GISD Board Chooses Food Management Service; Hear Presentations on Tax Collections

The Groesbeck ISD Board of Trustees was missing a couple of members for their regular meeting Monday, April 15, Tom Sutton and Bridgett Jackson-Tatum, but handled a few important matters, including selecting a child nutrition/food management service for the district.

Superintendent Anthony Figueroa explained that currently, the district prepares food for school breakfasts and lunches in-house, but that he wanted to explore third-party Food Service Management Company (FMSC) options for a variety of reasons.

“To have freshly prepared, from-scratch food that students enjoy, to provide food with high flavor but low artificial ingredients and less preservatives, to provide multiple options from the food line, three or four options daily, allow students a voice in the production of the menu items, etc.” Figueroa listed. “At H.O.W., there are 309 kids that qualify for free lunch, and on average, only 211 use it. At the high school, 251 are free, but the average number of students eating that free lunch is 130. We need to increase that participation.”

Other benefits of using an FMSC include support and training for child nutrition employees, support of culinary art classes, built-in catering resources, and more.

In 2022-2023, Figueroa did a food service review and established a food advisory council with students from second through eleventh grade. The advisory council was able to try foods prepared and presented by various companies and also traveled to other districts to check if the food being served on a regular daily basis matched up with what the FMSC had presented.

Following the many steps of this process, Taher, Inc. was the resounding winner, with the advisory council of students and with the administration. From a variety of food and drink options daily to holiday-themed meals and “World Tours” to introduce students to foods that are popular in other countries, Taher also had glowing recommendations from other districts including Athens and Pilot Point. The board approved authorizing Figueroa to enter into an agreement with Taher upon TEA’s approval.

Robert Meyers and Keith Treadway with McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, PC, (MVBA) presented the annual report on tax collections for the district, stating that, as has been true in years past, the district has a good rate of collections.
Meyers summarized collections for the past four years, explaining the timeframe and process for their pursuit of outstanding taxes. He also spoke of the property tax dilemma many are experiencing based on Limestone County Appraisal District (LCAD) valuations as it pertains to GISD.

“We have appealed the Comptroller's study of the district’s 2023 ratio study and findings of the district’s values for last year. That study of last year’s values came out January 31 of this year, and the values were declared to be invalid by the Comptroller because they were outside the tolerance of 5% of the margin of error. We are still waiting on a response from the Comptroller, and that will probably not come out for another three or four weeks at the earliest. For each appeal point that we made, they will respond back to us telling us whether they agree or not, and they’ll give us a new set of values for the district. We do not expect those value changes, even in the most positive scenario, to bring you back into compliance, but it will reduce the gap between what the comptroller thinks and where your local values are.”

Wayne Fenwick of Ideal Impact provided an update on the district’s HVAC project, presenting information on savings status, basic and committed targets, and more. Fenwick also highlighted opportunities for the district to save based on energy intensity charts (EICs).

The board also heard from Greg Blazek of Gallagher Construction regarding vestibule needs and updates for each campus, except Enge-Washington, which is already properly equipped.

Blazek outlined the scope of the vestibule project, which will improve campus security and restrict access to the schools at large, and Figueroa reminded those in attendance that the project will be paid for with a security grant the district was awarded in the amount of about $800,000. The board approved the project as presented.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda;

• Took no action on recognizing board member years of service (will take place in May meeting instead); and

• Recognized teachers of the year from each campus:

  • H.O. Whitehurst Elementary- Erica Beldin (Pre-kindergarten)

  • Enge-Washington Intermediate- Brandi Simmons (Special Education)

  • Groesbeck Middle- Windy Roberts (Academic Success, RLA teacher, Coach) and

  • Groesbeck High- Debra Brown (math).

The board entered into executive session at 7:21 pm and reconvened in open meeting at 8:58 pm (after an hour and a half in executive session), unanimously approving personnel, recommendations, resignations, hires, and pay raises as presented.

After a few statements from Figueroa about upcoming events in the district, and Foy reminding board members about various training opportunities, the meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 20 at 6 p.m. in the GHS Board room.