December 16, 2024 at 6:30 PM - Bloomfield Community School - Board of Education - Regular

Rationale:  A call to order indicates the beginning of the meeting. 

Rationale:  Roll call, a fundamental process in meetings, holds crucial importance when it comes to determining the presence of a quorum. A quorum refers to the minimum number of participants required for a meeting to be considered valid and for the decisions made within it to hold weight.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The Nebraska Open Meetings Act guarantees that every public body meeting shall be open to the public so that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies. A copy of the Open Meetings Act poster is next to the Promethean Board near the file cabinets. Board members and visitors are welcome to review it at any time. They may also access the poster by opening the link noted in the agenda.

Rationale:  As identified by the NE Open Meetings Act, a public notice announces the time, date, and place of a public meeting. The public has the right to attend meetings of public bodies, listen to debate(s), and watch the decision-making process. The publication of this Bloomfield Board of Education meeting met all these requirements.

Rationale:  A meeting agenda helps you and your colleagues prepare for a meeting and guide yourselves through the items you need to discuss. Time spent in planning an agenda will likely save time for all meeting participants by providing a clear set of topics, objectives, and time frames.

Rationale:  The Celebration of Excellence recognizes students, teachers, staff, and others at Bloomfield Community Schools who bring the District's Mission Statement to life through action, notoriety, greatness, accomplishment, and a host of other descriptors of their contribution to the district's culture and well-being.    

Rationale:  Serving on a board of education can be rewarding to connect the community to the school system and advocate for children's education. School board members are responsible for a wide range of tasks, including: 

• Setting goals: Establishing educational goals and standards 
• Creating budgets: Setting the district budget 
• Hiring and evaluating: Hiring and evaluating the superintendent of schools 
• Making decisions: Deciding whether to open or close schools 
• Supporting teachers: Supporting teachers and staff 
• Creating a safe environment: Creating a safe and positive school culture 
• Building relationships: Building relationships with parents, teachers, students, and community members 

Rationale:   A consent agenda groups routine meeting discussion points into a single agenda item. Thus, the grouped items can be approved in one action rather than through the filing of multiple motions. The Consent Agenda includes the recent minutes of all BOE meetings and the current Financial/Business Reports.

Rationale:  An action item is a single, clearly defined task that must be done.

Rationale:  Federal regulations have recently changed requiring updates to Policy 3132 Internal Controls.
 

Rationale:  Policy is the backbone of the BOE's operations. It governs the business and actions of the board's work. This Informational/Discussion topic discusses, updates, and validates the board's policies. We will update policies in real time. The 5000s will be waived for a second reading and approved during this Regular Meeting.

Rationale:  The purpose of the annual audit of Nebraska school districts is to examine the district's financial records and ensure compliance with laws and regulations: 

• Compliance: Audits test for compliance with laws, policies, and regulations. 
• Financial statements: Audits ensure financial statements' reliability and internal controls' adequacy. 
• Risk assessment: Audits review financial statements, transactions, processes, and systems to assess for potential risks, errors, fraud, or noncompliance. 
• Recommendations: Auditors may provide recommendations for improvement to processes. 

In Nebraska, school districts are required to submit their audit to the Department of Education by November 5th, following the end of the school fiscal year. The audit must be submitted through the Annual Financial Report Collection in the District's Portal account.

Rationale:  According to Mr. Strom's current contract, the following applies: 

• Superintendent's request
  The superintendent must notify the board president in writing by December 31st of each contract year if they want to extend their contract.
• Board action
  The board has until March 1st of each contract year to decide whether to extend the contract. The contract will automatically extend for one year if the board votes to extend or doesn't take action. If the board decides not to extend the contract, it will end on the last day of the existing contract.

Rationale:  Informational/Discussion Items - Items intended only to provide information to the Board and require no action; this includes communication items. Informational items can be scheduled during Regular, Special, or Committee of the Whole meetings.

Rationale:  On or before December 31, 2024, and on or before December 31 of each year thereafter, in order to promote and support financial literacy education, each school district shall provide an annual financial literacy status report to its school board, including, but not limited to, student progress in financial literacy courses and other district determined measures of financial literacy progress from the previous school year

Rationale:  Meeting Report: A more relaxed and user-friendly summary, focusing on main points and decisions, making it easier to digest and understand.

Rationale:  AQuESST = Accountability for Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow

Rationale:  The purpose of the public comment period is for members of the public to inform the governing body of their views.

Rationale:  The Board of Education may move into a closed session by a majority vote if necessary to protect the public interest or prevent needless injury to an individual's reputation.

Rationale:  A motion to adjourn is a formal procedure that ends a meeting. If there is any unfinished business at the time of adjournment, it is typically carried over to the next meeting. Prior to the motion to adjourn, the chair should be sure that no important matters have gone unnoticed.