May 13, 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:  Award for Excellence Recipient - Kim Bowland, Paraprofessional, Little Panthers Preschool

Rationale:  A seat on the NPS Board of Education is open due to the resignation of Lindsay Dixon. This open position was advertised in the Norfolk Daily News and on our NPS website. 5 candidates submitted applications. Those applications were reviewed by a Board subcommittee and 3 were chosen to be interviewed tonight.

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

1. Leonor Fuhrer
2. Tom Stanton
3. Soshia Bohn

Each candidate will be asked the same questions. Therefore, we will ask candidates to leave the room while others are being interviewed.

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 of 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 for the remainder of Lindsay Dixon's term (November 2027).

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 = $397,343.41

Nutrition Fund = $307,779.03

Cooperative Fund = $10,472.33

Subsidiary Fund = $19,972.94

Depreciation Fund = $519,074.45

Special Building Fund = $11,326.81

QCPUF = $57,650.00

Senior High Activity Fund = $55,705.30

Junior High Activity Fund = $3,211.34

Student Fee Fund = $2,186.89

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

Rationale:  Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

As the 2023-2024 academic year wraps up, we have completed the end-of-year assessments, collaborative teacher meetings are scheduled to review data and strategize for the next school year. State reports are ongoing and on track to meet deadlines. Administrative meetings, curriculum work and summer conferences are planned. The transition of my position as Director has also been underway and going smoothly.
 

Rationale: 

Survey results regarding our current website indicate that our current website meets our needs. So the committee will not be pursuing purchasing an additional app for phones at this time. 

The 2024 English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) summative results indicate that 67% of our students are progressing or have reached proficiency.  

I want to thank our school board members for attending our Completion Ceremony last Wednesday.   It truly is one of my many favorite days in a school year.  Having the Carson Theater filled with parents, friends, community partners as well as teachers that have been a part of the student’s life in their educational journey is heartwarming.   The laughter and tears shared among staff and parents is a testament of the dedication Norfolk Public Schools has to our students.

Rationale: 

Back in March, I applied for a safety grant through NDE for $698,220. We found out last week that we were awarded $392,854. NDE awarded multiple grants to schools across Nebraska but none of them were fully funded. Norfolk was the 4th highest amount they funded. These funds will go to help support our district's strategic action planning safety goal. I am looking to replace exterior door locks with ID card scanners to better control who has access to our buildings and notify us when some doors are left open. I hope to have a proposal for the board to approve in June. Finally, we are nearing the end of the school year. Below are important dates our families may want to know:

• May 19th at 2:00 PM we have our High School Graduation Ceremony in the main gym
• May 22nd is the end of the school year for our students with an 11:30 AM dismissal
• May 23rd is the last day for all staff
• May 29th is the first day of HS summer school
• June 3rd is the first day for K-8 summer school

Rationale:  In December, the board approved the action plan for the district goal : By 2026, NPS will implement a plan of retention and recruitment for all staff.  One of the action steps in this goal included a six-month pilot of LinkedIn Recruiter.  The goal with the use of LinkedIn Recruiter was to find qualified talent, build connections and manage candidates.  I was able to find and hire a Spanish teacher through the use of LinkedIn Recruiter.  Once I began to evaluate the applications we received during the six-month pilot, the data did show that less than 2% of hires learned about our jobs from LinkedIn.  Although I had a positive experience with the use of LinkedIn, I have decided not to continue beyond the pilot, due to the low percentage of hires made in comparison to the cost.

Rationale:  See attached: Enrollment Update and ESSERS Funding Update

Rationale:  The Facilities & Finance Committee met earlier today. Board members present were --. The committee reviewed claims and financial reports. An update was given regarding facilities including the chiller project, Middle School construction, and the recently awarded Safety Grant. Our next Finance and Facilities Committee meeting is scheduled for June 10th, 2024.

Rationale: 

The Activities Committee met at noon on Monday, April 29, 2024. 

Board members Brenda Carhart and Teri Bauer were present, along with staff members Dr. Jami Jo Thompson, Erik Wilson, Jason Settles, John Erwin, Curt Lammers, Amber Lenton, and Callan Collins.

Mr. Erwin and Mrs. Lenton provided updates regarding spring activities including participation and success records. Many school records have been broken this Spring.  They also provided updates regarding the number of events that each activity participates in and how that is determined.

The Committee reviewed information regarding our contract with Arrow Stage Lines, including a cost comparison between Arrow Stage Line and NPS providing our own transportation for activities. We have been very pleased with the service provided by Arrow and the cost is pretty comparable to providing our own transportation, when the cost of purchasing a bus is included. The Committee considered many other factors, which will be discussed later tonight, and is recommending that we renew our contract with Arrow, with some slight adjustments to lower cost.

The Committee also discussed the importance of providing athletic trainers to ensure the safety of our athletes. The district has had access to two athletic trainers since 2009 but only had to pay for one of those trainers, as Faith Regional Health Services covered the cost for the other trainer.  We are not able to adequately cover athletic events without maintaining this number; therefore, the Committee is recommending that we hire two athletic trainers next year. 

The Committee discussed how wrestling practices were scheduled this year and the need to ensure equity. They also discussed NDE’s Special Services Certification that NSAA has required for all non-teachers who want to coach. The NSAA will not require this certification next year, but the Committee agreed that this training and certification is important and that we should continue to require it as a district. It includes the following components: Fundamentals of Coaching, First Aid, Health and Safety, and Human Relations Training.  

This was our last meeting for 2023-2024. We do not plan to meet again until the Fall.

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on Monday April 15, 2024 at 4:30 PM. Eleven board members were present. The board reviewed the meeting minutes from March and the financial reports, including the quarterly investment report. 

NPSF plans to participate in the Norfolk Area Big Give, which is  scheduled for May 21st.  The event will showcase the Panther Packs for community members to support.

The scholarship selection committee will plan to review scholarships after the application deadline on April 19th. Scholarships will be awarded to students at Honors Night on May 16th. Classroom grant applications for teachers also have an application deadline of April 19th. The grant selection committee will meet to review applications in May.
 

Rationale:  Minutes from the meetings on April 8, 2024 and April 22, 2024 are attached for review. 

Rationale:  Kalin, Karen

• ‘24-’25 District Speech Pathologist
• Master of Science, Speech Language Pathology; University of Nebraska, Kearney, NE; to be conferred 8/2024
• 8/2011-Present, LIFE Paraprofessional, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, NE

Glause, Madison

• ‘24-’25 English Teacher, Norfolk Senior High School
• Bachelor of Arts, English Language Arts Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, to be conferred 05/2024.
• 2024, Student Teacher, 9-11 English; 7-8 Reading, St. Paul Public Schools, St. Paul, NE

Lovejoy, Megan

• ‘24-’25 Special Education Teacher, Norfolk Junior High School
• Bachelor of Arts, Elementary and Special Education, Western Governors University, Millcreek, UT, January 2024
• 09/2023-Present, Substitute Teacher, Scoot Education, Sacramento, CA

Nedela, Katie

• ‘24-’25 English Teacher, Norfolk Senior High School
• Bachelor of Science, Health, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 7/2023-Present, Fitness Teacher/Asst. Volleyball Coach, Columbus Middle School, Columbus, NE

Zavadil, Brandi

• ‘24-’25 English Language Learners Teacher, Norfolk Junior High School
• Master of Arts, Administration, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• 8/2019-Present, EL Coordinator/Counselor & Instructional Coach, Schuyler Community Schools, Schuyler, NE

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

There are no conflict statements this month.

Rationale:  For the past decade or so, we have had 2 athletic trainers to support our student athletes and coaches provided by Faith Regional. Last year, we took on the cost of 1 athletic trainer to continue the partnership with Faith Regional. They are no longer interested in partnering with us. We already budget for one athletic trainer, but I am requesting permission from the board to take on the second. There is a lot of demand for these trainers to cover our activities throughout the year and in summer training camps. It would not be possible for us to provide coverage with only 1. The anticipated cost to the district for this addition would be approximately $60,000 to $70,000 depending on the experience of the person we are able to hire. This information was presented to the Activities Subcommittee with a recommendation to move forward. 

Rationale:  I am requesting permission from the Board to renew our contract with Arrow for the 2024/25 school year. We entered into a contract with Arrow Stage Lines to provide busing services for the district as a trial this year. Feedback from coaches, activity sponsors, the transportation department, and students has been positive. There are minor changes to the contract for next year that could provide the district with some further savings as well. The Activities committee recommends that the Board approves the contract with Arrow.

Rationale:  We have put out information requesting auditing services for the district for next year. Our current auditor is no longer providing audit services to schools. I am recommending we enter into a contract with Forward CPA to provide audit services. They have bid our audit at $22,000 for this next year with an ability to renew for up to three years with a $1000 increase in cost each year. This is in line with costs from our previous audits. There are fewer and fewer firms out there that provide this service to schools due to the timeline set by the state. We have checked references for Forward CPA and feel confident they will be able to meet our needs.

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 three years ago. We will go through the bidding process next 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.

Rationale: 

The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28th, 2024 at Noon. This is a change from the normal meeting time due to Memorial Day.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, June 10th, 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.

Rationale:  Megan Papik - Special Education, Lincoln Montessori Elementary