September 9, 2024 at 7:00 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:  The Swede Way

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: 

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

 

Rationale: 

During the process of finalizing our fiscal year-end transactions for the activities fund, it became clear that an additional transfer is necessary to balance the account. As we ensured that all fundraising proceeds were accurately allocated to their designated accounts, it became evident that our original transfer would not fully cover the activities expenses.

This situation arose due to a combination of factors, including lower-than-expected receipts from game admissions. While I initially believed the original transfer would suffice, the final reconciliation showed a need for additional funds to ensure all accounts within the activities fund are balanced.

To address this, I am requesting an additional transfer of $33,000 to the activities fund. This transfer will ensure that we start the new fiscal year with a zero balance.

Rationale:  The following expenditures have been approved by Bond Council for use of QCPUF funds as they are addressing air quality and life safety issues within the building. 
 

BTS	$35,127.65	LIFESAFETY
Snell Services	$47,893.31	HVAC
Halls Electric	$18,556.20	HVAC
Meininger Fire Protection	$12,064.00	LIFESAFETY
Engineered Controls	$29,269.50	HVAC
Ackerman General Contracting	$4,877.82	WINDOWS/DOORS
Ziemba	$241,682.00	ROOF
	$389,470.48

Board Action is utilized for QCPUF expenditures to ensure transparency regarding the use of funds.

Rationale:  The Depreciation Fund is established in order to facilitate the eventual purchase of costly capital outlay by reserving such monies from the General Fund.  The following expenses are recommended to be paid from the depreciation fund in accordance with these guidelines:

Vendor	Description	Amount
Johnson Fitness	Weight Room Floor	$33,871.32
Rutt's Mechanical	HVAC Secondary	$7,198.90
Five Star	Media Center Floor & Window Removal	$27,096.29
Showtime	Misc. Painting (Classrooms)	$12,000.00
Rutt's Mechanical	Kitchen Motor & Bracket	$6,325.72

 

Rationale:  District #20 has been a STANCE member since the inception of this organization as Dr. Teahon was one of the 'founders'.  The mission of STANCE is Schools Taking Action for Nebraska Children's Education and focuses on tackling legislative issues through the lens of a school superintendent as opposed to a lobbyist.  This organization is important to me as a professional as it provides a wonderful networking opportunity with progressive and innovative superintendents.

Rationale:  State Statute 77-2350 requires that "the treasurer...of any school district... shall deposit the funds received ...[into]... official depositories for such funds."  This resolution specifies the entities to which the school district will deposit funds.

We do have two Conflict of Interest forms filed for this item.  Mr. Wyatt & Mrs. Jobman.  Mrs. Jobman and Mr. Wyatt will step away from the table and abstain from voting.  

Rationale:  Legislation requires that we establish standards for option enrollment before October 1st of the preceding school year.  While this can be very difficult to guess a full year in advance, there are some generally accepted standards we can adhere to.  The recommended capacity limitations will ensure we can remain committed to providing a high quality education to District 20 students in an economically efficient manner.
 

Rationale:  The Gothenburg Education Association (GEA) was certified as the exclusive collective bargaining agent for Gothenburg Public Schools by the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations on February 8, 2016.

As a procedural item, no action is required.  However, please let the minutes reflect the Board of Education recognizes the Gothenburg Education Association as the bargaining agent for the certificated staff of District #20 for the 2025-2026 school year.  The certification order and the timeline are attached. 

Rationale:  Annual review of our policy regarding insurance and the board of education is required.  Members of board of education may participate in the school district’s health and life insurance plans which are provided to school district employees. A board member electing to participate in the insurance program of the school district shall pay both the employee and the employer portions of the premiums to the district in advance of any payments being due from the district to the insurance carrier.

There are no current board members that participate in this program. As an annual review, no action is required.

Rationale: 

Committee Reports (Chair in bold)

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

 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Monday, October 14th

Swede Activities:
Girls Golf State (All Day)
7th/8th Volleyball (4:30 @ Broken Bow)
R/JV/V Volleyball Triangular (5-9 @ Home)
JV FB (6:00 @ Home)