May 13, 2019 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:  Please stand and join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rationale:  According to State Statute, schools must conduct an annual public hearing regarding their Parental Involvement Policy. Norfolk Public Schools has a district-wide Parental Involvement Policy (6400) and a Title I Parental Involvement Policy (6410). 

The district-wide Parental Involvement Policy outlines several ways that parents can be involved in their child's education, such as reviewing their child's educational record, filing a complaint about instructional materials, and having advance notice of standardized testing and school sponsored surveys.

The Title I Parental Involvement takes this a step further.  Title I defines the term parental involvement as the participation of parents in regular, two-way, meaningful communication regarding students' academic learning and other school activities.  Some specific examples of this include, providing parents with regular opportunities to learn about their child's academic progress, providing them with the opportunity to review this policy, and eliciting their help in developing the district's Title I plan.  

At this time, we will open the hearing to the public in order to give them the opportunity to present information and opinions on these policies.

(Community Input)

The Policy Committee has reviewed these policies and did not recommend any changes. It is anticipated that they will be reaffirmed by the Board later tonight.

With that being said, if there are no questions or concerns, I recommend that we close the parental involvement hearing.  

Rationale:  Junior High Creation Station

Rationale:  Connie Ingram:  Guidance Secretary at Norfolk Senior High School 

Rationale:  April 2019 Success Pin Recipients
The Cash Now winner is Sonya Nielson.  She will receive a $50 gift certificate, compliments of U.S. Bank.

Tracy	Backer	Deb	Kollmar
Robert	Beeson	Kelly	Konz
Chris	Begeman	Joshua	Long
Jena	Boutin	Julie	Muehlbauer
Blair	Brink	Chris	Mueller
Debi	Commerford	Sonya	Nielson
Dee	Eden	Christina	Paulson
Amy	Elliott	Colleen	Petty
Nancy	Full	Carrie	Pieper
Lisa	Geary	Sheila	Polt
Teresa	Goodrich	Nancy	Probasco
Kelsey	Gubbels	Laura	Reeves
Melissa	Hansen	Cara	Riese
Leslie	Hazelton	Sandy	Rose
Kendra	Henry	Joleen	Sholes
Michelle	Indra	Lisa	Stowe
Jenna	Jochum	Sharie	Thelen
Taylor	Johnson	Kathryn	Uttecht
Bonnie	Johnson	Erik	Wilson
Raschelle	Kirkpatrick	Dustin	Wood

 

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 May, 2019 by specific fund are as follows:

General Fund = $377,780.18

Nutrition Services Fund =$261,144.51

Cooperative Fund = $101,567.86

Depreciation Fund = $576,074

Special Building Fund = $6,268.25

QCPUF = $20,689.00

Student Fee Fund = $6,772.39

The total amount of claims for the month of April, 2019 in the Activities Fund are as follows:
Activity Fund =$168,648.47

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

Rationale:  Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction:

• The spring testing window is complete. We had a very successful experience with the Senior High ACT testing date. Only a small number of students were absent and of those, we were informed about prior to testing. Make up testing went smoothly. 9^th and 10^th graders completed ASPIRE testing on that same day.
• The statewide NSCAS 3-8^th grade testing went well also. Testing functionality went well with the exception of some multi-selection questions in reading. After submitting testing error information, we found that it was a statewide problem not exclusively a NPS problem.
• Results for statewide assessments are not ready to be shared. The ACT will be sooner than the NSCAS. We are on year 2 of the new test engine and are informed we should have quicker feedback next year.
• The Teaching and Learning department is working toward transitioning in its new members while at the same time trying to keep pace with curriculum teams. We met for two days to complete material auditing on curriculum documents submitted by teacher teams this year. This helps us to see how far we’ve come, where we need to provide more supports and where our attention needs to focus first next fall. 
• On Wednesday, May 8^th we had 50 plus teachers and principals available to listen to presentations from two companies on science programs. It wasn’t until recently that programs have responded and updated to meet the NGSS rigor and criteria. Teachers were given rubrics to evaluate presentations. The TnL team will tabulate the feedback and determine what the next steps should be. The intent is to pilot one or both programs next fall. I will keep you posted.
• On two separate dates in April, the TnL team hosted parent groups to present information on our Strategic Action Plan of Target Based Grading. Our objective was to gather feedback from a parent’s point of view. A few main points from parents were:
  • It’s important to uphold rigor
  • TBG sounds a lot like Montessori in nature with moving students forward with their learning & circling support where needed
  • Wish they could have seen a sample report card
  • Like that there will be more specific feedback on report cards
  • Like that we are not intending to change anything on a transcript that may hinder a student’s future opportunities- multiple questions about college and scholarships
  • Liked that teachers will give behavior feedback but again, wish they could see a sample of it on a report card
  • Concerned that tailoring learning will take a lot of time for teachers- I agreed and explained that is why we cannot rush the process
  • Important to them that teachers know and understand the process
  • Important to them that teachers operate equitably
  • Important to them that students that are high achieving still have opportunities to grow and progress and be honored
  • Important to put out information regularly and soon
  • They appreciated seeing the myths and facts lists as they had been a part of conversations that included some of those topics

Technology:

• Annual technology RFP’s have been advertised and bid opening is on Friday, May 17^th @ 10:00 a.m.

Rationale: 

• Our results from ELPA  21 have been shared. The ELL teachers are looking through the results and determining focus areas of instruction needed for continual growth.

• The Johnson O’Malley (JOM) Native American Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, May 29th, at Ponca Tribe of Nebraska beginning at 6:00 p.m.

• Beth and I will be working on our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) with elementary principals, June 6th and 10th.

• Some important dates to remember:

  • May 19th - Graduation
  • May 23rd - Last day of school for students
  • May 24th - Teacher work day and staff check-out

Rationale: 

• We are planning a reunification drill with students and parents this week at one of our elementary buildings. A parent/student reunification event happens when a school building is deemed unsafe to return to after an evacuation. If staff and students are unable to return to the building, students and parents will reunify at an alternate location. 
• Practicing a reunification drill allows our NPS safety teams to ensure evacuation processes are clear and concise and that our reunification plans create the safest environment possible for our students and their families. The feedback and experience we gain from the reunification drill will greatly enhance our ability to purposefully and effectively respond to a multitude of possible crisis situations.

Staff Kudos!

• As the school year winds down, I just want to take a minute to sincerely thank our entire NPS staff for the excellent work they do for our students, families, and community. Norfolk is truly blessed to have such outstanding teachers, administrators, and support staff in our district. The overall commitment and dedication to students that our staff embodies ensures that "Nothing Prevents Success."

2019-2020 School Year Information

• Our "New to the District" teacher training is Tuesday, August 6th - Friday, August 9th.  
• All certified staff report on Monday, August 12th.
• The first day of school for students is Wednesday, August 14th.

Personnel Update:

• Current Openings:
  • Aftershock Club Facilitators
  • General Maintenance/Transportation (Full-Time)
  • "Multi-Building" Custodian (Full Time)
  • School Bus Activity Drivers
  • Substitute Custodians
  • Substitute Deaf Ed. Interpreters
  • Substitute Paraprofessionals
     
• 2019-2020 School Year Openings:
  • Deaf Education/Sign Language Interpreter (Classified)
  • Elementary High Ability Learner (HAL) Teacher (Classified Position - Nebraska Teaching Certificate Required)
  • Jefferson Elementary: 4th Grade Teacher
  • Junior High: Music Teacher (This position is .4 FTE)
  • Lincoln Montessori: Classroom Paraprofessional (25 hrs)
  • Senior High: Math Teacher
  • Senior High: Security Techs (2) (Classified)
  • Senior High: Special Education Teacher
  • Speech Language Pathologist (2.5)
  • Teacher for the Deaf / Hard of Hearing
  • Washington Elementary School: Media Paraprofessional

2019-2020 Coaching Openings:

• • HS Assistant Football
  • HS Assistant Soccer (Boys)
  • HS Assistant Soccer (Girls)
  • JH Assistant Track
  • JH Assistant Wrestling(2)

 

Rationale:  Pilot Program at Washington Elementary

I am excited to announce a new partnership between NPS and NECC: The Washington Elementary and Northeast Community College Family Literacy Program.  We are working in conjunction with Emily Duncan, the director of adult education, and Julie Clark the adult education coordinator to build a program together to bring our families into our school to help teach them various skills that cover many areas.  

We will start the program up in the Fall of 2019.  The proposed plan is to offer English as a Second Language class to adults 2 evenings at Washington Elementary from 3:45-5:45 p.m.  There would also be a Family Literacy class 2 evenings per week where children and caregivers can work together on literacy activities. On the 5th night of the week, soft skill exercises would be offered related to school communication such as how to call the school when a child is sick, or have exercises in what to do and say in a parent-teacher conference.

As our relationship grows, the goal is to have parents ready to participate in the classroom for an even more meaningful Parent and Child Time (PAC Time) that is interactive and intentional in the literacy process.  The current time line is for this piece to be added in January when we come back to school.

We are eager to move forward with the collaboration between NECC and Washington Elementary.  We believe we can make a larger impact on our community by building upon family education and their relationships with the schools.  NECC is providing all of the staff, curriculum, and materials.  We are simply providing them with access to our our facilities to provide these services to our parents and students in a convenient location.

Rationale:  The committee met at 12:00 today, all claims for the month of May and Activity claims for April were reviewed.  The committee then discussed the following facility and business items:

• Update on the 25th Street renovation, updates from principal
• Review of district construction policies
• Recommendation for changes on the salaried classified compensation schedule
• Recommendation on proposals for lawn and snow equipment
• Recommendation for contract with Lunch Time Solutions for 2019-2020
• Recommendation for Sanitation Services during 2019-2020
• Recommendation on Playground equipment and installation for Little Panthers Pre-School
• Reviewed timeline on phone and intercom upgrades
• Update from City on Georgia Ave. paving project
• Review of summer maintenance and facility projects

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on April 25, 2019. We reviewed policies 7000-7052 related to major construction projects, including new construction and major remodels.  Because the policies relate to facilities we requested the proposed changes be reviewed by the Finance and Facilities Committee. The Policy Committee will meet again to consider additional changes before the policies are recommended for first reading.

The Policy Committee also reviewed Policy 5008 (Student Attendance) 5415 (Anti-Bullying), 5417 (School Wellness), 6370 (Multicultural Education), 6400 (Parental/Community Involvement in Schools), 6410 (Title I Parental and Family Engagement).  State statute requires that these policies are reviewed annually. No changes were made. The Policy Committee recommends the reaffirmation of these policies tonight.

No changes were made to the Homework Policy, which is recommended for second and final reading.

Our next meeting will be scheduled after the legislative session is complete and Perry Law Firm sends us their annual policy update.  

Rationale: 

The Government Relations Committee met on April 25th. We discussed recent activity in the legislature, reviewed various bills and amendments, and determined how to proceed.  

We are watching the following bills very closely.

LB 147 -- Groene’s discipline bill:  We are concerned about several aspects in this bill, including the use of physical force and the ability of a teacher to remove a student from his/her classroom without the approval of the building administrator. Currently the NSEA, NCSA, and NASB are collaborating to see if we can reach a compromise regarding this legislation.

LB 670 -- Linehan’s tax credit bill. We oppose the provision of tax credits for donations to non-public schools. Public tax dollars should not be diverted to non-public schools, which are not held to the same standards as public schools and are not governed by elected officials.

LB 289 -- Linehan’s property tax relief bill.  We appreciate the Revenue Committee’s efforts to provide tax relief and adequately fund public schools.  However, we do have several concerns with this bill. We are opposed to additional spending caps, because we already have several caps or budget limitations placed on us by state statute, including our levy limit, our basic allowable growth rate, and our cash reserve limit. Additional caps simply are not needed and would be detrimental to growing districts that need flexibility to hire additional staff.  We are also concerned that the state will not be able to sustain this level of funding for education, and that equalization aid will be reduced in the future (as more funding is diverted to non-equalized school districts through basic or "foundation" aid).

We have written letters to our senators and/or sent official testimony on all three of these bills and will continue to reach out to our senators as new developments arise.

Rationale: 

The committee met at noon on Monday, April 29th.  We reviewed the decision by the NSAA regarding classifications, which indicates that schools with a combined enrollment of 850 students will be in Class A.  It is uncertain whether this rule will go into effect in 2019-2020 or 2020-2021. If it does not go into effect until 2020-2021, we will "opt up" into Class A for the interim year (2019-2020).

We also discussed the bowling and girls wrestling proposals, which failed.  We anticipate that these will return in future years.

The Committee also reviewed two proposals from NHS staff. The first proposal was submitted by Mr. Woods.  He requested that we only have one swing choir group in the future, rather than two. He believes this will make us more competitive.  The committee supported this change. The second proposal was submitted by Mrs. Bender, Mr. Cook, and Mr. Woods. They asked the Committee to consider revising Board Policy 5416 to allow school sponsorship of the band’s trip to Chicago later this month.  The Activities Committee decided not to forward Policy 5416 (National Trips) onto the Policy Committee for review, because the trip is a non-competitive, non-academic social trip. It would not be appropriate for us to sponsor this trip, and our policy is very clearly written.  NPS does not sponsor national trips.

The Committee also reviewed participation numbers, available, coaching positions, increased opportunities for our Pink Panthers and Cheerleaders to collaborate, and our Coop Policy.  The Activities Committee is forwarding this policy (5304) to the Policy Committee for review. It is recommended that a statement be added indicating that coop students must follow our activities code of conduct.

Although the school year is winding down and this committee will not meet again until Fall, we still have multiple activities and events scheduled in the next few weeks, including the Spring Play, District Track, and State Golf.

Rationale:  Minutes from the May 7, 2019 Nurses and Student Health Fund meetings are attached.

Rationale:  Minutes of April 8, 2019 and April 25, 2019 School Board Meetings are attached for review.

Rationale: 

Nancy Probasco   2019-2020 - District- Instructional Leader

• Bachelor of Arts in Special Education, Mild/Moderate disabilities, grades K-6 from the University of Nebraska in Kearney.
• Currently a High Ability Learner Facilitator for the Norfolk Public Schools.

 

Rationale:  None at this time.

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of May, 2019.  These claims were reviewed earlier today by our Finance and Facility committee.  Also attached are the conflict statements on specific claims that need to be read before voting.

Rationale:  There is no recommended change to these policies.

Rationale:  No revisions have been made to this policy since its first reading last month.

Rationale:  I am recommending to the Board of Education to approve the updated compensation schedule for the district classified positions that are on salary.  The previous schedule that was approved reflected positions that the district currently has but since that schedule was approved we had a retirement which in turn gave the district an opportunity to reorganize our maintenance positions into a head maintenance and assistant maintenance positions which is reflected in this schedule.

Rationale:  I am recommending to the Board of Education to renew the contract with LunchTime Solutions as the districts food management company for 2019-2020 school year.  LunchTime Solutions has continued to handle the district food management needs at a high level.  The annual review process with staff, students and parents reflect a high level of satisfaction with their service.

Rationale:  I am recommending to the Board of Education to approve the proposal from Creative Sites for $91,421 for the Little Panthers Playground.  The funds for this project will come from district general and depreciation funds.  The district received two proposals on this project with Creative Sites being the proposal that fully met our needs for this playground.

Rationale:  The district received three proposals for sanitation services for 2019-2020 which are listed below.  I am recommending to the board of education to accept the proposal from Prime Sanitation for $46,800 to handle the district sanitation needs for the 2019-2020 school year.

Jesse's $86,400
Waste Connections $68,700
Prime Sanitation $46,800

Rationale:  I am recommending to the board of education to approve the purchase of the following lawn and snow equipment after receiving proposals from Green Line Equipment and Dinkel's Equipment both in Norfolk.

Equipment from Green Line (John Deere)
1. Muti-Use utility tractor,  $28,450 net price after trade
2. Multi-Use lawn and snow machine, $28,300 net price after trade

Equipment from Dinkel's
1. Two 72"  Kubota riding lawn mowers, $28,550 net price after trade

Rationale:  The special education department has ipad minis that are out dated that we would like to sell: $50 for the ones with chargers and $45 for the ones without chargers.

 

Rationale:  The second monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 2019 at 12:00 noon at the NPS Central Office Administration Offices. 

The regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, June 10, 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.