On Monday, September 23, Pampa ISD held their monthly school board meeting that began with the Spotlight on Excellence segment before adjourning to an executive session.
“We can’t do this without our Technology Department because everything now is technology,” Superintendent Hugh Piatt said. “We’ve had some shifts in the department and the transition has been amazing and they’ve done an outstanding job of getting all of our devices working. It sounds simple enough except for all of the things that go along with that. It’s been quite a chore. They’ve had their hands full. I’m thankful for what they do and thankful for who they are and you never have to ask twice. They come and get it done and make it look easy. Thank you guys for being awesome and wonderful.”
Those recognized for their excellence are as follows:
Courtney Blackmon, Director of Educational Technology and Assessment; Dennis Boyd, IT Coordinator; Hunter Brown, Technology Professional; Drew Miller, Technology Professional; Matthew Palma, Technology Data Collector; Jamie Smith, Department Liaison; and Shane Welsley, Technical Coordinator.
After reconvening from the executive session following the Spotlight on Excellence, the board began with the first item on the agenda: public comments, in which two individuals had requested to speak.
Madison Floyd stepped up to speak to the board about a situation that occurred while her 3-year-old child was enrolled in the headstart program at Woodrow Wilson Elementary.
According to Madison, the school had contacted her and her husband regarding the child having a soiling incident and needed to be picked up. The husband asked if the child was sitting there in soiled clothes, to which one of the office staff members responded, “well, she’s not sitting it, she’s standing.”
The remark was not taken lightly and the parents of the child arrived at the school, only to find their child completely soiled, prompting Madison to ask the office staff where the nurse was, to which the response was, “We do not have one and we do not legally have to have one.”
The parents unenrolled their child from the headstart program and began to do their research on the legalities of having a nurse on school campuses at all times.
They found out that schools in fact do not have to have a nurse on campus, but according to the paperwork that is given during enrollment, parents are ensured that a nurse is on campus at all times.
The particular paperwork that Madison and her husband were given during the enrollment of their child stated that “the child would be cleaned up as best as possible with Wet Ones or a wash cloth by a nurse with the presence of another Pampa ISD member to ensure safety and would be called to pick up the child for a proper bathing.”
When Madison and her husband went to pick up the child and those actions had clearly not been made, they questioned the integrity and transparency of not just that particular school, but of the entire district.
“I did do some research and I understand you don’t legally have to have a nurse on staff,” Madison said. “You also don’t legally have to notify parents that they don’t have one on staff. However, my question is: why are parents informed through this particular paperwork that there is a nurse?”
“I cannot understand why we are provided documentation stating that they have a nurse when in fact they do not. It goes further than a child standing in a soiled pull-up. I am concerned about the children with insect bites or food allergies when they go into anaphylactic shock and there’s not a nurse on staff. Air waves can narrow in seconds. I’m concerned for children with diabetes who need insulin throughout the day. I’m concerned about children with epilepsy falling down and heaving a head injury and having no medical staff to render aid until EMS or other professionally trained medical personnel can arrive.”
“What can we do to ensure our children have nurses? Is there something we can do as parents to vote on, encourage a petition on or simply just ask that the paperwork be changed so we are accurately informed on what staff is available to provide care to our children?”
While public comments are not to be discussed among the board at that time, the board members did express concern and informed Madison that they would be more than happy to sit down and discuss her concerns and figure out a solution.
The next person to speak was Jaycee Paulson where she echoed the same sentiment as Madison, speaking about her own child who has severe allergies and the concern she has about who would be able to help in case of an allergic reaction.
“Who on the Wilson campus is trained and capable of taking care or rendering aid to my child and any other child who may have the same common allergies and what are there credentials?” she said. “And what would the plan of action be if for any reason that one person is not available, for example is off campus or is engaged in another medical event requiring their full attention? Is there possibly a petition we can start for other parents?”
Next was the consent agenda where all items were approved. Those items included: the consideration and action to approve the minutes of the previous meeting, consideration and action to approve the monthly financial reports, consideration and action to approve the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Pampa regarding school resource officers, the consideration and action to adopting resolutions designating nonbusiness days in 2024 and 2025, and consideration and action to approve the 2024-2025 trip for the Pampa High School Choir.
Next was the consideration and possible action on a resolution approving the Sale and Exchange Agreement with the City of Pampa regarding the sale of District owned property in exchange for City owned property.
Financial Manager, Angel Grant addressed the board on this topic.
“The need for a new location for the Pampa ISD Agricultural program facilities was a conclusion found during the resurge of strategic planning in the future of the district,” she said. “Th City of Pampa owns a three-acre tract of land near the rodeo grounds that may provide a possible solution for a new AG facility location. We are looking to trade the old Sam Houston property that we own for that out near the rodeo grounds. There’s no fiscal implications to Pampa ISD and will not cost us anything. This will be a direct exchange and the City will actually owe a fair market value difference of $12,710 to the school district.”
The motion to declare the Pampa ISD property as surplus and approve the exchange agreement was carried.
Next was the consideration and action on a resolution declaring as a surplus and authorizing the sale of the property located on 901 and 1011 Frost Street, also known as the previous location of Pampa Learning Center and Bright Beginnings Daycare. The motion was carried.
Next was the consideration and action on a resolution designating Construction Manager At-Risk, one step process, as the delivery method for the district’s roof and HVAC repair and replacement projects regarding the extensive hail damage sustained last year.
Board member, Luis Nava asked about the timeline of the repairs.
Chief Financial Officer, Heath Parker, told the board that there are many steps to be taken to resolve the issue and the last time a big repair was made on a campus took about 5 years to complete.
Next was the consideration and action to authorize FirstBank Southwest Custodial Account for project fund securities, which was approved.
Next item of interest was the accountability update and enrollment report. According to Hugh Piatt, enrollment is sitting at 195 less than the same time last year, with the largest amount being 56 at Austin.
Last item was the approval of employment of a professional employee to the district, which was approved. The meeting was then adjourned.
