April 17, 2023 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  April 7, 2023

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:  Safety Strategic Action Plan

Board Building Visits may also be discussed if time allows.

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

Rationale: 

At this time I would like to open the hearing to discuss, consider, and receive input on the student fee policy.  Attached for your review are the following:

1. Student fee receipts and expenditures in 2021-2022 (Attachment A)

2. Current fees for 2022-2023 (Attachment B)

3. Proposed fees for 2023-2024 with changes highlighted (Attachment C)

4. Student Fee Policy #5416 (Attachment D)

At this time, if any member of the public wishes to comment or give opinions on the student fee policy and proposed fees for 2023-2024, we ask that you come to the microphone and state your name.

The district collected $148,934 in board approved student fees in the areas of instruction and activities during the 2021-2022 school year. These fee dollars can only be expended for the items for which they are collected.  The district had $84,935 in board approved disbursements for 2021-2022 which left the fund with a cash balance of $463,786 as of August 31, 2022.  The cash balance is primarily composed of those fees which are not necessarily expended on an annual basis such as the technology and summer school fees. The district reviews all items on the proposed fee list annually and only lists those fees which we believe are necessary to help offset the total cost to the district.

Rationale:  Juggling and Resilience-- Bel Air Elementary Physical Education 

Rationale: 

This is the time during the meeting when the public may request to address the Board. According to state law, if you wish to comment you must identify yourself, including your address, the name of the organization you represent and the topic that you wish to address. "Public Comment" cards are located at the Media table, in the back of the room.  Please pick up a card and provide the required information, if you plan to speak.  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: 

The total amount of claims to be approved on the consent agenda for the month of April, 2023 by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund =$810,129.76

Nutrition Services Fund =$336,925.66

Cooperative Fund =$97,182.48

Depreciation Fund =$1,954.83 

Special Building Fund =$255,248

Employee Benefit = $1,827

Student Fee Fund = $2,700.07

The total amount of claims for the month of March, 2023 in the Activities Fund is listed below:
Activity Fund =$233,585.30

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

Rationale:  The Nutrition Program of any school participating in the Federal school meal program has an outside audit completed every three to five years.  NPS just completed its audit this past month. Examples of some of the areas reviewed were: use of Nutrition program funds, menus, serving procedures, ingredient compliance, staff qualifications, training procedures, and meal preparation procedures.  The process takes about 3 months with a day-long on-site visit with the review team.  At the conclusion of the review, findings and corrections are shared with the school so corrective action(s) can take place.

Commendations: 

• Staff were accessible to answer questions and provide needed documentation prior to the on-site review and also on the day of the review.

Corrections:

• Point of Sale needs to be at the end of the serving lines in the K-4's to ensure a final check of compliance with reimbursable meal is completed before the students sit at their tables. (The District is currently changing point of sale locations at the K-4's )
• The meal verification process needs to be adjusted for students who have meals brought to them and do not eat in the cafeteria. (Actual attendance rosters for these students will be brought by the adult transporting the meals and then signed to verify they received the meal.  The roster each day will then be filed.)
• A few al carte items were listed incorrectly in the monthly transaction report. (This was an error by a staff member at point of sale.  Additional training will be completed to ensure accuracy.)
• Annual Verification of status qualification needs to be 3% of total Free and Reduced students.  This past year, NPS only did 2%. (NPS will ensure 3% is done in the future)

Overall, we were pleased with the results. We prefer not to have any corrections noted but the corrections we were provided are easy to fix.

Rationale:  Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

• We are amid the end of the year state testing window for 3^rd - 8^th, and 11^th grades. Compliments go out to principals and teachers for their scheduling to balance regular learning and testing at the same time.
• Both the Achievement and Systems of Support strategic action planning committees met this month. There is still a large portion to accomplish before submitting a plan to the board of education.
• Summer school planning, professional development planning and tying up end of year reports will consume our time until the end of the year. 
• End of the year PLC’s are valuable for teachers to collect data and gather information to assist with making decisions to improve for the next year.

Rationale: 

The English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) results will be available the week of May 8, 2023. Our ELL team of teachers are scheduled to meet May 17, during PLC where we will review the assessment results together at that time.

Special Education- I attended the NASES spring conference in Lincoln last week, April 13-14,2023. The conference focus:  Taking One Step at a Time: A Journey to Inclusion. District special education staff will meet this Wednesday, May 3 for a final time this school year during PLC.

Our Completion Ceremony will be held Wednesday, May 10 at 3:00 PM in the Johnny Carson Theater.   Please join us at this celebration.

Rationale: 

Elementary principals and I met last week for our boundary exception meeting for families wishing to attend an elementary building outside of their neighborhood elementary school. Those families have been notified of approval or denial based on enrollment capacity at each elementary building. On April 19th we will host Kindergarten Round Up, this is an important event for soon to be new Panthers. There will be activities for students and information provided to parents about Norfolk Public Schools at the event. Parents are encouraged to reach out to their neighborhood school if they have not registered yet.

Prom activities occurred this last weekend. We want to say thank you to all our senior parents and community partners who fundraised and gave donations that made it possible for our students to have a successful Post Prom that evening. We know they put in a lot of work throughout the year to ensure students have an amazing post prom experience.

Finally a reminder of a big date we want to make sure everyone gets on their calendars, May 21st we will be hosting our graduation ceremony in the Senior High Gymnasium.

Rationale: 

HR Update:

The search for high quality teachers for the 2023-2024 school year continues.  I am excited about the teachers that have been hired already and will be joining the NPS staff for the 2023-2024 school year.  There are 16 contracts for your approval tonight.  We are struggling to fill several of our positions, but will continue to advertise, network and talk to colleges to attempt to recruit quality candidates.

Summer school plans are underway and staffing is almost complete. Staff contracts for Summer School will be sent out this week for PK- 12 teachers.

Rationale:  Recent developments in the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Department of Education regarding transgender students.

Rationale:  The committee met at 12:00 today.  The claims for the month of April and activity claims for March were reviewed. Other items reviewed and discussed:

• Update on early state aide information
• Updates on current district projects
• Review of Nutrition Program audit
• Student Fee Hearing review
• Activity Transportation review

The next meeting will be Monday, May 8th, at 12:00 noon.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee met on March 23, 2023 to discuss Board Policies 7000-7052 related to Major Construction.

Several of the policies were updated to say "superintendent or designee" rather than "superintendent" as many of these responsibilities can be delegated to the Associate Superintendent of Business Services. 

Policy 7050 (Facilities - Bids and Contracts) was updated to match state statute which requires bids for construction projects with a cost over $108,999.  Policy 7052 (change Orders) was also updated to indicate that change orders require Board approval if they exceed this amount ($108,999).

The Policy Committee also discussed Board Policy 6240 related to Homework and 6250 related to Grading. No changes are recommended at this time, as a Board Retreat will be held this summer regarding these topics. 

 

Rationale: 

Due to time constraints surrounding hearings and floor debate, it has not been possible for the Government Relations Committee to recommend official Board action on any legislation. However, individual members have contacted Senators and submitted testimony regarding bills that would  have a strong impact on Norfolk Public Schools.  This testimony has not been issued on behalf of the Norfolk Public Schools Board of Education, but rather on behalf of those individuals.

The Government Relations Committee met on March 29, 2023.  

We discussed the effects that the filibuster is having on proposed legislation and how that is increasing the probability of the combination of multiple bills via "Christmas tree bills."

At that time, it was believed that three Christmas Tree Bills related to Education would be debated on the floor.  The first of these would amend LB 589 (revenue caps) and LB 783 (community college funding) into LB 243 (property tax credits).  We did not believe that it was necessary to contact Senators regarding this combination.

The second of these combinations would amend LB 519 (student teacher pay), 603 (teacher certification), 800 (superintendent pay), 762 (teacher apprenticeships), and 724 (elimination of the PRAXIS)  into LB 385 (teacher retention and recruitment).  We discussed each of these components. Beth Shashikant wrote a letter to the Education Committee and Senator Dover supporting most of these components, but asking that LB 800 be removed from the package.

The third of these combination bills would amend LB 811(student discipline), 414 (option enrollment), 153 (special education cost), 632 (suspension of young students in Omaha), and 787 (STEEM grants)  into LB 705 (lottery funds).  We discussed each of these components. Sandy Wolfe and Cindy Booth wrote letters to the Education Committee and Senator Dover expressing support for some of these components, but asking that LB 811, 414, and 632  be removed from the package.

Since then LB 583 (Increases to school funding) has been advanced to Select File with 39 yes votes and 0 no votes. It is very likely that this bill will be passed into law.

We will continue to monitor the session, but it has become very difficult to contact Senators in a timely fashion, as bills are being amended into others on the floor with little to no warning.

Rationale:  The Activities Committee met at noon on April 12, 2023.

Mr. Erwin shared updates regarding high school participation numbers, uniforms, records, and hiring. Mrs. Lenton provided the same information for the junior high.

Dr, Robinson shared information with the Committee regarding transportation options for 2023-2024. 

The Committee is not planning to meet again until Fall of 2023.

It was noted that Norfolk won the NSAA activity participation award for the 2nd year in a row.  10.1% of our student body participated in at least three NSAA activities.

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on March 20, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. at the NPS Administration Building. Seventeen board members and 4 guests were present.  Board President Metka Kolm called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m.

Dr. Jen Robinson and Candace Schmidt presented to the board regarding the plans for the 100 Year Celebration at the Junior High on June 17, 2023. NPSF approved raising funds for updates to the Junior High theater.  NPSF will participate in the Big Give on May 23rd and will designate all donations raised from this fundraising event to the Junior High theater. 

Committees will be busy this spring season. Scholarship Selection Committee will begin reviewing scholarship applications beginning in April and scholarships will be awarded at Honors Night in May. In addition, the Classroom Grant Committee is now accepting Classroom Grant applications. NPS staff is encouraged to apply for a grant before the deadline on 4/20/23. Over $20,000 in classroom grants will be awarded to NPS in 2023. 

Executive Director, Callan Collins, has given her resignation effective 4/21/2023.  Board members expressed their gratitude to Callan for her hard work and commitment to the success of the foundation and wished her well in her new role as Superintendent/Board of Education Administrative Assistant.

Rationale:  Minutes of the March 13, 2023 and March 23, 2023 board meetings are attached.

Rationale: 

~ Bethany Black 

• 2023-2024 Social Studies Teacher, Norfolk Senior High School
• Bachelor of Science, History; Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, 12/2022
• 01/2023-Present, Full-Time Substitute Teacher, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, NE

~Tracie Chohon

• 2023-2024 Elementary School Psychologist
• Master of Science in Education, University of Nebraska, Kearney
• Educational Specialist, School Psychology, University of Nebraska, Kearney
• Master of Science in School Admin, Wayne State College
• 2015-2022 School Psychologist, Norfolk Public Schools

~ Jennifer Davies

• 2023-2024 6th Grade Teacher, Norfolk Middle School 
• Master of Education, Curriculum & Instruction, Doane College, Crete, NE
• 2008-Present, Classroom Teacher, Stanton Community Schools, Stanton, NE

~Alicia Dukes 

• 2023-2024 3rd Grade Teacher, Grant Elementary School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education; Wayne State College, Wayne, NE; to be conferred 5/2023
• 01/2023-Present, Student Teacher, Washington Elementary School, Norfolk, NE

~ Virginia Frisch

• 2023-2024 Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, Little Panthers Preschool
• Bachelor of Science, Business Management, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE;
• Masters Degree to be completed 12/2023, Early Childhood Education, University of Nebraska, Kearney
• 08/2018-Present, Special Education Para, Little Panthers Preschool; and AfterShock Facilitator

~ Rhonda Gates

• 2023-2024 Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, Little Panthers Preschool
• Bachelor of Science, Special Education; Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 08/2022-Present, Substitute Teacher and Long-Term Substitute Teacher, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, NE

~ Kennedy Howard

• 2023-2024 1st Grade Teacher, Grant Elementary School
• Bachelor of Science, Early Childhood Inclusive, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, completed 12/2022
• 01/2023-Present, Classroom Para, Grant Elementary School

~ Calee Johnson

• 2023-2024 Special Education Teacher (High Needs), Norfolk Junior High School
• Master of Science, School Counseling Pk-8; Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 06/2021-Present, Assistant Preschool Teacher, Wesley Center; Norfolk, NE

~Mitzi Jones

• 2023-2024 1st Grade Teacher, Woodland Park Elementary School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education; Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 2020-Present, Kindergarten Teacher, Centennial Elementary School, Columbus, NE

~ Cassie Koinzan

• 2023-2024 Elementary Media Specialist, Jefferson, BelAir and Woodland Park Schools
• Master of Science, Instructional Technology Library Media Specialist, University of Nebraska, Kearney
• 2013-Present, 3rd Grade Teacher, Neligh-Oakdale Schools, Neligh, NE

~ Lindsey Marotz

• 2023-2024 5th Grade Teacher, Norfolk Middle School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; to be conferred 05/2023
• 01/2023-Present, Student Teacher, Washington Elementary, Norfolk, NE

~ Alyssa Rood

• 2023-2024 6th Grade Teacher, Norfolk Middle School
• Bachelor of Arts, Elementary Education, Doane University, Crete, NE; Master of Arts to be conferred 08/2023, Doane University
• 8/2021-Present, 3rd Grade Teacher, Humphrey Public Schools, Humphrey, NE

 

~Danielle Steinkraus

• 2023-2024 Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, Little Panthers Preschool
• Master of Science, Education; Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 8/2021-Present, 5th/6th Grade Teacher; St. Mary’s School, Osmond, NE

~ Blake Wagner

• 2023-2024 Kindergarten Teacher, Bel Air Elementary School
• Bachelor of Science, Education and Human Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• 1/2023-Present, Substitute Teacher, Norfolk Public School District

~Teresa Watters

• 2023-2024 Special Education (High Needs) Teacher, Norfolk Middle School
• Bachelor of Arts, Special Education & Elementary Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 2001-Present, 7-12 Special Education Teacher, Winside Public Schools, Winside, NE

Rationale:  We are past the March 15th deadline, so all resignations must be considered separately based upon Board policy requirements.

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of April, 2023.  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:  It is recommended to the Board of Education to make a motion to reaffirm Board Policy 5416 (Student Fees, attachment A) and approve the appendix (attachment B), setting student fees for 2023-2024

Rationale:  This item was discussed in detail during our Study Session earlier this eventing. I would be happy to answer any additional questions that you may have.

Rationale:  We received Katrina's resignation after the March 15th deadline. Therefore, according to board policy, her resignation will only be considered if there are extreme extenuating circumstances or we are able to hire a suitable replacement. I have not been made aware of any extreme extenuating circumstances. Therefore, I recommend that the board approve her resignation PENDING the hiring of a suitable replacement.

Rationale:  We received Kaitlyn's resignation after the March 15th deadline. Therefore, according to board policy, her resignation will only be considered if there are extreme extenuating circumstances or we are able to hire a suitable replacement. I have not been made aware of any extreme extenuating circumstances. Therefore, I recommend that the board approve her resignation PENDING the hiring of a suitable replacement.

Rationale:  We received Jaci's resignation after the March 15th deadline. Therefore, according to board policy, her resignation will only be considered if there are extreme extenuating circumstances or we are able to hire a suitable replacement. I have not been made aware of any extreme extenuating circumstances. Therefore, I recommend that the board approve her resignation PENDING the hiring of a suitable replacement.

Rationale: 

Activity Bus (Options and rationale)

Upon reviewing bids, the staff survey and previous conversations that occurred in our finance and facilities committee and the March 13th board meeting--there are five options for consideration, with each option having pros and cons.  The Board will need to discuss and vote on what is in the best interest of our students, district and taxpayers as we move forward with this discussion and potential decision.

Option One:  Use a hybrid model where the district would not purchase a new activities bus at this time but move to contracting out trips that are approximately 2 hours or more. These would be considered priority trips.  We would pilot this approach for the 23-24 school year and determine this time next year if we want to continue doing this in future years.  Many of the districts with Class A High Schools have used contract motor coach bus services successfully for many years.  Additional details on what some other larger high-schools are doing are under #7 on page 9 of the attached document. This approach would still satisfy all of the critical needs plus provide the lavatory option on these longer trips.  The district would still need to maintain its current activity bus fleet for all other trips and to have a back-up in place for when a coach company cannot cover due to rescheduling or lack of availability due to short notice.  Some examples would be rescheduling due to weather or short notice on district or playoff games.  It would put fewer demands and shorten trip lengths on our existing fleet which would help with current maintenance and repairs. This option could also potentially be the best fiscally when looking at the overall cost to own. The district would have more data on this to determine the actual cause and effect for NPS after the one-year pilot.  If this option is approved, an RFP would be brought to the May board meeting for approval, which would include a time schedule, specifics in the RFP and details on the process for vendor selection.

Option Two:  Look for a low-mile used class A style coach bus to bring into our current fleet.  Current pricing I have seen on used models of potential interest range from $260,000 to $360,000 all dependent upon model year, miles, etc.  This would provide another class A style coach bus in our fleet but will potentially have the maintenance and repair issues we are currently facing with this type of bus.  Generally, once a traditional motor coach is 7 to 10 years in age, larger maintenance and repairs start to occur.
 

Option Three: Purchase the bus from Masters Transportation for $344,900.  This bus does not come with a lavatory, so longer trips would need to build in some extra time for potential stops.  This bus, according to all the information we have, including from the Nebraska Department of Education, is still a viable option.  There is a difference of opinion among a few vendors which could potentially cause a patron or parent not to feel 100% comfortable with purchasing and using a bus that may have questions on its compliance.  Future discussion at the next review meeting at NDE would hopefully add clarity on the definition of a monocoque or semi-monocoque design and not be left up to individual districts and manufacturers to determine.  

Option Four:  Accept the bid from MCI for $603,900 for a new class A style coach.  This would require reviewing other large purchases that are in our current plan over the next few years and determine if there are things we want to cut out or not do, since a purchase of this amount has not been accounted for in our current plan.  These proposals, which included the Middle School addition and renovation, were reviewed during the February board study session.
 

Option Five:  Reject the bid from MCI and Masters as well as the other options listed, but allow the district to use contracted services as needed when our existing fleet is out of service for repairs.  This allows the board to take more time with this decision and potentially revisit it later.  Our issues with our current fleet do not change and will still need to be addressed.

 The Board of Education has five options for consideration so we can move forward as we approach the 23-24 school year.  I recommend option one as the best choice for our district, students and patrons at this time.  I believe option one addresses almost all the needs, wants and concerns identified in our survey as well as the many conversations that have taken place over the past several weeks within our community and with the board of education.  By doing a pilot on this approach, we have not made any long-term investments and have the flexibility to still consider purchasing.  

Rationale:  The minor changes made to these policies were detailed in the Policy Committee report.  The committee recommends approval of the first reading of Board Policies 7000-7052 related to Major Construction.

Rationale:  The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been  scheduled for noon on Thursday, April 27, 2023.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, May 8, 2023. 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.