January 11, 2021 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 front of the meeting room.

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

Rationale: 
1.  Congratulations to Renee Sayer and Guadalupe Marino on their election to the board of education

2.  Congratulations to Chuck Misek on his re-election to the board of education.

3.  Chuck, Renee, and Guadalupe:  Read and sign the oath of office.

4.  All School Board Members:  Complete and sign the conflict of interest document.

*Attached below is the board self-evaluation for all board members to review.  This is not a required evaluation, just an opportunity for you to check yourself. 

Rationale:  2020 Board Offices
President:  Rich Brabec                                   Vice President - Brian Vavricek
Secretary - Virginia Semerad                          Treasurer - Chuck Misek
NASB Delegate - Rich Brabec                        Recording Secretary -  Sally Jakub
2021 Board Offices
President -                                                      Vice President -
Secretary -                                                     Treasurer -
NASB Delegate -                                          Recording Secretary -
 

Rationale:  Board Policy 203.01:  The superintendent shall assume chairmanship of the meeting for the purpose of electing a board president. Ballots for officers may be cast in secret but the total vote for each candidate shall be recorded by the secretary.

Process for Office Nominations:
1.  Board member makes a nomination for the position  (no second needed)
2.  If more than one member is nominated for an office, written votes should be used and passed to the recording secretary for count.
3.  If only one nomination is made, any member of the board may make a motion for nominations to cease and cast a unanimous ballot for the nominee.  Motion must have a second, followed by a voice roll call vote.
 

Rationale: 
Process for Office Nominations:
1.  Board member makes a nomination for the position  (no second needed)
2.  If more than one member is nominated for an office, written votes should be used and passed to the recording secretary for count.
3.  If only one nomination is made, any member of the board may make a motion for nominations to cease and cast a unanimous ballot for the nominee.  Motion must have a second, followed by a voice roll call vote.
 

Rationale: 

Process for Office Nominations:
1.  Board member makes a nomination for the position  (no second needed)
2.  If more than one member is nominated for an office, written votes should be used and passed to the recording secretary for count.
3.  If only one nomination is made, any member of the board may make a motion for nominations to cease and cast a unanimous ballot for the nominee.  Motion must have a second, followed by a voice roll call vote.
 

Rationale: 
Process for Office Nominations:
1.  Board member makes a nomination for the position  (no second needed)
2.  If more than one member is nominated for an office, written votes should be used and passed to the recording secretary for count.
3.  If only one nomination is made, any member of the board may make a motion for nominations to cease and cast a unanimous ballot for the nominee.  Motion must have a second, followed by a voice roll call vote.
 

Rationale: 
Process for Office Nominations:
1.  Board member makes a nomination for the position  (no second needed)
2.  If more than one member is nominated for an office, written votes should be used and passed to the recording secretary for count.
3.  If only one nomination is made, any member of the board may make a motion for nominations to cease and cast a unanimous ballot for the nominee.  Motion must have a second, followed by a voice roll call vote.
 

Rationale: 
This can be an appointed position by the newly elected board president.  In the past you have appointed Sally Jakub for this position.

Rationale: 

Committees will be appointed by the president of the board.  These committees are created for specific tasks of seeking information or investigation and will report back to the board for its consideration and action.  Committee action is considered to be advisory only.  The following committees are appointed at the annual board organizational meeting for one year.

Americanism, Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction:  Responsible for reviewing curriculum recommendations, textbook selection, staff requisitions and inventory.  This is the only committee required by law (79-724)  3 members required.  (2020 - Virginia Semerad, Alejandrina Lanuza, Mynor Hernandez)
 
Board Policy/Handbooks/Support Programs:  Responsible for annual review of board policies, handbooks, and safety/crisis plan. 2-3 members recommended.  Following the Americanism Committee Meeting.  (2020 - Virginia Semerad, Alejandrina Lanuza, Rich Brabec)

Public Relations/Strategic Planning/Calendar:  Responsible for recommending the annual district calendar, strategic planning process, and promoting positive public relations and communication.  2-3 members recommended.   Following the Policy Committee Meeting.  (2020 - Mynor Hernandez, Alejandrina Lanuza, Chuck Misek)

Building/Grounds/Transportation:  Responsible for recommending approval of the building and grounds and transportation programs, vehicle replacement schedule, building maintenance and upgrade schedule)  3 members recommended.  (2020 - Chuck Misek, Brian Vavricek, Rich Brabec)

Budget/Finance/Negotiations:  Responsible for budget, finance, contract negotiations with administration, certificated staff negotiations and support staff contracts. 3 members recommended.  Following the Bldg/Grnds/Transportation meeting or following the board meeting.  (2020 - Chuck Misek, Rich Brabec, Brian Vavricek)

Foundation Committee:  Responsible for working with the Schuyler Community Schools Foundation.  2 Members Required in Bylaws.  Foundation meets the first Monday of the month at 12:00 PM.  (2020 - Brian Vavricek and Virginia Semerad)


*  Special temporary committees of the Board, except as specified by statute, may be appointed by the president or chosen by a vote of the Board as needed.  The function of all such committees shall be fact-finding, deliberative and advisory, but never legislative or administrative.  When the specified purpose of all sub-committees appointed to conform to statute.  The superintendent shall be an ex-officio member of all such committees.

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

Rationale: 

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for annual review of board policies, handbooks, and crisis/safety plans.  This committee is also responsible for the support and development of support programs(nursing, food service) in the district.

Rationale:  The board of education upon reorganization of the board is also to reaffirm all policies, regulations and handbooks for the governance of the district.  It is of general practice, unless mandated by law, to review polcies, regulations, and handbooks prior to the beginning of the new school year.

Board policies are hosted electronically by the Nebraska Association of School Boards.  Policy changes are provided through two law firms (Perry, Guthery, Haase, and Gessford, P.C., L.L.O and KSB School Law, PC, L.L.O).  These two law firms are hired by the Educational Service Units to provide policy updates in compliance with State and Federal Legislation.  The NASB codifies these policy recommendations and uploads them in their system. 

Policy Manual Updates
We have visited with NASB representatives about updating the Table of Contents to match the policies in each section.  We also have some policies where policies have been either eliminated over the years and the cross references may need to be updated.  

Rationale:  This committee is responsible for recommending approval of building/grounds and transportation programs, vehicle replacement schedule, building and maintenance and upgrade schedule.

Rationale:  The school district received a $35,000 grant for the purchase of a new delivery van for the food service program.  Because this is not on our vehicle replacement cycle, it needs board approval to move forward.  Attached is the information from Reineke's on the two options presented. 

The current food service van will be used for maintenance/custodial at this time.
 

Rationale: 
In December the board of education took action to approve President Brabec to authorize the sale of the property.  The action needed tonight is to authorize the board president to sign the deed and real estate sale closing documents.  (Chris Langemeier may be at the meeting with documents to sign or will meet with the board president at a later time to sign and notarize the documents).

The minutes from December and January action  will need to be filed with Chris Langemeier and Dick Seckman following the meeting.  See attached information on the sale of building contents.
 

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

Rationale: 
1.  Jasmin Alarcon:  Preschool para educator - will be student teaching at SES during second semester.

End of School Year.
1.  Pat Cuda:  Retiring at the end of the 2020-21 School Year.

 

Rationale: 
The negotiations committee is recommending extending the superintendent's contract as presented below:

In compliance with the superintendent Pay Transparency Act, the board of education will consider a two-year contract extension for Dr. Daniel J. Hoesing at their regular January board meeting.  The contract extends the current two-year contract (2020-21, 2021-22) for an additional year (2021-22, 2022-23).  The proposed contract includes a salary increase from $184,000 to $188,000 (2.12%).  Benefit plan:  Health Insurance deductible of $1,200.  All other contract provisions remain unchanged.  The current and proposed superintendent contracts are attached on the district website.  https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1067980/2021_Superintendent_Contract.pdf

Rationale: 

Priority Plan update:  In December our focus was continuing the work we did in November. We have continued preparations for ACT planning,  preparing for our teaching study groups in February and remain dedicated to getting in the classroom to help support instructional techniques.  We also have a number of priority discussion points that we will address during our January professional development.  We will also  continue working on attendance and "failure isn't final" mentality. 

This past month we worked with KLK to rate each unit of the plan to see if we have had any growth over the course of six months. I have attached a link to the scores.  The admin team thought that the conversation we had with KLK went well and believe that we have a number of areas that we have made substantial growth in yet found areas where we still need to focus our attention.

We still continue to make our EL and newcomers program a focus, as we continue to iron out the kinks in the programming.  We are excited for the elpa21 testing that will occur in February to see how our students have grown. 

Below is a link to our priority plan, our priority rating, as well as our SCHS newsletter.  Again, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t be afraid to contact one of the high school administrators.

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/908802/Draft_2018-2021_Schuyler_Priority_Plan__1_.pdf 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xhx7oGH1hhfx9rS937YKg7YCvoIR8wW_/view?usp=sharing
(If you cannot access, see attachment below)

https://5il.co/nlww

Rationale: 
Attached is the first draft of the 2021-22 school calendar with 2020-21 corresponding dates.  The board committee will meet in February to consider input from staff.  Our goal is to have the calendar ready for board approval in March.

Rationale: 

Preschool and SES 3-5 Principal's Report:  Mr. Comley
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to highlight Mitzi Santos. Mrs. Santos fills really big shoes through the school day as she runs the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch. Mrs Santos does an excellent job making adaptions through the day as some times the technology scanner goes down. She is always so bright and always greets with a smile. Thank you to Mrs Santos for all you do!

SES K-2 Principal's Report:  Mrs. Neesen
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to highlight the creative and hard work of Mrs. Taylor-Liermann. This year has presented Mrs. Taylor-Liermann with many challenges regarding how to conduct her classroom, and she has taken them all on with grace. She was able to conduct the annual Winter Concert in a safe manner while allowing for students to show their families and friends what they have learned. All performances were recorded and shared out to their families and the community. I would also like to highlight the other staff members who were able to make this possible for our students. Thank you! 

Fisher’s & Richland Principal's Report:  Ms. Bebout
Spotlight Staff:  I would like to highlight Kristi Benck this month.  She was born in Creighton and grew up in Royal, NE. She attended college at Wayne State.  After she received her degree in Elementary Education she moved back to Royal.  Her first job was at Royal Elementary School from 1987-1990.  She started teaching at 4R in 1991 and moved to Columbus.  When 4R closed in 2013 Kristi moved to Richland School where she is still teaching.  This is her 30th year!  Kristi is married to Brian (30 years) and has three daughters (triplets!!!) Brooke, Emma, and Lauren who are 20 years old and are presently attending college.
Kristi is the head teacher at Richland School.  She is my life line when I am unable to be present in the school.  Kristi does a phenomenal job teaching the students in her classroom.  She loves to celebrate their growth with them.  I often get an email or a short visit as she shares the growth that a certain student in her classroom has had.  Kristi is also good at asking questions of her students.  Instead of giving answers or having a student struggle to work out a problem she will ask questions of the student that help them come up with answers on their own.  She has so many jobs outside of teaching in the classroom and does them all with a smile and dedication.  I am blessed to have Kristi at Richland!  I know I am leaving the school in great hands everyday!!

Middle School Asst. Principal's Report:  Mr. Banahan
Program/Staff Member Spotlight: For the program staff spotlight this month I would like to highlight our custodians (Rick, Gloria, and Miguel), for all the hard work they do in getting the gyms set up for competitions, and then cleaned up and disinfected so they are ready for classes the next day. We wouldn’t be able to have as successful seasons without their help and dedication to SMS. I am very thankful for all of their hard work and help in ensuring that our students can still compete! They do all of this on top of keeping our building cleaned and safe for our students to come to school every day. I want to thank them for all of their hard work, and I know they are going above and beyond everyday to ensure we have a safe and clean building for our students to come to everyday. 

Middle School Principal's Report:  Mr. Zavadil
Program Spotlight:  Holiday break was an excellent rest for our students and staff and we have already hit the ground running.  Strategic plan information is being discussed in our school improvement meetings and plans are being finalized for our professional development days next week.  Citizenship tests were taken by the 8th grade students at the end of December which is a very enlightening time for our students.  I would also like to mention the work that our Capturing Kids’ Hearts process champions group is doing.  This is a group that was trained in two different sessions in the past year.  We have taken the opportunity after the most recent professional development to put that training into action and have created a process champions leadership team that is meant to keep that training relevant and in the forefront of what we do by being a part of all of our building staff meetings.  I feel this a great way that our teachers are taking ownership of the culture within our building.
Staff Member Spotlight:  This month I would like to highlight the work of Mrs. Hall.  She has put in quite a bit of time an energy this year using the STRIV platform in order to create a way for parents to watch their students perform in athletics and during our vocal/band concerts.  The pandemic had created a lot of restrictions on attendance at extra-curricular events lately which required some different planning.  Without Mrs. Hall’s expertise we wouldn’t have been able to share out the results of the hard work our students put in this year.
Upcoming Events:  Our staff is ready for a second round of professional development and is excited to create a new strategic plan.  January is a rare month in the school year that doesn’t have too many distractions.  This allows our staff to put in a lot of hard work and grow our students and our school.  

High School Assistant Principal's Report:  Mr. Kasik
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to spotlight the work that happens in our library.  Scott Petersen and Becky Lefdal are doing a great job in this area.  They hit the ground running when they were asked to work in an area that was quite new to them.  They are positive and great assets to our staff. 
Person Spotlight:  Not necessarily a person but a shout out to all our substitute teachers.  With this crazy year we found our just how much we depend of them to step in and keep kids on track.  Those that have helped us are really appreciated.
Upcoming Events:  With the new year we now begin the big push towards finishing winter sports strong and having a solid Speech season.  We will work hard to keep everyone healthy and able to compete as well as stay in school.

High School Principal's Report:  Mr. Grammer
Program Spotlight:  The program I would like to acknowledge at Schuyler Central High School is our Guidance program.  The program is a program which is truly developed and implemented with our students best interests in mind. We are fortunate to have two counselors on staff, who have a passion to work with our students and teachers. Ms. Johnson and Mrs. Bertrand genuinely care about our students and are diligent in working with our students to be successful. They organize the following aspects of our guidance program in our building: development of student schedules, work with the set up college courses and dual credit courses, completion of scholarship paperwork, working to organize assessments at the high school, work in setting up for the ACT testing in our school, and implementation of the On to College program through John Baylor Test Prep.  There are many other duties that they cover, but these are the main duties of their program.  It has been a good program for the high school. Thank you to Ms. Johnson and Mrs. Bertrand for making our students successful at SCHS.
Staff Member Spotlight:  It is an honor and privelege to recognize Joel Carrillo, Newcomer teacher for our new Newcomer program at Schuyler Central High School. The Newcomer program is a new program developed to accelerate our students language acquisition.  Mr. Carrillo is an integral part of the development and implementation of this new program in our district.  Often the students enrolled in this program have not been in an organized school for many years and have very little or no English skills. Mr. Carrillo’s passion for his student’s success is bar none, he works hard to ensure the development of their language skills, he has a caring attitude, which enables him to develop a positive rapport with his students, and a dedication to his students academic well-being is unmatched. He strives to be a strong advocate for his students and ensure they have a positive school experience. With Mr. Carrillo’s rapport and genuine caring for his students, his program will be a  successful program at SCHS for years to come..  Congratulations go out to Mr. Carrillo for making his program a positive experience for his students.
Event Highlight:  We are continuing our work with the state priority team, UNL EL team, DE cohort groups, with the SIG grant, and STEM through DE.  It is cumbersome at times to schedule and plan for all the groups.  But, it is worthwhile as we see growth and development of our students.  
 

Rationale: 

Warrior Academy - After-School Program Director's Report:  Ms. Bebout
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to give a shoutout to Pinnacle Bank this month.  Last month we received a donation from Pinnacle Bank for $175!!!  This donation is appreciated so much.  Partnerships within the Schuyler Community help make the afterschool program possible.  Pinnacle Bank has been an amazing partner since the afterschool program began seven years ago.  Students have toured the bank during the summer camp program and we were able to go into the vault which is amazing!  They have also donated many times financially, some supplies, and personal time.  Thank you Pinnacle Bank for your support of Warrior Academy!!!

K-6 Youth Sports Director's Report:  Mrs. Neesen
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  Girls Youth basketball is scheduled to start the week of January 11th with steady enrolment numbers. I would like to highlight the dedication and work of coach Brante Hayes in regards to the efforts he has made in developing the girls basketball program at Schuyler Community Schools. Coach Hayes conducts his practices in the same manner that mimics the middle school and encourages older athletes to volunteer their time to peer coach. These actions help ensure an effortless transition into the future programs and instills excitement in the younger athletes being able to watch and learn from the older girls. I applaud his patience in developing the program and his effort is evident on the court.

Middle School Activities Director's Report:   Mr. Banahan
Spotlight Program: My program spotlight this month is our Middle School Volleyball team. Our coaches (Cruz and Richards) have worked with the Middle School girls, and have them competing in a league held at Lakeview for the month of January. This is great for our girls as they are currently not in season in any sport, and it allows them extra opportunities to play volleyball against some quality opponents. I am very excited that our coaches are seeking out extra opportunities for our students and we are helping to grow our girls in volleyball, and we have more students interested in competing in this so we are hopeful that next year we can get two teams to play in this league and will continue to grow our sports teams here in Schuyler.
Spotlight Upcoming Events: We have started the Boys Basketball season here at SMS, and we have a number of games coming up in the month of January. Our first action will be on January 19th when we host Central City here at the middle school.

High School Activities Director's Report:  Mr. Kasik
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to spotlight our Wrestling Program.  It is led by Jeremy Hlavac.  He is assisted by Drey Keairnes, Nick Wilcox, and Tyrell Reichert.  Helping at the MS level is Mark Wemhoff, Guillermo Gutierrez, Nick Arlt and Casey Harper.  Their current Varsity dual record is 7-5 and they are coming off a Wayne Invitational championship which saw 12 guys medal and had two champions.  Our girls team is coming off of a Winnebego Invite Runner-up spot.  The wrestling program is a solid program that is very competitive every year!
Person Spotlight:  Steve Buresh  is one of our janitors at the High School.  He does a great job of keeping our outdoor facilities mowed and in great shape.  This year with our building projects he has had to very flexible and he did not miss a beat.  We are glad to have someone like this who works his tail off to keep things looking great.
Upcoming Events:  We are about half way through our winter season and our next big event that we host will be our annual Schuyler Invite.  We have changed it slightly this year.  On Friday, January  15^th we will host a JV and Girls invite with our Varsity Invite on Saturday, January 16^th with a field of 8 teams. (Bennington, Blair, Lakeview, Lexington, Norris, Schuyler, Scottsbluff and Wayne)

Donation to HS Athletic Dept.
I  recently received a donation to the Schuyler High School Athletic Department in memory of David "Fuzz" Groulik in the amount of $10,000.  As a kid growing up in Schuyler I heard my Uncles and Dad tell many great football stories.  This is how I first heard of Fuzz Groulik.  I later had the honor of meeting him and hearing some of his High School football stories.  You could always see the passion he had for these times and for the brothers he played with on the gridiron.  He loved his Alma Mater, his community and his church.  Sincere thanks to Fuzz and his family for this donation and for thinking of our Athletic Department!
 

Student Services Director's Report:  Dr. Lefdal
Program Spotlight:  I have had the opportunity to be the administrator at multiple basketball games, and I have been so impressed with our janitorial staff.  All of the areas are cleaned free of debris and it just looks so nice. We also have had a number of people with positive comments about how great the area looks.  Special Education Director's Report:  Mrs. Vrba
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  I would like to spotlight Tyrell for his insurmountable growth as a young educator within a little over a year's time frame. Every aspect of his teaching our students in his 6th-8th grade math classes and his intervention class has rapidly developed. (I am not going to say that all his students love his math class now, but...) His 8th grade and 7th grade students' skill levels and understanding the variety of concepts are improving dramatically. We, all know that, Middle School students can be a very challenging age group to teach. Tyrell has an excellent rapport with his students hence they are more willing to working with him. He carries that ability to build relationships with our students as he is coaching SCHS wrestling and SMS track.
   *Just a little footnote: I would love to claim all the glory for his growth BUT...Bernice and Tyrell have an incredible bond that allows them to be able to collaborate with each other, be each others' sounding board and they are resilient to just about everything! Together, they make quite the team!
 

Curriculum, Assessment,  Instruction Director:   Dr. Gibbons
Spotlight Program/Staff Member:   I would like to thank the building school improvement teams for the work that they have done to work on their continuous improvement plans for their buildings.  Each building has a chairperson that leads their program.

• Schuyler Elementary School - Alicia Keairnes

• Fisher’s School - Catherine Luce

• Richland School - Lisa Terrell

• Schuyler Middle School - Bill Policky

• Schuyler Central High School - Alexa Stephenson and Nick Wilcox

 

Spotlight Upcoming Events: 

• We are currently in the middle of our Winter MAP session so students are taking their MAP assessments in Reading, Math and Science.  

• This year, state testing will take place during the following dates:

  • ELPA 21 - February 8 - March 19 (English Language Proficiency Assessment - given to all EL students).

  • NSCAS Assessments - March 22 - May 7 (All students in grades 3 - 8; Math, Language Arts and Science for 5th and 8th grade)

  • ACT - April 6 (All students in the 3rd year cohort; juniors)

• There are changes occurring in the the state assessments so this year is being considered a pilot and will not be considered for accountability purposes.

 

Rationale: 
Program/Staff Member Spotlight:  Sally Jakub's title is Activity Fund Manager and Recording Secretary for the Board of Education.  In addition her work in managing accounts payable and receivable, she is also the manager of purchase orders, vouchers, and staff requisitions across the district.  In her role, she has done an outstanding job of researching the most economic purchase options, filling orders, and managing accounts for all activity programs and clubs in the district.  She is extremely conscientious and dedicated to her work.  Thanks Sally for your work behind the scenes to manage these programs and the board meeting sites.

1.  Strategic Planning Themes from Thoughtexchanges:  Attached below is a draft of the themes from the staff thoughtexchanges.  The community thoughtexchanges closed on Friday, January 8th and will be presented to the STRAT Committee on Wednesday morning to review and add their input for consideration in our 2021 strategic plan. The plan is a 3-year plan updated annually with input from staff/parents/and community patrons.
2.  Draft Workshop Schedule for January 18-19:  Attached is a draft of the workshops scheduled for next week.  The scheudle will be finalized on Wednesday morning and released to staff for registration.  Board members are welcome to participate if it works in your schedule.
3.  COVID-19 District Report:  Attached is the most recent COVID-19 District Report from Friday, 1/8/2021.
4.  2021 Workman's Comp Mod. Rate:  Attached is the Mod. Rate for Workman's Comp.  We reduced from 1.07 in 2020 to 1.05 in 2021.  See attached reports.

Rationale: 
1.  Foundation Meeting:  Brian Vavricek