July 9, 2018 at 5:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

The mission of Gothenburg Public Schools is to prepare all students within a positive and innovative learning environment.

A copy of the open meetings law is posted on the wall of the Board Room and is available to the public.

The Board reserves the right to rearrange the order of items as needed.

Opportunity for Public Expression:

• This item serves as the time entitled for public forum during which patrons may address the Board on matters of general concern per Board Policy 8346, Opportunity for Public Expression.  (A copy of the policy is available.)

• Patrons will be allowed five (5) minutes to express their view.  Board of Education Members will refrain from expressing personal opinions during the Public Forum unless asked a direct question by a patron recognized by the Board President as having the floor.  The board imposed time limit may be extended by a majority vote of the Board.  The board may limit collective comments on a particular topic when necessary. The Board may not take action on matters discussed in the Public Forum unless the item appears on the prepared agenda.

• All concerns and complaints should go through the chain of command beginning with the teacher/sponsor and then to the building administrator/program supervisor and finally to the Superintendent.  If the initiating party is not satisfied with the response of the Superintendent, said party may address a written appeal to the Board of Education through the Secretary of the Board.

As a meeting of the Gothenburg Board of Education is a meeting held in public and not a public meeting, visitors should refrain from comments unless recognized by the chair.

1. Approval of Previous Minutes
    a.   Minutes from Regular Meeting held on June 11th
    b.   Minutes from Special Meeting held on June 18th

2. Approval of the Treasurer's Report

3. Approval of the Warrants / Bills

  a.  Petty Cash

  b.  Student Activity

  c.  Hot Lunch

  d.  Bank Statement

  e.  Summary of Accounts and Receipts

  f.  Monthly Expenditure Report

  g. Check Journal

4. Excuse Absent Board Members

5. Consider Option Enrollment Requests

Option In:
Madison Smith - 7th Grade - from Arnold

(Mr. Wyatt has filed a conflict of interest form and will not participate in the discussion or vote.)

Vice President Hudson will lead the discussion on this item.

Substitute salaries will remain at $110 per day.  The rate for substitutes working in the same position for ten consecutive days will also remain at $140 per day.  The proposed rates are competitive with schools within the Southwest Conference and within Dawson and Lincoln Counties.

Money has been transferred into the lunch fund in previous years due to increased costs and our move to a food court concept. Due to reduced revenue from Federal and State reimbursement, $25,000 will need to be transferred in July with another $25,000 transferred in August.

There are sufficient resources in the budget to allow for transfers at this time.

The Personnel Committee has met to discuss compensation for non-certificated staff and recommends an increase in total compensation of 3% for non-certificated staff.  An increase of 2.92% for teachers and 2.15% for administrative staff were approved earlier in the year.   Non-certificated compensation is based on job category subgroups with compensation being compared to others performing similar work.  

1.  Policy 5416 - Student Fees

  The hearing on Student Fees was held in June.  

        Lunch prices were increased at the June board meeting.

        Annual Student Activity Tickets will remain at $40 to reflect the increase in student admission price approved in the 2017-18 school year. 

2.  Policy 6400 - Parent Involvement in Schools 

  Hearing held in June.  No changes proposed.

3.  Policy 5415 - Bullying Policy

  Brief review of bullying policy as required by statute.  No changes proposed.

Dawson County School District #20, Gothenburg Public Schools, participates in a policy update and revision process with the Perry Law Firm through Educational Service Unit #10.  Mr. Perry typically sends proposed revisions upon completion of the legislative session so policies may or may not be available for the June meeting.  According to the bylaws of the board, while policies may typically be introduced in one meeting and approved at a second meeting, policies may be approved in a single meeting if necessary.  This may become applicable if policies are proposed which impact handbooks and are not received until after the June meeting.
Internal Board Policies
Policy 8310 - Formulation of Policies
Policy 8320 - Adoption, amendment, or suspension of polices
Bylaws of the Board
  Policy 9200 - Formulation, Adoption, Amendment of Policies 

Introduce new policies and revisions to existing Board Policy.
The policies were introduced during the June meetings and have been reviewed prior to the July meeting by the Policy Committee (Jobman, Fornoff)
Annual Policy Update - Second and Final Installment 2018

Proposed Policy Updates
Policy 1102:  This policy prohibits the secret recording of others by requiring all parties to a conversation to consent.

Policy 3570: The Nebraska Department of Education has informed us that it now requires schools to include IDEA in the Title I Policy. This policy has been updated to reflect this change.

Policy 3580: We are hearing that districts are having problems with checks and/or credit card payments that either bounce or are rejected for insufficient funds. To address this problem, we have created Policy 3580, which provides a uniform approach to these issues for all school employees. This policy is optional and may be modified as your district feels appropriate.

Policies 4003 & 5401: Within this past year, the federal Departments of Justice and Education issued new guidance on harassment, including complaints under Title IX. In light of this, we have revised Policy 4003 and 5401 to align with current law and practice.

Policy 5101: There are three updates to Policy 5101. The first relates to emergency exclusions. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-264 requires that a school board "adopt a procedure for a hearing to be held" on a student’s appeal of an emergency exclusion. This language has been included.

Next, as part of NDE’s "Cleanup Bill" (LB 1081) this year, the Nebraska Legislature amended the law that requires principals to report certain acts to law enforcement. Under the "old" law, a principal was required to notify law enforcement when the principal knew or suspected that a student committed an act specified in the long-term suspension/expulsion statute that constitutes a violation of Nebraska’s Criminal Code. Under the "new" law, each "school board" shall annually review in collaboration with the County Attorney "to define conduct which the principal or designee is required to report to law enforcement."

Finally, although not legally required, we have added language to the "prohibited uses" provision of the electronic device policy. Previously, the policy prohibited students from "recording" others at school without the permission of the person being recorded. Modern and common technologies transmit "live" images and sounds but do not "record" any images or sounds. To protect student privacy against these devices and apps, we have updated this policy to prohibit the transmission of sounds and/or images.
Policy 5402: On February 14, 2018, the "Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017" was enacted into federal law. This new law applies to schools that participate in interstate competition (such as crossing state lines to compete, practice or for camps). Employees, including coaches, of a school that participates in interstate competition must report suspected child abuse, including sexual abuse, as soon as possible. "As soon as possible" is defined as "within a 24-hour period." The penalties for failing to comply with this law are very severe.
This new law also imposes training requirements that schools should pursue, if they engage in interstate competition.

Policy 5403: After the Legislature passed the law requiring that all districts have a policy on parenting and pregnant students, Policy 5403 can be updated to include non-discrimination language regarding married students.

Policy 5406: We have updated Policy 5406 to establish the legal thresholds for the random drug testing of students.

Policy 5418: There is a minor change that needs to be made to this policy; namely, the Commissioner of the Nebraska Department of Education is now the contact person.

Policy 6212: Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-760.02, each school district is required to adopt academic content standards in the subject areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies in accordance with timelines established by the State Board of Education, but in no event later than one year following the adoption or modification of state standards. In September 2017, the Nebraska State Board of Education adopted new science standards. We have amended Policy 6212 to update the new science standard.

Policy 6213: This is a new policy. As part of NDE’s "Cleanup Bill," each school district must "develop policies to facilitate reading instruction and intervention services to address student reading needs, including, but not limited to dyslexia." To meet this requirement, Policy 6213 largely mirrors the language of the law.

Policy 6410: Recently, NDE issued a "Model Policy" on Parental and Family Engagement that it may review during an audit. Among the changes that it set forth, the term "involvement" has been changed to "engagement." There are other aspects of the "Model Policy" that have been incorporated in Policy 6410.

Policy 8231: This past session, the Nebraska Unicameral amended Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13- 2203 (commonly referred to as the "Coffee Act") to increase the maximum cost per person at a recognition dinner each year from $25 to $50. Policy 8231 reflects this increased amount

 

1. Junior-Senior High Student Handbook (Attachments include Handbook and proposed changes)

2. Elementary Handbook (Attachments include Handbook and proposed changes)

3. Faculty Handbook (Attachments include Handbook and proposed changes)

A. Certificated Employee Evaluation Instrument (Reg 4150 A)

        B.  Counselor Evaluation Instrument

        C.  School Pyschologist Evaluation Instrument

4. Coach’s Handbook (Attachments include Handbook and proposed changes)

5. Non-Certificated Employee Handbook (Attachments include Handbook and proposed changes)

A. Employment Agreement - Form A - Non-Certificated

B. Employee Evaluation Instrument - Non-Certificated

        C. Para-Educator Evaluation Instrument - Non-Certificated

6. Administrator’s Evaluation Instruments

  A. Principal Evaluation Instrument

  B. Activities Director Evaluation Instrument

  C. Superintendent Evaluation Instrument

7. Volunteer Handbook

Committee Reports (Chair in bold)

1.  Personnel Committee (Mr. Sitorius, Mr. Brundage, Mr. Hudson)
2. Transportation and Facilities (Mr. Fornoff, Mrs. Jobman, Mr. Wyatt)
3. Finance (Mr. Hudson, Mrs. Jobman, Mr. Sitorius)
4. Curriculum & Americanism (Mr. Brundage, Mr. Wyatt, Mr. Fornoff)
5. Policy Review (Mr. Fornoff, Mrs. Jobman)

The Board of Education may hold a closed session by the affirmative vote of a majority of its voting members if a closed session is clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest or for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual and if such individual has not requested a public meeting.  Closed sessions may be held for, but shall not be limited to, such reasons as:  (a) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining, real estate purchases, or litigation; (b) discussion regarding deployment of security personnel or devices; (c) investigative proceedings regarding allegations or misconduct; or (d) evaluation of the job performance of a person when necessary to prevent needless injury to the reputation of a person.

The vote to hold a closed session shall be taken in open session.  The subject matter and the reason necessitating the closed session shall be identified in the motion to close.  If the motion to close passes, then the presiding officer immediately prior to the closed session shall restate on the record the limitation of the subject matter of the closed session. The Board shall restrict its consideration of matters during the closed portions to only those purposes set forth in the motion to close as the reason for the closed session. The meeting shall be reconvened in open session before any formal action may be taken.