October 17, 2025 at 8:00 AM - ESUCC Regular Board Meeting

Discussion:  The ESUCC Board Meeting was called to order at 8:00am.

Discussion:  No visitors present.

Discussion:  No public comment provided.

Discussion:  Shara Johnson, Canvas Support Specialist, reviewed the attached ESUCC Board Presentation 2025. Board President, Dr. Bill Heimann, inquired about ESU specific data. Mrs. Johnson will be able to obtain this information during the annual Canvas Business Meeting on November 12, 2025. 

Discussion:  No one from the Learning Community was able to attend the meeting. 

Discussion:  No one from NCSA was able to attend the meeting.

Discussion:  Dr. Shirley Vargas, Nebraska Department of Education School Transformation Officer & Office Administrator, reviewed the linked NDE Updates 2025-26. There was a question from the board regarding the new ESU score as it is new. Dr. Vargas does not have additional information at this time and recommended reaching out to Amy Rhone, Nebraska Department of Education Office of Special Education Administrator/State Director.

Discussion:  Dr. Schnoes and Dr. Polk went to Washington, D.C. for the AESA Advocacy in Action Conference. The trip started with the Nebraska breakfast, which was an important part of the trip. CEO Dr. Polk was on the advocacy panel during a pre-conference session. 

The AESA Annual Conference will be in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ESUCC CEO Dr. Polk will have a session at the 2025 AESA Annual Conference. Dr. Schnoes encouraged the Administrators to try to attend future AESA Annual Conferences. 

The Central Region Symposium was in Dubuque, Iowa. Dr. Heimann, ESU 1 Administrator and Dr. Schnoes, ESU 3 Administrator, were able to attend the Central Region Symposium. ESAs in Iowa have gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years. Next year, the Central Region Symposium will be during the same calendar week and is planned to be held in Fargo, North Dakota. 

Dr. Schnoes met to discuss global learning opportunities in Nebraska. 

Discussion:  ESUCC CEO Dr. Polk reviewed the attached CEO Report to the Board. 

Discussion:  Geraldine Erickson, ESU 17 Administrator, would like to follow up on revisiting the standards. 

Discussion:  No report.

Discussion:  No report.

Discussion:  ESUCC CEO Dr. Polk provided the SMART update. There are two separate groups that meet to discuss SMART, the SMART Advisory Committee and then the SMART Admin Workgroup. CEO Polk and Nathan McClenahan met with Dr. Herndon from a Washington state ESA to test the tool and provide feedback. There are 9 phases for the roll-out. AWS, K12 360 and other meetings have taken place. There is a meeting coming up with Back of the Napkin. CEO Polk also met with Kellogg LLC, a company that researches grants for no cost. 

Discussion:  Gregg Robke, ESU 4 Administrator, provided an update for the Information Services Committee. 

Accessibility needs to be updated for any information that is live and expected to be utilized and things moving forward. 

CIO Scott Isaacson will be speaking with NOC about learning from a district that has been impacted by a cybersecurity attack.

CLO Andrew Easton stated the Coop Marketplace has a lot of AI-powered tools available. The tools on the Marketplace have been vetted. Data privacy will be a requirement in the contract for Coop.

ESU 6 is working with Alicap to help create a template for a cybersecurity response plan. Once Dr. Maschmann, ESU 6 Administrator, has the information, he will share it to the rest of the board. 

Discussion:  Dr. Brenda McNiff, ESU 5 Administrator, provided an update on the Educational Resources Committee Meeting. 

Drew Harris, ESU 9 Administrator, provided the update on the Grow Your Own program. 

PDO Reimagined Proposal 3.1 — ESUCC CEO Dr. Polk and ESUCC CLO Andrew Easton reviewed the attached PDO Reimagined Proposal 3.1. There was a discussion about the locations for the two ESUPO events and the two Rule 84 events. It was determined to have one ESUPO event and one Rule 84 event in Kearney at ESU 10, and the other ESUPO event and Rule 84 event in La Vista at ESU 3. There was a discussion on the TLT affiliate name and changing it to TLI (Teaching and Learning Through Innovation). CLO Andrew Easton will get feedback on changing the name to TLI, including the way.

Discussion:  Dr. Melissa Wheelock, ESU 10 Administrator, provided the Legal Committee Update. Craig Peterson, Coop Director, pointed out the annual buy dates are listed on his report.

Bromm Update

• Legislative strategy will require creativity this session, with several key issues impacting schools and ESUs on the horizon.

• The Opportunity Scholarship proposal has been unsuccessful in previous attempts; a new version is expected to be introduced.

• Revenue concerns remain, as the two-year budget was completed last year. Adjustments may occur due to current economic conditions.

• Several senators are serving their final year, including some committee chairs, and candidates are already emerging for those seats.

• Current legislative focus includes work on the cybersecurity and literacy bills.

• Jason Bromm has been in communication with Senator Prokop, with plans to meet in Lincoln during the second week of November.

• The Farm Bureau is organizing a November visit to Gifford Farms to discuss the cyber bill.

• An interim study on the cyber bill is underway, which could have implications for ESUs. Efforts are being made to determine whether telecom and transportation issues can be separated.

• There continues to be significant discussion regarding charter schools.

ESUCC CEO Polk Update

• ESUs have been invited to participate in interim studies and legislative committee discussions. Senator Kauth has specifically invited ESU representatives to present before her study.

• CEO Dr. Polk is serving on a subcommittee for LR144, which required the submission of a detailed plan. Colby Coash has also been invited to participate in an interim study and is collecting ESU input.

• CEO Dr. Polk met with the Commissioner to discuss the cybersecurity bill, with a follow-up meeting to include CEO Dr. Polk, CIO Scott Isaacson, Commissioner Maher, Lane Carr, and Ryan Foor.

• CEO Dr. Polk continues to receive inquiries about ESUs and related data; Dr. Polk will develop a charter school information document for administrator review prior to the next legislative session.

• In response to questions about ESU support for private and parochial schools, Jason Bromm clarified that ESUs support all students.

Additional Legislative Notes

• LB304 (Childcare Assistance) is not expected to impact ESUs.

• ESU Legislative Day is scheduled for February 24, 2026, from 7:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. ESUCC Executive Secretary, Mindy Reed, will send calendar invites.??

• ESUCC Legislative Day Planning — ESUCC Executive Secretary, Mindy Reed, will send planning meeting invites to Jason and Curt, and to Dr. Schnoes.

• The current projected budget reduction being discussed is approximately $300,000 (minimum). The next forecasting meeting is scheduled for October 31, 2025.

LEA Status Discussion

• The group discussed whether loss of LEA status could result in reduced funding or create potential competition with NDE.

Discussion:  ESUCC Board President, Dr. Heimann, provided the Executive Committee Meeting report to the board.

Discussion:  ESUCC CEO Dr. Polk reviewed the attached budget summary and the changes made to the document.

Discussion:  Password Management — One password, Bitwarden, LastPass, JumpCloud,

NE State Accreditation Committee — Dr. Schnoes' term will end in May 2026. The committee is working on removing middle school sports from Rule 10. The committee is also meeting with the Carnegie foundation about taking it out of rule 10. If any administrator is interested, notify Dr. Schnoes.  

Access to school information may change with the new portal.

Sparq Negotiations — ESU 3 is planning on getting everything entered within the next couple of weeks. If there are issues, notify Dr. Maschmann. 

ESU 3 received two smaller grants. Through the grants, they are going to put a greenhouse behind Brooke valley and, with the Greener Together grant, they are able to put solar panels at the farm.

Dr. Stavem will be visiting ESUs. 

November 2025 meetings - Committee meetings are hybrid. Board is in person at ESU 3.

Discussion:  The ESUCC Board Meeting adjourned at 11:50 am.

Minutes respectfully submitted by ESUCC Executive Secretary to the CEO, Mindy Reed.