May 10, 2021 at 5:30 PM - Committee As A Whole

Discussion: 

Mike Grutsch, Maintenance and Grounds Supervisor, presented information on the maintenance projects that would be on the list for the summer. One of the larger projects will be the North Park Elementary Parking Lot. Building cleaning that is usually scheduled will be done, they have a shorter time period this year, but he said it will get done. Mr. Grutsch shared that we have staff that are leaving or retiring, so they have taken a hit in that area.  They will be doing some work at the ice skating rink at CHS.  The paint crew is at West Park this year.  Leonard Kwapnioski, Director of Buildings/Sites and Technology, said that they have a very loyal crew, they will continue to get the work done.  He also spoke about finding the right people to fill the vacancies.

Mr. Kwapnioski shared that it had been tough in the Transportation Department as they were very short on drivers. He said that the drivers really stepped up, they combined some routes and have been getting the job done. He also said they are a great group, always willing to help out in maintenance if they are needed.  Board members asked if maintenance had enough time to do their jobs as well as work at Kramer.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz shared the finalist for Educator of the Year: Tyler Richters, Carolyn Hofferber, and Chelsea Werner and Operations Employee of the Year: Jim Feldhaus, Tania Stahl, and Bonnie Keller. The winners will be announced at the End of the Year Convocation on May 27, 2021. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz, Superintendent, shared some changes in COVID protocols for summer weights/conditioning and camps. He said we will take things slow, masks optional for students and coaches inside. Masks for coaches outside will be optional as well. Groups will be a bit larger than last year, 16-25 and sports specific drills and scrimmages will be allowed. Cleaning will be done between each session. The protocol may change for July depending on COVID numbers. June summer school will remain as it is now, everyone will wear masks, July may bring optional masks for summer school, again depending on the numbers. Dr. Loeffelholz said that a school district near CPS lifted their mask mandate and 8 students tested positive and 60 were required to quarantine.  Activities were affected by that decision, he wants all of our students to be able to participate in the end of year activities, especially our seniors. 

Discussion: 

Chip Kay, Director of Finance and Human Resources, gave a brief explanation of the financial reports.  He said the cash balance in the General Fund is still ahead of last year, it is the difference between having students in school and not having them in school.  All other accounts are where they should be.  There is a bond payment coming up and the balance in the Bond Fund will reflect that. Mr. Kay said the last reimbursement of CARES ACT 1 money has been received.  Looking ahead we will start requesting reimbursements in June. 

Financial Report M4a is showing payments for Teach Upbeat, LLC, this is the company that we are using for the surveys, this is a 3-year contract. The money for this will be reimbursed from CARES ACT II money.  Apptegy, Inc. for our Thillshare application fee, and Dell for substitute teacher devices.  Also mentioned was the decreased payment to Boys Town. 

Discussion:  Mr. Kay talked about the change made in the document that shows this information in the board agenda.

Discussion:  Mr. Kay said the format of the document was also changed for Classified Personnel. 

Discussion:  There was some discussion on the number of graduates to walk, Mr. Hiebner, CHS Principal, said about 300 at last count. There were questions by the board regarding how our graduation percentage is calculated, Dr. Loeffelholz shared the information on the cohort formula for that percentage, as well as the 5 year, 6 year, and 7 year graduation rates.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said there is not much going on in regard to travel, however, there are some in-person conferences starting back up after all the online/ZOOM conferences over the last year. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz reported the Foundation Report. $63,434.34 in contributions went out for end of school year events and awards. Total for the year to date is $517,563.05.

Discussion:  Mr. Kay recommended to the board an overall Administrator’s Package increase of 2% with an explanation on the benefits.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay said there are textbooks to surplus. The band items will be a trade in towards the replacement items, it is a great deal.  The drums they are replacing have been in use for 7 or 8 years.  Mr. Kay said he would like to look at a service that comes and picks up our unused books.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kay gave an update on having a Buildings and Sites Committee meeting, to discuss upcoming projects and look at real estate.
He also shared that he and his wife have bought land in the CPS district and will be building a home.  This is to comply with the Administrator Residency Policy.

Mr. Kay shared some information about the engagement survey, it is research based, the company provides coaching to help improve teacher satisfaction and retention. He also said there was some good news on the recent survey the CPS teachers participated in, including the participation rate of 93%. CPS scored well with compensation and career path at 74% and our teachers reported student engagement at 87% of employees reporting that 60% or more of their students were engaged. There were four district wide areas of strengths: instructional leadership, principal/teacher trust, equity, and satisfaction and purpose. He said he will share more in depth information of the survey.

 

Discussion:  Mr. Kwapnioski said that they are continuing to work through with vendors, they will start ordering supplies and store items in areas at the Kramer Building if needed. He invited the board to come visit the Kramer Building. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Romshek explained the purchase of novels for CHS.  In years past, each class has been reading a different novel because of the lack of copies of the same novel. This makes it difficult for teachers to collaborate. With this purchase, every course has enough novels for each student. We do have some novels, however, books have changed along with pagination, this makes it hard to plan and teach. Dr. Romshek also spoke on the discussion regarding board question on getting books on devices or digitally. She gives a lot of credit to the teachers this year, they have had to make some changes to make this happen. This purchase will come from the curriculum budget for new resources.
MLA vs. APA was discussed and how we are preparing our students for college in this area. 

Discussion:  Dr. Romshek talked about the new Social Studies Curriculum, she said that CHS and CMS were in agreement on the same series of resources.  This is good curriculum that shares all sides of the information. She also mentioned that 7-8 years ago the online resources were not nearly as good as they have become now. The purchase will be made from the district budget for new resources.

Discussion:  Dr. Romshek said teachers continue to work on scales and assessments. They are catching up because some things were put on the back burner because of COVID.

Discussion:  Mr. Harris said CPS uses online therapy at the non-public schools. Emerson has added 89 students. This contract is offering 72 hours per week and includes writing IEPs, scheduling, preparation and attendance of meetings. CPS provides the machine, all therapy is done via ZOOM. 

Discussion: 

Mr. Harris said that CPS has used consultation thru B.I.S.T. for the past 4 years.  Each building is assigned a B.I.S.T. consultant to provide a team approach to student behaviors and administrative support. This includes five visits per building. The cost is $3187.50 per building, per year. He said it is nice to have an expert in the field, to brainstorm when working with challenging students.  Office referrals have decreased quite a bit in the last 2 years. Consultants provide support through ZOOM, they will do mini sessions with staff, they provide para training. He also spoke about the B.I.S.T. training this summer, using Title IV fund for some of this training. 

Discussion:  Mr. Harris offered information regarding the music therapy contract and the reason for the change being that Melissa Hyde who has been providing this therapy, is now teaching and can not contract with us for next year. In researching other companies, Mr. Harris found Omaha Music Therapy would contract for 17 hours per week for 32 weeks.  This contract is a little less in total price. Mr. Harris said this uses music to help with communication.

Discussion: 

Mr. Harris updated the board on grants that are being worked on including the IDEA Grant, Sixpence Grant, the Continuation Grant for Preschool-projection.  He said that state reporting is ready to go for submission in June. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz shared information on the upcoming peaceful demonstration. He said CPS will continue with the mask mandate to get kids to the finish line. PPE protocols will be determined for the summer and fall on a month to month basis.

Reminders: the Centennial 20 Year Anniversary Event, State Baseball, State Track, and Graduation on May 30 at 3:00. We will still stream the ceremony for others.

Discussion: 

The board is 100% on board with the mask mandate. Excited for the upcoming events. Thank you to Dr. Loeffelholz and the principals for keeping staff and students on target with protocols.  They felt the initial survey numbers are very positive.