February 15, 2023 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion:
President Breitkreutz called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.
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2. Motion to Excuse Board Member's Absence
Discussion:
All members were present.
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3. Open Meeting Law
Discussion:
The audience was reminded that Open Meeting Laws would be followed.
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4. Consent Agenda
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Benes to approve the consent agenda as presented including the regular meeting minutes of January 11, 2023; January financial statement; and monthly bills. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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4.1. Regular Minutes of January 11, 2023
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4.2. Financial Statement/Report
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4.3. Monthly Bills
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5. Correspondence/Recognition
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Discussion:
The Board received a letter last month from the TeamMates program thanking the them for supporting their program. January was National Mentoring Month and our Board of Education is grateful to our TeamMates Board and participants for their time and efforts in supporting our students.
Lori Morgan has done it again! She submitted and was awarded a grant through Project Lead the Way to receive PLTW Stem curriculum materials. She will get trained this summer on how to implement the curriculum and she will put it into practice next year at the elementaries. Alayna Cutlers was invited to address the Nebraska State Board of Education on the merits of FFA and how it has impacted her life. The State Board heard from a student from each of the Career and Technical Education Organizations (CTO) and Alayna was chosen to represent FFA. She did an excellent job. |
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6. Public Forum
Discussion:
Rob Hofpar addressed the Board regarding his concerns with the Drug and Alcohol Policy.
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7. Reports
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7.1. Administrative Reports
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Discussion:
Submitted by Scott Shepard, Jr-Sr High School Principal
Student Engagement - As we are 6 weeks into our second semester, we continue to focus on student engagement and encouraging students to improve their grades. This continues to be a struggle, but all teachers that currently have students failing have contacted parents. I followed up with students and parents that have multiple failures. This week during our PD day, I am working with the junior high (where the majority of low grades exist) staff to come up with short term and long term plans to motivate students. I will report out next month on the short term impact and the long term plans for next year. Community Engagement - Last Wednesday night, we hosted a parent informational meeting on social media safety. The Smart Gen Society presented to 20 parents the positive and negative impacts of social media along with tips on how to help families navigate the digital world. This was a powerful presentation that we will offer again in the future. I am going to write a follow-up email to parents encouraging them to engage with their students and hopefully attend the presentation when it is offered. All of our students also attended a session during the school day. Schedule for 2023-24 (6th-8th changes) - As we have identified many of our students reading below level, I have worked with our grades 6-8 ELA teachers to develop a plan to increase reading opportunities for our students. We are able to do this within our same FTE, but we change a few classes. As presented at the curriculum meeting, the new ELA curriculum will incorporate teaching reading as part of the ELA class. We will double up the ELA classes for 6th graders and then change the 7th grade 12-week rotational class from study skills to reading. The study skills units will be taught in the core classes during the first three weeks of school. We are working to identify current 7th graders that are struggling with reading and putting supports in place this spring and possibly summer to bring them up to level and be prepared for the 8th grade curriculum next fall. Staffing - We have received two resignation letters. Abby Rood (1st year band teacher) has accepted a position at Wahoo to be an assistant director (newly created position). Abby student taught there and it will be a shorter commute for her. Fred Spale has announced his retirement at the end of this school year. Fred has taught at RC for 17 years and has over 45 years of teaching in public and private schools. Fred still coaches wrestling and track for us. We appreciate all of his years of service and will honor him towards the end of the year and at graduation. Student Opportunities - As we wrap up National Counselor Appreciation Week, I want to thank Tasha Osten for all of her work in supporting our students and providing great opportunities for them. She will be hosting an upcoming student/parent night on February 28 for Dual and College credit opportunities for our students. We would like to invite board members to attend and learn about these incredible opportunities. Go Stangs! Submitted by Tony Kobza, Asst Jr-Sr High School Principal/Athletic Director Athletic Winter Season - Our wrestling boys finished the dual season with a 17-3 record. They placed 5th at the NSAA State Duals in Kearney. Their three losses on the season came to two state championship teams and a state runner-up. They will compete February 10-11 in districts for a chance to qualify for the State Tournament February 16-18. Sophie Shultz qualified for the State Tournament with a second place finish in districts. Our girls will play Lincoln Christian in basketball on February 14 in the first round of sub-districts. Our boys have one more week of games before postseason begins. Activities - Speech continues to have success individually as well as from a team standpoint. We look forward to hosting the NCC Invite in mid-February. FFA, FBLA and Skills USA are celebrating CTE month in February with several different activities throughout the month showcasing the importance of being involved and preparing for your future! Cheer and Dance will compete in State Competitions the weekend of February 17-18 in Grand Island. Band and Choir held their Pops Concert and displayed some incredible individual and group talents on February 9. Submitted by Amanda Coufal, Director of Special Education Speech Language Therapy Services Update (Clair Trenhaile): As the second semester gets underway, the speech students have been hard at work. We welcomed a few new students to the caseload and it has been exciting to see them tackle their articulation, language, and writing goals. During January, students were undefeated against Miss Clair in articulation UNO. It was so fun to watch students work together across all three buildings! Recently, new flashcards were purchased to help teach word classes such as nouns, verbs, and prepositions. These will be greatly beneficial for students with language goals. A wordless picture book, "Chalk" by Bill Johnson, was also acquired to be used when gathering language samples during evaluations and at progress monitoring checkpoints. Now that we are over halfway through the school year, it is truly remarkable to look back at the progress students have made since they returned to school back in August! Parent Surveys: The first round of the NDE parent surveys went out to parents through BrightArrow. Thank you to Jaxn for setting this up! Another reminder message will go out this month and next. Each case manager will also send emails to their student’s parents to help with the process to ensure that we get parent participation. Each Nebraska School District must submit data collected from parents of children with special needs ages 3-21 during the 2022-2023 school year. The survey collection opened on January 17, 2023 and will close on March 31, 2023. Special Education Policies and Procedures: On February 2, Caitlin Roussan and myself attended a Procedure Workshop at ESU2. Caitlin and I are creating Special Education Procedures that will outline how to implement our Special Education Policies. Once we have it finalized, we will share this with the Board and I will upload this document to the ILCD website. I can’t thank Caitlin enough for her willingness to help with this task and taking time out of her day to make sure that we have all of our procedures in place for years to come. Recognition of Nicole Kliment: Nicole Kliment, K-5 Special Education Teacher at Valparaiso, has gone above and beyond to create a specialized behavior room and programming for a new student on her caseload. She has helped this student transition into our district and created a program to meet all of his needs in a short amount of time. She has done an exceptional job of getting everything ready by creating a room for him, planning lessons, and creating a schedule with additional adult support to assist him throughout his day. Also, a big thanks to Steve Rose and Deb Kruse for their willingness to help out as well and attend many planning meetings to make sure that we had everything in place! Submitted by Steve Rose, Elementary Principal and Deb Kruse, Assistant Elementary Principal Targeted Professional Development - This is structured to attend to increasing our capacity of reaching our Campus Improvement Goal of 80% Reading Proficiency. Steve and Deb conducted multiple walkthroughs and gave feedback related to the 100% Active Participation goal that teachers developed during the January 3 professional development. The Teacher Leadership Team met to discuss our work around MTSS-B and specifically School-wide Expectations. Conversations were held with the entire staff to gain feedback and input and the TLT worked to finalize the definitions and wordings of the desired expectations. There is still some discussion to be had around the topic of Voice Levels. All Teacher PD on February 10:
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7.2. Technology Report
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Submitted by Jaxn Kobza, Technology Director
Infrastructure - We received two bids for our e-rate project to replace the networking infrastructure in Val and Ceresco, as well as fill in some spots at the JH/HS. With e-rate funds we are responsible for 50% of the total cost of the project. Upgrading from Server 2012R2 to Server 2022. We are doing this as Server 2012R2 will be at end of life in October of 2023 meaning there are no software updates. Installing the new servers at Val and Ceresco. Technology Projects - Cleaning up active directory and email accounts; automating student rostering and account creation; and cleaning up old user accounts that have been left active. Miscellaneous - Working on securing our network and meeting the requirements for cyber insurance. Also overheating in the Val upstairs data closet. We need to keep an eye on this as it may cause some issues. |
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7.3. Student Board Member
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7.4. Superintendent's Report
Discussion:
Bill Lange has agreed to serve as the board representative on the Early Childhood Advisory Committee. This committee meets next on February 23.
We have received notification from the IRS that we have met our Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) obligation under the rate of pay safe harbor guidelines. |
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7.4.1. NASB Monthly Update
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7.4.2. Update on Superintendent Goals
Goal 1: Develop a visible presence within the schools, the school community, and the state. Goal 2: Foster a learning environment in which every student has the maximum opportunity to achieve academic excellence. Goal 3: Continue the development of a 10 year facilities strategic plan for implementation that addresses maintenance and improvements for existing building assets and new construction. Goal 4: Continue the development of safety and security practices for Raymond Central Public Schools. |
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7.4.3. Safety Report
Discussion:
Deputy Piitz and Scott Shepard have been working diligently on our Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) plan.
Deputy Piitz and I met with Father Zimmer, Sts. Mary & Joseph Church, Valparaiso, about a reunification site. We have a signed MOU that Father needs to get diocese approval on. Students in grades 5-12 were provided internet and social media safety training and a related training was offered to all parents/guardians. |
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7.4.4. Important Upcoming Dates:
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7.5. Facilities Report
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7.6. Board Committee Reports
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7.6.1. Curriculum & American Civics Committee (Burklund-chair, Lange, Matulka)
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7.6.2. Facilities & Transportation Committee (Blanchard-chair, Burklund, Matulka)
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7.6.3. Finance Committee (Blanchard-chair, Breitkreutz, Burklund)
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7.6.4. Negotiations Committee (Blanchard-chair, Benes, Lange)
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7.6.5. Policy Committee (Breitkreutz-chair, Benes, Lange)
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8. Old Business
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8.1. Discuss and Consider recent facility plan options provided by BVH architect
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Over the last few months, the Board has held small group work sessions with BVH Architects to discuss project solution options for the future of the Raymond Central School District. A patron committee meeting was held on February 9 to share information, present six project solution options, and address further questions/concerns. Board members were in agreement that the best solution is Option F-building a new central PK-6th Campus with a competitive gym and include some renovations to the high school at an estimated cost of $41,827,000.00. The Board will take action at the March meeting on calling a Resolution to move forward with a May election.
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9. New Business
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9.1. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve an early graduation request.
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Discussion:
Motion by Blanchard, second by Burklund to approve the early graduation request of Grant Henderson. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.2. Discuss, Consider and Take Action to Approve Staff Resignations
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Discussion:
Motion by Blanchard, second by Benes to approve resignations of Hannah Evans, Val Kindergarten; Megan Johnson, Preschool 3 Para; Abby Rood, Band; and Fred Spale, Physical Education. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.3. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve Substitute(s)
Discussion:
Motion by Benes, second by Matulka to approve Rodney Douglass as substitute teacher and Cheyenne Harms as long term substitute for Katie Donahue (Ag). RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.4. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve New Staff
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Lange to approve Ryan Lorchick as Part-Time Media Para. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.5. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve the purchase of network equipment (switches, battery backups) from Pine Cove Consulting using erate funding.
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Discussion:
Motion by Benes, second by Lange to approve the bid from Pine Cove Consulting for network equipment (switches, battery backups) using erate funding. The District will assume about 50% of the cost of this equipment, which is $35,577.50. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.6. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve the District Calendar for 2023-2024
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Discussion:
Motion by Burklund, second by Benes to approve the 2023-2024 District Calendar as presented. The school year will start in the same week as last year. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.7. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to review Policy 5006 Option Enrollment and adopt a resolution to establish capacity for the 2023-24 school year
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Motion by Matulka, second by Lange to adopt Resolution 5006A establishing option enrollment capacity for the 2023-2024 school year. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.8. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action on Policy 5306 Drug and Alcohol Testing
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Raymond Central’s current Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy 5306 has recently generated concerns. The protocols of executing the policy need to be shored up to protect both students and staff. Superintendent Johnson asked that the board review the policy on its merits and sanction using a third party testing agency if the desire is to retain the policy. Motion by Lange, second by Blanchard to retain the policy as is but outsource the testing. QUEST Diagnostics would provide us with shipping labels, Fedex services, chain of custody forms (paper forms), and specimen cups. After we obtain the sample, label and complete chain of custody forms, Fedex would come to the school and pick the samples up. They are sent overnight to a lab and the lab technician would run the testing. RCV 3-3: Yes-Blanchard, Burklund, Lange; No-Benes, Breitkreutz, Matulka. Motion failed.
Further discussion about the testing collection process, guarding against tampered specimens and the protection of our staff was held. Motion by Blanchard, second by Lange to modify the language under Appeal Procedures, remove the sentence regarding the previously submitted specimen, and outsource all testing. RCV 4-2: Yes-Blanchard, Breitkreutz, Burklund, Lange; No-Benes, Matulka. Motion carried. |
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9.9. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to approve the purchase of english, language arts (ELA) curriculum materials
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Burklund to approve the purchase of English Language Arts curriculum: K-5 ELA curriculum for 7 years from Wit & Wisdom in the amount of $87,117.46; K-5 ELA foundational curriculum from Orton Gillingham in the amount of $20,250; 6-8 ELA curriculum for 7 years from EL Education in the amount of $75,425; and any associated trainings to implement materials as presented. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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9.10. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to accept the Annual Report as presented
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Discussion:
Motion by Lange, second by Burklund to accept the 2021-2022 Annual Report. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10. Adjournment
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Breitkreutz to adjourn the meeting at 7:55 PM. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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