April 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

1.  Review monthly bills using the EMeetings Software.

2.  Review all credit card transactions for the month

3.  Finance Committee Members Sign-off on review of monthly bills, credit card transactions, and district fund balances.

4.  Approve superintendent's expenses

5.  Lunch Fund Review-Monthly Lunch Fund Balance Worksheet Attached

6.  Payroll Ledger Review

7.  Insurance Billing Review

8.  ACH Payroll Review

9.  Classified Salary Discussion & Recommendation (Salary Projections Attached)

 

Rationale:  The attached list of elementary library books have been culled from the circulation list in the elementary library and the media specialist is requesting that they be declared as surplus for immediate sale or disposal.

Rationale: 

Members of the Public, 

This is the portion of the board meeting when we invite anyone in attendance to address the board of education. If you would like to speak to the board regarding any of the items on tonight's agenda or a public concern, now is your opportunity to do so.  Please review the orange sheet (found on the visitors' chairs) of paper that contains the guidelines for public participation.  If you wish to speak to the board at this time, please let me know.  "Would anyone like to address the board at this time?"

 

AFTER THE PERSON(S) INDICATE(S) THEY WISH TO SPEAK

1.  Please stand and state your name?

2.  What topic will you be speaking on?

3.  Are there others in the room who wish to speak to the same topic? (If so, ask that they be recognized so that 30 minutes of time for public comment can be apportioned as per the policy-5 minutes per person).

4.  Optional-"Please understand that public comment is your opportunity to speak to the board and present your concerns, thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations.  Members of the board are happy to hear from members of the public, but the board will not engage in conversation or dialogue with you during public comment."

4.  "You'll have approximately 5 minutes to address the board, as we allow 5 minutes per person and a total of 30 minutes for public comment.  You may begin when you are ready?"

 

 

 

Rationale:  Ms. Hanna is resigning from Ravenna Public Schools.  Mr. Maulsby is recommending hiring Madison Gross to replace her.  A copy of the contract for Mrs. Gross is attached to this agenda item.

Rationale:  The principals have been working with staff and with Marc Doss from NEE to adjust the indicators (or "look fors") on the teaching evaluation instrument and will be in to share their suggested changes to the evaluation instrument.

A copy of the proposed revised teacher evaluation model is attached to this agenda item for the board consideration and approval.

Rationale:  The elementary staff have been reviewing the language arts curriculum and have a recommendation regarding the adoption of a new language arts curriculum.

The bids for the language arts curriculum is attached to this agenda item.

Board Members and members of the public can view the proposed elementary ELA curriculum at: https://view-su2.highspot.com/viewer/646af97682ed63c0c03e14a16790422d#1
 

Rationale:  The board and superintendent review classified staff compensation annually for the purpose of making budget preparations for the next school year.

Attached are the projected costs of wage increases for classified staff for the 2025-26 school year. 

The board will also need to discuss the following items:

• Para Compensation & Work Conditions - The superintendent sat down with the paras on February 28th.  All paras were invited to attend the meeting.  If they could not attend for any reason, they were encouraged to email their concerns to the superintendent.  There were no new additional concerns expressed by the paras.  Some continued to express ideas about increasing pay, insurance benefits, not being paid for unused sick leave, and one para who also has her substitute teaching license has requested to be provided with a pay differential when she substitute teaches.
• Kitchen Staff Compensation Study - Attached is a copy of a wage survey that is a sampling of schools across the state.  The average wage range for various sized schools was $14.81-$17.17 per hour.   The average wage range for schools similar in size (300-500 students) to Ravenna was $14.71-$17.20.  The superintendent would recommend making the starting wage for kitchen staff help $15.00 per hour for new employees, increasing the existing employee who is making $13.49 to $15.00 an hour and increasing the rate of pay for one other long-time staff member from $15.96 to $17.00, and providing the cafeteria manager with a 3% salary ($1,050) increase.  The cost of this pay adjustment for the entire kitchen staff would be $13,854 or a 5.88% overall package increase.  Comparatively, a 4% wage increase for the entire kitchen staff would equal $10,708 or a 4.55% overall package increase.  The superintendent feels the increase is necessary in order to compensate and retain staff and to keep up with the market rate statewide.
• Dave Huryta's Work Agreement with the District - Do you want to negotiate his work agreement separately or simply provide him the same wage percentage increase as is provided to the rest of the classified staff?
• After School & Summer Custodial Student Pay Rate - Currently $9.00 per hour - This rate needs to be adjusted to ensure we can recruit adequate after-school and summer help.  Adjusting it to $15.00 per hour would help keep us competitive with the area job market.

Rationale:  The football field and track lights need to be replaced.  Recently, one of the pole lights blew down in a storm.  The remaining three poles were tested.  Testing revealed that 2 out of the 3 remaining poles need to be replaced.  Those testing results are attached.

ProTech Lighting was dispatched by the insurance company to provide budget pricing for the project.  The quote from ProTech Lighting is attached.

The "turn key - all in" price is $267,000.  Insurance would cover $110,000 of this cost, minus a $2,500 deductible for property damage.  So, the district's total cost would be $159,500.

Additional work will need to be done with the audio system to move the speakers from the existing poles they are on to the top of the press box or to the scoreboard.  This would represent an additional cost.

Since this is a replacement of existing equipment (fixtures), the Depreciation Fund can be used for the expenditure.  Also, since we are members of the ESU Cooperative Purchasing Program and ProTech is an approved vendor with the ESU Cooperative Purchasing Program, the replacement can occur without going through the customary bid process.

ProTech-Dropped the price of the original quote by $9,000.  They also agreed to do the existing pole removal for free, which is a $5,000 value.  They have been out for two site visits, since the first pole fell down, have been super responsive, and have an excellent warranty (25 years on the poles) and service (they will know we have a light out before we do, through on-line monitoring).  They are a quality installer who have worked with many districts across the state.

ProTech Lighting Contacts:
Sales: Brad - 641-660-9554
Electrician: Jon - 402-510-0030

Following the March 24th Board Meeting, the superintendent reached out to Ensley Electric of Grand Island, IES Electric or Holdrege, and Middleton Electric of Kearney.  Middleton Electric chose to pass on the project because they were too busy with scheduled summer work.

Rationale:  Extra Duty Pay for Coaches was discussed at the March 2025 board meeting.  Mr. Schirmer has collected the rates of pay for the conference schools for girls wrestling.  The spreadsheet containing those rates is attached to this agenda item.

Also, attached to this agenda item is a proposed girls wrestling schedule for the 2025-26 school year.

 

Rationale:  Ravenna:
Head - 5% (which is currently being split between the head and the assistant/technical director) - 2.5%
Assistant - 2.5%

Amherst:
Head - 5% (.25% experience factor per year, to a max of 7.5% of base)
(Head and Assistant not specified, only one rate provided.)

Arcadia: 
Head -  11% - 14%
Assistant - 4.8% - 6.2%

Central City:
Head -  5% - 10%
Assistant - 3% - 5%

Centura:
Head -  8% - 10.7%
Assistant - 4% - 6.7%

Doniphan-Trumbull:
Head -  4.93%
Assistant - (not specified)

Gibbon:
Head - 4% - 6% (Based on experience-max of 6%)
Assistant - 2% - 3.5%

Loup City:
Head - 6%
Assistant - 3%

Ord:
Head - 7.7% - 14%
Assistant - 5% - 8.6%

Pleasanton:
Head - 5%
Assistant - 3%

Shelton:
Head - 6%
Assistant - 3%

St. Paul:
Head - 7%
Assistant - No assistant, head director position only

Wood River:
Head - 2.5% - $2,000 Floor
Assistant - $500 (fixed)
 

Rationale:  Each year, the board considers compensation for administrators for next year's contract term.  Attached, are the salary studies for the elementary principal, secondary principal, and superintendent.

Rationale:  1.  Mapping Grant Update -

2.  Lighting at Football Field 

3.  Budgeting for 2025-26 - Once classified salaries and administrative salaries are in place for 2025-26, the superintendent will be able to share a solid draft of the 2025-26 budget with board members.  A brief review of the General Fund and the existing cash balance and future cash balance, in respect to the anticipated 2025-26 tax cycle and increased expenditures for 2025-26 is in order.  We will likely need to utilize an inter-fund loan from the Special Building Fund for the month of April.  I have already verified with the NDE Financial Services Office that this is acceptable, but I will need to put the motion on the April Agenda to make it a matter of record. 

4.  Bond Discussion