FISD receives financial audit results
The Friona ISD Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, December 16th in the Board Meeting Room of the FISD Administration Building at 909 E. 11th Street, Friona, Texas 79035. The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. with a call to order, invocation, and an open forum.
Athletic director Jimmy Arias introduced Friona Chieftain football players who received All District honors for the past season. 1st Team All District honors went to Jose Rodriquez, Marcos Juarez, Xavier Hernandez, and Roger Palacios. 2nd Team All District honors went to Jose Grado, Jacob Bautista, Josiah Rejino, Keegan Hurst, Andrew Montana, Tim Ally, Juan Lara, Victor Puga, David Martinez, Juan Trejo, and Eduardo Chavez. (complete coverage of the awards and season statistics for 2019 will be in a future edition of the Friona Star)
Richard Blankenship, from the firm Johnson & Sheldon, presented the final report of the 2019 FISD financial audit. Friona ISD received an “A” rating for Superior Achievement under the Texas’ School First financial accountability rating system. Mr. Blankenship told board members that it was a “clean report” with no letters of deficiencies. Friona ISD showed a fund balance increase of around $233,000 for the past year. At the present time, the school district has a 5 1/2 month fund balance excess. In an emergency, the district could operate for that length of time without any income. The State of Texas requires 3 month balance excess for school districts.
Aaron Rivera and Paul Hare, of Parkhill, Smith, & Cooper, gave an update on the FISD Construction/Renovation Project which is in the Design/Development Phase. The firm will hold design meetings with teachers and administrators through the end of February 2020. Starting March 1st, all the design work will be reviewed so final costs for the project can be compiled. Aaron showed the Board some design concepts for the outdoor play areas and the drainage design for Cleveland Street.
Administration reports were given by Karen Barnes, the four school principals, and the athletic director. Karen informed the Board about the application for a $25,000 grant involving school safety and security. Grants will be awarded in the spring.
The Board discussed and approved the Consent Agenda which includes approval of the Minutes, accounts payable, maintenance reports, and fund balances.
The Board then went into Closed Session to discuss employee matters, potential litigation, real property matters, and student discipline.
This is only a brief summary of the meeting. Any questions should be directed to the FISD Board of Trustees. The agenda for this meeting can be found at frionaisd.com and by clicking on the Boardbook link.
