November 18, 2024 at 5:30 PM - Regular Board of Education Meeting
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1. Call the Meeting to Order
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
LEADERSHIP • SERVICE • SUPPORT Notice of this meeting was given in advance according to State Law 84-1411, by giving notice of the meeting to the public on ESU 7 website www.esu7.org and posted at location of meeting. Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education of Educational Service Unit 7. Availability of the agenda and purpose of the hearing was communicated in the advance notice of the meeting and in the notice to the members of this hearing. All proceedings of the Board of Education of Educational Service Unit 7 were taken while the convened hearing was open to the attendance of the public.
Discussion:
Board Vice President Jack Young called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.
Staff Present: Kris Elmshaeuser, Administrator Linda Shefcyk, Business Manager Morgan Morsett, Secretary to the Board of Directors Tami Clay, Special Education Director Dan Ellsworth, Network Operations Director Marci Ostmeyer, Professional Development Director |
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1.1. Notification of Open Meetings Law
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This meeting has been preceded by reasonable advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session. A copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the meeting room.
Attachments:
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1.2. Roll Call
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
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1.3. Absent Board Members
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
Administrator Recommendation: Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve Board member absences.
Recommended Motion(s):
Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve Board member absences as presented Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
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1.4. Pledge of Allegiance
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
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2. Approval of Agenda
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
The sequence of agenda topics is subject to change at the discretion of the Board.
Recommended Motion(s):
Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve the agenda as presented Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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3. Virtual Conferencing Option
Speaker(s):
Board President or designee
Rationale:
Nebraska Revised Statute § 84-1411 authorizes virtual meetings for educational service units if the requirements of subdivision (2)(b) are met. The board will determine if next month's board meeting should allow for a virtual conferencing option.
Administrator Recommendation: Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve the virtual conferencing option for the December board meeting.
Recommended Motion(s):
Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve the virtual conferencing option for the December board meeting Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Board Vice President Jack Young stated next month will be a busy month due to interviews for the Chief Administrator. He suggests not offering virtual conferencing option.
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4. Welcome Visitors
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Discussion:
Board Vice President Jack Young welcomed Sonya Sukup and acknowledged the online guest.
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5. Public Comment
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
The Board has the discretion to limit the amount of time set aside for public participation.
Citizens wishing to address the Board on a certain agenda item must complete the Request to be Heard Document prior to the start of the board meeting. Citizens wishing to present petitions to the Board may do so at this time. However, the Board will only receive the petitions and not act upon them or their contents. |
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6. Consent Agenda
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
Unless removed from the consent agenda, items identified within the consent agenda will be acted on at one time. If any Board member wishes to discuss an item, it must be removed from the consent agenda at which time the remaining items will be acted upon. Consent Agenda Includes:
Administrator Recommendation: Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve the consent agenda as presented.
Recommended Motion(s):
Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve the consent agenda as presented Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Board Secretary Dawn Lindsley asked that Agenda Item 6.8 resignation Lindy Church be pulled off of the consent agenda.
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6.1. Minutes
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
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6.2. Presentation of Bills #78821 through #78970 - Totaling $1,445,618.92
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
The summary of bills for the current month total: $1,445,618.92 - Bills #78821 through #78970 General Activity Fund total: No activity this month.
Attachments:
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6.3. Reading of Article III, Section 3, F Audits
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
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6.4. Reading of Article IV, Section 9, B Reporting Absences and Making Leave Requests
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
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6.5. Reading of Article IV, Section 9, C Returning from Absences
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
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6.6. Reading of Article IV, Section 9, D Paid Leaves
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
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6.7. Reading of Article IV, Section 9, E Sick Leave
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
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7. Resignations - Lindy Church
Speaker(s):
Board President or designee
Rationale:
Lindy Church - Bridges Teacher, Last day was November 1, 2024
This is a consent item.
Attachments:
()
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Board Secretary Dawn Lindsley asked why Lindy's resignation was in the consent agenda and the 2 other paraprofessionals resignations are under the Administrator's General Report: Personnel. Administrator Elmshaeuser explained that Lindy was the teacher for the Bridges program. All teacher contracts come to the board for approval, thus her resignation needed to come to the board for approval. Para Educator contracts/resignations do not require board approval. Board member Gary Wieseler asked if there are concerns with the Bridges Program based on comments in the Letter of Resignation. Administrator Elmshaeuser explained the Bridges Program is a new and very challenging program, and the staff are continuing to work to move the program forward. Special Education Director Tamra Clay says she appreciates how much Lindy did for the program. Both Director Clay and Principal Cara Neesen worked to provide additional support to Lindy in the best way possible. Lindy put in alot of time, effort and love for the kids.
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8. Spotlight: Mental Health
Speaker(s):
Board President
Rationale:
Licensed Mental Health Coordinator Sonya Sukup will present the Mental Health Spotlight.
Attachments:
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Discussion:
Sonya Sukup, LMHP Coordinator, presented the Mental Health Department Spotlight to the Board. There are a total of 7 clinicians in the Mental Health Department. Three are new this year, including Sonya herself. They serve 16 school districts, a non-public school and the Learning Academy. She shared the 3 goals for the department: establishing caseload expectations, data to support progress monitoring and goal tracking, and collaborating with MTSS Systems. She explained in detail the MTSS system and a 3 tier process. Sonya provided current data from the 2023-2024 school year, which had 390 students in tier 3 and 64 students on a wait list. Current data for 2024-2025, they are serving 172 students in tier 3 with 2 students on a wait list. The Mental Health Department continues to work hard to integrate the MTSS system to scale up students who would benefit from tier 1 and tier 2. They want to expand their capacity for more evidence-based interventions and be able to reach capacity in serving districts with needs. Also, continue to collect data to support better integration of LMHP Services.
The board followed up with several questions asking more about the students & services within the districts. |
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9. Reading of Article III, Section 4, F Internal Controls
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
Review Article III, Section 4, F Internal Controls of the ESU 7 Policy Manual
Administrator Recommendation: Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve Article III, Section 4 Internal Controls as presented.
Recommended Motion(s):
Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to approve Article III, Section 4 F Internal Controls as presented. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Attachments:
()
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Administrator Elmshaeuser shared that Justin Knight from Perry Law Firm has sent out an update to the policy, Article III, Section 4, F Internal Controls. Specific changes included cybersecurity, monetary threshold, contract terms, federal interest reporting, suspension & debarment language, and an increase in the capital expenditure threshold.
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10. Treasurer's Report
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Rationale:
Review the breakdown of the Treasurer's Report.
Administrator Recommendation: Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented.
Recommended Motion(s):
Discuss, consider and take all necessary action to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Attachments:
()
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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11. Administrator's Report General
Speaker(s):
Administrator or Designee
Rationale:
Attachments:
()
Discussion:
Administrator Elmshaeuser gave an update on the Literacy Project. The 1.2 million passed by the legislature to provide literacy coaches in the state will now be done in phases. Currently, the plan is to begin with 7 Literacy coaches that will be placed in Omaha, Lincoln, and 5 ESUs that align with the MTSS regions. Phase 2 will then place 10 Literacy coaches in the rest of the ESUs for 2026-2027. Dr. Polk is a member of the group for Tennant 3 that is developing the plan for the Literacy coaches. A board member asked if the funding would continue after the 1.2 million is expended. It is not known at this time if the legislature will continue to fund the Literacy Project. The Comprehensive Literacy State Development program received a 55 million dollar federal grant that will be funded over the next 5 years that will help support the literacy work in the state.
Technology Director Dan Ellsworth gave a technology and cybersecurity update. Internet problems have been resolved at David City with a secondary internet option and Schuyler will be finished soon. Cybersecurity - Have been working with several of our districts, administrative teams, and bookkeepers to implement LastPass. He shared several stories of districts having compromised emails and a district not in our ESU area that had a ransomware attack. Dan is meeting with all the tech coordinators in the state tomorrow to continue to discuss the group buy. The Nebraska Business Teachers Association has also asked him to speak. Professional Development Director Marci Ostmeyer provided an update for Professional Development and the Print Shop. The Professional Development team has a lot of opportunities to be professionally developed. They attended a statewide training in Kearney last week. The presentation was on facilitation and presenting. The Professional Development staff are often in the schools providing professional development on the early outs for inservice. That's us! Print shop has never been anywhere to receive training.They went to Lincoln Public Schools print shop and learned from a shop that's much larger. What we do in a year, they do in a month. The Print Shop team learned about new processes - notepads specifically. Lincoln Public Schools' process is much easier. The print Shop is continuing to work on maximizing efficiencies. The Special Education Director Tami Clay provided an update. The Special Education department has finished SPED final financials for 17 schools. Jackie Ternus and Director Clay are facilitating IEP's. The team continues to assist with file review & preparation, disproportionate eligibility, and policy review. Area District Resource Teachers attended a professional development day at EUS 7 last Tuesday. They learned about NDE changes and learned some best practices in SPED training. Currently, we are collecting data for the proportionate share worksheet due to NDE. We will be providing TIP training to our districts with the support of NDE. We continue to work with Amy Richards on the Grow Your Own Program that will be funded through Wayne State College. Columbus Public is also part of the Grow Your Own Program. We hope that all of our paras interested in becoming teachers will be able to be a part of this program. We support their efforts in wanting to become a teacher. With our Bridges program we have lost 1 teacher and 2 paras. Support was provided by giving one day a week for planning along with other support. Principal Cara Neesen has taken over the instructional lead in the classroom. The kids in the program continue to make progress, they are happy and learning. We are currently advertising to fill the position and have long-term subs lined up. We have already had people asking about the teaching position for next year. Working really hard to keep Bridges moving forward this year. Board member Bob Arp stated that we perceive situations like these to be a failure. Sometimes things aren't a good match, regardless of personal or home life. Board Secretary Dawn Lindsley asked how the board could support and help to move the situation forward. Director Clay shared that they are using staff from all departments and programs to help support the Bridges program. We want to continue to hire quality people, paras are more difficult to hire. Board member Dawn Lindsley asked if it is a matter of pay. Director Clay responded she doesn't think so, rather it takes a special person to do the job. Board Secretary Dawn Lindsley also expressed concern for supporting Principal Cara Neesen for taking on this additional responsibility. Administrator Elmshaeuser shared information about the State Education conference this week and reminded those attending of important events. Secretary to the Board Morgan Morsett will provide those attending with a packet of information. AESA Conference is coming up. Director Ostmeyer will be the ESU 7 staff member attending. |
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11.1. Goal Update
Speaker(s):
Administrator or Designee
Rationale:
Attachments:
()
Goals:
Discussion:
The discussion was to reschedule Osceola's visit for February and both Board member Marni Danhauer and Professional Development Director Marci Ostmeyer would attend the High Plains board meeting on January 13, 2025.
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11.2. Services Update
Speaker(s):
Administrator or Designee
Rationale:
Discussion:
Administrator Elmshaeuser reviewed the SIMPL screenshot attached to the agenda.
Director Ostmeyer confirms staff development does not just include the Professional Development department. There are other people who offer staff development services, which includes training that Dan does along with staff from Special Education. |
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11.3. Facilities Update
Speaker(s):
Administrator or Designee
Rationale:
The Administrator will provide a facilities update during this item.
Goals:
Discussion:
Administrator Elmshaeuser provided an update to the board on the facility's construction projects. HVAC system in the North Building is almost done. In the South Building, the construction of the Bridges classroom has the space opened up. There has been one change order to add a beam for the movable wall. The additional cost is about $4,000.00 for the change order. We are still waiting for the playground specs.
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11.4. Personnel
Speaker(s):
Administrator or designee
Rationale:
Resignations:
Attachments:
()
Discussion:
Administrator Elmshaeuser acknowledged the resignations of two paraeducators.
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12. Committee Reports
Speaker(s):
Committee Chair
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12.1. Negotiations Committee Report
Speaker(s):
Negotiations Committee Chair
Rationale:
Reports of activities and discussions from the Negotiations Committee will take place during this item.
Committee Recommendation:
Discussion:
Board Member and Negotiations Committee Chair Richard Stephens shared that it was a quick and good meeting. The teachers were great, and they accepted the negotiation offer by the committee. The offer was a 5% total package increase. Health insurance will increase from 60% to 75% for employee/child. The base will increase by $820. The total package increase is $161,809.20. It will be brought to the board for approval next month.
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12.2. Hiring Committee
Discussion:
Board Vice President Jack Young shared the hiring committee has met twice. They will be meeting again this evening with Shari Becker after the board meeting. There are four groups that will be interviewing the candidates; staff, directors, superintendents & board. Applications close on December 2nd. The committee will meet again on December 10, 2024, to determine the finalists to interview. Interviews are on December 16, 2024.
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13. Conference Report
Speaker(s):
Conference Attendees
Rationale:
Conference Attendees will report on their learnings.
Goals:
Discussion:
No conferences to report on.
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14. Adjournment
Speaker(s):
Board President or Designee
Discussion:
Meeting adjourned at 6:59 pm.
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