February 18, 2013 at 5:00 PM - Work Session and Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Discussion:  Mr. Dostal arrived at 5:30 p.m.

Discussion:  CMS Principal Doug Kluth said there has been some confusion on what direction the school was going with accreditation. Last year, he said they started centralizing a lot of the information, so a CMS Continuous Improvement Handbook was created. Other presentations were given by Mrs. Haynes, Mr. Berg, Mrs. Hughes, Ms. Mancini-Marshall, and Mrs. Richter. All presentations were part of the Continuous Improvement Goals for reading, writing, math, and technnology.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said the Strategic Plan needs be driven by the teaching staff, community and parents in conjunction with the board. Vision Statements - 1. Students will graduate with strong academic and life skills (i.e 21st century skills) in order to support college and career readiness. 2. Students, parents, staff and community will be engaged in the students’ emotional social and academic development. 3. Student enrollment, academic and career programs will drive district facility needs for the district. The three vision groups will be broken down with Candy Becher and Theresa Seipel handling the first statement; Mike Goos and Francis Kuehler the second and Alan Dostal and Ken Curry the third statement.

Discussion:  Candy Becher read the Mission Statement

Discussion:  Mr. Ray Pilakowski addressed the Board regarding Columbus Public Schools Graduation Rate. Mr. Pilakowski requested a response from the President of the Board on this.

Discussion:  Kim Korth and the Cassette House students Tony Swanda and Tyler Koza, and para educators/job coaches Karen Kuhr, Susan Olmer, Jackie Korte, and Kathy Trout were recognized at the board meeting for all the hard work they do in preparing the food. Korth said the Cassette students have been doing dinner for the board meetings for seven years. Theresa Seipel said the kids do an awesome job with the food. Dr. Loeffelholz said he appreciates the staff and students going over and beyond to prepare the meals for the board.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz told the board as of now there are 18 retirees so far this year.

Discussion:  No items were removed from the Consent Agenda

Discussion:  Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Amy Romshek said the committee met two or three times and recommended the calendar that was best for student learning. She said a lot has to do with timing and where the semester ends. Romshek said the committee tried to end the semester in December; balance the number of instructional days between each quarter; end the quarters at the end of week instead of middle of week; take into consideration NeSA testing; and where holidays fall particularly Christmas and Easter.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said the maximum enrollment per grades K-5 is 275 and for 6-12 is 280. With in-district transfers, four to six seats per grade must be saved for students who move in the boundary area. He said the district is going to be reluctant to accept a lot of transfers.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said there is over $6,000 in donations from parent groups, booster clubs and the CPS Foundation.

Discussion:  Executive Director of Business Operations/Human Relations Dave Melick said the teachers came in with a cooperative spirit. The base salary will increase from $33,700 to $34,500, and the number of teaching days will increase from 186 to 188. The insurance deductible increased from $600 to $750 and from $1,500 to $1,650 to cover increases. The district will also increase the amount that it will pay from $645 to $655. Melick said teachers have also been granted a sick leave bank but must follow all the rules when using it. He said there is a verbal agreement between the Columbus Education Association and CPS. Seipel said the staff was great to work. She said both sides gave and took a little. Seipel said the teachers were looking out for the best interests of the kids.

Discussion:  Mr. Dave Melick said when deciding on an increase, he looks at where CPS falls in the array of schools larger and smaller. He said by adding the two days, CPS is in the middle of the array and is within the area of comparability.

Discussion:  CHS Band Booster President Dave Perkins said for the past several years, the band has had to rent a trailer. He said during the fall season the band needs the Discoverer trailer and another. Perkins said the band has added a drum line, which increases the equipment. He said it makes more sense to purchase one instead of having to rent one. Perkins said the boosters intend to raise half of the money for the trailer, but would like board support for the other half. Perkins said the band is looking at a 24-foot trailer, which is what CHS Band Director Jeff Peabody felt was needed.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said the bus fleet is aging, and replacement needs to get back on a schedule. The fleet has been one short for a while. Nebraska Central Equipment’s 72 passenger bus will cost $130,878 and will have a DVD player. The 84-passenger bus will cost $76,666 because of $47,000 trade in for the 2008 bus. This bus does not come with a DVD, but it can be added for $3,800. Dr. Loeffelholz said the DVD player is nice for long over the road trips. He said the boys and girls teams often go different directions.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz and Melick testified on a school finance bill, LB 407. He also said he testified on a career academy bill. There are several bills, which Dr. Loeffelholz is watching such as one on emergency expenditures for schools; the transfer of property; and one on charter schools. Dr. Loeffelholz said he may be going to Lincoln on Monday to testify at the charter schools bill. There are still questions about the governors tax plan. Dr. Loeffelholz said one of the big problems is that education would lose $400 million and there was nothing about how this would be replaced. However, the governor has removed this plan. The date school district will find out about state aid has been moved from March 1 to June 1. Dr. Loeffelholz asked Pilakowski for his list of teachers and administrators salaries from other districts. He said the graduation rate can change, and the district is not happy being 131st. CHS’ graduation rate is 88 percent, which is above state average and is in the 94th or 95th percentile nationally. Public education must educate a child from birth to 21 or until they complete high school with a degree. Once a student walks in the door as a freshman, he or she must graduate in eight semesters. Dr. Loeffelholz said districts must now count the kids who lose their way. Since that graduate rate of 88 percent, more students have graduated thanks to Youth for Christ, Boys Town and Pathways programs, which has increased the graduation rate to 90.3 percent. Kuehler said the school district cannot remove kids from school even if they get in trouble with the law. He said if they go to jail, CPS still must educate them. Harris said he does go to Madison to provide services for students.

Discussion:  The board members broke up into groups, and people from the community were asked to go to vision statement three. The board reconvened at 8:50 p.m.

Discussion:  The board went into Executive Session at 8:53 p.m. to discuss Administrative Salaries.