Public Meeting Agenda: July 15, 2019 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

1. Call to Order & Pledge of Allegiance

Rationale:

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.

2. Approve the Agenda

Rationale:

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

Attachments: (4)

3. Recognition of Visitors

3.1. Public Participation

Rationale:

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.

Attachments: (1)

8346 Public Expression

4. Business Items

4.1. Action Items

4.1.1. Consent Agenda

Rationale:

1. Approval of Previous Minutes

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

Attachments: (9)

4.1.2. Set substitute salaries for the 2019-2020 school year.

Rationale: 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.

4.1.3. Discuss, consider and approve transfers to Depreciation Fund, Activities Fund, School Nutrition Fund and the Employee Benefit Fund.

Rationale:

Money was budgeted in the Depreciation Fund and is reserved for eventual capital outlay such as the purchase of vehicles, a roof, or instructional equipment. The Superintendent recommends a transfer of $50,000 at this time.

Money is budgeted for general operating expenses in the Activities Fund. The activities director and business manager determine the short-term and long-term needs of the program and determine when and how the funds are to be utilized. The superintendent recommends a transfer of $25,000 at this time.

Money has been transferred into the lunch fund in previous years due to increased costs and our move to a food court concept. A fairly dramatic reduction in Federal and State Reimbursement, as well as a slight reduction in the sale of meals, will require a transfer of $50,000 into the School Nutrition Fund.

The Board approved two years of single insurance as part of a temporary early retirement incentive. It is recommended that we transfer $50,000 into the fund to handle part of the first year costs.

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

4.1.4. Policies

4.1.4.1. 4.1.4.1. Discuss, consider and approve amended policies or reaffirm existing policies.

Rationale:

1. Policy 5416 - Student Fees

The hearing on Student Fees was held in June.

Lunch prices were increased at the May board meeting.

There are no other fee increases for the 2019-2020 school year.

2. Policy 6400 - Parent Involvement in Schools

Hearing held in June. No changes proposed.

3. Policy 6370 - Multicultural Education

Brief review of the multicultural education policy as required. No changes
proposed.

Attachments: (4)

4.1.4.2. Consideration of proposed policies and revisions to existing policies.

Rationale: 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 Policies
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 (Mr. Brundage, Mrs. Jobman, and Mr. Fornoff)

Policies 1120, 5101, 5103, 5104 and 5305: LBs 149 and 397 targeted the use and possession of vaping products (including Juuling) by minors under Nebraska’s criminal statutes. In so doing, the Legislature included the term "electronic nicotine delivery systems" in these statutes. To maintain consistency, we have revised Policies 1120, 5101, 5103, 5104 and 5305 to reflect this same terminology.

Policy 3130: The Nebraska Department of Administrative Services competitively bids and purchases various property for the benefit of political subdivisions. We understand that this service is becoming more popular with school districts. In turn, we have updated Policy 3130 to exempt the purchasing requirements for schools that purchase through the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services.

Policy 3131: There are a few minor edits to Policy 3131 to comply with federal purchasing requirements.

Policy 4030: LB 217 prohibits discrimination against an employee who "has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed information regarding employee wages, benefits, or other compensation." In other words, if employees discuss their pay, they cannot be terminated on that basis. In the public employment setting (where most employee pay information may be a matter of public record), this may not seem like a big deal. However, there are aspects of employee compensation that should remain confidential. As a result, Policy 4030 establishes criteria for distributing employee pay information and LB 217’s discrimination prohibitions.

Policy 5001: LB 115 requires school districts to enroll students in military families with military orders to be stationed in Nebraska. Policy 5001 incorporates this new requirement.

Policy 5012: LB 575 requires that each school district adopt a policy to provide access to military recruiters. Policy 5012 satisfies this new requirement and includes the bill’s provisions. LB 575 also requires that, "within thirty days prior to or following the commencement of each school year and, for a new student who enrolls after the commencement of a school year, within thirty days following such enrollment," each school district must notify parents and guardians of high school students of their ability to withhold information from military recruiters. As such, we recommend that you include a provision in your student handbook that notifies parents of the ability to opt out of military recruiters receiving information about their student.

Policy 6410: In 2015, we provided a "Parental and Family Engagement Policy" pursuant to the Every Student Succeeds Act. Since then, NDE has been rejecting virtually all of these policies except for their own version. It has become easier for schools to simply adopt NDE’s version.

Policy 8151 and 8153: We previously distributed a memo on LB 399. Policies 8151 and 8153 have been revised to reflect that the Americanism Committee is now referred to as the Committee on American Civics.

Attachments: (11)

4.1.5. Authorize Nathan Wyatt - Board President, Jon Hudson - Board Vice President, Jeremy Sitorius - Board Secretary, Todd Rhodes - Superintendent and Kay Streeter - District Business Manager as signing agents for the following accounts with First State Bank: General Fund-checking, General Fund-money market, Special Building Fund-checking, Special Building Fund-money market, Employee Benefit Fund, and Bond Fund.

Rationale: Signature cards for the selected funds need updated for the 2019-2020 school year.

4.1.6. Authorize Nathan Wyatt - Board President, Jon Hudson - Board Vice President, Jeremy Sitorius - Board Secretary, Todd Rhodes - Superintendent and Kay Streeter - District Business Manager as signing agents for the following account with Flatwater Bank: Depreciation Fund.

Rationale: Signature cards for the selected fund need updated for the 2019-2020 school year.

4.1.7. Authorize Todd Rhodes - Superintendent, Kay Streeter - District Business Manager and Lori Verster - District/Activity Director Secretary as signing agents for the following accounts with Flatwater Bank: Hot Lunch Fund, Student Activity Fund, Student Fees Fund and Petty Cash Fund.

Rationale: Signature cards for the selected funds need updated for the 2019-2020 school year.

4.2. Reports

4.2.1. Board of Education Reports

Rationale:

Committee Reports (Chair in bold)

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

Attachments: (1)

8151 Standing Committees

4.2.2. Administrative Reports

Rationale:

1. Topic Specific Administrative Reports

2. General Administrative Reports
a. Facilities & Transportation (Mr. Holmes)
b. Elementary (Mrs. Richeson)
c. High School (Mr. Ryker)
d. Activities (Mr. Mroczek)
e. Special Populations (Mrs. Schneider)
f. Teaching and Learning (Mrs. Jonas)
g. Superintendent (Dr. Rhodes)

Attachments: (6)

5. Discussion Items

6. Executive (Closed) Session

Rationale:

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.

Attachments: (1)

9370 Closed Meetings

7. Next Meeting

Rationale: July 24th, 2019 - 7:00 PM - Planning and Goal-setting Retreat
August 12th, 2019 - 12:00 PM or 5:00 PM- Regular Board Meeting (DUE TO OPEN HOUSE)

8. Adjournment

July 15, 2019 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

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