Guest speakers may soon be more limited in their remarks to school board trustees.
Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District trustees proposed reducing the amount of time guest speakers can speak from three minutes to one minute at their Feb. 1 meeting.
The special meetings subcommittee approved the adjustment to local policy for addressing the board as a non-stakeholder of a district during special board meetings. The board policy subcommittee made this change to align local policies with best practices that fall in line with other districts.
“Clarifying the public comment process for special meetings was necessary… the change was specific to the time allotted for comment for non-stakeholders,” said Deputy Superintendent Brian Moersch.
Other School Board News
- Trustees recognized two students with the CFB Champion Award for the month of January: Aaron Sandro Fernandez of Vivian Field Middle School and Anthony Augusto Antunez of Early College High School.
- Vickey Kemp, president of the North Dallas branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and Bernadette Rodriguez, chairwoman for the Nancy Watten scholarship, informed the school board that the deadline to apply for the Nancy Watten scholarship for undergraduate college studies is March 18. Nancy Watten served as a CFBISD board member from 2007 to 2016 and was a kindergarten teacher for more than 32 years at McLaughlin Elementary and Janie Stark Elementary. Awarded scholarships usually amount to $500 to $2,000. For more information, the website is https:/northdallas-tx.aauw.net/scholarship/
- Larry Morris, who represents U.S. Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne and was asked by the PTA to speak, informed the board of the Elementary Fly-in, a trip to Washington, D.C., for students in kindergarten to sixth grade, along with a family member, which will educate students about civic engagement and democracy. The deadline to apply is March 15. For more information, visit the website https://vanduyne.house.gov/student-program-overview.
- During a construction update, the board was informed that there is a savings amount totaling $22.2 million after the 2018 bond, which originally totaled $350 million. The board debated the use of this money. One idea discussed was for the construction of the central CFBISD family/student services building. The discussion was tabled for another meeting, and no action was taken for the method of procurement for construction.
- Texas Senate Bill 763 amended the Texas Education Code so school district safety funds may be used to employ non-licensed chaplains to fulfill the duties of a school counselor. The board of trustees voted against adopting this measure in a 6-1 vote.
