August 14, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

• Board President Desh called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. 
  • Special note: This meeting immediately followed the CMAR special meeting that began at 6:30 p.m.  
• Board President Desh led the board and the patrons in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.

• Board President Desh identified the location of the Open Meetings Act Poster on the wall in the meeting room.
  • Please note that no changes to the Open Meetings Act occurred during the last Legislative session and the current Open Meetings Act information will stay current until further notice. 

• No student or staff presentations took place at this meeting.

• No further discussion. 

• We would like to thank Mrs. Pohlen for her service to the district and we wish her well in her next endeavors. 

• No public comment was presented at the meeting. 

• Staff, Students, Community, and Board Member Kudos: Special thanks to BIC site supervisors and all of the employees and contractors who worked extremely hard to prepare our building sites for the beginning of school. We also greatly appreciate the flexibility and patience of our staff, students, parents, and the community for their flexibility as we continue to deal with construction and weather-related challenges. 
• Bennet City Meeting Agenda Item Regarding Bennet Elementary School Traffic Flow: A draft proposal was submitted for review at the Monday, August 14th, 2023 Bennet City Council meeting for consideration of proposed traffic flow in the immediate areas surrounding Bennet Elementary School. The proposed document is attached.  
• LB 243 Information: Discussion included the bill's impact on our district and state school funding.
• Instructional Model: The attached document represents the instructional expectations of our teachers as they prepare and conduct classroom lessons and activities.  
• District Budget Process and Timelines: Preparations continue for the 2023-2024 District Budget.  Specific timelines are listed below:
  • August 20th, 2023: Property valuations are certified by county assessors
  • September 4th, 2023: Deadline to submit information to the county assessors if a Joint Public Hearing is required.
  • Monday. September 11th,2023 at 6:30 p.m. Special Board Meeting: CMAR update and pay application approval
  • Monday, September 11th, 2023 at 6:45 p.m. or immediately following the CMAR special meeting:- District OR-1: Budget Public Hearing
  • Monday, September 11th, 2023 at 6:55 p.m. or immediately following the budget hearing: District Tax Request Hearing.  
  • Monday, September 11th, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. or immediately following the tax request public hearing: District OR-1 Regular Board Meeting at Palmyra High School in the media center
  • Joint Public Hearings Time Frame: September 14th - September 24th, 2023
    • Lancaster County Joint Public Hearing: Tuesday, September 19th, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 112 at the County-City Building, 555 S. 10th Street.
    • Otoe County Joint Public Hearing: Thursday, September 21st, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fair Center Building in Syracuse, located at 135 Plum Street.
  • September 30th, 2023: District budgets are due to NDE and the State Auditor 
  • October 15th, 2023: The filing deadline to submit tax requests. 
  • November 5th, 2023: Tax requests become final
• HS Student Fees Clarification: The discussion centered around the rationale and explanation of the high school prom fee. This $15.00 fee can be paid yearly from 7th-11th grade or all at once to minimize prom costs and fundraising needed to cover the student's senior year expenses related to this activity. 
• Beginning of School Activities: Staff were busy preparing for the beginning of school and effectively maximized the extra time they were granted for the week of August 7th - August 11th. 
• Required Staff Training: A document listing the required training for the 2023-2024 school year is attached to this agenda item.
• Current Staff Development Activities: The week of August 7th- August 11th, 2023, all staff worked collaboratively to prepare for the new school year, attend training, complete assigned tasks, and communicate effectively with parents and students. 

• The second issuance of the 2022 general obligation bond will be forthcoming in the coming months. 
• A summary of the 2022 bond expenses is attached to this agenda item. This document will be updated as needed to portray current construction -related expenditures.

• Mr. Johnson (Palmyra Jr. Sr. High School Principal) and Ms. Walter (Bennet Elementary School Principal)  presented the admin report for the month. A summary of the items discussed is listed below:

High School Parking Update: 

• Signs have been installed.  Students have parking placards and were briefed on how and where to park in person at the beginning of the school day.

Cell Phone and Personal Electronic Device Changes at the High School: 

• Any phone or student personal electronic device that is seen by staff during instructional time (during class) will be confiscated by the teacher and turned in at the office.

Behavior Committee and Data Retreat: 

• Posters have been put up at the elementary.  These documents are being finalized, ready for print, and will be displayed as soon as they arrive from the printer. An example of the high school posters is attached.
• Special thanks to members of the behavior committee and all the high school staff for their hard work and collaboration in designing a school-wide behavior and electronic device usage plan.  

New HS Guidance Counselor:

• Mrs. Vodicka has been working very hard and made some great changes per the administration’s request to study halls, the new advisory period, and work release for seniors.

August Activities Board Report

• Fall sports practices began on Monday, August 7th, 2023.
• Sports concussion testing was performed on Wednesday, August 2nd, and Thursday, 3rd, 2023 for all incoming 7th-12th grade students.  
• Yearly summer maintenance on the Olson Football Field was done in July.  This maintenance is scheduled each summer to help extend the life of the turf. 
• Both gyms at the high school had the yearly floor refinishing performed the first week of July and are currently ready for use. 

Bennet Elementary School:

• Behavior Committee: Special thanks to members of the behavior committee and all elementary staff for their hard work and collaboration in designing a school-wide behavior plan. 
• Open House Feedback from Thursday, August 10th: The event was extended from 3:00 - 6:30 p.m. to help alleviate construction-related parking issues and minimize overcrowding during the event. 
• Bennet Boosters Kudos - We would like to thank the Bennet Boosters for their help in directing traffic at the elementary the first few days of school, pulling weeds, performing outside landscaping, and providing cheerful signage at the Bennet Open House on Thursday, August 10th, 2023. 

• Committee assignments are listed in the attached document. 
• Various committees set meeting dates for upcoming events.
• Those dates are contained in the subsections below. 

• The Transportation and Facilities Committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 30th, 2023, at the high school in the west conference room. 
• The Budget and Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, August 30th, 2023, beginning at 2:15 p.m. at the high school in the west conference room. 

• Upcoming Americanism Committee meetings are listed below: 
  • Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. at Palmyra High School:
  • Wednesday, February 7th, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. at Palmyra High School
    • Please note that the February 2024 meeting will be a public meeting in accordance with state statutes. 

• The Policy Committee met on Tuesday, August 8th, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. at Bennet Elementary to review the 4000 (Personnel)  and 5000 (Students) Series policies.  
• Various agenda topics discussed at the meeting are listed below:
  • District Electronic Devices Guidelines and Procedures for 2023-2024. This document is attached. 
  • Formatting of policies: We will now just be notating the date of adoption and the latest date of revision for future policy updates.
  • The Policy Review schedule is attached to this agenda item.

• No further discussion. 

• 1101 (use of School Facilities),
• 1210 and 1220: Title IX,
• 4009 Drug Use,
• 4025 Professional Boundaries,
• 5004 (Full and Part-time Enrollment),
• 5006 (Option Enrollment),
• 5101 (Student Discipline),
• 5102 (Alternative Education Programs or Plans for Expelled Students)
• 5103 Extracurricular Activity Discipline,
• 5205 (Graduation)
• 5415 Bullying Prevention
• 5602 Naloxone 
• 6212 (Assessments-Academic Content Standards)
• 6215: Collection of Dyslexia Information
• 6284 (Initiations, Hazing, Secret Clubs, and Outside Organizations)
• 6288 Artificial Intelligence
• 6600 (Special Education)
• 6700 (Firearm Policy)
• 6921 Safe Seizure Schools
• 6930 Behavioral Points of Contact

• No further discussion. 

• No further discussion. 

• No further discussion. 

Discussion revolved around the following topics:
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities for Board Members: 

• School Law Update: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in Kearney
• NASB Area Membership Meeting: Wednesday, September 27 in Nebraska City. Board members notified Mr. Hart of whether they were attending the conference.
• State Education Conference: Wednesday, November 15 through Friday, November 17th in Omaha. Please note: Registration opens for the conference in September. 
  • District OR-1 has also been selected to participate in a panel discussion on Wednesday, November 16th, from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. 

• NRCSA Legislative Forum: February 20, 2024 in Lincoln.
• NRCSA Spring Conference: March 14 & 15, 2024 in Kearney

• There was no closed session during the meeting. 

• Special Board Meeting (CMAR Summary) and Pay Application 
• 2023-2024 Budget Hearing 
• Joint Public Hearing
• 2023-2024 Tax Request Hearing
• Construction Update
• Staff Presentations
• Policy Review 
• Other items as identified