February 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion:
President Burklund called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.
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2. Nebraska Open Meetings Law
Discussion:
The audience was reminded that Open Meeting Laws would be followed.
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3. Motion to Excuse Board Member's Absence
Discussion:
All members were present.
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4. District Mission Statement
The Raymond Central community is committed to providing a positive, challenging learning environment which prepares each individual to be a responsible citizen in an ever-changing society. |
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5. Consent Agenda
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Heyen to approve the consent agenda as presented including the regular meeting minutes of January 14, 2026; workshop meeting minutes of January 21, 2026; January financial statement; monthly bills; resignations of Tasha Osten-Secondary Counselor, Amanda Smith-Speech Pathologist, and Monica Blank-Learning Coach; and approval of substitute teachers Garrett Dalton, Sydney Emanuel, and Kathryn Koehler. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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5.1. Minutes of January 14, 2026 Meeting and January 21, 2026 Workshop
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5.2. Financial Statement/Report
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5.3. Monthly Bills
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5.4. Policy Review
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5.5. Certificated Staff Resignation(s)
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5.6. Substitute Teachers
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6. Correspondence/Recognition
Discussion:
Matt Smith was recognized as an Above and Beyond Award nominee last week.
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6.1. Principal Transition Report
Discussion:
Principal Troy Lurz and AD/AP Tony Kobza reviewed the transition process and planning that is being done for Tony Kobza to move into the Principal role next year.
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6.2. Enrollment Projections and Staffing Report
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Discussion:
Superintendent Hanson reviewed enrollment projections and staffing for next year as well as the benefits of maintaining three classrooms per grade at the elementary level.
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7. Public Forum
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8. Reports
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8.1. Administrative Reports
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Discussion:
Submitted by Troy Lurz, Jr-Sr High School Principal
Professional Development/Resource Adoption: Our next professional development day is scheduled for March 6, and will continue our focus on new learning. We are beginning to see instructional staff make stronger connections between classroom practice and the principles introduced during professional learning days. This induction work will remain a priority as we allocate time to review relevant research and provide guidance to help staff align new learning with their current instructional practices. The Science Department continues to narrow its instructional resource options. Dedicated time will be provided for collaborative work as the team moves toward finalizing its selections. Walk Through Observations: We continue to spend significant time in classrooms in walk through observations with a focus on providing timely, high-quality feedback to educators. These walkthroughs are conducted with intentionality and planned frequency. They have become a routine part of the daily operations of the high school office. Dedicated time has been set aside to complete walkthroughs with minimal interruptions whenever possible. To date, administration has observed, documented, and provided feedback nearly 250 times, averaging approximately 12 walkthroughs per week. This consistent presence creates meaningful opportunities for instructional conversations and allows administration to better support teachers in their classroom efforts. Friday Celebrations: Friday Celebrations proudly continue at the junior high/high school as we recognize our Raymond Central family members and their accomplishments. Recent celebrations have highlighted students, certified and classified staff, our school resource officer, and substitute staff. All nominations are submitted by fellow family members who wish to see individuals recognized. In addition to individual recognitions, we continue to spotlight school activities and programs, upcoming showcases, and special events. As part of our ongoing effort to "Tell Our Story" we are intentional about celebrating the many successes across our school community. There is much to be proud of at Raymond Central. We will continue to share our goings-on on the school website, on Facebook, and social media so we can continue to control the narrative about our wonderful school. Counseling: Tasha and Celia
The Raymond Central High School Student Council is proud to announce that they are organizing a community blood drive in partnership with the Nebraska Community Blood Bank. Because this blood drive supports the community blood bank, all donated blood stays right here in our local community, helping neighbors, friends, and families when they need it most. The blood drive will take place on Wednesday, April 1 from 9:30am-1:00pm. with the Bloodmobile located in the RCHS parking lot. The Student Council invites all eligible community members to come out and support this important cause. This year’s drive ties into the "Green Flag" theme, symbolizing care, responsibility, and doing the right thing for others. Donating blood is truly a green flag moment; one simple action that can save lives and make a meaningful difference. We appreciate the continued support of our school and community as our students lead by example and give back in a powerful way. FBLA: Looking ahead, the next RC FBLA Craft Fair is scheduled for March 21. FBLA has launched a business clothing closet. Thank you for all of the donations we have already received. This week is FBLA week. We have several activities planned for JH/HS students. We are also looking to spotlight FBLA Alumni, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/Le6x4BGjEXY6S251A Submitted by Tony Kobza, Asst Jr-Sr High School Principal/Athletic Director Facilities We moved and updated the senior pictures screen as well as updated the valedictorian and salutatorian plaques. We will continue to add to the Academic Wall with the help of the Teacher Leadership Team. We are working to design updated recognition for the banners in the gym as well as CTSO, Activities and Athletics historical recognition. Activities FBLA - Looking ahead, the next RC FBLA Craft Fair is scheduled for March 21, 2026. FBLA is also launching a business clothes closet to provide members and RC students with professional clothing for competitions and the workforce. More details will be shared soon. One Act - The Drama Program is gearing up for the Drama Showcase and the Spring Musical (to be announced), as well as our two planned show experiences coming up during the spring semester: Hadestown (based on Greek Mythology) and Capital City (based on Mari Sandoz's novel), both at the Lied Center. Beyond being a great deal of fun, experiences like this are invaluable to the students' learning because they can observe the "best of the best" in the performing arts and take inspiration for their own art, strengthening skills they use in and out of rehearsal. Quiz Bowl - The school qualified a team to attend the National Academic Quiz Bowl Tournament in Chicago again this year. Students who will be attending are: Drew Tice, Sophia Burt, Deacon Christensen, and Marissa Tvrdy. Band: We will have our second JH pep band on February 2nd for the girls JH basketball game. If this goes well, it is my plan to add one JH football and JH volleyball game next year, and possibly make this a tradition to do one junior pep band game per sport. HS will kick off their first basketball pep band on December 11th. Facilities/MTAF Created parking area on the well field that can be used for overflow parking attached to current and future parking areas. MTAF is over $1 million raised through donations, sponsorships, fundraising, grants and in-kind commitments. The driveway is paved and close to being usable. This will affect traffic flow in a positive way. We are working on fundraising and grants that will help us continue to show progress. Driveway is a major step. Next steps are:
Submitted by Abby Horbach, Asst Jr-Sr High School Principal We are now a little over one month into the implementation of our revised Advisory/Intervention structure, and the response from both staff and students has been overwhelmingly positive. Advisory time has become a valuable space for students to develop and strengthen executive functioning skills, including regularly checking PowerSchool and grades, monitoring missing assignments, communicating with teachers, and following through on responsibilities. Staff are intentionally building relationships while also holding students accountable, creating a supportive and structured environment. We are seeing consistent student progress each week, which has been especially important given the recent increase in student absences due to illness. Advisory has provided a critical layer of support to help students stay organized and connected despite missed instructional time. Intervention continues to be effective as teachers use this dedicated time to re-teach essential standards and address specific learning gaps. These teachers report that this additional time allows for more targeted instruction, as they are able to focus on areas of need rather than moving forward with new content. This approach has been beneficial in supporting student understanding and reinforcing foundational skills. Overall, the Advisory and Intervention model is proving to be an impactful system that supports both academic growth and student accountability. We are excited by the progress being made in such a short amount of time and look forward to continuing to refine these structures to best meet student needs. Submitted by Elementary Principals Steve Rose and Deb Kruse Interviews: We conducted interviews for Kindergarten through 2nd grade openings. The candidate pool was strong and we are confident that each person we interviewed would be an asset to our team. We are in the process of offering positions and will give updates on the process as candidates accept the positions. Winter Benchmark Testing: Below is an analysis of winter benchmark testing by grade level. Kindergarten-FastBridge Summary
Submitted by Amanda Coufal, Director of Special Education Unified Bowling Banquet: The Unified Bowling team celebrated the 2025-2026 season by bowling with family and friends at the Seward Bowling Alley. Everyone had a great time wrapping up the season while recognizing letter winners and award recipients. A special thank you to Peggy Breitkreutz and Paige Mestl for presenting the awards! Indicator 13 Corrective Action Plan (CAP) Submitted: The CAP was submitted to NDE on January 30, 2026, with only two minor documentation errors related to inviting an outside agency and the four-year course plan. Both issues were corrected during the annual IEP meetings. Indicator 13 training will be provided to special education teachers to review expectations and required updates. I am very proud of the diligence our special education teachers have shown in managing their paperwork while adapting to ever-changing expectations. Collaboration with ESU: Our special education staff has been able to utilize the ESU2 Regional Literacy Coach and the Behavior Interventionist to support students with unique needs. Our ESU is an exceptional resource, and their team is always willing to collaborate, brainstorm, and observe students and teachers to provide meaningful guidance that helps strengthen student skills. |
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8.2. Student Board Member Report
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8.3. Superintendent's Report
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Discussion:
Superintendent Hanson gave an update on current Legislative Bills, mentoring, the Strategic Plan, and a potential building. He also reviewed Policy 4171-Resignation of Certificated Employees.
Teacher contracts will be sent out on February 17 and due back on March 17. |
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8.3.1. Classified Staff Hire(s)/Reassignment(s)/Resignation(s)
Discussion:
Peggy Breitkreutz, Cheryl Rieck and Sophie Custer will be retiring at the end of the year. We also received a resignation from Jennifer Crees, Health Tech.
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8.3.2. NASB Monthly Update
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8.3.3. NRCSA Monthly Report
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8.3.4. Update on Superintendent Goals
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8.3.5. Safety Report
Discussion:
Lights are up at the end of the new drive.
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8.3.6. Facilities Report
Discussion:
The Facilities & Transportation Committee met on Monday. Most of the items discussed are new business agenda items below.
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8.3.7. Important Upcoming Dates
Discussion:
February 17 - Deadline to file as an Incumbent
February 25 - Policy Committee Meeting at 3:30 March 4 - Regular BOE Meeting at 5:30 |
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8.4. Board Committee Reports
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8.4.1. Curriculum & American Civics Committee (Burklund-chair, Lange, Matulka)
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8.4.2. Facilities & Transportation Committee (Matulka-chair, Burklund, Lange)
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8.4.3. Finance Committee (Burklund-chair, Heyen, Lange)
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8.4.4. Negotiations Committee (Benes-chair, Heyen, Matulka)
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8.4.5. Policy Committee (Benes-chair, Brase, Heyen)
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9. Old Business
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10. New Business
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10.1. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve the School Calendar for the 2026-2027 School Year.
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Matulka to approve the 2026-2027 school calendar as presented. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.2. Certificated Staff Hire(s)/Reassignment(s)
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Brase to approve the reassignment of Shae Roth from 1st Grade Teacher to Library Media Specialist; and new hires Lillian Gansebom-Kindergarten, Karlie Hanson-1st Grade, and Molly Barnett-2nd Grade. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.3. Discuss, Consider and Approve 2026-2027 Classified and Support Staff Salaries as Presented
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Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Brase to approve 2026-2027 Classified and Support Staff Salaries as presented. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.4. Discuss, Consider, and Approve 2026-2027 Administrator Salaries and Contracts as Presented
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Matulka to approve 2026-2027 Administrator Salaries and Contracts as presented. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.5. DIscuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve Lawn Care Bid
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Discussion:
Motion by Heyen, second by Matulka to approve the lawn care bid from 5T Lawn & Landscaping at a cost of $6,365.00. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.6. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve Lawn Mowing Bid
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Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Heyen to approve the lawn mowing bid from 5T Lawn & Landscaping at a cost of $115.00/mowing each at Ceresco and Valparaiso. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.7. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve the purchase of a Honda Mini-Van to Replace the Surplussed Ford Van.
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Matulka to approve the purchase of a Honda Odyssey mini van at a cost of $42,249.00 to replace the Ford van to be sold as surplus. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.8. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to approve the purchase of replacement Chromebooks and laptops on our yearly computer rotation.
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Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Brase to approve the purchase of replacement Chromebooks and laptops on our yearly computer rotation from Pine Cove Consulting at a cost of $67,573.48. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.9. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve the Bid for the Rock Parking Lots.
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Discussion:
Motion by Heyen, second by Lange to approve the bid from Gana Trucking to rock the new parking lot to the south at a cost of $129,261.62. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.10. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve the Lighting Project.
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Matulka to approve the proposal from Kidwell to install driveway and parking lot lighting at a cost of $135,230.00. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.11. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve the Stairs from the Lower to Upper Parking Lot.
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Matulka to approve the proposal from Stephens and Smith Construction to install 8’ wide stairs from the south parking lot to the new parking lot at a cost of $29,210.00 and the proposal from Dale’s Custom Welding and Fabrication to install handrailing to the stairs at a cost of $7,930.29. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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10.12. Discuss, Consider and Take Necessary Action to Approve The Lease Purchase for The More Than a Field Project.
Discussion:
Motion by Matulka, second by Heyen to approve the Lease Purchase for the More Than a Field Project for $1,250,000.00 to start construction this spring. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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11. Next Regular Board Meeting
Discussion:
The next regular Board of Education Meeting will be held Wednesday, March 4, 2026 which is one week earlier due to three Board members not being available the 2nd week.
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12. Adjournment
Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Heyen to adjourn the meeting at 7:23 PM. RCV 6-0. Motion carried.
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