August 12, 2024 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Public Participation at Board of Education Meetings:

BOE Policy/Regulation #2009 outlines the parameters of public participation at Board meetings concerning items on the agenda as well as those not on the agenda.  A copy of this policy is available in the Superintendent’s office and at each monthly Board meeting.

Rationale:  The business manager will present the requested expenses to the Superintendent to obtain approval prior to printing the expense checks throughout each week as needed.  The business manager will then compile the monthly Activity Fund expense transactions into a report. The report will be included within the claims section of the school board meeting agenda each month.

Rationale:  We are excited about doing a culture assessment through Psychometric Solutions that will engage our staff in making plans to celebrate those things that we do well and creating action plans designed to address the areas targeted for improvement.  I have attached the proposal that was submitted for consideration and will ask for your approval to proceed.

Rationale:  Attached is a summary of information for us to consider regarding the budget we want to put before the public in September.  We will thoroughly discuss all aspects of the report but the highliths include:

*. Total Levy DROP of 0.039057. 23-24 levy was 0.932303 and the 24-25 total levy I have calculated at 0.893246.
*. Special Building Fund levy increase from .070058 in 23-24 to 0.131270, an increase that almost doubles the amount we can put into Special Building.
*. General Bund Budget increase of 3% (what we were targeting)
*. Overall Budget increase of 9% (due to the increase in the Special Building Fund)

I know that you will have lots of questions about how this can actually happen where we are decreasing the levy, but the simple answer comes from the fact that in the last 2 years our tax asking for the General Fund as continued to increase while in addition our State Aid increased by around $500,000 each year as well.

I thoroughly picked the brains of the Finance folks at NDE and they are in agreement that while we are collecting much less than our tax asking authority allows for, the budget we will be proposing makes sense.

Rationale:  I'm sure that you have been following the progress of the Unicameral to address the Governor's mission of lowering property taxes.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I will attach a summary of LB 9, which is a compromise bill submitted that looks like has the most traction to get the required votes, late on Friday after the hearings are finished before the weekend.

Rationale:  Our current camera system server has aged.  The upgrade will allow our system to function smoothly, better and bring the system up-to-date with today's technology security recommendations.  In turn, this will create a more safe and secure environment for the school for many years.
The total of all recommended estimates is $33,002.  We will be using our allotted $20,582 REAP grant funding for this upgrade expense.  The remaining approximate $12,420 will be expensed out of the General Fund.

Rationale:  I have invited Steve to come and report on those projects we have been working on over the summer and answer any questions that you might have regarding maintenance of our buildings.
 

Rationale:  I have invited Stacy to come and give an update on our transportation plans for the upcoming school year.  We have both been in contact with bus vendors regarding purchases of a mini-bus.  We probably need to schedule a Transportation Committee meeting if we want to purchase a bus.  I visited with the vendors at Administrator's Days and no one has anything sitting on their lot in the way of a mini-bus, so we would be looking for a May-June delivery on anything we wanted to buy.

Rationale:  Sounds like Franklin has conducted a Special Meeting at the end of August to clean up any late invoices or other items that could need attention.  Do you wish to continue that concept?  August 26 is the last Monday in August.