June 10, 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: 

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 2023-2024 (Attachment A)

2. Current fees for 2023-2024 (Attachment B)

3. Proposed fees for 2024-2025 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 2024-2025, we ask that you come to the microphone and state your name.

The district collected $63,506.50 in board approved student fees in the areas of instruction and activities during the 2023-2024 school year. These fee dollars can only be expended for the items for which they are collected.  The district had $49,300.10 in board approved disbursements for 2023-2024 which left the fund with a cash balance of $467,703.84 as of May 31, 2023.  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:  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.

Our attorney has suggested that we wait until next summer to make changes to this policy, as additional revisions may occur prior to the implementation date of July 1, 2025. 

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: 

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 = $302,542.49

Nutrition Fund = $1,508.07

Cooperative Fund = $2,282.36

Subsidiary Fund = $5,601.78

Special Building Fund = $133,606.67

Senior High Activity Fund = $46,651.43

Junior High Activity Fund = $2,619.60

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

Rationale:  Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

The past month has been busy with finalizing orders, sorting materials, resolving data and decision issues with building principals, completing required state reports, and reviewing federal grant balances for final claims. Jared Oswald is currently attending the PLC Institute in Minneapolis. Each year, we aim to send a group of administrators and teachers to enhance their pedagogical knowledge and explore new approaches to our district's PLC processes.  
 

Rationale:  Summer school is being held June 3 through June 21, 2024. The following schools host the special education classes: Bel Air elementary for K-4 students, Junior High for 5-8 students and Senior High for 9-12 students.

Rationale: 

Summer school has been up and running for about a week now and will officially end on June 21st. Our summer AFS graduation ceremony will be held at 6:00 PM on June 20th at the Johnny Carson Theater. 

Summer is typically a time when we try to get a lot of technology/safety projects completed. Our team has been busy working in the buildings and scheduling new installations for Smartboards, security cameras and other tech needs. Interior door locks are also being installed in buildings. Projects are moving along nicely and should be completed by the end of July, so we are ready for the start of the new school year.  Finally, handbooks have been revised, and you will see them on the agenda next month as we finalize those for the start of the next school year as well.

Rationale:  Currently we are looking to hire a variety of paraprofessionals for the 2024-2025 school year, including classroom, special education, ELL, Title and media.  In addition, we are seeking applications for a health tech and custodians.  There are positions available at all levels, PK-12.  Candidates can apply for these positions on our website.  I encourage you to spread the word about the NPS openings!

Rationale:  Summer School
Tax Levy Information

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

The committee reviewed claims and financial reports.

A facilities update was given regarding the Middle School construction. The committee also discussed lunch prices and recycling busses.

Our next Finance and Facilities Committee meeting is scheduled for July 8th, 2024.

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on Wednesday, June 5th. All Committee members were in attendance. We reviewed multiple policy revisions suggested by Perry Law Firm as a result of the 2024 legislative session. 

• Policy 1050--Access to Records was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 43, which altered Nebraska’s Public Records Request Laws. Residents of Nebraska are now entitled to 8 hours of "free" staff time in response to a records requests, but non-residents are entitled to no "free" time.

• Policy 3130--Purchasing Policies was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 287. It indicates that employees cannot contract on behalf of themselves, family members or their own business without prior Board approval.

• Policy 3140--Contracting for Services  was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 1300. It indicates that technology contracts cannot be awarded to companies that are owned or operated by foreign adversaries.

• Policy 3571--Meal Charge Policy was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 1329. It indicates that we will not use a debt collection agency or collect interest or fees for outstanding school lunch debt (which NPS has never done).

• Policy 4141--Teacher Training was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 1329. It indicates that the defined length of state required trainings will be determined by the Board (rather than the legislature).

• Policy 5006 -- Option Enrollment Policy was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 1029. It indicates that students can now option once at elementary level, once at middle level, and once at secondary level.

• Policy 5008 -- Attendance was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 1029. It indicates that both physical and mental illnesses may be considered excused absences.

• Policy 5013 - Preschool Enrollment is a new policy written to reflect changes resulting from LB 71. It outlines our procedures and priorities for preschool enrollment.

• Policy 5101 - Student Discipline Policy was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 43 which protect the religious freedom rights of students. 

• Policy 5103 --Tribal Regalia is a new policy written  to reflect changes resulting from LB 43. It indicates that members of Native American tribes may wear tribal regalia at school events.

• Policy 5201 -- Promotion and Retention - Revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 71. It indicates that parents may require their student to retake a grade level in certain circumstances. 

• Policy 5205 -- Graduation - Revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 705. It indicates that completion of the FAFSA or an opt out form is a graduation requirement.

• Policy 6111 -- Classroom Environment - Revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 1329. It indicates that only Gall-Peters or AuthaGraph projection maps will be used.

• Policy 6310 - Textbook Loans - should be rescinded - per LB 705 which shifted the responsibility of the textbook loan program from school districts to NDE.

• Policy 6700 -- Firearm Policy - was only revised to fix a clerical error. The changes in LB 1329 did not apply to school districts our size.

• Policy 8240 -- Membership in School Board Associations -  was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 304. It indicates that we will include a list of the associations and organizations that our school belongs to on our website. We would also include a  list of any fees paid to lobbyists-if we had any.

• Policy 8342 -- Designated Method of Giving Notice of Meetings -  was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 287. It indicates that we may give notice via posting on our website and in public spaces if our newspaper is unable to publish our notice on time.

• Policy 8346 -- Public Participation at Board Meeting - was revised to reflect changes resulting from LB 43. It indicates that we will have public comments at all Board meetings starting in July.

Our committee recommends the adoption of the first reading of these policies this evening.

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on May 20, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. Fifteen board members were present. President Jason Busch called the meeting to order.

On May 1st, two NPS teachers were awarded the inaugural ‘Panthers Supporting Panthers Continuing Education Scholarship’ during the Staff Appreciation event. Then at Honors Night on May 16th, the Foundation awarded 58 scholarships to graduates totaling $73,700. Jason Busch, Lindsay Schellpeper, and Austin Truex presented the scholarships.

The Big Give is planned for Tuesday May 21st. All funds raised by the Foundation will go towards the Panther Packs program.

Rationale:  Minutes from the meeting on May 28, 2024 are attached for review. 

Rationale:  Claussen, Mark

• ‘24-’25 District School Psychologist
• Educational Specialist, School Psychology, Kearney State College, Kearney, NE
• 1989-2023, School Psychologist, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, NE

Dukes, Alicia

• ‘24-25 5th Grade Teacher, Norfolk Middle School
• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE
• ‘23-’24 Classroom Teacher, Washington Elementary, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, 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: 

NPS has not increased school breakfast and lunch prices since before the pandemic. Each year though, our costs to provide those meals increases. We are at a point now where we do need to make a price increase in order to keep our nutrition fund solvent. That said, I am recommending we increase district breakfast prices from $1.60 to $1.75 for all grade levels. I am also recommending increasing lunch prices PK-6 to $3.25 per meal and 7-12 to $3.35 per meal. The chart below shows the 23/24 prices and recommended 24/25 prices. These increases still put us way below the state recommended price of $3.85 per lunch. At these prices, if we continue to receive the federal supply chain allowance of approximately $100,000 for school lunches, the district would break even. If the federal government does not renew the supply chain allowance, the Nutrition Fund would lose approximately $100,000. We can survive that this year but if that happens, we will need to have a substantial increase in 2025-2026.

	23/24 price	24/25 price
All grades breakfast	$1.60	$1.75
PK-4 lunch	$2.95	$3.25
5-6 lunch	$3.05	$3.25
7-12 lunch	$3.10	$3.35

 

Rationale: 

We have 2 old route buses that do not run anymore that we would like to recycle. Bus #7 is a 1993 and bus #12 is a 1997, which makes it hard to get parts and keep them running.  We have used what parts we can salvage from them already. We anticipate we can get a couple of thousand dollars at the scrapyard for each of these buses. There just isn’t much value left in them to try and sell. This will also free up some space in our back outside storage at the maintenance building. 

Rationale:  These policy revisions were drafted by our school attorney based upon  changes in state and/or federal law. The Policy Committee reviewed these  revisions and recommends the approval of their first reading.

Rationale:  This is a new policy drafted by our school attorney due to changes in state statute regarding preschool enrollment.

State Statute now allows five-year-old children to remain in preschool for an additional year at the school's discretion.  However, due to our limited capacity at Little Panthers Preschool and our desire to serve as many 4-year-old children as possible, we are setting clear criteria to limit the number of 5 years accepted into Little Panthers Preschool.

The Policy Committee has reviewed this policy and recommends the approval of its first reading

Rationale:  This is a new policy based upon LB 43's First Freedom Act. It will allow  students who are members of an indigenous tribe to wear tribal regalia on school grounds as long as the tribal regalia does not interfere with the educational process or endanger another person.

The Policy Committee reviewed this policy and recommends the approval of its first reading.

Rationale:  This policy and practice are no longer necessary, as LB705 shifted the responsibility of the textbook load program from school districts to the Nebraska Department of Education. 

The Policy Committee reviewed this policy and recommends that it is rescinded.

Rationale: 

The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, June 24th, 2024 at Noon. 

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, July 8th, 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:  Resignation: Hayley Gansebom - Speech Language Pathologist