New BISD board members sworn in during board meeting

Bandera County Judge Richard Evans administered the oath of office to incumbent board member Bo Mansfield and new board member Tiffany Kanatani Hayes to new terms at the monthly meeting on November 8.

Evans commented he had been in their spot 45 years ago himself and commended them for their dedication and willingness to serve the students of Bandera County.

The Board voted on officers for 2021 through 2022. The officers are President, Brittany Hicks; Vice President, Bo Mansfield; Secretary, Heidi Battle; and Assistant Secretary, Laurie Neff.

Students of the Month from Hill Country Elementary 5th graders Benicio Parra and LuElla Honaker were recognized. Staff Member of the Month, Isabella De La Cruz also from Hill Country Elementary was recognized for her work as a paraprofessional supporting student enrichment.

Interim Superintendent Gary Bitzkie reported the district’s enrollment had finally risen above the 2,300 mark.

Currently, 2,303 students are enrolled, and the attendance rate is down slightly. He noted COVID illnesses had decreased to a small number of cases per campus.

Bitzkie also introduced Texas Association of School Board Localized Policy Manual Update 118. These updated policy changes were due to enactments of laws from the 87th Texas legislative session. These changes will be voted on at the December 2021 meeting.

The Consent Agenda passed unanimously and there were no citizens’ comments.

On the Regular Agenda, the Board heard from BHS Principal Dr. Ken Vogel and Counselor Summer Van about the Optional Flexible School Day Program. This program is designed to assist at-risk students finish high school and graduate early.

Van reported 28 students in the last three years had been able to graduate through this program. The Board voted to approve the application for the program.

Special Programs Director Patricia Galm spoke about amending the District of Innovation Plan concerning the School Health Advisory Council.

The Board cast their votes for the candidates for director of the Central Appraisal District after a lengthy discussion about how the votes would be cast, individually or as a group.

The Instructional Materials Committee for Elementary Physical Education and Health was approved.

Keith Neffendorf of the accounting firm of Neffendorf and Blocker, PC gave the report on the financial audit for the school year ending on June 30, 2021. Bandera ISD received an “unqualified opinion,” which shows that the financial records had no significant causes for concern.

The Board voted to change policies DEAB(LOCAL) concerning the start of the work calendar week for classified employees.

It also voted to change policy BED(LOCAL) concerning the Citizens Comments portion of all Board Meetings. Now, any citizen comments made during a meeting of the Board of Trustees will have to pertain to items on the meeting agenda. The next meeting of the BISD Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, December 13 at 6:00 PM at the BISD Administration Office.