August 20, 2012 at 7:00 PM - Regular Board of Education Meeting

Discussion:  Newly hired certified staff present for introductions included High School Business Teacher Lynn Lupomech, High School Art Teacher Ryan Bosche, SPED Teacher Calico Cowan and Activities Director Glen Koski. The Board extended their warmest welcome and wished them all an exceptional year.

Discussion:  Recognition of Accomplishments is a new item on the agenda and will allow any board member to acknowledge any outstanding performers within the district.

Discussion:  Winn provided a brief recap of the Committee Meeting. A style guide that provides uniformity for style expectations was discussed. Content addition for Helgerson's 9th grade English Honors Class was discussed. The Social Studies basic curriculum is expected to be rewritten by December, 2012. The district will then address pacing and assessments, which should be done by April, 2013. The district will also be utilizing new standards in its common core.

Discussion:  Miles led a discussion that focused on the districts open position for an occupational therapist, which is a mandated position. Various options to fill the position were discussed. The Committee examined four different self assessment forms and opted for an NASB form that was emailed to the full board last week. The Board has been asked to complete the self assessment and submit their results to Frahm prior to August 31. The Committee reviewed its previous goals and discussed the upcoming superintendent search.

Discussion:  Although Copsey was not able to attend the Business Committee Meeting due to a scheduling conflict, he provided a recap of the meeting via meeting minutes.

Discussion:  Doll stated that the Facilities Committee met at high school during August and reviewed recent projects. Doll stated that the high school is "sparkling" right now with the replacement of windows and the addition of concrete for parking on the east side of the building. The concrete is hoped to aleviate moisture issues. Items that still need to be addressed include the ceiling between the school and the gym and a storage building that is scheduled for completion in September. A new sidewalk on west the side of the tennis courts has also been installed. The committee discussed the creation of one cleaning standard throughout the entire district. Hillyard is expected to be in Gering on August 23 to ensure all practices are occuring at each facility. The summer work orders were also reviewed.

Discussion:  Registration for the NASB State Education Conference in November opens on September 11th. Frahm will register the full board plus one spot for the new Board Member on that date.

Discussion:  Miles stated that the Personnel Committee discussed random drug testing for students in activities and wanted to see how the other Board Members felt about pursue random testing for coaches & sponsors. The other option would be to implement a pre-employment drug testing policy. If either option is pursued, Gering would be the first district implement such a policy. Copsey said that he firmly believes there should be testing for all coaches and sponsors, even if a coach or sponsor is not employed by the district. Copsey expresed his desire to move forward with such a policy. He feels we should have the same standards for both students and coahes/sponsors. Winn agreed with Copsey but expressed concerns over litigation costs with the current budget. Doll agreed with Copsey and feels it is unfair to hold students to higher standrads than we hold coahces, sponsors and teachers. Doll mentioned that there are Legal Foundations that are willing to get involved in the implementation process. Peters stated that, at a minimum, a pre-employment drug test would be a good idea. He suggested having coaches and sponsors submit to a drug test on a volentary basis. Ccopsey stated that the cost of litigation is no more important the student safety. The Personnel Committee will continue to discuss this item.

Discussion:  Each Board Member will complete a self assessment form and return it to Frahm by the end of August for compilation.

Discussion:  Each committee has set their own goals. A special work session will be held at 5:30pm in September to review these goals. A Budget Hearing will be held at 6:45pm.

Discussion:  Hague reminded everyone that the start of school is on August 21st. The start dates for various grade levels is staggard this year to ease congestion. Enrollment numbers were distributed and reviewed and the Option Program for many grade levels has hit capacity. There will be 8 sections of kindergarten this year. Hague stated that there is a good chance that the Gering will house over 2,200 students during the 2013-2014 school year. This is the first year that the entrance age for kindergarten has been implemented. Hague stated that each committee will be asked to submit their meeting place preference, which will be reviewed by the full Board in September.

Discussion:  The Board welcomed back both staff and students and wished all a great year.

Discussion:  The Curriculum Committee Meeting date was set as September 6th at 7:00am.