BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES 2024-25 CALENDAR, TABLES EARLY NOTIFICATION INCENTIVES

  

The Brenham School Board unanimously adopted Brenham ISD’s 2024-25 instructional calendar at its meeting Monday.

Executive Director of Leadership and Learning Sara Borchgardt said a survey to develop this year’s calendar had over 300 responses from teachers, faculty, staff and community members.  Two calendars were proposed, with the second option winning by a slim margin.

The new school year will start on a Tuesday, August 13, and include three days, September 18-20, for the fair holiday.  The last day of the first semester is December 19, and class will resume in the new year on Wednesday, January 8.

Spring break will take place between March 10-14.  Graduation day is Friday, May 23. 

In other action on Monday, trustees tabled a proposal to provide an early notification incentive for resignations or retirement.  Executive Director of Administrative Services Christine Johnson said the idea of the proposal was to help the district better plan out staffing in the next budget cycle by giving incentives to contracted or professional employees who notify the district of their plans to leave early, instead of waiting until the end of the fiscal year.  

Johnson said between April and August of 2023, 63 employees resigned, including 20 who left between June and August.  She said by providing the incentive, the district could have more time to recruit high-quality candidates or decide if and how the positions coming open would be absorbed.

The one-time monetary incentive of $2,000 would apply to full-time employees who are in good standing with the district and were employed at the start of the school year.  Only the first 25 employees who provide notification would be eligible, and those employees could not use more than two days of paid leave beginning March 20.  Johnson noted that the district would not have to pay out the outgoing employee’s remaining paid-time-off days.

The board’s thoughts on the proposal were mixed.  Acting Superintendent Clay Gillentine said the district wants to know who it has to work with “yesterday” and that this helps it be as efficient as possible, adding that some of that incentive money could come back in substitute savings.  Trustee Bonnie Brinkmeyer agreed that it could help the district bring in more motivated employees and have better plans for the kids. 

Meanwhile, Trustee Archer Archer said the perception of this is that the district is paying people to leave while it cannot give better pay to the ones still here, and that this is “literally buying time.”  He expressed concern about how this could affect employee morale.  Trustee Kyle Hafner wanted to get more data before making a decision, stating that while he understands the concept, it is hard to say right now that the district should spend money to save money because the savings are not there yet. 

In other business, trustees heard an update on the potential addition of a new video scoreboard at Cub Stadium to bring in more advertising revenue.  Communications Director Brooke Trahan said over 20 businesses have reached out to the district to partner or learn more about the project, with more meetings coming. 

The board also received a financial update.  Interim Chief Financial Officer Robert Lindemann said as of January 31, the district has accrued $31.5 million in revenue and $23.6 million in expenses.  The approved budget accounts for $49.6 million in revenue and $54.2 million in expenditures.  Lindemann said the district continues to try to increase average daily attendance (ADA) in order to receive more revenue from the state.  Year-to-date, the district’s ADA is 91.67 percent, down from a mark of 92.75 percent in August.  Board President Natalie Lange commented that the national ADA rate sits around 90 percent since COVID, but Texas happens to be one of the states that funds schools based on ADA and not enrollment.

Also on Monday, the board:

• Held a public hearing to receive the 2022-23 Texas Academic Performance Report.  Brenham High School Dean of Instruction Sarah Cook said the report is a collection of data and information previously received by trustees.  The full report is available here.
• Gave authority to the superintendent to spend up to $126,755 to replace the chiller at Brenham Junior High School.  The unit was one of two bids received by the board, with the other costing $109,403.  Trustee Kyle Hafner said the cheaper unit has aluminum and the more expensive one has copper, adding that from his experience in construction, copper is easier to repair and has more longevity.  The purchase would come from funding the district receives from Washington County’s school land in Tom Green County.
• Approved a subscription renewal with NetSync for the district’s phone system.  The annual cost will be $28,814 for the next three years.  Information Technology Director Rodney Leer said by securing a three-year agreement, the district will be able to keep the annual cost the same versus having to pay the proposed renewal rate of $33,756.