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Board briefed on textbook and course-of-study committee appointments and Future Teachers of America grant recognition
Summary
The board reviewed proposed textbook and course-of-study committee appointments, discussed difficulty recruiting members (including possible pay or scheduling changes), and heard a resolution recognizing Future Teachers of America chapters and a related grant program.
Department staff told the board they plan to reappoint textbook committees for science and certain career-technical fields and noted increasing difficulty recruiting members to serve on multi-month textbook-review committees.
Staff explained each board district would be represented on the textbook committees and that there are two higher-education members for some committees who, for this round, both happen to come from the same university. "It's getting more and more difficult to get people to serve on textbook and course of study committees," a department presenter said, noting the work involves monthly meetings and receiving and reviewing many volumes of textbooks.
Board members asked whether compensation or different meeting formats might improve recruitment. Staff said they would research which committee types are legally allowed to receive pay and explore alternative meeting structures used in other states (for example, concentrated multi-day summer review sessions rather than monthly meetings). Staff cautioned about potential ethics and procurement conflicts if compensation or external sponsorships are used.
Separately the board considered a resolution recognizing Future Teachers of America (FTA) chapters and winners of state-level chapter competitions. Department staff reported the grant line item supporting the program appeared in the most recent proposed budget at $250,000 with a $1,000 cap per grant in the draft; earlier references in the meeting included a $100,000 figure and a staff explanation that the agency had previously worked to increase per-chapter awards to make starting chapters more appealing. Staff said they would provide the board with a list of awardees and full grant details.
Board members had no objection and staff said the textbook-committee appointments will be placed on a future vote and that staff will return with follow-up research on recruitment incentives and the final grant-amount details once budget language is finalized.
