September 9, 2024 at 8:02 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting (Immediately Following the Property Tax Hearing)

Rationale: 

1.  Review monthly bills using the EMeetings Software.

2.  Review all credit card transactions for the month

3.  Finance Committee Members Sign-off on review of monthly bills, credit card transactions, and district fund balances.

4.  Approve superintendent's expenses (mileage & reimbursement).

5.  Lunch Fund Review-Monthly Lunch Fund Balance Worksheet Attached

6.  Payroll Ledger Review

7.  Insurance Billing Review

8.  ACH Payroll Review

9.  Annual Audit - September 24

10.  Budget Document - Any questions?

11. Special Building Fund and Building Project 

• Savings on Interest on Bond - For every $1 million dollars contributed to the project cost, the cost of interest savings would be $25,000 per year.  So, over 20 years that would be interest savings of $500,000.
• Amount to hold in reserve to control the overall levy in future years - If we hold all the funds for future building needs, we can eliminate the current $0.13 levy in the Special Building Fund and the $0.03 cent levy in the QCPUF Fund to control the overall tax levy between the General Fund and the Bond Fund in future years.
• History of Spending in Special Building Fund
  • 2023-24: $366,205 (ESSERS III)
    2022-23: $313,709 (ESSERS III)
    2021-22: $28,421 (Pandemic)
    2020-21: $206,326
    2019-20: $138,198
    2018-19: $180,458
    2017-18: $325,806
    2016-17: $225,421
    2015-16: $151,741
    2014-15: $274,483
    2013-14: $61,150

12. CD's and Investment Options for Various Funds (See Attached Information)

• Depreciation Fund - $400,000
• Employee Benefit Fund - $100,000
   

Rationale:  Each year the school district must create and adopt an operating budget.  The budget is due on or before September 30th.

Rationale:  Each school district is certified an allowable base property tax request.  With 70% board approval, the board can increase the allowable base property tax request by up to 7%.  Although the school district does not need all the additional property tax authority for the 2024-25 budget cycle, the board is encouraged to vote to approve the allowable property tax request to be set up to 7% higher than the "base property tax authority" amount of $5,898,293 to not exceed a property tax request of $6,416,561 for the 2024-25 budget cycle. 

The actual, total, proposed property tax request for the General Fund and Special Building Fund for the 2024-25 budget cycle is $5,626,822 or $789,739 lower than the maximum allowable limit of $6,416,561.  

 

Rationale:  Each year the school district must set the property tax request on or before October 15th.

Rationale:  Each year, the REA asked to be recognized for the negotiations process a year in advance of the negotiations process.  The board needs to vote on whether or not to regonize the REA as the exclusive bargaining agents for the certified staff covered by the negotiated agreement.

Rationale:  The administration has been discussing substitute pay.  Attached is summary of what surrounding schools are offering for substitute pay.  The district may want to look at increasing their rates in order to stay competitive in the market.

There were a total of 270 substitutions, not counting the work of the full-time substitutes.  So, a $5 increase in the substitute rate would account for an additional $1350.  A $10 increase would be $2700.  A $15 increase would be $4050. A $20 increase would be $5400.

Rationale: 

• Inviting Meeting Attendees
• Seating -
  • Tables in theater, overflow? 
  • Be ready to move to the gym as a contingency?
• Slide Show -
  • Any thoughts on messaging contained in slides? 
  • Anything else we want to highlight? 
  • Do we want to take turns with the slides?
• Bond Amount & Special Building Fund Balance
  • Savings on Interest on Bond - For every $1 million dollars contributed to the project cost from the Special Building Fund, the value of interest savings would be $25,000 per year.  So, over 20 years, that would be interest savings of $500,000.
  • Amount to hold in reserve in the Special Building Fund to control the overall levy in future years - If we hold all Special Building Funds cash on hand for future building needs, we can eliminate the current $0.13 levy in the Special Building Fund and the $0.03 cent levy in the QCPUF Fund to control the overall tax levy between the General Fund and the Bond Fund.
  • History of Spending in Special Building Fund
    • 2023-24: $366,205 (ESSERS III)
      2022-23: $313,709 (ESSERS III)
      2021-22: $28,421 (Pandemic)
      2020-21: $206,326
      2019-20: $138,198
      2018-19: $180,458
      2017-18: $325,806
      2016-17: $225,421
      2015-16: $151,741
      2014-15: $274,483
      2013-14: $61,150
       
• Survey Questions
  • Are the survey questions OK "as is" or do you want to modify or add to them in any way?
• Updated Building Plan 
  • Good or not?

Rationale:  Grandparent's Day
A special thank you to Mrs. Zinnell and Mrs. Ellis for organizing a wonderful Grandparent's Day program. The event was very well attended and created memorable moments for everyone involved.

Fall Assessments
We have successfully completed the Fall MAP and FastBridge assessments for our students.

UNK TE 100 Students
On Thursday, September 5th, we welcomed 20 UNK students to our classroom. Most of these students are Freshmen, and this visit marks one of their first experiences in a school setting.

Homecoming (Elementary Dress Up Days)
Monday- BLACKOUT Day- Wear all Black
Tuesday- Jersey/Favorite Team
Wednesday- Dress like an Adult
Thursday- Hat Day
Friday- Blue and White Spirit Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, October 2, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and Friday, October 4, from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Elementary Book Fair
Elementary Book Fair will be October 1-4


 

Rationale: 

Academic

• We have begun the process of updating our NEE Teacher Evaluation indicators.

  • On August 13th, ESU 10 collaborated with our staff during a pre-service day.

  • Together, the staff and ESU team worked to refine the Marzano elements that our district will prioritize in our NEE indicators moving forward.

  • The feedback from our staff has been positive, indicating that both staff and administration are aligned in our goals.

  • We will continue to refine these indicators during an upcoming in-service day to enhance our evaluation process.

• MAP testing for the fall is finished. We will work with staff to look at the data during an in-service to see if there are any areas we need to focus on with instruction.

• Both changes that were made with cell phones and the new pass system are going well and students and staff are doing a great job with both. 

  • Student engagement has increased in the classroom.

  • There is less traffic in the hallways. 

 

Student Behavior/Mental Health

• Students started their first SEL lessons today.

  • The lesson for this month is stress management

• We had our first random drug test now that we are testing for nicotine and all students tested negative. 
   

Activities

• Fall sports teams have all got off to good starts to their seasons.

• The band participated in the state fair on August 28th.

 

Rationale:  1.  State Education Conference Registration Reminder - If you are interested in attending The Nebraska State Education Conference this year, please let the superintendent know ASAP.   The conference is November 20-22.

2.  Roof Inspection Update - Still waiting

 

Rationale:  Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. Zinnell did a wonderful job with the Grandparents' Day Program.  Thanks for all of your hard work in getting the students ready for this wonderful event.  -Paul Anderson, Elementary Principal