August 12, 2024 at 5:30 PM - Regular Meeting

Discussion: 

Congratulations to Adam Whitmore on being chosen to receive the Golden Apple Award.

Discussion: 

Ben Loeffelholz and Adam Whitmore SkillsUSA sponsors introduced the National Championship SkillsUSA team Fisher Cyza and Nykolys Rutten. Mr. Loeffelholz said the competition was fun to watch, this is a special team. Fisher is a 2 time national champ. Nykolys is the president this year. 

Discussion: 

Chip Kay, Superintendent, shared the building presentations criteria, he will share the slide deck. Building presentations will share learning and events that support the strategic plan. 

Discussion: 

Jason Schapmann, Director of Human Resources and Fiscal Support, shared information regarding cash balances, revenue and expenses. He said they are still tracking down money from the double payroll payments that went out in July. This glitch was caused by the Crowdstrike outage and global software single point failure. The federal ESSER money has been closed out. The expense report shows payments for software updates to prepare for the start of school. 

Discussion: 

There was one certified hire, an online case manager for special education.

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay presented the travel report. Administrator Days was well attended and very positive for our staff. Nicole and Jordon Anderson attended the NSPRA Conference in Seattle.

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said that the CPS Foundation gave out teachers welcome bags for the first day of school paid for by a grant. The report shows a lot of funds for scholarships that go out during the summer. $366,258.11 for the year; $37,895.96 for the month.

He said things will pick up at the beginning of the school year. 

Discussion: 

Teresa Hausmann, Director of Teaching and Learning shared a document showing all the work that took place last year.  She also shared the list that they will be focusing on for 2024-2025 along with goals for the year. 

Discussion: 

Jason Harris, Director of Special Education gave an update. All of the positions have been filled for this year. This includes some contracted hybrid, in-person and online hires. He said there will be another push mid-year to hire more staff.

Discussion: 

Jason Schapmann, Director of Human Resources and Fiscal Support talked about projects he and his staff have been engaged in, including hiring people, acquiring certifications for teachers, the CPS Health Fair, the new benefits platform and the Time and Attendance system for classified staff.

Discussion:  Leonard Kwapnioski, Director of Operations updated on the  CASSETTE House project. He said they are working through the HVAC issues and CHS. He is also working to get the problem with the Nantkes auditorium worked out.

Discussion: 

Mr. Kwapnioski discussed selling the old CASSETTE House. He has consulted with the attorney for the best process for CPS. Mr. Kwapnioski is asking the board for permission to start the process to sell this property.

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said arrangement will be made to attend the September 25th Regional Meeting in Fremont. He said three board members will be receiving awards for attending events. 

The SROs will bel starting tomorrow. He had a meeting with the officers to discuss the expectations for all parties. Dr. Kay has requested they be out at all school sites and building relationships with staff and students. 

Dr. Kay said CPS attended the Back to School Bash and the National Night Out. He would like to look at getting a pop up tent or something similar for events.

Discussion: 

Projected budget information was shared by Dr. Kay. 

General Fund 2.9% increase over 23-24. He is recommending that the BOE exercise its ability to access the full amount of property taxing authority under the current property tax cap. LB243 calculated state aid to go up dollar for dollar.

Discussion:  The board discussed the documents showing actual amounts as opposed to "varies".

Discussion: 

Dr, Kay shared information about the strategic plan. There was discussion regarding the presentation and things that will be cleaned up. Dr. Kay said this he is please with the plan, he is requesting the board support the four pillars; students, facilities, staff, and community. He said the document  is about 110 pages. Once it is approved, we will be tracking what is being done to accomplish the plans.

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said there will be a request to adopt a resolution in September for this funding. There will be a listing of what the funds would be used for if approved. He reminded the group that these funds can’t be used for any other projects. We would make a bond payment with extra or give it back. 

Discussion: 

The only items changed in the Certified Handbook were things that align with the strategic plan. 
CASA leave for those people to be able to attend meetings or court to advocate for those children. Dr. Kay said that Grand Island is also adopting this leave. Changes and additions to  titles are included. Staff report and leave times were added. The continuing education credits (CEU) was addressed. 

Discussion: 

Classified Handbook changes and additions included the use of Thrillshare instead of Remind for district notifications. An explanation of the Time and Attendance software. The district now offers ten paid holidays. Leave without pay was clarified along with the first two weeks of school and vacation use during this time. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay clarified the retainment process at CPS. 

Discussion: 

The statute has changed for option enrollment. Dr. Kay is proposing a change in the high school capacity. The numbers listed in the policy are to cap options students in order to take care of our local students. 

Discussion: 

This policy was also changed by statute. 

Discussion:  Mr. Kwapnioski said he wanted to check on the appointed board members before adding them to the list.

Discussion:  The changes that were discussed at the last meeting were reviewed and approved.

Discussion:  The meeting was adjourned at 9:11pm.