The Italy School Board of Trustees concluded a four-hour meeting Monday evening by unanimously extending the contracts of Lee Joffre, high school principal, and Hank Hollywood, athletic director, for the 2014-2015 school year.

The meeting began with Erica Miller, coordinator for the elementary and junior high UIL contest, presenting awards to local junior high students. She said 24 percent of the junior high student body at Italy participated in the UIL event last year with 71 percent taking part this year. She said, “We did well in all areas, including math and science.”

The school board had another extended session about C-Scope from John David with Region X. He said all 20 of the region service centers provide C-Scope to districts.

He said C-Scope is a customizable, online curriculum management system aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). C-Scope’s high quality curriculum, assessment, and instructional components assist schools in meeting the high standard of rigor and relevance required in the TEKS and STAAR assessments.

David said C-Scope is tightly mapped to eliminate gaps and redundancies in learning. He said, C-Scope is not a textbook or program nor a resource in the traditional sense. He said it is not a magic bullet or panacea to ensure effective instruction.

It can be, he said, customized to meet district and individual needs. David said the program provides instructional strategies, classroom management and classroom curriculum design. This program, he said, gives teachers some of the tools they need to become more effective.

The C-Scope program, he said, will continually adjust to help meet the challenges for students and ensure that all students are academically prepared. He said there is not another product in Texas that comes close to C-Scope.

Curtis Riddle, school board member, said some parents have issues with the lack of take-home study guides. David said C-Scope doesn’t replace traditional resources.

Mark Stiles, school board member, said C-Scope developers were teachers from Region VIII out of Mt. Pleasant.

Melissa Bedard, Stafford Elementary counselor, followed with STAAR benchmark testing scores.

Following her slide presentation, Cameron Hollomon, a representative with Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), briefly outlined a needs assessment done at both campuses.

He said many of the problems schools are facing, especially those with older buildings, is the difficulty with fire codes, American with Disabilities and the failure to have the latest technology programming.

He said it is good that both campuses have room for expansion and both schools are not just off a major freeway. He said the front door security systems at both campuses are good. He suggested changing door knobs, as old ones wear out, to door handles. He said ramps are also lacking in some areas.

He said the roofs are big ticket items that will need attention soon. He covered HV/AC, lighting, windows and how updating these items could save on utility bills.

Following the TASB presentation, Monet Taylor, with Document Solutions, presented a restructuring of the copier contract. The trustees, after a 20-minute presentation, tabled the copier contract.

During the superintendent report, Barry Bassett said student enrollment at the start of the school year was 532. Current enrollment, as of Feb. 21, is 521. Refined average daily attendance is 95.5 percent.

Prior to going into executive session, trustees approved minutes from the January meeting, the monthly utility report, transportation report, check register for January, monthly investment and cash position report, January financial statement and tax collections.