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Board Meeting: September 8, 2020
Workshop Items
Covid-19 Update
Dr. Richardson, Denton County Health Department provided the Board with a COVID-19 update of 10766 confirmed cases, 1660 active cases, 9001 recovered, and 105 total deaths. The curve in Denton County is flattening. Dr. Richardson also showed the information the community can view on the Denton County Website by the school district and then by specific school campus.
Susannah O’Bara further provided information about the student and staff reporting that will be updated each day on the Denton County Dashboard.
Julie Zwahr provided information on the Denton ISD Tech Dashboard which will reflect technology areas that may be experiencing issues.
Dr. Gwen Perkins reviewed the Hybrid calendar for secondary students.
Dr. Robert Stewart, Asst. Superintendent of Human Resources provided an overview of the Ed Covid Leave requests, resignations due to Covid, and the contact tracing for Covid cases.
Discussion of Technology Access Update
Ernie Stripling, Technology Information Officer provided the Board with an update on how the technology devices and network performed the first week of school. At peak consumption, only 15% of our fiber/bandwidth capacity was used. Mr. Stripling also provided the number of Chromebook devices and Jetpacks issued to students. As of the first week of school the Technology Department has distributed 2,833 Jet Packs, 12,990 Chromebooks.
Employee Benefits Enrollment Update
Chris Bomberger, Exec. Director of Risk Management and Child Nutrition provided the Board with an update on the 2020-2021 open enrollment of employee benefits. The enrollment for employees began on July 15th and ended on August 21st. Denton ISD has 2,704 employees selecting medical and non-medical plan options. The District had 2,230 employees choose the TRS Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan Option. 474 employees chose the TSHBP Plan Option. This year employees had the opportunity to choose a Health Savings Account through EECU Credit Union or the Flexible Spending Account.
Discussion of Legislative Priorities in Preparation of the 87th Legislative Session
Deron Robinson, General Counsel, and Gwen Perkins, Area Superintendent, reviewed the legislative priorities from the 86th Legislative Session and begin a discussion with the Board of Trustees in consideration of outlining their legislative priorities for the 87th Legislative Session. Establishing legislative priorities for the Denton ISD allows the District to align the Board goals as we advocate for our students and public education in Texas. Staying abreast of legislative proposals and actions, while preparing for engaging discussions with our elected officials may have a significant impact on policies directly impacting public education.
Discussion of Naming of Facilities
Dr. Wilson, Superintendent reviewed district process and procedures for naming or renaming school facilities. The naming of school facilities is an integral part of telling the history of Denton ISD. As a fast-growth school district, we have the opportunity to recognize local heroes who made a significant contribution to our greater Denton community
Report Items
Student Engagement Update
The purpose of this report is to provide the Board of Trustees with a summary of Denton ISD’s student engagement during the first 8 days of the 2020-2021 school year. As of Day, 6, September 2, 2020, Denton ISD has a total of 29,513 total students that have demonstrated engagement. This is 13,289 elementary students and 16,224 secondary students. Of the 29,513 students, 11,588 of these students have selected “Connected Learning” and engaged through either Canvas or Seesaw during these six instructional days. As of today, September 8, 2020, Denton ISD is expecting 13,462 elementary students across all campuses of which 5,100 are Connected Learning with 8,362 to engage through face to face instruction. The secondary has a total of 16,386 with 6,587 choosing Connected Learning and 9,799 students which began face to face learning on a hybrid schedule.