SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES 4-16-07
PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING MINUTES
Pender Public School – Room #112
April 16, 2007 – 7:00 p.m.
The Pender Public School Board of Education met in regular session in Room 112 on Monday, April 16, 2007. The board approved holding the regular meeting on the third Monday at the March meeting. President Connie Felber called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. with the following members present: Connie Felber, Robert McQuistan, J.J. Maise, Matt Peters, Jean Karlen and Dan Wichman. Absent: None. Also present were Superintendent/Elementary Principal Joe Sherwood, Secondary Principal Jason Dolliver and Recording Secretary Barb Preston. Visitors: Norvin “Fuzz” Hansen, Renee Lehmkuhl, Maureen Wenke, Cyndi Conroy, Brenda Bartlett, Carri Mailloux, Maintenance Supervisor Matt Kai, Ray Welsh and Lavennia Coover.
President Felber notified those present that as of July 1, 2006, Nebraska Statute 84-1412(8) requires that the public be informed about the location of posted information regarding the Open Meetings Act and drew their attention to the copy posted in the meeting room and accessible to all members of the public.
President Felber reviewed the agenda as presented, affirmed that every board member had received notice of the meeting and that the meeting had been published. The agenda was approved as presented.
Motion to approve the minutes of the March 12, 2007 regular meeting amended by removing Connie Felber’s name from the “Absent” portion of the roll call was made by McQuistan and seconded by Peters. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
A motion to approve payment of bills as follows: General Fund - $148,156.10; Hot Lunch Fund - $7,935.77; and Payroll - $101,056.00 was made by Wichman, seconded by McQuistan. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Secondary Principal Jason Dolliver presented his administrative report using a Power Point presentation and shared information regarding the upcoming Ready funeral and prayer service. Mr. Dolliver stated that the administration, staff and students were all grieving Mr. Ready’s loss. Mr. Dolliver continued his presentation by informing Board members that administration had made a decision to postpone adding an Industrial Technology program this year, would further evaluate the benefits and probability throughout the upcoming school year and ask for Board approval at a later date. Thirty-three seniors on track to graduate on May 12th and three others will graduate if all requirements are met. The 2007-08 secondary class schedule is nearing completion and pre-registration will occur on April 27th. Three courses will be made available through distance learning capabilities and 17 courses which provide 50 dual credit options will be made available to seniors through a program offered by Peru State College. Additional courses may be made available through TANN (Technological Academy of Northeast Nebraska) if students are interested. Mr. Dolliver complimented Janice Howell on being accepted to the School of Art Institute of Chicago’s Teacher Institute of Contemporary Art and being awarded a scholarship from the National Endowment for the Arts allowing her to attend this Institute. Mr. Dolliver reported that contracts had been offered to Rhonda Heise to serve as our library/media specialist and Vanessa Gascon as our Spanish instructor for the 2007-08 school year. Two interviews have been scheduled for the English position and two applications have been received for the .6 FTE instrumental music position. Our musical was enjoyed by many over the past weekend and was a successful event. The prom is set for Saturday, April 21st, with events beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Student Council held a lock-in on March 23rd and many students enjoyed the event. The FFA was pleased that Jill Lander was elected as a State Officer, and the dairy judging team and Trisha Simonsen will be competing at the National Convention. Mr. Dolliver announced that the Siouxland Bloodbank will be awarding two $250 scholarships as a result of the school hosting two blood drives. Lastly, Mr. Dolliver reported that his teacher evaluations will be completed at the end of this week.
Elementary Principal Joe Sherwood, using a Power Point presentation provided a preschool enrollment forecast and those numbers are increasing. A preschool registration/round-up time has been planned. Eleven students attending kindergarten round-up and two more plan to attend in the Fall bringing our total kindergarten enrollment up to 13 for the 2007-08 school year. The 4th graders enjoyed studying a whale unit; more information can be seen on the website. Mrs. Malmberg was a co-presenter at a National Science Teachers Association conference in St. Louis, Missouri. This year's publication of the 2007 edition of the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans® will feature poetry written by nine fifth grade students from Mrs. Malmberg's class. The 2nd and 3rd grade students will be attending the circus on April 18th.
Superintendent Joe Sherwood continued his Power Point presentation included notification to Board members that the district is entering a new cycle of school improvement. Mr. Sherwood reported that Mr. Dolliver and he plan to conduct a World Café activity this summer involving administration, teachers, students and local patrons to develop an overall plan for the district. President Felber and Mr. Sherwood were notified that they would be presenting one session at the November Nebraska Association of School Board State Education Conference in Omaha explaining how to develop a successful override campaign and improve overall economic development. Mr. Sherwood reported that he would be participating in a week long STARS Peer Review in Sioux County, Crawford and Chadron public schools. The Heese Event Center committee recently met and developed a campaign to further market available seating and to move forward with plans to improve the lighting and sound equipment. Superintendent Sherwood asked board members to watch the progress on Legislative Bills 73 and 367 and encouraged them to contact Senator Kent Rogert to share their opinions on these potential bills.
President Felber implemented the Procedures for Public Comment established by the board in January. Mrs. Felber called on Maureen Wenke to address the board. Ms. Wenke asked for an explanation on the need to re-assign rooms, the cost of moving and whether or not any room reassignment is planned for next year. Connie Felber instructed Mr. Sherwood to answer Mrs. Wenke’s questions.
Superintendent Sherwood presented a contract with ESU #1 to provide special education services for the 2007-08 school year at a rate of $210,415.24. The $24,603.16 increase from the previous year’s contract is largely due to the fact that we expanded our psychologist’s days to include responsibilities as a special education coordinator moving the days contracted from 2 to 5 per week.
Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Peters to approve the proposed 2007-08 contract with ESU #1 to provide special education services at a rate of $210,415.24. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Policy Committee Chairperson Karlen reviewed Section 9000 – Bylaws of the new policy, highlighting sections that need to be reviewed, pointing out suggested changes and comparing them to the old policy. Ms. Karlen asked all board members to review Section 9000 prior to the May meeting and plan to approve the first reading. Committee members Karlen, Maise and Peters plan to continue to meet and review policy on a monthly basis and will move on to Section 8000 next.
Building and Grounds Committee Chairperson McQuistan reported that his committee had met with Mr. Sherwood and Maintenance Supervisor Matt Kai to review bids and proposals for replacing the north doors and the 3-story lift in the secondary building. Bids were received on the door project from several companies and after careful consideration, the Building and Grounds Committee members recommended accepting a bid from Binswanger Glass for $5,207.
Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Peters to accept the bid of $5,207 from Binswanger Glass to replace the north doors on the secondary building and that the amount be paid through the Depreciation Fund. President Felber stated the motion and the roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Building and Grounds Committee Chairperson McQuistan reported that his committee had met with Mr. Sherwood and Maintenance Supervisor Matt Kai to review bids and proposals for replacing 3-story lift in the secondary building. Three companies showed interest in the program, however, only two companies actually provided a bid: 1) O’Keefe Elevator - $54,780; and 2) Access Elevator - $61,000. Matt Kai presented pros and cons of each bid and reported that he had contacted references regarding reliability and service at establishments who currently used one of these products. Overall, the committee members, Matt Kai and Mr. Sherwood were in agreement that the best bid and resulting product could be obtained from Access Elevator. Mr. McQuistan reported that some electrical work and other incidental work would need to be contracted for this project as well and estimated that the total would be approximately $65,000.
Motion was made by Maise, seconded by Peters to accept the bid of $61,000 from Access Elevator to install a new lift and the electrical and other incidental costs for the installation in the secondary building; total project not to exceed $65,000 and that $40,000 be paid through the IDEA Grant through the General Fund and the balance to be paid through the Depreciation Fund. President Felber stated the motion and the roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Superintendent Sherwood reported that Matt Kai and he had developed a list of summer projects which included mostly general upkeep/maintenance and that if time permits, improvements would be made on the restrooms and damage repaired in the concession stand at the football field. Board members generally agreed with the summer projects, however, Mr. Sherwood will present an estimated cost at the May meeting.
Superintendent Sherwood thanked Mr. Dolliver for his work in the application, interview and subsequent hire process for the Spanish and library/media specialist positions.
Motion was made by Peters, seconded by Maise to accept the resignation of Jennifer Smith effective at the end of the 2006-07 school year and to thank her for her year of service to the district. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Mr. Dolliver provided background information on Ms. Gascon’s education and experience and explained that her assignment would include providing Spanish instruction to the preschool, kindergarten, first and 7-12 grades. Mr. Sherwood and Mr. Dolliver recommended that the board approve her contract.
Motion was made by Peters, seconded by McQuistan to approve a probationary teaching contract with Vanessa Gascon to serve as the Spanish instructor for the 2007-08 school year. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Information regarding Rhonda Heise’s experience and education were provided to Board members. Mr. Dolliver asked the board to consider approving a 10-day extended contract for this position to provide a smooth transition and to pattern best practice in the area.
Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Karlen to approve a probationary teaching contract with Rhonda Heise to serve as the library/media specialist for the 2007-08 school year and to approve a 10-day extended contract for this position as well. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Secondary Principal Jason Dolliver stated that due to the fact that Linda Tyler’s teaching credentials are from out of state, Nebraska is requiring her to do additional course work. Thus far she is on track and will be finished with this work December 31st which is when her provisional certificate for English needs to be renewed. For school district protection, administration was recommending that we add an addendum to her contract stating that her employment, at this time, hinges on the completion of this coursework. Her present schooling plus experience satisfies the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) criteria but Nebraska’s requirements are different. Our attorney has prepared a motion to approve the agreement to obtain an endorsement and put us in a legally sound position. Mrs. Tyler is a very good teacher and has been teaching English for almost 30 years. I recommend that we approve this agreement and work with Mrs. Tyler to keep her in our system.
Moved by Wichman and seconded by Peters that the Agreement to Obtain Endorsement with Linda Tyler be and is hereby approved, that the resignation of Linda Tyler be accepted per the terms of that agreement and that the President or Secretary are hereby authorized to sign, execute and put the provisions of the agreement into effect. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Superintendent Sherwood and Mr. Dolliver presented a slate of extra duty assignments for the 2007-08 school year noting that some positions had not been assigned. Administration as for board approval of proposed assignments as presented with latitude for administration to fill the holes through new hire or re-assignment. Mr. Dolliver also asked the Board to consider approving the re-establishing speech as one of the activities offered and to add this topic to certified negotiations as originally approved on March 24, 2003.
Motion made by Peters, seconded by Wichman to approve the 2007-08 extra duty assignments as presented and to re-establish speech as an activity with latitude for administration to fill holes through new hire or re-assignment. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Certified Negotiations Chairperson Felber reported that no meetings had been held with the PEA, however, the committee was attempting to schedule a meeting.
Superintendent Sherwood presented his proposal for increases in classified staff salary and benefits for the 2007-08 school year and recommended that the Board approve the proposal. Generally, the proposal represented a 4.2% increase for most classified staff resulting in a total package increase of $26,812.67.
Motion was made by Maise, seconded by Karlen to go into executive session at 10:12 p.m. to discuss individual classified staff proposals, the secondary principal’s contract and the superintendent’s contract for 2007-08. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Motion was made by Peters, seconded by Karlen to resume in open session at 11:42 p.m. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.
Motion was made by Wichman, seconded by McQuistan to approve the 2007-08 classified staff salary and benefit proposal as presented representing a total increase of $26,812.67. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being: Ayes—Karlen, Felber, Maise, Wichman, McQuistan; Nays—None; Non-vote—Peters due to potential conflict of interest; motion carried 5-0.
President Felber reported that no action would be taken at this time on the secondary principal or superintendent negotiations. Mrs. Felber further stated that the Board’s intent was to attend the regional meeting for negotiations in Wisner to further educate themselves on negotiation practices.
Board members Felber, Wichman, Karlen and McQuistan volunteered to attend a regional negotiations meeting for board members and administrators in Wisner-Pilger on Wednesday, April 18th, at 8:00 p.m. President Felber instructed Barb Preston to RSVP to Superintendent Alan Harms on the board members’ behalf.
Mr. Sherwood asked if any board members would be interested in attending the 2007 Nebraska Law Seminar in Kearney on Friday, June 8, 2007. Jean Karlen volunteered to attend that conference with Mr. Sherwood.
President Felber asked if anyone would like to address the board regarding agenda items discussed by board members. No one took advantage of the opportunity.
President Felber reminded board members that the next regular board meeting will be held on Monday May 14, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. Board members Felber, McQuistan and Wichman volunteered to be available 30 minutes prior to the May 14th meeting to meet with concerned patrons.
Moved by McQuistan, seconded by Peters to adjourn. President Felber stated the motion and the result of the vote being all ayes the meeting was adjourned at 11:54 p.m. by acclamation.
Matt Peters, Secretary Barb Preston, Recording Secretary
