July 13, 2020 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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I. 2019-20 Budget Amendment Hearing
Rationale:
I. Call Hearing to Order II. The purpose of the Hearing is to review, discuss, consider, and receive input, and or support, opposition, criticism, suggestions or observations of taxpayers relating to amending the 2019-20 budget. III. Adjourn Budget Amendment Hearing
Recommended Motion(s):
NO MOTION Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
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II. Call Meeting to Order
Rationale:
STRIVE - COMMIT - SUCCEED - District Mission Statement Schuyler Community Schools in partnership with parents, students, and the community is committed to educate students to become skilled, knowledgeable and responsible citizens in a global society - District Vision Statement |
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II.A. Pledge of Allegiance
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II.B. Declaration of Open Meeting
Rationale:
This meeting has been preceded by advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session. A copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the front of the meeting room. Nebraska Open Meetings Act: http://nitc.nebraska.gov/documents/statutes/NebraskaOpenMeetingsAct_current.pdf |
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III. Approval of Consent Agenda
Rationale:
Discuss, Consider and Take Action on the consent agenda
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve the consent agenda Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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III.A. Agenda
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III.B. Minutes
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III.C. Acceptance of Claims
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III.C.1. Bills of $5,000 or more
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III.D. Financial
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III.E. Other Listed Reports
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IV. Public Forum - We ask that all presentation be limited in their length.
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IV.A. Recognition of visitors and guests
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IV.B. Other topics (limited to 5 minutes - subject to guidelines of the Board Participation Policy)
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V. Action Items
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V.A. Budget, finance, negotiations, and personnel
Rationale:
This committee is responsible for budget, finance, and contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff, and support staff.
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V.A.1. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve the 2019-20 General Fund and Lunch budget amendments as advertised.
Rationale:
Recommended Budget Amendment 1. General Fund: We are recommending a $500,000 amendment to the general fund and 50,000 to the food service budgets in response to program expansion related to COVID-19 federal allocations. Attached is the recommended amended budget as advertised. This amendment will not affect our current tax request for 2019-20.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve the 2019-20 general fund and lunch budget amendments as advertised. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Attachments:
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V.A.2. Consider, discuss, and take action to amend the 2020-21 Adult breakfast and lunch prices.
Rationale:
In June, the board of education approved breakfast and lunch prices for the 2020-21 school year. Following the meeting, we were notified by the Nebraska Department of Education that adult meal prices needed to be increased by 5 cents. See prices listed below 2019-20 2020-21 Adult Breakfast $2.40 $2.45 Adult Lunch. $3.70 $3.75
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to increase the 2020-21 adult meal prices by 5 cents each. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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V.A.3. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve the contract with Pekny and Associates, CPA's, PC for the 2019-2020 District Audit.
Rationale:
Pekny and Associates have been doing Schuyler Community Schools' annual audit of financial statements, reviewing your schedule of assets, receipts, expenditures, and fund balances. See attached contract for details included in the annual audit.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve the contract with Pekny and Associates, CPA's, PC for the 2019-2020 District Audit. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Attachments:
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V.A.4. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve staff resignations
Rationale:
Staff Resignations 1. Gary Schaeffer: SCHS Math Teacher 2. LuAnn Bender: SES Food Service
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to accept staff resignations and release from the 2020-21 contracts, and thank them for their service to the district. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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V.A.5. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve new hire recommendations
Rationale:
New Hire Recommendations 1. Brenda Mejstrik: Para-Educator - SES 2. Esmeralda Gomez: Para-Educator - SES 3. Susan Hanson: Para-Educator - SMS
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve new hire recommendations as presented. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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V.B. Board Policy, Handbooks, and Support Programs
Rationale:
This committee is responsible for annual review of board policies, handbooks, and crisis/safety plans. This committee is also responsible for the support and development of support programs(nursing, food service) in the district.
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V.B.1. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve second reading of first installment of new and amended board policies.
Rationale:
This update includes three new policies and four revisions of existing policy. Actions described on NDE’s Launch Nebraska webpage are recommendations or suggestions, not mandates. Thus, Policy 105.00 Return to School Committee is optional, and if adopted, the word "required" in paragraph one should be replaced with the word "recommended." New Policies: Policy 105.00 Return to School Committee meets a requirement described on NDE’s new Launch Nebraska webpage at https://www.launchne.com/. This committee has been mandated to help districts cope with the very broad range of decisions and actions that will need to be taken in the near future to deal with Covid-19 and any other related emergencies. However, actions described on NDE’s Launch Nebraska webpage are now listed as recommendations or suggestions, not mandates. Thus, Policy 105.00 Return to School Committee is optional, and if adopted, the word "required" in paragraph one will be replaced with the word "recommended." Policy 205.08 Board Policy and Temporary Waivers is added to formalize the fact that for the immediate future there may by several temporary waivers of existing NDE Rules and Regulations to deal with the Covid-19 disruptions. Policy 607.10 Classroom Environment is added to handle a fairly new concern created by the manufacture and marketing of essential oils which some students and staff may be highly allergic to and which would disrupt the educational environment. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more products or items of classroom disruption, as yet unimagined, added to this language in the future. Revised Policies: Three policies have been revised to deal with disruptions caused by the presence of personal security products in the schools such as mace and tasers. Not surprisingly, these can be misused or purposely taken from the possession of students or staff and used to disrupt school or injure others. Policy 504.11 Weapons, Policy 504.16 Searches and Seizures, and Policy 801.04 Bus Safety Program are being revised to include the prohibition of these devices without specific permission of the building principal and storage during school hours in a secure location. Policy 508.15 Concussion Awareness is being revised due to occasional hesitation on the part of students, parents or guardians to be forthcoming about a student’s concussion. It places a higher expectation on parents and guardians to notify the school of such injuries and flatly requires the student to make such notification, which implies appropriate punishment to students for lack of doing so. I have also included for your use or reminder three useful tools created by NDE for concussion monitoring and treatment:
Policy 502.02 Nonresident Students with the sixth paragraph underlined simply for your review. This is NOT a revised policy, but NDE is taking a closer look at the criteria districts have put in place for making decisions to accept or reject option enrollments. If you have such criteria in place, please review them, and re-adopt them if they will be kept. More things are coming later this summer with new Title IX regulations for sexual harassment having been greatly revised, more changes probably coming from NDE due to Covid-19 for the upcoming year, and a special session of the Legislature still to be held.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve final reading of the first installment of new and amended policies. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Attachments:
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V.B.2. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve first reading of second installment of new and amended board policies.
Rationale:
Policy Update Subscribers, I have cleaned up and simplified Policy 104.00, using more of the direct instructions from Rule 10.009 regarding the School Improvement Plan required of districts every 5 years. This should not be confused with the district annual report issued annually as covered in policy 1002.00. Many districts have optionally attached their mission and vision statements, and sometimes even their educational goals, to this policy directly or as an administrative regulation for it. LB 148 recently changed statute 84-1411 regarding the provision of public notice for board meetings. All meeting notices after late July must be published in the local paper of record. Policies 204.07 and 204.11 have been revised accordingly. Policy 204.02 regarding emergency meetings has been slightly revised for clarity. The recent Supreme Court ruling regarding the firing of long-term employees for being homosexual or transgender in Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clayton County, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC has resulted in changes to our major policies dealing with anti-discrimination and protected categories in employment and education. Policies 103.00, 402.01. 404.06, 501.00 and 504.18 all reflect these changes. However, nothing is as constant as change and if the Feds do not postpone the implementation of new Title IX regs, policies 404.06 and 504.18 will both see enormous changes and expansions next month. The discussion of educational equity in all aspects of our schools has become much more frequent the last couple of years. I have enclosed a new Policy 501.01 Educational Equity as an optional policy for districts wishing for such a policy. A couple of districts had already requested this and have it in place, but in the future there will be more demand for having many of these board expectations as a part of your policy manual. Have an enjoyable but busy remainder of the summer. Busier times will be here soon! Jim Luebbe NASB Director of Policy Services
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve first reading of the second installment of new and amended board policies. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Attachments:
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V.B.3. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve all actions, votes, motions, decisions, notices, minutes, and all other matters addressed, approved, or oherwise acted upon by the board of education during the the months of March, April, May, and June 2020.
Rationale:
Ratification and Affirmation of Previous E-Meetings. On March 17, 2020, Governor Ricketts issued Executive Order 20-03, which allowed public boards (including school boards) to meet virtually. On May 19, 2020, Governor Ricketts issued Executive Order 20-24, which extended Executive Order 20-03 through June 30th. Governor Ricketts has indicated that he will not issue another extension. As a result, effective July 1, school boards will need to meet in- person. Since Executive Order 20-03 was issued, some have questioned whether the Governor had the authority to unilaterally waive certain parts of the Open Meetings Act. To resolve this question proactively, and avoid any potential legal argument in the future, we recommend that any board that met virtually or remotely at any point between March 17th and June 30th pass the following motion: "Move to ratify, affirm and approve all actions, votes, motions, decisions, notices, minutes and all other matters addressed, approved or otherwise acted upon by this Board of Education at all meetings that occurred during the months of March, April, May and June as if set forth fully and incorporated herein entirely by this reference."
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to ratify, affirm and approve all actions, votes, motions, decisions, notices, minutes, and all other matters addressed, approved, or oherwise acted upon by the board of education during the the months of March, April, May, and June 2020. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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V.C. Building, Grounds, and Transportation
Rationale:
This committee is responsible for recommending approval of building/grounds and transportation programs, vehicle replacement schedule, building and maintenance and upgrade schedule.
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V.C.1. Consider, discuss, and take action to set the price for the morning and afternoon bus service to Lonnie's Trailer Court.
Rationale:
Due to the COVID-19 school closure, the second semester rate was reduced accordingly. This service has worked well for our morning and afternoon routes. Below is an outline of the arrangements we used last year. Lonnie’s Trailer Court Bus Service 1. This is an unsupervised load/unload bus service. 2. The morning bus route pickup: 18th and Fort Street at 7:15 AM. 3. The afternoon bus route drop off: 18th and Fort Street at 4:15 PM. 4. Regular bus route rules apply. 5. Fee (per bus): $450 per semester ($5 per day/ $1.66 per mile). 6. First Semester bus payment due: September 11, 2020. 7. Second Semester bus payment due: January 8, 2021. 8. We will use the same buses that go to Richland Elementary.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve the fee of $450 per semester for bus service to Lonnie's Trailer Court for the 2020-21 school year. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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V.D. Governance: Public Relations, Technology, and Planning
Rationale:
This committee is responsible for recommending the annual district calendar, strategic planning process, technology, and promoting positive public relations and communications program.
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V.D.1. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve 2020-21 membership with the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association (NRCSA)
Rationale:
Attached is the annual membership renewal with the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association (NRCSA). See attached information for details on services provided by the Association. Dues for the 2020-21 school year are $850.00. (no increase)
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve 2020-21 membership with the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association (NRCSA) Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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VI. Discussion Items and Reports
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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VI.A. Superintendent's Report
Rationale:
1. Summer School Update: (Dr. Gibbons) We were able to start summer school July 6. We screen all students and staff that enter the building by taking temperatures and having them apply hand sanitizer. Staff wear masks. We are not requiring children to wear masks. At the high school level, we have averaged 35 students each day. In the afternoon, students are working in their grade levels doing science projects and reading books. Kindergarten students wrote a book about Orbeez, 1st grade has been practicing site words and exercising, 2nd grade has been doing the science of motion, 3rd grade is making dioramas , 4th grade is reading Wonder, 5th grade is reading "Frindle" ASP summer camp has been so successful! My goal this year was 100 students. This is of course much lower than previous years. We hit this goal on July 8th! Very exciting. We also had a great opportunity to have professional soccer players from Australia come and work for our program teaching students different soccer drills throughout the day. Graeme Eaglesham runs a non-profit out of Omaha and came to Schuyler to work with our students. Jared Severson is working with middle school students making masks that will be donated to the community. We have partnered with Michelle Evert who is the Colfax County Deputy Emergency Manager. She had a donation of material that will help with this service. We also have many other fun and exciting clubs: Dual Language, Art, Sports, Writing, and many others. Staff and students are both excited to be back in school doing activities.
2. Graduation Update: a. Senior Banquet: Friday, July 17th at 6:00 PM at the West Gym. Board members are welcome to attend and help serve, eat, and participate in the program. Please let Sally know if you are planning to attend. b. Graduation: Saturday, July 18th at 7:00 PM at the Football Stadium. We need to know who wants to help with this ceremony. Parents and families will be seated on the football field according to social distance guidelines (8 per group). 3. Re-opening plans for Nebraska's schools: We have been working on re-opening plans for the beginning of the school year (COVID-19) We will be organizing our return to school committee to begin meeting the week of July 20th. Attached is an overall plan developed by NRCSA superintendents and health professionals to use as a guide. See attached information.
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VI.B. Board Member/Committee Reports
Rationale:
Brian Vavricek will share information from the July Foundation Meeting. |
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VII. Correspondence Items
Rationale:
Would you mind sharing this with the Board of Education on my behalf?
I would like to thank the Warrior community for the unending support that has been demonstrated over and over again to myself and my family, but most importantly, the students of our district. I love Schuyler. What was once a town that I passed through occasionally became one of the most important chapters of my life.
The best part of Schuyler is the people that live here. From the minute that we unpacked our moving truck, I was shown kindness and hospitality. My respect and adoration for the community has only grown as we have walked through life together. I am taking so many lessons that I have learned over the past six years with me. One of the most important being the concept of blooming where you are planted. I am going home to support my parents, work with others to grow my hometown, and give back to the district that invested in me by having my kids walk the same halls that I once did. I have such a high level of respect for those that graduated Warriors and continue to bleed Schuyler Green! It will be an honor to do the same for my alma mater. There are no words to describe the true gift that Schuyler is. I will forever be a fan of this genuine, hardworking district. I will always be grateful that you chose me as a principal of this district, and I wish you only the very best as you lead and impact future generations. Respectfully,
Michelle Burton
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VIII. Adjournment
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to adjourn Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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