Meetings watch: Board of Education

At a Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education meeting Monday in the L.C. Cozzens Administration Building, board members:

• Heard a presentation from Portales Junior High School Principal Steve Harris.

Harris reported that student proficiency in math and reading has increased.

He said the school's Trio program facilitated academic counseling, organizational skills and study skills for 120 students in the last school year.

He said the junior high band won district and state awards in the school year and the school did well in athletics with seventh grade boys basketball having zero losses and girls eighth grade basketball having only one loss.

• Heard a presentation from Portales High School Principal Melvin Nusser.

Nusser said high school students received $1.3 million in scholarships in the last school year, most of which came from Eastern New Mexico University.

He said 720 hours of college credits were earned by 128 juniors and seniors in the school year and 197 seniors graduated.

He said high school students have also improved in math and reading proficiency.

He said the high school robotics team won second place in robotics and fourth over all at a regional competition.

Nusser also said high school staff are currently talking to the local magistrate court to begin enforcing the Child Compulsory School Attendance Law in which parents are held responsible for their high school children skipping school.

He said parents will be charged a fine for their children missing school.

• Approved donations.

Donations included six bicycles to James, Valencia and Lindsey-Steiner Elementary students with perfect attendance; 12 bicycles to Brown Early Childhood Center for students with perfect attendance; and $3,000 for computer based software.

• Approved a resolution declaring certain assets obsolete.
• Approved the final draft of the district operating budget.

The final draft included additional federal funds for career and technical information education materials for the high school.

The final operating budget was $22.4 million. The budget for the 2011-12 school year was $22.8 million.

• Approved a revision to cafeteria staff salary schedules because one work day was added for the 2012-13 school year.
• Approved renewing the Fleet Service Contract with the Dickie Shearer Bus Company for the 2012-2013 school year.
• Approved out-of-state travel for varsity basketball and football students.
• Approved the Title I Migrant Application for migrant student services.
• Approved the Rural Low Income Schools Application, which will be used for the Extended Day Program, which tutors students.
• Approved budget adjustment requests.
• Approved awarding bids to Labatt, Gandy's, Baird's and Blue Bell for food products and services.
• Heard comments from board members.

Board members gave recognition to recent Portales High School graduate Russell Van Dam for receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the New Mexico School Board Association.