Italy ISD started a new tradition at their monthly board meeting on Monday night. Seven students received the Superintendent Star awards and two received Junior Gladiator awards.

“We will be honoring one Superintendent Star student from each grade PreK through 5th and two Junior Gladiators at every regular board meeting,” Superintendent Lee Joffre said.

Coach Ervin selected Gabriel Chambers as the Junior Gladiator for PreK – 2nd grade and Landry Janek for 3rd – 5th.

The Superintendent Star students for this month are:

Pre-K – Holden Chaffee
Kindergarten – Kaliyah Jenkins
1st – Jesse Zambrano
2nd – Hailey Glover
3rd – Raul Acosta
4th – Sage Olivera
5th – Ella Hudson

Elmerine Bell addressed the Board with concerns regarding the process the district used to remove asbestos at Stafford Elementary. She said that the tape on the windows used to alert those in the vicinity of the school that asbestos removal was being done was so small she had to walk up to the school to read it.

“Those of us that live near Stafford Elementary were never notified by the school when the asbestos was to be removed which I had requested,” Bell stated. “The dumpster sat there for four days before it was removed after the completion of the removal. I still feel courtesy should have been considered for those of us in that area. I also would like to know if the district requested a permit from the city to remove the asbestos. I would like to see the permit from Rone Engineering regarding the daily air quality report. I also want to say I am grateful to you for striving for the best for our schools.”

The board approved the employment contract of Elizabeth Guilliams as the district’s Registered Nurse for the 2016/2017 school year. They approved the resignation of Board Member, Shawn Holden and appointed Cortney Janek to the board.

The Board also approved $146,896 for Texserve billing services for 2016/2017.

The following reports were presented to the board:

Stafford Elementary – Red Ribbon Week is September 24-28. Homecoming Spirit Week is October 10-14. Trunk or Treat will be held in the gymnasium on October 31.

Jr. High /High School – Early release at 12:46 on October 14 for homecoming. 34 students enrolled in 153 dual credit hours. Enrollment in grades 6-12 is 280 with 97.7% ADA. All Juniors will take the ACT on September 27 and PSAT on October 19.

Director of Operations – Maintenance will install water line from College Street to the new stadium site. J & K Excavation will tap the water line and repair the street where the tap is made. Construction fence at the Ag shop has taken up football parking so this problem is being addressed. When ONCOR gets the meters installed, the portable buildings will be ready to move into. We will install a fence at the back of the buildings for security.

Athletic Director – Volleyball, Cross-Country and Football numbers look good. J.V. football team will be playing at Waco LaVega this Thursday. Due to lack of personnel, we will only have one football team for 7th and 8th grade. All coaches have had their 2016-2017 district meetings which are necessary for the new district to be on the same page on venues, officials, prices, passes and scheduling.

Food Service Director – We started the year with good participation at both campuses. The numbers are increasing every day at Stafford. The High School started the year with the same number of participation as last year. It seems the kids are happy with their food choices.

Library and Textbook – The Stafford Library will be relocated to a portable building. Cassie Joffre and Michelle Hampton will set the library up. Stafford Book Fair is October 12-16 in the gymnasium. Joy Moneyhon is volunteering in the library two days each week. Middle School Book Fair is November 30-December 4 in the High School Library.

Construction Consultant – Demolition at Stafford to start September 19. The city’s inspector has agreed to contract with the district to do all construction inspections for $24,000. There is another certified inspector that will do all inspection for around $4,000. There is no policy found that requires the district to use the city’s inspector.

The Board meets in regular session on the 3rd Monday of every month. Community members are invited and encouraged to attend.