October 12, 2015 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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I. Call Meeting to Order
Rationale:
STRIVE • COMMIT • SUCCEED - District Mission Statement Notice of this meeting was given in advance according to State Law 84-1411, by giving notice of the meeting to the public. Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education
Discussion:
Meeting called to order by President Brabec; board members present were Cerny, Misek, Brabec, Vavricek, and Hild; Semerad was absent.
Also present were Superintendent Hoesing, Prinicpals Comley, Grammer, Burton, and Reinsch, Directors Gibbons and Vrba, and Student Council Representative, Cameron Harding.
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I.A. Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion:
All present participated in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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I.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 hallway outside the Media Center.
Discussion:
President Brabec read the SCS Vision Statement and declared that the meeting had been preceded by advance notice and was hereby declared to be in open session.
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II. 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.
Discussion:
Superintendent Hoesing passed out copies of budget comparisons; 14/15 vs. 15/16, including the General Fund, Expenditures, Revenues, Bond Funds and Depreciation Funds.
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II.A. Agenda
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II.B. Minutes
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II.C. Acceptance of Claims
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II.C.1. Bills of $5,000 or more
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II.D. Financial
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II.E. Other Listed Reports
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III. Public Forum - We ask that all presentation be limited in their length.
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III.A. Recognition of visitors and guests
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III.B. Other topics (limited to 5 minutes - subject to guidelines of the Board Participation Policy)
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III.C. Student Representative's Report
Discussion:
The report included the upcoming Tech Fair on October 13 for SCHS students. Superintendent Hoesing also invited the Board members to take part in the presentations on October 13 and 14.
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IV. Action Items
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IV.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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IV.A.1. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve SEA request to be recognized as the sole bargaining agent for 2017-18 non-supervisory certificated staff master agreement.
Rationale:
The SEA submitted a letter requesting recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent for the district's non-supervisory certificated staff for the 2017-18 contract year. This is a formality that the NSEA recommends our local association get approval now for next year's negotiations process. See attached letter.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve SEA as the sole bargaining agent for 2017-18 certificated staff master contract. 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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IV.A.2. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve staff resignation.
Rationale:
Julie Wright is resigning her part-time para-educator position at Fisher's. She will continue serving the district in as a substitute teacher. See attached letter.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to accept Julie Wright's resignation as a part-time para-educator. 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.
Discussion:
Mrs. Wright is limited to working twenty hours per week as a Para Educator at Fishers #24 so will resign that position which will allow more hours to act as a substitute teacher.
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IV.A.3. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve new hire recommendation.
Rationale:
Due to Julie Wright's resignation as a para-educator, Mr. Reinsch is recommending hiring Vicky Borman for the part-time para educator position at Fisher's.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to hire Vicky Borman for the part-time para-educator position at Fisher's. 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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IV.A.4. Consider, discuss, and take action to set the date for the initial negotiations meeting with SEA for the 2016-17 Master Contract.
Rationale:
According to Nebraska State Statute, the first negotiations meeting must take place prior to November 1st. The SEA is requesting: Monday, October 19th at 6:30 PM at SCHS Library Annex. The teacher incentive program will need to be reviewed with our teachers and a recommendation made for the 2015-16 school year. This should be one of the items discussed in our initial meeting. See attached information.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to set the initial negotiations meeting for Monday, October 19th at 6:30 PM. 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. Discussion Items and Reports
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V.A. Discuss extension of the Teacher's Early Retirement Policy.
Rationale:
The purpose of this Early Retirement Incentive Program (“ERIP”) is to encourage eligible certificated employees of Schuyler Community Schools (“School District”) who are considering an early-leaving decision to accelerate their retirement plans effective at the end of the 2009-2010 through the 2015-2016 school years. Objectives include, but are not limited to, the following:
This is the last year of the Early Retirement Incentive Program. If the board elects to extend this policy beyond this school year, they would have to take action to extend or change the policy prior to adoption. See attached policy.
Recommended Motion(s):
No Action Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Discussion:
This is the last year of the Early Retirement Incentive Program. The program was adopted from 2009-2010 to 2015-2016. The Policy Committee and Finance Committee will meet to discuss extending, changing or not renewing the policy. If renewed, the policy would take effect in 2016-2017. The question was asked if this policy is accomplishing the goal for which is was set?
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V.B. Principals Reports
Rationale:
Preschool/3-5 Principal Report: Bill Comley Mrs. Glodowski had an Anti Bullying assembly that the children really enjoyed. Health Screenings were held at Preschool and the Elementary. Sixpence made an early childhood visit and all went well. Parent Teacher Conferences will be held October 13th 5-8, and October 14th 8-4. Please feel free to stop in and say hi! Kindergarten-136 1st Grade -168 2nd Grade-1413rd Grade-124 4th Grade-131 5th Grade-145
Preschool 90
K-2 Principal/K-8 AD Report: Darin Kovar The Elementary is running full speed ahead. I am seeing so many wonderful things in classrooms, and teachers are doing a good job adjusting to the new I-Observation model. Many classes are starting to go on field trips, and teachers are preparing for Parent Teacher Conferences. Traffic and buses are running smoothly. Amazingly, Middle School fall athletics are coming to a close. Cross Country ended on 10-6-15 with a meet in Wayne, and Football and Volleyball end on 10-15-15 in Stanton. Everyone is excited for the new Rec Center, and a better way to serve our large numbers at the Middle School. Girls basketball, and boys wrestling will begin in early November, and boys basketball will begin after Winter break. Rural Schools Principal Report: Gerry Reinsch Richland The recent book fair netted $700. A Math Magician Assembly was held on Sept. 18. The presenter used math to perform and discuss magic. Fishers Vicky Borman is a new para educator on Tuesdays and Thursdays replacing Julie Wright. Richland and Fishers MAP testing has been completed at both schools. The fire department visited both schools on October 8th with a demonstration vehicle and announced poster contest winners. SMS Principal's Report: Michelle Burton Total Enrollment: 384 students As mentioned by the other schools, SMS also took part in the Youth for Christ anti-bullying assembly. The message was positive, and one of the messages that students took with them is, "Hurt people hurt, and healed people heal." Students responded very well having a positive role model deliver the message! The staff will be enjoying the time to visit with parents at parent-teacher conferences. In an effort to reach 100% of our parents, parents scheduled their conference times with their student's R-Time teacher. They will also have the opportunity to meet with teachers throughout the conferences, as well. The new evaluation instrument, iObservation, continues to strengthen our evaluation of staff. Mr. Reisch and I will begin formal evaluations in November and December. Our students have been very busy with a variety of activities! Between athletics, Warrior Academy, STRIV workshops, and the Columbus Manufacturing Day, SMS students have grown academically outside of the classroom. The teaching staff also continue to develop our students to be highly effective in a technology-driven world. Our partners, CTAC and DiscoveryEd, continue to provide embedded professional development and support to move our staff forward to the next level! SCHS Principal Report: Stephen Grammer
•Brief overview of what is happening at Schuyler Central High School for the month of October:
•Our September Students Of The Month are: 9th Grade—Yareth Adame, 10th Grade—Jonathan Vasquez, 11th—Layne Petersen, and 12th Grade—Karina Adame-Dimas. Congratulations to these students being nominated by the staff for their great work academically, behaviorally, and attendance at SCHS.
•On Thursday, September 24th, we had our annual Youth For Christ Assembly for 9th through 12th grade. The message this year was on over coming adversity and communication. His main catch phrase for the presentation was, “Talk it out before you Act out.” It was a very well received assembly by our students.
•Parent – Teacher Conferences will be on Tuesday, October 13th from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and Wednesday, October 14th from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., in the West gym. During the Parent – Teacher Conferences there will also be the district Tech Fair. Plan to attend our conferences, as well as, take in the activities and speakers connected with the Tech Fair.
•Throughout the Month of September, we have been conducting informal observations using our new system, iObservation. We, as administration, are learning and adapting to the new system and seeing many benefits to the use of iObservation for the improvement of instruction in our classes. We will begin our formal observations/evaluations in the month of November.
•On Wednesday, October 14th, we will be presenting our “First Annual Warrior Tech Fair” in the district. High School will be the only school in attendance on the 14th . All presentations, vendors, and activities will be held in the high school. The Tech Fair will be from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. A lot of the information for the Tech Fair can be found by going to the high school website and clicking on the banner that says, “First Annual Warrior Tech Fair”. It will be an outstanding opportunity for our high school students to be exposed to up to date technology and technology trends. We look forward to seeing our parents at the Tech Fair and our Parent – Teacher conferences.
•Our new truancy (resource) officer is Sidnee Pavel. She is housed at SCHS and works with our students 6th through 12th. Her main responsibilities are connected with school attendance, but she also serves as a resource to our office and staffs at the middle school and high school. We are already seeing benefits with her working at the high school in the fact that there is tremendous improvement in absences and tardies.
Discussion:
All goals of the Six Pence Grant are being met with the exception of well-baby checks and immunizations. Discussion is taking place with CHI Health to promote these two areas.
An assembly was held at SCHS on October 12 to promote the Tech Fair. Sidnee Pavel, the in-house Truancy Officer for grades 6-12, is having a positive effect on students with attendance and tardy issues.
Students from SMS are excited about becoming more active in the community as well as at school. YFC presented an assembly on anti-bullying at SCHS and SMS.
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V.C. Directors Reports
Rationale:
Special Education Director Report: Darli Vrba I believe that it is an exciting time in the SCS Sped Department. All of the building teams are starting to form a working relationship with each other. We have two "master teachers" with a wealth of knowledge as the rest of the team only being here 4 years or less. They bring new creative ideas and the energy to make our team successful! The ESU #7 has been providing some opportunities for meaningful professional growth. Ten teachers attended the Special Education meeting on September 29th in which many of the "hot topics" were communicated to us! Three of us had the opportunity to participate in the Teacher and Para-Educator Team Training. I attended the First-Year Special Education Director which allowed me to start building my network of professional resources. Through the NASES organization, Jason Harris was assigned to be my mentor. We had the chance to meet for the first time and he helped me understand some "lingo" of the Sped world and helped me solve some issues! I consider myself very lucky to be assigned to a gentleman that is like a "walking book of Sped knowledge"! SCHS Asst. Principal/AD Report: Michelle Egr At the end of last year, it was discussed to have a Fall, Winter, and Spring activity nights. This is a benefit to the students as they receive immediate kudos for their efforts and it gives coaches/sponsors the ability to congratulate their students in a timely manner. This years Fall Activity night will be November 10th at 7 pm in the East Gym. The recognition will be in football, volleyball, softball, cross country and girls golf. During the fall sports parent meeting, I discussed this with parents. The winter activity night will include basketball, wrestling, one act, speech, cheerleaders, dance team etc... The date will be set soon. Winter schedules are being proofed and pocket schedules will be out soon. This year, we worked to have sponsors for each home varsity football game. Cargill was the sponsor for the first game and it was also homecoming. The game was on 9/11. We honored Schuyler's fire dept and they brought their ladder truck and displayed the flag. This was neat. Husker Helicopter delivered the game ball. QC Supply sponsored the second game and CHI sponsored the third. The profits from sponsorship benefits the group working the concessions stand. We are working to secure a sponsor for the fourth game. Coming next month: NSIAAA convention and NSAA District II meeting. Holiday Basketball Tourney meetings will begin. Director of Federal Programs, Curriculum and Assessment Report: Dave Gibbons Curriculum Assessment & Accountability – The English/Language Arts Assessment will now be given over three sessions. I thought you’d be interested in hearing about the new item types on the assessment. One new type will be technology-enhanced items. For example, in a question about sequencing, a student will be asked to drag and drop text so that it is in the proper order. The bigger new test item is called Text Dependent Analysis. In a TDA, students will read one or two passages then respond to an essay prompt based on the passages. For example, students may read a couple short passages about the history of the transcontinental railroad. They would then write an essay responding to a prompt such as: “The two stories you read were about the history of the transcontinental railroad. Explain how the passages help the reader understand the history of the transcontinental railroad. Write a well-organized, structured response using specific evidence from BOTH passages to support your answer.” The Text Dependent Analysis question will be on this year’s assessment for grades 5-8 and 11. It will be on next year’s assessment for 3rd and 4th grades. After School Program – We will be starting our second quarter soon with new programs and clubs. At the Middle school, we currently have 30 regular attendees, 5 waiting for sports to end, and 3 that need to turn in paperwork. At the Elementary, we have 204 regular attendees, 28 on waiting list (however we are just waiting on papers and returned phone calls to get them in so hopefully they’ll start real soon). School Improvement Grant – We have had the staff developers from Discovery Education onsite multiple times this year. They were here three days last week to do some individual coaching with teachers. The week before they were here to do some Read, Write, Think workshops with some teachers to help improve writing across the curriculum. We will have an onsite visit from NDE on October 26.
Discussion:
Ten teachers attended the Special Education meeting on September 29th.
This year's Fall Activity night will be November 10th at 7:00 P.M. in the East Gym. The recognitions will be in football, volleyball, softball, cross country and girls golf. This is a benefit to the students as they receive immediate kudos for their efforts and it gives coaches/sponsors the ability to congratulate their students in a timely manner.
The English/Language Arts Assessment will now be given over three sessions. A new testing item is called Text Dependent Analysis. The Text Dependent Analysis question will be on this year’s assessment for grades 5-8 and 11. It will be on next year’s assessment for 3rd and 4th grades.
The After-School Program now has enough staff to allow 232 participants. A supper is served to K-2 students at 4:00 PM and to grade 3-5 students at 4:30 PM.
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V.D. Superintendent's Report
Rationale:
1. Tech Fair: Wednesday and Thursday (October 14-15). Thank you to the technology staff (Jeff Droge, Jeff Duranski, Dan Rinkol, Kady Arps, and Kim Powell for their work in organizing this event, and to the staff members who will be presenting at the conference. The tech fair is in conjunction with Parent-Teacher Conferences. High school students will be in attendance all day attending workshops and visiting vendors. On Wednesday evening, parents are invited to attend a presentation from 7:00-8:00 focused on helping parents support learning with technology. See the District website for more information and schedule. 2. Community Resource Office: This office is located in the Homestead Center. Current hours are 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Fridays. We will be working with employers in the community and provide adult education courses. 3. Strategic Planning Workshop: The staff strategic planning workshop will be on Wednesday, November 25th from 8:00 to 12:00. 4. NASB State Convention: Pre-Conference: November 18, State Convention November 19-20. Please let Sally know if you are planning to attend. 5. 1st Quarter Outstanding Employee Program: 1st Quarter outstanding employee nominations are due November 1st. If you would like to nominate an employee, please complete the attached form and submit it to Chamber Office.
Discussion:
The Tech Fair is to be held October 14 and 15. Thank you to the Technology staff Jeff Droge, Jeff Duranski, Dan Rinkol, Kady Arps, and Kim Powell for their work in organizing this event, and to the staff members who will be presenting at the conference. The Tech Fair is to be held in conjunction with Parent-Teacher Conferences.
The Community Resource Center has moved to downtown Schuyler. To promote increased interest, meetings have been held with the Department of Labor to increase programs the center will offer to clients.
Board members are reminded of the "Meet, Greet, and Eat" at the Schuyler Senior Center on November 25th.
SCHS is in early discussions with Central Community College to offer a Pathways Program, which offers certificates in skilled trades.
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V.E. Board Member/Committee Reports
Rationale:
SCHUYLER COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION MEETING 10/05/2015 @ 12 NOON – 1:00 P.M. @ SCHUYLER MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE ROOM Membership: Lumir Jedlicka-Treasurer, Brian Vavricek- President, Virginia Semerad- Secretary, Joyce Baumert, Sandy Seckman- Vice President, Victor Lopez, and Dan Hoesing Guests -Tiffany Cone – Chamber Executive Director -Kem Cavanah – Economic Development Coordinator -Shelley Friesz –shelley.friesz@schuylercommunityschools.org – 402-352-3527 Ext 216 Foundation Assistant -Sheri Balak – sheribalak@gmail.com – Alumni Honors consultant Vision: To support the enrichment of educational programs and student life experiences Goals: -To promote education in Schuyler Community Schools -Conduct feasibility study on possible new construction at high school building Secretary Report/Minutes – Review and Approve (refer minutes e-mailed by Shelley Friesz – September 14, 2015) Treasurer’s Report – balance (Shelley will contact Gwen and get updated numbers) Committee Reports: · Labor Day: Brian & Victor & Sandy · Scholarship: Sandy, Lumir
Discussion:
The insurance certificate was received for the new Recreation Center. All playground equipment that was on SMS property has been removed to make way for construction.
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VI. Correspondence Items
Discussion:
Correspondence was received from Tom and Linda Hagewood, Mel and Joyce Baumert, and the Stephen Grammer family.
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VII. 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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