February 6, 2012 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  A motion will be necessary if a member of the elected Board is absent.

Rationale:  The Bellevue Board of Education abides by the Nebraska Open Meetings Law.  A copy of the law is posted on the wall of our Board room.

Rationale:  Approve by consent items in section B of the Agenda identified with an asterisk and receive the information and proposals in sections D and E identified with an asterisk.

Rationale:  The Minutes of the January 9, 2012, Board of Education meeting were sent to all members of the Board of Education for review.

Rationale:  Acknowledge receipt of the Treasurer's Report for January, 2012.

Rationale:  Approve the payment of claims totaling $1,134,151.04.

Rationale:  Release (1) Andrea Bruns, (2) Mary (Elaine) Campbell, (3) Susan Hester, (4) Diana Iwansky, (5) Jacqueline McMenamin-Nelson, and (6) William Richt from their contracts effective May 23, 2012.

Rationale:  Elect (1) Brooke Larson to the certified staff for the 2011-2012 school year effective January 17, 2012, subject to her release from any contractual agreements with other school districts.

Rationale:  The recommendation is to approve the proposed 2013-2014 school calendar.  The proposed 2013-2014 school calendar has been reviewed by the instructional council and emailed to all staff for their input.

Attached are the 2012-2013 school calendar and the proposed 2013-2014 school calendar.

Rationale:  In January, students in the Bellevue Public Schools' HAL Program competed at the WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by approximately 220,000 students annually.  The Challenge consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.

Competing in the Gold Division, a Bellevue team of sixth graders placed second in the nation among 191 school teams.  The coach is Sandra Sykora.

Two members of HAL Team 1 took highest honors for individual achievement:  sixth graders Mia Thomas and Asja Woodard earned perfect scores.  Only 26 sixth graders in the country have earned perfect scores.

Other members of HAL Team 1 who achieved outstanding results were sixth graders Helen Jacobson, Samantha Lydiatt, Morgan McArthur, Tia Thompson, Grace Wilson, Karissa Dymond, Jack Hansen-Reed, Alissa Schroeder, and Holly Schwarting.

HAL fourth graders placed ninth in the fourth grade Gold Division. 

Rationale:  The Bellevue middle school teams competed in the 2012 Department of Energy Science Bowl on January 28 at Wayne State College.  Forty teams from across the state competed in the tournament.  The Logan Fontenelle team of Casey Jones, Alec Stroud, Della Wilson, Michael Kochera, and Ramon Gutierrez took second place.  The team is coached by Christine Daniels.

Rationale:  The Bellevue East and West quiz bowl teams competed in the 2012 ESU #3 High School Quiz Bowl on January 30.  Twenty-four teams from the ESU #3 member schools competed.  The Bellevue West team of Ashley Weed, Jacob Wilkinson, Cole Burmeister, and Max Lydiatt took second place.  The team will advance to the Nebraska State Quiz Bowl finals in Holdrege in April.  The team is coached by Bradley Nord.

Rationale:  Bellevue East and West High Schools competed in the 10th Annual IA-951 Air Force JROTC Invitational Drill Meet at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs on January 14. 

In Unarmed Exhibition, West ladies took 2nd place; in Armed Exhibition, West men took 2nd place, West ladies took 3rd place, and East took 4th place.  In Exhibition Color Guard, East took 3rd place.  In Overall Armed, West men took 2nd place; in Overall Unarmed, West ladies took 1st place.  In Overall Exhibition, East took 1st place.  In Individual Drill Down, Patrick Noyes (East) took 1st place.  In Armed Dual, Chris Harris and Jose Garcia (West) took 3rd place; in Armed Individual, Taylor Scott (West) took 3rd place; and in Overall Unit, East took 2nd place.

Rationale:  The Bellevue West High School Forensics Team competed at the Lincoln Southwest Silver Talon Tournament on January 21. 

Seniors Allison Prendergast and Daniel Christie were semi-finalists in Duo Interpretation, earning them one bid to the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) in San Francisco in May, 2012. 

Sophomore Courtney Hansen took 5th place in Original Oratory and earned her second bid to the NIETOC tournament, qualifying for the national competition in May. 

Rationale:  Students from Fairview Elementary School placed 1st and 3rd in the 2011 Nebraska State Chess Championships held at Millard South High School on December 17. 

Christopher Baker, II placed 1st in the Class 1 Division, and Alex Boerner placed 3rd in the Unrated Division.

Rationale:  The Bellevue East and West Academic Decathlon teams competed at regional tournaments.  Bellevue East hosted their regional tournament and Bellevue West attended the regional tournament hosted by Creighton Prep.  Teams compete at three different levels:  Honors, Scholastic, and Varsity.  Each of these levels have alternates who compete as well.  The team competes in multiple academic areas.  The Bellevue East team advanced to the Nebraska State Competition in February in the large school division.  The competition will be hosted by Creighton University on February 17 and 18.

Bellevue East winners included the following:  in the Honors division, Brianna Boehne won 3rd place in both Math and Economics.  Boehne was also recognized as the top scorer on her team.  In the Scholastic division, Sam Ervin won 1st place in Math, 2nd place in Economics, and 3rd place in Science.  Also in the Scholastic division, Erik Ingram won 3rd place in Language and Literature.  In the Varsity division, Alexander Campbell won 1st place in Math.  In the Alternate Honors division, Ryan Boyland won 2nd place in Math and Science and tied with teammate Helen Timmins for 3rd place in Language and Literature.  In the Alternate Scholastic division, Kyle Camplin won 2nd place in Math and Science and 3rd place in Music and Language and Literature.  Also in the Alternate Scholastic division, Katherine Waite won 2nd place in Economics.  In the Alternate Varsity division, Thomas Sheridan won 1st place in Language and Literature and tied with teammate Ryan Majka for 1st place in Math.  Majka also won 1st place in Music and 3rd place in Art.  Also competing for East were Justin McCully and Dalilo Alconini.  The team is coached by PK Simmons.

Bellevue West winners included the following:  in the Honors division, Andrew Jeter won 3rd place in Math.  In the Scholastic division, Connor Seelbach won 1st place in Language and Literature, 2nd place in Art, and 3rd place in Music and was recognized as the top scorer on his team.  Also in the Scholastic division, Mitch Clark won 2nd place in Language and Literature, and 3rd place in Music and Economics.  In the Varsity division, James Stickney won 3rd place in Economics.  In the Alternate Honors Division, Kevin Hanna won 3rd place in Art.  In the Alternate Scholastic division, Calvin George won 2nd place in Economics and 3rd place in Math; Cole Burmeister won 2nd place in Music and 3rd place in Science.  In the Alternate Varsity division, Jaydon Frison won 1st place in Science and 3rd place in Music; Jordan Freeman won 3rd place in Science and Economics.  Also competing for West were David Brown, Cameron Walther, and Charles Fisher.  The team is coached by Bradley Nord.   

Rationale:  The Two Springs Geography Bee was held on January 20.  The school winner was Grace Dowling, a sixth grader.  Second place went to fifth grader Mason Rigsby.

Grace advances to the next stage of the Geography Bee.  She will take a written test which is sent to National Geographic for scoring.  The students who do well enough on the exam will be able to compete in the district contest which will be held at UNO in March.  The final competition will take place in Washington, DC, with Alex Trebek serving as moderator.

Rationale:  The 2012 legislative session began on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.  This is a short session with the Legislature scheduled to adjourn April 12, 2012. 

Senator Scott Price will provide the Board with an update on his priorities and the agenda for this legislative session.  Senator Price will also be briefed on the priorities of the District.

Rationale:  The Bellevue Public Schools' Business Department issued an RFP in October, 2011, to determine a cost effective means of upgrading equipment and/or HVAC systems at four school sites:  Bellevue East and Bellevue West High Schools, Avery Elementary, and CHAP Center.  In November, 2011, Board members received a report on the RFP to be issued regarding the analysis and recommendations for improvements of HVAC systems at the four school sites.  At the December, 2011, Board meeting a report on the bids was presented to the Board and a contract was awarded to Engineering Technologies Incorporated for $32,700 to conduct an analysis and make recommendations for improvements at the four school sites.  Mr. Harwood provided Board members an update on the project in January.

Tonight we will hear from Engineering Technologies Incorporated on their analysis study results and the options available at each school site.

Rationale:  Kindergarten registration will be held the week of February 27 for those children who are eligible to enter kindergarten in the fall of 2012.  Children must reach their fifth birthday on or before July 31, 2012, in order to attend kindergarten.

Registration information will be sent home to families prior to registration.  The registration process will give families a better opportunity to explore the classrooms and visit with staff.  Children are encouraged to attend.

Rationale:  As a part of the AdvancED District Accreditation process and in accordance with Nebraska Rule 10, each school building in the Bellevue Public Schools must participate in an ongoing, continuous school improvement process.  School staff analyze student performance data to plan and implement strategies to continually move the school toward improvement and increased student performance levels.

Tonight, Leonard Lawrence Principal Nicole Fox and members of the Leonard Lawrence staff will present some of the structures, strategies, and activities they are implementing in their building's ongoing school improvement process.

Rationale:  Plans for reorganization of the administration will be presented to the Board.

Rationale:  In October, 2011, the Board approved four primary goals for the year.  One of the Board's goals is to improve student achievement-goal 1.4, District staff will evaluate assessment data to determine if changes are needed in the assessment systems.

Tonight, Mr. Harwood will discuss information concerning current required/selected assessments, along with a proposal for changes in the assessment systems.

Rationale:  Another Board goal is School Finance-goal 2.4, The administration will present information about Need and Resource calculation.

Mr. Harwood will discuss the Needs calculation with regards to the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA) and the Resource calculation, one of the drivers for determining State Aid.

Rationale:  An oral report will be provided on the recent meetings of the Learning Community.

Rationale:  None to report.

Rationale:  March 5 - Board of Education Meeting, Welcome Center, 6:30 pm
March 6 - Tribute to Teacher Day

Rationale:  Adjourn to executive session to consider matters relating to strategy sessions with respect to personnel and negotiations with outside agencies which are necessary to be considered in closed session for the protection of the public interest and for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of individuals.