February 11, 2019 at 5:30 PM - Committee As A Whole
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I. Committee As A Whole
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I.A. Call to Order
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I.B. Roll Call of Board
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I.C. Pledge of Allegiance
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I.D. Notice of Open Meeting Posted
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I.D.1. President insures all can hear proceedings
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I.E. Board Special Functions
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I.E.1. Presentations
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I.E.1.1. Columbus Middle School Presentation
Discussion:
CMS Principal Amy Haynes said the staff has been working on defining the vision, which is The Discoverer Way: A Culture of Learning. The Discoverer Way is: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Kind.
Haynes said everything they do in the building is based on the vision. Some of the ways they encourage showing the Discoverer Way is by having staff pass out Discoverer Bucks to students. They also hold drawings every Friday for prizes and give quarterly rewards, which students need five Discoverer Bucks to participate in an activity. Haynes said teachers also can be in the drawing for prizes. She said they are constantly going over the Discoverer Way to show the common expectations. There are several parts of the culture that they are trying improve. Haynes said she sends out the MAST, a one-page newsletter, weekly as part of being clear and open in her communication. She said the social committee tries to do fun monthly celebrations. BIST vision team is new this year. Haynes said people were put on the committee that had gone through the BIST training. Focus on learning has been on a walk-through schedule, instructional norms, SAMR model, achievement data radar chart, referral data and climate surveys. Haynes said the goal is to have 10 walks through's scheduled a week. The staff created instructional norms and all agreed that it is important and should be done together. The SAMR model is so staff can meet to learn how to tie technology into instruction. Radar charts track five goals all year. Haynes said the goal is to try to close the gap. Haynes said all of the students showed a year’s growth in maps reading. She said there wasn’t as much growth as she wanted, but there was growth. She said 97.5 percent of the students had missed 9 days or fewer. There are also 73 percent of students who participate in one activity. Haynes said they learned a lot from the NSCAS data. There were a lot of different types of questions that students were not accustomed to and were not prepared to answer with more than one choice. Haynes said the staff has worked on Smart Goals a lot and continue to evolve with them. There was growth overall in the smart goals. Students can see their growth over time as well. There are 90 percent of the students who have one referral or less. She said BIST is intended to improve disrupted behavior and it has worked. Haynes said they are focusing on teaching skills and not just tracking skills that kids are missing. She said staff is also looking for ways that students can contribute if they are not feeling like a part of the school. Haynes said some are working with students in a classroom or connecting with another adult in the building. This is the first year there have been four school counselors. Haynes said they have done more this year than in the past. There is a kindness tree that was started to track random acts of kindness. One board member asked how the transition has been for fifth graders. Haynes said it has gone well and fifth and sixth function different than seventh and eighth. |
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I.E.2. Attendance Areas for Elementary Schools - Boundaries
Discussion:
Superintendent Dr. Troy Loeffelholz said attendance boundaries were talked about last fall in regards to the large increase in enrollment Lost Creek. He said the goal is to keep kids from crossing high traffic roads or major dividing points like railroads. The only changes will be from 34 Street to 27th Street and 23rd Avenue to 33rd Avenue will now become part of North Park instead of Lost Creek. He said the other areas north of 34th street on the east side of 33rd Avenue is staying in Lost Creek because there are no side streets to get to North Park. Dr. Loeffelholz said there were 12 families that were impacted due to having kindergartners next year with 6 six kids being the oldest in the family. These families were given a choice and four went to North Park, and the others stayed at Lost Creek. Dr. Loeffelholz said if the kindergartners already had siblings at Lost Creek they would automatically stay. This will be more for families new to the school system. The other changes are students living in Duncan will now go to West Park instead of Lost Creek. The rest of the boundaries are not changing. Dr. Loeffelholz said the city is doing the new boundary map for CPS. North Park Principal Bob Hausmann said one of his concerns is there is no additional space at North Park, and there are some new neighborhoods coming up. Dr. Loeffelholz said hopefully the city will have an updated map by next Monday.
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I.E.3. CPS Calendars 2019-2020
Discussion:
Dr. Loeffelholz said the versions of the 2019-20 calendar have been narrowed down to two. He said people want a longer Christmas break, be out by Memorial Daly and have a week spring break. He said as a result, he is coming up with a combination of the two finalist calendars to make a new fifth version. He said he will get this new version to the calendar committee to look over, so it will be voted on at next Monday’s meeting. With the combination calendar, students will be done by May 21st, and if there is snow, there could be a couple of different options for makeup days.
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I.E.4. Review of Policy 509.02 Student Memorials and Gifts to School District
Discussion:
Dr. Loeffelholz said many school policies recommend having a memorial done outside such as a tree or benches. Mike Goos said when you are naming things after people both inside and outside of building, there comes a point that people don't know who that person is. He said the district needs to be cautious when doing this. Mike Jeffryes said his problem with the policy is students can’t be recognized in the yearbook or have an open seat left for them at graduation. He said he doesn't mind the rest of the policy. Dr. Loeffelholz said the district has never stopped a family from putting a picture of their child in the yearbook. He said graduation is the tricky one. He said it comes down to defining graduation. Is it just a ceremony, rite of passage or something you earn. He said they cannot receive a diploma if they did not earn the credit to graduate. These students could get some kind of certificate. Executive Director of Student Services Jason Harris said if a seat is left at graduation, there must be support for students because this could bring up some feelings. He said however the policy is decided, it must be clear cut on how the district will make a decision. Theresa Seipel said she is sympathetic towards the families but doesn’t want the remembrance of a student to take away from what should be a happy moment for others. She said a better place to honor the deceased student may be at honors night or another event like prom that is geared toward seniors. Seipel said it also depends on the length of time separating graduation and the student’s death. Dr. Loeffelholz said he is not sure it is the school’s place to put a photo in the yearbook their senior year if they passed away as a Freshmen through Senior year, but the family could by purchasing an ad. Doug Willoughby said he hopes graduation is left alone. He said this can be a very emotional time for students, and he would not want to add any more emotion to the event. Dr. Loeffelholz said no matter what is decided the board must remember that every date will be more painful for the families. Seipel said if something is done, there would need to be communication with the family first, so they were aware. Dr. Loeffelholz said there are parts of the policy that he does not like, so he will rework it with Harris and bring something back to the board next Monday.
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I.E.5. Option Enrollment Resolution, 2019-2020 / Student-Within-Transfers, 2019-2020
Discussion:
Dr. Loeffelholz said every year, the district looks at projected student enrollment and the grade level cut off number for option enrollments. He said the district has held tight to the policy unless there was a sibling already attending CPS. In grades K-5, the cutoff number to deny the option will be 275, and grades 6-12 it will be 290 students. Next year third, fifth, seventh and ninth grades are the only classes with room to option. Dr. Loeffelholz said before midterm graduations, the district was at 4,030 students, which is an all time high. He said that high school classes are also averaging about 300 per class. Dr. Loeffelholz said there is not a lot of room. Classrooms are full.
In regards to student transfers, the goal is to keep student to teacher ratios low per class. Dr. Loeffelholz said the building principals make the final decisions on each of the transfers. He said a decision is made for kindergartners in June and other grades are decided in May. Dr. Loeffelholz said if a student starts at a school, he or she will stay at the school. Most in district transfers are not approved after May. Any requests made during the school year are because a student moved and wants to stay at his or her current school. Dr. Loeffelholz said siblings are allowed to attend the same school as their brothers or sisters. If the numbers get to large, principals have asked parents if they would consider moving back to their home school. Harris said he usually has to meet with a few families and takes some things into consideration to provide the family with support. Dr. Loeffelholz said if a kindergarten option request comes in before March 1, it is typically not denied but the parents don’t get to choose the school.
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I.E.6. First Reading of Policy 504.19 Bullying Prevention
Discussion:
Dr. Loeffelholz said this policy must be approved each year. He said he is looking at adding something to the policy that include a student using their own personal phone or computer as well as the district owned device.
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I.E.7. CHS 2019-2020 Course Descriptions Catalog
Discussion:
CHS Principal Steven Woodside said the administration has tried to make the course description book more welcoming. One of the key changes in the book is having a transitioning cadet marching band for 9th graders. He said freshmen often have trouble adjusting to the huge time commitment and memorization required to be in marching band. They will be in marching band for grades 10, 11 and 12. Band students can also take a whole year of concert band or just take a semester because it is split into fall and spring. Woodside said there will be no changes in delivery just more flexibility. Another change is freshmen will be allowed to take a strengthening and conditioning class all year as a freshman. This will allow student athletes to take the strength and conditioning class instead of physical education. Woodside said this will give students more flexibility and options. Construction technology can now be taken for dual credit. He said a chart of certifications was added along with something on the JAG program.
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I.F. Consent Agenda
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I.F.1. Approval of Minutes
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I.F.2. Financial Reports M2, M3, M4a
Discussion:
Executive Director of Business Operations Dave Melick said the $4,000 listed under scoreboard is money received from the 12 sponsors of the scoreboard. He said the money will be used to repay the amount used from the depreciation fund. The scoreboards were not part of the bond issue. Once that is completed, the funds will go toward marquee repair and maintenance.
Melick said the district received $1.3 million in property taxes this past month. Clark Grant was paid $1,096 for making sure all properties were named and titled correctly. The Plate County Election Commissioner was paid $2,094.27. Lunchtime Solutions was paid $9,077.50 for food for the Christmas socials. Control Management was paid $10,084 for replacing the HVAC controls at Lost Creek.
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I.F.3. Financial Report M4b
Discussion:
Seipel Repair will be paid $1,154.66 for replacing lights and breaks on a van and other general repairs, and $589.56 for repair on a bus heater and other general maintenance.
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I.F.4. Certified Personnel
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I.F.5. Classified Personnel
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I.F.6. Professional Travel
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I.G. Acceptance of Gifts/Donations
Discussion:
The Foundation and supporting organizations contributed $21,867.38 in donations for the month of January.
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I.H. Business Operations and Human Relations
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I.H.1. Policies
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I.H.2. Administrative Functions
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I.H.2.1. Charitable Giving Fund Raising Application
Discussion:
CHS FBLA will be collecting canned goods to donate to the Platte County Food Pantry during a faculty vs. student basketball game. Melick said this application is late because the date of the game was not known until now.
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I.H.2.2. TERIP Proposal 2019-2020
Discussion:
Melick said this is the fourth year the district has offered the Temporary Early Retirement Incentive Program. In the past, there have been six people that have taken advantage of it. He said 12 people attended the meeting, and as of today, five have accepted. He said the names of the two additional people will be included at the meeting on Monday. If interested, people must sign up for the TERIP by Thursday at 4 p.m.
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I.H.3. Updates
Discussion:
Melick said the district auditor, Joe Held with Schumacher, Smejkal, Brockhaus and Herley has accepted another job. He said the district will stay with the same firm but will have a new auditor.
Melick said there was recently a Building and Grounds Committee meeting. He shared with the board the current project list, so the board would know how things are progressing. Melick said some of the items on the list will be done this year. One of the board’s priorities was moving forward with the Kramer Education Center, which includes a pre-k facility. This project has been given a priority of one to two years. Melick said the tax assessment brings in $770,000 a year and to complete the project will cost around $4 million. Melick said at this rate, it will take several years to complete. He said the district has been looking at some alternative financing. There are traditional ways of funding the project such as a bond issue or waiting for the $770,000 to accumulate. Melick said a lease purchase option seems to be the way to go. He said the district can finance up to 6/10 of 1 percent of the valuation and pay it back. Melick said first a bond attorney would need to set up a lease company and the school board would need to hold a meeting to ratify the lease corporation and enter into the an agree with the lease purchase company. Melick said this can all be done at one meeting, and it could happen next month. Melick said the education plan must be ready to go. The district would need to pay $648,000 for seven years, which is 3.35 percent of valuation, which would leave a little money left to do some of the other projects. The interest rate would be 3 percent or less. Melick said this is quicker access to money that the district needs. He said he will invite the people to the next meeting to discuss this with the board in more detail. Melick said this does not increase the tax levy at all. Seipel said she is concerned that there won’t be enough money left to do other things on the list. Melick said there will be $120,000 left in the building assessment and the district has budgeted $200,000 in the general fund to be able to do other things. Dr. Loeffelholz said if this is a direction the board wants to go, the district will start pulling together the community partners to hold discussions and start program planning. He said it will be a community-based building, so there needs to be space for the partners. CPS Preschool currently does not cost families any money to attend. Harris said the goal is to offer preschool to every student who is eligible. He said the district is in the process of collecting information on how many kindergartners attended any type of preschool. He said the challenging part is defining what a community preschool looks like. Many consider daycare as a preschool, which it is not. |
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I.I. Buildings & Sites/Technology
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I.I.1. Policies
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I.I.2. Administrative Functions
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I.I.2.1. Proposal to Name CHS Sports Field Kramer Field
Discussion:
Executive Director of Technology and Building Operations Leonard Kwapnioski recommended naming the sports field Kramer Field at Columbus High, which would tie a piece of history to the new facility. He said regardless of what the board decides to do with the name the archway could still be built at the field. Kwapnioski said it is up to the board to determine what they want to do. Some board members asked if the archway could be put at the Kramer Education Center. Kwapnioski said there is really no place to put it where it would look good and fit into the design of the building. He said he would not know for sure until the programming design is finished and it is determined how much space would be needed. Kwapnioski said by creating a name, it could help generate some interest so a business might want to buy signage. He said this could help generate money for the athletic department. Some board members wanted to know if a decision had to be made immediately. Kwapnioski said it does not need to be made right away, but the district is putting in bathrooms, a concession stand and storage unit, so it would be a good time to plan for the archway. He said Paul Tucker is working on a design. Kwapnioski said by moving forward, this would give him and the foundation director time to start raising funds for the project. Kwapnioski said Ken Curry approached him about doing something to honor Kramer High School, and Curry liked the idea of adding something to the entrance to the field. Dr. Loeffelholz said the district could still build an archway and name it later. Goos said this is a new school, and there are not that many Kramer graduates left. Doug Molczyk said the district also has one property named after Kramer. Kwapnioski said perhaps naming the field Kramer Field would be overkill. The board tabled the item.
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I.I.3. Updates
Discussion:
Kwapnioski said a sprinkler head broke and malfunctioned at the high school sending 200 gallons of water into two classrooms. He said the fire alarm went off because water passed through the sensors. Kwapnioski said the sprinkler company is coming out tomorrow morning to make sure there are no other problems with the sprinklers. As the repairs were being made, the fire alarm system was down for about 25 minutes. Kwapnioski said the students were brought back into the building as soon as the water was shut off. He said it took longer to clean the room than to get the system back online. The board asked why the district wasn’t aware of the problem. Kwapnioski said a damaged sprinkler head often will not leak or show any signs of problems until it bursts. The students were relocated from the art room to the media center.
Kwapnioski said Frontier is looking into why the emergency call from the administration building showed up as coming from the high school. He said the Frontier technician is going to all the buildings to make sure it shows up correctly. It took the students a little over three minutes to totally evacuate the building. |
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I.J. Curriculum and Instruction
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I.J.1. Policies
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I.J.2. Administrative Functions
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I.J.3. Updates
Discussion:
Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Amy Romshek said the district is making progress on the strategic plan. She said she will go over this information in more detail during the board retreat. The team was trying to find measurable goals. Romshek said the key is to have an organized communication plan. She said they are in the process of collecting data to help show progress with the goals. Romshek said she will be able to share some of the data with the board in the future. Romshek showed on example. In 2018, they looked at the percent who graduated with dual credit; business industry-nursing certification; received an ACT composite score of 21 or higher; participated in extracurricular activities; and overall. There were 45 percent of the students who did dual credit; 36 percent did some sort of certification; 37 percent had an ACT composite of 21 or higher; and 37 percent participated in extracurricular activities each of four years while in high school. The overall score was 71 percent. Romshek said this is just one of the ways they are looking at to determine if students are college or career ready.
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I.K. Student Services
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I.K.1. Policies
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I.K.2. Administrative Functions
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I.K.2.1. Central Nebraska Rehabilitation Services Contract
Discussion:
Harris presented the Central Nebraska Rehabilitations Services contract for next year. Services must be provided for students from birth to 21. This year the board can consider a one- or three-year contract. The cost of services will be $50 an hour with a mileage rate of 0.48. Harris said the hourly rate is under what NDE approves, which is $65 an hour and the mileage is also lower. He said last year the district spent $168,932 on services. The rate does not drop by doing a three-year contract, but it would lock the district into the rate and mileage for the next three years. Harris said it doesn't matter which contract the board wants to approve. He said historically CNRS has been below the provider rate for NDE and state approved mileage. Harris said the occupational therapist lives in Columbus, but the physical therapist changes every year. Chris King is the OT person and lives in Columbus and just sees CPS students. Harris said if any of the board members have questions to email him.
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I.K.2.2. Special Education 2019-2020 Projections
Discussion:
Harris said he is projecting a 1 percent increase for special education enrollment. Currently, the total special education enrollment is 657 students from birth to 21, and this includes both public and nonpublic students.
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I.K.3. Updates
Discussion:
Harris said the crisis team met last Friday. They had lunch together and talked about strengths and areas that could be improved. He said they will review the recommendations and make adjustments in the crisis manual.
Preschool registration is taking place now. Parents can fill out an application. A selection committee meets at the end of March to review the applications. Harris said recipients are selected based on need, and parents are notified at the beginning of April. Kindergarten registration will take place from March 25-29, and all will take place from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the CPS Student Center. Harris said he will be visiting with the state senators next week while he is in Lincoln. He will inform the board on the outcome. |
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I.L. Superintendent's Report
Discussion:
Dr. Loeffelholz said he will give his report next Monday.
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I.M. Board Sharing
Discussion:
The board will do sharing next Monday
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I.N. Adjourn
Discussion:
The board adjourned at 8:38 p.m.
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