Board approves employee health screening motion

News Reporter

Brownsboro Independent School District was given the Energy Stewardship Award by Energy Education Incorporated at the monthly School Board of Trustees meeting Monday, March 10. The award highlights cumulative energy savings made by the district.

Elton Caldwell, school superintendent, said the school was awarded this because of its successful implementation of the energy savers program, a program that encourages teachers to turn off all devices at the end of a school day and before breaks.

According to award report, the amount of energy the school saved is the equivalent of taking over 500 cars off the roads permanently.

After this award, Marian Thornton, principal of the District Alternative Education Program, presented a sort of "thank you" to the board of trustees for the work done for the district.

Following in the string of informative items on the night's agenda, Terri Green, district librarian, informed the board of the process the library takes in selecting books for the library.

Basically, the selection process yields to the curriculum in that teacher requests often decide what books are added to the library. In addition, old books are removed.

"If I see a book with the title like `We Will Soon Walk on the Moon' I remove it," Green said.

Student requests are checked to determine scholarly value before they are approved, Green added.

The board approved a motion for employee health screening after these information topics.

The screening, performed by Health Matters, Caldwell said, is a cheap and effective way to check the health of employees.

"Last year it cost the school $1,519 to check 175 employees," Caldwell said.

While the price for this year is estimated at $1,700, this is still a bargain. Essentially, the screening gives each employee a medical checkup. Even at $1,700, a checkup for 175 employees at this price amounts to less than $10 for a medical checkup.

A pair of quick approvals followed as the board then approved a Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills waiver for senior high school students. The next item approved was on a series of textbooks for kindergarten through fifth grade math.

The waiver, Caldwell said, means seniors who do not have to take the TAKS test next school year need only report in to school, and are then dismissed. This year the school used this day to hand out graduation caps and gowns.

The board was then informed of the status of the property the school is buying as well as receiving through donation. According to Caldwell, this property is taking some time going through the school's title company. The board also heard of a possible bond issue to facilitate construction of school facilities. This will appear on future agendas.

The meeting closed with Caldwell's recommendation to rehire dozens of employees placed on short contracts.