April 10, 2017 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting
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I. Call Meeting to Order
Rationale:
STRIVE • COMMIT • SUCCEED - District Mission Statement Notice of this meeting was given in advance according to State Law 84-1411, by giving notice of the meeting to the public. Notice of this meeting was also given in advance to all members of the Board of Education
Discussion:
Meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by President Brabec. Other present were Pricipals Grammer, Comley, Kovar, Kasik and Zavadil; Superintendent Hoesing, Curriculum Director Gibbons and SPED Director Vrba. This meeting was advertised to the public and members of the school board. The SCS Mission Statement was read and the meeting was declared to be in open session.
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I.A. Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion:
All those present participated in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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I.B. Declaration of Open Meeting
Rationale:
This meeting has been preceded by advance notice and is hereby declared to be in open session. A copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted in the hallway outside the Media Center.
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II. Approval of Consent Agenda
Rationale:
Discuss, Consider and Take Action on the consent agenda
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve the consent agenda Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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II.A. Agenda
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II.B. Minutes
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II.C. Acceptance of Claims
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II.C.1. Bills of $5,000 or more
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II.D. Financial
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II.E. Other Listed Reports
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III. Public Forum - We ask that all presentation be limited in their length.
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III.A. Recognition of visitors and guests
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III.B. Other topics (limited to 5 minutes - subject to guidelines of the Board Participation Policy)
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III.C. Student Representative's Report
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IV. Action Items
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IV.A. Budget, finance, negotiations, and personnel
Rationale:
This committee is responsible for budget, finance, and contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff, and support staff.
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IV.A.1. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve a Resolution Supporting the Principles of Nebraskans United for Property Tax Reform
Rationale:
Resolution Supporting Nebraskans United for Property Tax Reform WHEREAS, education reduces poverty, boosts economic growth, increases income, and is one of the most important investments a state can make in its citizens and future and; WHEREAS, Nebraska ranks 49th among all states in the percentage of K-12 funding that comes from state resources (Nebraska K-12 schools receive only 33 percent of their funding from state sources while the national average is 47 percent) and; WHEREAS, more than 60 percent of all property taxes collected in the state of Nebraska are utilized for the funding of K-12 education and; WHEREAS, Nebraska’s reliance on property taxes for funding K-12 schools is considerably higher than that of the national average (49 percent of Nebraska K-12 funding comes from local property taxes while the national average is 29 percent) and; WHEREAS, Nebraskans pay the seventh highest property tax rate in the nation and; WHEREAS, Nebraska has become far too reliant on property taxes to fund government services, including K-12 education and; WHEREAS, Nebraska’s three-legged tax stool is woefully out of balance, with property taxes accounting for 48 percent of the total combined collections of property, state sales, and state income taxes, used for the funding of education and government services and; WHEREAS, Nebraskans deserve a tax system that is fair and balanced and one which reduces the overall property tax burden on its citizens, be it therefore RESOLVED, that Schuyler Community Schools supports the principles of Nebraskans United for Property Tax Reform and Education stating that 1. Adequate and sustainable funding of high quality education is imperative for the future of Nebraska. 2. Tax reform which reduces the over-reliance on local property taxes is necessary to ensure our tax system is fair to all Nebraska taxpayers. RESOLVED FURTHER, the Nebraska Legislature and the Governor take action during the 2017 legislative session to reduce property taxes and better balance Nebraska’s tax system.
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve a Resolution Supporting the Principles of Nebraskans United for Property Tax Reform Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
Dr. Hoesing attended a meeting in Lincoln regarding a resolution supporting Property Tax Reform and its impact on the formula for the funding of public schools. He said that at this time there is no effort in the legislature for an equalization of property tax; there is more effort being placed on balancing the state's budget.
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IV.A.2. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve staff resignations
Rationale:
1. Jacquelyn Cech: Preschool Special Education Teacher 2. Jackelin Chavez: High Needs Special Education Para Educator 3. Nellie Muehlich: Middle School Food Service Kitchen Manager 4. Ethan Hutton: High School Science 5. Nancy Tellez: Sixpence (Home Services Provider)
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve Jacquelyn Cech and Jackelin Chavez, Ethan Hutton, Nancy Tellez, and Nellie Muehlich's resignations and thank them for their service to the district. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
SCS has received the resignations of the following staff members: Jacquelyn Cech: Preschool Special Education Teacher; Jackelin Chavez: High Needs Special Education Para Educator; Nellie Muehlich: Middle School Food Service Kitchen Manager, who is retiring; Ethan Hutton: High School Science, and Nancy Tellez: Sixpence (Home Services Provider.)
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IV.A.3. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve new hire recommendations
Rationale:
1. Ben Coatney: 7-12 Music Teacher 2. Morgan Semerad: 5-12 Music Teacher 3. Kadeyn Johnson: Middle School Physical Education Teacher 4. Daniel Wolken: High School Social Studies Teacher 5. Scott Anderson: High School Industrial Technology Teacher 6. Brianne Mize: Elementary Special Education Teacher 7. Alicia Keairnes: Elementary Education Teacher 8. Kelly McClintic: Elementary/Secondary substitute 9. Ashlie Kluck: High School Special Education Teacher 10. Alexis Bruha: Early Childhood Sped Support Staff New Hires 1. Rogelio Arroyo: SES Head Maintenance/Custodial 2. Miguel Millan: SES Maintenance/Custodial 3. Sonia Coria: SES Housekeeper/Custodial 4. Elizabeth Puente Jasso: High Needs Para Educator(Head Start) 5: Annette Sanchez: Sixpence (Home Services Provider)
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve new hire recommendations as presented. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
Discussion:
The following staff have been hired for the 17-18 school year: Ben Coatney: 7-12 Music Teacher; Morgan Semerad: 5-12 MusicTteacher; Kadeyn Johnson: Middle School Physical Education Teacher; Daniel Wolken: High School Social Studies Teacher; Scott Anderson: High School Industrial Technology Teacher; Brianne Mize: Elementary Special Education Teacher; Alicia Keairnes: Elementary Education Teacher; Kelly McClintic: Elementary/Secondary substitute; Ashlie Kluck: High School Special Education Teacher, and Alexi Bruha: Early Childhood SPED and Support Staff Rogelio Arroyo: SES Head Maintenance/Custodial; Miguel Millan: SES Maintenance/Custodial; Sonia Coria: SES Housekeeper/Custodial; Elizabeth Puente Jasso: High Needs Para Educator(Head Start); and Annette Sanchez: Sixpence (Home Services Provider.) |
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IV.A.4. Consider, discuss, and take action to approve administrative recommendation of 2017-18 Certificated Teacher Contracts.
Rationale:
See attached list of teachers for 2017-18
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to approve 2017-18 teacher contracts as presented. Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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V. Discussion Items and Reports
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V.A. Set board committee meeting dates and times.
Rationale:
We will want to set spring board committee meeting dates to accommodate the upcoming board considerations. 1. Americanism, Instruction, Assessment: Review recommendations on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. 2. Board Policy, Handbooks, Support Programs: Review handbook changes and discuss possible support program recommendations. 3. Governance, PR, Technology, Planning: Review program changes and recommendations for 2017-18. 4. Building, Grounds, Transportation: Pre-construction meeting 4/11/17 @ 3:00 PM. Review summer project recommendations and vehicle replacement recommendations. 5. Budget and Finance: Discuss 2016-17 budget and possible spending authority changes. Preliminary discussion of 2017-18 budget considerations.
Discussion:
A date and time will soon be set for a groundbreaking at SCHS for the new classroom addition. A pre-construction meeting for this project will be held on April 11 at 3:00 PM.
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V.B. Principals Reports
Rationale:
Preschool and 3-6 Principal's Report: Mr. Comley Observations are complete and things went great! Really proud of the teachers we have at Preschool, Headstart and SES. All but 1 teaching position has been filled at preschool/SES for next year. Made it through the winter! Traffic is moving smoothly. K-123 1st- 131 2nd- 156 3rd- 130
4th- 119 5th- 128 Total- 787 Preschool- 106
SES K-2 Principal's Report: Mr. Kovar As we near the halfway point of the 4th quarter, we begin to reflect on the year's accomplishments and near accomplishments. I am very proud of our staff and students for what they have achieved this year, both personally and professionally. I have seen teachers grow, and that is a very good feeling, but I know there is always room for improvement. I am excited for our APL refresher course, so that teachers are reminded of helpful ideas and strategies. Field trips will begin soon, and students can explore some real world activities. Field Day is also approaching, which is a great event at the Elementary. It won't be long, and we will be saying goodbye for the summer. Oh how time flies! Middle School Assistant Principal's Report: Mr. Zavadil -The month of April is a busy one with our teachers receiving training in Mental Health first aid as well as APL classroom strategies. On the 12th and 13th of April -The middle School staff is set to attend NETA technology conference on April 20th and 21st -NeSA testing is underway, and Mrs. Kment has been doing a great job of spearheading the task, students have been taking their time and scoring well for SCS -We are actively looking at student transitions to the HS as well as the 5th grade students’ transition to this building with the 6th grade and 9th grade orientation day scheduled for the 1st of May Middle School Principal's Report: Mrs. Burton SMS Enrollment: 6th Grade: 143 7th Grade: 122 8th Grade: 129 Total Enrollment: 394 We have had a successful hiring process at SMS this spring. We have worked collaboratively with the other administrators to build a skilled team for the 2017-18 school year. New or reassigned teachers at SMS, pending board approval, are: Jill Domina, 8th Grade Language Arts, Kadeyn Johnson, 6-8 Physical Education, and Ben Coatney and Morgan Semerad, SCS Music. We have continued to work with staff, under the direction of Mr. Gibbons, on the building of rigorous proficiency scales. Achievement in reading and math has continued to rise at SMS, but we would like to see a higher level of growth each year. The teachers at SMS have went to training in the summer, as well as put in quite a bit of off-the-clock work into developing these scales. I am proud of their work ethic and the responsibility! By this meeting, we will of had our final School Improvement Grant (SIG) Visit from the Nebraska Department of Education. While the grant window is not closed as of yet, this visit will continue to highlight the good work being done at SMS! The SIG grant has provided a wealth of opportunity for our school and community, and we will continue to focus on efforts to carry on further growth once the grant concludes. High School Assistant Principal's Report: Mr. Kasik
High School Principal's Report: Mr. Grammer Brief overview of what has happened at Schuyler Central High School for the months of March & April:
Guadalupe Rodriguez, a Junior at SCHS, was selected as the March Visual Arts Student of the Month. She was nominated by Mr. Trotter for her hard work and dedication in the Art rom. After high school she wants to pursue a degree in art therapy. Congratulations for your diligence in the area of visual arts.
We have hired five new staff at the high school. Ms. Morgan Semerad will be teaching band and vocal in the district; Ben Coatney will be teaching band and vocal in the district; Belarmino Chavez will be teaching Spanish; Dan Wolken will be teaching Social Studies; and Scott Anderson will be teaching in the Industrial Arts area. I would like to welcome our new staff and look forward to working with them as they work with our students. • We will be finishing up our spring formal observations. We are seeing many benefits to the classroom coaching, provided by Discovery Ed, in our classes. From first semester to second semester our staff have shown improvement of instruction in our classes. Our staff are demonstrating growth and improvement of their instruction. At SCHS, teachers have begun implementing and using the John Baylor ACT PREP in our classrooms and during Focus time. We are also still using the John Baylor ACT Prep program for all of our students who want to sign up for after school on Fridays. We are preparing our Juniors for the ACT test on April 19th.
Congratulations to the girls and boys soccer and track teams for starting off with your beginning meets and games. Our spring sports teams have been extremely competitive and represented SCHS in the best possible ways.
SCHS enrollment as of April 4th: Seniors – 117; Juniors – 121; Sophomores – 147 Freshman – 155 = 540 total
Discussion:
All teacher vacancies at SES for the 17-18 school year have been filled. Staff from SMS will attend the NETA Conference on April 20 and 21. May 1 will be a transition day when 5th graders will tour SMS and 8th graders will tour SCHS. Vacancies for SCHS teachers for the 17-18 school year are close to being finished. April 19 all juniors at SCHS will take the ACT test.
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V.C. Directors Reports
Rationale:
K-6 Youth Activities Program Report: Mr. Kovar As I reflect on my first year as Youth Sports Director, I focus on the positives. Youth volleyball, flag football, and basketball were all new programs that started this year. We are laying a foundation to improve these sports, and fill in a gap that has been missing. We hope to achieve the same level of success that our youth wrestling and soccer programs already have. We will work hard to give our kids the best experience possible. Middle School Activities Director's Report: Mr. Zavadil -Inventory and requisitions of athletic supplies is underway with the process to be completed by May 1st -All JH Head coaching positions have been filled with very good candidates and they have already hit the ground running -Planning for the Middle School Track invitational is underway. The meet is @ 10:00 am on Monday the 24th of April -We are really excited for our coaches training that is happening April 12, all of our coaches and sponsors are going to receive training in athletic program management from APL and we believe having a common training will be beneficial to our coaches. -We are making a change to how we are going to ImPact test our athletes at the middle school and are preparing to do that testing early in May so there is less of a rush at the beginning of the Fall athletic seasons High School Athletic/Activity Director's Report: Mr. Kasik
Director of Special Education Program Report: Mrs. Vrba These last few weeks have been extremely busy time with activities, such as: 1. testing students so he/she can start the 2017-2018 school year ready to learn and achieve. 2. helping Bill interview candidates for Jacki's position, the Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator. 3. brainstorming how to best serve our students by working on the SAT process (Yes again!), assigning case managers to fit the needs of our students, and building intervention times to give struggling learners a boost. 4. helping my team of administrators by covering IEPs and attending lots of IFSPs. (It is officially crunch time which means a lot of meetings...the end of the school year is right around the corner!) 5. working with Darus, ESU #7 Special Education Director, to build a plan for a smooth transition of having our own school psychologist, Mike Goos, to having an ESU #7 school psychologist. Everybody has their own ways of doing things. 6. I have been working with a young man at the Middle School level complete his core studies along with working to transition back into the building/classroom setting.
Curriculum – We have been making decisions on purchases so that process is moving right along. We will use parts of the April 12 and 13 PD time for teachers to have the opportunity to work on curriculum, specifically performance scales. Assessment - The NeSA testing is well under way. It seems to be running smoothly. Here is a reminder of the tests that we will need to complete this spring:
After School Program - Each year we have a goal for the number of students we need to have. We are closer to those goals than we have ever been. At the Middle School we have had 40 students that have come more than 30 days. The “Oh Yarn” club is making baby hats that they are donating to Schuyler Hospital and the “You” club made wood paintings for Schuyler Middle and Schuyler Elementary School. Schuyler Elementary School has 211 students that have met their 30 day requirement. 4H has donated a STEM trailer for the last quarter of school. It has STEM related supplies that they can use. The Touching Kids Hearts fun run will be held April 28. Registration forms went home with students and they are supposed to be available at Didiers, Anytime Fitness, the Fieldhouse and the Library. Summer School - Summer camp apps are rolling in. Middle School Newcomers - 5/19 to 6/6/2017 Migrant Summer School (Run by ESU 7 in SMS) - 6/12/ to 6/30/2017 High School Credit Recovery and Courses - 6/5/2017 to 6/29/2017 21st Century Middle School - 6/5 to 6/23/2017 21st Century Elementary - 6/5/ to 6/23/2017 Warrior SMS STEM Camp - 7/5 to 7/21/2017 Elementary STEM/Reading/ELL - 7/5 to 7/21/2017
Discussion:
Youth sports at the Field House have been completed for the year. Sports coaches are encouraged to complete requisitions for next year. Impact testing will be done in the spring for 7th graders and a date for 17-18 sports physicals is being finalized. The SCS Booster Club has donated recent purchases worth $10,000.
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V.D. Superintendent's Report
Rationale:
1. Graduation is scheduled for Sunday, May 14th at 2:00 PM
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V.E. Board Member/Committee Reports
Rationale:
SCHUYLER COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION MEETING 04/03/2017 @ 12:00- 1:00 pm SCHUYLER MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE ROOM Membership: Lumir Jedlicka-Treasurer, Brian Vavricek- President, Virginia Semerad- Secretary, Joyce Baumert, Sandy Seckman- Vice President, Victor Lopez, and Dan Hoesing Guests: Chamber Executive Director Kem Cavanah – Economic Development Coordinator Shelley Friesz –shelley.friesz@schuylercommunityschools.org – 402-352-3527 Ext 216 Foundation Assistant Sheri Balak – sheribalak@gmail.com – Alumni Honors consultant Vision: “Schuyler Community Schools Foundation: Supporting and Celebrating Success” Mission Statement: “Schuyler Community Schools Foundation will support and celebrate Schuyler Community Schools Students, Staff and Alumni.” Goals: 1. Supporting scholarships for SCHS graduates 2. Supporting curriculum advancements 3. Supporting capital improvements 4. Supporting collaboration with community and alumni 5. Celebrating outstanding student achievement and service 6. Celebrating outstanding staff achievement and service 7. Celebrating outstanding alumni achievement and services Secretary Report/Minutes – Review and Approve (refer minutes emailed by Shelley Friesz – March 2017) Treasurer’s Report – See attached report Committee Reports: · Labor Day: Brian, Victor, Virginia & Sandy · Scholarship: Sandy, Lumir · Education: Lumir & Brian · PR/ Communications: Dan, Sandy, Sheri & Virginia · Alumni Honors Committee- Joyce & Sheri · Fundraising- Sandy & Holly · School Facilities- Dan, Joyce & Holly Next Meeting is May 1, 2017 @ noon at the Schuyler Middle School Conference
Discussion:
The SCS Foundation is considering five nominees for the 2017 Distinguished Alumni presentation. |
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VI. Correspondence Items
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VII. Adjournment
Recommended Motion(s):
Motion to adjourn Passed with a motion by Board Member #1 and a second by Board Member #2.
Action(s):
No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.
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