May 8, 2023 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  Date Public Notice Appeared in the Norfolk Daily News: April 28, 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:  Cell Phone Practices 
Board Building Visits 

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

Rationale:  Nebraska State Statute 79-533 requires that school boards review their parental involvement policies and hold a public hearing regarding these policies annually. 

The Norfolk Public Schools' Board Policy 6400 contains all requirements of this statute, including:

(1) How the school district will provide access to parents concerning textbooks, tests, and other curriculum materials used in the school district;

(2) How the school district will handle requests by parents to attend and monitor courses, assemblies, counseling sessions, and other instructional activities;

(3) Under what circumstances parents may ask that their children be excused from testing, classroom instruction, and other school experiences the parents may find objectionable;

(4) How the school district will provide access to records of students;

(5) What the school district's testing policy will be; and

(6) How the school district participates in surveys of students and the right of parents to remove their children from such surveys.

At this point, I will open this hearing for public input.

<<PAUSE FOR PUBLIC INPUT>>

That concludes our public hearing. However, I would like to note that additional parental rights specific to Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act are outlined in Board Policy 6410. 

Rationale:  'Brewed Awakening' with Marshawn Gubbels and students. 

Rationale:  Award for Excellence: Cori Pena - Nurse at Jefferson, Westside, Woodland Park and Little Panthers Preschool.

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 May, 2023 by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund =$877,487.96

Nutrition Services Fund =$326,667.09

Cooperative Fund =$13,140.20

Depreciation Fund =$4,561.27 

Special Building Fund =$316,771.00

QCPUF = $64,200.00

Student Fee Fund = $554.10

The total amount of claims for the month of April, 2023 in the Activities Fund is listed below:
Activity Fund =$122,005.92

All of these claims were reviewed earlier today by the Finance and Facility Committee. The Nebraska Association of School Business Officials (NASBO) had our annual state convention on April 20-21 in Lincoln.  The main items of discussion were:

• Current legislative bills related to school finance
• Discussion with NDE on implementation of the proposed legislation if passed
• Sharing of concerns with NDE about the slow turn-around on grant reimbursements
• Legal updates from Perry Law firm, KSB law firm, state auditors office and NPERS
• Recruitment and retention of School Business Officials.  Just like other areas in education, as more school business officials retire, finding qualified replacements is becoming more and more of a challenge.  The NASBO leadership team had good discussions in our roundtable session on ideas the organization can do moving forward to help with this issue. 

Rationale:  Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

• The district is nearing the end of the Spring Statewide Assessment window so my office has been tracking to be sure all students have completed the required assessments.
• Our time has been filling up with end of the year meetings to wrap up items from 2022-2023 and make plans for 2023-2024.
• End of the year tasks for our grant responsibilities are complete.
• Submissions of end of the year reports are gradually coming in as well.

Rationale: 

I am meeting with staff from each program and we are finalizing end of the year procedures, as well as paperwork for future needs.  

Just a friendly reminder that our Completion Ceremony will be held this  Wednesday, May 10 at 3:00 PM in the Johnny Carson Theater. 

Rationale: 

We have been busy working on grant applications this past month. Thanks to Callan Collins and the NPS Foundation for their help with the grant application to support our Panther Pack Program for next year. Dr. Robinson and I have also about wrapped up the School Violence Prevention Program grant to help with the cost of some of our Safety Goal improvements. I will keep the Board updated as I hear more on those. Also handbooks are getting close to ready for Board review, we just have to see if there are any more legislative changes that will need to be added and then drafts will be shared with you.

Finally, some upcoming dates to remember...

May 21st 2:00pm we have our High School Graduation Ceremony in the Main Gym

May 23rd is the end of the school year for our students with an 11:30 am dismissal

May 24th is the last day for all staff

May 31st is the first day of HS summer school

June 5th is the first day for K-8 summer school

Rationale: 

We have filled many of our teaching positions for the 2023-2024 school year.  Our current openings are listed below and we will continue to search for qualified candidates.

Current Openings

• 5th Grade Teacher

• Spanish Teacher, 9-12

• Science Teacher, 9-12

• Business/Computer Science Teacher

• Speech/Language Pathologist

• District Behavior Specialist

• Special Education Teachers

• School Psychologist

Rationale:  Enrollment update

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

• RFP review for motor coach bus service
• Review of proposed meal prices for 23-24
• Review contract extension for one year with LSI
• Project Update
  • BA
  • JH
  • JH Track
• Initial review of Budget timeline for 23-24

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

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on April 27, 2023.  We reviewed a group of Board Policies that must be reviewed annually according to state statutes.  Those policies included:

• 5008 (Student Attendance)
• 5414 (Anti-Bullying)
• 5417 (School Wellness)
• 6370 (Multicultural Education)
• 6400 (Parental/Community Involvement in Schools)6410 (Title I Parent and Family Engagement)

Policy 5008 was revised so that excessive absenteeism for both elementary and secondary students is based upon daily attendance (rather than period attendance for secondary students).

No other changes were made to these policies.  They are recommended for first round approval.

The Policy Committee also considered drafting a policy regarding students’ participation in athletics based upon biological sex. The Committee decided to wait to see if LB 575 (Adopt the Sports and Spaces Act) is approved by the Nebraska Legislature.  LB 575 specifies that bathroom and locker room usage must be based upon students' biological sex. It also specifies that participation in sports must be based upon students' biological sex.  And, it states that each school must adopt a policy implementing the Sports and Spaces Act.  The Committee decided that it made sense to wait to see if that bill becomes law, so that we would not need to rewrite or revise a policy a month after it was adopted. The Policy Committee intends to revisit this topic after the legislative session-regardless of whether this bill passes.

Rationale:  The Government Relations Committee has not met since our April Board meeting. However, committee members have been actively monitoring the legislative session.  

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on Monday April 17, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. at the Junior High.  Thirteen board members were present. The board reviewed the meeting minutes from March and the financial reports, including the quarterly investment report.  

President Mekta Kolm shared with the board an update regarding the hiring of a new Executive Director for the foundation.  A hiring committee completed the interview and an offer was extended to Austin Truex.  Austin has accepted the position and will start in May and will complete the onboarding process with Callan Collins and the Board.  Also mentioned was the current scholarship selection process and the Foundation’s participation in Honors Night on 5/18. In addition, Classroom Grant applications are currently being accepted for the 2023-24 school year.

Rationale:  The minutes of the April 10th & 27th School Board meetings are attached. 

Rationale: 

 Laura Peters

• 2023-2024 Social Studies Teacher, Norfolk Senior High
• Bachelor of Arts, History; Morningside University, Sioux City, IA
• 8/2019-Present, World & U.S. History Teacher; Rock Springs High School; Rock Springs, WY 

~ Blake Wockenfuss
   * 2023-2024 Assistant Principal, Norfolk Senior High
   * Masters of Science, Educational Leadership, K-12, Northwest              Missouri State University
   * Bachelor of Science, K-12 Special Education/Elementary                      Education, Nebraska Wesleyan University
   * Special Education Teacher, Norfolk Senior High School, Norfolk, Nebraska

~ Jackie Ruzicka

• 2023-2024 Industrial Technology Teacher, Norfolk Junior High
• Masters of Art Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 2011-2021, Art Teacher, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, NE

Rationale:  Attached are the claims for the month of May, 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:  Candace Schmidt resigned, effective May 30, 2023. 

Rationale: 

As stated in the Policy Report, Policy 5008 had a small change. No other changes were made to these policies.

Rationale:  Attached are the recommended school meal prices for 2023-2024.  All prices for student meals will remain the same.  There is a 5 cent increase on milk and a 20 cent increase on adult breakfast and adult lunch prices.

Rationale:  Attached for your review is the proposed RFP for charter bus services for the 23-24 school year.  This is the option approved at our last board meeting and will be a one-year-only contract in order to provide the district with additional data to determine if this course of action is in our best interest for students and staff.  It will also provide us with data on the short and long term financial impact this type of service agreement would have.  If the RFP is approved, the process will begin immediately with a recommendation for a contract with a vendor at the June board meeting.

Rationale:  This is a request for a one-year fixed price contract extension with LSI for our food management company.  Contract extensions can occur for up to four years and then rebidding the service must occur according to state policy.  This contract went through formal bidding two years ago.

Rationale:  No changes have been made since the first reading at our April Board meeting. These policies are recommended for second and final reading.

Rationale:  The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education has been tentatively scheduled for noon on Thursday, May 25, 2023.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, June 12, 2023 and will begin at 5:30 pm. There will not be any study sessions held during the summer months. 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.