October 14, 2014 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  Visitors present were Jan Schultz and Steve Wallin

Discussion:  None noted.

Discussion:  Cross Country Districts is this week in Grant on Thursday with Perkins County hosting. The district meet will begin at 3:00 PM with Varsity Girls and then Varsity Boys. SPVA Volleyball Tournament is Saturday at Sutherland this Saturday October 18th. Chase County is the #1 seed and will play Perkins County the #8 seed at 9:00 AM Mountain Time. Scheduling the lower level games continues to be a challenge as enrollment numbers drop at surrounding schools. We have had two Junior Varsity Football games canceled due to injuries. (Wray, CO and Holyoke, CO) We have also missed out on opportunities with lower level volleyball and JH football and volleyball.The bleachers have continued to provide some issues coming all the way out and getting put back in. We have needed to provide assistance in getting them out. I am hoping to finish the volleyball season on October 28th and see if we can get them looked at before basketball season gets going. I have called Norcon in Aurora,Colorado to see if they are able to come out and look at them. They were not sure if they can work on them in Nebraska. The are going to let me know if this is a possibility.

Discussion:  Region V Principal’s meeting (Sept. 17th) *Information from Mike Dulaney and Dan Ernst a. Legislative update: 11 new lawmakers coming in this year, as well as a new governor. b. Education funding is a concern c. Retirement will be an issue coming up. Changes to the retirement plan for future generations are very possible. d. Charter schools will be back on the table. Pete Ricketts will push for charter schools. e. Ag. land values are too high, something will be attempted to address the issue. If ag. land value goes down, it will greatly impact education funding. School Law Conference in Kearney (Sept. 24th) There were six sessions at the School Law Conference in Kearney. The sessions were interesting, yet at times frustrating to listen to. The first session pertained to Cell Phone Searches for Schools. The bottom line is: The Supreme Court have ruled in two cases related to the search and seizure of cell phones in gang related crimes. The court has ruled 5 to 4 and 6 to 3 respectively that cell phones are “a little different”. There is so much “personal” information on a cell phone. The search of a cell phone is bigger than searching a house. Phones have every aspect of a person’s life on it. Translation: Police need a warrant to search a cell phone. Schools cannot search cell phones. Another interesting session was the Social Media Update. Does anyone know who Nash Grier is? He has the most followed Vine account in the world, over a billion followers. Today’s youth identify online celebrities as being more popular/noticed compared to people such as LeBron James. Youth today see actors/actresses as intelligent people who can save/change the world. Some of the apps presented to the group and possible dangers are: a. Vine users post and watch looping 6 second video clips. Potential issues: full of inappropriate videos nudity, drug use, etc. b. Kik messenger app based, alternative to standard texting Potential issues no message limits, character limits or fees. Allows communication with strangers who share kik. c. Yik Yak free, locationaware app that allows users to post/view “anything and everything” anonymously via brief posts. *posts distributed to geographically nearest 500 people who are also signed in “intimate”. d. Maskerade Main-Yik Yak competitor. Shares posts and photos within your area. Same function as Yik Yak. e. Whisper confessional app post whatever is on teen’s mind, paired with an image. Anonymous, often sexual in nature confessions of desire. Dark content depression, substance abuse. PLC Sessions for teachers at Trenton and who attended. 9/22/14 K12 Music Mrs.Strand, Mr. Hayes 9/23/14 K12 Art Mrs.Zuege 10/6/14 K12 P.E. Mr. Lenners *Teachers that have attended the PLC workshops in Trenton have said they are very valuable sessions. Some teachers said they wish the sessions could be longer. Sessions run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m. CST. RETURN TO LEARN (October 8th) Jamie Garner presented to the K12 staff Return to Learn: Bridging the Gap from Concussion to the Classroom. Information included in the presentation: What is a brain injury, signs and symptoms of a concussion, and recommended best practices for Nebraska schools. As a result of the Nebraska Concussion Awareness Act, each school is to develop a protocol for students returning to the classroom. We are in the process of creating a schoolwide protocol for concussed students returning to the classroom and field of play. Mrs Stewart I. Parent/Teacher Conferences this week and Title One Parent Informational Meeting II. Elementary Assembly--a celebration of student success and learning Mrs. Sorensen, Mrs. Fortkamp and Ms. Liess’s students presented. The students had an inspirational presentation on making good choices and bully prevention III. Completed updates on the Lockdown Protocol. The students were informed of the plan through the school counselors. The safety program, called Safety Pup, was presented by the local police department. IV. The ELL school improvement committee will meet on October 16. Mr. Hansen reported to me that there are 94 ELL students this year. 71 in the elementary, 10 junior high school, 13 high school. Required service for 31 elementary students, 5 junior high students and 6 high school students. New students that are ELL are: 11-K, 1- 1st, 1-2nd, 3-3rd, 1-4th, 3-5th, 1-6th, 1-7th, 3-8th, 1-10th. V. Title One School Improvement Action Plan VI. Mrs. Waggoner’s bullying prevention curriculum action plan has been approved as meeting all components as described in the ASCA National Model for School Counseling. VII. Tim Brown In-Service was held on Oct. 13 The Professional Learning Community Process: Creating Schools With High Expectations VIII. Adequate Yearly Progress Report, Letter to Parents. IX. Return to Learn: Bridging the Gap from Concussion to the Classroom

Discussion:  Jessica Hartman had nothing to report.

Discussion:  Working on finishing up with the audit. Looking into having teachers work together one day per week will be looked at for the following year during the calendar committee. Dr. Schoeppey is going to Bridgeport for a Superintendent meeting on Wednesday, October 15, 2014. We are utilizing the city to collect garbage on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We will closely monitor to ensure the amount of waste is being hauled off in a proper time frame. Two board members will attend the NASB meeting along with Dr. Schoeppey. The new route bus has an arrival date in December and the additional bus in January.

Discussion:  Move December board meeting to Dec 8, 2014 at 6 pm. Meet with the IEA and Negotiations Committe on November 12, 2014 at 6:00 pm.

Discussion:  Shane Gerhartz from ESU 15 presented the results of the technology audit that was performed. Several of the concerns are starting to be addressed. Results will be discussed at the next technology meeting.

Discussion:  Took a break at 7:43 pm. Back to session at 7:57. Testing results were shown on the overhead and the same information is attached.

Discussion:  Lorain Vires is part of the PTO and they have been raising money to purchase a Marquee. A one sided marquee is around $8000 and a two sided marquee is around $12,000. PTO has some money but does not have enough for the two sided and would like to know if the board would be willing to help with the cost. Have the facilities committee look into it and discuss options of proposed site to place it.

Discussion:  Not going into Executive Session. Dr. Schoeppey has given notice to not renew his contract and have his last day be June 30, 2015.

Discussion:  The board would like to use a consultant company to find a replacement for Dr. Schoeppey.

Discussion:  Meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm