May 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  A celebration of excellence was heard for our Jr. High and Varsity Track athletes that have been competing at a high level. Garrett Kaslon qualified for the Central Nebraska Championship Track Meet and placed 5th in the 400M. Hadlee Morrow, Brooklynn Fredrick and Ryker Hoff qualified for the A-Town Showdown. Hadlee placed 1st in the Pole Vault, clearing 10'3"  and setting the new meet record. The Board also heard of the success of our Science Olympiad team. Two of the team members, Nolan and Jaxson were featured in the STATE Science Olympiad Newsletter for their determination to build and complete the hovercraft project. Congratulations to all of our students and athletes. 

Discussion:  No public comment was heard.

Discussion:  Mr. Kelley informed the board that the decks on the two rental houses need to be replaced. He presented a quote from Useful Builders to replace the deck on the house that Mr. Potter is living in because it is the main concern. The replacement of the deck on the other house should cost about the same. 

Discussion:  Mr. Kelley informed the board that, by 2028, all K-3 teachers have to be trained in the Science of Reading. ESU10 is offering Letrs training in a two-year cycle. Because of this, there are three curriculum work dates added back to the calendar. He stated that we have plenty of hours according to Rule 10 and this will allow our teachers to be in the same cohort.

Discussion:  Mr. Kelley updated the board on the 2026-2027 budget. We are under our spending for the year by approximately $331,000, excluding transfers that need to be done. Everything is looking to be fine at the end of the year. Our spending will go up next year but not by much. He has been finding errors with things budgeted twice or not needed and has been cleaning up as much as possible. We will need to increase SPED spending because we will most likely be adding another SPED teacher. The money for this will be pulled from areas that were budgeted twice.  

Discussion:  Mr. Kelley and Mr. Potter have been looking at other avenues for Spanish classes. The distance learning we have been doing is not giving much one-on-one time to the students. The instructor is teaching many schools at the same time so each school only had 10 minutes to ask questions. Mr. Potter informed the board that he had found a private Spanish program with a dedicated teacher. The first year will cost approximately $14,000, around $10,000 every year after that which is not much more that what we are paying now. This will benefit the students because they will get a full class and plenty of one-on-one time. 

Discussion:  Mr. Kelley and the board needed to review the Raven Tech contract. There are no changes at this time.

Discussion:  Mr. Kelley informed the board that it is time to review the 6000 policies. Again, there are no major changes except the academic credits and graduation. It was also added that foreign exchange students will be placed according to age. This way, they will not be required to take the ACT but can if they want to. 

Discussion:  The curriculum committee met with Mr. Potter to discuss the Science series. Since we ordered a new elementary curriculum, we need to look at a new curriculum for the High School. With the help of Ms. McGee, they found that Discovery has a 9-12 Science, but they only offer Chemistry and Biology. The administration would prefer to use McGraw Hill, which is very comparable to what is needed. Classes will change a little, but all students will get their needed Science. This will create vertical alignment with the new elementary curriculum.

Discussion:  No public comment was heard.