September 9, 2013 at 5:35 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Welcome to the Budget Hearing for the 2013-2014 school year. The purpose of this hearing is to give taxpayers the opportunity to provide support, opposition, criticism, or suggestions and observations regarding the budget. There will be a review of budget items and the board will provide an opportunity for public comment. The adoption of the budget will take place by a vote during the board meeting and not at the hearing.

Rationale: 

Welcome to the Tax Request Hearing for the 2013-2014 school year. The purpose of this hearing is to give taxpayers the opportunity to provide support, opposition, criticism, or suggestions and observations regarding the proposed tax request.

There will be a review the of tax requests and the board will provide the opportunity for public input.  Official action and voting on the tax resolution for the School District will take place during the regular business meeting of the board and will begin at the close of this hearing.

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public School District's board of education meeting is called to order.  At some point in the meeting, the Board of Education will briefly adjourn for a meal and will reconvene the meeting immediately following. No school board business or discussion will be conducted during this time.

Rationale:  Please stand and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

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

Rationale:   

It is the vision of the Norfolk Public Schools to actively engage all students in learning
through a relevant and comprehensive standards-based curriculum that integrates
 21^st century skills, tools, context, and assessments.  

• Goal #1:  All students will succeed at each grade level and graduate from high school well-prepared for a variety of post-secondary pursuits.

• Goal #2:  All students will feel connected with the school and the learning process.

• Goal #3:  District resources, programs, and departments will be aligned to attain high levels of student achievement and instructional excellence.

• Goal #4:  The community will be engaged to support high levels of student achievement.

  The mission of the Norfolk Public Schools is to prepare studentswith the skills and knowledge to meet the challenges of a complex, global society.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale:  The September Award for Excellence recipients will be:  Rod Hendrix and Bruce Shaffer from Maintenance.  Each of them will get a plaque and a $50 gift certificate, and they will share the $500 award for Maintenance.

Rationale:  No Focus on the Students/Best of the Best Presentation this month.

Rationale:  This is the time during the board meeting when the public may request to address the board regarding an agenda item. If you wish to comment, we ask that you identify yourself and indicate the agenda item to which you will be speaking.

Rationale:  The Facility and Finance Committee met today at 12:00 noon in the central office board room. The committee had an opportunity to review all claims and fund balances for August as well as last months approved expenditures to close out the 2012-2013 fiscal year.  The committee was updated on the progress on the refinancing of our 2005 general obligation bonds and how that is proceeding.  The committee was also updated on the progress of our roofing projects at the High School, and provided an update of HVAC projects at Grant Elementary.  The next scheduled meeting will be on October 14th at 12:00 noon in the central office board room.

Rationale:  Fall partcipation numbers and the 2012-2013 Activities Budgets were reviewed. Participation in Fall Activities has increased from last year, and the High School Activities Program is maintaining an overall positive balance.  Although not all programs are self-sufficient, some programs (such as football and musicals) bring in enough funding to make up the difference. The Junior High Activities Budget continues to need to be supplemented by the General Budget.  And, the Boosters Club Donations are very much appreciated.  Their support allows us to make purchases that we would not otherwise be able to afford.  We appreciate their continued support.

The Summer  Physicals Clinic run by Faith Regional Health Services went very well.  Not only did students receive inexpensive or free physicals, but $2384 was donated back to the middle school and high school athletic programs.  We want to continue this practice into the future, as it is very beneficial for students and families, and we want to thank FRHS for their services.    We would also like to thank FRHS for donating two full-time sports trainers to NPS during the school  year.  This partnership is highly beneficial to the district.

Norfolk Public Schools will be hosting the NSAA Girls State Golf Competition on October 14th and 15th and NSAA State One Act Plays Competition December 11-13.  We will hold school during both of these competitions.

Mr. Dolliver noted that the average GPA for NHS students involved in extracurriculuar activities for the 2012-2013 school year was 89.237.  

The next Activities Committee meeting is scheduled for September 30, 2013 at noon in the Central Office Board Room.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee met on Thrusday, August 29th to review the 1000 section of Board Policy proprosed by Perry Law Firm.  This section contains policies related to Community Relations.  These policies were emailed to you in advance to review, with the committees recommended changes clearly marked.  These revisions were also sent to the Perry Law Firm to be reviewed for legal issues.  We will have our First Reading of these policies later this evening.

Rationale:  Activities Committee Meeting Minutes
Nurse's Meeting Minutes
Student Health Meeting Minutes

Rationale:  The total amount of bills approved in the consent agenda for the month of August, 2013 by specific fund are as follows:


End of the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Claims
General Fund=$435,733.67

Claims for the Fiscal Year 2013-2014
General Fund=$358,038.25
Cooperative Fund=$28,292.94
Student Fee Fund=$7,438.78
Depreciation Fund=$12.00
Special Building Fund=$198.05
QCPUF Fund=$165,347.80
Bond Fund=$112.21
Nutrition Services Fund=$63,686.34


The Finance and Facility Committee reviewed all claims for approval by the board.  The Business office has been busy with getting all of the new and returning employees through the benefit process for 2013-2014.  With open enrollment this year for BCBS insurance we have had a number of employees join the plan and also a number of people enroll in our new vision coverage.  The refinancing of our 2005 bonds has gone well, our local banks were given the opportunity to participate in this process since our refinancing was bank qualified.  After reviewing final numbers with the restructuring of our bond debt on the 2005 bonds we should see a savings of approx. $3,085,000.00 which is a direct savings to our taxpayers in the community.  Final reimbursement request have been submitted to NDE for Title programs as well as our Early Childhood Grant. The audit of 2012-2013 fiscal year will begin tomorrow Sept. 10th and take approx. two weeks to complete.  Morrow, Davies & Toelle will be handling the auditing services for our school district.

Rationale: 

ACT results-public release on 8.21.13 in the newspaper and emailed to you. NPS needs to be proud and celebrate their ACT results.

Upcoming Professional Development

    Team of Principal’s are a part of a “Principal’s Cadre” to meet three times this school year. We are also doing a book study this fall in correspondence with our local monthly administrative team meetings. The sessions include examining the Nebraska Teacher and Marzano Frameworks, Supervision and Coaching Classroom Instruction and Assisting Teacher in Becoming Reflective Teachers. This group is only seeking information at this time.

    First Curriculum Council meeting of the year is set for Wednesday, Sept. 11th at 3:30 at CO. However, by this board meeting I will have attended the high school English PLC to discuss their progress and status on their curriculum.

    NWEA MAPS-National testing program is offering some training sessions this fall. Teams of teachers will be attending some upcoming training to enhance their knowledge of the reports and resources that are made available to teachers to assist with student instructional needs.

    Public Release of NePAS will occur on Friday, Sept. 27th.

Rationale:  1.  September 9-14th is Homecoming Week at Norfolk High School. We hope you will be able to attend the football game on Thursday night between the Norfolk Panthers and the Fremont Tigers. Coronation will be on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with the Homecoming Dance to follow at 8:00 p.m.

2.  TeamMates of Norfolk is off to a good start for this year….currently our local group has 83 active mentor/mentee matches. We have 9 mentors and 17 mentees waiting to be matched. Coordinators, Susie Buss and Morgan Cleveland, are working to get these matches complete early in this year. Our TeamMates office is located in the old Guidance area of the senior high school.

3.  This year the Norfolk community will have “Nine Schools, One Book” taking place in our schools to promote “family reading;” The book chosen for this year is titled, “The Mouse and the Motorcycle.” All of Norfolk Public Elementary Schools plus Norfolk Catholic and Christ Lutheran Schools will be participating. Lisa Guenther, Title I teacher for Norfolk Public, is coordinating the program again this year. She tells me that the books are being delivered to the schools next week. She also has the Northeast Players, drama students from NECC, doing a little “kick-off” about the program in each of the schools at the end this month. We certainly appreciate Lisa’s efforts with this reading program.

4.  Maintenance, buildings and grounds crews have been very busy at the start of this year.
     A.  New hot water boilers and softeners have been installed to replace these items that quit    
          working this summer.
     B.  A new chiller oil pump and other parts have been replaced on the high school AC equipment.
     C.  Additional vacuum cleaners have been added to replace and update current needs and to assist
          our custodians in keeping our buildings clean and looking attractive.
     D.  Fall grounds work--spraying and fertilizing--will begin within the next several weeks.

5.  Other updates: The roofing project at the senior high school is nearing completion within the next few days-weather permitting. Additional floor tile work was completed in the concession area of the senior high and the hallway around Carson Theatre. I want to note that the “effort to stay focused on school” exhibited by the senior high students, staff and administration has been SUPERB this first few weeks of school. I couldn’t have asked for greater effort from all of them during the busy, hectic schedule that affected their start to this school year. THANK YOU!

Rationale:  Enrollment Data:

Enrollment has been generally increasing since 2007, with larger growth occurring in the last two  years.  According to data collected on 8/28/2013, we have gained 54 students in the last year, 116 students in the last two years, and a toal of 206 students in the last seven years.

We responded to this growth this summer by adding an additional kindergarten class at Jefferson Elementary.  This allowed us to keep our kindergarten classes smaller and provide our youngest children with more individualized instruction and attention.

Increasing student enrollment is good news for Norfolk, as we want to contine to grow as a school and as a community.  Having additional students in school also brings us additional resources, via increases in state aide.

We will continue to track student enrollment closely and will evaluate our capacity for growth over time.  We, currently, have adequate space and staff, but recognize that continued growth at this level could eventually create needs in those areas.  We will want to keep a close eye on this and be proactive to ensure that we are meeting our student needs and providing students with a quality educational experience.


Strategic Planning

I met with Dr. Larry Dlugosh, former UNL educational administration professor and department chair, and former superintendent last Friday to discuss the facilitation process that he utilizes when consulting with districts regarding Strategic Planning.  Dr. Dlugosh is highly respected in the field and has had previous involvement with NPS: primarily in the areas of accreditation and our Business Leaders meetings.  We discussed ways that our Business Leaders Committee work could be included within Strategic Planning as well as the possibility of working towards district-wide K-12 AdvancED Accreditation.  I would like these to be incorporated into one SAP process, instead of running multiple, separate initiatives.  Dr. Dlugosh is willing and able to facilitate this approach.  I believe that he would do a great job with our facilitation and have asked him to speak to the board about the process at one of our next board meetings.  He is available Sept 26th or Oct 14th, to walk you through the process and allow you to ask any questions that you might have before commiting to utilzing his SAP Facilitation Services.

NASB Event

I attended the NASB Labor Relations Conference last Thursday and Friday in Lincoln, NE.  Negotiations was the main focus of the conference, but breakout sessions were offered on a variety of other topics as well, such as staff evaluations and other personnel issues. 

NASB's next event, our Area Membership Meeting, will be held September 25th in Norfolk form 5:00-8:00 PM at the LLLC.  Registration is due by Sept 18th.  If interested in attending, please contact Sara.

The NASB/NCEA State Education Conference will be held November 20-22 in LaVista. Conference Registration opens September 18th and must be completed by September 25th if you want a room at one of the nearby hotels.    Again, please contact  Sara if you are interested in attending.  Also, let her know if you will need a hotel room.

Rationale:  Mr. Andreasen has volunteered to be the first principal to share a board report.  Washington  elementary has made some nice gains in achievement in recent years, particularly in the area of Reading.  Mr. Andreasen shared data regarding these improvements, as well as the interventions that led to these improvements.

Rationale:  August 7, 2013 Special Board Meeting Minutes
August 12, 2013 Regular Board Meeting Minutes
August 22, 2013 Second Monthly Board Meeting Minutes

Rationale: 

I am recommending the hiring of Melissa Jantz to serve as a Title I Reading Teacher at Washington and Woodland Park Elementary Schools.  This vacancy was created when we moved a Title I Teacher to Jefferson Elementary to serve as our extra Kindergarten Teacher. 

Melissa has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from University of Nebraska in Kearney, and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Nebraska in Kearney.

Melissa previously taught elementary and early childhood special education in Beatrice, Nebraska.

 

Rationale:  Recommend approval of 2013-2014 District Budget of all Funds as published in the Norfolk Daily News on Tuesday, September 3, 2013.

Rationale:  (Bill Robinson) Read the resolution to the Board of Education and Public.

(Dr. Krivohlavek) Recommend approval of the District Tax Request Resolution as read and published in the Norfolk Daily News on September 3, 2013.

Rationale:  This is the first section of our revised Policy Book.  These policies have been reviewed by the Policy Committee, as well as Central Office Administration.  Minor changes have been made to the templates provided by Perry Law Firm to ensure that they fit our district.

We are still working on some details related to Policy 1100 Facility Usage, but will have these ready for your review prior to our Second Reading next month.

You have had an opportunity to read through these policies prior to tonight.  Are there any policies that you have questions about or that you would like to discuss?

Rationale: 

The board may need to move into Executive Session to protect public interest for the purpose of

discussion related to real estate.

Rationale:  The second meeting of the month will be held on Thursday, September 26th, 2013 at 12:00 noon in the Central Office board room. 

The next regular meeting of the board of education is scheduled for Monday, October 14th, 2013 at 5:45 at the Norfolk City Chamber Office. This meeting will be proceeded by the board supper at 5:00.