April 9, 2018 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  President Matt O'Daniel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
 

Discussion:  Board Members Present:  Matt O'Daniel, Teri O'Flaherty, Bruce Scheer, Jessica Scheer, Luanne Sundberg, Shanon Willmott.   Also present was Superintendent Lynn Johnson, Elementary Principal Jacque Morgan, High School Principal Aaron Pfingsten, Athletic Director James Shada and Cheryl Keeler, recording secretary.
 

Discussion:  Jeff Burianek addressed the Board regarding valuation declines and safety issues as a result of chicken barns coming into the area. Decrease in home and property valuation would mean a decrease in revenue for the school. The amount of traffic could pose a safety concern and increase maintenance needs to roads. Burianek wants the site moved because the pathogens and smell generated by the chicken barns could pose health concerns for children.

Kathy Rhea questioned why there would be a need for changes to the administrative policy which will be addressed in agenda item 7.1

Shawna Koger, high school business teacher and FBLA sponsor, addressed the Board on the history of funding for FBLA national competitors. Budgeted amount of $5,000 hasn't been increased for several years. Budgeting needs for nationals are now closer to $10,000. The shortage is covered by student fundraising. Koger also shared the results of the recent FBLA conference indicating that 2400 people attended the conference. Several Arlington students placed first in their competitions. Two students, Alek Timm and Kirk Rangel, were elected as state officers. Twelve students qualified for nationals to be held in Baltimore, Maryland this year.

Alek Timm, who was just elected at the recent FBLA conference as the state FBLA president, pointed out the incredible success and growth of the FBLA chapter, making it possibly the most powerful chapter in the state. Timm thanked the Board for their support.

Cory Luttig addressed the Board and offered his opinion that a third party should conduct exit interviews because an exiting employee might be more likely to speak freely to someone other than an administrator. 

Discussion:  TJ O'Connor presented the 7-12 science written report and was available to answer questions. Highlights of the report included information on the effect that new state standards and college readiness requirements will have on the curriculum.

Discussion:  Aaron Pfingsten, high school principal, presented his written report. Highlights included information on award recognitions, essay and art contests, state testing, geography electronic scavenger hunt and extended a graduation invitation to the Board. 

Discussion:  Jacqueline Morgan, elementary principal, presented her written report and was available to answer questions. Highlights of the report included information on elementary student participation in the variety show, and a donation of $542 to kid's cancer research as a result of their lemonade wars. 

Discussion:  James Shada, athletic director, presented his written report and was available to answer questions. Highlights of the report included information on a new location for the athletic banquet this year at the Rybin Building located on the fairgrounds, spring sports updates, Soaring to Excellence, Alek Timm's state speech performance, and the FFA State Conference. Lynn Johnson shared that the state treasurer will be here Friday, April 13th. He will be observing the Bank in School program and will have a round table discussion with juniors and seniors on financial literacy.

Discussion:  Lynn Johnson highlighted resumes of newly hired employees with action to be taken in the consent agenda. Randy Meyer will continue as the district bus mechanic, but as a district employee, in order to be covered by our worker's compensation insurance. Open position in the kitchen created by a resignation will not be filled at this time, but will be re-evaluated at the end of this school year.  

Discussion:  Superintendent Johnson will meet with Dr. Larry Dlugosh to create preliminary plans. Those plans will be shared with Buildings & Grounds for review and revision and then presented to the Board for their review. 

Discussion:  Superintendent Johnson shared with the Board that with the retirement of Cheryl Keeler at the end of September, the district will seek to hire a business manager. A timeline was presented and Mrs. Johnson is developing a job description and other pertinent information to share with the Board. 

Discussion:  Superintendent Johnson is exploring the possibility of contracting occupational therapy services from Fort Calhoun for a potential savings to the district.

Discussion:  Superintendent Johnson shared information on LB1103 as a potential sound bill for providing real property tax relief.

Discussion:  The committee met on April 5th and discussed the potential purchase of property for a bus barn. To protect the public interest, negotiations of such a purchase will be discussed in executive session.

Discussion:  Matt O'Daniel reported that the committee members met with the Washington County Agriculture Society. The Ag Society agreed to continue to pursue the development of a contract in which property lines would be configured so the entire baseball field is on school property.  In exchange for this real property, the Ag Society would gain dirt from the upper field and other considerations. Contracts will be developed and brought to both boards for final approval.

Discussion:  Summary notes and slide show from the workshop "The School Board Judge and Jury," which was attended by Lynn Johnson, Matt O'Daniel, and Bruce Scheer, were shared with the Board through Google docs. Matt shared that exit interviews should be done by direct supervisors and provided rationale on why board members should not be involved in exit interviews as well as the purpose of exit interviews. Bruce shared that there are questions we can and should be asking on our applications that may help in the screening process. Lynn shared that the workshop pointed out that Board members need to be diligent about following the chain of command when it comes to personnel issues as failure to do so can jeopardize their position as an impartial juror. 

Discussion:  The timelines established in policy were inconsistent with the timelines established in contracts. The school lawyer provided some wording changes that removes stated dates in policy so that administrator contract language provides the guidance. 

Discussion:  Mrs. Johnson shared information that was being discussed by the Washington County Sheriff, Fort Calhoun Schools, and Arlington Public Schools. The sheriff's office proposed that if the two school districts would share the cost of  75% of an additional resource officer, around $25,000 each, then they would hire a resource officer that would be full-time at each school. Areas of discussion were on the current arrangement, the principals shared information about the role the resource office currently serves, the value of the position, how to meet the mental health and emotional needs of students with counseling, and the best possible expenditure of our resources. This will be revisited at May Board meeting.

Discussion:  This policy is revised as a result of new legislation. 

Discussion:  With no changes being identified these policies will stand as reviewed. 

Discussion:  Superintendent Johnson shared with the Board the direction she would like to go with these two policies and asked if the Board was supportive of that direction. With field trips she would like to capture in policy a set amount of dollars for each student who qualifies for a national competition. That would allow FFA, FBLA and SKILLS USA to know what funding they can expect. Policy 5005 does not provide specifics on documentation necessary to provide evidence of residency. Lynn would like to move forward with developing a more detailed form for proof of residence. The Board was supportive of both these initiatives. 

Discussion:  President Matt O'Daniel stated the intention and the reason to enter into executive session. He restated the purpose of entering executive session and asked the minutes to reflect that at 8:31 p.m. the board would take a brief break before entering executive session.  The board entered executive session at 8:40 p.m. and at 8:42 p.m. the board exited executive session and in open session Jessica Scheer indicated that she would need to recuse herself from any discussion on a bus barn as it could possibly be a conflict of interest for her. The board then took action in open session to reenter executive session with the understanding that Jessica Scheer would be recused. The purpose of reentering executive session was restated by President O'Daniel before and after the second motion.   

Discussion:  The board exited executive session at 9:16 p.m. No action was taken.

Discussion:  There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m.





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Matt O’Daniel, Board President                                 Lynn Johnson, Board Secretary

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