May 11, 2023 at 8:15 PM - Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting

Discussion:  President Lutkemeier opened the meeting at 8:15 pm.  The meeting notice was advertised in the April 27th publication of the Blue Hill Leader.  "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.

Discussion:  Notice was provided according to district policy.

Discussion:  N/A

Discussion:  See attached document.

Discussion:  Guest in attendance was Jennifer Karr.

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer reported that he was still working with NDE's Teacher Certification on our Colorado hires. 
The underground sprinklers were ordered for the Bladen Football field ($5,899). 
The school has committed to Ace for 2 years for natural gas under the Choice Gas Program. 
Classified wages, along with bus driver pay, will be set in June.  If board members have any concerns, please contact Mr. Bauer. 
Mr. Bauer also reported he continues to work with the landowners and their farm manager on the quit claim deed.  They have agreed to pay $100 and our attorney fees ($167.50) in exchange for the notarized signatures of Mr. Ehrman and Mr. Bauer on that deed. 
Mr. Bauer also shared the handout on the Priority Package Measure, LB 705, along with its amendments.  He summarized some of the key components in it.

Discussion:  Mr. Drake reported that the 1st and 2nd grade went to the Kearney Children's Museum on April 21st; an In-Service (School Improvement and CPR) was held on April 26th; 4th graders visited the Lincoln Children's Zoo and Memorial Stadium on April 28th; 6th grade went to the high school for orientation on May 2nd; 3rd graders went to Stuhr Museum on May 9th; and the Elementary Concert, Open House for Mrs. Susan Karr and the Book Fair were held tonight, May 11th.  

Upcoming events include:  Girl Scouts will be using the gym for their lock-in on May 12th; Honors Program & 6th Grade Promotion will begin at 9 am on May 17th (Brant Karr to help with diplomas); Field Day will follow starting at 10:30 am (Pre-K race starts at 10:20 am); the last day of school is set for May 18th with a 12:30 dismissal; Staff In-Service is set for May 23rd and the MTSS workshop will be June 1st.  

Looking further ahead:  Jump Start will be held from July 31st - August 11th, 8:30 - 11:30 am and Pre-K Summer School is also set from July 31st - August 11th, 9:00 - 11:00 am.

Mr. Drake will provide a summary of the NSCAS and MAP test results at the June board meeting.

Discussion:  Mr. Arntt reported on recent & upcoming events.  Prom took place on April 14th; the Jr/Sr High music concert was April 17th; the senior class took a trip to Omaha; State Science Fair took place on April 20th; State Journalism was April 24th & 25th; the Donkey basketball event was April 28th with proceeds benefiting the Student Trip 2024; 6th to 7th grade orientation was May 2nd; a blood drive was held in the gym on May 3rd; Seniors last day was May 5th; Honors Night was held May 8th at 7 pm, with NHS Induction at 6:45 pm and District Track was May 10th.  Seniors Graduation Practice will be May 12th; HS Graduation is set for May 13th at 4:00 pm; the National Science Fair will be held May 14th - 19th in Dallas, TX; students' last day will be May 18th; Teacher In-Service is May 23rd and National FBLA is set for June 26th - July 1st. 

Administratively, the NSCAS & MAPS testing has been completed.  Board members:  Leon Lutkemeier and Brian Karr will be handing out diplomas at graduation.

Discussion: 

The Board of Education needs to approve our annual milk bid before being signed and accepted by the Superintendent. Changes to pricing are as follows; Half pint White = +$.025 Half pint Chocolate = + $.013 Half Gal. Buttermilk = + $.11 4 oz. Orange Juice = + $.05 4 oz. Apple Juice = + $.04 5 lb Sour Cream = + $.52 5 lb Cottage Cheese = + $.16

Discussion:  The Second Edition of The Nebraska Adventure has finally been released.  The curriculum does an excellent job covering our great state. 

Discussion:  After looking through curriculum options for Social Studies, Mr. Drake has decided he would like to proceed with Savvas.  See attached bid. 

Discussion:  We are currently paying $150 a day.  We need to set our rate for the 2023-24 school year.  Our neighbors to the east are paying $155 a day, Hastings Public plans to pay $160 a day.  

In order to compete with Hastings, Mr. Bauer would recommend paying $160 a day for a full sub day.  

Discussion:  The high school shop classes have had issues with our Lincoln Electric table over the last 5 years.  We have had multiple people out to look at it, and had it running off and on every year, the issues keep coming up.  

Mrs. Trausch and Mr Bauer feel it would be a good idea to advertise the table as surplus and take sealed bids.  We think we should easily be able to get $5,000 out of it.  We have secured bids on three different tables (2 acceptable ones are attached).   

Lincoln Electric 4*4 Table - $33,621.01
Shop Sabre 4*8 Table - $25,744
 

Discussion:  The trailer we have been utilizing is not designed for hauling our carpet tiles back and forth.  Loading and unloading with the drop gate setup that we have, is causing issues.  Mr. Bauer asked Dale to look into a different trailer that we could potentially add a winch to the front for loading them.   

He got a bid from Trede Central Trailer of $3,700 for a trailer.  We would need to add the winch at a later time if we decided that was something we wanted to do.

Board members asked questions regarding the dimensions of the current and potential trailers.  No motion was made at that time.

Discussion:  With watering becoming a bigger issue every year we asked Tilley to put together a bid to install underground sprinklers on the practice field and baseball area in Roseland.  The bid came in at $15,950.  We would be responsible for supplying power for controller and booster pump.  Board members discussed the option of sharing the cost or a portion of it with the Village of Roseland, as the field is owned by them.  No motion was made.

Discussion:  N/A

Discussion:  The next regular Board of Education meeting is set for Thursday, June 15th, 7:30 am at the high school in Roseland.