CPA Joins Dragon Finance Department

At their December 13 meeting, the Carroll School Board approved the hiring of Susan Ebert as Director of Finance.

Ebert replaces Christi Drilling who went to work for Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD earlier this year. Ebert is a Certified Public Accountant with nine years of in-depth experience in PK-12 school finance and 20 years of experience overall. She comes to Carroll ISD from Calallen ISD where she has been employed since 1998.

Ebert’s experiences are varied, including service as a classroom math specialist and an elementary teacher-coach for mathematics and science, to serving as Testing Coordinator and Director of Finance for Calallen and as a Business Manager for Odem-Edroy ISD.

She graduated in 1983 from Corpus Christi State University with a BBA degree and a concentration in Accounting. Ebert will officially begin her duties in the Carroll Financial Services Department in January.

See separate stories on MySouthlakeNews.com regarding decisions or discussion by the School Board on topics such as attendance rezoning proposal, the adopted 2011-2012 school calendar, and the most recent bond sale.

In Other Dec. 13 Meeting Business:

Trustees held a public hearing on 2009-2010 data as part of the state’s Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS). A copy of the AEIS Public Hearing PowerPoint Presentation given by Darrell Brown, Executive Director of Teaching & Learning Services, is available for public review on the district’s Teaching & Learning Services website and MySouthlakeNews.com.

School Board members voted to allow the PTO for the new elementary school being constructed on North White Chapel Boulevard to conduct a Commemorative Paver Stone fundraiser for the new campus. Families of students zoned to the new campus would pay for the paver stones, which would be incorporated into the design of the student area behind the new campus.

Trustees approved a cell tower lease agreement with T-Mobile for site access at Carroll Intermediate School.The tower would replace the southeastern light pole on the Joint Use Lacrosse Field just adjacent to the south boundary of the campus property line. The four-year contract will result in $31,740 to CISD’s operating fund the first year, with the lease fee increasing by three percent at each anniversary date of the agreement.

The Board approved the final budget amendment for the 2009-2010 school year, as well as an amendment (#4) to the 2010-2011 budget.  The details of those amendments can be found on the CISD website on the School Board Agendas Online link.

Trustees approved an order authorizing the issuance of unlimited tax school building bonds, totaling $13.1 million. The sale is the district’s fourth to issue bonds approved by voters in May 2009. This 2010 C series will be issued completely as Build America Bonds (BABs), a finance option from the federal government that is expected to end at the close of this calendar year.

The Board voted to uphold the Administration’s decision in a Level III Grievance filed by the parents of a CISD student. The grievance, which was about the district’s two-mile distance policy for charging transportation fees, was conducted in executive session per Texas law and by request of the parent.

Trustees approved the Consent Agenda, which includes Minutes from the November 1 and November 29 School Board meetings, the Investment Report, the 2010-2011 Local Textbook Committee and a donation made by the Durham Elementary School PTO for 32 Notebook computers and portable storage cart for use in the Robotics and related STEM and Language Arts instructional projects.