August 12, 2024 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  Mr. McMurtry shared that the next board meeting will be September 16th.  The budget hearing as well as the tax asking hearing will be held on this date as well.  School begins on Thursday of this week.  Nebraskaland Bank is providing hot dogs for our back to school event on Tuesday.  The regional plc through ESU will be held at Hershey Public Schools on September 3rd.

Discussion:  Mrs. Bailey went through the financial reports with the board pointing out expenses that needed explanation.  Mr. McMurtry talked about discussion around the depreciation fund and the possibility of moving it to the Nebraska Liquid Asset fund as it stands at 5.03% return currently.  The district expended 94% of the projected budget currently throughout the school year.  93% of the expected SPED budget was expended throughout the fiscal year.

Discussion:  Mr. Feeney presented the administrator report for the board.  Highlights from elementary, high school, as well as activities was presented.  Mr. Feeney highlighted goals for all three areas that will remain a focus throughout the school year.

Discussion:  Mr. McMurtry presented the building and grounds report as follows:
Scroll compressor for the old gym rooftop went out.  A quote of $5200 was obtained for parts.  Labor is expected to be a similar price
Troyers brought the frame for the scoreboard on Saturday morning.  Jason and his father in law unloaded it.  Pending weather, the project is expected to begin on Thursday
14 touch screen tv's were unboxed and installed in classrooms
New cleaning schedules will be implemented as the year begins

Discussion:  Mr. McMurtry presented on the following topics:
special session - just this afternoon, a bill was advanced to floor debate.  This bill focuses on property tax relief in the form of property tax credits.  It would also include levy limits that will diminish to $0.30 by the year 2027-2028.  Floor debate will begin on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.

Mr. McMurtry will once again serve on the commissioner's council.  The first meeting is September 16th in Scottsbluff

The state school board appointed Mr. McMurtry to serve on NCTE 

Mr. McMurtry pointed out that we are one year away from our 5 year review for accreditation.  Work will continue throughout the school year toward this goal

Mr. McMurtry highlighted the work of the summer crew and the fantastic job that they did on numerous projects.  He commend both principals for doing an outstanding job of preparing staff for the upcoming school year.  He also commended the work of Mrs. Lucas in her new roles as athletic director.

Discussion:  Mr. McMurtry presented Alicap costs from 23-24 compared to 24-25.  The cost went up 1.2%

Discussion:  Mr. McMurtry stated that prior to exemptions, we are about $318,000 short of our budget authority.  Expemptions will total well over $200,000.  It was recommended to move $400,000 over to depreciation bringing that fund just short of $1,000,000.