December 9, 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:  Career Academies Update

Rationale:  This award is presented to Beth Shashikant in appreciation of her two years of dedicated service on the Norfolk Public Schools Board of Education.

This award is presented to Sandy Wolfe in appreciation of her twelve years of dedicated service on the Norfolk Public Schools Board of 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. 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.

Additional procedural guidelines are available at the media table.

Rationale: 

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

General Fund = $392,332.06

Nutrition Fund = $1,125.89

Cooperative Fund = $73.00

Subsidiary Fund = $7,968.34

Special Building Fund = $637,126.50

Senior High Activity Fund = $56,220.01

Junior High Activity Fund = $2,829.44

Student Fee Fund = $299.97

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

Rationale: 

CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT

The Nebraska Department of Education publicly released its AQuESTT classification information at the end of November.  I spent time analyzing that data with the Teaching and Learning team.  I also met with each principal to go over their building data.  We analyzed areas of strength and areas where we could improve.  We also brainstormed some things we could do to work on the areas we could improve.  

The AQUESTT system provided a rating for individual buildings within the district. Each building received scores, delineating their performance on a spectrum from "good" to "great" and to "excellent." This report not only offers insights into the specific strengths of each school building but also identifies areas for potential areas for growth and improvement. While the report becomes public in November, principals and teachers have been proactively working on analyzing assessment data through our PLC processes that we discussed in November.

The other main task that the Teaching and Learning Department has been working on is preparing for the NSCAS Growth Winter Testing.  My team spends time preparing information for teachers who will administer the tests and works to make sure our students are rostered correctly into the testing system.  Students in 3rd through 8th grade are currently taking these tests in ELA and Math.  5th and 8th grade students also take a test in science.  This testing window gives us data to analyze as we prepare for NSCAS Testing in the spring.  

Rationale: 

In compliance with Nebraska State Law LB452, the Financial Literacy Act, Norfolk Senior High School has added successful completion of 5 credits, which is one semester, of personal finance as a graduation requirement.  By Nebraska State Statute 79-3003 last year’s seniors, the class of 2024, was the first graduating class required to complete the Personal Finance requirement to graduate.  During the Special Presentation at the Board Meeting in January we will give you more information about Personal Finance at the Senior High.      

To meet the second requirement in LB 452, Norfolk Public Schools has included financial literacy in the instructional programs of the Elementary, Middle and Junior High Schools.  Elementary grades have chosen personal finance standards within the Economic Strand for Social Studies.  For example, a third grade standard that is covered is: Given a budget, make choices as to what to purchase, what to give up, and what to save.  At the Middle School Mr. Dreher does a three week unit in STEAM where students learn about banking and finance.  The unit includes topics such as savings accounts, certificates of deposits, and ways to best invest money.  8th Grade Social Studies does a unit that includes the planning of a family budget that applies key economic concepts they have learned.  These are examples of how we are meeting the requirements within the Personal Finance Law and preparing our students for their futures.   

Rationale: 

On December 13th, all certified staff will receive professional development regarding inclusive mindsets. All staff will also view training on alternative assessment and basic special education guidance as required annually. 

Our nurses wrapped up their annual health screenings last week.  Students in grades Pre-K-4, 7th, and 10th grade are screened annually. 

Last Friday I was able to meet with the 4 school psychologist students looking for placement in their intern year beginning the 2025-26 school year. These students attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney.   

Rationale:  In November, we completed our annual external safety audit for Norfolk Public Schools. Two deputies from the Madison County Sheriff's Department were able to conduct our external audit this year.  This is the second year in a row the two deputies completed the audit, so they were familiar with our buildings, our processes, and our goals from last year.  The two deputies went to all of our schools dressed in civilian attire and tried to gain access to our buildings without following district procedures and practices.  Upon completion of that task, they checked in with our main offices and walked around our campuses while conducting a safety evaluation.  During this evaluation, the two deputies checked doors and windows, made sure we were following district safety expectations, and briefly interviewed staff members to see how familiar they were with our Standard Response Protocols or SRP.  Once finished, the deputies met with our building principals to briefly go over what they saw and experienced.  When all buildings had been evaluated, one of the deputies met with me to go over every building’s safety audit.  I am currently in the process of meeting with building principals to go over their building’s full report.  Some of the findings from our audit:  1) the deputies were able to gain access to one building due to an exterior door procedure not being followed, 2), some classroom doors were not shut or locked, 3) our buildings are well kept and uncluttered, 4) numerous staff members asked if the deputies had proper identification on them or if they needed help, 5) our staff is very knowledgeable when it comes to our SRP, and 6) the deputies witnessed many positive interactions between our students and staff.  Overall, our audit was very positive.  Kudos to our NPS staff for the work they have put in to improve our "culture of safety" over the years.  Lastly, our NPS Safety Team has met to go over the results of the audit and have made goals for individual buildings and the district to focus on next semester.

Rationale:  We have 16 student teachers in our district for the Spring semester.  They will be student teaching in the areas of elementary education, special education, social sciences, early childhood education, physical education, family & consumer sciences, and music.  Recruiting is underway for the 2025-2026 school year, with a few open positions already advertised. Principals will begin interviewing for open positions after the first of the year.

Rationale:  See attached,.

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

The committee reviewed claims and financial reports.

Other items discussed include a student savings plan, the Safety Audit Report, and current audits. 

The next Finance and Facilities Committee meeting is scheduled for December 13th. 

Rationale: 

The Policy Committee met on November 15th, 2024. Board Members Brenda Carhart, Cindy Booth, and Tom Stanton were present, along with NPS Staff members Dr. Thompson, Erik Wilson, and Callan Collins.

The Committee reviewed policies 3010-3130 related to Business Operations.

Policy 3080 related to Federal Funds was revised to correct a grammatical error.

Policy 3120 related to Depository Banks was revised to add the Nebraska Liquid Asset Fund

Policy 3130 related to Purchasing Policies was discussed, but tabled until the next section review, as more information was requested regarding the purchase of U.S. flags. 

The following policies were all reaffirmed without any revisions:

• 3010 - Budget Planning 

• 3011 - Fund Balance Reporting 

• 3020 - Public Review of Budget 

• 3030 - Transfer of Funds Between Categories 

• 3040 - Budget as Spending Plan - Budgeted Items 

• 3050 - Tuition Fees 

• 3060 - Materials Fees 

• 3070 - Summer School Fees 

• 3090 - Sales and Disposal of School Property 

• 3100 - Leasing 

• 3110 - Short-Term Investing 

Our next meeting is scheduled for January 24th, 2025 at 9:00 AM.

Rationale:  The Norfolk Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors met on November 18th, with fourteen board members in attendance. President, Jason Busch, called the meeting to order and Treasurer Brenda Carhart reviewed the financial statements. The Finance Committee presented the proposed budget for 2025, while the Board Development committee provided an update on board terms and potential new board members. The Marketing committee gave a recap and received board feedback about the Traditions fundraising event held on October 22nd. The Foundation will not meet in December.

Rationale:  Minutes from the meeting on November 25th, 2024 are attached for review. 

Rationale: 

Beed, Jacob

• ‘25-’26 School Psychologist, Norfolk Public School District

• Master of Science, School Psychology, University of Nebraska-Omaha, May 2024

• 03/2023-present, Above & Beyond Therapy, Registered Behavior Technician, Omaha, NE

Rationale:  Marshawn Gubbels - Special Education Teacher at the Junior High - resigning at the end of the 2024-2025 school year

Jessi Jensen - Math Teacher at the Senior High - resigning at the end of the 2024-2025 school year

Andrew McClemens - ELL teacher at the Senior High - resigning at the end of the 2024-2025 school year

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

There are two conflict statements this month that will need to be read before voting. 

Rationale:  * This is a 3.45% total package increase with a 2.2% increase to salaries.
*  The district will no longer offer cash-in-lieu of health insurance for new employees, but will grandfather in current employees who are taking that option now.
*  Please see the attached negotiated agreement for additional details.

Rationale:  These policies were discussed earlier during the Policy Committee Report. Policies are attached. I would be happy to answer any additional questions that you may have.

Policies 3010-3120 related to Business Operations: 

• 3010 - Budget Planning

• 3011 - Fund Balance Reporting

• 3020 - Public Review of Budget

• 3030 - Transfer of Funds Between Categories

• 3040 - Budget as Spending Plan - Budgeted Items

• 3050 - Tuition Fees

• 3060 - Materials Fees

• 3070 - Summer School Fees

• 3080 - Federal Funds

• 3090 - Sales and Disposal of School Property

• 3100 - Leasing

• 3110 - Short-Term Investing

• 3120 - Depository

Rationale: 

The 2nd monthly meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Friday, December 20th, 2024 at Noon. This is a change from the typical meeting time due to the holidays. 

The following regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, January 13th, 2025 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.