February 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Discussion:  Meeting was called to order at 7:01 PM. There were 12 guests of the public present.

Discussion:  4 County Heat & Air, 2118.00; Amazon Capital Services, 896.93; AT&T, 113.76; Callahan-Smith Electric, 7261.78; Callaway Market, 171.99; Callaway True Value, 236.50; Callaway Volunteer Fire and Rescue, 167.99; US Bank, 559.52; Country Partner Cooperative, 6241.06; State of Nebraska, 317.87; Egan Supply Co, 914.93; Eggleston Oil Company, 145.25; ESU 10, 5751.43; Farritor Auto Parts, 150.00; Great Plains Communications, 476.74; Gumdrop Books, 800.00; HireRights Solutions, 311.60; Hobart Service, 412.79; B Jesseph, 34.49; NASB, 3589.00; Quill, 626.32; Redfern Electric, 257.68; Syndicate Publishing, 187.75; Team Physical Therapy, 2177.59; Trumbull Repair, 300.80; Village of Callaway, 2979.92; Wenquist, 1191.32; Yanda's 129.00; Bill Total: 38,582.01. Fixed Payroll: 102,749.26; Total Payroll: 230,142.65.

Discussion:  There was no public comment for tonight's meeting.

Discussion:  Mr. Birkel and Mrs. Jesseph updated the board on all that has happened at the school over the last month.  Mrs. Jesseph updated the board on the current attendance rates for the district. Mr. Birkel informed the board about the start of the Speech season and the results of the District FCCLA competition.  Our students are having a great deal of success in both arenas.  

Discussion:  Mr. Birkel and Mrs. Jesseph presented a calendar plan for the 2026-27 school year. There has been a great deal of work looking into options for improving our school day and school calendar. The biggest changes in the proposed calendar were starting the school year a week later and releasing two days earlier, changing the professional development schedule for the teachers, and changing how we do Bear Down Time with the 7-12th grade students. The principals also defended the two plan periods schedule to the board with history and evidence. The final calendar and schedule will be presented at future board meetings.

Discussion:  The March Regular School Board Meeting was set for 8:00 p.m. March 9th, 2026 in the school library.

Discussion:  The policy committee will meet this month to review and amend the board ethics policy and to review policies that have been changed in alignment with federal legislation.

Discussion:  The curriculum committee will meet later this month to be introduced to a 6-12 English curriculum and new pre-school curriculum.

Discussion:  The board discussed how best to use the 101 S Needham property.  At this time it is being used for storage, but consideration was given to making the home adequate for use as a rental property by the school.

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow updated the board on discussions about potential moving the art department into the high school wing of the building and other classroom shifts that would result from the move.  Renovation issues were also considered by the board.

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow updated the board on our current lunch bills.  The family that remains over the threshold after starting legal proceedings has made a recent payment toward their bill. Also, 6 families total are over the $500 threshold considered when starting the legal process to reclaim funds.  If these families have not rectified the situation by the end of the school year Mr. Furrow will begin the claims process.

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow informed the board of the upcoming External Review.  Every 5 years, schools are required to have an outside group come in and evaluate our Continuous Improvement Process. The group will review our goal setting and action steps. They will also provide suggestions to consider as we start the next 5 year improvement cycle.

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow continues to reach out the the Garlick family about the acquisition of their property adjacent to the bus barn. There are assurances that the Garlick family supports this property exchange, but the process is delayed by legal estate technicalities. 

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow informed the board that the school would be receiving a marginally larger amount of state aid funds for the upcoming school year. These numbers are not final yet, but are generally fairly accurate assuming the legislature doesn't pass any major changes in the current session.

Discussion:  The board further discussed their opinions about the scheduling of two plan periods.

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow was instructed by the board to have Scott McDowell resubmit a bid for the property clean up to include the disposal of household items. No action was taken at this time.

Discussion:  The board officer changes that took effect at the January board meeting were updated at Nebraska State Bank and signatories were updated to match.

Discussion:  The board approved the ESU 10 service contracts for the upcoming year. It was discussed to potentially add an LMHP day to our service contract, but this was not a part of tonight's action item.

Discussion:  The board approved and signed the new collective bargaining negotiated agreement.  The new base salary for teachers for the 2026–27 school year will be $40,400. This is a $400 raise over last year's base salary.

Discussion:  Mr. Furrow gave the board a brief financial update and recommended a $48,000 lunch fund transfer that should carry us to the end of the school year.

Discussion:  Mr. Jim Phelps and Mrs. Rhonda Pandorf are planning to attend the NASB workshop in Kearney on the 16th.

Discussion:  The school will have openings for school business manager and 9-12th grade English for the upcoming school year.

Discussion:  Meeting was adjourned at 8:58 PM.