December 10, 2018 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public School District's board of education meeting is called to order.  

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:  NASB State Education Conference Sharing
Building Visits

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

Rationale:  Jefferson Elementary -- For the Love of Reading
 

Rationale:  November 2018 Success Pin Recipients
The Cash Now winner is Katie Fite.  She will receive $50, compliments of U.S. Bank.
 

Angie Means	Diane Price
Brandy Avery	Sarah Klinetobe
Tom McGrane	Tia Jech
Alysia Hasebrook	Heidi Korth
Dann Kudera	Beau Viergutz
Joann Robinette	Missy Borgmann
Stephanie Hutchison	Missy Borgmann
Kelly Krueger	Jessica Horsley
Kelly Hansen	Pat Zach
Toni Peters	Todd Cook
Kathy Pearson	Jami Speidel
Katie Fite	Mariah Bloomquist
Aline Skogstoe	Josh Long
Stephanie Cohn	Dana Mimick
Audrey Obermire	Justin Grey
Julie Muehlbauer	Tia Jech
Sheila Arlt	Toni Peters

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: 

Total amount of claims to be approved in the consent agenda for the month of December, 2018 by specific fund are as follows:

General Fund = $885,885.97

Nutrition Services Fund =$272,277.50

Cooperative Fund = $2,317.43

Depreciation Fund = $166,636.79

Special Building Fund = $4,395.22

Employee Benefit = $171,522.58

Student Fee Fund = $10,932.26

The total amount of claims for the month of November, 2018 in the Activities Fund were:
Activity Fund =$136,450.97

All of these claims were reviewed earlier today by the Finance and Facility Committee.

Rationale:  CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION & ASSESSMENT

• There has been continued curriculum work in multiple areas. Renee Rucker and I have specifically set aside days with the Senior High each quarter this year.
• Heather Thompson is a trained facilitator with NWEA MAP data and has been going out to buildings to assist teachers with data dives for their students. This has been a beneficial investment as we’ve already started using data to inform instruction.
• State assessment data will become public on Dec. 21^st. I, along with principals are spending quite a bit of time picking apart this information as it is all new.
• Continued work on the SAP of Target Based Grading is definitely in motion. Everyday this is evolving.

New Staff Member

• Morgan Centrone has come on board in my department as a replacement to Maria Austin.

Rationale:  School dismisses for winter vacation on Friday, December 21.  This will mark the end of our first semester for the 2018-2019 school year.  Teachers return for second semester on Thursday, January 3rd and students return on Monday, January 7th.

Unified Bowling competed at state last Monday, December 3 and walked away as Runner-Up in the state.  It was a very exciting competition! 
 

Rationale:  Upcoming Staff Development:

• Our next staff development day is Thursday, January 3, 2019. This day will be split into two different sections. One part of our day together will be spent reviewing our district plan for enhancing our school safety protocols and the other part of the day will be spent discussing (and collaborating on) effective instructional practices. High quality staff development is essential to increasing teacher effectiveness and maximizing student learning and engagement. 
• Friday, January 4, 2019 will be a teacher work day which will allow our staff to collaborate and finalize plans for second semester.
• Monday, February 11, 2019 is also a staff development day. This day will be focused on grading practices and learning targets.

ESU # 8 Winter Workshop:

• The Winter Workshop (a collaborative staff development day with a multitude of area schools) will be held at Norfolk Senior High School on Monday, January 21, 2019.
• This event is an excellent way to bring together area school districts for consistent and relevant staff development on topics designed to enhance educational effectiveness.
• The keynote speaker for the 2019 Winter Workshop will be Dr. Adolph Brown.
• For more information on the Winter Workshop, please go to: esu8winterworkshop.weebly.com.

Personnel Update:

• Current Openings:
  • Activity Bus Drivers
  • General Maint. /Transp. (2)
  • Substitute Custodians
  • Substitute Deaf Ed. Interpreters
  • Substitute Paraprofessionals
  • Substitute Teachers
  • Washington Elementary: Preschool Paraprofessional/Driver
  • Westside Elementary: LIFE & ED Paraprofessional/Driver

• School Psychologist
• Speech/Language Pathologists (1.5)

• None at this time

Rationale:  Retirements/Resignations:
Norfolk Public Schools will NOT be offering a retirement incentive or early separation agreement this year.  This has not been done in many years, as the state has eliminated the financial incentive that used to be given to schools for doing this.  

I have heard "rumors" of multiple possible retirements and am encouraging any staff member who knows that they will be retiring to submit their letter ASAP.  We were unable to fill two positions this school year, including the core areas of science and English.  We were able to cover the Science position by reassigning existing staff, but had to hire a long-term sub for the  English position.  Submitting retirement and resignations early would help us avoid this unfortunate situation next year.

Reorganization of the Board:
Although we will not be adding any new Board members in January, we will be electing officers and appointing committee members.  If anyone would like to change committees, I would ask that you email Arnie or me at your earliest convenience.

Enrollment and Staffing:
I am in the process of finalizing my annual Enrollment Projections and Strategic Growth Plan.  I will share this with you during our January Study Session, at which time I anticipate that I will request additional staff members in order to keep class sizes at an acceptable level and meet student needs.

Rationale:  The committee met at 12:00 today and discussed the following items:

• Review of December claims
• Agri-City insurance presented renewal information
• Discussion on upcoming banking, credit card and fleet card resolutions in January
• Discussion on 403 B plan administration bid process
• Updates on the 25th Street project
• Discussion on renewal of soft drink provider bid process

Next meeting with be January 14th at 12:00 noon

Rationale: 

• The Policy Committee has not met since our last Board meeting.

• There are no new policies for discussion tonight.

• Policies 1300-1470 are ready  for second reading/final approval.

Our next meeting is scheduled for noon on January 24th.

Rationale: 

The Government Relations Committee met on Monday, December 3, 2018 to discuss the upcoming legislative session and review the updated Invest in Nebraska brochure created by the Nebraska Education Collaboration. It identifies 9 key ways that the legislature could invest in our students and our economy, including: early childhood, student nutrition, special education, behavioral and mental health, school safety, teacher recruitment, retention and development, expanded learning opportunities, career education, and school funding.

The legislative session will begin on January 9, 2019 and conclude on June 6, 2019. Budget issues, Medicaid expansion, and property tax relief will likely take a considerable amount of debate.

The Government Relations Committee met again on Thursday, December 6th...with Senator Jim Scheer. He also predicted that budget issues, Medicaid expansion, and property tax relief will be key topics of discussion during the upcoming legislative session.

Our first GNSA (Greater Nebraska Schools Association) meeting is scheduled for January 16, 2019 in Lincoln.

Rationale:  The Activities Committee has not met since our last report.  
Our next meeting is scheduled for noon on Monday, December 17, 2018.

Rationale:  The minutes of the December 4, 2018 Nurses' Meeting are attached.

Rationale:  Minutes of the November 12, 2018 School Board meeting are attached. 

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of December, 2018.  These claims were reviewed earlier today by our Finance and Facility committee.

Rationale:  See attachment.

Rationale:  No changes have been made to these policies since their First Reading. The Policy Committee is recommending their approval.

Rationale:  This approval of this Interlocal Agreement would increase our number of School Resource Officers from one to two, with the second SRO serving primarily at the Junior High School.  All expenses for both SROs are to be split 50/50 by Norfolk Public Schools and the City of Norfolk.

If approved tonight, this agreement will be taken to the City Council for approval next Monday, and we could have our second SRO in place soon after Winter Break.

Rationale:  There will not be a 2nd school board meeting in the month of December.

The regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, January 14, 2019.  The Study Session will begin at 5:30 and will be followed by the Business Meeting at 6:30. All components of these meetings will be held at the NPS Central Administration Offices and will be open to the public unless an Executive Session is needed in order to protect the interest of the district or the reputation of an individual.