September 14, 2015 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public School District's board of education meeting is called to order.  

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

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Angie Baumann- Westside School Improvement Goals

Mike Andreasen- Washington School Improvement Goals

Tim Kwapnioski-Safety Update

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Welcome to the Budget Hearing for the 2015-2016 school year. The purpose of this hearing is to give taxpayers the opportunity to provide support, opposition, criticism, or suggestions and observations regarding the budget.

There will be a review of budget items and the board will provide an opportunity for public comment. The adoption of the budget will take place by a vote during the board meeting and not at the hearing.

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Welcome to the Tax Request Hearing for the 2015-2016 school year. The purpose of this hearing is to give taxpayers the opportunity to provide support, opposition, criticism, or suggestions and observations regarding the proposed tax request.

There will be a review of the tax requests and the board will provide the opportunity for public input.  Official action and voting on the tax resolution for the school district will take place during the regular business meeting.

Rationale:  Please stand and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

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Foundation Update

Traditions Breakfast

Rationale:  Kim Reinke, custodian at Jefferson

Rationale:  This is the time during the board meeting when the public may request to address the board regarding an agenda item. If you wish to comment, we ask that you identify yourself and indicate the agenda item to which you will be speaking.

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The total amount of final claims to be approved in the consent agenda for the month of August, 2015 in the General Fund and QCPUF Fund are as follows:
General Fund = $2,500,000
QCPUF Fund = $403,826

Total amount of claims to be approved in the consent agenda for the month of September, 2015 by specific fund are as follows:
General Fund = $352,858.23

Nutrition Services Fund = $149,243.54

Cooperative Fund = $38,057.24

Depreciation Fund= $47,341.47

Special Building Fund = $40,463.85

QCPUF Fund = $333,482.74

Student Fee Fund= $25,713.55

The total amount of claims for the month of August, 2015 in the Activities fund are as follows:
Activity Fund = $154,841.04

The 2014-2015 fiscal year has gone well.  As a district we stayed within our overall budget while still being able to move dollars into depreciation for future large capital expenditures.  The 2014-2015 fiscal year will end with a cash balance growth which will bring our general fund cash balance to approximately a 5 month reserve.  As we go into the 2015-2016 I believe our district is well positioned financially to continue supporting the goals within the strategic action plans, maintain and recruit high quality staff members, while continuing to address the many needs in our facility infrastructure.  The work of our past and present board members, certified, classified and administrative staff have all been critical in allowing our district to continue being in a solid financial position.

Starting the week of Sept 21st the district will begin its annual audit of 2014-2015, fiscal year.  Kruse and Associates will be handling our audit needs this year and I look forward to working with them over the next few weeks as we review our current procedures and practices with fiscal accountability.  This process and preliminary reports will be available to the board towards the end of October and all final documents will be publicly posted in early November.

Payroll has been busy over the past three weeks getting all new and current employees enrolled and updated for the Sept. 18th payroll, which is first payroll for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.  I would like to publicly thank all my assistants in the business office for helping with this process and getting the year off to a good start.

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Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

• Building PLC’s have had a strong start with goal setting for this school year and small groups are beginning to meet and work.
• There are many projects that are keeping the Teaching and Learning Team busy. New math standards work and curriculum writing, common unit assessments for the Wonders program, implementation of a new English Language Arts program in 6^th- 8^th grades, Career and Technical Education curriculum and career academy focus are just a few to mention that are top priority this year.
• We are in the midst of our first MAP testing window. Because MAP results provide meaningful and valuable information that assists with instruction, we’ve added the 2^nd grade and 9^th grade to our tested grade levels.
• The Nebraska Department of Education has arranged for some English Language Arts Transitions Workshops for the development of updated NeSA testing to reflect the newly adopted standards. We will have eight participants to contribute to that work and bring back insight to our district.

 Technology

• Technology is always a continuous evolution. At this particular time, we are cleaning out old technology that was replaced or discontinued and making timeline plans for moving forward with the next phase of infrastructure improvement. If you recall we accepted and approved bids earlier during this year which will involve the next phase of improving the size and number of access points in all buildings. 
• The website is getting better all of the time. Our goal is to keep it clean and clutter free so it is easy to navigate and find information.

 Title

• Title is in a crossroads between closing out of 14-15 and developing a new grant proposal and budget for 15-16. 

 

 

 

 

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Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday-Thursday, September 21-24 as follows:

• September 21st      K-12 students dismissed at 2:00 p.m.
• K-8 parent-teacher conferences from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

• September 22nd     K-12 students dismissed at 2:00 p.m.
• K-4 and 9-12 parent-teacher conferences from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

• September 23rd     K-12 students dismissed at 2:00 p.m.
• Grades 5-12 parent-teacher conferences from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

• September 24th     K-12 students dismissed at 11:30 a.m.
• Grades K-12 parent-teacher conferences from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

• September 25th     No school for K-12 students and teachers

Homecoming week begins the week of October 5th at Norfolk High School. We hope you will be able to attend the football game on Friday night between Norfolk and Lincoln Northeast. Coronation will be on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with the Homecoming Dance to follow at 8:00 p.m.

 

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School Improvement/Professional Development

• On September 1, Mrs. Nelson and I met with Heidi Rethmeier from ESU 8 to start planning for our January 14, 2016 midwinter PD day.  The morning will start with a presentation by Dave Weber followed by 3 breakout sessions.  Last year we hosted 800+ teachers and administrators. 
• On September 3 all NPS administrators participated in training related to our teacher evaluation process.  This training was facilitated by Sue Presler who is a charter member of the Danielson Group and has spent many years providing training and consulting services around the Framework for Teaching. 
• Starting on September 10 NPS will be completing year three of a partnership with ESU 8 to review and provide training on teacher evaluation tools.  The first training will focus on first and second order changes, characteristics of changes made within schools, strategies to successfully implement changes and instructional rounds.  Current cadre members are:  Beth Nelson, Jennifer Robinson, Angie Hausmann, Bruce Strong, and Tim Kwapnioski.

Safety

• On August 31, we hosted our Emergency Response Team meeting.  Members include:  Bill Mizner (Norfolk Chief of Police), Jim Stover (Lieutenant from NE State Patrol), Scott Cordes (Norfolk Fire Chief), Blair Brink (NPS school nurse), Cami Merkel (NPS parent), Don Miller (Norfolk Police Captain), Bruce Strong (Jr. High Assistant Principal), and Tim Kwapnioski (Director of HR/Accreditation).  We examined the requirements related to school safety and security as it pertains to Rule 10.  We also reviewed a safety article on parent perceptions about school safety, and studied our Universal Emergency Response Protocol and the Emergency Response Template.

Human Resources

• Updates are being made to the certified, classified, and substitute teacher handbooks based on the recent revisions made to district policies.  These handbooks will be available on the district website under the Human Resources tab.

Public Relations/Communication

• The Norfolk Daily News and Norfolk Public Schools will once again be partnering in the Panther Project, Tracking the Panthers, and the News in Education program. 

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Tentative/Preliminary Enrollment Update

In addition, I am happy to report that our boundary changes have been effective in equalizing our kindergarten enrollment across the district.  We do not have any kindergarten classes over our recommended cap of 25. In fact, most of our kindergarten classes are  hovering around 21 or 22 students, which is a nice class size.

Town Hall meetings with Governor Ricketts and Senator Sasse and Community Conversation with Senator Fischer:

I was able to participate in the the Town Hall meetings held by Governor Ricketts and Senator Sasse, as well as the Community Conversation held with Senator Fischer. I shared information with Governor Ricketts regarding our reliance on state equalization aide and stressed the importance of continuing to provide districts with adequate funding to meet student needs.  I recognized the impact that rising ag valuations have had on farmers, but stressed that any reduction in property taxes would need to be replaced by another revenue source.

I thanked Senator Fischer for her work on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, including her amendment to the Senate's bill, which increases local control of schools.  I stressed the importance of reaching a compromise on this bill as soon as possible, in order to alleviate the negative effects that it is having on schools.  I encouraged Senator Sasse to do the same.  Both Senator Fischer and Senator Sasse expressed support for local control of schools and agreed that No Child Left Behind needed to be reauthorized.  

 

Rationale: 

The Finance and Facility Committee met today at 12:00 noon in the central office board room. The August final claims were reviewed in the General, QCPUF and Activity Funds and the claims for September were also reviewed.  The committee had a final discussion on the 2015-2016 budget, and tax request, as well as some bid recommendations.  We also had a final review on our insurance bidding process and a discussion on a maintenance position.  2015-2016 will be an exciting year with the completion of our AFS/Career Center, remodeling of our Central Administration building, as well as the multitude of other facility and instructional projects that will be underway.  I appreciate the extra meeting time put in by our Finance and Facility Committee members in reviewing the 2015-2016 budget and tax request.  This committee throughout the year provides me, in particular, feedback, suggestions, and the occasional question to ponder.  I believe they are doing a good job of representing the board by keeping apprised and informed concerning the business operations of our district.

Rationale: 

The Policy and Government Relations Committee reviewed policies 3010-3150 electronically. These policies all pertain to Business Operations of the District.  Minor revisions were made to policy 3010 at Bill Robinson's suggestion. No other revisions were suggested, as these policies were just written/revised in November 2013.

These policies will be presented for First Reading later this evening.

We will be reviewing policies 3160-3570 prior to our October board meeting.

Rationale:  The Activities Committee has not met. Our first 2015-2016 meeting will be held at noon on September 28th.

Rationale:  None anticipated.

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Rationale:  The end of the 2014-2015 year claims as well as claims for the month of September 2015 are posted for approval.

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I recommend to the Board of Education to make a motion to accept the 2015-2016 budget of all district funds as posted. This budget has been discussed within the Finance and Facilities Committee and during our last board meeting on Aug. 27th, as well as the public budget hearing held earlier this evening.

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I recommend to the Board of Education to make a motion to pass the tax levy and property tax request for Madison County School District 59-0002. This request was reviewed by the Finance and Facilities Committee and also reviewed at the last board meeting on Aug. 27th. Details of this action will be read publicly as an official resolution which is attached.

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Details of this action will be read publicly as an official resolution which is attached.

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Policies 3010-3150 pertain to the Business Operations of our District. They were reviewed by the Policy Committee and Bill Robinson and are being presented to the Board for First Reading tonight.  

Policies in this section include:

3010: Budget Planning

3011: Fund Balancing Reporting

3020: Public Review of Budget

3030: Transfer of Funds Between Categories

3040: Budget as Spending Plan

3050: Tuition Fees

3060: Materials Fees

3070: Summer School Fees

3080: Federal Funds

3090: Sales & Disposal of Books, Equipment & Supplies

3100: Leasing

3110: Short-Term Investing

3120: Depository

3130: Purchasing Policies

3140: Contracting for Services

3150: Paying for Goods and Services

 

Rationale: 

The Policy and Government Relations Committee has reviewed these policies as part of the Perry Law Firm's Annual Update and are recommending them for Second and Final Reading/Approval this evening.

Each year Perry Law Firm sends us recommended policy changes based on legislation that has occurred during the previous school year.  This year's policy revisions included additional policies based upon an update of their template, hence the long list.  The policy numbers and titles are listed below and the policies are attached. 

Please note that some formatting errors are present due to programming issues with emeetings. These will be fixed during the final proof and upload.

6212: Assessments-Academic Content Standards

7050: Facilities-Bids and Contracts

3540: Procedures--Bidding Construction Projects

3560: Records Management and Disposition

9340: Bylaws of the Board-Meetings

6600: Special Education Policies

1200: Personnel-Anti-Discrimination

4002: Equal Opportunity Employment

4003: Personnel: Anti-discrimination, Anti-harassment, and Anti-retaliation

5401: Students: Anti-discrimination

6115: Fire Drill

9124: Bylaws of the Board: Secretary

1000: Community Relations: Statement of Intent

2110: Responsibilities of the Superintendent of the Schools

2440: Administration: Administrative Action in Absence of Policy

4009: Drug and Substance Use and Abuse

4021: Social Security Numbers

4023: Notification of Arrest, Criminal Charges, and Certificate, License or Child Abuse Complaints

4140: Professional Growth

4150: Evaluation of Teachers

5406: Search and Seizure

5413: Requests to Contact Students and Student Interviews by Non-School Personnel

5416: Student Fees Policy

5419: Student Privacy Protection Policy

5506: Safe Pupil Transportation Plan

6112: School Day for Students

6230: Curriculum Guides

6361: Acknowledgment of Religious Holidays

6700: Firearm Policy

6800: Internet Safety and Acceptable Use Policy

Rationale: 

This is a new policy recommended to us by Perry Law Firm due to new legislation that requires schools to provide staff information regarding how to recognize students who are returning to school after being treated for cancer.  It also requires schools to develop accommodations and modifications for these students.

The Policy Committee has reviewed this policy and is recommending it for Second and Final Reading/Approval at this time.

 

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Our district received the following proposals for handling the mechanical and structural renovations to the district central administration building, both contractors had an estimated August 2016 completion date and met all specifications as set forth in bid documents:

J. H. Hespe Co., Inc. /  Norfolk, NE

Base Bid - $1,937,400

Alternate No. 1 (Reface south end of gym)  - $23,500 

Alternate No. 2 (Angled Parking off south 6th street) - $19,600

Alternate No. 3 (Paved parking east of of gym) - $26,900

Alternate No. 4 (Reroof admin building and Corridor) - $69,000

Total Bid package of - $2,076,400.00

 

Fauss Construction Inc. / Hooper, NE

Base Bid - $2,011,400

Alternate No. 1 (Reface south end of gym)  - $31,900

Alternate No. 2 (Angled Parking off south 6th street) - $21,800

Alternate No. 3 (Paved parking east of of gym) - $39,900

Alternate No. 4 (Reroof admin building and Corridor) - $35,700

Total Bid Package of - $2,140,700.00

Rationale:  As we enter the final 2 to 3 years of our current facility strategic plan I am recommending that our district move forward with mechanical, electrical, roof and HVAC upgrades at Lincoln School.  By approving this recommendation the district can move forward with Kucirek Engineering who would be writing the specifications for this project and preparing bid documents for potential contractors.  If approved I am asking for a timeline completion of August 2016, with our current QCPUF funds financing these upgrades.

Rationale: 

We have received an official request from NCEA President, Leann Widhalm to be recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for non-supervisory certificated employees for the 2017-2018 school year.  They have already been approved as the exclusive bargaining agent for 2016-2017. The Nebraska Education Association encourages their members to obtain this recognition one year in advance, and it is customary for us to grant this recognition.  

By law, we must hold our first negotiations meeting with NCEA prior to November 1st. We will set this meeting as soon as we have received a completed Comparability Study from Perry Law Firm.

It should be noted that the NCEA is no longer acting as the bargaining agent for nurses.  Nurses salaries will be settled separately.

Rationale: 

The access doors are small metal doors left over from a previous project from over 10 years ago and we have a local contractor who is interested in buying them at market value.

Rationale: 

The NASB has two candidates for the Region 16 Board of Directors:

Patti Gubbels: Norfolk Public Schools

Candace Becher: Columbus Public Schools

Our Board needs to select and vote on one of these candidates. My recommendation would be Patti Gubbels. I think that she would do a great job representing our region.

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The next meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for noon on Thursday, September 24th. This meeting will be held at the Central Office Administration Building and will be open to the public.