Meetings watch — June 11

Portales Municipal School Board

Portales Municipal Schools board members met Monday evening at the L.C. Cozzens Administrative Offices in Portales. They took the following action:

• Recognized the achievements of the Portales Junior High and Portales High School choir programs. James Golden, director of both programs, said the choirs traveled to Amarillo in May and competed in the Greater Southwest Music Festival, a three-day event featuring schools from across West Texas, the Panhandle and eastern New Mexico. The choirs received the highest stage rating possible and the junior high school concert choir was chosen as the “Outstanding Junior High Choir” over all other junior high choirs that competed.

• Approved a donation from Wells Fargo Bank of two four-drawer locking file cabinets to the PHS media arts program.

• Approved donations from CJ’s Pill Box, Edward Jones, Horace Mann, Farm Bureau Insurance, Dairy Farmers of America, State Farm, C&S Inc., Hunton Insurance, Eastern Family Dentistry, Hamilton GM Country, First Financial Credit Union, Wells Fargo Bank, JP Stone Community Bank, and Southwest Silage Packing for bicycles and scooters awarded to Brown Early Childhood Center kindergarten and pre-kindergarten for perfect attendance.

• Approved a donation from Hanson Ranch Productions of $200 to the PHS media arts class.

• Approved a resolution declaring certain fixed assets obsolete and authorizing auction, donation or disposal.

• Approved the board of education policy and procedure handbook revision.

• Approved the revision to the food services salary schedule.

• Approved the certification of final school inventory.

• Approved the 2015-2016 Title I, Part C migrant application. Title I supplements federal money to support education programs for migrant children who experience educational disruptions caused by repeated moves and changes in school due to parents seeking temporary or seasonal employment in agriculture. The money is used for migrant tutors, instructional materials, technology services, health services, transportation, parental involvement, extended school day, summer school, stay on track packs, and school supplies.

• Approved the 2015-2016 Title II, Part A preparing, training, and recruiting highly qualified teachers and principals application. The purpose of the Title II grant is to increase academic achievement by improving teacher and principal quality. Title II services are used for professional developments, stipends, tuition and books.

• Approved the 2015-2016 rural low income schools application, which is used at PJHS and PHS for tutors, extended school day, credit recovery, technology and instructional materials.

• Approved the 2015-2016 Title III, English language acquisition local plan and application, which is used for professional development, parental involvement, technology and instructional materials.

• Approved the 2015-2016 state bilingual multicultural education program and funding application, which is state dollars that go into the State Equalization Guarantee Distribution (SEFG) and is used to support the K-12 bilingual program.

• Approved the proposal from Energy Control Inc. for access door controls for Brown, James, Valencia and Lindsey Elementary schools. Superintendent Johnnie Cain said the district has been exploring and researching school safety and ended up focusing on the doors of the schools. Cain said the program can run on a server in each school and teachers will have cards to access the doors.

• Approved 2015-2016 budget with all money included. The total proposed budget is $35.4 million.

• Approved the ratification of the 2015-2016 Fleet Service contract.

• Approved budget adjustment requests.

• Approved budget adjustment request ratification.

• Approved authorization for Cain to approve budget adjustment requests to close out the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

• Approved a cash transfer request.

• Approved payment of bills and expenditures.

—Compiled by Staff Writer Jackie Johnson