BM 2002-11-13 CEDCCOPPELL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
November 13, 2002
MINUTES
The Coppell Education Development Corporation met at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13,
2002 at Coppell Town Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 255 Parkway Boulevard, Coppell, Texas
75019.
In attendance:
Jerry Coker, President
Peggy Quinn, Vice President
Betty Carter, Secretary
Steve Brock, Board Member
Diane Ebersberger, Board Member
David Hermanski, Board Member
Valerie Strong, Board Member
Also present:
Jim Witt, City Manager
Kathy Bowling, Recording Secretary
Item 1. Call to Order.
President Jerry Coker called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m.
Item 2.
Approval of Minutes: October 9, 2002
Valerie Strong stated that she had abstained from voting on all four amendments. With those changes
made to the minutes, Valerie motioned to approve the minutes. David Hermanski seconded the
motion, and the vote was unanimous.
Item 3.
Citizen's Appearance.
No citizens appeared.
Item 4.
Review and Potential Approval of CISD Grant Agreement for Digital Video
Equipment.
Diane Ebersberger made a motion to approve the CISD Grant Agreement. David Hermanski seconded
the motion, and the motion passed unanimously.
Items 6, 7 and 8 were considered jointly at this time. See minutes for Items 6, 7 and 8.
Item 5.
Review and Potential Approval of CISD Grant Agreement Amendments.
The first amendment considered contained an additional one-half position at CMS West that was not in
the original grant. A motion was made by David Hermanski and seconded by Diane Ebersberger to
approve the entire amendment for $59,842 for English as a Second Language. Ebersberger voted for
the motion, and Carter, Coker, Hermanski, Quinn and Strong voted against. Brock abstained. The
motion failed. After some discussion, Betty Carter made a motion to accept the amendment to add
$39,429 to Grant No. 2002-E01 for English as a Second Language, excluding the additional one-half
position at CMS West. Peggy Quinn seconded the motion. Ebersberger, Carter, Brock, Quinn and
Strong voted for the motion with Coker and Hermanski voting against. The motion passed.
David Hermanski made a motion to accept the second amendment to Grant No. 2002-S01 for certified
Spanish teachers in elementary schools in the amount of $10,473 and Peggy Quinn seconded. The
vote was unanimous.
Betty Carter moved to accept the third amendment to Grant No. 2002-L02 for Literacy in the amount
of $50,391 and Peggy Quinn seconded. The vote was unanimous.
Items 6, 7 and 8 were considered together.
Item 6.
Item 7.
Item 8.
Overview of Grant Proposal Example.
Overview of the Proposed Grant Checklist.
Review of and Potential Adoption of Changes to the Grant Application Process.
Corporation members had received a Checklist in the mail that Peggy Quinn obtained from the
Internet. Betty Carter distributed a modified checklist at the meeting. President Coker questioned
whether a checklist should be attached to the application, and David Hermanski suggested it would be
more appropriate to redo the grant application completely. Jerry suggested a subcommittee be formed
to look at changes to the grant application. Steve Brock, Peggy Quinn and Valerie Strong agreed to
serve on the subcommittee. Peggy was named Chair, and the remaining members of the Corporation
were asked to forward their changes and suggestions to the subcommittee by this Saturday, November
23. Peggy asked Jim Witt to write to the three school districts and invite them to meet with the
subcommittee and provide input. The subcommittee will meet either Monday or Tuesday of next
week. They would like to have changes by the next committee meeting on December 10.
Item 9.
Review and Potential Adoption of Changes to the Process for Amendments to
Grants.
David Hermanski made a motion not to accept amendments to grant applications in 2003. Peggy
Quinn seconded. Hermanski and Quinn voted for the motion, and Brock, Coker, Carter and
Ebersberger voted against, and Strong abstained. The motion failed. Betty Carter moved to accept
amendments to grant applications in 2003 restricted to salary and benefit increases for personnel
previously approved in CEDC grant agreements. Peggy Quinn seconded the motion. Peggy pointed
out that amendments required additional work and staff time. The city attorney has to write an
addendum to the original agreement, and the finance department must make additional payments as
well. David Hermanski said these amendments also did not have to be presented to the School Board
or go before a public hearing like the original grant applications. After further discussion, the motion
was withdrawn and the subcommittee was given the task of writing the criteria for amendments to
grants.
ItemlO.
Discussion of Setting and Potential Adoption of Priorities for Grant Application
Approvals.
President Coker explained to the three new members that there are two philosophies regarding grant
approval. The first is that any grant should be approved as long as it falls into one of the three
categories; i.e., literacy, foreign language, or career technology.
The second philosophy is that the voters expected a process to be in place to accept grants, and
documentation to justify the rewarding of them. When City Council was asked about criteria for
accepting grants, they said the CEDC could set priorities and communicate that to the school districts.
President Coker stated his feelings that the School Board should prioritize and citizens should attend
the public hearings. Diane Ebersberger said she liked the freedom to evaluate each grant request on its
own merit. Valerie Strong stated that grants should be awarded that serve the greatest good for the
greatest number of students. Jim Witt pointed out that the CEDC is not the school board, but instead is
responsible for fiduciary matters related to the sales tax collected. President Coker asked that this item
be placed on the December agenda for further consideration. In addition, the next agenda will have a
report from the subcommittee on: (a) Grant Application Process; and (b) Grant Amendment Proposals.
Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made by Betty Carter and seconded by Peggy Quinn. President Jerry Coker
adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Bowling
Recording Secretary