June 11, 2012 at 7:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  If any board member is absent, there will need to be a  motion to excuse the absence.

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Goal #1:  All students will succeed at each grade level and graduate from high school well-prepared for a variety of post-secondary pursuits.

Goal #2:  All students will feel connected with the school and the learning process.

Goal #3:  District resources, programs, and departments will be aligned to attain high levels of student achievement and instructional excellence.

Goal #4:  The community will be engaged to support high levels of student achievement.

The mission of the Norfolk Public Schools is to prepare studentswith the skills and knowledge to meet the challenges of a complex, global society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale:  Present on Student Fees:
1. Review of money collected in 2011-2012.
2. Use of waivers provided for in policy.

This time during the meeting will be opened as a hearing to discuss, consider, and receive input on the student fee policy and the parental involvement policy. 

At this time, if any member of the public wishes to comment or give opinions on a policy, we ask that you identify yourself.  Comments will be taken on each item separately:
1.  Student Fee Policy
2.  Parental Involvement Policy

Rationale:  May 14, 2012 - 4:30 Study Session

May 14, 2012 - 7:30 Regular Session

May 24, 2012 - 2nd Meeting of the Month

Rationale: 

Approval of teaching contract for the 2012-2013 school year for:

1.   Aubrey Miller, Junior High mathematics

Rationale:  Recommend approval of the resignations, effective at the end of the 2011-2012 contract year, for:

1. Vicky Schwartz, Director of Business Sevices
2. Kristen Evans, Family and Consumer Science Instructor, High School

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This addresses the necessary changes due to an increase in science credits for graduation from the Nebraska Department of Education.

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Approval of student handbooks for the 2012-2013 school year.  The board reviewed the handbooks during the earlier study session.

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This item will resume when school reconvenes in the fall.

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This item will resume when school reconvenes in the fall.

Rationale:  1. FFA Report with Bill Robinson

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The bills approved in the consent agenda for the month of June are as follows:  

General fund = $712,976.79; Cooperative Fund = $53,509.78; Nutrition Services Fund = $43,045.36; Bond Fund = $729,096.55; Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund = $44,628.75; Special Building Fund = $76,647.00.

The budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is very close to being finalized.  The one major component we are waiting on is the District's valuation.  Once we have this last part of the puzzle, we will be ready for board approval.  The 2012-2013 budget documents will be available on the state auditor's website sometime before the end of June.   There will not be many changes to the district budgets.  Revenue will be down next year for the General fund as we have $760,782 less in state aid.  We will also receive less in federal dollars.  We will not tax in the building fund next year as we will need the revenue in the General fund.  However, this must be a consideration in coming years.  We are projecting a decrease in our total tax levy for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

June is the month of end-of-year reports.  All Central Office administrators are working to complete them by the due date of June 30th.  We have submitted the annual student transportation report, small class size report, and the state of the schools report.  Reports in progress are:  Annual Participation Report for Title I, Days in Session/Instructional Program Hours report and the Substitute Teachers report.

Rationale: 

Americanism Reports  --  All schools have completed their Report on Americanism Activities for the 2011-2012 school year.  The complete reports are available for review in my office.

Summer Curriculum and Assessment Projects  --  The following are a list of activities that teachers and principals will be working on during the summer months throughout the district:

• High School English teachers will be working on updating English 9, 10, and 11 offerings, incorporating tested skills into everyday lessons, and aligning the curriculum.
• Teachers from grades 5 through 11 will be working on developing additional items for the Check 4 Learning system, which will assist in assessing student readiness for NeSA tests.
• Teachers from grades 2 and 3 will be developing bell-ringers for Reading Mastery 3 and 4 lessons.
• Teachers and administrators are developing and recording podcasts of training for NeSA, MAP, and DIBELS assessments.
• Plans are being developed to begin discussions centered on grading practices throughout the district.
• Ongoing training will be taking place centered on technology integration throughout the district.
• Google Docs training.

Rationale: 

- We are well into our summer maintenance projects: concrete work, HVAC checks and boiler inspections. Buildings and grounds are busy on a daily basis.

 - Custodial supplies for the 2012-2013 school year have been ordered and will be arriving in late July-August.

 - Summer School classes at the Senior High, AFS and Special Education are completing their second week of classes.

 - Norfolk Public School Nurses – Diane Schilling, Cindy Fox, Corliss Pena and Blair Brink will be attending the Nebraska "School Health Conference" in Kearney on June 11th and 12th.

 - Region 11 Emergency Management has been planning and will conduct a "Disaster Exercise" at Norfolk Junior High School on Tuesday June 19, 2012. This plan includes local and regional police, sheriff and emergency management teams. Some Norfolk staff and secondary JOOI group individuals will be involved in this plan as well.

 - Several members of the Junior High and Senior High staff will be attending 3 days of training for SCIP (School Community Intervention and Prevention) from June 20-22, 2012 here in Norfolk at the Lifelong Learning Center. Our Junior High currently has an active SCIP team and the Senior High is looking to start one within the next year. Trained team members help to indentify needs, intervene when necessary and make referrals to community agencies. They support students and their families who are experiencing difficulties in their lives and home environments. Some of the topics on the agenda are: eating disorders, domestic and teen dating violence, grief issues, etc. We see this training as another opportunity to serve our school-age youth, their families and our community

 

Rationale: 

The Facilities & Finance committee met today at noon in the Board room at the Central Office.

The following agenda items were discussed:

1.  Facilities:

• Update on progress of house on 6th street.
• Major summer projects:
  • BelAir Sewer project.
  • Mechanical update at Junior High.
  • Drain issues at Washington & Jefferson.
  • Concrete work at Senior High, Woodland Park & Middle Schools.
• Insurance adjustments reports on all school facilities.
• Advertising for Buildings & Grounds Manager position  (Lyle Carmichael).

2.  Reviewed the June bills.

3.  Discussed updates to the District's 403(b).   

• Direct remittance. 
• Reduction of annual participation fee.
• Add ‘full fee’ disclosure schedules to the plan. 
• Simply the enrollment form
• Add a Roth 403(b) to the plan. 

Rationale:  The Activities Committee will resume meeting in September.

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A public hearing was held to discuss, consider, and receive input on a proposed Student Fees Policy.  The public was given the opportunity to present information and opinions on the proposed Student Fees Policy.

Rationale:  A public hearing was held to discuss, consider, and receive input on the Parental Involvement Policy.  The public was given the opportunity to present information and opinions on the Parental Involvement Policy.

Rationale:  The second monthly meeting of the board is scheduled for Thursday, June 28, 2012 at noon in the central office board room. 

The next regular meeting of the board of education is scheduled for Monday, July 16, 2012. The study session will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the central office board room and the regular business meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.