COMMERCE — CISD passed the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), receiving a score of 52. FIRST is a rating system that measures how well Texas schools’ budgets are balanced and  how effectively schools use the finances.

“We did good and received a maximum score in many of the areas,” John Walker, Director of Finance for CISD said. “But there is always room for improvement. And we are looking to improve.”

Blake Cooper, Superintendent of CISD, gave the board an update on the Ag barn that is being built for CHS students who do not live on a farm to use to keep their livestock.

“All of the grunt work has been done,” he said. “We are now in the process of acquiring bids to build it. We have two bids on it and both of them are for welding the barn.”

According to Cooper, an engineer team gave their report to him on two different ways to fix the drainage issues CHS has had for the past year. Currently, the schools drainage system is backing up in and around the school.

“One would be very costly, which would include building new sewer pumps,” he said. “The engineer said there is another way that may be just as effective and less costly. He may be able to redirect the sewage lines, though at this point we do not have an estimate on how much either will cost.”

The Boys and Girls club was given until Sept. 3 to get insurance to use the A.C. Williams facilities for the after school programs or the school district would not allow the facility to be used. CISD had to foot a $3,500 bill due to damage caused by one of the children during a Boys and Girls club activity.

“I told them that they need to get liability insurance in order to stay at A.C. Williams in the future,” Cooper said. “Two weeks should be plenty of time for the club to find adequate insurance.”

Deanna Hays, principal of A.C. Williams Elementary, said she is working with the Boys and Girls Club to help promote a more safe and structured environment for the kids.

“The Boys and Girls Club is a great program that helps so many kids,” she said. “And what we want is to extend how our kids act in class to how they are in the club’s after school programs.”

Julia Robinson, director of curriculum for CISD, expressed discontent with how the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a part of the No Child Left Behind act, is measured. In the act, schools are penalized for having more than 3 percent of special education students. Nearly 10 percent of CHS students fall under the special education category.

“We have 85 of our children in special education classes,” she said. “Even if all of those kids passed the STAAR, only three percent of them would count as passing. All of the rest would automatically be failed under the NCLB act.”

According to TEA, 48 percent of Texas campuses failed the AYP standard, compared with 34 percent last year. This year 87 percent of students must pass the reading portion, and 83 percent need to pass the math portion of the test in order for a school to meet the AYP standards. The goal of the NCLB act is to have 100 percent of students passing by 2014.

“They have made the standards where you couln’t pass them,” she said. “And I am not sure there are going to be districts left after the next round of tests.”

Robinson said she is working with the district to implement a revised district improvement plan, which will plan consultation with parents, school staff and others to ensure everyone is on the same page.

“The task in front of us is a challenging one,” she said. “But we must rise up to the challenge.”

Cooper said that he is confident that CISD will meet the standards next year.

“I am tired of our kids being used as political pawns,” he said. “We’ve got a group of folks here at CISD who are up to the challenge. We are going to meet AYP next year.”

Students who have not yet purchased an iPad with the iGive for iPad initiative during the summer will have one more opportunity during the first week of school.

“We are going to have one more opportunity for students to buy iPads,” he said. “But we are no longer accepting payment plans. They would need to be paid for in full.”

The Board of Trustees next session will be held on Sept. 17.