. Consider to take possible action to revise the substitute pay

[14:14] schedule.

[14:20] » All right. You all may remember that we approved new sub pay earlier in the

[14:24] year, but there was a little bit of a discrepancy for like a like it was a

[14:28] degreed sub if they worked more you know five days to four weeks,

[14:33] it went up a little I don't remember the number

[14:35] let's say from $80 to $100, but then if they were working like four plus weeks,

[14:40] it went back down. >> Oh.

[14:41] » And so it was just clearing up that language so that it was

[14:46] the way that it was intended. >> It looks similar, but

[14:48] you're saying it was just >> changing that that worded so that they

[14:53] it didn't go down to the daily rate after four weeks.

[14:57] » Okay.

[15:00] Any questions? If not, I'll turn it motion.

[15:04] » Mr. President, I move move to approve revised substitute pay schedule as

[15:09] presented. >> Second.

[15:11] » Motion by Ali, second by Candace to approve

[15:14] the revised substitute pay schedule. All those in favor, raise your right

[15:18] hand. All right. Motion passes 5-0.

[15:23] We'll try not to skip the next one.

[15:27] » Uh consider taking possible action to endorse the TASB Board of Director

[15:30] candidates. >> So, this is the TASB Board of Directors

[15:34] that Ms. Friesenhahn gives us a little bit about earlier. They actively promote

[15:37] the purposes of the association. This position oversees its fiscal

[15:42] affairs and establishes their board policies. They have 43 members composed

[15:46] of the president, president-elect, intermediate past president, and members

[15:50] from the 20 TASB regions across the state.

[15:54] Our >> [clears throat]

[15:56] » our recommendation is that we support Ms. Friesenhahn.

[16:03] » And there's a second position too. >> There's two positions, but the second

[16:06] one's not worth sending tested. >> Do we have to approve [clears throat]

[16:10] it? >> Um if they need to get a certain number

[16:13] of endorsements, otherwise they'll have to do at the at their annual meeting.

[16:18] » Find the name. >> Um Duran, I think.

[16:24] » Duran? >> The other one running for 20D.

[16:28] » Duran. >> Duran.

[16:32] » Carla Duran.

[16:35] » All right. If there's no more [clears throat]

[16:37] questions, I'll entertain a motion. >> All right, Mr. President, I move to

[16:41] endorse Ms. Friesenhahn for the Region 20 Position A and Ms. Duran for Region

[16:45] 20 Position B for TASB Board of Directors as presented.

[16:50] » All right. >> Second.

[16:53] » All right, I have a motion by Candace and a second by Chris

[16:57] um to endorse the two candidates mentioned for Position A

[17:01] and Position B for the TASB Board of Directors. All

[17:05] those in favor, raise your right hand. All right, the motion passes 5-0.

[17:13] » Duran, do you have 20A? >> You don't have to take it.

[17:16] » Okay, this is just my name. >> Okay.

[17:19] » All right. Consider take possible action to approve

[17:23] the district's professional development plan.

[17:26] » So each year a board shall review the SB continuing education and training

[17:30] clearinghouse published under education code 21.4514

[17:35] and adopt the professional development policy that must one, be guided by the

[17:40] recommendations for training in the clearinghouse. Two, note any differences

[17:44] in the policy adopted by the district or school from the

[17:47] recommended uh trainings in the clearinghouse.

[17:50] Three, include a schedule of all training required for educators or other

[17:54] school personnel at the school district. This is to the extent of any conflict of

[17:59] frequency requirement for the completion of training provided by statute prevails

[18:04] over a frequency requirement that the training included in the professional

[18:07] development policy. So we have already been implementing

[18:11] our trainings for the staff. The current academic calendar has been with the

[18:15] administration and myself to determine when the best time periods for

[18:19] professional development would occur and we will continue to use the online

[18:23] training in many of the areas that are required and that give employees

[18:27] opportunity to do it at a time [clears throat] where they can

[18:32] observe a a flex day that we have at the beginning

[18:36] of the year they do their training at the summer.

[18:41] So our recommendation is that the board approve the Divine ISD professional

[18:45] development plan.

[18:49] » All right, can can I have a motion? >> Mr. Secretary, I'd like to make a motion

[18:53] to approve the district's professional development plan.

[18:56] » Or Mr. >> You're good. Just keep going.

[18:58] » Whatever you want. >> [laughter]

[19:01] » Uh development plan as presented. As presented.

[19:05] » Second. >> Did I hear you Carrie?

[19:07] » Yes. >> Okay, I have a motion by Ali and a

[19:09] second by Carrie to approve the district's professional development

[19:13] plan. All those in favor raise your right hand.

[19:17] Motion passes 5-0.

[19:21] All right, last one. Consider to take possible action to set a date for EISD

[19:25] team building training team building training.

[19:28] » So to keep the board current on training requirements, the board should consider

[19:31] setting a date for team building training. Training will keep the board

[19:35] in compliance with legal and local policy.

[19:38] We joined the board training co-op with Region 20, which will provide most or

[19:42] not all of our board training. And so each board member is required to

[19:47] complete 3 hours of team building training each year. To receive credit

[19:50] for the training, all board members must be present and the superintendent must

[19:54] be in attendance. In addition, evaluating and improving

[19:58] student outcomes EISD training is required every year.

[20:03] So Region 20 will conduct a training at the conference on February

[20:08] 21st and through the 23rd. Um where you can complete the required

[20:13] » But it is the 21st that the team building training is, correct?

[20:16] » Yes.

[20:18] So if all of us are unable to make the 21st session, we would need to get

[20:21] another one to get somebody to come here possibly.

[20:26] » February 21st, okay. >> Yes, ma'am.

[20:31] Um

[20:33] » Jared, have you gotten any feedback from anybody that says they can't do at least

[20:37] the team building? >> No.

[20:41] » Anybody here? >> No.

[20:42] » No. >> I think that's Sunday evening, correct?

[20:45] » Yes. Yes. >> Okay. Well,

[20:49] I'll entertain a motion. >> Mary, um Mr. President, I move to set

[20:53] February 21st for EISD team building training as

[20:58] presented. >> Second.

[21:00] » Okay. Motion by Candace and a second by Ali to

[21:05] set the date of the 21st of February in the evening, Sunday evening, for EIS for

[21:11] EIS team building training. All those in favor, raise your right

[21:16] hand. Okay, the motion passes 5-0.

[21:20] All right, we're into closed session. Board of Trustees beginning at

[21:25] 6:51.

[21:29] We'll convene in closed session in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings

[21:32] Act for the purpose of discussing items listed under the Texas Government Code

[21:36] section 551.074 and 551.082.

[21:41] No final action, decisions, or votes will be taken while the board is in

[21:45] executive session. Thank you for coming.

[21:54] Time.

Devine School Board votes to expand health care education- July 20, 2026

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