September 17, 2012 at 5:00 PM - Work Session and Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Discussion:  Principal Jackie Herink presented academic and behavior data to the Board of Education. Ms. Herink and the teachers then gave a tour of Centennial to the Board of Education and guests.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz laid out for the board the research and cause and effect of the facility options recommended by the citizens' committee. Dr. Loeffelholz also recommended that the district stop research on Option D as the price of the Middle School on the downtown site would cost more than the Middle School proposal that was voted on last Fall.

Discussion:  The board did not go into executive session.

Discussion:  Theresa Seipel read the Mission Statement.

Discussion:  No one spoke at the Special Hearing of Policy 1005.02 - Annual Review on Parent Relation Goals

Discussion:  Mr. Melick, Executive Director of Business Operations and Human Relations, gave a quick overview of the budget and tax request proposal. The district will receive $9,373,076.64 in state aid. The district’s tax asking will be $16.4 million for general fund and $2.2 million for the bond fund. The levy will be recommended at $1.064958 for the general fund and $.143022 for the bond levy for a total levy of $1.21. Over 50% of the district's budget now comes from other resources than the local tax base.

Discussion:  No one spoke at the Open Forum.

Discussion:  Jason Harris, Executive Director of Student Services/Special Education was awarded the Outstanding New Special Education Supervisor award from the Nebraska Association of Special Education Supervisors (NASES) for leadership in his district and demonstrating enthusiasm for their work by support from parents, teachers, and peers. NASES is affiliated with the Nebraska Council of School Administrators.

Discussion:  There was a certified resignation pending suitable replacement. There are also several classified hires and one classified resignation. Chris Chvala accepted a position at ESU 7. Cassandra Neuiahr was pulled from the consent agenda because she could not get released from her current contract.

Discussion:  No items were removed from the Consent Agenda.

Discussion:  Motion carries 5-1, with Barbara Lehr dissenting. Lehr said she does not support this tax increase. She said she is not sure this is the correct solution. Lehr said she feels the district is asking the City of Columbus to bail out the district because state funding was cut. Dr. Loeffelholz said when looking at a $36 million budget, that is a lot of money. He said the question is where do you start reducing. Eighty-five percent of the budget goes to staff, and that only leaves 15 percent in other areas. Dr. Loeffelholz said the administration tried to take those cuts from that 15 percent of the budget instead of staff.

Discussion:  There was no discussion.

Discussion:  Motion carries 6-0. The members of the committee include: Leonard Kwapnioski, Michelle Cruise, Donna Osantowski, Jenny Betz, John Petersen, Dennis Smith, Jenny Meyer, Jody Haack, Amy Haynes, Karla Bartlett, Jean Kamrath, Cal Mustard, Jon Frey, Tom Wunderlich and Ken Curry.

Discussion:  Motion carries 6-0. Dr. Loeffelholz said the idea is to consolidate all fundraising activities, so there are not multiple events going on at one time.

Discussion:  Motion carries 6-0. Executive Director of the CPS Foundation Jessica Kuehler said this policy will help unify school supporting organizations.

Discussion:  Motion carries 6-0. Dr. Loeffelholz said this is something new that the board must do when gifts are received. He said this time around the board is accepting gifts worth $12,000 in donations. CPS Foundation contributions: a. $1,200 for CHS Destination Imagination World Competition b. $10,250 for improvements to the Nantkes Performing Arts Center c. $143 for a Compact Disc Player for CHS Vocal Music Dept. 2. DonorsChoose.org: a. iPod touch and 8GB MP3 Player - $187.99 each b. Student Electricity Assortment (2) $34.95 each c. PVC Covered Copper Connecting Wire (1) $6.95 each d. Electrical Buzzer (12) $3.25.

Discussion:  Jessica Kuehler said the Foundation Board has 11 members with nine of those people volunteering from the community. She thanked the Board of Education for their support. The Foundation’s goal is to fund programs that fall outside of district funding. This is the Foundation’s 27th year of operation. Jessica Kuehler said this year the Foundation has outspent all other distribution in the past by $9,500. The Foundation has distributed grant money to teachers, scholarships to students, and sponsored the employee of the year programs. The Foundation is hoping to utilize the districts financial software system to manage their budget and pay bills.

Discussion:  Motion carries 6-0. Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Amy Romshek said there are middle and high school students in the program. This handbook is just a supplement to other CMS and CHS handbooks. The middle school students were moved to the portables at CMS because this would be a better fit. This also would enable the students to take some classes in the middle school. There were only a few minor changes from last year. Last year there were nine graduates from Pathways and 41 high school students and 9 middle school students who went through the program.

Discussion:  Motion carries 5-0, with Barbara Lehr abstaining. Harris said he must provide transportation for students with special needs. Currently, there is no scheduling software to help minimize the routes. The software will allow all of the students to be scheduled for pickup and dropoff to minimize the bus route. Due to activities, Harris said sometimes he must contract services with other companies for busing. This program also has a component for student safety with a GPS tracking, so the bus or suburban can be located. Harris said special education will cover $10,282 of the cost and the activities department will pay for $6,789.68. The ongoing cost is $7.50 a month per vehicle.

Discussion:  Motion carries 6-0. The proposal must be approved by the Board because it is a charitable event not directly tied to the school. CHS Principal Steven Woodside said the cheerleaders every year do a campaign for a charitable cause. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. A 100 percent of the donations go toward cancer research.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said by wearing the stripped overalls and collecting donations at the football game, over $800 was raised for Troops overseas. Mike Mattos was here for two days. Dr. Loeffelholz said overall the two days were really good, and it was a message all staff needed to hear to get on target for student learning. Homecoming is this week at the high school. The homecoming game is Friday against Elkhorn, and the dance is Saturday. The Columbus Marching Festival is in two weeks, and it is an all-day event. Dr. Loeffelholz said he wants to thank the Board for attending activities because the community notices. He said it has not been an easy week at CMS. He said the crisis team did a fantastic job, and the CMS staff did a good job of responding. The elementary principals stepped up to help cover classes. Dr. Loeffelholz said the funeral was today, and hopefully, this will help bring closure for people.

Discussion:  The NASB area membership meeting is in Norfolk on Sept. 26.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz and Mr. Melick will be going to educational hearings on the 24th of September.

Discussion:  Dostal said he attended some of Mr. Mattos presentations and it was a great learning opportunity and spoke highly of his experience as well as that of staff he had spoken with. He said Mattos was very inspiring. Goos congratulated Harris and said he is very deserving of the award and for his focus on student success. Curry said he enjoys hearing all the positives from the wonderful teachers. He said the teaching staff does wonderful things. Curry mentioned that the MS project and tax levy increase are difficult issues, but he is proud of the efforts our staff make every day to help improve the district. Kuehler said he will be attending the meeting on Sept. 26 in Norfolk and invited board members to come as well.

Discussion:  Discussion of ReMax marketing of Discoverer Addition was held. Dr. Loeffelholz discussed actions taken to date by ReMax on the Discoverer Addition. ReMax representatives will be invited to a future meeting to discuss marketing these properties with the board. Executive session ended at 9:03.

Discussion:  The Board adjourned at 9:03 p.m.