April 8, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

1. Call to Order

1.1. Roll Call

1.2. Recognition of Open Meeting Law

1.3. Pledge of Allegiance

2. Reports, Communications & Public Participation

2.1. Board accepts public comments

2.2. Presentation from the JH science fair students advancing to the state competition

2.3. Industrial Tech teachers

2.4. Student board member report

3. Approve the consent agenda, which includes the minutes and financials

3.1. Approval of expenditures/payroll for March 2024

4. Administrator's written reports: Please review prior to the board meeting

5. Reports from Staff Members and Committees

5.1. Policy Committee

5.2. Activities Committee

6. Superintendent's comments

School Improvement: 

• Next year, McCook Public Schools will host an external team visit during the month of March.
  • During this visit, several educators from across the state will visit all McCook school sites to discuss our school improvement process with McCook staff.
  • The team will review the district's work on assessments, vision and mission, leadership, teaching and learning, communications, and professional development.
  • It will be our pleasure to host the Nebraska Department of Education's School Improvement Director during the visit.
  • The new website is up and running.
• McCook Elementary School shared their specific school improvement action plan.
• The team performed a self-assessment using the 'Technical Assistance Rubric.'
  • We identified stakeholder communications as an area to focus on.
• The team reviewed building-level assessment data.
  • Actions the building is taking to improve student performance were discussed.
  • Demographic data should also be discussed.
• Staff surveys are to be collected by the building-level administrators ASAP.
• Our next meeting will be on August 13, at 8:30 a.m., in the Jr. High boardroom.

State Assessments

• Students from across the district have begun taking the NSCAS assessments. These assessments are administered to students in grades 3 through 8, focusing on math, English language arts, and science. Although this time of year can be somewhat stressful for both students and staff, it's crucial to remember that these assessments are only a portion of our comprehensive assessment process. Additionally, it's noteworthy that our students have consistently demonstrated a high level of achievement in past years.
• The high school students have completed their portion of the state assessments. The ACT and Pre-ACT were administered during the past two weeks.

Jr. High and High School Building Project

• Over the past several weeks, representatives from Sampson Construction, W Design, and the school district have been meeting to discuss construction plans for the new Jr. High building and auditorium, as well as the remodeling of the performing arts spaces, including classrooms, at the high school. The goal of these discussions has been to ensure the building plan meets all the district's needs while remaining cost-conscious.
• We are working toward finalizing our plans and establishing an accurate estimate of the total cost of the project in time for the May board meeting. It is our hope that the board has all the necessary information needed to thoughtfully consider calling for the bond at that time. 

Safety Grant

• The April 3rd notification date has passed, and as of this writing, I have not received any information, either positive or negative.

6.1. Business Manager comments

6.2. Board member comments

7. New Business

7.1. Approve the policy package 1000s--Community Relations, as presented to the Board of Education, and remove the following policies currently in place: 104, 404.062, 404.062E1, 404.062R1, 406.09, 501.01, 507.02, 607.03, 705.04, 905.08, 1001, 1003, 1005.10, 1005.01, 1005.04, 1006.01, and 1006.02.

 

7.2. Accept a donation from Susan Stuart in memory of her mother, Jean Sehnert, in the amount of $1,000.00 for the music departments with gratitude.

7.3. Approve district surplus sale

7.4. Accept resignations

8. Positive Comments

9. Adjournment

10. Items for Review

10.1. McCook Public Schools Policy - Sections 4000 and 9000