December 13, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting

Discussion:  President Lutkemeier opened the meeting at 7:00 pm.  The meeting notice was advertised in the December 7th publication of the Blue Hill Leader.  "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.

Discussion:  N/A

Discussion:  Guests in attendance were Ashley Kral, Jennifer Karr and Adam Klein.  No comments were offered at this time.

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer reported that Silver Lake was on the call list for buses when they come off lease.  He will inform the board when he has pricing and options.  ESU-9 is hosting a Legislative Preview on Thursday, December 14th at 9 am (Hastings).  Senator Murman, Senator Halloran and SBOE members Penner and Jones will be present.  Tree removal is currently going on at the high school.  NASB Legislative Issues Conference will be held in Lincoln from January 21-22.  Board members are invited. Let Mr. Bauer know if you are interested in attending.  It is a Sunday/Monday conference.  Thank you to all who were able to attend the Holiday Meal.  Mr. Bauer reported that we have been unable to get an estimate on fixing the heating and air situation in Bladen.  The consensus with board members was to continue with Rutt's for phase #2.  A reminder for current board members (Allen E., Brant K., Shaun F., Todd B. and Daren N.) that candidate filing starts on January 5th.  Incumbent filing deadline is February 15th with March 1st being the last day for non-incumbent filing.  *Reminder that you must file in Adams County as that is where Silver Lake's district office is located.  Mr. Bauer has had 3 zoom meetings with E3 working on the configurations for our building.  We are hopeful that we can roll out things at the February teacher in-service meeting.  A lot of moving parts, but we are working through them rapidly.  Audit approval will be on the January board meeting agenda.  An ad for the Title position is still posted. We hope to begin interviews in early January.  New one on one para position at the elementary.  We will need to hire and employ prior to the next board meeting.  Mr. Bauer also discussed the food drive.  Mr. Drake to go into more detail with his report.

Discussion:  Completed events for the elementary include a trip to the High School on November 21st for the One Act Matinee and Mrs. tenBensel and Mr. Drake attending an APL Conference in Kearney on Nov 29th - 30th.  Upcoming events include the Elementary Concert on December 14th at 6:30 pm, the last day of 1st semester is December 22nd with report cards being sent home, a teacher in-service on January 2nd with 2nd semester starting on the 3rd.  Webster County Spelling Bee will be hosted by SL Elementary on January 10th at 1:00 pm.  Administratively:  an ad is being run for a 1 on 1 para to work with a new student in the 2nd semester.  Mid-year Dibels testing is completed and Mid-year MAP/NSCAS testing will be completed the week of January 15th.  Mr. Drake detailed the canned food drive and asked if the board would be willing to allow a day off from school as a reward for meeting the 2000 item goal.  The consensus of the board was to allow an extra day off and return to school on January 4th for the start of 2nd semester.  Teacher's Inservice would then be scheduled for January 3rd.

Discussion:  Mr. Jones reported on the high school staff's professional development events, which included Nov 14th - ELA Curriculum Training; Nov 15th - CTE Meeting; Nov 29th and 30th - APL Training; December 6th & 7th - State Principal Conference and a staff in-service on January 2nd.  JH/HS Academics included the Veterans Program on Nov 10th; ASAAP for 7th, 8th & 9th grade on Nov 17th; SL Night at Storm Hockey on Dec 16th; Alumni Day (last year's Seniors) on Dec 18th; 7 - 12 Winter Concert on Dec 19th; Semester Finals set for December 19th - 20th; Hearts and Hands Against Hunger and Mustang Olympics are set for Dec 21st; Mini-Courses on Dec 22nd; End of 1st Semester is also Dec 22nd; NSAA Moratorium is Dec 23rd - 27th; 7th/8th grade NSCAS testing - January; and County Spelling Bee is January 10th.  Fire Drill was completed on Dec 6th.  JH/HS Sports/Activities:  Fall Sports Banquet - Dec 18th; Winter Sports Numbers:  Boys BB - 26 students; Girls BB - 14 students; Dance - 3 students; JH Girls BB - 11 students; and JH Boys BB - 12 students.  Winter Activities Numbers:  One Act - 20 students; Speech - 15 students; HS Quiz Bowl - 9 students; JH Quiz Bowl - 8 students; MathCounts - 12 students.  Football declaration is set for November 30th, the canned food drive is Dec 14th - 22nd and Prom will be April 19th.  

Discussion:  After discussion and making adjustments to policy #4043 we are ready to adopt the policy changes.  Staff members will be educated on the policy at the January in-service.  This policy will go into effect upon receiving the signature from each staff member at that point.  Also discussed was the SportsYou app and the Apptegy software program to help with team, coach/sponsor and parent communication, as well as social media content.

Discussion:  President Lutkemeier thanked Daren Niemeyer and Alan Bonifas for their help on the Negotiations Committee.

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer reported that the flooring on the bottom half of the weight room needs to be replaced.  Dave King with Johnson Commercial Fitness came out and went through some options with us.  While he was out, we talked a lot about equipment and injury prevention.  Mr. Bauer had him put together-through MacroLease, a three-year lease to own package.  
Payment would be $13,520 per year, with a one dollar purchase option.  
Mr. Bauer likes the idea of the lease purchase option on this.  He believes it provides clarity and spreads the cost out over time, so it isn't a budget blow for one year.  

Discussion:  The next regular board of education meeting will be held at 7 pm, on Wednesday, January 10th, 2024, at the Elementary School in Bladen.