June 11, 2024 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting

Discussion:  President Lutkemeier opened the meeting at 7 pm.  The meeting notice was advertised in the June 6th publication of the Blue Hill Leader.  "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.

Discussion:  The guest in attendance was Jennifer Karr.  No comments were offered at that time.

Discussion:  1. Mr. Bauer reported that Precision Air came out and looked at the system that we had
    installed in Bladen. Tyler thought that what Rutt's is doing is the only real option without
    tearing into individual units for each room and reworking all ductwork in the ceilings
    which would be a major expense. He also said they are not Trane AC experts by any
    means so they would not be able to provide support for our situation. It appears our
    options would be to proceed with Rutt’s bid or just try to get by with the present situation.
2. Legal updates and policy updates have been hot and heavy the last month.  Mr. Bauer has
    attended all four of the meetings regarding them and some of the current legislative
    changes are still being processed by KSB and NDE. We will have additional changes
    coming (Some mid year with changes required in December/January) and a few more
    in July and August likely. Still no word on a Special Session, but he anticipates there
    being one in late July or early August.
3. Still waiting on Budget workbooks from the state auditor’s office. Should have them
    by the end of this month.
4. He attended the ESU-9 Superintendents' meeting last week.
5. He attended the SchoolMasters Summer conference and meeting.
6. The NASB Leaders and Law Conference is Thursday, June 13th in Kearney.
7. Mr. Bauer asked board members where they'd like to have the board retreat.
    He's thinking early August is probably still the most logical time to work through
    the budgeting and tax request estimates that he will have for them. I know our
    state senators have made it a requirement that public comment be an option at all
    meetings and gatherings in which business is conducted, so we would need to make
    sure that was a portion of the special meeting.
8. He asked board members what they'd seen in terms of valuation changes.  Most 
    have seen increases. 

Discussion:  Mr. Drake reported on completed events which included: Upcoming Events: Summer Cleaning/Maintenance:

Discussion: 
Mr. Jones report included:

Professional Development JH/HS Academics
          May 11th - Graduation JH/HS Safety Drills
            NA
JH/HS Sports / Activities 7-12 Principal Report Other:

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer shared the necessary changes to the Board of Education policies.  He has adjusted these to align with the current policies and informed the board of all necessary legal and legislative changes to each policy.  There has been careful consideration by KSB School Law as they have made the recommended changes.  

There are a lot of policies to update.  We will have a few additional policy updates and changes at the July board of education meeting ahead of the necessary inception date of July 19th.  Several policies just needed more time for KSB and our administrative team to sort through.  This has been a rather exhausting process this school year, but it is something that is necessary to make sure we are still in compliance. 

He thanked board members for their patience.

Discussion:  KSB School Law understands that some boards may like this policy change, and others may want to stay involved as the last appeal step in all cases.  KSB recommends against boards hearing all types of cases.  At best, it will significantly delay the ability to impose discipline in Title IX cases involving sex discrimination if the process is not complete until the board hears the case.  This policy includes the recommended changes set forth by KSB.  Board members discussed the policy change along with its pros and cons.
 

Discussion:  This is the policy that does not authorize employees and contractors to carry firearms on school grounds.  

KSB will draft a policy that authorizes employees and contractors to carry firearms on school grounds once the State Board of Education issues it's model policy.  However, they have heard that ALICAP may not be providing any insurance coverage for matters related to these situations.  

Mr. Bauer's recommendation would be to adopt policy 3060 this year, and consider changes as the board sees fit once we have the opportunity to see how the State Board of Education's model policy looks and how other schools are managing this.  

Discussion:  The policy update that aligns with what we and the vast majority (90% of class C and D districts) are currently doing is option #2.  Mr. Bauer has made adjustments to this policy with the intention that board members would like to proceed with option 2.  
[OPTION 2] Option Transportation. The board of education provides transportation to option students only if (a) the option student lives on an existing bus route or (b) the option student makes arrangements to be picked up and dropped off at preexisting stops along an existing bus route.  The district does not provide mileage reimbursement for option-enrolled students unless otherwise required by law.  Board members agreed with the updated option.

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer worked with Mr. Jones to get this policy to align with how he would like it to be adopted.  In our conversations he felt that a complete ban at this time is not necessary as we need to have some trust in our students.  

Mr. Bauer and Mr. Jones have discussed trying a "tech free" or, at a minimum, "Phone free" day once a month this school year.  Mr. Bauer thinks it would be nice to try out and something that the kids may find that they actually can appreciate getting disconnected for a while.  The districts who have had success with complete bans have mentioned that it was often student driven and this was one of the first steps they used.  

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer would like to purchase a certificate of deposit in the amount of $150,000 from the Bond Fund in an effort to accrue more interest.  

He will get the best rate/length that we can purchase. 

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer shared information he received from Jess Andreasen with CPI.

Discussion:  Silver Lake has been invited to play in the Lincoln Christian Holiday Tournament.  They normally play on December 30th and 31st.  They would like to change the dates to the 28th and 30th.  However, if a team out west plans to stay overnight, they are willing to stay on back-to-back nights as they've done in the past.

Unsure if there will be other opportunities and really do not want to miss out on a chance to get in a tournament.  The board members' consensus was to accept the invitation.

Discussion:  The next regular board of education meeting is set for 7 pm on Thursday, July 11th, at the Elementary in Bladen.