April 8, 2024 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:  Denise Bender, Orchestra Director
Members include: 
Jadon Woznek - Junior
Abby Wurdinger - Senior
Jasi Sheriff - Freshman
Kierra Ahlmann - Freshman

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. Individuals who make false, defamatory,  or slanderous statements during public comments may be held legally liable. Slanderous comments are not protected just because they are made at Board meetings.

Rationale:  The total amount of claims to be approved on the consent agenda by specific fund are listed below:

General Fund = $515,590.07

Nutrition Services Fund = $1,666.30

Cooperative Fund = $2,053.44

Subsidiary Fund = $14,403.95

Depreciation Fund = $320,111.94

Senior High Activity Fund = $70,963.97

Junior High Activity Fund = $5,924.46

Student Fee Fund = $721.58

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

Rationale:  As we approach the final quarter of the school year, our focus is on maximizing our remaining time with students. Teachers are diligently preparing them for the state assessments, which will be held throughout April and conclude in the first week of May. Our Teaching and Learning Team has dedicated significant effort to ensure that student rosters and all necessary details for the assessment period are in place to encourage a smooth and minimally disruptive testing environment.

Regarding assessment tools, it's important to note that the state department of education has decided not to fund districts' NWEA MAP Growth licenses for the upcoming year. In response, our Teaching and Learning Team has actively engaged with presentations from seven different assessment companies to explore potential alternatives. These presentations have provided valuable insights into test design, functionality, and reliability. While we now have a better understanding of available options, it's premature to make any immediate changes. Switching assessments for the next academic year would require extensive staff training, and the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has yet to finalize a list of acceptable assessments for reporting purposes. Therefore, we have decided to defer any changes until the following year.

Lastly, administrators have been reminded about the upcoming deadlines for instructional end-of-year reports. Completing these reports in a timely manner is crucial for a successful conclusion to the school year and meeting state deadlines as well.
 

Rationale: 

The English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) results should be available the week of May 6, 2024. 

Tomorrow a team consisting of special educators, principals, members of the teaching and learning team as well as myself will attend the final professional development day of the four-part series offered by NDE.  The training is presented by SPED strategies called Inclusive Education.  Norfolk Public has a strong base started through our strategic action plan regarding systems of support to build on this training.  

Our special education district PLC will be held on April 24th, where we will review our TIP data to submit to the state.

Our Completion Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 8 at 2:30 PM in the Johnny Carson Theater.   Please join us at this celebration.

Rationale: 

On March 15th, national trainers from the "I Love U Guys" Foundation came and spent a day with staff from NPS and other schools across Northeast Nebraska. They provided our staff with valuable SRM, Standard Reunification Method, training. They evaluated our current practices, provided tips to help our processes function better, and gave hands-on practice to our staff. Overall, it was a great training day and reinforced a lot of the good things our staff are doing. 

March has also been busy with RFP’s and bidder walk-throughs. We will be presenting options to the board tonight for the Middle School addition and interior door locks. In the next few weeks we will be finishing proposals for Chiller Installation at the High School, Athletic Training Services, Exterior Door Locks, and Auditing Services. It is a busy time but looking forward to getting some of these projects we have been talking about for so long to start making progress.

Rationale: 

The search for high quality teachers for the 2024-2025 school year continues.  I am excited about the teachers that have been hired already and will be joining the NPS staff for the 2024-2025 school year.  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 and staffing are underway. Staff contracts for Summer School will be sent out next week.

On April 2, an NDE representative was on site for a Rule 10 Accreditation Compliance Visit.  Some of the areas reviewed include teacher certifications, curriculum and standards, assessment, continuous improvement and more.  The visit went well and we met all areas reviewed by the state.  The representative visited four of our school buildings and was complimentary towards what they saw and heard.  

Rationale: 

• Monthly Enrollment Update
• District Administration Leadership Institute (DALI)
• New Superintendent Advisory Council

Rationale:  The Facilities & Finance Committee met earlier today. Board members present were ______________. 

We reviewed claims and financial reports. Other topics discussed included updates on the following:

• Middle School project bids
• Facilities/Construction 
• Arrow Transportation 
• Athletic Trainers

Our next Finance and Facilities Committee meeting is scheduled for May 13th, 2024.

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on April 3, 2024. Board members Brenda Carhart, Cindy Booth and Lindsay Dixon were present, along with Dr. Thompson, Angie Baumann, and Callan Collins.

Board Policies 4140 - 4270 related to Personnel were reviewed. 

Policy 4140 was revised to indicate that Professional Development Make-up Plans are submitted to building principals, rather than the Director of Human Resources. 

Policy 4150 was revised to indicate that "permanent (tenured) teachers" are formally observed and evaluated at least once every three years, which is consistent with district practice and state statute.  The evaluation criteria was also changed to match the language in our evaluation instrument. 

Minor, non-substantive changes were made to policy 4160 related to Reduction in Force and 4180 related to Dual Sponsorship of Activities.

Policy 4220 related to contracts for non-certificated employees was removed as the district does not utilize contracts for non-certificated employees. 

In addition, Board Policies 9300 and 9320 were revised to reflect changes to our Board meetings.

Policy 9300 was revised to indicate that we have two regular Board meetings each month. One on the 2nd Monday of the month at 5:30 PM and one on the 4th Monday of the month at Noon.

Policy 9320-Order of Business-was revised to:

• Eliminate the Study Session that we used to hold in the Small Board Room immediately preceding our first meeting of the month, and

• Add Consent Agenda to our second meeting of the month.

Our next Policy Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 1st to review any policies that need to be updated or added based upon the 2024 legislative session.

Rationale: 

An optional Government Relations Committee meeting was held on March 25th with members who were available to discuss legislative updates. Attendance was not required.

Sandy Wolfe, Beth Shashikant, Dr. Jami Jo Thompson and Tiffany Settles were present.

The Committee discussed:

1.  The Education Committee Bill Package LB 1329 and the additional bills that were recently added to this package, including:

• LB 321 related to excessive absenteeism. Among other things, it would allow for parent requests for special education evaluations based upon absenteeism. 

• LB 550 related to Option Enrollment, which would be allowed once in elementary, middle level and high school-rather than once in K-12.

• LB 1339 related to arming staff. 

  •  This has been revised so that it only applies to Class I and II schools - (which does not include NPS).

  • It has also been revised to include a model policy from NDE, as well as a specified number of training hours. 

• LB 1306- which would eliminate the Professional Practices Commission.

2. The original Education Committee Bill Package LB 1284, which we have already reported on and does not warrant any additional action.

3. LB 71- Our committee discussed a few concerns regarding this parental involvement bill, which Dr. Thompson relayed to Senator Dover, who was helpful in addressing them. Those concerns were the lack of definition for "education decision maker" and allowing parents to have access to tests.  This has since been clarified to indicate that parents could have access to testing information, but not the actual tests, which would invalidate them.

4. At the time of this meeting, the funding package had not been released. We discussed the need to watch for this and reach out to Senator Dover if needed. Dr. Thompson did reach out to him following the release of LB 388 to discuss the impact that "hard caps" could have upon the district.

The Committee continues to meet on an as needed basis.

 

Rationale: 

The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on March 18th, 2024 at the NPS Administration Building. Thirteen board members were present.  Board President, Jason Busch called the meeting to order. 

Each committee reported on their respective work. The Board Development Committee reported that a new board member orientation is being planned. The Finance Committee discussed and revised the administrative fees. The Marketing Committee discussed fundraising opportunities. The Scholarship Committee reported that the scholarship application is now open for the class of 2024. The Classroom Grant Committee reported that the grant application is now open for NPS staff.

Rationale:  Minutes from the meetings on March 11, 2024 and March 25, 2024 are attached for review. 

Rationale:  Armstead, Chloe

• ‘24-’25, District Speech/Language Pathologist, Norfolk Public Schools
• Master of Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Speech/Language Pathology
• 08/2023-Present, Speech-Language Pathologist, ESU #8, Neligh, NE

Bessmer, Rylee

• ‘24-’25, ELL Teacher, Washington Elementary
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 08/2023-Present, 5th Grade Teacher, Winside Public Schools, Winside, NE

Casper, Ethan

• ‘24-’25 Social Studies Teacher, Norfolk Senior High School
• Bachelor of Science, Social Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• Spring 2024, Student Teacher, 9-12 Social Studies, McCook Senior High School, McCook, NE

Hinrichs, Sara

• ‘24-’25 1st Grade Teacher, Woodland Park Elementary School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education & Special Education, Concordia University, Seward, NE
• 8/2013-Present, Elementary Special Education Teacher, Seward Elementary School, Seward, NE

Keseman, Linsey

• ‘24-’25 English Teacher, Norfolk Junior High School
• Master of Science, School Counseling, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE; Bachelor of Science, Secondary Education, English, Concordia University, Fremont, NE
• 08/2015-05/2022, 9th Grade English & Journalism Teacher, Lutheran High Northeast, Norfolk, NE

Krepel, Jayven

• ‘24-’25 6th Grade Teacher, Norfolk Middle School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education K-6, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, to be conferred May 2024
• Spring 2024, Student Teacher, 6th Grade, Norfolk Middle School

Reagan Settje

• ‘24-’25 2nd Grade Teacher, Washington Elementary School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, to be conferred May 2024
• Spring 2024, Student Teacher, Bel Air Elementary School, Norfolk, NE

Shaver, Kayla

• ‘24-’25 3rd Grade Teacher, Grant Elementary School
• Master of Science, School Counseling, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE; Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 8/2013-Present, School Counselor, Winside Public Schools, Winside, NE

Sosa-Glasford, Elsa

• ‘24-’25 Spanish Teacher, Norfolk Senior High School
• Master of Spanish & Applied Linguistics, University of Nebrija, Spain
• 8/2020-Present, Spanish Teacher, Arlington High School, Arlington, NE

Rationale:  Attached are the claims. These claims were reviewed earlier by our Finance and Facilities Committee. 

There is one conflict statement this month that will need to be read before voting.

Rationale:  The CDC no longer recommends specific actions regarding COVID-19 outside of the healthcare arena. Instead, they have published generic guidance for respiratory illnesses, which include COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. This guidance closely matches Norfolk Public Schools’ normal health services protocols, which require a student to remain home from school until they have been symptom and fever free for 24 hours.

Rationale:  We received 5 competitive bids for the Middle School addition project. Huff Construction was the low bidder and has done work previously with the district, most recently at Bel Air. Money for this project has been budgeted for in the Special Building Fund and Depreciation.

Rationale:  We received 2 bids for replacing internal door handles and locks. I am recommending the approval of the Johnson Hardware bid of $121,694. This was the low bid by $9,126. This is a project that has been part of our District Strategic Safety Goal. Money for this project has been budgeted in the Safety Budget for this year.

Rationale:  4140-Professional Growth
4141-Teacher Training
4150-Evaluation of Teachers
4160-Reduction in ForcePolicy for Certificated Staff
4170-Leave of Absence
4180-Dual Sponsorships of Activities
4190-Standards of ethical and Professional Performance-Certificated Staff
4200-Qualifications of Non-Certificated Employees
4201-"At-Will" Employees
4210-Hiring/Dismissal
4220-Contract
4230-Assignment and Transfer
4240-Complaint Procedure
4260-Standards of Performance of Non-Certified Employees
4270-Staff Payments During Closure

Rationale:  Policy 9300 & 9320 need to be revised to indicate that we have two regular board meetings each month, with the second meeting occurring at Noon on the fourth Monday of the month. The order of business/agenda also needs to be adjusted, as we no longer hold study sessions, and it is highly likely that the legislature is going to revise the open meetings act to indicate that public comment must be held at all public meetings.

Rationale:  Kim Brummond -- 6th grade Teacher, Norfolk Middle School, retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 contract year.

Rationale: 

The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, April 22nd, 2024 at Noon. 

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, May 13th, 2024 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.