June 11, 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 were Superintendent Lynn Johnson, High School Principal Aaron Pfingsten, Elementary Principal Jacque Morgan, Athletic Director James Shada and Cheryl Keeler, recording secretary.

Discussion:  Kathy Rhea addressed the Board with concerns regarding the consistency in offering advanced placement classes for college credits. Policy should be if we offer a class we offer it year in and year out. We are a prime area and should be able to hire teachers qualified to teach those classes. She inquired if we notified students and parents when dual option courses change. 

Discussion:  Dan Douglas addressed the Board regarding what he referred to as a 'loop hole' in the grading system. Traditional classes are given the same weight in calculating GPA and class ranking as honors classes. He has discussed this with administrators and asked them to consider weighting honor classes. He wanted to bring it to the Board's attention as well. Board Member Bruce Scheer requested we add this as an agenda discussion item for July.  

Discussion: 
Superintendent Johnson reviewed with the Board the results of the recent Nebraska Retirement System audit. 
 

Discussion:  Board requested an annual report comparing enrollment figures from year to year similar to the chart presented at the Facility Planning Meeting.  They asked that the enrollment reports for the board of education meetings be a continuous spreadsheet with the format of each worksheet page representing a school year and in the form presented at this meeting.  The report would allow the Board to be able to see trends over the years.Superintendent Johnson and Principal Morgan reviewed enrollment figures. The 18-19 kindergarten class enrollment is currently at 53 students which is an increase of nine students since March. The recent sale of homes in the city has created this opportunity.  The administration presented two options on how to best manage this size of class.  Both options included adding staffing at either part time or full time status.  The board indicated that they would support the course of action that administration felt best.

Discussion:  Superintendent Johnson presented a chart showing the projects that the maintenance crew are addressing as well as the summative needs projects being addressed this summer.  The big playground project will be delayed due to not getting approved for the DEQ grant.  It was suggested by the DEQ representative that most DEQ grants are awarded after completion. The district will proceed with the resurface project for the small playground as approved last month. It is anticipated that we will receive 25% reimbursement on that project upon completion and submittal of required paperwork. Assuming that goes according to plan, we will look to install rubber crumb on the large playground next summer and again apply for DEQ grant following completion.  The small playground project is slated to begin  in late July and should take less than a week.

Discussion:  No report

Discussion:  Meeting was held in May and facilities planning list was discussed.

Discussion:  No report.

Discussion:  No report

Discussion:  Matt O'Daniel summarized that at the recent special board meeting, the board authorized Superintendent Johnson to enter into a purchase agreement that was to include two contingencies.  Both of those contingencies (necessary fire code updates and appraisal) have been satisfied.  Kevin Kermeen, with WC Real Estate, served as a broker for the district at no cost.  This resulted in a huge savings to both the district and the seller. Matt asked for each board member to express their thoughts on moving forward with the purchase.  Luanne Sundberg inquired as to whether the property would be used for storage of vans and maintenance equipment as well as buses to eliminate congestion around the building.  Superintendent Johnson shared that she thought that would work since there is ample space.  Teri O'Flaherty expressed that we should move forward noting that the appraisal was higher than the purchase price and the property will likely retain its value if the district wants to consider something else in the future and needs to sell and expressed it was something that we need with some immediacy.  Bruce Scheer agreed with statements made by O'Flaherty and that he was concerned because we did not have an attractive plan B and moving all of our inventory would be a concern and he was glad that the deputy fire marshal indicates that we are grandfathered in on codes since use of the structure remains the same.  Shanon Willmott said her concerns and questions have been addressed so she is on board. Matt O'Daniel shared that a formal appraisal done by an independent party came back at $500,000 and the motion will state that the purchase price is $475,000.  He shared that he struggled some with this price but in light of the fact that the district has enjoyed the use of this space at no charge for many years and that we know Fort Calhoun built a structure similar in size for upwards of $500,000 which didn't include the cost of the land.  Construction costs are always more than one thinks.  Jessi Scheer refrained from any comments or taking action based on a conflict of interest.  Lynn Johnson shared that the board did their due diligence in ascertaining that owners of some particular parcels of land were not ready to sell at this time.  Luanne asked for clarification as to whether this included all the lots owned by Bell Creek or just the lot with the building on it.  It was stated by Mrs. Johnson that the district is purchasing the building and the lot it sits on. 

Discussion:  Lynn Johnson shared that this information was the same as what was discussed last month.  Luanne Sundberg asked what the cost would be and the response was that the district would budget for 700 students and 103 employees with final numbers being determined at the start of school.  The approximate cost will be $5,695 for student program and $1,545 for employee program.  Teri O'Flaherty shared that this was a concern expressed by many groups at the facility planning meeting on Sunday.  Jessi Scheer asked if we would be able to track the usage?  Lynn Johnson shared that this is tracked and there are quarterly meetings with the director to discuss the program.  We may want to budget some money to bring counselors to the building to address situations where students can't get to them.  We can track progress and then reevaluate in a year or two.   Shanon Willmott shared that even if parents do not take their kids in, we are still able to call the counselors and get information and ideas on how we can help the students plus as clients we are assured timely service.  

Discussion:  The resignation of Terri O'Flaherty will be officially accepted at the July Board meeting. This is her last meeting as a Board Member due to her relocation out of the district June 15th. At the last regular board meeting, the board tasked superintendent Johnson to contact past Board Members who served in the past 5-7 years. The board was pleased that two persons have expressed a willingness to serve in this capacity and a committee of three board members will do interviews to determine a replacement who will fill the last 6 months of O'Flaherty's term. The November election will determine who will be seated to a full term in January of 2019. 

Discussion:  President O'Daniel opened a Public Hearing to received input from the public on the student fees policy at 8:20 pm. and receiving no input, the hearing closed at  8:21 pm.  

Discussion:  President O'Daniel opened a Public Hearing to received input from the public on the parental involvement policy at 8:23  pm. and receiving no input, the hearing closed at 8:24 pm.  

Discussion:  James Shada reviewed the STRIV program which will allow the school to stream some events live for the public. An example of events that could be live streamed would be graduation, sporting events and honors nights. Musical programs could not be streamed due to the prohibitive cost of paying royalties. Liv streaming will be part of the requirements for the mediia broadcasting class. A sponsor will also be needed for this activity.

Discussion:  James Shada informed the Board they do have a person in mind for the sponsorship position at a cost of approximately $2000.

Discussion:  Lynn Johnson reviewed the Cross Country participation numbers of 30 to 40 students and addressed the need for adding a Junior High assistant coach. Luanne Sundberg requested a comparison to other coaches in category G. Matt O'Daniel indicated that could be done at another time. Lynn Johnson clarified that discussion about the master agreement belongs in negotiations not a public meeting. 

Discussion:  James Shada shared that on further review of the age and condition of the scoreboard it was not deemed to be a good investment and withdrew it from consideration. Mr. Shada will bring the purchase of a different scoreboard to the buildings and grounds committee for consideration of best options. 

Discussion:  Mrs. Johnson informed the board that the buildings and grounds committee has identified the need to put casework in elementary rooms that currently have none.  The committee was undecided about how many rooms to tackle this summer.  This will be paid for out of the depreciation fund.  Jessi Scheer shared that it would cost $48,000 to do all three rooms but we know that two of the rooms will be used this year as classrooms and maybe the 3rd kindergarten room also and favored doing all three now.  Luanne Sundberg expressed that we could approve two now and then consider the third room in July when we know what direction we are going with kindergarten class configuration.   

Discussion:  Luanne Sundberg suggested that wrestling mats should be listed specifically on page 37 of the Coaches/Sponsors Handbook where track, playing fields and weight rooms are identified and that she could not find a job description for SkillsUSA.   James Shada shared that he thinks item #4 covers mats adequately.   Teri O'Flaherty suggested and Shanon Willmott clarified that adding the words 'and surfaces' to that sentence would suffice.  

 

Discussion:  James Shada, Athletic Director, reviewed the report and our high participation numbers. Shada thanked the administrators who helped to cover 176 events throughout the school year.

Discussion: 
Superintendent Johnson presented policies and proof of residency documents prepared by lawyers. Matt O'Daniel suggested these be brought back next month for action.

Discussion:  No changes to policy.

Discussion:  Matt O'Daniel presented Teri O'Flaherty with a plaque recognizing and thanking her for her 4 1/2 years of service on the board and for the students of the district. 

Discussion:  President Matt O'Daniel adjourned the meeting at 9:18 p.m.