August 3, 2017 at 12:00 PM - 08/03/2017 Special Meeting of the Norfolk Public Schools Board of Education

Rationale:  If any board member is absent, there will need to be a  motion to excuse the absence.

Rationale:  This is a legal meeting of the board of education, as advertised by the means specified in board policy. A complete copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the board room for your review. A copy of the agenda is available at the desk of the recording secretary.

Rationale: 

This is the time during the meeting when the public may request to address the Board. If you wish to comment, we ask that you identify yourself and the topic that you wish to address. Each individual's comments will be limited to five minutes.

 Please note that  the Board cannot discuss or act upon matters that are not listed on the agenda. Therefore, Board  members will not respond to your comments or questions.  If you wish to request that an item be placed on a future Board agenda, you may contact the Superintendent or her assistant during normal business hours.

Also note that concerns related to school personnel need to be addressed to the Superintendent using the approved district protocol.

Rationale: 

 Purchase of Our Savior Lutheran Church

 Need:

• Enrollment Growth
• Our student enrollment at the elementary level has increased by 169 students (1446 to 1615) in the last 9 years, and we are projected to have 86 more students (1701) in the next five years.  This is a projected growth of 255 students in 14 years.
• Our current enrollment needs are being met through the third track we added at Bel Air, which was an extremely economical and efficient way to meet these needs.
• However, this additional track can only accommodate 125-145 students...not 255!
• This means that  we will need another track at the elementary level...and we have no where to put it.
• Preschool Statistics
• Our Little Panthers Preschool is at capacity and maintains a waiting list.
• Our program filled within 7 days this year and had a waiting list of 45 students.
• Our data shows that approximately 60 students enter our Kindergarten classrooms each year with no preschool experience, which puts them at a significant disadvantage.
• We can only add one more preschool classroom (at Westside) with our current facilities.
• Having preschool classrooms within our elementary buildings is limiting our ability to have OverFlow Classrooms.
• We have had to transfer kindergarten students from Washington to other buildings for the last 3 years in a row.

Options:

1. Pursue a bond issue to build another elementary school and preschool facility.
2. Purchase portable classrooms for Washington, Westside and Lincoln, and redo elementary boundaries accordingly.
3. Purchase and remodel an existing property...specifically Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Buying portables would be the cheapest approach today, but this would be a temporary fix.  The district would likely incur additional expense at a later date when they decided on a more permanent solution. 

It is estimated that building a new elementary school at Westside (without a gym or kitchen) would cost $7-8 million.

Buying and renovating OSLC would cost significantly less than that... and would include a gym and kitchen... in a growing area of town.  I believe this is the best option available to us, not only because it is an economical approach and a wise use of tax dollars, but also, because it  would give us flexible program space in a great location.

Transparency:

It was very important to our Board that we were transparent throughout this process. Legally, we could have conducted all of our discussions about this in Exec Session, which may have helped us in the negotiations process, but we chose to be as transparent as possible.

 

Patron Questions:

So far, the biggest "concern" that I have heard in the community is in regards to the fact that we sold Sunny Meadows and Northern Hills " a few years ago" and now we need to buy another building.  The decision to close those buildings was made eight years ago when we were facing declining enrollment and revenue.  It was the right thing to do at the time.  Fiscally, maintaining those buildings was not in the best interest of the district.

Eight years later, we are in a different (and much better) situation...so we need to adapt and plan accordingly. Is it possible that our enrollment will level off or even decline in the future? Yes, as the Daily News pointed out, enrollment projections are not an exact science.  They are mathematical equations based upon recent enrollment trends.  But, they are the best source of information available to schools as they plan to meet their students’ and community's needs. 

 

Funding:

• The large majority of the funding for this project will come from the District’s Building Fund. This fund can only be used to purchase property and build/renovate facilities.  It cannot be used to pay for salaries, instructional supplies, or anything else...so it will not have an effect on our operating budget.
• Some of the renovation costs will be paid for via our Depreciation Fund, using money that was saved for this purpose.
• Some additional building/maintenance projects will be paid via our General Budget/Maintenance Fund.  
• Other areas of our General Budget (such as staffing and instructional supplies) would not be reduced due to this building purchase and renovation.
• We would have to hire a principal and secretary for the building at district expense, which can be fit into our existing budget.
• The cost of the teachers for preschool and the additional elementary track would be covered through increases in TEEOSA...which is largely figured according to student enrollment.
• So, barring any huge changes in school funding from our State or Federal Government, we are able to do this without cutting from anywhere else.

At this point, I would recommend that we go into Executive Session, so that we can discuss the details of this possible purchase and then reconvene later to vote publicly on the matter.

 

Rationale: 

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 14th. The Study Session will begin at 5:30, with the Business Meeting following at 6:30.  All components of the meeting will be held at the NPS Administration Building and will be open to the public, unless an Executive Session is needed in order to protect the interest of the district or prevent needless harm to the reputation of an individual.