Texas Center for Arts + Academics
Minutes
TCA+A Special Session of the Board
Date and Time
Tuesday May 9, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Location
Kathleen E. Connors Theater
Texas School of the Arts (TeSA)
6025 Village Parkway
Edgecliff Village, TX 76134
In-person Meeting Return: Governor Abbott’s March 2020 order temporarily suspending certain provisions of the Open Meetings Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic disaster expired August 31, 2021. Consequently, TCA+A Board Meetings will return to in-person meetings at Texas School of the Arts.
Directors Present
Charles Reid, Cheryl Bean, Daniel Bates, Leslie Scott, Mary A. Zimmerman, Melissa Goodroe
Directors Absent
None
Ex Officio Members Present
Paul Gravley
Non Voting Members Present
Paul Gravley
Guests Present
Anika Perkins, Betsy Compton, Celeste Filar, Dana Martin, Gabrielle Galloway, Jennifer Jackson, Kiera Wallace, Lacey Johnson, Lauren Whitson, Luke Byford, Monica Sheehan, Penny Clay, Stephanie Stoner, Tommy Fisher
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
Daniel Bates called a meeting of the board of directors of Texas Center for Arts + Academics to order on Tuesday May 9, 2023 at 6:05 PM.
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
II. Public Comments
A.
Public Comments
III. Consent Agenda
A.
Approve March 28, 2023 Minutes
Leslie Scott made a motion to approve the minutes from TCA+A Board Meeting on 03-28-23.
Melissa Goodroe seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Finance Statements
Melissa Goodroe made a motion to approve the February 2023 finance statements.
Mary A. Zimmerman seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
IV. Closed Session
A.
Convene to Closed Session
- at 7:15pm
B.
Reconvene to Open Session
- at 9:05pm
- Closed Session
- Convened in Closed Session at 7:19pm
- Ended Closed Session at 9:02pm
C.
Action Item
Charles Reid made a motion to to adopt TBC and SGT handbook revisions as submitted by school administration, including removing Leslie Wade's name and adding Cheryl Bean's name without the addition of the Executive Committee's recommended changes.
Cheryl Bean seconded the motion.
- Mr. Reid made a motion to adopt TBC and SGT handbook revisions as submitted by school administration without the addition of the Executive Committee's recommended changes
- Mrs. Scott asked Mr. Reid to edit his motion to include removing Leslie Wade's name and adding Cheryl Bean's name
- Mr. Reid ammended his motion to adopt TBC and SGT handbook revisions as submitted by school administration, including removing Leslie Wade's name and adding Cheryl Bean's name without the addition of the Executive Committee's recommended changes
- Mrs. Bean seconded the motion then further discussion took place
- Mr. Reid asked Mr. Gravley's opinion and he stated that he believes in the artistic directors' abilities to determine what students should be placed in their choirs
- Mr. Bates spoke
- this would be a fundamental change to the organization where we need more consideration and input from the whole FWAFA family
- the problem with Mr. Reid's motion is one of language in the existing handbooks because
- TBC's handbook uses the word boy in the requirements for the tour and training choirs and also has a Men's Ensemble choir listed - without clarification there are potential issues
- SGT's handbook refers to singers instead of girls
- Language needs to be clarified as everyone may not agree on what a boy and a girl are; this is not something we've faced before as an organization and that's why with all due respect I believe we should not adopt Mr. Reid's motion until we get further input from the Board, parents, and educators to make this type of change
- Mrs. Bean proposed accepting the administrative piece and keeping the status quo of the traditional definition of a boy and a girl until further information can be gathered
Cheryl Bean made a motion to keep the make up of the respective choirs the same with the understanding that the Texas Boys Choir will be reserved for biological males and the Singing Girls of Texas will be reserved for biological females and that the work of the board to survey and commission more information will be done by the June 27, 2023 board meeting.
Daniel Bates seconded the motion.
- Mrs. Bean made a motion to move forward with the Executive Committees changes as written for this coming year but during the course of this coming year the board needs to pursue and get a broader prespective on how people feel
- Mr. Bates clarified the motion - accept for the 2023-2024 handbooks the revisions proposed by the Executive Committee of the board but also commission additional information and input from the FWAFA community to see if those revisions will be permanent
- Mr. Reid stated that this motion guts the previous motion
- Mr. Bates pointed out that under the current language there is a disagreement of what a boy is and what a girl is and without clear language we are doing a disservice to the organization and raise potential chaos by knowing we have different viewpoints on what that means
- Mrs. Scott stated that she would rather say the board would commit to a study before the school year begins and come to a conclusion on these issues by a specific date verus adopting language that we are already saying we may be changing
- Mrs. Scott - I would ask that Mrs. Bean change this so we can table the language changes until a study can be done with existing parents at the schools that are impacted by July 1st if that's a fair date
- Mrs. Bean asked Mr. Gravley if delaying the decision until after the school year would delay important planning for the choirs
- Mrs. Goodroe stated this change is more than just accommodating these two students; it's such an important decision that the time needs to be taken before anything fundamentally changes to this organization
- Mr. Bates stated that if the board doesn't adopt the language changes to clarify for now it opens the organization to varying interpretations that do not bring order and stability
- Mr. Reid stated that this is a change from the inclusive nature of the school
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Charles Reid |
No
|
| Mary A. Zimmerman |
Aye
|
| Cheryl Bean |
Aye
|
| Melissa Goodroe |
Aye
|
| Daniel Bates |
Aye
|
| Leslie Scott |
No
|
D.
Action Item
- Refer to C. Action Item
V. Finance
A.
Audit Engagement Letter
Melissa Goodroe made a motion to approve the Audit Engagement Letter.
Leslie Scott seconded the motion.
- Mr. Gravley recommended the board move forward with the current auditing firm's engagement letter
VI. Academics
A.
STAAR Testing
- Mrs. Perkins provided updates:
- the state has redesigned the state assessment to be cross-curriculum for Reading Language Arts including both multiple choice and non-multiple choice questions
- both districts have worked hard to prepare the students for the redesign by participating in the state's interim assessments, allowing the students to see and practice before taking the redesigned test this month
- we will not receive student test scores back until August
B.
TeSA EMAT Allotment and TEKS Certification
Leslie Scott made a motion to approve TeSA's EMAT Allotment and TEKS Certification.
Melissa Goodroe seconded the motion.
- Mrs. Perkins stated
- funds are used for curriculum materials
- allotments are received every 2 years and will open again May 15th
C.
FWAFA EMAT Allotment and TEKS Certification
Charles Reid made a motion to approve FWAFA's EMAT Allotment and TEKS Certification.
Leslie Scott seconded the motion.
- Mrs. Perkins stated
- funds are used for curriculum materials
- allotments are received every 2 years and will open again May 15th
VII. CEO Report
A.
Updates
- Strategic Planning
- The S&G Group want to create a plan that is nimble, making it a living document
- TBC's April 2023 Tour
- toured Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana
- final concert of the school year was done in a fun baseball theme
- TeSA School Zone
- working on logistics with the City of Edgecliff Village
- plan is to have it ready by the beginning of the next school year
- Commencement - May 30, 2023 at Doxology Bible Church at 7pm
- Barry King - Past Board Member and Visual Artist is keynote speaker
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:23 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Daniel Bates
B.
CERTIFICATE AS TO POSTING OR GIVING OF NOTICE
Documents used during the meeting
- TeSA - Feb 2023.pdf
- TCA+A - Feb 2023.pdf
- FWAFA - Feb 2023.pdf
- Cash Analysis Board - Feb 2023.pdf
- Audit Engagement Letter.pdf
- STAAR Redesign.pdf
- TeSA TEKS Certification Allotment Form 2023-2024.pdf
- FWAFA TEKS Certification Allotment Form 2023-2024.pdf
Public Comments were made by: