March 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting

Discussion:  President Lutkemeier opened the meeting at 7:31 pm.  The meeting notice was advertised in the February 26th publication of the Webster County Sun.  "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.  

Discussion:  Guests in attendance were:  Randy Sorensen, Shaun Fisher, Jennifer Karr, Michelle Sorensen, Brittney McMahon and Shannon Lovin.  Public comment was not utilized.

Discussion: 

1.  I want to thank Mr. Drake, Mr. Jones and Mr. Sluka for all the extra hours and work they have done in preparation of hosting the district final and the legwork required in sending a team to state. I know these efforts often go overlooked. 

2.  I would also like to recognize our band (Mrs. Young), our cheerleaders (Mrs.Simonton) and our dance team (Mrs. Sharp and Mrs. Bartels). They performed at both the district competition and the state basketball tournament an did an incredible job.

3.  Preliminary tax request numbers have been released. I will recommend you take the additional 7% this year (IF Available - I doubt it will be available). I know that most were not in favor of this last year. I do think it would be the financially responsible thing for you to do as a board. Budget authority is going to be a squeeze again ($22,034 up from last year). We have been very financially responsible as a district and I think our taxpayers are fortunate to have the board members that we have.

4.  Reminder of the NRCSA Spring Conference March 19th and 20th.

5.  Reminder I will be leading the Wynot external review on the 24th and 25th of March.  Mr. Drake is also serving as a team member.

6.  We have 7 candidates filed and running for 4 vacancies. All will advance to the general election ballot.

7.  Monitoring review of the ESEA/ESSA grant programs was conducted on February 23rd, thank you to Mr. Drake, Mr. Watt and Mrs. Sinner for all of their efforts to make this review run smoothly.

8.  Football Field lighting.  Smitty's Electric submitted an estimate at the last minute.  The bid and proposal are attached will be discussed later in the meeting. 

9.  Gail has started working with Brittany on bookkeeper duties. If she is in on this transition I would like to hire someone to take on her duties in April so that she can train and be trained at the same time. Gail is going to leave some rather large shoes to fill so I think it is best that we get as much support as possible as soon as possible.

Discussion: 

Mr. Drake reported:

Enrollment: As of March 12th, 2026

PreK-6: 133
PreK: 25
K: 19
1st: 7
2nd: 16
3rd: 14
4th: 13
5th: 23
6th: 16

Completed Events:

March 2nd: Preschool Round-up
     Excited about our potential numbers next year

March 2nd: Kindergarten Round-up
     Looking at an average size class (13-16)

March 2-3: Dr. Seuss Week
March 3rd: Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast

Upcoming Events:

March 20th - 5th/6th Grade to Henry Doorly Zoo
April 1st - 1st/2nd Grade Field Trip
April 3-6 - No School
April 13th - Kindergarten Transition Day
April 17th - 4th Grade Field Trip
April 21,29,30 - Elementary Testing Dates

Informational:

February 23 - ESSA Review
March 24-25 - Wynot Visit
April 9-10 - Autism and Spectrum Disorder/Special Education Conference

Discussion: 

Mr. Jones reported:

Professional Development / Meetings

February 10th - Teacher In-Service
February 25th - TVC Executive Meeting
March 2nd-3rd- Amherst External Review
March 18th - School Masters Meeting
March 19th - CTE Meeting (ESU 9)
March 23rd - TVC Executive Meeting
April 2nd - Teacher In-Service

JH/HS Academic

February 18th - 10th/11th Grade to UNL
March 12th - End of the 3rd Quarter
March 18th - CCC Actions Day
March 24th - Junior ACT
March 24th - Sophomore Business Tours
March 31st - NSCAS Testing - Sci (JH)
April 1st - NSCAS Testing - Sci (JH)
April 7th - Junior ACT Make Up Test
April 8th - NSCAS Testing - Math (JH)
April 9th - NSCAS Testing - Math (JH)
April 9th - County Government Day - Seniors
April 10th - NSCAS Testing - Math (JH)
April 11th - National ACT
April 14th - Senior Trip
April 21st - Junior ACT Make Up Test
April 22nd - NSCAS Testing - ELA (JH)
April 23rd - NSCAS Testing - ELA (JH)
April 24th - NSCAS Testing - ELA (JH)

JH/HS Safety Drills

Fire Drill - March TBA
Tornado Drill - March 25th

JH/HS Sports / Activity

Feb. 23rd-27th - FFA Week
Feb. 24th - HS BBB @ Sub-Dist.
Feb. 25th - HS Speech @ TVC (Giltner)
Feb. 26th - HS BBB @ Sub-Dist.
Feb. 27th - HS GBBB @ Dist. Finals
March 2nd - Start of Spring Sports Practices
March 3rd - FFA @ Spring CDE’s
March 3rd - JH/HS Science Fair (UNK)
March 4th-7th - HS GBB @ State
March 8th -10th - HOSA @ State
March 12th - Activity Pictures
March 12th - End of the 3rd Quarter
March 13th - HS Speech @ Thayer Central
March 16th - HOSA @ Mary Lanning
March 16th - Speech Night
March 17th - Speech @ Districts
March 18th - CCC Actions Day
March 18th - JH Quiz Bowl @ L/N
March 19th - HS Track @ UNK
March 19th - HS Golf @ Scrimmage
March 21st - PowerLifting @ State (Harvard)
March 23rd - TVC Honor Band/Chorus
March 24th - HS Science Fair @ UNK
March 25th-27th - FFA @ State
March 26th - JAG @ Legislative Days
March 27th - HS Track @ Wil-Hil
March 28th - Speech @ State (Kearney)
March 30th - Winter Sports Banquet
March 30th - JH Science Fair @ NPCC
March 31st - HS Golf @ Dual vs Kenesaw
March 31st - HS Track @ Kenesaw Invite
April 1st - HS Quiz Bowl @ TVC Invite
April 7th - HS Track @ Franklin
April 7th - HS Golf @ RC Quad
April 8th - HOSA @ UNMC
April 9th - JH Track @ Kenesaw Invite
April 10th - Prom

Mr. Jones also reviewed the handbook's policy on vaping and treating the student violation of look-alike drugs with the same discipline.

Discussion:  The resignation of Ryan Behmer left a 7-12 Special Education opening.  Recommended motion is to hire Jimmy Brown as the 7-12 Special Education Teacher for the 2026-27 school year. 

Discussion:  Mr. Bauer added that finding a sponsor to fill the assistant speech position is a priority, but has not been filled yet and is left as "TBD or to be determined."  Our Head Speech sponsor does a great job, but does need an assistant.

Discussion:  Attached is the version that received the most votes by teachers, staff and administration.  

Please note that we do our best to try to schedule in the manner that is best for our students.  No school calendar will ever make everyone happy, yet we try our best to put together an option that best aligns with providing a high-quality education to our students.  

Discussion:  This agenda item was placed in the event of receiving any resignations leading up to the board meeting.

Discussion:  The Village of Bladen met 3/10/26. The board voted that if Silver Lake offered to sell us the old bus barn in Bladen for one dollar, we would accept the offer. They had Bill Diesly come up and give us a rough estimate of the demolition cost. He said he could try to demolish the Opera House without damaging the bus barn, but there would be no guarantee he could do that because of the common wall.

Mr. Bauer thinks this would be a good way of getting out without covering the cost of the demolition etc...  

The 14 days allows the District plenty of time to remove all items that need to be moved out.  

Randy Sorensen, a representative from the Village of Bladen, was present to answer any questions.

Discussion:  Quote is attached.  
Savvas is the company that the teachers chose.
EnVision + Math K-6 curriculum 

Discussion:  Musco is in the $200,000 - $245,000 range depending on features.
Smittys came in at $88,502.64 + shipping and any additional electrical costs that may arise.  
Board members discussed both bids and proposals.  

Discussion:  Eric Parr brought up that the Village of Roseland is looking to improve some streets in Roseland due to TIF money that needs to be utilized.  He mentioned that the street north of the high school is one that may be worked on, and depending on the improvement, the street may end up being higher than the sidewalks. This could result in some drainage issues going forward.

In addition, introductions were made to Shannon Lovin, the incoming 2026-27 high school principal.  Mr. Lovin stated he appreciated the opportunity to serve the district of Silver Lake.

Discussion:  On Tuesday April 14th ESU-9 in Hastings will host a legislative panel for district 38 candidates.  Please let me know if you would like to attend.
9:30 - Melanie Knight
10:00 - Tim Anderson
10:30 - Janell Anderson Ehrke
11:00 - Jon Capps
11:30 - Wes Wilmot

Discussion:  The next regular Board of Education meeting will be 7 pm, Wednesday, April 15th, at the Elementary in Bladen.