November 16, 2016 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion: 

President Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM.

President Peterson ask those in attendance to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Discussion:  President Peterson reminded the audience that the open meeting laws are displayed in the back of the room for review.

Discussion:  Motion to approve the consent agenda of Regular Meeting minutes of Wednesday, October 12, 2016, October Financial Statements/Report and October Monthly Bills as presented.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion:  A thank you note was read from the secondary staff for the baked goods, goodies, fruit, and individual loaves of bread that were received  in-conjunction with American Education Week.  The treats were very much appreciated.

Discussion:  Dawn Twohig and Pat Donahue addressed the Board in regards to the Valparaiso Kindergarten classroom disruptions.

Discussion: 

Lori Maxwell the School Improvement Chair will give an update of the AdvancEd process and professional development goals the staff is working on.  The SIP team meets the first Monday of each month.

Dr. Gary Nunnally will be working with the staff again on November 17.  

The School Improvement Team is conducting a book study utilizing, "Advancing Differentiation - Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century" by Richard M. Cash, Ed. D.  Some of the topics are being infused into the PD time during the early outs built into the calendar.  Attached is the table of contents for the book study for your review.

Frieda Lange - NDE Administrator for Accreditation and School Improvement will be meeting with the Team on Dec. 12 to review requirements that need to be completed during this cycle.

Discussion:  Mr. Harrington our Industrial Tech teacher will be presenting a proposal to add and update new equipment in that curricular area.  We have discussed previously that the administration and Mr. Harrington would like to include other content "construction" in addition to the autobody curriculum currently utilized.  The proposal will include some expensive pieces of equipment.  I told him to create a wish list and then prioritize.

Discussion:  Mr. Wilmes will present a handout of logos which we would like your input and approval on.  Mr. Wilmes may have a proposal on some padding for the stage.  We have looked at some options to try and rectify the doors not closing properly and staying closed.  We've looked at some expensive alternatives and trying to find an affordable solution.

Discussion:  The Principals will give an update on our MAP testing, remaining NeSA scores which were not available last meeting, and ACT information.

Discussion: 

CASES - Cooperative for Administration of Special Education Services

This is a service provided by ESU2.  Raymond Central is the lone school in the service unit area that is not a member.  This year Wahoo, Ashland-Greenwood and Fremont joined.  Attached is a handout of services which are provided by being a member of CASES.  There is a $17,000 annual membership fee to join.  ESU2 is including two programs into the membership fee as a benefit and incentive to join: (1) John Baylor Test Prep - $2,240 and SRS - $2,225.  These two fees of $4,465 are currently paid by the district. The following calculation reveals an actual savings in the long-run by joining CASES.

$17,000 Membership fee (51% reimbursable through SPED) =

$8,670

-$4,465 SRS and JBTP (Which is what RC would pay if not part of CASES)

$3,865 district pays vs $4,465

By having all ESU2 schools join, the membership fees allow ESU2 to provide additional services to all member schools.  Consultation services are now available where before not being a CASES member, ESU2 SPED staff were reluctant to provide assistance.  Calls were having to be made to NDE and those responses back sometimes take 24 hours and/or they would recommend consulting with your school attorney which is another cost.  By paying the membership fees to ESU2, this becomes a win-win for RC and the other Service Unit schools.

 

Elementary Phones

Mr. Marsh has found some good pricing on telephones.  I'm going to have him replace the phones at both Ceresco and Valparaiso.  The current phones are the old analog models.  The sound quality is not as good as the digital phones at the high school.  He periodically has to replace the hand sets on these phones and they are just becoming outdated.  He can replace the 45 phones with the digital models and have them programmed for $1,300.  I told him to order them and get the elementaries updated.

 

Minutes and Agendas

Polly has worked with Ms. Bastian one of RC's business teachers to update minutes and agendas on the school's website.  Polly also worked with NASB to get multiple years minutes and agendas for your research included on eMeeting.  If you scroll down on your homepage for eMeeting, you'll see at the bottom past minutes and agendas for your viewing.

 

Preschool Update

Mrs. Dostal, Mrs. Egr, and I met with an early childhood rep from NDE concerning preschool.  She reviewed some specific Rule 11 requirements that must be met. Gave us names of a couple of preschools to visit.  She talked about an early childhood grant that we could apply for once it comes available this month.  We have developed a list of things to do with one being creating a survey to determine enrollment numbers for the program.  We are also looking a alternating full-day preschool rather than 2 half day sessions.  With RC's configuration this may logistically be more efficient.

I also met with the K and 1st grade teachers to get their input on curriculum, room arrangement/furniture, transportation, and schedules.  They gave me some great ideas and will use for the new preschool program. I'm looking forward to this process and hopefully we can secure some grant funding.

High School Baseball

Kolin, Greg, and I met with Phil Carlson and Tim Nelson representing VABA and the Village of Valparaiso concerning high school baseball.  Kolin and Greg have also been in contact with Malcolm, East Butler, Lincoln Lutheran, and Wahoo concerning options for RC.  It looks like this will be the last year co-oping with Wahoo.  They are seriously having conversations with Neumann to co-op baseball in the future.  Visiting with Tim and Phil many thoughts concerning facilities came up with the existing ball field setup in Val.  There are many questions to be answered of who to co-op with, who becomes the host school, what facility is needed and to be used, and scheduling.  This group suggested having a RC Board of Education baseball committee to meet with members of VABA, Village of Val, and school administration to determine the future of RC high school baseball. 

 

Title IX Conference

I recently attended this conference hosted by Karen Hasse a Nebraska School Attorney from KSB Law Firm in Lincoln.  The content of this conference was more than just equality for women in sports, it was more about sexual harassment and sexual assault along with how OCR - office of civil rights is intervening. More and more cases and coming forward and OCR is becoming a major player in litigation with these complaints.  In a nutshell schools need to constantly review policy and procedures, report any suspected instances where there is potential sexual harassment or more going on, and supervise, supervise, supervise, supervise students in all settings. Hazing and bullying were two other topics discussed and where schools are finding themselves in litigation hearings.

 

 

 

 

Discussion:  Superintendent Hull presented the Board with a copy of his Superintendent's goal and highlighted each category.

Discussion: 

6th Grade / Preschool Addition

Update from 11-9-16 construction meeting. Contractor feels the overall construction schedule can be met with a June 30th substantial completion. The early weather delays and underground utility relocation and buried footings that had to be removed has put the project a little behind schedule.  The exterior walls should be completed early this week.  They hope to pour the interior concrete floors this week as well.  Next will be the start of the steel decking above the walls.  They hope to have the structure enclosed before the extreme cold weather arrives.  Contractor is satisfied with the progress to date with steel framing for doors & windows, the exterior brick, and metal panels for the exterior.

Concrete

I've received a bid from Scott Pohlman concerning some concrete work at four locations, 3 at the Jr/Sr HS and 1 at Valparaiso.  Attached is a bid for each area individually and a total for all areas.

Area #1 - at Jr/Sr HS just east of the propane tanks on east side of building.

This is part of the road on east side of building that buses and ambulances use to access the football field.  The concrete has settled creating a significant hole.  The are some buried drainage pipes under this are that were installed during the previous construction project.

Area #2 - Jr/Sr HS drainage spillway next to entrance driveway into the property.

The whole property drains from north to south at the high school location.  We have put in drains on the south parking lot, curbed part of the entrance driveway, and added the spillway.  It's not quite enough to disperse the amount of run-off water after a heavy rain.  The area around the spillway and entrance driveway is starting to erode causing some issues that will become major if it isn't taken care.

Area #3 - Jr/Sr HS just north of the loading dock.

The concrete has settled around a manhole cover.  There are buried sewer lines under the concrete at that location.

Area #4 - Valparaiso Elementary north entrance drive.

This area has been discussed previously and is an area that is breaking up needing to be replaced at some point.

Area #2 is the highest priority with Area #1 being the next that needs attention.  Areas #3 & #4 could probably wait but need to be addressed.

 

High School Cleanup

Kolin, Greg, Dale R., and I spent Friday morning Oct. 28 cleaning up on the east side of the football field.  The old wooden "crows nest" structure was torn down and pushed over the hillside by the FB field light company. Dale brought his chainsaw and cut up the wood so we could haul it out of there.  We also cut down some small trees and cleared additional brush around the second shot put ring so it could be used in the future.  Thanks to all for the manpower.

 

 

Discussion:  The Board received a copy of Courtney Potter's student Board member report electronic and she also highlighted the various student activities. 

Discussion: 

The Board appreciated the snacks provided by the Raymond Central Education Association in honor of American Education Week.

 

Discussion: 

Teacher negotiations will be discussed at the next regular Board of Education meeting.

 

Discussion: 

The results of the audit are positive and the district is in good standing with the accounting/reporting during the past fiscal period.  I emailed you a copy last week and you'll receive a hard copy at the Board meeting.

 

The first part of the audit reviews the budget including the revenue and disbursements and the final fiscal position at the end of the budget cycle.  Following are narratives and informational pages.

The second half of the audit booklet reviews each of the funds and the activity which occurred during the fiscal period in each of those funds including the receipts and expenditures.  

The balances in audit match with the totals we have accounted for in our accounting records.

Discussion: 

Motion to approve the 2015-16 school district audit conducted by Mierau & Company passed with a motion by Gould and second by Urbom.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.

 

Discussion:  Motion to approve Michael Roscoe - UNL as a student teacher with Dale Rasmussen and Shawn Ekwall passed with a motion by Brad Peterson an a second by Harriet Gould.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion: 

Cost for our district vs a much larger district.  Mr Hull stated that the larger district looks at this as not was the ESU can provide for their IEP's, as they already have fulltime directors in that postions.  THey get the John Baylor benefits.

Motion to approve ESU2 CASES membership fee of $17,000 including additional services of John Baylor Test Prep and SRS management passed with a motion by Gould and second by Springer.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.

Discussion: 

otion to approve the concrete bid submitted by Macintosh Concrete - Scott Pohlman for $16,866.00 passed with a motion by Peterson and a second by Springer.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.

 

Discussion:  There was no surplus items.

Discussion: 

Motion to approve the Next Regular Board of Education Meeting on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 7:00 PM in Rm #108 at the Jr/Sr High School with a motion by Peterson and a second by Springer.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.

 

Discussion:  Motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 PM   with a motion by by Gould and a second by Peterson.  RCV 4-0.  Motion carried.