Rationale:  The Norfolk Public School District's board of education meeting is called to order.  At some point in the meeting, the Board of Education will briefly adjourn for a meal and will reconvene the meeting immediately following. No school board business or discussion will be conducted during this time.

Rationale:  If any board member is absent, there will need to be a  motion to excuse the absence.

Rationale:   

It is the vision of the Norfolk Public Schools to actively engage all students in learning
through a relevant and comprehensive standards-based curriculum that integrates
 21^st century skills, tools, context, and assessments.  

• Goal #1:  All students will succeed at each grade level and graduate from high school well-prepared for a variety of post-secondary pursuits.

• Goal #2:  All students will feel connected with the school and the learning process.

• Goal #3:  District resources, programs, and departments will be aligned to attain high levels of student achievement and instructional excellence.

• Goal #4:  The community will be engaged to support high levels of student achievement.

  The mission of the Norfolk Public Schools is to prepare studentswith the skills and knowledge to meet the challenges of a complex, global society.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale:  Information regarding Strategic Planning was discussed in detail by the board prior to choosing goals and adopting the new mission and vision statements.

Rationale:  There are no awards to be presented this month.

Rationale:  Students will demonstrate activities they participated in during Science Day at Woodland Park Elementary.

Rationale:  Scott Dodson will present information about Woodland Park Elementary School.

Rationale:  This is the time during the board meeting when the public may request to address the board regarding an agenda item.  If you wish to comment, we ask that you identify yourself and indicate the agenda item to which you will be speaking.

Rationale:  Jake Luhr will provide an update on the Chrome Book Pilot at the Senior High.

https://sites.google.com/a/npsne.org/shdigilearning/

Rationale:  Dr. Brad Krivohlavek, Bruce Mitchell, Bob Waite, and Dr. Jami Jo Thompson attended the State Education Conference in Omaha November 20-22.  This was a great learning opportunity.  We would strongly encourage additional board members to attend next year.  The dates for next year's conference are November 19-21, 2014.  This is the Wednesday-Friday the week before Thanksgiving.

Rationale:  Total amount of claims approved in the consent agenda for the month of December, 2013 by specific fund are as follows:

General Fund=$405,789.18
Cooperative Fund=$7,577.66
Student Fee Fund=$13,723.25
Depreciation Fund=$496.00
Special Building Fund=$204.56
QCPUF Fund=$75,718.00
Nutrition Services Fund=$99,582.76


The total amount of claims for the month of November, 2013 in the Activities fund are as follows:

Activity Fund = $98,145.02

The Finance and Facility Committee reviewed all December claims for approval by the board. The committee also reviewed the Activity Account claims for the month of November.  Norfolk Public Schools will be implementing into future audits reporting required by GASB (Gov't Accounting Standards Board).  Our audit report will show the district's liability portion of NEPRS (Nebraska Employee Public Retirement System).  This has always been a liability of the district's, just not reported on the audit.  Because of recent issues in our country with public retirement systems facing huge funding problems, GASB felt it necessary that all public plans need to report their liabilities to the public annually.  This allows the public and boards to review current retirement practices, and so forth, as they negotiate contracts and compensation packages.  Currently in Nebraska, our plan has proceeded with some proactive steps in order to maintain an adequate cash flow for now and into the future.  Currently the plan is about 77% funded which is obviously below 100% but the hope is that actions taken for this fiscal year and future years will increase that percentage up close to 100%.  Changes that took place for this year were continued contributions by employee and employer at current rates as well as some increase contributions by the state.  Also were some retirement option changes for new employees coming into the plan this year.  Business managers across the state have been active with Mike Delaney and NPERS on this issue in order to maintain the fiscal health of the plan.  This required change from GASB will not increase our budget or take away dollars from students - this is a reporting requirement and disclosure of Norfolk's percent of liability within the system.  I will have more details from NDE as we get closer to the 2013-2014 audit.

Rationale: 

Technology:
The server update is complete.

We are in the process of discussing implementation of additional Chromebooks at the high school.

Curriculum:
The first day of 7th Grade Science Curriculum work is complete.  8th grade is coming up.  Future work and dates for this will be set.

Assessment:
Teachers are increasing their use of the C4L (Check 4 Learning) system.  This is an electronic test bank used to check student knowledge on state standards.

Teachers responded to a survey on the Wonders Reading Program with regards to the assessment pieces within the program.  Principals reviewed their feedback and made decisions that would streamline their testing and grading practices.  This was a meaningful meeting, as principals were able to analyze and discuss the meaning behind assessments and determine what is really vital for our program.  

Continued training is needed in the Wonders program for this first year of implementation. Compliments to the teachers who are learning and working on this, as well as Trisha Andreasen for her background work.

Federal Items:
Perkins Monitor- An NDE representative came to review our Perkins Grant and it’s administration. Compliments to Mickie Mueller who supervises this grant.  Everything checked out very well.

Upcoming Items:
The Calendar Committee will need to meet soon to review and form a draft for 2014-2015 school year.

I will be assisting WSC with student teacher interviews.

Jan. 6th Staff Development - Juli Burney will be our keynote speaker.  Come, if you’d like, to Johnny Carson Theatre to see her.  She’s a humorist and we are looking forward to listening to her.  This day is also accompanied by breakout sessions that range from technology to assessments and classroom practices.

 

Rationale: 

The last of the NCLB grants - Title I Part C Migrant Education - was submitted and approved by NDE this week.

School dismisses for winter vacation on Friday, December 20^th.  This will mark the end of our first semester for the 2013-2014 school year.  Teachers return for staff development on Monday, January 6^th and school resumes on Tuesday, January 7^th, signaling the start of second semester.

There are several winter Fine Arts activities that might be of interest to you this month:

• Monday, Dec. 9 - Middle School Band and Orchestra Concert at Jr. High Aud. - 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday - Friday, Dec. 11-13 - State One-Act Play competitions at Johnny Carson Theatre.
• Sunday, Dec. 15 - Sr. High Band, Choir and Orchestra Concert - 2:00 p.m. at Johnny Carson Theatre
• Tuesday, Dec. 17 - Middle School Choir - 7:00 p.m. at Jr. High Aud.

Winter sports have begun for Junior & Senior High Varsity and JV teams.  Hopefully you will be able to attend those that are of interest to you.  You will be able to see boys and girls basketball and swimming, as well as varsity wrestling.  Please consult the activities calendar at our Norfolk Public Schools website.

The NPS Maintenance department has shared with me that they have all of our snow removal and sand application vehicles ready for district needs as winter conditions near.  Building heating plants have been readied and should be ready for operation.  My compliments go to our maintenance staff and support companies who have worked hard together to update and manage our heating plants.

Rationale:  High School Principal Search:
Mrs. Nelson and I have met to begin outlining the procedures that will be used during the Hiring Process for the High School Principal position.

We have created a survey to elicit feedback from staff, parents, and students regarding the characteristics that they desire in our next High School principal, which will be made available on our website later this week. We will also make ourselves available in the High School conference room from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM on December 17th to meet with staff who would like to provide us with feedback in person.  We will do the same thing for students from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM the following day, December 18th.

We will begin advertising for this position in January when we return from Christmas Break.  Our hope is to hold interviews in mid to late February.  We anticipate having an administrative interview team, as well as a High School staff interview team, and a parent/student interview team.

Chamber President Search:
I will also be involved in the interview process for the new Chamber of Commerce President.  I appreciate being asked to serve on this committee, as it gives us an opportunity to help choose a candidate who will continue the collaborative efforts that we have started with the city and chamber.

NETV State of Education Program:
I am also honored to participate in the taping of the December installment of the State of Education in Nebraska series, entitled "Superintendents Speak Out", later this week.  This NETV Program will include a panel of eight Nebraska Superintendents discussing topics such as school-community partnerships, the effects of poverty on education, extended and early learning opportunities, STEM programs, and the future of education in Nebraska. This program will be aired on NETV on Thursday, December 19th at 8:00 PM and Sunday, December 22nd at 2:00 PM.  It will also be available for streaming on the NETV website.  I am excited about this opportunity to highlight some of the great strategies and programs that we have in place in Norfolk.  

Nebraska Legislature Education Committee:
The Education Committee of the Nebraska Legislature met in executive session on Thursday, November 21, 2013 to discuss matters related to Legislative Resolution 182 (which deals with school finance).

According to their minutes, the committee is recommending very few changes to state aid/TEEOSA at this time.  The biggest change that the are recommending is to phase out the "teacher education" and "instructional time" allowances over a two year period.

The committee also expressed a strong desire to provide early childhood education for all Nebraska 4 year olds. They are seeking information to estimate the cost of accomplishing this goal.

 

 

Rationale:  The Facility and Finance Committee met today at 12:00 noon in the central office board room. The committee had an opportunity to review all claims for December, and fund balances for November, as well as the activity fund claims for November, 2013.  Mr Witte updated the committee on upcoming roofing projects.  We discussed the details of the districts refinancing of the remainder of the 2005 bonds and its positive impact for taxpayers in the district.  There was also a discussion concerning new rules from the GASB (Gov't Accounting Standards Board) rule 67 & 68.  Bids for auditing services were reviewed with a recommendation being made to accept the low bid.  Pricing of the bids is posted in e-meeting.  District expenditure flow-chart was shared that helps explain our district purchasing procedures according to policy.  This is posted in e-meeting and also on the district website.  Dr. Thompson and Beth Nelson discussed Chromebooks and some possible purchasing of these devices with the committee.  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday Jan. 13th at 12:00 noon.

Rationale: 

The Activities Committee met at noon on November 23, 2013.

We discussed the State One Act plays that will be held in Johnny Carson Theatre later this week.  We are very excited to be hosting this event.  One concern that we have is that parking may be an issue. Mr. Dolliver is working with the Norfolk Police Department and area businesses to assist with this potential issue.   

Permission was granted for a Junior High Speech/ Debate competition to be held on April 25, 2014. Although the Jr. High Speech/Debate Program is primarily intramural, this will allow students the opportunity to compete with students from other school districts. 

We also discussed the possibility of co-oping with Lutheran Northeast and/or Norfolk Catholic for Girls Tennis and Softball.   If a formal request is received, we will follow district policy in determining whether to grant the request. 

We are very pleased to share that the Booster Club is donating $25,000 towards the purchase of new scoreboards.  The High School will be getting all new scoreboards, and the old high school scoreboards will be going to the Junior High.  

Mr. Dolliver also shared that Telebeep has offered to donate $20,000 towards the purchase of a digital message board for the Senior High gym. Funds raised via advertising would cover the remaining cost. 

Mr. Robinson updated the committee on the lighting project, which is underway.  The high school gyms were completed in time for our first game on Saturday, as hoped.  

At the conclusion of the Fall Activities season, the Activities budget maintained a positive balance of $7,699.79.  

Our next meeting will be held at noon on February 24, 2013.

Rationale:  The Policy and Government Relations Committee met Monday, December 2, 2013 at 5:30 P.M.  Items of discussion included Policy Section 4000 a, b, and c, which relate to Personnel.  These draft policies were  discussed by the committee and have been made available for the remainder of the board to review prior to tonight.  Section 4000a is up for 2nd reading and possible approval tonight.  Sections 4000 b and c are up for First Reading tonight.  

Are there any policies in either of these sections that you have questions about or would like to discuss?

Rationale:  There are no additional committee meeting minutes to discuss.

Rationale:  November 11, 2013 Regular Meeting Minutes

Rationale:  No contracts to approve at this time.

Rationale:  No resignations to approve at this time.

Rationale: 

The Norfolk City Education Association requests that the Norfolk Public Schools recognize the Association as the exclusive bargaining agent for non-supervisory certificated employees for the 2015-2016 school year.  They would also like to be recognized as the bargaining agent for the school nurses for the 2015-2016 school year.

Rationale:  This Resolution is authorizing the redemption of the District's outstanding General Obligation School Building Bonds, Series 2005, date of original issue - May 25, 2005, and authorizing officers of the District to set the terms of such redemption.

Rationale:  This resolution will authorize the issuance of the District's General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2014, in a principal amount of not to exceed $4,020,000, for the purpose of refunding the District's outstanding General Obligation School Building Bonds, Series 2005, date of original issue-May 25, 2005, and authorizing officers of the District to set the terms of such bond issue.

Rationale:  Sections 4000ab and 4000c  (Personnel) of our revised Policy manual is being presented for first reading.  Board members have had an opportunity to review this section prior to this evening and the Policy Committee has reviewed it in great length.  Do you have any questions or comments regarding the policies in this section?

Rationale:  The Policy Committee has reviewed these policies in great length and all board members have had the opportunity to review these policies and ask questions.  Changes made since the First Reading of these policies were reviewed earlier tonight.  Are there any other policies in this section that you would like to discuss prior to approval?

Rationale:  Negotiations

Rationale:  There will be no second meeting of the month in December due to the holidays.

The next regular meeting of the board of education is scheduled for Monday, January 13, 2014 at 5:00 PM at the Norfolk City Office building.  The board supper and study session will be held in the City Conference Room, beginning at 5:00 PM.  This will be followed by the Regular Board Meeting in the City Chamber Chambers, at approximately 6:30.  Both the Study Session and Regular Board Meeting are open to the public.