August 11, 2025 at 12:00 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: 

Following the resignation of Board Member Mr. Nate Wyatt, the Board of Education appointed Mr. Ryan Sukraw to fill the vacant position. In accordance with board policy and statutory requirements, the newly appointed member must be officially sworn in prior to participating in board business. This action ensures compliance with Nebraska state law and confirms Mr. Sukraw's role as an active, voting member of the Board of Education.

Rationale:  It is important to review the board/superintendent operating protocol and the organizational structure each time the board reorganizes.    

A successful board and administration alignment can be defined as a connected group of individuals working together, not as separate entities, but a team with clear purpose and understanding of roles with a common goal of making decisions that are in the best interests of students, staff, and community.  The Board and Administration are not in competition with each other but are competing to meet the individual and collective needs of students.

Rationale:  Board Policy 3035 outlines that the superintendent shall be in control of all school district operations except as provided by another policy or as otherwise provided by law.  Linked here is the administrative chain of command, working from the lowest level in the chain upward. 

 

Rationale: 

Standing Committees

            1.           Personnel / Negotiations

            2.           Facilities & Transportation

            3.           Finance

            4.           Committee on American Civics

            5.           Policy

Policy 2002 outlines that the board shall authorize such special committees as it deems necessary. The board president shall appoint members to the committee, and designate its function, tasks it is to perform, and completion date for its work. After the initial appointment, positions can be modified by a majority vote of the board.  

A list of the proposed 2025 standing committees is linked below. 

Rationale:  The final task under the Realignment of the Board of Education for the remainder of 2025 is to disseminate the conflict of interest policy and the associated form.  

Policy 2005 outlines a Conflict of Interest when a board member has a business in which the board member or a member of his or her immediate family is a partner, a limited liability company, stockholder, or serves as a director or an officer for a business that could potentially benefit from board action.

There is no action needed.

Rationale: 

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

This meeting was legally advertised in the Gothenburg Leader on July 31 & August 7 and was also published on the Nebraska Public Notices website, in accordance with state requirements.  A copy of the Request for Publication and Proof of Publication will be linked in the electronic minutes once the Proof of Publication is available.

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: Before the meeting begins, anyone wishing to address the board must sign in with their name, address, and any organizations they are representing. When 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 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:  School districts periodically identify equipment, furniture, and materials that are no longer functional, safe, cost-effective to repair, or aligned with current instructional or operational needs. Surplusing such items allows the district to responsibly dispose of or repurpose outdated or unneeded property, maintain an efficient use of storage space, and ensure that district resources are directed toward items that support student learning and district operations.

The board is asked to consider the following item(s) as surplus:

• vibraphone

Rationale:  The Gothenburg Impact Center Facilities Agency is represented by the city and the school.  One of their roles is to propose a slate of directors for the Impact Center Operating Board.  This board is responsible for the following activities:

• overseeing the organization’s legal responsibilities;
• determining long range issues, needs and program focus;
• establishing policies;
• approving and monitoring the organization’s programs and services;
• recommending officers for election;
• positively representing the organization in the community;
• evaluating the executive director;
• providing financial stewardship;
• enlisting the support of others; and
• exercising fiscal responsibility with the organization’s assets.

All three incumbent board members have agreed to serve another term, if approved. With this in mind, the Facilities Agency proposes the following slate of directors for a four-year term expiring in 2029:

Community Member-At-Large: Alexandria Colwell
Community Member-At-Large: Helen Cool
Community Member-At-Large: Kristi Kreuscher

Also on the Board of Directors - Terms Expiring 2027
School Representative: Josie Floyd
City Representative: Verlin Janssen
Hospital Representative: Kayla Knauss
Community Member-At-Large: Colten Venteicher

 

Rationale:  Annually, the board of education is asked to review and approve the Re-Opening plan.  This plan is kept on our school website and has had no changes since last year although we are changing the name to Pandemic Preparedness Plan to represent the comprehensive nature of the plan.

Also included here is the "Exclusion and Re-Admittance" operating procedure we will utilize again this school year.  This does not require board approval.
 

Rationale:  Money was budgeted in the Depreciation Fund and is reserved for the repair and replacement of items such as the purchase of vehicles, a roof, or instructional equipment.  The Superintendent recommends a transfer of $250,000 at this time.  

Money is budgeted for general operating expenses in the Activities Fund. The activities director determines the short-term and long-term needs of the activities program in collaboration with the Superintendent.  The superintendent recommends a transfer of $75,000 at this time.

The Cooperative Fund is utilized for interlocal agreements where the school district is acting as the fiscal agent for any cooperative activity between one or more public agencies.  In this case, we are preparing our first Operating Expenses payment now that The Impact Center is up and running.  The superintendent recommends a transfer of $95,000 at this time.

The Employee Benefit Fund is utilized as reserve General Fund money for employee benefits such as early retirement, health insurance, and unemployment.  It is recommended that we transfer $35,000 into the Employee Benefit fund. 

There are sufficient resources in the budget to allow for these transfers, totaling $455,000 at this time.

Rationale: 

For the third year, we have a third lid schools must statutorily observe when setting their budget: the property tax request authority.

The funding needed for the School District to meet its obligations to its students will require an increase in the base growth percentage used to determine the School District’s property tax request authority.

Nebraska law authorizes the Board, upon an affirmative vote of at least seventy percent (70%) of the Board, to increase such base growth percentage by up to six percent (6%).  

A motion to approve this increase would increase the base growth percentage used to determine Gothenburg Public School's property tax request authority for the 2025-2026 budget by an amount of 6%.

A vote for this motion does not mean that Gothenburg Public Schools will access all six percent.  Instead, it means that a number up to six percent may be used when planning the overall budget. 

The image below shows how the Gothenburg Public School's overall tax request has fluctuated over the past several years compared to the Rate of Inflation (https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/).

Rationale:  After reviewing existing policy, the following proposals for new policy are linked here for consideration of the Board.  No feedback was provided after the July board meeting therefore, there are no changes to what was presented last month.

Rationale:  State statute requires annual review of our Attendance and Excessive Absenteeism Policy 5001.  This policy was updated in July to include "mental illness" in accordance with updated state statute.

As an annual notice, this is an informational item only.  No action is required.

Rationale:  This is the second reading of our activity handbook.  No additional feedback was provided after the July board meeting and there have been no additional updates. The handbook has been aligned with new and updated board policies.  

Rationale:  This is the second reading of our staff handbook.  It has been aligned with new board policies.  No additional feedback was provided after the July board meeting, therefore, there are no changes since the July meeting.

Rationale: 

Committee Reports (Chair in bold)

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

 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Next Meeting: Monday, September 8th
Swede Activities: none

Budget Meetings:
Monday, August 25th @ 5PM (Budget Workshop)
September 8th @ TBD (Budget Q & A)
September 8th @ TBD (Regular Board Meeting)