November 14, 2022 at 5:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Mission Statement:

Gothenburg Public Schools is the cornerstone of a proud, passionate, and progressive community where students and staff thrive in a positive and innovative environment.  We ensure the growth of all individuals by inspiring them to own and maximize their potential.

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

Rationale: 

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

Rationale: 

Board Policy 2009 - Opportunity for Public Expression.  
(A copy of the policy is linked here.)

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO SPEAK: This is the portion of the meeting when members of the public may speak to the board about matters of public concern.  

• Getting Started:  When you have been recognized, please stand and state your name.   

• Time Limit:  The board will generally allow a total of 30 minutes for the presentation of all public comments.  Individuals may speak only one time, and must limit comments to around 5 minutes.  If there are more than 6 individuals who wish to address the board, the 30 minutes will be divided equally between the number of speakers.   These time limits may be changed by a majority vote of the board members in attendance to extend the time for a specific item or speaker. 

• Personnel or Student Topic:  If you are planning to speak about a personnel or a student matter involving an individual, please understand that the district has a complaint policy and/or procedures to resolve such complaints and concerns.  The Board requests that you follow the policy and procedures before addressing these matters with the Board.  Board members will generally not respond to any questions you ask or comments about individual staff members or students.  

• General Rules: This is a public meeting for the conduct of business.  Comments from the audience while others are speaking will not be tolerated.  Lewd, obscene, profane, slanderous, threatening and hostile conduct or statements and fighting words (words whose mere utterance entails a call to violence) will not be tolerated. 

• No Action by the Board:  The board will not act on any matter unless it is on the published agenda. 

Rationale:  FFA National Convention - Members of the FFA Nationals team will share about celebrations from the FFA Nationals convention in Indianapolis at the end of October.

Boys Cross Country - Mr. Mroczek will honor the Boys Cross Country team for their state championship in the 2022-2023 season.

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

 

Rationale:  An electronic copy of the district audit and findings was distributed to board members prior to the meeting.

Rationale:  Mrs. Jonas' contract and board policy require evaluation twice during the first year of employment and at least once annually thereafter.  The Gothenburg Board of Education has completed Mrs. Jonas' first 2022-2023 evaluation and performance goals.

Rationale:  Our old policies included information about option enrollment.  The new policies did not include as much detail as we would like.  We are proposing a board resolution that establishes both numeric and programmatic capacity as well as additional standards to be considered when reviewing option enrollment.

Rationale:  The original policy called for attendance initiatives and a 30 minute meeting after school after every absence.  This updated policy removes those two items.

Rationale:  The board of education entered into an agreement this summer to update the lighting in the PAC.  Best practice is to have a board motion when we disperse money from the depreciation fund.  Depreciation funds are specifically allocated for repair and replacement of capital assets.  In this case, the lighting in the PAC had become obsolete and needed to be replaced.

Rationale:  After further discussion with the personnel committee, administration, and teachers, we are going to table the discussion of a student teacher stipend at this time.  The primary reason for this is that a motion at this time would not impact the spring semester.  We would rather have more information about district finances before committing additional funds to this program.  No motion needed.  This item will be tabled until this spring.

Rationale:  We currently have four welders that no longer meet the industry standard.  As we work to keep our program innovative and prepare students for the workforce, these welders have been taken out of rotation.  We are looking for a motion to declare these welders as surplus and authorize the Superintendent to accept sealed bids.

Welders:
Miller - Millermatic 200 (1)
ESAB - Migmaster 250 (3)

Rationale: 

Committee Reports (Chair in bold)

1.  Personnel Committee (Mr. Fornoff, Mrs. Terrell, Mrs. Jobman)
2. Transportation and Facilities (Mr. Wyatt, Mr. Brundage, Mr. Hudson)
3. Finance (Mrs. Jobman, Mr. Wyatt, Mr. Hudson)
4. Committee on American Civics (Mr. Brundage, Mrs. Terrell, Mr. Fornoff)
5. Policy Review (Mrs. Terrell, Mr. Fornoff, Mr. Wyatt)

 

Rationale: 

Rationale: 

According to § 84-1410, 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
(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.

Rationale:  Monday, December 12th

Swede Activities:
7/8 Wrestling @ Broken Bow - 3:45
Reserve Basketball @ HOME - 5 and 6:30
Mr. Mroczek absent.