June 10, 2025 — Regular Meeting
Conroe ISD Board Meeting — 2025-06-10
Regular Meeting — Unofficial Notes
Based on auto-generated transcript. Not an official record.
Generated 2026-03-28 18:40 UTC
Unofficial Meeting Notes
Conroe ISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) Meeting
June 10, 2025 — Regular Meeting
Note: These are unofficial notes based on an auto-generated transcript of the meeting. They are not official minutes of Conroe ISD.
Attendance & Opening
- Meeting called to order in the afternoon.
- Dr. Spear was absent due to a family engagement (daughter going to church camp).
- The meeting lacked a quorum, which affected the ability to hold formal votes.
Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
- Minutes from the prior SHAC meeting were sent out the day before by Dr. Spear.
- Motion made and seconded to approve the minutes.
- Approved by show of hands (unanimous among those present).
Community Feedback
- No community feedback received. One email was received but was a campus-level issue unrelated to SHAC's work.
- A member raised the question of whether SHAC should be doing more to solicit community feedback, such as advertising SHAC topics in campus newsletters and providing clear guidance on how to communicate with SHAC. The chair agreed this would be a good initiative for next year.
SHAC Subcommittee Updates
1. Recess Data (Prior Work Group)
- No updates. Same information as the prior (April) meeting.
- No meetings held since then. The committee had previously voted not to proceed with recess change recommendations.
2. Teacher Wellness and Retention (New Work Group)
- The committee has been actively meeting and discussing multiple topics.
- Dr. Moore from the district HR department provided critical information, including:
- The resignation process involves a separation form and a confidential exit interview.
- Exit interviews are only accessible to the executive director and assistant superintendent — not campus principals.
- Separation form categories can be generic (e.g., "resignation other") and comments are optional.
- HR provides monthly board reports on retention status using separation form data.
Key Recommendations Discussed:
1. Curriculum initiatives: Develop and recommend support for new curriculum initiatives that improve classroom efficiency without overwhelming teachers; avoid piling on too many initiatives at once.
2. Parent communication guide: Create a district- or committee-developed handout to guide parents (especially those new to the community) on how to get questions answered through proper channels rather than resorting to social media, which often generates negativity. This could include campus-specific contact information and hyperlinks.
3. Scheduling improvements: Reduce instructional interruptions caused by fragmented class schedules (e.g., short class periods broken up by lunch, specials, and student pull-outs).
4. Campus spirit day costs: Find ways for staff to participate in campus spirit days without requiring them to spend money — an issue raised in survey results.
- The committee referenced a Charles Butt Foundation statewide poll on teacher resignation and retention, highlighting the negative public perception of educators as a factor in retention challenges.
- The group indicated they have approximately 15 more recommendations beyond what was presented.
- Goal: Fine-tune recommendations that would be fairly easy to implement initially, potentially for the beginning of the next school year.
3. Membership Committee
- Has not met since March; next meeting scheduled for Friday (likely June 13) at 2:00 PM.
- 142 new member applications received (not including renewals) — a significant increase from approximately 60 last year.
- There was a mix-up with application forms; the correct form is now posted on the SHAC website, but a news article contained an outdated link that needs to be corrected.
- Applications will be reviewed after June 30.
- SHAC bylaws recommend 31 members (changed from a hard cap to a recommendation).
- Current SHAC has approximately 58 members; 140+ would not be practical.
- Selection process will focus on feeder zone representation and geographic balance.
- The committee makes recommendations to the board, which makes final decisions.
- Renewal forms have been sent to existing members; Dr. Spear has follow-up information.
4. Mental Health Committee
- No formal updates. Brent was not present.
- Discussion of cell phones in schools:
- A state bill eliminating cell phone use during the school day has passed both the Texas House and Senate and is awaiting the governor's signature.
- The district is reviewing all new education bills to understand complexities.
- The CISD school board was also looking at an updated district policy on cell phones and is expected to have it on their next agenda.
5. Physical Education and Fitness
- An executive summary of a survey distributed to K–6 principals and PE/fine arts educators was presented (QR code provided).
- Approximately 306 people surveyed with strong response rates.
- Survey compared 30-minute daily PE schedule vs. 135-minute weekly schedule (per Texas statute options).
- A 225-minute bi-weekly option was inadvertently not included.
- Results: The 30-minute daily schedule was less favored (rated 2.85 on a 1–5 scale).
- Proposal (developed with Dr. Winkler, district administration):
- Distribute the executive summary/survey results to all affected campus principals.
- Encourage campus leaders to engage with their campus leadership teams to determine the best PE scheduling approach for their campus.
- Not a blanket mandate — each campus would choose what works best.
- Key statutory note: The baseline is 30 minutes daily; campuses choosing 135 minutes weekly must provide justification for why they cannot achieve the daily schedule.
- Master schedules are due June 30.
- No formal vote was taken (no quorum). The chair noted this was informational/collaborative in nature and did not require a SHAC vote — the information can be shared with Dr. Winkler through normal channels.
- Members expressed no objections to sharing the data with schools.
6. Suicide Prevention and Wellness
- The subcommittee has met twice since the last SHAC meeting.
- Reviewed district survey data; found that parent engagement was identified as weak on this topic.
- Brainstormed suggestions for parent engagement:
- Offering webinars for parents
- Creating short (5-minute) informational videos
- Hosting quarterly lunches at schools on this topic
- Discussed adding student education (junior high and high school) on how to handle peer outcries and recognize when a friend may be in crisis.
- Going forward: The group plans to review district policies on this topic and continue developing recommendations. Described their work as being in the "infancy" stage.
Wellness Plan Update
- The Wellness Plan was approved by the school board at their last meeting.
- No further discussion needed. Thanks extended to all participants.
EMF/Wireless Safety (Information Item)
- Carrie (SHAC member) provided an update on electromagnetic field (EMF) safety concerns near schools.
- She previously presented on this topic in 2023 and noted significant new research since then.
- Key points raised:
- Children's brains absorb 2–3 times more EMFs than adults.
- Previous discussions indicated the district is under contract with wireless providers, limiting immediate action.
- Proposal: Since Conroe ISD is building new schools, advocate for not placing cell towers immediately adjacent to new school buildings.
- Carrie is on the board of a nonprofit researching effects of toxins on early development.
- She offered to share an updated slideshow and invited members to join a working group on this topic for further discussion in the fall.
Adjournment
- Motion to adjourn was made and accepted.
- Meeting adjourned at 4:59 PM.
Key Takeaways
| Item | Status |
|------|--------|
| Prior meeting minutes | Approved |
| Community feedback | None received; discussion about improving outreach |
| Teacher wellness recommendations | In development; ~15+ recommendations being refined |
| SHAC membership applications | 142 new applications; review begins after June 30 |
| Cell phone legislation | State bill passed House & Senate; awaiting governor's signature |
| PE scheduling survey results | To be shared with principals; no formal vote (no quorum) |
| Suicide prevention | Subcommittee actively meeting; parent engagement focus |
| Wellness Plan | Approved by school board |
| EMF/wireless safety | Informational; working group forming for fall |