September 14, 2015 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  I.     Call Hearing to Order

II.   The purpose of the Hearing is to review, discuss, consider, and receive input, and or
       support, opposition, criticism, suggestions or observations of taxpayers relating to
       the 2015-16 proposed budget.

III.  Adjourn Budget Hearing

Rationale:  I.     Call Hearing to Order

II.    The purpose of the Hearing is to review, discuss, consider, receive input, and hear
        support,opposition, criticism, suggestions or observations of taxpayers relating to
        the 2015-16 proposed property tax levy.

III.   Adjourn Levy Setting Hearing

Rationale: 

STRIVE  •  COMMIT  •  SUCCEED  -  District Mission Statement

Schuyler Community Schools in partnership with parents, students, and the community is committed to educate students to become skilled, knowledgeable and responsible citizens in a global society - District Vision Statement

Notice of this meeting was given in advance according to State Law 84-1411, by giving notice of the meeting to the public.  Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education

Rationale:  This meeting has been preceded by advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session.  A copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the hallway outside the Media Center.

Rationale:  Discuss, Consider and Take Action on the consent agenda

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for budget, finance, and contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff, and support staff.

Rationale:  We held our budget workshop in August and advertised the budget for all funds as directed at our final meeting.  Attached is the full budget, the advertised budget notice, and the valuations certified for the 2015-16 school year.

Rationale: 

2015-16

PROPERTY TAX REQUEST RESOLUTION

FOR

COLFAX COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #123

            WHEREAS, public notice was given at least five days in advance of a special hearing called for the purpose of discussing and approving or modifying the District's Tax Request for the 2015-16 school fiscal year for the General Fund, Bond Fund, Special Building Fund, and Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund of Colfax County School District # 123; and,

            WHEREAS, such Special Public Hearing was held before the Board of Education (hereinafter "the Board") of Colfax County School District #123 (hereinafter "the District") at the time, date, and place announced in the notice published in a newspaper of general circulation, a copy of which notice and proof of publication of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, all as required by law; and,

            WHEREAS, the Board provided an opportunity to receive comment, information, and evidence from persons in attendance at such Special Hearing; and,

            WHEREAS the Board, after having reviewed the District's Tax Requests for each said fund, and after public consideration of the matter, has determined that the Final Tax Requests as listed below are necessary in order to carry out the functions of the District, as determined by the Board for the 2015-16 school fiscal year.

            NOW BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that (1) the Tax Request for the General Fund should be, and hereby is set at $ 12,436,976.64; (2) the Tax Request for the Bond Fund should be, and hereby set at $ 505,102.02; (3) the Tax Request for the Special Building Fund should be, and hereby is set at $ 670,890.90; and (4) the Tax Request for the Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund should be, and hereby is set at $ 505,350.50.

            It is so moved by                                                              and seconded

by                                                               this 14^th day of September, 2015.

Roll Call vote as follows:

Rich Brabec                             YES                 NO

Eric Cerny                               YES                 NO

Holly Hild                                YES                 NO

Chuck Misek                            YES                 NO

Virginia Semerad                     YES                 NO

Brian Vavricek                         YES                 NO

            The undersigned herewith certifies, as Secretary of the Board of Education of Colfax County School District #123, that the above Resolution was duly adopted by a majority of said Board at a duly constituted public meeting of said Board.

                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                    Virginia Semerad, Secretary

                                                                                    Colfax County School District #123

                                                                                    A/K/A Schuyler Community Schools

ATTEST:

                                                                  .            

Richard Brabec, President

Colfax County School District #123

A/K/A Schuyler Community Schools

            CERTIFICATION

            The undersigned hereby certifies that the above motion is authentic and truly and accurately reflects the formal official action taken therein, on the date as reflected, and that such findings, motion and resolution adopt the Schuyler Community Schools property tax request or levy, according to law, and that the County Board of Equalization shall set the levy for Schuyler Community School system according to the modification and tax request set forth therein and in the attached Exhibit "A" in accordance with the law.

                                                                                        Authorized Office of Schuyler Community Schools

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for reviewing curriculum recommendations, textbook selection, requisitions/inventory, and instructional programs.

Rationale:  We have been working on the adoption of a new teacher/administrator evaluation system.  This is one of the requirements of the School Improvement Grant at the Middle School.  The system we are proposing is comprehensive and focuses on improving and documenting teacher and administrator performance.  If approved by the board, we will have to get this evaluation system on file with the Nebraska Department of Education.  See attached information.

Rationale:  The State of Nebraska requires that the board of education must annually approve the use of "local substitutes" to teach in absence of the regular teacher.  Local substitutes are limited to 45 days per year in the school district on an intermittent basis.  We have been using local substitutes in the past, but the Department of Education is now requiring board minutes validating local substitute certificates. 

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for annual review of board policies, handbooks, and crisis/safety plans.  This committee is also responsible for the support and development of support programs(nursing, food service) in the district.

Rationale:  LB 365 which allows districts to store meeting minutes and all other documents electronically rather than in written form has caused a modification in Policy 804.02 Data or Records Retention.  See attachment for the revised and a red-line versions.

Rationale:  EMC Insurance has provided us with an employer's guide to the required "Return to Work Program".  The guide is attached and outlines the protocol.  See attached guide. 

Rationale: 

The contract is signed with Bierman Contracting, Inc.  for the new Rec. Center Project.  See information below on upcoming construction meetings.

1.  Ground Breaking Ceremony:  12:00 PM on Wednesday, September 16th.

2.  Pre-construction Meeting:      1:00 PM on Wednesday, September 16th.

I will provide more information as it becomes available.

Rationale: 

SES K-2 Principal's Report:  Darin Kovar

My year has started off with a bang! I am learning many new things at the Elementary. Busing, traffic, and learning new staff have definitely kept me busy. I am enjoying meeting new people and new students. I have had many productive discussions with parents about youth sports, and the direction that we need to keep moving. We are trying to identify parent volunteers who could help coach.

Middle School Athletics are under way, with contests now starting. Football, Volleyball, and Cross Country. I am doing my best to work with Middle School Administration and staff to help give kids a good experience, and to help prepare them for the next level.

Preschool and SES 3-5 Principal's Report:  Bill Comley

Kindergarten        137   
1st Grade            169           
2nd Grade           145  
3rd Grade            124  
4th Grade            132    
5th Grade            145    
K-5 Enrollment  852

Rural Schools Principal's Report:  Gerry Reinsch

School year is off to a great start.

Traffic flow/Bus/After School Program is off and going good

The August 20th NETV/Schuyler/Sixpence event was another huge success. Thank you for all that attended.

2015-16 Enrollment 

Richland                            Fishers

      1         Kindergarten          4

      2          1st Grade            10

      7          2nd Grade           13

      1          3rd Grade             8

      7          4th Grade           10

      1          5th Grade             8

      2          6th Grade             9

      9          7th Grade             5

      1          8th Grade             2 

     31             Total               69

Richland is down 6 students from last year (37 to 31)

Fishers is down 4 students from last year (73 to 69)

Total Rural Schools Enrollment is down 10 from last year (110 to 100)

Robin Burton and I are transporting 7th and 8th grade sports participants with school vans this year.

7 students from Richland and 3 from Fishers unless AM volleyball practice, then 5 and 1.

It's been a great start to the school year.

SMS Principal's Report:  Michelle Burton

The beginning of the year started with high-level professional development from both CTAC and DiscoveryEd.  CTAC guided staff in building a solid foundation for Relationship Time (R-Time).  The purpose of R-Time is to strengthen positive teacher-student relationships.  The focus of the DiscoveryEd training was a carry over from last year utilizing student data and developing meaningful and relevant student learning objectives.

The Building Leadership Team is currently strengthening student and staff objectives.  In addition, members of the Language Arts Department have received extensive training from Scholastic and DiscoveryEd to strengthen the transition to a new Language Arts schedule , as well address the need to increase the mastery of standard-based curriculum in reading and writing.  

The Warrior Academy is on track and growing!  We will add another new club at SMS beginning this week!

Mr. Kovar has worked diligently to ensure a positive experience for all SMS activities and athletics.  We have approximately 145 students in three sports.  Mr. Mark Brady has also been assisting Mr. Kovar one period per day in strengthening the future of Warrior Athletics!  

The 7th and 8th SMS Marching Band represented our district very well in the Labor Day parade.  We currently have 133 students enrolled in the SMS band courses!  The 7th and 8th band will also represent SMS in the upcoming Columbus Music Festival.  

Current SMS Enrollment Numbers:

6th Grade   126

7th Grade   128

8th Grade   127

Total         381

Last year at this time, there were 357 students at SMS.  This is an increase of 24 students.

SCHS Principal's Report:  Stephen Grammer

The start of school year has been positive and successful for both students and staff. The
first two days of school, we had class meetings with each grade level outlining our new
programs, expectations, and changes for the school year. One of the new programs is the
revamped Focus Program, which is up and running and the students and teachers are
making adjustments to the program.

Another new program and staff member to the district, is our new Resource Officer, Ms.
Sidnee Pavel. She works with students who are tardy or unexcused absent from school.
She also assists teachers in the building with students who are struggling in class. She has
been a great asset and resource to our building and a resource for teachers to go to. This
position is a joint position between the school district and the county attorney’s office. The
county attorney’s office filed for and received a grant for this resource position. She will be
working with students 6th through 12th grade. Already we are seeing a decline in tardies
and absences at the high school.

Our new staff this year have started off well and are working hard and adapting to
Schuyler Central High School. They have been matched with a mentor in the building
which are a support and a go to person within the building. Our new staff this year are:
Katherine Bertrand, Counselor; Dana Garrison, Agriculture teacher/FFA Sponsor;
Lewis Evans, Social Studies Teacher; Jason Friesen, Social Studies Teacher; Kelsey
Piper, Science Teacher; Ethan Hutton, Science Teacher/Paraprofessional; and Elizabeth
Johnson, Math Teacher. Again, adapting and building rapport with our students.

As the year begins there are many upcoming events including multiple sporting events,
One Act Play, vocal and band contests/concerts, and in September we will begin
preparation for MAP testing. Teachers and Administrators have been and are working
hard to improve and do what’s best for all students at SCHS.

A successful homecoming week will already have been completed the week before the
September board meeting.

Schuyler Central High School Enrollment numbers
9th Grade                135
10th Grade              133
11th Grade              132
12th Grade              110
Total Enrollment   510
(2014 – 2015 Enrollment—470)
Increase of 40 students

Rationale: 

S.C.S. Special Education Director's Report:  Darli Vrba

Team SpEd met for the very first time on Monday, August 17th. Together, we did a team building activity and reviewed the answers to three main questions I gave the team last spring:

• Who are we as SCS's SpEd department?
• Where are we going as SCS's SpED department?
• What do you need me to bring to Team SpEd to ensure their success?

We developed our goal for SCS's SpEd Team along with the characteristics all team members need to portray as a member of Team SpEd!!

My adventure on a brand new learning curve called Special Educator Director:

• Joined the NASES organization (Nebraska Association of Special Education Supervisors)
• "Getting Started on the Right Foot": mentoring program for 1st & 2nd year SpEd directors
• started to build a network of "experts" in the field of special education

 SCHS Asst. Principal/AD Report:  Michelle Egr

Welcome to the next school year!   We are off and running! 

Participation Numbers in high school athletics are up.  (Numbers listed are 2015/2014)  Football 59/53.  Volleyball 37/20.   Softball 18/13.  Cross Country 33/24.  Girls Golf has 8/7.

I have met with Columbus Occupational Health and the Random Drug Testing Program is ready to begin this school year.   The process went very well last year.   Looking forward to working with them again.  

Web Site is updated and fall activities are current. 

Please refer to Mr. Grammer's report regarding info from the AP office.  

Director of Federal Programs, Curriculum and Assessment Report:  Dave Gibbons

Curriculum Assessment & Accountability – Here are our overall percentages of students proficient on the NeSA Assessments.

Reading

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2015 State
3rd	87%	87%	92%	82%	82%
4th	54%	82%	75%	85%	81%
5th	50%	67%	87%	81%	83%
6th	64%	56%	75%	84%	81%
7th	68%	59%	79%	64%	82%
8th	60%	68%	65%	74%	79%
11th	58%	63%	61%	68%	69%

Mathematics

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2015 State
3rd	89%	89%	91%	86%	78%
4th	50%	85%	85%	91%	77%
5th	45%	79%	88%	77%	76%
6th	50%	36%	52%	79%	72%
7th	55%	52%	61%	62%	73%
8th	48%	61%	60%	63%	68%
11th	49%	52%	37%	44%	62%

After School Program – The after school program started August 31 at SES and SMS.  We currently have 144 students participating at SES and about 30 participating at SMS.  We have 50 students on a waiting list so we are working add staff in order to accommodate all the students.

School Improvement Grant – We have started year 2 of our grant at the Middle School.  Staff has continued to work with Discovery Education and CTAC.  We have had trainers and consultants in the building three times already this year. This year we are adding a communications class and equipment is being purchased for that.  We have also added a new teacher evaluation system.  Teachers will also be working on Student Learning Objectives as a part of this grant.

Rationale: 

1.  NASB Area Membership Meeting:  Sept. 23rd at Norfolk.  See attached information.

2.  NASB State Conference:  November 18-20.  See attached information.

3.  Preschool Cost Update:  Ronnie has updated the renovation costs for the preschool building.  See attachment. 

Rationale: 

SCHUYLER COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

MEETING 09/14/2015 @ 12 NOON – 1:00 P.M.

@ SCHUYLER MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE ROOM

Membership:  Lumir Jedlicka-Treasurer, Brian Vavricek- President, Virginia Semerad- Secretary, Joyce Baumert, Sandy Seckman- Vice President, Victor Lopez, and Dan Hoesing

Guests             -Patty Schmidt– Chamber Executive Director              

                      -Kem Cavanah – Economic Development Coordinator

-Shelley Friesz –shelley.friesz@schuylercommunityschools.org – 402-352-3527 Ext 216

Foundation Assistant      

-Sheri Balak – sheribalak@gmail.com – Alumni Honors consultant  

Vision:  To support the enrichment of educational programs and student life experiences

Goals:  -To promote education in Schuyler Community Schools

           -Conduct feasibility study on possible new construction at high school building

Secretary Report/Minutes – Review and Approve (refer minutes e-mailed by Shelley Friesz – August 3, 2015)

Treasurer’s Report – balance (Shelley will contact Gwen and get updated numbers)

·     $780.00 check sent to Schuyler Golf Club for fees for the golf tourney

·     $1,000.00 checks sent to Matt Eller and Tonya Marxsen for DA scholarships

·     Received a $25 check from William & Viola Kroeger in honor of George & Sylvia  Hermone’s 50^th Anniversary

·     $88.75 to Karel & Seckman for work on the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation

·     $1250.00 paid to Lemon Fresh Day balance for the Labor Day dance

Committee Reports:

·     Labor Day:  Brian & Victor & Sandy

·     Scholarship:  Sandy, Lumir

• Education:Lumir &Brian

·     Alumni Website: Dan & Virginia      

·     Alumni Honors Committee- Joyce & Sheri    

·    Mission Statement & Goals updated- Joyce, Sheri & Brian                  

Next Meeting –Oct. 5, 2015 @ 12:00 Noon @ Schuyler Middle School Conference Room