[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6117245,"mediaKeyId","2730652-64111a5bce8df6658d48c633cc69c4e5","parentId",2730652,"title","Tomball ISD trustees unanimously approve grant, contracts, calendar, insurance, FFA awards and personnel hires","audioSeconds",594,"startMs",3031000,"endMs",3625000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730652-64111a5bce8df6658d48c633cc69c4e5&start=3031&end=3625","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730652-64111a5bce8df6658d48c633cc69c4e5/thumbnail_3031000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6117245/Texas/Tomball-ISD-trustees-unanimously-approve-grant-contracts-calendar-insurance-FFA-awards-and-personnel-hires","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117245-29ce234cf92edbc19146b2dba93cf824/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143292&Signature=bWuXtXGTR-SQO46vmzVtzs9LVSxCoaBi~SwjoIssGZ3G2S3mE1daq6xWBhTT2G0jWEf-R5RypeJuytYUEQeMRO2p2t0zdlk10-alMZ20xF8H4zpcTfqELIjPxyOLZr-La7qmaGkjNBEjU15kYrKRwped-~M0rJCRzfodSOBr23dT3Pig77QbcSEMepwrEXs0N4Ryqiyu0UB1NxMu7QYvu5ZPanh~TE26IOLE1GvA~9EbF1H9fzWEzrKGZiRFUPUTUEmqCntr4Lg~v~jxEJdVvvOXVsHLjBk499PjlKcaTrh8rEk7IOqSnINvlKMPcSdRmFVUf3lASGW8qtmzjy-jTQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tomball ISD","date","2025-03-19T12:04:52Z","article","Tomball ISD trustees voted unanimously on a series of consent and considered agenda items in the board meeting, approving a behavioral‑health grant, several contracts and awards, the district instructional calendar for 2026–27, insurance coverage and dozens of employment contracts for the 2025–26 school year.

Votes at a glance: all items listed below were approved by voice vote with no recorded dissent.

• Accept $200,000 grant from the Tomball Regional Health Foundation to support campus‑based behavioral health initiatives. Motion to accept made by Mr. Mixtravik and seconded by Mr. White; motion carried unanimously.

• Approve addendum to the Clear Hope contract extending services through June 30, 2025 and adding $100,000 for spring semester, bringing the contract total to $190,635. Motion made by Mrs. Salem and seconded by Mr. McStravick; motion carried unanimously. A trustee confirmed that the recently approved grant funds will be used to cover the additional $100,000.

• Approve the 2026–27 instructional calendar as recommended by the Tomball ISD calendar committee (187 instructional days referenced by a board member). Motion made by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. Levandowski; motion carried unanimously.

• Approve TASB general liability and automobile liability insurance. Motion made by Mr. McStravick and seconded by Ms. Bass; motion carried unanimously.

• Award RFP 979‑24/26 (FFA project: show animals) to multiple vendors for a total of $334,000, funded through campus activity funds. Contract term runs March 18, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2028. Motion made by Mrs. Salem and seconded by Mr. McStravick; motion carried unanimously. Board members noted that vendors on cooperative contracts may still change pricing and the district is not locked into a vendor if pricing becomes unreasonable.

• Approve employment of multiple professional personnel for the 2025–26 school year (probationary, one‑year, multi‑year and other contract types across many roles including teachers, counselors, therapists, nurses and support staff). Motion made by Mr. Levandowski and seconded by Mrs. Salem; motion carried unanimously.

The board approved the full consent agenda earlier in the meeting by voice vote.

Board President opened the public comment period; one member of the public, Dan Cranford, urged greater naming and accountability in district reporting, questioned cooperative purchasing savings and asked how the district would handle bond debt if state school‑choice funding changed. Cranford also repeated a concern that cooperative fees could offset savings and that cooperative arrangements fund statewide organizations. Trustees did not take action on the public comment during the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Regular Meeting | March 2025 | Tomball ISD","oneSentenceSummary","At the March board meeting trustees unanimously approved a $200,000 behavioral‑health grant, a $100,000 addendum to a Clear Hope contract, the 2026–27 instructional calendar, TASB liability insurance, a $334,000 FFA show‑animal award and multiple personnel contracts.","taxTitle","TOMBALL ISD, School Districts, Texas","taxId",14339,"location","Texas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6117250,"Tomball ISD trustees hear detailed review of district procurement process",1953,194000,2147000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730652-64111a5bce8df6658d48c633cc69c4e5&start=194&end=2147","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730652-64111a5bce8df6658d48c633cc69c4e5/thumbnail_194000.jpg","/articles/6117250/Texas/Tomball-ISD-trustees-hear-detailed-review-of-district-procurement-process","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117250-d8d6d3840e09ab3e0066468bd148a663/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143292&Signature=ed-MhkskxC-vQt-vE-CCh-VDkrepOVwbzXxxYzVE2CsyD9NgGn0E5Wu3EwColEMrbwVfa~tw659Nip3jKc6TTHK1QvS~~-ErlvRledoD4Bw4BJm2ChIYckRAHQZnGtgzDQWPPHQ-NNkKDb-vPmE8LHq0GGYQDpYSJyzgSizC2Z8-zzgcI~wM18wUGqA0nLAB8jfJmMflFocd-Accjtu9Aw8aAlcAADgEjH7AWvdZ0ZKgF-sGxUYFbzT8vDgf4pkDalUiO5u4pc4si7N6sWcLgEV7lqFh~fwnjXlHgPcc7T-DhR2jpnp6qhulErZpYZ2fTknYT7RbH6LO-wAZH82csg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chief Financial Officer Zach Bowles presented a review of Tomball Independent School District’s procurement process and the layers of regulation that govern how the district spends federal, state and local funds.

Bowles told the board that multiple federal requirements apply when federal funds are used, including the Uniform Guidance and Education Department (EDGAR) rules, and that districts must follow the most restrictive applicable rules. “All federal funds have to be supplemental in nature,” Bowles said, saying federal dollars may not replace local funding and that documentation, price analysis and quarterly/annual reporting are required to avoid disallowed costs.

The presentation summarized state and local rules as well. Bowles identified Texas Education Code 44.031 as the primary statute governing competitive procurement for the general fund and described the district’s local policy framework, including board policy CH legal and CH local. He said Texas law requires competitive procurement for aggregated commodity-category spending that exceeds $50,000 on a rolling 12‑month basis and that formal bids (CSP, RFP, RFQ) or interlocal/purchasing-cooperative contracts are typical methods when that threshold is reached.

Bowles described Tomball ISD’s practical approach: the district uses the Texas Comptroller’s commodity-code listing for standardization, operates a decentralized purchasing model that gives campuses and departments authority to identify products and vendors, and maintains a small central purchasing team of two people who process roughly 9,000 purchase orders per year. He summarized approval thresholds used by the district’s finance processes: purchasing staff may approve documented purchases from $0–$5,000; the director of finance handles $5,000–$25,000; the chief financial officer reviews larger purchases up to $50,000; superintendent approval is required for purchases of $50,000 and up; and board approval is required for purchases of $100,000 and greater except for CH local exceptions (interlocal contracts, continuing bid purchases, produce or fuel) where the board has locally set an exception threshold of $200,000.

Bowles emphasized controls used to enforce those thresholds and to prevent artificial splitting of purchases: “We have flags set in place to try and catch that and make sure that we then go back to the campus,” he said, describing consecutive‑purchase monitoring and commodity‑code tracking on a daily rolling basis. He also explained why the district relies heavily on purchasing cooperatives: cooperatives do formal bidding and contracting work for many vendors, provide access to a broader vendor pool, and can reduce administrative burden for a small purchasing team. Bowles estimated that “at least 80% of our purchases probably run through [cooperatives] in some manner.”

Trustees asked questions about recent audits, the commodity‑code aggregate rules, staffing and conflict‑of‑interest procedures. One trustee asked whether third‑party financial auditors had reviewed procurement; Bowles said an internal‑controls audit was completed by a division of the district’s audit contractor and that it found no material weaknesses. On the $50,000 aggregate threshold he clarified: “The commodity code applies to the district as a whole… it’s a rolling continuous 12 month period.” On conflict of interest, Bowles said vendor conflict forms are reviewed, employees with conflicts are removed from the procurement process, and board members abstain from votes when conflicts exist; he also described an alternate signer if the superintendent has a conflict.

Bowles described the district’s training and peer‑review practices, including annual participation in a purchasing peer review through the Texas Association of School Business Officials, and said Tomball ISD had received a purchasing award of merit for three consecutive years. He reiterated that federal audits may be unannounced and that documentation must be available, typically within a 10‑business‑day response window, to avoid disallowed expenditures.

Board members thanked Bowles for the briefing and commented on the lean size of the purchasing staff and the role of cooperatives in the district’s processes.

The presentation closed and the board moved into questions.","Chief Financial Officer Zach Bowles briefed the board on federal, state and local procurement rules, the district’s decentralized purchasing structure, approval thresholds and audit controls; trustees asked about audits, aggregate thresholds, cooperative purchasing and conflict-of-interest safeguards.","actionData","errors"]

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Tomball ISD trustees unanimously approve grant, contracts, calendar, insurance, FFA awards and personnel hires

Tomball ISD trustees hear detailed review of district procurement process