May 11, 2022 at 7:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  President Lutkemeier called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.  The meeting was advertised in the May 5th, 2022 publication of the Blue Hill Leader.  "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.

Discussion:  See attached file.

Discussion:  Guests in attendance were Cheryl Klein, Jolene Heuertz, Kaitlyn Hemberger, and Eric Parr.  Jolene thanked board members for supporting the AR Rewards student party.  

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer reported that they are working to secure a roofing contractor to repair the elementary gym roof.  Insurance has given an estimate, but we are having a difficult time finding someone for the repairs.  EOP (Emergency Operations Planning) training will be June 6th and 7th via zoom.  We have a 3:30 football kick-off on Friday, September 9th.  With our normal 2:30 out on Fridays, it means buses coming and going to Bladen could be an issue.  Mr. Bauer recommends a 1:30 dismissal time that day so there would be more time to get our buses out and be prepared for spectators coming in.  Mr. Bauer is currently a Continuous Improvement Lead for the 22-23 school year.  Board members indicated they are comfortable with him still being a part of this process for NDE.

Discussion:  Mr. Arntt reported that students in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades attended a "Growing Up" class given by the school nurse on April 14th.  The fourth grade attended the Fitness Day at the Hastings YMCA on April 19th.  5th and 6th grades visited the zoo in Omaha on April 21st.  1st and 2nd grades visited the Hastings Museum on April 28th.  Elementary Honors Program & Fun / Field Day will be Friday, May 13th.  Honors program will begin at 9:00 am, Field Day at 10:30.  Board members handing out 6th grade diplomas will be Alan Bonifas and Dennis Timm.  The Elementary Spring Concert will be Tuesday, May 17th.  Jump Start is set for July 25th through August 5th from 8:30 to 11:30 am.  Bussing is provided.  Pre-School Summer School is also set for July 25th through August 5th from 9:00 to 11:00 am.  Bussing provided.  

Tree trimming has been completed.  In addition, dead trees were taken down behind the rental and west of the gym.  Shirley Pedersen and Tori Karr will be part-time help for the summer at the elementary.  The football field was reseeded by Leon Lutkemeier.  2 students will be attending summer school.  A fifth grader and a sixth grader will need to pass before moving on to the next grade.  State testing has been completed.

Discussion:  Mr. Drake reported that 1 high school student would be making up days for excessive absences.  All seniors have met credit requirements to graduate.  Completed events include:  FFA plant sales, Prom, State Journalism, High School concert, TVC track, TVC golf, Honors Night and 7th grade orientation.  

Upcoming events include graduation, May 14th at 4 pm; semester tests - May 17th & 18th; and the last day of school is set for May 19th with a 12:30 dismissal.  Board members handing out diplomas will be Leon Lutkemeier, Allen Ehrman, Brant Karr, and Daren Niemeyer.

Hastings Seamless replaced the gutters on the side of the large van garage.

Discussion:  N/A

Discussion:  The transportation committee met earlier tonight.  Points of discussion included the VW grant program which currently is not offering grants for buses with diesel engines.  Tyler Cox with Nebraska Central Equipment has said that electric buses cost between $190,000 to $370,000. We have a 2010 bus old enough to qualify for the grant trade in.  Grant coverage is between 85% to 100% of the price.  However, the estimated cost for a charging station is $20,000.  It takes approximately 8 hours to fully charge an electric bus.  A DC fast charging station with an approximate fee of $65,000 could fully charge a bus in 3 hours.  Currently, the range on an electric bus is around 125 miles.  Discussed were logistics on charging station costs, location of charging stations, electric vehicle repairs and maintenance, an insulated and heated bus barn, the future of electric vs diesel, and the out of pocket costs for a diesel bus.  Also discussed were replacing handicap buses and looking at a price tag between $65,000 - $70,000.

Discussion:  Future agenda items include:  Changes in the Master Calendar for early dismissal on September 9th; Electric bus; Bus barn; Striv package upgrade to enable broadcasting and graduation time change discussion.  The next regular board of education meeting will be held at SL Elementary in Bladen and is set for Tuesday, June 14th at 7 pm.