December 13, 2023 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Public Information: 

• Congratulations to Olivia Masek who is a recipient of the Global Seal of Biliteracy. The Global Seal of Biliteracy is a credential that celebrates language skills and expands future opportunities for its recipients. A uniform standard is used to empower awardees to be an asset in multilingual environments. The Global Seal enables recipients to showcase their language skills to any school or employer across state lines and national borders, with a unique serial-numbered document.
• Congratulations to Katie Donahue for writing and receiving a Frontier Coop Grant in the amount of $2,835 to set up the veterinary science classroom with curriculum, supplies, materials, equipment.  

Public Information:  State Education Conference - I attended on November 16-17 with three other board members.  Princess Sarah Culberson was the keynote speaker on Thursday and she shared her story of how she reunited with her birth father and became the current Princess of Sierra Leone in doing so.  As an adopted child in a bi-racial family, she focuses on the importance of building a culture of acceptance and belonging.  Our second keynote speaker was Richard Hight who is an internationally known artist and who was able to create 2 phenomenal drawings minutes before and during his presentation.  He introduced us to his daughter and shared how her challenges in life has helped him to find the real beauty in others and in life in general and how that has inspired his creative talents.  Governor Jim Pillen was our final keynote.  He talked about his vision and priorities for K-12 education and he reminded us that he is a education friendly governor.  He did express his concerns that so many school districts raised the tax levy after the state dollars that he arranged to feed into the state aid formula.
Teacher Shorage:  I attended a session on teacher shortage. My takeaway was that the state is continuing to seek creative ways to incentivize teaching as a profession (offering grants, shortened pathways, etc.).  Individual school districts are creating pay structures, housing provisions and other incentives. 
Personnel Matters:  I attended a session with legal counsel who shared examples of how to effectively work with and/or separate from teachers who are not a good fit for the district. The focus was on how to use the evaluation process and hearings effectively.
Dueling Piano's, School Law Style:  This session focused on a variety of personnel and student issues relative to First Amendment Rights and a variety of other relevant school hot topics including the use of social media.  Importance of having clear policies and evaluation practices and following them. 
Pain in the App: This presentation shared the most relevant and recent cases about students use of social media and technology.  It is important to know when the intersection of the two is an actual impediment to education and that is when schools can take action.  Nearly 1/2 of teens report that they have been a victim of bullying on social media (namely name calling) and You Tube is used by highest percentage of teens. The surgeon general warns of the dangers of social media on developing minds. Social media use at a young age is predictive of a subsequent decrease in life satisfaction for certain developmental stages ? Specifically a concern for girls 11-13 and boys 14-15 ? Youth who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face 2x the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes (including depression and anxiety) ? "Social media may also perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls."

 

Public Information: 

Facilities/Transportation Update

• The electric bus and the 2023 Bluebird bus should be in before Christmas break.
• Tony is obtaining quotes for safety straps to the two main baskets in the competition gym.  At the same time he is going to get quotes on replacing those structures in totality as they are the old style.  

• We are obtaining quotes to replace the stage mats in the competition gym.  These are threadbare and look bad in such a high traffic area for the community.

• I will be adding new stage curtains to our Master Priority List.  This is something to address in the future.  Curtains get really mistreated when the stage is part of the competition gym and it is hard to protect the curtains. 

• I learned that we are eligible to apply for the next round of Clean Bus grants to obtain an electric bus. BUT, we are not a ‘priority’ school because our free and reduced numbers are not high enough and the rebates are not as high so the out of pocket cost on an electric bus would be around $160,000.  This is slightly more than the cost of a new diesel.  This is the reason that the Facility Committee suggests that we seek bids for a new diesel as opposed to an electric and it gives us time to see if we like the new electric bus. 

• FB Field Sound System - I think that we need to get the sound system repaired.  Do we move forward with the $55,000 + item OR do we work with the outside agencies to see if they want to raise fund for a new digital scoreboard and sound system for $272,000.  

• I updated the Master Priority Summer Project List to include the softball/baseball field that was not included in these amounts.

 

Facilities/Transportation Update The electric bus and the 2023 Bluebird bus should be in before Christmas break. Tony is obtaining quotes for safety straps to the two main baskets in the competition gym.  At the same time he is going to get quotes on replacing those structures in totality as they are the old style.   We are obtaining quotes to replace the stage mats in the competition gym.  These are threadbare and look bad in such a high traffic area for the community. I will be adding new stage curtains to our Master Priority List.  This is something to address in the future.  Curtains get really mistreated when the stage is part of the competition gym and it is hard to protect the curtains.  I learned that we are eligible to apply for the next round of Clean Bus grants to obtain an electric bus. BUT, we are not a ‘priority’ school because our free and reduced numbers are not high enough and the rebates are not as high so the out of pocket cost on an electric bus would be around $160,000.  This is slightly more than the cost of a new diesel.  I will be talking with Facilities Committee to discuss if they want to go in the direction of applying for an electric or just move forward with ordering a new diesel bus. FB Field Sound System - I think that we need to get the sound system repaired.  Do we move forward with the $55,000 + item OR do we work with the Foundation to see if they want to fundraise for a new digital scoreboard and sound system for $272,000.   I updated the Master Priority Summer Project List to include the softball/baseball field that was not included in these amounts. General Fund Budget   Building Fund   Depreciation   Lights $2,500 HVAC pumps $160,000 Cameras $30,000     HVAC Control $20,000 Keyless Door $80,000     Carpet $200,000 Science Hood $7,000     Playgrounds $230,000 Safety Straps $6,000             Outdoor Lighting $15,000 Ag Shop Electrical $6,000 Intercoms $20,000 Stage Mats $8,000 IT Storage Shed $20,000         Shot clock/Backboard $15,000     Practice SB/BaB field work         $70,000     FB Field Sound System $100,000       $25,500   $751,000   $213,000

 

Public Information:  Raymond Central's current monthly charge for preschool is $60/month.  Based on other area schools, this is a very low rate.  Additionally, the preschool is predominantly funded through local dollars and has 2 certificated staff at 1.5 FTE, two paraeducators at .8 FTE and two paraeducators at .4 FTE.  Program costs continue to rise. 

Recommendation:  $100/month, *$80 with one special consideration, $0 with Special Education Verification and/or Free Lunch Qualification, 50% for Reduced Lunch Qualification

PK FEE CHARGES:
	Monthly Charge	Service Design per week	Daily Monthly Charge
Raymond Central	$60	2 Full Days	$30
Fort Calhoun	$140	4 half days	$70
Norris	$150	4 half days	$75
Arlington	$120	4 half days	$60
Waverly	$160*	4 half days	$80
	$100*	with one special consideration
Malcolm	$240	5 full days	$48
Ashland	$150	4 half days	$75