April 15, 2026 at 5:30 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 5:30 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:
Motion by Benes, second by Brase to excuse the absence of Derek Matulka. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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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 Heyen, second by Lange to approve the consent agenda as presented including the regular meeting minutes of March 5, 2026; workshop minutes of April 8, 2026; February and March financial statements; and February and March monthly bills. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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5.1. Minutes of March 5, 2026 Meeting and April 8, 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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6. Correspondence/Recognition
Discussion:
Brianna Benes competed at State Unified Speech.
Mitchell Hellerich and Marissa Jensen both competed at State Speech. Stella Backer and Perrin McMann received the Elks Teen of The Year award. Abby Horbach reported on our MTSS and Intervention systems. These structures are supporting both academic progress and student accountability. Tony Kobza gave an update on coaching/sponsor hires. Cheer and Dance will be combined this year. |
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6.1. Secondary MTSS Report
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6.2. Athletics and Activities Coaching and Sponsor Report
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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
The Science Department continues to narrow its instructional resource options they met recently to determine the direction. The team hopes to have a recommendation for consideration soon. Thank you to all those involved in this important selection process. Walk Through Reports: I continue to visit classrooms regularly with the goal of observing instruction and providing feedback across a variety of areas. Recent efforts have focused on the implementation of our instructional model and the alignment between classroom practices and district expectations. Our staff is doing an excellent job putting systems into practice and implementing resources with fidelity. I am also seeing strong creativity in classrooms, and students continue to demonstrate a willingness to engage in their learning. ACT Day: PreACT and ACT assessments took place on March 24. Students participating in testing completed their required assessments, while those not testing engaged in structured, off-campus educational and career exploration experiences. This was a full and meaningful day for both students and staff, supporting academic accountability as well as career readiness at RCHS. Kudos to all involved. NSCAS and MAP Assessments: NSCAS assessments have been administered at the Middle School. MAP and additional testing will continue as we move farther into spring. Prom was held on March 28 at The Cornhusker. The theme was A Night in Paradise. The event was a great success and the students had a great evening full of memories. Upcoming Events:
We are also pleased to share that next year’s student class officers have been elected and officially announced by the student body. We look forward to their leadership and involvement in events such as the upcoming blood drive. JH Student Council: The Middle School Dance has been rescheduled for Friday, April 24 from 7:00-9:00 PM. Students are excited for the middle school event of the year! A portion of our proceeds will go toward the Nebraska Make-A-Wish Foundation. Mrs. Dowding has been working on nominations and applications for the 2026-27 school year. She will be the sponsor next year! Principal Transition (April): We continue the leadership transition at the high school. The scaffolded approach has been effective in gradually releasing responsibilities to Mr. Kobza. Staff have been informed of duty shifts and evolving responsibilities through my weekly updates. The April targets are outlined below; they are intentionally flexible and not intended to be all-inclusive.
Submitted by Tony Kobza, Asst Jr-Sr High School Principal/Athletic Director New Hires
Spanish Club - Spain Trip: 6 students, 1 parent, and Sr. Karel will be heading to Spain June 1-10. All fundraisers are completed and all traveler accounts are paid! FBLA - FBLA State Leadership Conference is April 16-18. Students will compete against 1,996 FBLA members from across the state in objective tests, presentation events, and role play events. Students will also spend the conference networking with HS and JH kids from across the state and attend leadership workshops. The Leadership of Excellence Awards Ceremony will be live streamed, a link will be available on the RC FBLA Facebook page. 17 RC high school and 5 RC junior high students will be attending the conference. We are still accepting donations to the Business Clothes closet. We are especially looking for dark colored dress pants and dress shoes. 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 - The following 11 HS students participated in the Nebraska Capital Conference Honor Band on March 9 at DC West:
Ratings are categorized by the following in highest to lowest. Large groups receive no plus or minus: 1+ (superior), 1, 1-, 2+ (excellent), 2, 2-, or Honorable Mention (HM)
Upcoming Performances
Field Construction Timeline:
Submitted by Abby Horbach, Asst Jr-Sr High School Principal April has continued to reflect consistency and steady implementation of our MTSS and Intervention systems. These structures remain in place and are functioning as intended, supporting both academic progress and student accountability. We have begun NSCAS State Testing, and the process has gone very smoothly. The majority of students have approached testing with a positive and motivated mindset, and staff have done an excellent job maintaining consistency in expectations and procedures. I am currently working to complete testing for students who were absent during initial sessions, and additional information and results will be shared as they become available. MAP testing with start the week of April 13 with grades 6-10 (Math, Reading, & Science). Attendance continues to be an area of focus. As anticipated, numbers are high this time of year. We have submitted one attendance filing to Saunders County Attorney's office (October 2025) and two attendance filings to the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office this year (March & April 2026). All of these cases had previously been placed on Collaborative Plans and were given sufficient time and support for improvement prior to filing. One case has escalated to probation (Saunders), and we are waiting for more information on the other two (Lancaster). We are at 13.9% chronically absent which is down 7.38% from last year! From a behavioral standpoint, we have conducted two bullying investigations at the middle school, both of which were founded and involved the same student. Consequences have been assigned in accordance with district policy/state statute, and appropriate safety measures have been implemented to support all students involved. As of April 9, there have been 12 students suspended for a total of 41.5 days. Two of these students are no longer enrolled at Raymond Central. One long-term suspension accounts for 20 of those days. If we were to remove this data, the remaining total is 21.5 days. Incidents leading to suspension have included bullying, theft, vandalism, defiance/insubordination (severe), inappropriate technology use, harassment, and vape/nicotine-related offenses. Overall, our systems remain consistent, and we will continue to focus on supporting students academically while maintaining clear expectations for behavior and attendance. We appreciate the continued efforts of our staff in creating a structured, supportive environment where students can be successful. Submitted by Elementary Principals Steve Rose and Deb Kruse Progress Towards Grade Level Reading Goals
CBMR = Words per minute Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) Training The Teacher Leadership Team has reflected on ways to strengthen our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in order to increase student achievement. While we have been highly effective in collecting student data, we have identified a need for a more consistent protocol for analyzing and responding to that data. Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, we will implement the use of Instructional Practice Guides (IPGs) alongside student data to inform instructional decision-making. This approach will help ensure that every student is making progress toward grade-level benchmarks. A team consisting of Deb, Steve, Monica, and Caitlin attended training at ESU2 on March 30 to learn how to effectively use this tool. The IPG allows us to provide content-specific feedback to classroom teachers and PLCs during observation cycles. The purpose of the IPG is to identify trends in the implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) across grade levels. The tool focuses on:
New Hires
Submitted by Amanda Coufal, Director of Special Education A lot to celebrate this month in the Special Education World!!!! Unified State Speech: On Friday, March 27, Brianna Benes competed at Unified State Speech in Kearney. Brianna proudly represented Raymond Central as our first-ever unified speech participant! She delivered an uplifting speech all about elevators. Raymond Central is incredibly proud of Brianna for her hard work, courage, and representation of our school. Para Appreciation Day: April 1 was Para Appreciation Day. We truly have the best and we would be lost without them! All of our paraeducators help create a positive and inclusive environment where all students can learn and succeed! They make a difference each and every day and we are truly grateful for everything they do. Please take time to thank our paraeducators when you see them.
World Down Syndrome Day is recognized annually on March 21, but our district celebrated on Friday, March 20 by wearing crazy, mismatched socks. Why socks? Chromosomes look a little like socks so wearing bright or mismatched socks is a fun way to celebrate differences and show support for inclusion! One of our middle school students, with down syndrome, shared a fact during morning announcements and encouraged everyone to "Rock Their Socks". He did an awesome job and was very excited for this opportunity!!! April is Autism Awareness Month. This month, we recognize and celebrate the diverse ways our students think, learn, and connect with the world. Autism is part of the diversity within our school community and every student deserves understanding, respect, and support. When we lead with compassion and inclusion, we create a stronger, more connected school for all. Students across all buildings participated in a "Pledge to Include" by signing posters that will be displayed in each school. In addition, all students received bracelets reading "Choose to Include" to reinforce our commitment to an inclusive school environment. Unified Track & Field: Speaking of Inclusion, Unified Track and Field is officially underway. We currently have three athletes and 18 partners participating. The first meet was on April 10 in Waverly. Athletes and partners competed in events including the 100-meter dash, 4x100 relay, long jump, and shot put. The next meet will take place in Syracuse on April 16. Coaches are Clair Turman, Paige Mestl, and Stacey Doan. |
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8.2. Student Board Member Report
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8.3. Superintendent's Report
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Discussion:
The last day of the Unicameral is April 17. There is a Zoom meeting on April 20 to go over the new bills that could impact education.
Policy Review - we will wait until May or June to review the 5000 Policies at the same time as the legislative changes. I would like to move the June Board Meeting to Monday, June 8 because the Administrative Team will be in Des Moines for the Solution Tree PLC at Work Institute from June 9-11. Classified staff new hires: Kindra Tvrdy, Superintendent’s Administrative Assistant; Melissa Wills, Ceresco Administrative Assistant; and Lindsay Homan, Jr-Sr High Cook. Resignation: Mary Beth Hornung, 3-yr-old Preschool Para. Important Upcoming dates:
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8.3.1. Classified Staff Hire(s)/Reassignment(s)/Resignation(s)
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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
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8.3.6. Facilities Report
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8.3.7. Important Upcoming Dates
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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 Certificated Staff Hire(s) / Reassignment(s) / Resignation(s) Substitute Teacher(s)
Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Benes to approve New Hires: Daisy Mejia, Spanish Teacher/Spanish Club/Asst SkillsUSA; Rachel Kornfeld-Lambrecht, Part-Time Music (3/8); Kevin Scheef, Business Teacher/Boys Basketball Coach; Skyler Cappel, K-5 PE Teacher; Justice Brinkman, Girls Basketball Coach; Morgan Boesiger, 6th Grade Teacher; and Samantha Dey, 4th Grade Teacher; Resignations: Traci Hummel, 6th Grade; Johanna Jackson, MS SpEd; and Darrin Pokorny, 3rd Grade; and Substitute Teachers: Grace Darling, Regan Fickel; and Alexa Orf.
RCV 5-0. Motion carried. |
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10.2. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Amend the 2025-26 calendar to set the last day as 5/20/2026.
Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Heyen to amend the 2025-2026 school calendar to set the last day of school as Wednesday, May 20 because only used two of our three snow days were used. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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10.3. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Approve the replacement of needed technology infrastructure at Valparaiso, Ceresco, and the Central Site.
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Discussion:
Motion by Lange, second by Brase to approve the proposal from Pine Cove Consulting for replacement of needed technology infrastructure at Valparaiso, Ceresco, and the Central Site at a cost of $169,781.33. This is partially covered by E-Rate Funds and includes the replacement of firewalls at all three sites, along with licensing; replacement of routers in halls and classrooms that allow us to connect to Wifi, along with licensing; and replacement of switches that distribute data to each access point, along with licensing. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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10.4. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Approve payment to Norris Public Power for Contribution of Construction Aid.
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Discussion:
Motion by Heyen, second by Brase to approve payment to Norris Public Power for electrical power to poles along driveways and to More Than A Field in the amount of $18,600.53. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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10.5. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Approve the Purchase of Common Lit School Essentials Pro Secondary ELA Resource.
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Discussion:
Motion by Benes, second by Lange to approve the purchase of Common Lit School Essentials PRO Plus secondary ELA resource. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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10.6. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Approve the proposal to replace the carpet in the Math and Mustang Rooms.
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Heyen to approve the proposal from Midwest Floor Covering to replace carpet in the Math and Mustang Rooms at a cost of $21,142.00. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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10.7. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Approve the ESU 2 Special Education Contract
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Discussion:
Motion by Brase, second by Heyen to approve the 2026-2027 Special Education Services Contract at a cost of $150,918.00. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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10.8. Discuss, Consider, and Take Necessary Action to Approve upgrades to the fuel tank pumps and system,
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Discussion:
Motion by Lange, second by Brase to approve the proposal from Midwest Petroleum for upgrades to the fuel tank system as recommended to meet fire marshal standards at a cost of $26,352.88. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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11. Next Regular Board Meeting
Discussion:
The next regular Board of Education Meeting will be held Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
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12. Adjournment
Discussion:
Motion by Benes, second by Brase to adjourn the meeting at 6:22 PM. RCV 5-0. Motion carried.
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