June 15, 2015 at 5:30 PM - Work Session and Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Discussion:  The construction site tour was cancelled due to wet conditions.

Discussion:  Zach Smith from Hausmann Construction said that 90 percent of footings are done. The masons are 90 percent done on the first floor in the classroom sections. On June 29, Tucker is supposed to show up to do masonry work in the STEM area. Precast work will begin on June 22. At the end of July, the metal building for the auditorium will arrive. The plumbing work is done from sections H through C and the electricians are following after them. The well fields will start coming on July 6. Smith said towards the end of summer, there will be a lot more buildings going up. All the steel is up on the STEM area. The roof for the STEM will be started on June 29. Smith said they are pretty much on schedule even with the rain. There will be 270 wells at the site. Pat Phelan from DLR said one of the changes from the original plan is relocating the practice fields and softball fields to the southwest end of the site. Phelan said he has been working with Executive Director of Operations and Technology Leonard Kwapnioski and the City of Columbus on the trails and also some options on the track and field area. He said they are looking at a post tension concrete running track with either natural grass or field turf in the inside. Phelan said they have been consulting with Nemaha because they are doing the track, and they also do the field turf. If this is something the board decides they want to pursue, there will be bids taken. Phelan said the district could also decided to stay with an asphalt-based track. Phelan said he would like to present all the options to the board by July 7, so they can make a decision. He said there also have been some slight changes to the Media Center. Phelan said most of the changes are giving more space for a writing lab. Phelan said he will get the numbers back to see how much the change will cost. Phelan said DLR met with Eakes to talk about furnishing and selection of colors. He said he will work with Dr. Loeffelholz to put together a proposal and make sure it coordinates will the design. Dr. Loeffelholz said the only permanent bookcases in the library will be by the windows the others will be moveable to allow for more flexibility. He said they are also discussing adding three more feet in counter and cabinet space, which would cost an extra $60,000. Dr. Loeffelholz said Steel Case did a presentation on learning environments. He said the DLR representative can either do all the coordinating of future or can be just a consultant for a fee. Dr. Loeffelholz said no inventory has been done yet at either CMS or CHS. Furniture will take 6-12 weeks for it to arrive. The best time to order is after school starts. A person from Nemaha will come to the July meeting to discuss field turf. Dr. Loeffelholz said 41st Avenue is poured and paved but it hasn’t opened yet. Discoverer Drive is also poured through 38 Ave. Next they will pave Discoverer Drive to 33rd Avenue. By the end of July or August, the parking lots will start to be paved. Dr. Loeffelholz said he will plan a tour of the construction site for the July meeting. He said if the board wants to go out to the site before then to contract him and he will arrange it.

Discussion:  The board did not go into executive session and adjourned at 6:29 p.m.

Discussion:  Francis Kuehler read the mission statement.

Discussion:  No one spoke to the board.

Discussion:  There were no recognitions.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said there are procedures that must be followed before a leave without pay can be granted. He said the issue is making sure a suitable replacement can be found. This leave can be approved in July or August.

Discussion:  There will be a new school counselor who will be at either North Park or West Park. Dave Heibner was also named the new dean of students at high school. John Harger was hired to replace Guy Loop. Executive Director of Business Operations and Human Relations Dave Melick said the breakfast and lunch prices will not change for next year. He said the district received a letter saying the balance was too high, so some of the money will be used for the new kitchen at the high school.

Discussion:  The Board approved financial report 4b to Seipel Repair for $1,799.52.

Discussion:  CMS Assistant Principal Jordon Anderson said there were not many changes in this year’s student handbook. Sling bags are now being grouped with book bags and must be kept in the lockers because students were tripping over them in class. The school times did not change. Anderson said he is not sure how much staff will be needed for the 7 a.m. study hall, but there will be enough adult supervision for the number of kids. Dr. Loeffelholz said this is in response to a district wide problem. He said many kids are being dropped off at 7 a.m., and the school doors don’t open until much later. He asked Melick to check to see if one hour a day could be added to one para from each building. This para educator’s job would be to help monitor kids and make sure they are supervised.

Discussion:  Assistant Principal Jon Frey said one of the major changes was moving Friday\Saturday school. In the past, students had to attend a three-hour detention on Friday afterschool or Saturday morning. Frey said the school wasn’t getting good results, so a change was needed. He saidassistant principal Angela Leiffeld and he decided to move the days to Tuesday and Thursday and change the time to two hours instead of three. Frey said the hope is students will get more quality time. This is a day students would normally do homework anyway and staff may still be in the building to provide help if needed. Frey said a lot of kids also have to work Friday night and Saturday. He said a benefit for the teacher is students will have a more academic study time. He said the focus is more on RTI and more academic centered rather than punitive. Frey said another change is adding a section on technology since the district has gone to a one-to-one with computers. All students will be required to have a digital drivers license to use any machine in the building. On student dances, a lower age had to be added to the handbook. Middle school students cannot attend high school dances.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said this change will give the board more flexibility with meetings either on the second or third Monday of the month. He said the preference will be the third Monday of the month.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said this give library staff the right to dispose of old items.

Discussion:  The Board accepted $14,325.54 in gifts and donations from the CPS Foundation, Emerson PTO, CHS Sports Booster, Centennial PAC, Lost Creek PTO, North Park PTO, West Park PTO and CMS PAC.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said this is a rebid with the first time only two bids received. Dr. Loeffelholz said the first time the bids were over budget by $308,000. The total budget for this piece is $1,153,654. This time the lowest bid was Hausmann Construction for $1,250,000, which was still about $96,000 over budget. Board Member Ken Curry wanted to be sure Platte Valley Precasting was given the same level of detail as Hausmann. He said he would support the bid as long as Platte Valley and Hausmann had the same information. Dr. Loeffelholz said Hausmann must turn in their bids 24 hours in advance of the others. Alan Dostal said if Platte Valley didn't have same information they did not request it. Curry said being the construction manager puts a person in a position where everything he or she does should be questioned. The geo thermal well field bid will go to Mid American Pump for $499,821, which is about $99,000 over budget.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said from Sunday-Wednesday, Bob Hausmann, Jon Frey, Candy Becher and he will take 26 staff members to a PLC conference in Minneapolis. He said next month there will be several policies regarding naming classrooms and buildings that will be discussed. He said there needs to be a policy in place in case the districts opts to sell the right to adopt or name a room. He also gave the book Habitudes to the board. Next month work will begin on finding a board replacement. Francis Kuehler will be resigning as of August 1 and his resignation must be accepted at the July meeting. He said the board wants to accept applications and interview candidates. The board set up dates August 3 and August 5 if needed to interview the candidates. The interviews must be done in open meetings.

Discussion:  Ken Curry said he just wants to make sure Hausmann and the other companies are getting the same information. He said he wants this checked into. Theresa Seipel said she is glad it is summer and hopes everyone gets a chance to breath. Mike Goos thanked Dr. Loeffelholz for giving the board the book the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. He said this will be a good professional development piece. Goos also said he hopes everyone has an awesome summer.