February 11, 2019 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

STRIVE  -  COMMIT  -  SUCCEED  -  District Mission Statement

Schuyler Community Schools in partnership with parents, students, and the community is committed to educate students to become skilled, knowledgeable and responsible citizens in a global society - District Vision 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

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 back of the meeting room.

Nebraska Open Meetings Act:  http://nitc.nebraska.gov/documents/statutes/NebraskaOpenMeetingsAct_current.pdf

Rationale:  Discuss, Consider and Take Action on the consent agenda

Rationale: 
Student Representative Report:

• John Baylor visited the junior class and talked about the 19 grammar rules
• Project S has finally decided on a date for their annual Team Building Day which is Saturday March 23rd
• Up until the month of April, students will be taking ACT prep classes, allowing seniors an early out

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for recommending the annual district calendar, strategic planning process, technology, and promoting positive public relations and communications program.

Rationale: 
Board Member Selection Process:
1.  Applications from two candidates will be submitted to each board member in a sealed envelope.
2.  Board members will read the applications
3.  The board president may ask for discussion
4.  The board president will call for each member to identify their selection
5.  Motion and a second to appoint the candidate of choice
6.  Roll call vote to approve the nomination
7.  New board member will be contacted and sworn in at the March 11th meeting.
* The procedure outlined above is at the recommendation of the board's legal council. This ensures that all action on this appointment was made in a public setting and in compliance with the circumstances outlined below.

Creating a Vacancy on the Board.  Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-560 sets forth ten circumstances that cause a vacancy in an elective office.  It states:

Every elective office shall be vacant, except as provided in section 32-561, upon the happening of any one of the following events at any time before the expiration of the term of such office:
(1) Resignation of the incumbent;
(2) Death of the incumbent;
(3) Removal of the incumbent from office;
(4) Decision of a competent tribunal declaring the office of the incumbent vacant;
(5) Incumbent ceasing to be a resident of the state, district, county, township, or precinct in which the duties of his or her office are to be exercised or for which he or she may have been elected;
(6) Failure to elect at an election when there is no incumbent to continue in office until his or her successor is elected and qualified;
(7) The candidate who received the highest number of votes is ineligible, disqualified, deceased, or for any other reason unable to assume the office for which he or she was a candidate;
(8)  Forfeiture of office as provided by law;
(9) Conviction of a felony or of any public offense involving the violation of the oath of office of the incumbent; or
(10) Incumbent of a high elective office assuming another elective office as provided in subsections (2) through (4) of section 32-604.
         Section 32-561 Is Not Applicable.  Section 32-561 deals with the acceptance of a commission to any military or naval office or the enlistment in or induction in the military or naval service of the United States that may require an incumbent in an elective office, except the office of a member of the Legislature, to exercise military or naval duties within or without the state for a period time within the term for which such person has been elected or appointed.
         Manner of Selecting a New Member.  The statutes governing the replacement of board members give the board of education considerable discretion.  Essentially, the board may proceed in the manner that the board members think will be in the district's best interest.  Many boards of education solicit applications and then interview the applicants about their knowledge and interests in order to determine which of them would be the best addition to the board.
         Obligation to Appoint a New Member.  Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-570(3), governs class II, III, IV, V and VI school districts.  It requires the board of education to appoint a new board member to fill a board vacancy, and states:
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, a vacancy in the membership of a school board of a Class II, III, IV, V, or VI school district resulting from any cause other than the expiration of a term shall be temporarily filled by appointment of a qualified registered voter by the remaining members of the board.  A registered voter shall be nominated at the next primary election and elected at the following general election for the remainder of the unexpired term.  A registered voter appointed or elected pursuant to this subsection shall meet the same requirements as the member whose office is vacated.
         Though § 32-570(3) does not specify any particular time within which the board must fill the vacancy, § 32-570(5) provides for filling the vacancy at a special school district meeting or election if the board fails to fill the vacancy.  Though it does not apply to school districts, some guidance may be taken from § 32-567 which requires that vacancies in most other political subdivisions be filled within 45 days unless there is good cause to take longer or filling the vacancy within 45 days would pose an undue burden.
         Section 32-570(4) deals with school districts in which board candidates are not nominated at a primary election or elected at a general election.  Therefore, it is not relevant to this consideration.
         Length of Appointee's Term.  The newly appointed board members will serve until replacements can be nominated at the next primary election and elected at the general election.  Replacements can be nominated at the 2008 primary election and elected at the 2008 general election; thus, the appointees’ terms will end on the first Thursday after the first Tuesday in January, 2009.
         Public Meetings Law.  In filling a vacancy, the board must first determine the method for identifying candidates to be considered for appointment.  In this regard, be mindful that § 84-1410 of the Public Meetings Law prohibits the board from going into executive session to discuss this topic.  It states:
Nothing in this section shall permit a closed meeting for discussion of the appointment or election of a new member to a public body.

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for reviewing curriculum recommendations, textbook selection, requisitions/inventory, and instructional programs.

Rationale:  This is a contract renewal with Central Nebraska Rehabilitation Services for physical and occupational therapy services.  The rates are as approved by the Nebraska Department of Education for reimbursable services. 
          This year Central Nebraska Rehabilitation Services is offering a one and three year contract option.  The three-year contract is offered at a discount of $2.00 per hour below the state approved rate.  See attached information.

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for budget, finance, and contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff, and support staff.

Rationale:  Attached are the draft copies of the Contracts with Hausmann Construction , In. as construction manager at risk.  See the two attached documents:
1.  General Conditions of the Contract for Construction Agreement

2.  Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Construction Manager as Contractor (Basis of payment is Cost of the Work Plus a Fee with a Guaranteed Maximum Price)

We will get signed final copies prior to the meeting on Monday.
 

Rationale: 
1.  Scott Anderson:  ITE Teacher @ SCHS
2.  Rory Wendelin:  Social Studies Teacher @ SCHS
3.  Jan Kracl:  ELL Teacher @ SCHS (Retirement)
4.  Evie Sintek:  SES Teacher
5.  Briana Orellana:  SES Teacher

Rationale: 
1.  Jonelle Simon:  SES (Dual Language) Para Educator
2.  Susana Oliva:    SES Para Educator
3.  Jason Ankrah:  Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and Head Football Coach (2019-20)


 

Rationale: 
The board negotiations team met to review the administrative array comparability study and determine their recommendation for principal and director salaries for the 2019-20 school year.  See attached recommendation.

 

Rationale: 

Preschool and SES 3-5 Principal’s Report:  Mr. Comley

Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  Cristal Melgar is the administrative assistant at the preschool. Cristal not only does her regular duties at preschool she also helps with translating IEP's from other schools, coordinating registration at Preschool/Headstart, and going on home visits when needed by early childhood. Cristal does an outstanding job and really helps the preschool run smoothly. Thank you for the great job Cristal!

Rural Schools and Dual Language Program Director’s Report:  Ms. Bebout Program/Staff Member Highlight:  Deb Hartman is a paraeducator at Fisher’s Elementary School.  Deb gets to school early each morning and greets students as they come to school.  She works with the teachers in supporting them with their students in the classroom.  Deb also does many other duties in our school and is a vital staff member. It has been a joy to work with Deb the last two years!           Deb was born in Genoa, Nebraska.  She has lived in Columbus for the last 15 years.  She is married to Mark Hartman and has one daughter; her daughter Amanda graduated from Schuyler High School and is 24 years old.  Deb has worked at Fisher’s for 15 years! Thank you Deb for all of your hard work and dedication to the students in our district!

SMS Assistant Principal’s Report:  Mr. Zavadil Program Spotlight:  This month I want to recognize the work of our Middle School FCCLA program that is getting it’s start with the work of some outstanding students under our new FCS teacher Ms. Folda.  This is a great program that gives an opportunity to students outside of the athletic arena! Staff Member Spotlight:  Mr. Gutierrez, Middle School Industrial Tech Teacher.  Mr. Gutierrez has always gone above and beyond to be helpful with whatever is necessary.  He has helped with Saturday School, runs the School Improvement team meetings, drives bus, runs an afterschool program club, coaches multiple sports, and essentially will do whatever you ask.  He is an outstanding asset to Schuyler Community Schools! SMS Principal’s Report:  Mrs. Burton Staff Member Spotlight:  I have the pleasure of noting the teamwork of our SMS ELL Department, Angie Wemhoff and Evelyn Recinos.  Mrs. Recinos and Mrs. Wemhoff work to ensure a welcoming and rigorous atmosphere for all of our students newest to the country and/or the English language.  Throughout the month, the team will be working to ELPA test every one of our ELL students in addition to their regular duties.  Mrs. Wemhoff also serves as the SMS Student Council Representative, and Mrs. Recinos is a member of our School Improvement Team.  I am grateful for their care and effort toward our students and fellow staff members! Program Spotlight:  We have some good things to share with the district!  In the inaugural year of the SMS FCCLA Team, we have five 8th graders that have qualified for the Nebraska FCCLA Convention with their STAR projects!  Miss Folda and Mrs. Hoesing have done an excellent job preparing the teams to compete! Program Spotlight:  Mr. Ehmke has led the 8th Grade Band to qualify to play at the Nebraska State Capital at the beginning of March!  The band had to send in a recording in order to be considered for the spot.  This is an extremely high honor, as musical groups from across the state in both high school and middle school competed for the opportunity to perform. Notable Events:  We continue our work with Steve Harris from Discovery Education.  He continues to grow and sharpen practice with our secondary math team.  According to our STAR 360 tests, we have witnessed an increase in proficiency at all three grade levels.  We look forward to continuing growing ourselves so that we can grow students. SCHS Assistant Principal’s Report:  Mr. Kasik  Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  Jan Kracl is closing her 43rd year of education, all with SCHS.  She grew up in Wilsonville, NE.  She has been married to for over 27 years.  Mrs. Kracl is a staple in our ELL program and she has run our "S" club for a number of years while also lining up our Fred Arnold Track Invite workers. Mrs. Kracl will be retiring  this year and we appreciate all her work and dedication she has shown to this district over her educational career.    Mrs. Kracl says, "The best part of Schuyler is how everyone helps each other and works together-helping people when they need it.  Even though the population has changed dramatically since I moved here, people are still willing to help their neighbor through tough times." Topics to mention:  Our teachers and students are gearing up for the ACT as we recently had John Baylor help prep our students.

SCHS Principal’s Report:  Mr. Grammer Program Spotlight:  Our high school has for the past two years have been implementing a new program at the high school.  The new program, which we started last year is our guitar classes at Schuyler Central High School. In the guitar classes, students develop performance skills in relation to digitally producing a Newspaper. Mr. Bejamin Coatney  is the teacher for the new Guitar Classes at Schuyler Central High School. The purpose of developing this program was to give our students an option to take a music class and also exposure to different types of music.  This is the second year that we are running the class at the high school and it has been successful these past two years.  Every section and classes are all full and waiting list. Staff Member Recognition:  The staff member to be recognized for their work in the high school this year is Mr. Ben Coatney.  Mr. Coatney has been our Band Teacher, Boys Chorus, and Guitar teacher for the past two years in our district for the past two years and specifically, in the middle and high school.  He has taken on the challenge of starting a Guitar Class and developed a new curriculum for his guitar classes at the high school. Mr. Coatney has taken on the responsibility of developing a new class, as mentioned above, with energy and enthusiasm.  The students in this class develop performance skills.  He has helped to grow this program and bring fun to the classroom of SCHS.   Students are lucky to have him as a teacher and staff are lucky to have him as a colleague. Event Highlight:  For the third year in a row we have won more Scholastic Art Awards than Schuyler has ever won.  This year there were 21 awards given to 8 different students including- Chloe Beltrand- Gold Key in Ceramics Gabriela Castro- Gold Key in Sculpture Robert Fuentes- Silver Key Portfolio (8 Artworks shown as a collection) 2 Gold Keys, and 2 Honorable Mentions in Drawing Pammela Garcia- Gold Key Portfolio (8 Artworks shown as a collection),  4 Gold Keys, 1 American Visions Nomination, and 1 Honorable Mention Astrid Mejia- Silver Key Portfolio (8 Artworks shown as a collection), 1 Gold Key, 1 Silver Key, and 1 Honorable Mention in Drawing Amy Rocha- 1 Silver Key in Drawing Elder Romero- 1 Gold Key in Drawing           Mr. Trotter is developing an Art program that is growing and highlighting our students art skills.  Many of these awards lead to scholarship opportunities. The Statewide Awards Ceremony will be held March 2nd in Omaha.           We are continuing our work with the state priority team, UNL EL team, DE, and PBL through DE.           We have started the Bond information process by dispersing posters, brochures, business flyers, flyers being sent with the Schuyler utility invoices, informational meetings, and a video on the project.

Rationale: 

Rationale: 
Attachments: 
1.  2019 Legislative Session Bill Summary
2.  2019 Federal Legislation Report

Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I am spotlighting the outstanding job our administrative team does in leading, managing, and modeling professionalism, empathy, and courage.  Over the past semester and over the past few weeks, our administrative team has been challenged to step up and take the lead in promoting a school bond, leading and being a change agent to improve programs, and demonstrate compassion, empathy, and strength to serve our staff in crisis situations.  While these jobs aren't always recognized by the public, our staff, and students, their work is often the foundation for our school and our community to be able to move forward or make the changes necessary to deal with tough situations.   Great leadership is often not recognized until it's absent.  Thanks for all you do for our students, their parents, our staff, programs, and community.

Rationale:  See Foundation Webpage.