November 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting
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1. Opening the Meeting
Discussion:
President Lutkemeier opened the meeting at 7:00 pm. The meeting notice was advertised in the October 30th publication of the Webster County Sun. "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.
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1.1. Call to Order
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1.2. Pledge of Allegiance
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1.3. District Mission Statement
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1.4. Nebraska Open Meetings Law
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1.5. Publication of the Meeting
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1.6. Board Member Roll Call
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1.7. Excuse Absent Board Members
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2. Approval of the Agenda
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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3. Celebration of Excellence
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4. Public Comment
Discussion:
Guests included: Jennifer Karr, Michelle Magarin, Jerrad & Angie Karr, Colston Karr, Adam & Tiffany Sidlo, Camren Sidlo, Justin & Amanda Clark, Colston & Bryleigh Clark, Chris Sluka, Shelby Rupprecht, Jennifer tenBensel, Kari Sharp, Ashley Kral, Krista Karr, Caitlin Crowe, Shaun Fisher, Michelle Sorensen and Denise Crenshaw. Ashley Kral and Denise Crenshaw signed in to speak. Ashley began with stating Silver Lake's mission statement of: "Every student, every day, every opportunity". Also stating that Co-oping in the past had a negative stigma, but it no longer does. This is not just one student asking, but several. She doesn't feel like anyone would ever take credit for our kids' successes. Other schools may offer different opportunities for our students that they do not have at Silver Lake. These are opportunities that would allow them to still attend Silver Lake with a coop. She urged board members to keep an open mind about things and see if there's an interest from other students.
Denise Crenshaw agreed that there could be an interest in exploring other opportunities if someone else has a desire to be involved in that activity. |
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5. Information Items
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5.1. Superintendent
Discussion:
Mr. Bauer reported:
Negotiations team met prior to tonight’s meeting. Audit and AFR were uploaded to the portal. All reports associated with them have been uploaded or completed. Paper copies of the audit will be handed out as soon as I have them. We will discuss and approve as soon as possible. If you have questions on anything please reach out so that I can look into what the expenses were and have the correct response for you at the board meeting. Reminder, as we have inclement weather approaching, I may occasionally call or text the board to get their thoughts on things. It’s a no-win situation, but I always appreciate your willingness to help on this. Phones have been down for over a week. We are working on it. Hopefully next week we are good to go. |
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5.2. Elementary Principal
Discussion:
Mr. Drake reported:
Enrollment: As of November 11, 2025. Completed Events: October 20-23: Red Ribbon Week Upcoming Events: November 18th: Silver Lake Elementary Quiz Bowl @ 1:30 Updates: Gym doors have been installed Informational: Science of Reading: Amber Zimmerman, Cortney James, Jenn tenBensel, Caitlin Crowe, Kari Sharp, Jennifer Karr, and Kylie Stoner are going through Lexia SOR training. All elementary teachers, regardless of grade or content area, will be trained in the next couple of years. Safety Training: November 21st Para hiring: We are going to be hiring a one-on-one or classroom para, depending on our applicant pool. |
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5.3. Secondary Principal
Discussion:
Mr. Jones reported:
Professional Development / Meetings October 21st - NCSA Meeting JH/HS Academic October 17th - End of Quarter 1 - Honor Roll Has Been Posted / Report Cards Sent Home Fire Drill - TBA Fall Sports Wrap-Up Oct. 27th - HS VB @ Districts Other: Football Declaration - 6-MAN - Click Here |
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6. Consent Agenda
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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6.1. Minutes
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6.2. Bills/Transfers/Treasurer's Report
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6.3. Acceptance/Emergency Modifications of the Agenda
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7. Action Items
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7.1. Voluntary Early Retirement
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Policy 4149 states that the Board shall determine at the November regular Board of Education Meeting, if a window of opportunity for early retirement will be offered to eligible certificated employees for the following school year. Within 10 days after the November board meeting, the Superintendent shall inform all certificated teachers of the School Board's decision to provide a window of opportunity for early retirement.
Certificated employees will have 45 days to inform the superintendent in writing of their intentions on the option for Early Retirement. The following staff members are eligible to receive the early retirement incentive: Trish Hinrichs, Sheila Rupprecht and Chris Sluka. |
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7.2. New Phone System in Roseland
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Amber Gibson and Mr. Bauer have reviewed numerous bids for phone systems. We would like the board to approve the bid from Intellicom in the amount of $17,650.
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7.3. Guest speaker for the district - Chaz Perez
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Chaz Perez is coming to Nebraska in February. We would love to get him out to speak to our K-12 kids. K-6 students about kindness, 7-12 students about controlling their mental health and how to handle adversity in life.
$3,500 + $1,000 = $4,500 Could add an evening session for parents for another $1,000. The last evening Mr. Bauer arranged was not greatly attended, but he thought there was a lot of value in it. A few board members thought so as well. |
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8. Discussion/Information Items
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8.1. Superintendent Evaluation
Discussion:
According to Silver Lake Policy 4057 the superintendent is to have an annual evaluation done the month prior to the month in which the board is to notify the superintendent of its intention to consider the non-renewal or amendment of the contract. According to the contract, this intention is to be given by January 15th.
Evaluations were handed out at the October board meeting with the board wishing to check the Superintendent Evaluation off the to-do list at tonight's November Board of Education meeting. Mr. Lutkemeier was in yesterday to go over the results with Mr. Bauer. Approval of Superintendent Contract and setting salary would be done at the December Board of Education meeting if deemed necessary. Mr. Bauer also suggested it may be in the school board's best interest to move the superintendent's contract up a month for the benefit of the school. |
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8.2. Sports Co-op Conversation
Discussion:
More conversation time for the board to discuss potentially asking Adams Central about a softball, baseball and wresting co-op.
Mr. Bauer shared information regarding Adams Central Public Schools Cooperative sports guidelines with the board members, and they should have all had the opportunity to read through these. Board members discussed the points outlined in AC's Cooperative sports guidelines. Despite the initial pretext of the guidelines being beneficial for both parties, there were a couple of points board members took issue with. Mr. Bauer asked the board if they would like to discuss the potential coop again and the board declined. |
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9. Future Agenda Items
Discussion:
Future agenda items for next month's board meeting include the audit and the superintendent contract.
The next regular school board meeting is set for Friday, December 12th, 7:30 AM at the Elementary School in Bladen. |
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10. Adjournment
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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