The Italy School Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $5,058,269 budget for the 2012/2013 school year at a special meeting held Monday evening.

Mark Stiles made the motion to adopt the balanced budget with Paul Cockerham seconding the motion.

The adopted tax rate is $1.24 — $1.17 for maintenance and operation and $0.07 for interest and sinking funds per $100 valuation.

Barry Bassett, superintendent, commended the school board for their hard work the past several months regarding the budget. He said their leadership, guidance and thoughts in this process helped guide the district toward the 2012/2013 school year.

Bassett said he was especially pleased with the school board and their push toward technology, as well as reimbursement for dual credit classes if the student maintains a grade of B or higher and financial assistance with SAT/ACT testing.

For student not interesting in pursuing the college path, he said the board implemented a curriculum and new teachers that allow certification through the agricultural program, through a business strand and through FCCLA.

Another bold move for the board, he said, was approving to pay some teachers $3,800 above the minimum state level. He said this will impact teachers differently, depending on their scale and tenure. He said it is a positive commitment to the district employees.

In other business, the first day enrollment was 538 students. Bassett said that number is down from 560 enrolled on the last day of school in May. He said there are some students that will enroll late but are coming back to the district.

The board also approved a budget amendment that adds an additional $303,694 to the budget.

Regarding personnel, the board accepted the resignations of Delaine Meeks and Clover Stiles. The motion passed with Stiles abstaining.

The board also unanimously approved the student code of conduct, an employee handbook for the 2012/2013 school year and the Ellis County Shared Service agreement.

Lee Joffre, high school principal discussed with the board the AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) report which is a part of No Child Left Behind. This mandate says that every child must pass math and reading by 2014.

Joffre said the high school campus did not pass last year. He admitted there were educational gaps last year. He added that personnel moves have been made, including 14 new staff members that will help the district to meet this goal.

He said the staff is doing everything they are asked to do and then some. He said all teachers will provide tutoring and those tutoring times will be posted on their doors. He said one teacher, Lindsey Thompson, will have the ability to pull struggling students from athletic or physical education class for more intense instruction.

Joffre said junior high students are required to take part in UIL academics as well as doubling math class times. He said the district is asking teachers to require open-ended questions rather than multiple choice options for testing.

Myla Wilson, Stafford principal, was also on hand and noted that things went smoothly at her campus and briefly discussed the dress code and additions that were made to the handbook. Those changes mainly dealt with students wearing close-toe shoes; skirts, dresses and shorts no shorter than three inches above the knee; tight clothing; and inappropriate messages on shirts. She said the campus will also be filing truancy charges this year.