Gatesville ISD board approves bids, purchase thresholds, staff pay plan and policy updates at June meeting

The Gatesville ISD Board of Trustees approved a slate of operational and policy items at its June meeting, including a $53,000 contract for baseball field netting and poles, a change to local procurement thresholds, a salary pay plan for staff who start in July and multiple memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and policy updates.

Board members said the items were routine business for the start of the fiscal year and aimed at easing purchasing bottlenecks, updating grant- and asset-management rules and preserving district programs. Several items were presented as renewals of existing agreements; others reflected changes in state law or one-time sponsorship opportunities.

Among the measures approved, the board accepted a bid from Containment Systems to install netting and poles for the district baseball field for $53,000; the district will rebid the related dugout and backstop work because no bidders responded to that portion of the solicitation. The board also voted to set the district’s micro-purchase threshold at $25,000 (up from the district’s prior internal practice), change its local capitalization threshold for fixed assets from $5,000 to $10,000, and authorize updates to its EDGAR grants manual to reflect those levels.

The board approved a pay plan for staff members with July contract start dates that the administration described as an average 3% increase for that group. The administration said certified teachers will receive a separate $8,000 adjustment required by recent state legislation; those teacher adjustments were described as a distinct action to be completed later in the summer when additional contract groups start.

Trustees renewed a memorandum of understanding with Central County Services (the regional mental‑health provider formerly known as MHMR) to continue school‑based mental‑health services at no direct cost to the district, and approved the MOU with Temple College to maintain dual‑credit access to the Texas Bioscience Institute for Gatesville High School students (the administration projected two participants next year).

The board also approved a housekeeping revision to UIL‑related academic standards that maintains a 60 average as the minimum passing average for advanced courses when determining UIL eligibility, and approved an update to local policies (FD Local/FM Local per TASB model language) to disallow students enrolled only in private or home schools from participating in district extracurricular or curricular activities.

Administrators told the board they plan to submit required federal grant notifications (ESSA consolidated grants commonly known as Title I, Special Education consolidated grant and Perkins V) and noted the district is applying for the 2025 COPS School Violence Prevention Program grant to seek radio/communications upgrades; that federal grant would require a 25% local match if awarded, and the administration estimated the total grant award would be roughly $125,000–$150,000, producing a district share of about $30,000–$40,000 if the award is made.

Board members discussed student attendance (the “vital signs” report) and expressed concern that senior attendance for the last reporting period was about 85 percent and juniors about 90.74 percent; the administration said year-to-date attendance is near the district goal of about 95 percent and described outreach and incentives aimed at improving end-of-year attendance. Trustees also discussed an increase in employee health‑insurance premiums the administration said will raise district costs by roughly $360,000 compared with the prior year; the administration characterized the premium change as a 14 percent increase and said it will continue paying the employer portion of employee-only coverage.

Other operational votes approved: rebidding of the dugout/backstop work for the baseball sponsorship funds; an annual staff-development minutes waiver to count certain training toward instructional minutes; and updates to procurement policy to permit the superintendent and board to self-certify a micro‑purchase threshold within the EDGAR manual.

Votes at a glance: Containment Systems — netting and poles for baseball field — motion to accept bid by Board member Calvin, seconded by Board member Charlie — approved (no roll-call tally specified). Micro‑purchase threshold set to $25,000 — motion by K. Lloyd, second by [Linda] — approved (roll‑call tally not specified). Capitalization threshold raised from $5,000 to $10,000 (CFB Local) — motion by Linda, second by Lloyd — approved. Pay plan for July‑start staff (approx. 3% average increase for that group) — motion by Charlie, second by Calvin — approved. Temple College MOU (Texas Bioscience Institute dual credit) — motion by Calvin, second by Charles — approved. Renew MOU with Central County Services for school‑based mental‑health services — approved (motion not recorded by name in transcript). UIL advanced-course minimum average (60) for UIL eligibility — motion by Charlie, second by Linda — approved. Policy language (FD Local/FM Local) to bar private/home‑schooled students from district extracurriculars — motion by Charlie, second unspecified — approved. Staff development minutes waiver — motion by Charlie, second by Linda — approved.

The board did not record individual vote tallies in the public portion of the transcript for most items; minutes will record final votes. Several items were presented as informational only (for example, the district’s annual federal grant notification requirement) and required no board action at this meeting. The administration said it will return to the board for formal approval if the district is awarded the COPS School Violence Prevention Program grant, at which point the board would consider the required local match and any contract or purchase details.

The board closed the regular session with no public comments and moved to executive session.