January 10, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Public Information: 

Motion to approve committees as identified.

BOARD COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Curriculum & American Civics -  Cathy (C), Derek, Bill
Facilities & Transportation - Matt (C), Cathy, Derek
Finance - Matt (C), Brad, Cathy
Negotiations - Matt (C), Mary, Bill
Policy - Brad(C), Bill, Mary
 

NASB Legislative Delegate - Cathy
PK Advisory Board - Bill
 

Public Information: 

Proposed Review Schedule to finalize review of 1000-9000. 

February Board Meeting Act on 6000-6284 - Meet in January to review 

March Board Meeting Act on 6285-6930 - Meet in February to review

April Board Meeting Act on 7000’s - Meet in March to review

May Board Meeting Act on 8000’s - Meet in April to review

June Board Meeting Act on 9000’s - Meet in May to review

Public Information:  Board Recognition Week is January 21 - January 28. The school staff and the Raymond Central community in general, want to take this opportunity to thank our board members for their dedication and willingness to serve in this capacity.  Being a board member is a service and it requires more time than people may think.  More importantly, it requires committed individuals who are centered and focused on doing what is best for ALL students.  Thank you for your hard work and dedication. 
 

Public Information:   Members of the public will be permitted to speak at Board meetings at which a public forum is on the Agenda. Members of the public may also speak when invited to make a presentation or when recognized by the chair. The Board is not required to allow members of the public to speak at each meeting. However, the Board will not forbid public participation at all meetings. Members of the public will not be required to have their name be placed on the agenda prior to the meeting in order to speak about items on the agenda. Members of the public who desire to address the Board will be required to identify themselves by name, their address, and any organization they are representing. Individual speakers will be limited to three  minutes to speak at each regular meeting in which a public forum is on the agenda. The board will hear a maximum of 45 minutes of public comment at regular meetings. If necessary, individual speaking time will be adjusted to meet the maximum time limit.  A speaker may only speak once at each regular meeting.  No speaker may transfer their time to a different speaker. The Board will generally not respond to comments or questions during public comment. Instead, the Board may ask the appropriate staff members to follow up with speakers about particular comments or questions.  Speakers will be permitted to address the Board consistent with free speech rights. However, offensive language, defamatory remarks, and hostile conduct will not be tolerated. Further, charges or complaints against a school employee shall not be made for the first time at a public Board meeting without having followed the school’s complaint procedure.

Public Information:  Later in this report we will be discussing the District Report Card which highlights our academic achievement progress relative to state assessments.  While we do not want to place too much emphasis on any one assessment, we do need to use a variety of tools to help us evaluate if we are meeting our learning goals as a district.  One of our focus areas over the past two years has been to look for ways to celebrate and recognize the behaviors (both academically and behaviorally) that we have identified as important.  Students need to know 'what they are aiming for' in order to move in the desired direction.  The elementary buildings are using weekly and daily Mustang rewards to reinforce these priorities.  The secondary campus has annual award events and they continue to use Student Highlights as a means to recognize students.  Mr. Smith started the second semester by having a meeting with all students to revisit our academic and behavior expectations and to set goals for the second semester.  

As we move into the second semester, there is a lot of time and energy associated with staffing.  We are busy filling positions and reviewing our assignments of staff to ensure that staff is placed appropriately to address identified student needs.  There is an agenda item later in this agenda related to staffing and I would expect future discussions as well.  For example, secondary school is exploring different daily schedule designs and staffing does impact our flexibility. 

Public Information:  During our professional development on January 3, the entire staff gathered at the Jr/Sr High School and Kevin Kavan, Security Director of Fremont Public Schools, helped to educate us on reunification procedures.  We reviewed our district protocols, and then we did some  walk through exercises where staff members assumed the various roles and executed them.  Good conversation and discussion resulted from this learning opportunity.  Our goal is to have at least 2 drills with students during second semester and to get additional outside eyes on our drills and procedures (Likely other school resource officers.)

On this same day, we had Taira Masek, Mental Health Coordinator from ESU#2, come on site and train our staff in QPR protocol to help prevent suicide.  It is a suicide awareness program.  QPR stands for Question. Persuade. Refer

This one hour session was very informative and helped to debunk some of the fallacies that we may have about working with persons who may be considering suicide.  

Public Information:  Jared and I continue to work on the items that the Facilities and Transportation Committee and the board have identified as priority items for the spring/summer.

• Jared is obtaining the quotes for the carpet across the district.  In phase 1 (of potentially 3 or 4 phases) we are targeting carpet in the Jr/Sr campus senior wing and Valparaiso first floor. The quotes obtained will give us a better idea if we can expand that scope or need to shrink that scope.
• Jared is working with Mechanical Sales to obtain price for us to purchase the heat pumps that we desire and then we will RFP the electrical, fire and control systems. 
• Jaxn is working with Kidwell on the door access and cameras at the two elementary schools.  We are still looking at spring install and completion.
• The FB sound system is in front of the board this month for approval.
• Tony is working on getting the stage mats replaced and he is working to obtain quotes for the basketball clock/lights and safety straps.
• Jared is working to get updated quotes on playgrounds.  The three quotes that we obtained last year are outdated.  One of the three quotes was less than the others and that will likely be our vendor of choice. 
• There was a recall on the electrical bus just as Omaha Truck was readying to deliver it.  Omaha Truck is still waiting for factory details, so a timeline is not known.
• We were able to use a different electric vehicle to commission our charging station.  Once the bus is received, that is ready to roll. 

Public Information: 

• NASB Legislative Issues Conference, Lincoln: January 21-22 
• NASB Board President Retreat, Norfolk: January 28-29, Kearney: February 4-5 
• Board Candidate Filing Deadlines: Incumbents by February 15, 2024 at 5 pm, Non-incumbents by March 1, 2024 at 5pm

Public Information:  The replacement of the heat pumps at Valparaiso is a priority for the district.  We intend to replace these in phases.  We have targeted approximately $160,000 for this first phase.  After discussion, it was felt that the best way to proceed is to purchase the desired Daikin heat pumps directly from vendor and then to RFP the electrical, fire, and control system.  

The attached quote indicates the cost for 8 heat pumps. We stand to save money by avoiding upcharge from the installer if they purchase the units directly.  The price for the associated VFD's will be around $3,000. The price quoted is a single unit price and it was conveyed to us that this price will go down if we order all eight units at one time. 

At this point and time if the board would approve the purchase of Daikin heat pumps from Mechanical Sales in the amount not to exceed $59,315 and the VFD drives then we can continue with getting these ordered and move the process along.