September 16, 2026 at 7:00 AM - Board of Education Regular Monthly Meeting

Discussion:  President Leon Lutkemeier opened the meeting at 7:00 AM.  The meeting notice as advertised in the August 27th publication of the Webster County Sun.  "The Open Meetings Act" poster was displayed in the meeting room.

Discussion:  Public comment was not utilized.  No guests were in attendance at this meeting.

Discussion:  Superintendent’s Report
1.Alicap was out for their annual inspection. We will share results of the visit to the Bladen site with you.
2.Audit is scheduled for October 8th.
3.My psychological first aid training has been renewed - certified for another year.
4.State Education Conference November 18th - 20th @ CHI Center in Omaha. Need to know by the 29th at the latest if you are wanting to go and need a room. Rooms are booked on the 30th and it is always a race to get lodging so that we are close to the CHI Center.
5.Superintendent Evaluations will be out to you at the October monthly meeting so that we can discuss them at the November meeting. Please get these back to Mr. Lutkemeier so that we can meet ahead of the November meeting. As always my door is open, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns that you have.
6.Holiday Staff/Board meal? Do we want to continue to host this? Saturday December 5th would be the coordinating date with when we generally host this. I think our staff and their spouses truly appreciate and enjoy this night. December 12th we have junior high girls basketball tournament but that is in the morning.
7.Joint Public Hearing tonight at 6:01 p.m. at Hastings High Schools Auditorium. I have Mr. Lutkemeier and Mr. Niemeyer down as working the event.

Discussion:  Elementary Principal Report
Enrollment:
PreK ½ Day: 12
PreK All Day: 12
Kindergarten: 16
1st Grade: 18
2nd Grade: 8
3rd Grade: 17
4th Grade: 14
5th Grade: 14
6th Grade: 23
Completed Events:
Preschool and Elementary Back to School Night/Open House - August 11th
School has started
Reading Screeners
MAP Testing
Upcoming Events:
September 16th: P/T Conferences 1:00-7:00
September 17th: 5th and 6th Grade to Earth Jamboree
September 18th: Teacher In-Service
Continuous Improvement
Data Trends
Title IX
Elementary Curriculum Tools
September 22nd: Elementary Picture Day
October 6th: 4th and 5th Grade at Animals Inside and Out
October 7th: Farm Safety Day
Information:
October 27th: We will be presenting on our STEAM class at the Nebraska Fall Ed Tech
Conference.
Playground:
Mr. Lutkemeier has helped us get a grant for up to $10,000
The search for more grant dollars continues.
Surfacing has been worth every penny
PD/Meetings:
August 25-26 - ESU 7,9,10 Leadership Network

Discussion:  Board Report September 2026
Students in the building on August 13th
7-12 Picture Day was August 25th
7-12 MAP testing April 24 - Sept. 4
The Silver Lake FFA Chapter had a ton of success back at our Nebraska State Convention in April regarding the Agriscience Fair. This past week we found out the results for our 4 teams and 1 individual who received top golds in their division at the State level. Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Bronze Medal: Leah and Elise, Brooklyn and Kaylee, and MaKenna Karr. But one team will advance to National FFA to participate in the Agriscience Fair with their project. Congrats, Jordan Bonifas and Lee Gibson!
Colten McNeill was accepted into the 2026 National FFA Chorus as a(n)Tenor.
We have a couple students attending the ESU 9 18+ program in Hastings. It will give these students opportunities to learn and practice real life situations that are more meaningful to them.
Sept. 10 ESU 9 Principals’ Conference-Social Studies Standards NOT approved
AI- Gemini AI
Kate taking reading literacy training IPG
Attendance- Community Impact Network and grants- Adams, Nuckolls, Clay, and Webster Counties
Sept. 16th P/T Conferences 1pm-7pm
Upcoming- Sept. 18th Teacher In-Service
Prom moved from April 16 to April 23 because the date for State FBLA was incorrect on their website. State FBLA changed from April 8-10 to April 14-16

Discussion:  With Mrs. Sinsel expecting,we would like to have an additional assistant coach for the girl's basketball program.  Mr. Knehans came forward with an interest.

Discussion:  Coach Fisher has been volunteering his time this season.  I would like to pay him for his time and help with high school football.  

Discussion:  We are due to replace the carpet in the hallways at the high school.  Patina Floor and Home was the best quote that we received.  We would like to do this next summer.  Prices are going to increase in January, so I would like to place the order now and have this work completed in June.  
Special Building Fund would be used for this update to the facility.  
See attached bid.

Discussion:  I'm in the process of getting bids to replace the ceiling tiles in the FCS room.  If I can't get someone to take care of this for us I will pull the existing one out and Dale and I will Tie into it once the budget has been uploaded and submitted.  
We have some humidity issues in there that we are trying to correct, and I am guessing that we have some mold inside the ceiling tiles thus the reason we need to get them replaced ASAP.

Discussion:  Dan Keyser was out to do our annual rule 10 compliance and Alicap safety and security inspection.  The results of the visit are attached. 

Discussion:  Next Board Meeting will be in Bladen at 7:00 AM on October 14th, 2026

Discussion:  The meeting was adjourned at 7:39 AM