District Data: Board of Education

July 25, 2007

School Board Minutes

PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING MINUTES

Pender Public School – Room #110

July 9, 2007 – 7:00 p.m.

The Pender Public School Board of Education met in regular session in Room 110 on Monday, July 9, 2007. President Connie Felber called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with the following members present: Connie Felber, J.J. Maise, Matt Peters, Jean Karlen, Robert McQuistan 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, Cyndi Conroy and Corky Malmberg.

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 time and place of the meeting had been published. The agenda was expanded to include consideration of a preschool fees when establishing other fees for 2007-08, the policy review section was amended by deleting consideration of Policy 5215, 5220 and 4215, adding consideration of new policy 5204, 5205 and 5242, revising consideration of new policy Section 3000 in its entirety to consideration of new Policy 3000-3110, striking consideration of rescinding Policy 4215 and the agenda was finally approved.

Discussion on the minutes of the June 11, 2007 minutes resulted in amending the last sentence on page 3 as follows reference to the Activity Department was amended to read persons involved. Motion to approve the minutes of the June 11, 2007 regular meeting as amended striking “Activity department” and replacing with “persons involved” was made by Wichman 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 - $218,283.59; Hot Lunch Fund - $1,779.34; and Payroll - $91,829.43 was made by McQuistan, seconded by Peters. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being: Ayes—Felber, Wichman, Peters, Karlen, McQuistan; Ayes on all checks, except non-vote on check #27220—Maise; motion carried.

Secondary Principal Jason Dolliver presented his administrative report using a Power Point presentation and shared positive comments made during the Heese Event open house held on June 30, 2007. Mr. Dolliver stated that approximately 200 people attended the event and toured the building. Principal Dolliver recapped details of a school safety conference that Mr. Sherwood and he attended in Grand Island on June 25^th. Planning for the 2007-08 school year is underway, a World Café event is scheduled for August 9^th, pre-service activities are being planned for staff for August 20-22 and student schedules are being finalized. Mr. Dolliver reported that he has started work on his Educational Specialist degree at Wayne State College. Mr. Sherwood and Mr. Dolliver attended an event sponsored Cuming County Feeders at Indian Trails in Beemer, toured Meister Feedlots near West Point, hearing from several people who educated them on the livestock feeding business. Mr. Dolliver indicated that he hopes to incorporate information from this event within the school. Lastly, Mr. Dolliver informed board members that several State reports were successfully completed and submitted to the Nebraska Department of Education on time. Mr. Dolliver shared praise for the clerical staff—Lisa Johnson, Pam Peters, Vicky Westerhold and Barb Preston—for their hard work on these reports.

Elementary Principal Joe Sherwood, using a Power Point presentation provided an update on preschool enrollment stating that Pam Peters and Dawn Goodman had been able to successfully rearrange student schedules, learned that two families had changed their minds, and therefore, the program will continue to operate with the current staff. Three applications were received for the elementary special education teacher position that was advertised recently. After checking references, one applicant was interviewed and was offered and accepted the contract.

Superintendent Joe Sherwood shared that a meeting regarding Heyne Field was attended by Building and Grounds Committee members, Franklin Fendrick, representing the Village, Matt Kai, Greg Conroy, Dennis Oliver, Ron Williams, representing the Summer Rec Board, Jason Dolliver and himself. The results of the meeting were that the group established a consensus on arrangements for the use and care of Heyne Field. Matt Kai was to attend the Village Board meeting on July 9^th and present the letter outlining the arrangements and from there Al Maul would draw up a new 25-year lease.

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) Director Sherwood reviewed the school improvement process and how it will relate to the World Café activity scheduled for August 9^th. Invitations will be sent out in the next couple of weeks, however, any student, parent, staff member or patrons are welcome to attend and participate. Parent, staff and student survey results were compiled by Lisa Johnson and will be shared in depth after the World Café meeting. Mr. Sherwood shared highlights from the ASCD National Conference on differentiated instruction he recently attended in Salt Lake City including teaching children in today’s classrooms with diverse students, the history and future of English Language Learners (ELL) programs and statistics regarding children with disabilities. The conference provided questions and a proposal to ponder regarding how we would move teachers toward classrooms that attend to the diverse needs of every student and how to make classrooms a place where we model the world in which our students will make their way. A proposal to attempt to meet those needs was shared.

Corky Malmberg shared information regarding a space camp that could be made available to interested students in July, 2008 and requested that board members consider granting permission to fundraise, to use school facilities for meetings and activities and to continue to support the NASA Explorer School program. Mrs. Malmberg asked that her Space Camp Club be allowed to be scheduled in the rotation of working in the concession stand at home sporting events, to hold a spaghetti feed at a home varsity girls and boys basketball contest in the winter and that they be allowed to hold a raffle of space quilts, pillows and other space related articles. If approved, a meeting would be held with students ages 12-14 and their parents outlining requirements of Space Cadet campers including being good ambassadors for Pender Public School, requesting parental support, being cooperative, energetic and willing to be flexible with peers, adults and the weather while at camp, and a willingness to support the mission of Space Camp while there and when returning home. Estimated expense for the trip would be approximately $1,300 including meals, lodging and materials while at camp and flight expense from Omaha to Huntsville, Alabama. Campers would need to bring their own spending money for souvenirs, snacks and travel food. A minimum of 15 students in grades 6-9 will be needed to make this program work. Mrs. Malmberg thanked board members for taking the time to consider the request.

Board discussion resulted in listing a number of pros and cons regarding the space camp trip and fundraising and resulted in more questions. President Felber thanked Mrs. Malmberg for bringing this information to the Board’s attention and told Mrs. Malmberg that answers to questions raised would be sought. The board would grant or deny permission during the August 13^th during the regular meeting.

President Felber implemented the Procedures for Public Comment established by the board in January. Mrs. Felber asked for completed public comment forms and no one took advantage of the opportunity to address the board.

Motion was made by Peters, seconded by Maise to approve the enrollment option applications for Wyatt (6^th grade) and Dylan (8^th grade) Cooper from West Point to Pender and Lance Thomsen (11^th grade) from Pender to Wakefield. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Mr. Sherwood shared with Board members information regarding the amendment of the ESU #1 special education contract. The contract was amended to allow for a reduction as a result of a district contract with the sign language interpreter at an approximate savings of $5,000. Superintendent Sherwood recommended the board approve the amended contract.

Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Wichman to approve an amended contract with ESU #1 to provide special education services for the 2007-08 contract year for $169,375.24. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Superintendent Sherwood reported that only one bid for milk and juice for the food service program was submitted and that Roberts Dairy no longer offers a fixed bid. Mr. Sherwood recommended that the board approve the escalator bid provided by Roberts Dairy for the 2007-2008 school year.

Motion was made by Wichman, seconded by Maise to approve the escalator bid provided by Roberts Dairy to provide milk and juice for the food service program for the 2007-2008 school year as presented. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Superintendent Sherwood explained that bid request letters were mailed to three petroleum distributors in the school district. One bid was received from Smith Farm Service for 2¢ below pump price and providing a service to deduct the federal taxes and file the appropriate paperwork on our behalf. Mr. Sherwood recommended approval of this bid.

Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Peters to accept Smith Farm Service’s bid of 2¢ below pump price and to provide a service to deduct the federal taxes and file the appropriate paperwork on our behalf as presented. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Superintendent Sherwood asked the board to consider approving breakfast, lunch and preschool fees for the 2007-2008 school year. The recommendation was that all fees remain the same as last year. Board consensus was to refer further review of activity fees for the 2007-2008 school year to the Administrative Assistance Committee.

Motion was made by Peters, seconded by Maise to approve fees for the 2007-2008 school year as follows:

- Breakfast - $1.25-Adult; $1.10-PK-12 Students; $.50-Seconds

- Lunch - $2.50-Adult; $2.00-7-12 Students; $1.75-K-6 Students; $1.50-Preschool; Seconds – Main Entrée-$1.00; Side Dish-$.50; Milk-$.25

- Preschool – $8.00 – Half day; $16.00 – Full day

President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Superintendent Sherwood explained that Matt Kai was attending the Village Board meeting to present the terms of the agreement for Village Board member consideration. Representatives from Pender Summer Rec, the Village of Pender and Pender Public School met and the consensus at the conclusion of the meeting on July 5, 2007 included the following understandings:

· The School would delay seeding the infield of the Heyne ball diamond until the 3^rd field was ready for play at the Nitzschke Memorial Complex.

· The School will maintain the turf and control the weeds inside the fence at Heyne field.

· The Village will take care of the facilities and utilities upkeep of the bathrooms at the Heyne field.

· The Village will disable the ball diamond lighting and remove the transformers at the Heyne field, because of safety concerns.

· The Village will provide the supplies to upkeep and paint the Heyne Stadium exterior as needed.

· The Summer Recreation board and school organizations will provide the manpower to paint and upkeep the Heyne Stadium exterior.

In addition, Building and Grounds Chairman Robert McQuistan pointed out that the group had also agreed that the Village would maintain the area outside of the fence at Heyne field. Mr. Sherwood further explained that after the Village Board had a chance to review the agreement, a 25-year lease would be drawn up between the Village of Pender and Pender Public School reflecting the items listed.

Policy Committee Chairperson Karlen reviewed the policies that were amended in Section 9000 and Section 8000. Ms. Karlen also presented Section 2000 as reviewed and amended by the committee. Section 3000 has not been completely reviewed and amended and therefore will be tabled until a later meeting for formal consideration.

Chairperson Karlen moved that the committee recommendation for the third and final reading regarding Article 9 – Bylaws of the Board – Series 9000 be approved including amended Policy 9220 as presented. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Chairperson Karlen moved that the committee recommendation for the second and final reading regarding Article 8 – Internal Board Policies – Series 8000 be approved as amended. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Chairperson Karlen moved that the committee recommendation for the first reading regarding Article 2 – Administration – Series 2000 be approved as amended. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Motion was made by Karlen, seconded by McQuistan to table consideration of Section 3000 and propose a special meeting for later in July to further consider policy. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Board members agreed that a special meeting would need to be scheduled to continue review of policy and consideration of handbooks and established Wednesday, July 25, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. for that special meeting. In addition, the Policy Committee selected July 15, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. to review and prepare sections for the special board meeting. At that special board meeting Sections 3000, 4000 and 5000 will need to be reviewed for first reading, Section 2000 should be approved for second and final meeting, handbooks will need to be reviewed and approved.

Secondary Principal Jason Dolliver presented a draft of Policy 5204, 5205 and 5242 for board consideration. Those policies address issues of graduation, graduation requirements, scheduling and grading. Board discussion resulted in further amendments to these policies.

Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by peters to approve the first reading of policy 5204, 5205 and 5242. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Peters to approve a probationary teaching contract with Peggy Cooper to serve as the elementary special education instructor for the 2007-08 school year. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

President Felber appointed J.J. Maise, Dan Wichman and herself to an ad hoc Administrative Assistance Committee. The ad hoc committee will work with the superintendent regarding issues related to administrative decisions. The committee members agreed to meet with Mr. Sherwood on July 11, 2007, at 7:00 a.m.

Motion was made by Peters, seconded by Maise to move into executive session at 11:44 p.m. to discuss certified staff negotiation proposals, counter-proposals and options and to review the superintendent’s evaluation and discuss the superintendent’s contract. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Motion was made by McQuistan, seconded by Wichman to reconvene in open session at 1:35 a.m. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Negotiations Committee Member Dan Wichman moved that the committee recommendation for the 2007-2008 negotiated agreement with the Pender Education Association (PEA) representing an overall 4.5% total increase with a base of $26,800, a family benefit of $1,210 per month, a single benefit of $435 per month and minor wording changes in leave and payments to staff members assigned to cover class assignments sections be approved as negotiated subject to ratification by the PEA. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being all ayes, motion carried.

Motion made by Maise to not increase the superintendent’s salary or benefit package failed for a lack of a second.

Motion was made by Wichman, seconded by Karlen to have the term of the agreement run from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, delete the automatic extension paragraph, increase the superintendent’s salary by 2% from $90,480 to $92,289.60, have the benefit package remain at $13,750, change the wording of the leave provisions and to delete the paragraph regarding attendance at a national conference from the contract. President Felber stated the motion and the result of roll call vote being: Ayes—Wichman, Felber, McQuistan, Karlen; Nays—Maise; Abstain—Peters; motion carried 4-1-1.

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, August 13, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

Moved by Maise, seconded by Wichman to adjourn. President Felber stated the motion and the result of the vote being all ayes the meeting was adjourned at 1:45 a.m. by acclamation.

Matt Peters, Secretary Barb Preston, Recording Secretary