January 17, 2022 at 5:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Dave Hiebner, CHS Principal, gave a brief summary on the changes that were made in the 2022-23 Course Description Handbook. Main changes included the addition of dual credit courses including the Wayne State College Courses. In the English section some course names changed to include Honors.  Food Sciences has been added to the Family and Consumer Sciences Section.  The Health Science Pathway was added, and Mr. Hiebner mentioned there may be some adjustments as this is brand new. He said the Health Sciences I course has already capped out, so there may need to be some criteria for students to get into this pathway. Also, the CPM content has been added to the math selections.

There was some discussion on when honors will be added to math and how a student is eligible for those classes. Mr. Hiebner said it is by teacher recommendation. He said there is more work to be done for specifics for honors to be added in the Math Section of the handbook. 

Chip Kay, Director of Finance and Human Resources, shared the bills from the first two weeks of January. These are a few listed: the Nebraska Secretary of State was paid for logo branding. Public Risk Management, this is the annual amount paid for insurance to be the construction manager for the Kramer project. El Tapatio was paid for the staff luncheon earned for the 80/80 giving campaign. Mr. Kay said CPS received a grant payment meant for the CPS Foundation that was paid back. There was an invoice paid for damage at West Park from the tornado, it was not worth submitting to insurance after paying the deductible.

Mr. Kay informed the Negotiations Committee of a meeting with CEA on Thursday at 5:30 at the Administration Building.

Mr. Kwapnioski said there will be a meeting in the next couple of weeks, to talk with the City of Columbus and the Columbus Community Hospital regarding an MOU for water retention. Mr. Kwapnioski said it will be at their expense. He also said CPS attorneys have not looked over the contract yet.   

Amy Romshek, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, shared data from some questions from the Strategic Plan Goals Presentation from last week’s meeting. Data was presented regarding ACT scores, the percentage of students who had taken advanced courses.  Dr. Romshek shared data from the 20-21 junior class with a three-year history, which included how many students had enrolled and completed the courses successfully. Other data shared was percentage of students that took less than CORE and completion numbers, students that took more than the CORE, percentage of students that have completed dual credit, honors, accelerated, and college prep courses. Dr. Romshek said CHS is offering many very challenging courses and certifications.

Discussion regarding students being prepared for college and how the course choices made in high school can affect their readiness. ACT/SAT scores are not being required by a lot of two/four year schools at this time. Some schools are looking at GPA as a better indicator of success at that higher level of education. Dr. Romshek said that the data on our students that go on to college or a trade school is available on the NDE website. 

Dr. Loeffelholz stated that our next scheduled Committee As Whole Meeting on 2/14/2022 will include Title IX training with Karen Haase from KBS School Law. The Meeting on 2/21/2022 will include a our Committee Meeting.

Dr. Loeffellholz said Illness rates have increased, and some buildings are above the 8% three-day average, he is anticipating a mask mandate at CHS, CMS and possibly North Park.  That will last 3 weeks as our illness plan states. That timeframe will take us to parent teacher conferences.  Other protocols will include visitors signing in and only parents will be allowed. There will be no Teammates visits for the three weeks.  Reinstate temperature checks in those buildings.  Everyone will be allowed to attend but will be required to wear masks at events and activities. Mr. Kay said he has 10 staff that have been reported COVID positive. Dr. Loeffelholz asked the board if they had any concerns with taking some Fridays off in the next few weeks to clear buildings for some extra cleaning and give students some time to recover if they are ill. There was discussion regarding reminding families to keep students home if they are ill.  Once Dr. Loeffelholz receives the information that the numbers are higher than 8%, the mask mandate information will go out to families. He did remind the group that we have the strictest percentage in the state at this time. 

The board said thanks for the recognition of the work they do. All members are grateful for all the hard work from administrators and staff. Lots of discussion on COVID numbers and protocols that may need to be put into place as numbers continue to rise in Platte County and our buildings. Also mentioned the wrestling tournament at CHS last weekend, commended the facilitators on a well run tournament. The Board appreciated Dr. Romshek’s clarification of data from testing.