January 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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1. Realignment of Board of Education for 2026
Rationale:
Annually, the Board of Education goes through realignment.
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1.1. Election of Officers
Rationale:
Policy #2002 states that at the January meeting of the Board of Education, a President, Vice-President, and Secretary shall be elected from the membership to a one-year term of office. Officers in 2025 were Kyle Fornoff, President; Becky Jobman, Vice President, and Kelly Terrell, Secretary. Dr. Jonas will accept nominations for offices and conduct the elections. Becky Vang has served as Secretary to the Board and will continue to do so if approved. Tonya Steuben has served as Board Treasurer and has agreed to continue to do so if approved.
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1.1.1. Election of President
Rationale:
Nominations for the office of president are now open. A second is not required for nominations; a second is required only for the motion. If more than one board member is nominated, the election will be conducted by paper ballot.
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1.1.2. Election of Vice President
Rationale:
Nominations for the office of vice president are now open. A second is not required for nominations; a second is required only for the motion. If more than one board member is nominated, the election will be conducted by paper ballot.
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1.1.3. Election of Secretary
Rationale:
Nominations for the office of secretary are now open. A second is not required for nominations; a second is required only for the motion. If more than one board member is nominated, the election will be conducted by paper ballot.
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1.1.4. Appointment of Secretary to the Board
Rationale:
Becky Vang, Dawson County School District #20 Business Manager, has served as Secretary to the Board since 2024 and has agreed to continue in this role approved by the Board of Education. Ms. Vang should be authorized to sign checks for the following funds: Student Activity Hot Lunch Petty Cash Student Fees Employee Benefit Depreciation |
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1.1.5. Appointment of Board Treasurer
Rationale:
Mrs. Tonya Steuben, Dayspring Bank, has served as Board Treasurer and has agreed to continue in the role if approved by the Board of Education.
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1.2. Adoption of Order of Business
Rationale:
The adoption of an order of business to guide the preparation of future agendas and conduct of meetings as defined in the 2000 series policies. The following policies are included for reference and have already been approved but are formally accepted at the beginning of each calendar year as the order of business.
2000 Series Index Policy 2001 - Role of the Board of Education Policy 2008 - Meetings
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1.3. Review of Board/Superintendent Operating Protocol and Organizational Structure
Rationale:
It is important to review the board/superintendent operating protocol and the organizational structure each time the board reorganizes.
A successful board and administration alignment can be defined as a connected group of individuals working together, not as separate entities, but a team with clear purpose and understanding of roles with a common goal of making decisions that are in the best interests of students, staff, and community. The Board and Administration are not in competition with each other but are competing to meet the individual and collective needs of students. There is no action required. This is an informational item only.
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1.4. Review Chain of Command
Rationale:
Board Policy 3035 outlines that the superintendent shall be in control of all school district operations except as provided by another policy or as otherwise provided by law. Linked here is the administrative chain of command, working from the lowest level in the chain upward.
This is an informational item and does not require a motion.
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1.5. Discussion of Standing Committees for 2026
Rationale:
Standing Committees 1. Personnel / Negotiations 2. Facilities & Transportation 3. Finance 4. Committee on American Civics 5. Policy Policy 2002 outlines that the board shall authorize such special committees as it deems necessary. The board president shall appoint members to the committee, and designate its function, tasks it is to perform, and completion date for its work. After the initial appointment, positions can be modified by a majority vote of the board.
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1.6. Distribution of Conflict of Interest Policies and Forms
Rationale:
The final task under the Realignment of the Board of Education is to disseminate the conflict of interest policy and the associated form.
Policy 2005 outlines a Conflict of Interest when a board member has a business in which the board member or a member of his or her immediate family is a partner, a limited liability company, stockholder, or serves as a director or an officer for a business that could potentially benefit from board action. There is no action needed.
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2. Call to Order & Pledge of Allegiance
Rationale:
Mission Statement: A copy of the open meetings law is posted on the wall of the Board Room and is available to the public. |
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3. Approve the Agenda
Rationale:
The Board reserves the right to rearrange the order of items as needed.
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4. Recognition of Visitors
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4.1. Celebration of Excellence
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4.2. Public Participation
Rationale:
Board Policy 2009 - Opportunity for Public Expression. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO SPEAK: This is the portion of the meeting when members of the public may speak to the board about matters of public concern.
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5. Action Items
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5.1. Consent Agenda
Rationale:
1. Approval of Previous Minutes 2. Approval of the Treasurer's Report 3. Approval of the Warrants / Bills a. Petty Cash b. Student Activity c. Hot Lunch d. Bank Statement e. Summary of Accounts and Receipts f. Monthly Expenditure Report g. Check Journal 4. Excuse Absent Board Members
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5.2. Personnel
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5.2.1. Consider the resignation of certificated staff.
Rationale:
The following retirements have been received:
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5.2.2. Consider approval of contract(s) for certificated staff.
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5.3. Consider approval of special education contracts for 2025-2026 with ESU #10.
Rationale:
We join the following cooperatives as student needs are identified. Program costs are prorated between districts who utilize the program.
Audiology. Several audiological services are available, these include comprehensive hearing evaluations for individuals from birth to 21 years of age; analysis, testing, and troubleshooting of hearing aid and cochlear implant devices used by students; consultation on FM system/auditory trainer device purchases for use at school as well as fitting and adjusting school amplification devices and assessment of classroom acoustics; and on-site school consultations regarding the impact of hearing loss, noise exposure, hearing loss prevention, and how to properly use and troubleshoot equipment. Deaf Education. Three deaf educators provided direct services, consultative services, and assessment services to school districts in ESU 10 and ESU 11 to assist them in providing services to students, birth-21 who are deaf or hard of hearing. Vision Services. A vision specialist provided direct services, consultative services, and assessment services to ESU 10 school districts’ students, ages birth-21 who are blind or partially sighted. Vocational Transition. A vocational transition specialist provided on-site assistance to 21 school districts for students with disabilities age 16 and older to help them realize independent living and employment appropriate to each student’s skills and abilities. SpEd Supplemental Supervision School Age. There was a change in 2018-19 for districts who were not part of the supervision cooperative. The service unit has an obligation to evaluate and supervise the special education staff that they employ and the programs in which they work so all districts that contract for staff are required to contribute to the supervision cooperative. Costs are adjusted for districts with their own special education supervisors to account for staff supervision only and do not include charges for other supervision services. These costs appear on the schedule A as SpEd Supplemental Supervision services.
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6. Policy & Procedure
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6.1. Appoint Superintendent as Non-discrimination Compliance Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator.
Rationale:
Annually, the district must appoint a Non-discrimination Compliance Coordinator to meet federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements and a Title IX Coordinator.
Additional information can be found the Policy 3057 - Title IX.
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7. Informational Items
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7.1. 2025-2026 Teacher Shortage Report
Rationale:
Participation in the annual survey reached an all-time high this year, with an 81.80% response rate from Public and nonpublic schools and the states Educational Service Units (ESU). A total of 355 out of 434 districts and systems shared their staffing data, a notable increase from the 71% participation rate (310 districts and systems) recorded in 2024.
While the educator shortage remains a priority, the 2025-26 data shows a downward trend in unfilled positions compared to the previous year:
Special Education continues to be the endorsement area with the highest need, representing 140 unfilled positions in 2025, a slight improvement from 149 in 2024. The top five areas of need for 2025 were rounded out by Elementary Education, Career Education, Science, and Mathematics. The primary reason schools struggle to staff classrooms remains a lack of candidates. In 2025, 60% of districts reported "No applicants" as their main challenge, while 18% cited a lack of fully qualified applicants. When positions cannot be filled with fully qualified personnel, the most frequent outcome in 2025 was leaving the position unfilled (20%).
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8. Reports
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8.1. Board of Education Reports
Rationale:
Committee Reports (Chair in bold)
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8.2. Administrative Reports
Rationale:
1. Topic Specific Administrative Reports
2. General Administrative Reports a. Elementary (Mrs. Floyd) b. High School (Mr. Ryker) c. Activities (Mr. Mroczek) d. Special Populations (Mrs. McKenna) e. Teaching and Learning (Mrs. Tiller) f. Superintendent (Dr. Jonas) |
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9. Next Meeting
Rationale:
Monday, February 9th
Swede Activities: 4:30 7th & 8th Grade Boys Basketball @ Broken Bow 5:00 Reserve Girls Basketball @ Gothenburg 6:30 Reserve Boys Basketball @ Gothenburg |
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10. Adjournment
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