Public Meeting Minutes: January 10, 2022 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance

Discussion:

Board President Desh called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Board President Desh led the board and the patrons in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2. Announcement of the Open Meetings Act Posting

Discussion:

Board President Desh identified the location of the Open Meetings Act Poster on the wall in the meeting room.

3. Organization of the Board

Attachments: (2)

3.1. Election of Superintendent: Temporary Chair for Board President Nominations

Discussion:

No further discussion.

3.2. Approval of officers, committees, positions, designations, and resolutions

Action(s):

Motion Passed:

Motion to retain current officers, committee assignments, designations, policies, and resolutions. Passed with a motion by Clayton Maahs and a second by Lisa Wilen.

Busch: Yea
Calfee: Yea
Desh: Yea
Maahs: Yea
Penterman: Yea
Wilen: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Discussion:

No further discussion.
A signed copy of the bank resolution is now attached.

Attachments: (4)

4. Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) Presentation

Discussion:

John Spatz presented information on state spending in Nebraska. His presentation is attached to this agenda item. Mr. Spatz first gave the presentation at the "Community Coffee" meeting earlier in the evening and he presented a summary of that information to the board members and patrons in attendance at the regular board meeting.
During the presentation, Mr. Spatz discussed the current state tax structure, including the reliance on property taxes to fund education, state trends in spending, and changing the "narrative" regarding school spending in Nebraska. This adjusted narrative included looking at education as a comprehensive community investment rather than just an expenditure.
Highlights of the presentation included looking deeper into the costs of educating all students, "rate of return" on investments, comparing surrounding state costs for education, "in and out" of classroom spending, population density, how money is spent, and the need to expand our economic and industry base here in the state.
Additional discussion focused on investments in early education, developing strategically aligned systems with common goals, and an increased focus on preparing students for "living wage" job opportunities in a variety of workforce areas.
An additional question relative to students leaving the state after graduation (either high school or college) for better opportunities in other states was presented during the "Community Coffee" presentation earlier in the evening.

Attachments: (1)

Palmyra PP. State School Spending.Spatz.January 10.2022

5. Staff and Student Presentations

Discussion:

Mr. Hart led this presentation as Mr. Chaffee was unable to attend the meeting.

Highlights of the discussion are listed below:

Our Second Step and 8 to Great is underway in both schools and going relatively well. Both curriculums cover the CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) standards of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
At the high school, we have grades 7 and 8 using the online supported Second Step, team-taught by eight teachers. Both grades had to be split in two due to the large class sizes; 49 students in the 7th grade and 45 students in the 8th grade.
Grades 9-12 have 8 to Great as the base curriculum and are supplemented by other subjects from EducationQuest, John Baylor, Growing Leaders, Gallup, and ASVAB. This information is outlined in the attached document.
This year we were honored to be asked by Chick-fil-A to consider enrolling in their Chick-fil-A Leader Academy. This is an award-winning leadership process that exposes select students to several components of a dynamic leadership process. This group is led by Mr. Jon Davenport, Mrs. Tessa Reiman, and Mr. Chaffee. Currently, we have our entire National Honor Society and three other students enrolled. Part of this process is conducting service events for the community; our last effort netted more than a ton of food and almost a thousand dollars in cash gifts.
We are in our second year of the EducationQuest’s College Access Grant. We received the grant in 2020 and were awarded $20,000 to be spent over 4 years. We have used the funds to take campus trips to SCC, UNK, and Wayne State College. The funds are also used to assist low-income students with Dual Credit textbooks and tuition. We are planning to make college campus visits to UNO, Peru State, and Nebraska Wesleyan or Doane this spring. We have discovered that getting students on campus (many of them have never been!) makes a huge difference in how they picture their future.
SENCAP and Dual Credit continue to provide both academic rigor and college credit for qualified students. We currently have 37 students enrolled in our college course option. We have ten seniors, nine juniors, and 18 sophomores enrolled (the most ever!)! Most seniors take more than one course.
Our counseling department provides a number of services relating to academics, career readiness, and college planning, as well as social-emotional support. Presently, we are experiencing a number of students with anxiety-related issues. This is consistent with what other schools in our state are experiencing.
- An additional question relative to character education and the amount of "digital curriculum" at the elementary school was presented during the meeting.

Attachments: (1)

Character Education at District OR 1 Public Schools.updated.December 9.2021.docx

6. Consent Agenda

Action(s):

Motion Passed:

Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. Passed with a motion by Clayton Maahs and a second by Jaimi Calfee.

Busch: Yea
Calfee: Yea
Desh: Yea
Maahs: Yea
Penterman: Yea
Wilen: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Discussion:

No further discussion.

6.1. Approval of minutes of previous meetings

Discussion:

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

Attachments: (2)

6.2. Approval of Claims/Payment of Bills and Payroll

Attachments: (2)

6.3. Certificated/Classified Hire(s)/Reassignment(s)/Resignation(s)

Discussion:

There have been no certified staff resignations or hires since the last regular board meeting.

6.4. Financial Report

Attachments: (1)

Financial Report.District OR1.January 10.2022

7. Public Comment

Discussion:

No Public Comment was presented.

8. Administrative Reports

Discussion:

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

8.1. Superintendent's Report

Discussion:

Superintendent Hart presented the Superintendent's Report for January. Highlights of the report included: Kudos to designated staff and students, a legislative update, information about a possible grade reconfiguration involving 6th graders at the high school, an update on the second semester "Return to School" protocols, a 2022-2023 district "draft" calendar preview, an update on current policy review, and information about our upcoming district "Community Engagement" meetings.
Please note: The information in the Community Engagement meetings section was inaccurate in the initial report. The Superintendent's report has now been "re-uploaded" to correct the information. In summary, the CE meeting on January 19th is at Palmyra High School and the CE meeting on January 26th is at Bennet Elementary. Both meetings start at 6:00 p.m.
An additional item was discussed relative to information about the Olson Complex. That new information is attached to this agenda item.

Attachments: (3)

8.1.1. "Return to School" Plan Update for Second Semester 2022- 2023.

Discussion:

Superintendent Hart updated the board on our current "Return to School" protocols for the second semester. It was noted that these protocols may change at any time due to evolving health conditions in the district.
Highlights of the summary included protocols for self-screening, masks, isolation and quarantine, and circumstances for the implementation of enhanced COVID procedures due to increases in illnesses and COVID cases.

Attachments: (2)

8.2. Administrative Team Report

Discussion:

Mr. Johnson (High School Principal) presented the administrative report. Highlights of the report included a summary of current activities, report cards, the celebration of "Accelerated Reading" goals at Bennet Elementary, National Honor Society tutoring, MAPS assessments, professional development activities for staff, and information on CTE opportunities and equipment for students.
Questions revolved around the usage and training for the plasma cutter at the high school, the number of elementary students being tutored by NHS high school students, the type of curriculum offered in the different CTE classes (FCS, IT, Ag., etc.), exploration of other CTE related programs and opportunities for our students, and stumbling blocks for adding CTE related programs and equipment.

Attachments: (5)

9. Committee Updates

Discussion:

The Negotiations Committee set the next meeting date for Friday, January 21st, at 12:30 p.m. at Bennet Elementary.
The Transportation Committee discussed adding a digital maintenance tracking document for our district's vehicles. Concern was also expressed regarding adding drivers to the current driver pool. The current driver shortage can negatively impact our ability to effectively run bus routes and provide transportation in the district. Solutions for finding additional bus drivers and increasing compensation were discussed.
No further discussion.

10. Action Items

10.1. Discuss, consider and take action to select the district's Title IX Coordinator.

Action(s):

Motion Passed:

Motion to appoint Heath Johnson (High School Principal) to be the district's Title IX Coordinator Passed with a motion by Lisa Wilen and a second by Clayton Maahs.

Busch: Yea
Calfee: Yea
Desh: Yea
Maahs: Yea
Penterman: Yea
Wilen: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Discussion:

No further discussion.

Attachments: (3)

11. Board of Education Development

11.1. Strategic Planning Update / Discussion and Next Steps

Discussion:

No further discussion.

11.2. Facility Assessment/ Audit Review

Discussion:

No further discussion.

Attachments: (3)

11.3. School Board Election Information:

Discussion:

No further discussion.

11.4. NASB /NRCSA Board Leadership Opportunities:

Discussion: Board members are encouraged to contact Mr. Hart if they would like to attend any of the professional development training listed below.

Upcoming Board Leadership Opportunities:

NASB BOARD PRESIDENT RETREAT - JANUARY 23-24 - KEARNEY
LEGISLATIVE ISSUES CONFERENCE - JANUARY 30-31 - LINCOLN
SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION WEEK IN NEBRASKA - JANUARY 30 TO FEBRUARY 5
NEEDS - RESOURCES WORKSHOPS - FEBRUARY 3 - SEWARD
BUDGET & FINANCE WORKSHOP - MARCH 1 - YORK

NRCSA Board Leadership Opportunities:

NRCSA Legislative Forum: February 22, 2022, Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln
NRCSA Spring Conference: March 17-18, 2022 Crowne Plaza & Younes North Convention Center in Kearney

No further discussion.

Attachments: (1)

2022 Legislative Calendar

11.5. Review of "Conflict of Interest" documents

Discussion:

No further discussion.
Any board member with a Conflict of Interest should complete the attached conflict ledger (#8271) and return it to the superintendent as soon as possible.

Attachments: (2)

11.6. Review 2022-2023 School Calendar Draft

Discussion:

The attached "draft" calendar was reviewed earlier in the meeting.
The final proposal for the 2022 -2023 school calendar will be presented for approval at the February 14th regular board meeting.

Attachments: (1)

2022-2023 Calendar Draft.District OR1.Updated. January 6. 2021 - 2022-2023 (2 days in August)Draft (2)

11.7. Review Code of Ethics Policy

Discussion:

No further discussion.

Attachments: (1)

8272--Code of Ethics.Rev.2.8.21

11.8. Superintendent Contract

Discussion:

No further discussion.

12. Topics for next month's agenda: February 2022

Discussion:

The date and time of the next board meeting is Monday, February 14, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at Palmyra High School in the media center.

Additional note: Nominations for the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association (NRCSA) awards for Outstanding Principal, Outstanding Elementary Teacher, and Outstanding Secondary Teacher should be submitted before Friday, January 21st. The form and QR code for nominations is attached below. The nomination form will also be available on our district website.

13. Closed Session

Discussion:

No closed session

14. Adjournment

Discussion:

The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.

January 10, 2022 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

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