January 10, 2022 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  January 6, 2022

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:  Strategic Growth/Staffing Proposal

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

Rationale:  Please write the name of the Board member that you would like to serve as our 2022 School Board President on the ballot provided.
Mary Hoien will count the votes and read the tally for the record.
The candidate with the most votes will serve as our next Board President.

Rationale:  Please write the name of the Board member that you would like to serve as our 2022 School Board Vice President on the ballot provided.
Mary Hoien will count the votes and read the tally for the record.
The candidate with the most votes will serve as our next Board Vice President.

Rationale:  Woodland Park Elementary:  "Are you smarter than a 3rd grader...in math?"
 

Rationale:  Award for Excellence
Mr. Dennis Doering
Grant Elementary Custodian
 

Rationale: 

It is customary for the District's Business Manager to serve as the Board Treasurer.  Therefore, I am recommending the appointment of Dr. Bill Robinson as the 2022 Board Treasurer.

Rationale: 

It is customary for the district's Superintendent to serve as the Board's Secretary. Therefore, I recommend that you appoint me as your 2022 Board Secretary.

Rationale: 

For numerous years, the district's primary legal counsel has been provided via the attorneys at Perry Law Firm.  We continue to be satisfied with their advice and performance. Therefore, I recommend that we continue to use their services on an as needed basis.

Other legal firms may be used from time to time for special cases with extenuating circumstances.

Rationale: 

NPS Board Committees-October 2021 Update

 

Negotiations Committee:

Purpose: Represents the full BOE in negotiations with recognized labor organizations

Meetings: Several meetings in November-January

Required Members: 2 Board members; no other specifications

Current Members:  Sandy Wolfe and Leann Widhalm (CHAIR) 

 

Curriculum Committee:

Purpose: Reviews major proposals regarding the adoption of new textbooks, instructional programs, and graduation requirements.

Meetings: At least once a year; usually more

Required Members: 3 Board members; no other specifications

Current Members: Leann Widhalm (CHAIR), Jenna Hatfield, and Jake Claussen

 

American Civics Committee:

Purpose: to examine social studies curriculum to ensure it is aligned with state standards and meets the requirements of Nebraska Statute 79-724 to 79-727.

Meetings:  At least twice a year

Required Members:  3 Board members, no other specifications

Current Members:  Leann Widhalm (CHAIR), Jenna Hatfield, and Jake Claussen

 

Finance and Facilities Committee:

Purpose: Studies financial documents of the district, as well as finance and facilities proposals

Meetings: At least once per month; more frequently when needed

Required members: 3 Board Members, including the President and/or Vice President

Current Members: Sandy Wolfe, Tammy Day (CHAIR), and Brenda Carhart

 

Policy Committee

Purpose: Reviews proposed policy revisions and adoptions and makes recommendations to the Full Board

Meetings: Typically once per month

Required Members: 3 Board members; no other specifications

Current Members: Tammy Day, Brenda Carhart (CHAIR) and Jenna Hatfield

 

Government Relations Committee:

Purpose: Participates in government relations activities, such as attending GNSA meetings, visiting with State Senators, and testifying before the legislature

Meetings: Varies-typically 2-3 times per month during the legislative session

Required Members: 3 Board members; no other specifications

Current Members: Tammy Day, Sandy Wolfe, and Jenna Hatfield (CHAIR)

 

Superintendent Evaluation Committee:

Purpose: Completes the annual evaluation of the Superintendent, with input from the Board as a whole

Meetings: 1-3 times prior to the Superintendent’s evaluation

Required Members: 3 Board Members, including the Board President, Vice President, and one other member

Current Members: Tammy Day, Sandy Wolfe (CHAIR), and Jake Claussen

 

Activities Committee:

Purpose: Reviews activities budget, participation, and proposals

Meetings: 4-6 times per year

Required Members: 3 Board members; no other specifications

Current Members:Tammy Day, Brenda Carhart, and Jake Claussen (CHAIR) 

 

Staff Member of the Month:

Purpose: Helps to select the Award for Excellence recipient

Meetings: 4-6 per year

Required Members: 1 Board member; no other specifications

Current member: Leann Widhalm

 

Foundation Board:

Purpose: Serves as the BOE representative on the NPS Foundation Board

Meetings: Typically once per month

Required Members: 1 Board member; no other specifications

Current member: Brenda Carhart

 

District Wellness Committee

Purpose: Serves as the BOE representative on this district committee

Meetings: 4-6 per year

Required Members: 1 Board member; no other specifications

Current member: Jake Claussen

Rationale:  RESOLVED, that the official depository of school funds for Madison County School District 59-0002 is hereby designated to be at Bank First, Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust, Midwest Bank and Nebraska Liquid Asset Fund, and that the designation of any other institution as the depository of school funds is hereby withdrawn.  Bank First will be the primary depository for the General Fund. Midwest Bank will be the primary depository for the Bond Fund, Special Building Fund and Depreciation Fund. Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust will be the primary depository for all other Funds and Nebraska Liquid Asset Fund will serve as a depository for cash reserves in the General, Bond, QCPUF, Special Building, and Depreciation Funds.
 

Rationale:  According to Policy 3130 the Board of Education shall be presented annually the list of recommended card assignments that have authority to use school district issued credit cards and purchasing cards.  The credit cards are issued through Elkhorn Valley Bank and Bank First.  We are in the process of moving cards from Elkhorn Valley Bank to Bank First but need to have both listed for this action as there will be a few weeks when both sets of cards will be active during the transition.  All credit cards have the school district's name and card number on them, not individual names. The district Voyager fleet cards for fuel can only be used by organizations that qualify for the state fuel rate. These cards are also numbered with the school district name on them.  All cards are initially checked out through the Business Office and returned to the Business Office when they expire or a listed assignment is no longer needed in the district.

Rationale:  Historically, we have used the Norfolk Daily News as our newspaper of record.  This is where we publish public notices, RFPs, etc.

Rationale: 

State statutes require that School Board members disclose any Conflicts of Interest that they may have related to contracts and employment issues, as well as any other matters that may have a financial impact on the Board member or his/her family.  The procedures for conflict disclosure and reporting have been provided to all Board members for their review.

All Board members understand their duty to disclose potential conflicts of interest and refrain from voting on such items.  Potential items that may be a conflict include: reimbursement of expenses and the payment of wages for activity workers. Our Finance Office will notify Board members if such items appear on the monthly claims and assist them in preparing a conflict of interest disclosure statement.

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, including your address, the name of the organization you represent 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 January, 2022 by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund = $366,844.39

Nutrition Services Fund =$279,620.43

Cooperative Fund = $3,265.71

Depreciation Fund = $18,711.00

QCPUF = $334,921.30

Student Fee Fund = $717.92

The total amount of claims for the month of December, 2021 in the Activities Fund is listed below:
Activity Fund =$110,912.82

All of these claims were reviewed earlier today by the Finance and Facility Committee.  Payroll is currently working on end of the year tax documents for our employees so they can begin their individual taxes.  We hope to have all W-2's out by the end of this month and 1095 C's by early 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.  All 1099's have also been sent to vendors for verification.

Rationale:  Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

• Administrators and teachers were able to review the midyear student achievement data on Monday and make instructional decisions about appropriate interventions. Teachers were appreciative of the work time in the afternoon.
• 6^th-11^th grade English Language Arts had a mini training on Wednesday for the first program they are piloting. More information to come on that in the future.

Rationale: 

Our ELL students will be taking the ELPA test February 7, 2022 - March 18, 2022.  I will be able to share the results from this assessment in early May.

Special Education- Our district special education team will meet on Wednesday, January 12th. We will have some of our special education teachers presenting at our Professional Development on Jan 17, 2022.

Rationale: 

HR Update:

Advertising has begun for certified positions for the 2022-2023 school year.  I am scheduled to attend job fairs to begin recruiting at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, the University of Nebraska Kearney, Wayne State College and the South Dakota Teacher Fair.

As part of the NDE Accreditation process, we recently gathered perceptual data from our staff, students and parents.  The surveys provide the schools with an opportunity to measure their perceptions of the school climate.  I have provided a district overview of those results.  The results are averaged across subgroups and provided to administrators, so they get an overview of their own building.  The building principals will review the results with their staff to assess areas of strength and areas needing improvement.  The mean score ranges from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree).

Perceptual Data 2021:  NPS District Overview (Attached)

  On January 17, NPS will host the ESU 8 Winter Workshop at the Senior High.  Approximately 22 school districts will gather to listen to the keynote speaker, Joe Sanfelippo, share his message about "Impacting the Narrative".  For the remainder of the day, teachers and administrators will have the opportunity to attend three different sessions of their choice, choosing from over 70 sessions that cover a wide range of topics.


 

Rationale: 

1. See Enrollment Report

2. Staff were allowed to purchase "jeans days" before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday breaks.  This not only served as a morale booster, but raised $3914.75 for the following funds:

• Sixpence diaper fund = $1596.75

• NPS Foundation Classroom Grants = $1302.00

• NSEA Children’s Fund = $1016.00

3. The legislative session started last week, which means that weekly meetings with the GNSA Legislative Committee and the Chamber Government Affairs committee have also resumed.  This is a short 60 day session, ending in mid April, which means that bills are likely to move very quickly.  Senators have some very important decisions to make regarding ARPA funding, as well as the state surplus, in addition to the many other issues (such as school funding, roads, the state prison, etc.)

4. I Love Public Schools Day is scheduled for January 19th. Please consider wearing your I love public schools shirt and posting a comment on social media about why you love public schools.

Rationale:  The committee met at 12:00 today.  The claims for the month of January and activity claims for December were reviewed.  CMBA provided a review of the projects at BA and JH for the RFP.  LSI held its first semester review of the Breakfast and Lunch program with students, parents and administration.  Leann Widhalm also attended the review meeting.  LSI received feedback specifically from students on how things are going and items to consider.  The committee then reviewed the following items:

• Updates on current projects
• Review of Banking Resolutions, credit cards and fleet cards
• Questions on Staffing Proposal

The next meeting will be Monday, February 14th, at 12:00 noon.

Rationale:  The Activities Committee met on December 20, 2021. 
Mr. Erwin and Mr. Beranek provided upends on our Winter Activities.
Mr. Erwin shared information with the committee regarding the costs and benefits of adding Bowling as an activity in 2022-2023.  The Committee indicated that they would recommend that the Board add bowling as a pilot activity in 2022-2023.  The total anticipated cost is $16,000/year.
Mr. Erwin also indicated that we are researching the cost and benefits of an exclusive uniform deal with a company such as Nike or Adidas. More information will be provided to the committee at their next meeting.
All co-ops will be continued in 2022-2023.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 21, 2022.

 

Rationale:  Minutes of the January 4, 2022 Nurses and Student Health Committee meetings are attached for review.

Rationale:  Minutes of the December 13, 2021 are attached for review.

Rationale: 

Lexie Bacon

• 2021-2022, 2nd Semester, 1.0 Special Education Teacher, Senior High
• Bachelor of Arts, K-12 Special Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• Aug.-Dec. 2021, Student Teacher Norfolk Junior High & Westside Elementary

Tanner Johnston

• 2021-2022, 2nd Semester, 1.0 Special Education Teacher, Middle School
• Bachelor of Science, Special Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• Aug.-Dec. 2021, Special Education Clinical, Pierce Public Schools, Pierce, NE

Rationale:  Haeven Pedersen--Principal at Jefferson Elementary School
Mary Kristin (Kris) Anderson--4th grade at Woodland Park Elementary School
Amy Specht--6th grade Math and Language Arts at Norfolk Middle School
Brooke Hemmer--Special Education Teacher at Norfolk Middle School

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of January, 2022.  These claims were reviewed earlier today by our Finance and Facility Committee.  There is a conflict statement for this month that will need to be read before voting.

Rationale:  See the January 2022 Strategic Growth Plan

Rationale:  Due to changes in the CDC guidelines, the following changes are recommended to our Covid-19 Return to School Plan:

Staff and students who test positive or demonstrate symptoms of COVID-19 will be required to:
* Stay home for five days, beginning with the day of your positive test or onset of symptoms

 * On day six, if symptoms are gone or getting better and no fever, you can return to school. You must wear a mask for five more days. 

* On day six, if you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever is gone and your symptoms are getting better. You must wear a mask until you reach day 10.

 * If you return to school prior to 10 days, you must wear a mask. If you choose not to wear a mask, you must stay home for the entire 10 days. 

 
We would also like to add the following statement:

The Superintendent can make temporary changes to this plan, to be confirmed/approved by the Board at the next scheduled board meeting.

Rationale:  The Activities Committee is recommending that Bowling is added as a pilot activity for the 2022-2023 school year.  The total cost for this additional activity is estimated at $16,000/year. This amount includes coaches, uniforms, King's Lane rental, transportation, and fees.

Bowling is now an NSAA sanctioned activity. Its addition would provide another opportunity for our students to be engaged in a positive activity.  

Rationale:  I am recommending to the Board to approve the release of bid documents for Bel-Air facility addition and improvements.  These improvements will address current space and program needs at Bel Air while also expanding much needed current on-site parking for staff and visitors.  Funding for this project will come from ESSERS III Funds, Special Building, Depreciation and Nutrition Funds.

Rationale:  I am recommending to the Board to approve the release of bid documents for Jr. High facility addition and improvements.  These improvements will address current space and ADA issues while also replacing the west staff and visitor parking lot.  Funding for this project will come from ESSERS II Funds, QCPUF, Special Building, and Depreciation Funds.

Rationale:  No changes have been made to these policies since their first reading.

Rationale:  The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been tentatively scheduled for noon on Thursday, January 27, 2022.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 14, 2022. The Study Session will begin at 5:30 PM. The regular business meeting will start at 6:30 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.