January 9, 2023 at 5:30 PM - Committee As A Whole

Discussion: 

JP Holys, Lost Creek Elementary Principal, presented information about Lost Creek students, staff, programs and events. Mr. Holys shared the new staff this school year and said they are all doing great. He said there has been some turnover with classified staff. Mr. Holys talked about High Reliability Schools levels and how staff is teaching to level 1-Safe, Supportive and Collaborative Culture. They are modeling expectation stations for common areas and times of the day. Lost Creek staff uses Soar tickets to celebrate students being safe, respectful and responsible. They also use You Rock Certificates for positive behavior.

Mr. Holys talked about Eagle time, which is designated to practice the skill of the week and with cross grade level partners. He shared that his staff is also involved in some fun activities and awards. Mr. Holys said Lost Creek’s PTO is a very active and engaged group, they have organized many events to support Lost Creek families.  Student Council is very active with monthly meetings, sucker sales, Red Ribbon Week, caroling, the holiday food drive and Pennies for Patients Drive. Mr. Holys described how High Reliability Schools Level 2 - Effective Teaching in Every Classroom is achieved.  The four questions of PLC’s are used as a guide, "Data Into Action" and the use of staff surveys. HRS Level 3-Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum has been achieved with the proficiency scales and learning goals. He said teachers have done a great job educating parents on how it works and understanding the report cards. 

Discussion:  Nominations for Board of Education President included Doug Willoughby.

Discussion:  Nominations for Board of Education Vice President included Mike Jeffryes.

Discussion: 

Mr. Willoughby, new Board President asked the Board to look over the committee assignments and decide if changes needed to be made. One committee name was incorrect, it was changed. 

Discussion: 

Troy Loeffelholz, Superintendent said four firms turned in RFPs, three will be interviewed. He said the committee will be committed to looking for who's going to build that relationship. Board Member Mark Brown said the committee wants to find someone that can see the scope of the projects, it is a broad situation, a large scope. It may be many different projects. Questions regarding the handling of leadership of more than one project.

Discussion:  Chip Kay, Director of Finance and Human Resources said all the banks listed are institutions CPS uses.

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz said CPS has used all four of the firms listed. Grant has not been used recently. Perry Law is used for negotiations, array, legal purchasing, and policy work. KSB is used for personnel, Title IX training, Special Education questions.

Discussion: 

These are the media outlets used for news releases and school closings.

Discussion:  Board will vote next meeting.

Discussion:  Dr. Kay handles employees and Mr. Kwapnioski handles student complaints. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz led the discussion on enrollment numbers for option enrollment, and shared deadline dates on the application. He shared information about kindergarten option applications and the procedure used. He said the reason we review annually is to change the numbers for each grade level. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz said this policy needed to be updated for the accreditation visit. This reflects the information that was passed before but did not reflect in the policy. A few years ago the statements had been reduced to 3. Some language was changed because it was redundant.

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz presented the 2023-24 school calendar, he said it is not a lot different from this year's calendar. He noted the end of quarter is later than normal.  PT conferences were changed to accommodate staff getting to different buildings for their own children’s conferences. There are 84 student days each semester and 188 teachers contact days shown. Dr. Loeffelholz said there is a flex day built in for any summer hours worked. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay gave some information on the financial reports. He said the end of December General Fund balance is relatively low.  It is anticipated it would catch up, we had not received any of the federal reimbursements yet. Dr. Kay said there is enough to cover payroll. The M3 report is where you will see the anticipated revenue from approved reimbursements such as Title 1, Title 2A and the CARES Act reimbursement. M3-Anticipating for reimbursements. Title 1, Title 2A. 2 million in CARES Act reimbursement. The M4 Report is showing the annual lease payment for the buses. There is a payment to Rutt's Heating and Air, this is Esser III money for work to upgrade HVAC across the district. 

Discussion: 

Dave Hiebner, CHS Principal, hired a Science teacher for next school year, who is an alumnus. There was discussion on the UNK transition program, Mr. Hiebner said the program has been very positive for CPS. 

Discussion: 

Discussion on criminal history checks. Dr. Kay said we use One Source for background checks because they check across states for child registry data.

Discussion: 

Dr. Leoffelholz said there was not much travel in December.

 

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said the CPS Foundation report shows $43,641.95 for the month and $386,067.35 for the year. This is the end of the year report.

Discussion: 

Teresa Hausmann, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment shared information regarding the accreditation visit by Cognia. She said it is a very detailed process. She said there needs to be a big emphasis to provide time for the building leaders to coach teachers. She noted the low area on the surveys were cultural competencies, she said this needs to be addressed. She said CPS has fewer EL students reaching proficiency, this will need to be restructured. Mrs. Hausmann spoke about AQuESTT classifications. She mentioned the district wide meeting on chronic absenteeism. Dr. Loeffelholz included the percentage of days, the plan to engage parents more, find the gaps. He noted that better monitoring is needed which may include a full time attendance monitor.

Other CIA Updates included information about Domain 2 training. Mrs. Hausmann said he wants the Board to have all the information and know that board members may be interviewed via ZOOM for the accreditation. She also gave kudos to Julie Kreikemeier for her work leading the math vertical alignment committee. 

Discussion:  Dr. Kay said there were no changes to the policy.

Discussion: 

Leonard Kwapnioski, Director of Building/Sites and Technology talked about the work that needs to be done. Site clean up is needed to get the state permit.  There will be an asbestos check before the permit will be allowed. He said there is no road into the property.  The only thing to be left is the garage and the well. Mr. Kwapnioski said there are two wells on the property. There are two parts of this project; to remove the house, barn, and tires, then create a driveway.  The bid submitted is to remove trees, burn and then clean up from the burning.  Dr. Kay said he is researching funding for the project. 

 

Discussion:  Mr. Kwapnioski shared more information regarding the 3rd Avenue property, he said there are wetlands throughout the property, will need to get topographic reports in case bond issue moves forward we need to be prepared. He also talked about the HVAC project.

Discussion:  Jason Harris, Director of Student Services and Special Education said there are no changes to this policy. It does include information on who needs to be trained on the protocol for concussion awareness. 

Discussion:  Mr. Harris gave an update on reimbursements and new grants being worked on at this time.

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz talked about data from the facilities surveys.  Setting up a meeting with Clark and Enerson to make plans for the next community meeting. Community meetings will be scheduled every other week, keep community engagement, sharing the information. Dr. Loeffelholz said three projects have come to the top of the list. He reminded the board about the upcoming interviews and ranking the contractors. He said by the end of the week there will be a press release. 

Discussion:  Doug Willoughby, Board President reminded the group that is was National Law Enforcement Day and thanked Doug Molczyk for his service in law enforcement.  
There will be more board sharing at the next meeting.