April 12, 2021 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

• The meeting was called to order by Board President Desh at 7:08 p.m. 
• Board member Church was excused absent. 

• The meeting link went live for the public as advertised at 7:00 p.m. 

• There were no student or staff presentations this month. 

Official Board of Education minutes are available on the district web site at www.districtor1.org

• Designated Bills and Payroll Documents are attached. 

• Jordan Linke will be the new Physical Education / Health Teacher at Palmyra High School beginning with the 2021 -2022 school year.
• Jordan is replacing Mr. Ron Wergin. 
• Welcome to the district Jordan!

• The Financial Report is attached. 

• No public comment was presented. 

• Teacher contracts were distributed and returned by March 19th 2021.
• This item provides specificity for certified staff contract information. 
• Current teacher contracts were signed by Board President Desh and Superintendent Hart.

Administrative reports are available in their entirety at: https://meeting.sparqdata.com/Public/Organization/174

• Some of the highlights of the report were a district COVID-19 update, a brief update on the district budget, a summary of grants and reimbursements for this school year, and a curriculum update on science materials. 
• Additional topics covered during the Superintendent report were updates on the following items: planning for the 2021-2022 school year, building maintenance, current district student enrollment numbers, an update on current legislative issues impacting education, and an update on the recent NCRSA conference held in Kearney on March 25th and 26th.  
• A presentation on recommendations for additional certified staffing was also provided to the board by Superintendent Hart.

• Mr. Johnson provided the report for the high school and elementary school. Topics included: standardized testing, staff development activities for April 14th, Kindergarten Roundup at Bennet Elementary,  graduation, prom,  spring activity schedules, and an update on student participation numbers in spring activities.
• Special recognition was also given to students and teams receiving awards in various activities. 

• Board president Desh provided updates around possible "draft" options for increasing classroom and "common area" spaces at the high school. 
• These "draft" options were provided at the Facility Audit Committee on April 8th by representatives from Clark and Enersen. 
• A follow-up Facility Audit meeting will be scheduled in the near future. 

• The additional discussion revolved around monitoring bills that allow our district to continue to evolve and grow, but also remain focused on community values. 
• Additional discussion addressed a question related to establishing residency in the district.

• No further discussion on this topic. 

• Board President Desh and Superintendent Hart summarized the strategic planning meeting with NASB representatives on April 7th.
• An overview of the timeline for implementing the Strategic Planning process with NASB was distributed to board members and discussed. 
• NASB interviews with board members and administrative staff, followed by staff surveys, and the creation of community engagement groups, were also topics that were discussed. 

• Discussion for the Olson Complex revolved around answering questions about the following topics: Operational chain of command and a specific timeline and expected completion date for items still left on the complex "punch list". 
• A meeting with representatives from Nemaha Sports Construction will be initiated after the board meeting to finalize work projects and completion of the updated "punch list".
• Follow-up conversations will be regularly scheduled after the completion of the project to remain proactive in maintaining the complex and keeping the facility in top working order.  
• Local baseball teams have started to practice on the baseball field and games are scheduled to start in mid-May. The community is invited to attend activities at the complex. 

• Board member Maahs updated the board on highlights from the April 9th Transportation meeting that was held at Palmyra High School.
• Highlights of the discussion included a summary of the conditions of our district vehicle fleet and the need to purchase at least one additional bus and possibly a 10 passenger van.
• In the coming weeks, Superintendent Hart will look at various new and used bus pricing options and make a decision for purchase prior to the end of the current school year. 
• An additional discussion involved adding additional rock to the bus lot south of the high school and relocating the temporary fuel tank to a different location to better facilitate bus fueling and maintenance procedures.  

• Board member Calfee was absent for all action items other than 10.4. as this item was moved to earlier in the meeting.

• No additional discussion on this topic. 

• No additional discussion. 

• No additional discussion. 

• No additional discussion. 

• No additional discussion 

• No additional discussion 

• Jay Spearman from Piper Sandler presented the board with two options for refinancing the 2016 Series General Obligation Bonds. 
• The two options were uniform and accelerated savings and the board chose the uniform option of refinancing.
• Overall savings to district stakeholders for the refinance option would be approximately $1 million over the course of the refinancing term. 

• No additional discussion 

• No additional discussion 

• Discussion centered around the request to add an elementary counselor/ behavioral skills specialist and an elementary "specials" teacher. This "specials" teacher would teach elementary art and assist with "unfinished learning" for students with numeracy and literacy deficits exacerbated by the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• The elementary counselor will assist with teaching the district character education program (Second Step), facilitating the enhancement of a school-wide behavior plan for students, and actively respond to the increase of socio-emotional issues and challenges exacerbated by the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by students, staff, and families. 

• Board members were updated on upcoming professional board development activities through NASB. 

• Mr. Hart will give a follow-up presentation to the board about second-semester goals and year-to-date progress prior to the next superintendent evaluation. 
• The second superintendent evaluation will need to be completed at the June board meeting
• Board members will have an opportunity to provide additional information on the evaluation at the May regular board meeting. 

• The discussion was centered on possibly using the attached NASB superintendent evaluation document.
• More discussion on using the NASB document will be discussed at the May regular board meeting. 

• No further discussion on this topic. 

• No closed session was held at this meeting. 

• No further discussion. 
• The meeting was adjourned at 10:13 p.m.