February 8, 2021 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:  This is Board of Education Recognition Week.  Our schools have said thank you with tokens, notes and videos. Thank you board members for your service and dedication!

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools staff, administration and students would like to thank the individuals that serve on the Board of Education for their dedicated service.

Although last week was School Board Appreciation Week, we want you to know that we appreciate you every day.  

Thank you for all the time and effort you volunteer in order to insure that all of our students are provided with outstanding learning opportunities that prepare them to meet their goals for the future.

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 February, 2021 by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund = $407,164.35

Nutrition Services Fund =$236,561.90

Cooperative Fund = $2,395.84

QCPUF = $191,242.46

Student Fee Fund = $2,170.50

The total amount of claims for the month of January, 2021 in the Activities Fund is listed below:
Activity Fund =$62,508.82

All of these claims were reviewed earlier today by the Finance and Facility Committee.  W-2's have been sent to all NPS employees and 1095 C's should be completed and sent by mid February.  1095 C's are not required to file individual income taxes but are still required to be given to all employees for their records.  

Rationale:  Remote Learning:
We have completed the 5^th week of remote learning. Since the beginning, several students and parents have made decisions to return to face to face schooling. There are some situations where we have made the return to school decision for them. Every situation is unique but we have been clear from the beginning that remote learning is not a successful educational experience for all students and families. We are closely following the remote learning contract parameters. We believe that the return to face to face instruction is slowing down. Many students are positively participating and diligently working on their academic achievement.

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment:
We have just completed the Winter MAP testing window that includes grades Kindergarten through 8^th grade. Data results from Winter MAP testing will do a variety of things for us. Data can show teachers if students are making adequate yearly progress, identify learning gaps that need attention and also identifying specific areas where students still need additional support to reach grade level standards.  Our MAP data serves as a driving force for teachers to make decisions on instruction and possible interventions.
The Teaching and Learning Team is beginning to prepare for the spring state NSCAS test. Although scores for this school year will not be used for identifying AQuESTT accountability classifications, schools will still be participating so the Department of Education can test the reliability of the newly updated NSCAS test. We will also be administering the annual 11^th grade ACT and 9^th and 10^th grade PreACT.  The Nebraska State Department of Education, along with other states, have secured a waiver on testing results for this school year due to academic interruptions during the pandemic.
Our curriculum development with PLC teams has slowed this year but some curricular work has been able to occur. I will be seeking to schedule a meeting with the BOE Curriculum Committee to share the SH Science and 8^th grade Social Studies textbook information. While I do not wish to rush the committee, our timely response is necessary for securing pricing, orders and delivery so teachers have an opportunity to have access to the program materials before the summer.

 

Rationale: 

ELL-  The window for the ELPA test opened today.  The original window for testing was  February 8, 2021 - March 19, 2021. We received notice that we have been given a two week extension.  The window will now be February 8, 2021- April 2, 2021. 

Nurses- We have our second sessions for CPR training set for March 1 and March 2 this semester. Our nurses and health techs, if they choose to, are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination in Tier 1 of the vaccination phases. 

Special Education-  I attended the Nebraska Association of Special Education Supervisors legislative virtual conference on Thursday, February 4th.   Our special education leadership team met January 27 to discuss NSCAS accommodations for our students, needed professional development and we reviewed our mission/vision statements for special education. 

 

Rationale: 

Student Services

Reminder to our families that this week is parent teacher conferences week. Each building has sent our information about scheduling conference zooms or phone calls. We will have an 11:30am dismissal on Thursday for afternoon conferences and no school on Friday.

Safety 

Mrs. Luhr and I were able to schedule a zoom meeting with Senator Flood last week to discuss some important legislative bills that have an impact on Norfolk Public Schools. Specifically I was able to discuss LB322 with Senator Flood, which is a bill that would create a School Safety and Security Reporting System for the state of Nebraska. This would be a centralized reporting system for all schools and provide trained professionals 24 hours a day to receive concerns that would then be forwarded on to the appropriate school district the student attends. From a school safety perspective this would be a valuable tool for students, families, staff and community members. 

Rationale: 

HR Update:

On January 18 a training was held for any staff that drive NPS vehicles to transport students.  This is a new annual NDE requirement.

Substitute Update - The fill rate for our paraprofessional and teacher substitutes has been quite positive.  For the month of January, we were able to fill 97% of teacher absences and 88% of paraprofessional averages.  Our percentage of fill for teacher absences has gone from 62% in November to 93% in December and 97% in January.  In November we needed an average of 39 teacher substitutes daily and in January our average need was 16 teachers daily.  Our percentage of fill for paraprofessional absences has gone from 49% in November to 90% in December and 88% in January.

Job Postings Update:

Certified Positions: 

• Psychologist
• Speech Language Pathologist
• Special Education Teacher-Middle School & Senior High
• Elementary Media Specialist
• Elementary Special Education Teacher-Bel Air
• Elementary PE Teacher (.75 FTE), Montessori & Bel Air
• 1st/2nd Grade Teacher, Lincoln Montessori
• 4th Grade Teacher-Jefferson
• 5th Grade Teacher-Middle School
• K-8 Vocal Music Teacher (Part-Time)
• Junior High School Counselor (2)
• Senior High Alternatives for Success Teacher
• Substitute Teachers

Classified Openings: 

• High Needs Para/Driver (Full-Time) - Senior High & Westside Elementary
• Achievement Center Para - Senior High
• Aftershock - Club Facilitators (Part-time)
• Aftershock - Partnership Specialist (Contracted/Part-Time)
• General Maintenance Worker-Full-Time
• School Bus Activity Drivers 
• Evening Custodian (Full-Time)-Senior High
• Evening Custodians (Part-Time)
• Electrician (Part-Time) - Maintenance
• Substitutes - Deaf Education/Sign Language Interpreter 
• Substitute:  Paraprofessional, Health Tech, Secretary & Nurse
• Substitute Custodians

Coaching Opportunities (‘21-’22):

• Head HS Volleyball
• Head 7th Grade Football
• JH Boys Intramural Basketball
• JH Boys Track Assistant
• HS Assistant Theater - Technical Director

Rationale:  NPS Enrollment Trends by Month

Rationale:  The committee met at 12:00 today.  The claims for the month of February and Activity claims for January were reviewed.  CMBA architecture presented a review of the Grant School upgrades which is up as an action item later in the meeting.  The committee also discussed other facility projects in the district, the process of expenditures and receipts within the Activity Fund, the upcoming CARES ACT II dollars and the RFP for copy and print services.

The next meeting will be March 8th. 

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on 1/28/2021 to discuss policies 8110-8347 related to Internal Board Policies.

Non-substantive changes were made to several policies to fix grammar and punctuation irregularities.  Other changes include:

• 8110 (Purpose and Role of the Board):  "Kindergarten" was changed to "pre-kindergarten in the sentence "to provide a school system which offers a kindergarten through twelfth grade program."  This change was made due to our commitment to providing quality early childhood/preschool education.

• 8130 (Annual Organizational Meeting): "Treasurer" and "Secretary" were removed from the "Elections" section, as these positions are appointed and are included in section four.  Number 6 "designate date for the annual review of BOE policies" was deleted, because we do this on an on-going basis throughout the year.  Finally, the order of numbers 5-8 was revised to match our current practice.

• 8151 (Standing Committees):  Policy and Government Relations Committee was separated into two separate committees, to match our current practice.  In addition, "District Wellness Committee" was added as one of the school committees that contains a board member representative.

• Several of our policies regarding standing committees were revised to change the number of board members required to serve on the committee. The number of board members required in Board policy 8155 (Activities Committee), 8156 (Policy Committee), and 8159 (Curriculum Committee) were reduced from "three" to "up to three."  This will reduce the number of committees that each Board member is required to serve on.

• 8201 (Vacancies and Resignations):  The first sentence of this policy was rewritten so it is more easily understood. No substantive changes were made.

• 8210 (Orientation for Newly-Elected Members of the Board of Education):  "Principal" was changed to "other district administrators, because they are the ones who meet with our new board members.

• 8231 (Coffee Act Policy-Reimbursable Expenses): Flowers were removed as an acceptable way to recognize board members, employees, and volunteers, because the Nebraska State Attorney General has issued guidance indicating that schools cannot purchase flowers.

  The Policy Committee recommends that the first reading of these policies is approved this evening.

Rationale: 

The Government Relations Committee met on 1/21/2021.  Dr. Thompson shared a variety of resources with the committee to assist them with their work throughout the legislative session.  The new process for submitting written testimony for committee hearings was discussed and bills of immediate concern were identified.

Those bills included: 

• LB 120 (Vargas)-- Part-time enrollment/extra-curricular activities--Sandy Wolfe submitted a letter of opposition to this bill, which would allow all private and homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular activities--without enrolling in any courses.

• LB 135 (Wishart)-- SpEd Reimbursement--Tammy Day submitted a letter of support for this bill, which would gradually increase special education reimbursement to 80% over the course of the next 5 years.

• LB 323 (Walz)-- Change TEEOSA components Due to Pandemic--Dr. Thompson submitted a letter of support for this bill, which would make adjustments to TEEOSA to help ease some of the unintentional financial issues that have become evident in the formula--because of extended school closures. 

• LB 364(Linehan)--Opportunity Scholarship Act--Tammy Day submitted a letter of opposition to this bill, which would divert public tax dollars to private schools in the form of scholarships/tax credits.

The Committee is monitoring many other bills and may offer letters or testimony in support or opposition of them when they have their public hearings.

 

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation held its Annual Meeting on January 18, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.  Thirteen board members and six guests were present.  The foundation operates on a calendar year and is required in its by-laws to hold an annual meeting each year on the third Monday of January.  During the annual meeting, board members discussed and approved the year-end 2020 financial reports, 2021 annual budget, board member terms, election of officers, and annual vendor relationships.   They also reviewed and voted to approve the new 2021-2025 Strategic Plan that the board members have spent the past few months carefully developing.  

Annual distributions from the foundation’s endowments and funds for scholarships and grants were also approved for 2021 programming.  Members of the NHS graduating Class of 2021 have the opportunity to apply for 67 Traditional Scholarships equal to $74,050 through the Norfolk Public Schools Foundation.  The scholarship application was available on the website at the end of January and has a March 17 deadline.  

Rationale:  Minutes of the Feb. 2, 2021 Nurses Meeting are attached.

Rationale:  A link to the minutes of the January 11, 2021 meeting is attached.

Rationale:  None at this time.

Rationale:  Josh Weber - Assistant Principal of Norfolk Junior High
Melissa Weber--Special Education Teacher at Norfolk Middle School
Lisa Echtenkamp--School Counselor at Norfolk Junior High
Mary Baumert--School Counselor at Norfolk Junior High
Becki Wulf--Teacher at Alternatives for Success/Remote Learning Teacher
Mary Gray--Elementary Media Specialist at GR, LN, WA and WE
Dona Reed--Special Education Teacher at Norfolk High School and 7th grade girls assistant track coach
Bonnie Johnson--Language Arts and Mathematics Teacher at Norfolk Middle School
Robert Viergutz--Instrumental Music Teacher at Norfolk Junior & Senior High School
Tom Olson - Social Studies Teacher at Senior High School, Head Football Coach, Assistant Track Coach

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of February, 2021.  These claims were reviewed earlier today by our Finance and Facility Committee.  There are no conflict statements for this month.

Rationale:  A seat on the NPS Board of Education is open due to the resignation of Dr. Patti Gubbels, who is now a member of the State Board of Education.  This open position was advertised in the Norfolk Daily News and on our NPS website.  Four candidates submitted applications and will be interviewed tonight.

The order of interviews was determined by random drawing and is listed below:

1. Arnie Robinson

2. Brent Frey

3. Jake Claussen

4. Cassandra Oestreich

Each candidate will be asked the same questions.

At the completion of interviews, sitting board members will discuss the candidates’ qualities and attributes, focusing on strengths.

Once the discussion is complete, the Board President will ask for nominations to fill the empty board seat.  Nominations may be made by any board member and several nominations may be made before a vote. If more than one candidate is nominated, the candidate that receives the majority votes will be chosen/appointed to the seat. Each school board member may only cast one vote for a nominated candidate.

Voting will occur via roll call due to limitations of our electronic voting system (Sparq). Ballots are not allowed for Board appointments.

The motion will be:  I make a motion to appoint the candidate with the majority of votes to fill the open seat on the NPS Board of Education.

If no candidate receives a majority vote (3), the board will discuss candidates further and go through the nomination and voting process again...until a candidate receives the majority vote (3) or until the Board has voted 5 times.

If the board fails to fill a vacancy on the board after 5 votes, the vacancy will be filled by election at a special election. 

Once a candidate is selected (via board vote or special election) he/she will be seated at our next regularly scheduled board meeting and will remain seated until the next general election (November 2022).
 

Rationale:  See the attached resolution.

Rationale:  See the attached Table of Contents and Board Policies.

These policies have been reviewed by the Policy Committee. They recommend the approval of their first reading.

Rationale:  The District is in its final year of our lease agreement for copiers, printers, and service on those machines.  I am recommending to the Board of Education to grant permission to seek proposals for a new 5-Year agreement.

Rationale:  We are currently in the final year of our agreement for District School Pictures and ID Services.  This agreement is strictly a service agreement with no cost to the District.  I am recommending to the Board of Education to approve the seeking of proposals for a new 5-year agreement with the District.

Rationale:  I am recommending to the Board of Education to grant permission to release bid documents for renovations at Grant School.  These renovations include enhancements to the main entrance for safety and security, the installation of an elevator between the 1st and 2nd levels which will eliminate the need to have a chair lift, and new restrooms for students on the 1st and 2nd level.  The new restrooms will also create additional work space on the second level and a larger kindergarten classroom on the first level.  These renovations will be funded from our QCPUF fund.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  This calendar meets Rule 11 requirements and closely follows our K-12 calendar, with some exceptions, such as designated Home-Visit Days and Planning Days on Wednesdays.

Rationale:  The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been tentatively scheduled for noon on February 25, 2021.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, March 8, 2021. The Business Meeting at 5:30 PM. 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.