Minutes -January 9, 2017
The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Creighton Community School District No. 13 was held on January 9, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library.
Notice of the meeting was given in advance thereof by publication in the Creighton News, as shown by the Affidavit of Publication attached to the minutes. Notice was also hung at the City Offices, front door of the high school, and front door of the elementary.
Notice of the meeting was simultaneously sent to all the members and a copy of their acknowledgment and receipt of notice and agenda is attached to these minutes. Availability of the agenda was communicated in the advance notice as was the notice to the members of this meeting. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was opened to the attendance of the public. The agenda for the meeting is attached and incorporated into these minutes.
President D. Morrill called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
D. Morrill announced that the Open Meeting Laws Act Poster was displayed on the wall.
Members present: Dan Morrill, Kay Morrill, Colleen Farnik, and Dixie Hanefeldt. Hanefeldt moved to excuse Tim Gragert due to military service and Gene Suhr for personal reasons. Seconded by Farnik. RCV: 4-0. Motion Carried.
Others Present: Superintendent Petersen, Principal Nilson, Secretary Hoffman, and district patrons.
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Farnik moved to approve the agenda, seconded by K. Morrill. RCV: 4-0. Gragert and Suhr excused. Motion Carried.
President D. Morrill adjourned the Board sine die of the preceding year and appointed Secretary Hoffman to administer the oath to board members and to preside during election of the new Board President.
The board of education read and signed both the ethics document and oath of office. Roll was taken. Members present were Dixie Hanefeldt, Kay Morrill, Duane Fanta, Colleen Farnik, and Greg Kuhlman. Tim Gragert was excused due to military service.
Farnik nominated Hanefeldt for president, which she respectfully declined. Hanefeldt nominated Morrill for president. Farnik nominated Fanta. Farnik moved to cease nominations. Seconded by Kuhlman. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried. Secret Ballot Vote – Fanta, Morrill, Morrill, Morrill, Morrill 4-1. Morrill took over the meeting. Kuhlman nominated Farnik for vice president. Fanta nominated Hanefeldt, who declined. Farnik nominated Gragert. Fanta moved to cease nominations. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried. Secret Ballet Vote: Gragert, Gragert, Gragert, Gragert, Gragert 5-0. Gragert will be the vice president. Hanefeldt nominated Kuhlman for treasurer. Kuhlman nominated Farnik. Hanefeldt moved to cease nominations. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Motion Carried. Gragert excused. Secret Ballot Vote: Kuhlman, Kuhlman, Farnik, Kuhlman, Kuhlman. 4-1. Kuhlman will be the treasurer.
Public comment: Visitors were welcomed. There was no public comment.
- Reports:
Superintendent Petersen reported that the preschool had a state visit today and that they were impressed with our program. A new student began who is attending Tower School in Wayne and we will share transportation costs with Plainview. The safety visit is scheduled for Tuesday. Elementary staff are beginning to look into a new reading series to replace the one we currently use, which is going out of print. The projected cost is around $80,000. A new digital score table has been purchased for the gym, in part thanks to a generous donation from Midwest Bank. Board members will review the 100 and 200 policies for the February meeting. Total P-12 enrollment at the beginning of this semester is 306.
Principal Nilson reported that the school improvement group has almost completed the progress report due May 1st. ACT prep review started today for students. He is looking at additional classes to offer next year, such as a media class and an internship and careers class. Students in the latter class would spend four days a week in the classroom and a few hours a week doing an “internship”. Letters are being sent to local businesses to see if they would be interested in partnering with the school for this class. Additional classes are still being researched.
There were no reports by the board president or board committees.
There was no correspondence.
Hanefeldt moved to approve the consent agenda with the removal of Item D, McDowell (due to no information). Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
Discussion/Action Items:
- President Morrill explained what the different board committees entail. Morrill asked board members to email her what committees they would and would not like to be on prior to the February meeting. Fanta moved to table committee assignments to the February meeting. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: Farnik – no, Kuhlman – yes, Hanefeldt - yes, Morrill – yes, Fanta – yes. 4-1. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Set regular board meetings: Kuhlman moved to continue meeting on the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Superintendent Petersen explained we are not looking at making any changes to the ESU 1 special education contract for next year. Hanefeldt moved to approve the ESU 1 contract with the addition of one full time student attending Tower School. Seconded by Kuhlman. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Two students would like to option from Plainview. Fanta moved to approve the option enrollment requests for Nickolas Christiansen and Lexi Huigens. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Hanefeldt moved to appoint the Superintendent as the district’s non-discrimination compliance coordinator. Seconded by Kuhlman. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- The board discussed attendance at upcoming conferences. Hanefeldt moved to accept Morrill, Kuhlman, and Fanta attending the Legislative Conference/Budget and Finance workshop on January 22nd and 23rd. Seconded by Kuhlman. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried. Hanefeldt moved to approve the attendance of Farnik, Morrill, and Fanta at the NASB Education Forum on February 8th and 9th. Kuhlman seconded the motion. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried. There is a Nebraska Beef in Schools Summit in Hebron in February. Fanta will contact a local cattleman about more information on the subject.
- Search firm process: Discussion was held on where the search firm process stood including items requested by the search firm, timelines, and results of a board survey regarding needs for a new superintendent. Regarding the board survey, Hanefeldt moved to enter closed session to strategize about board requirements for a new superintendent and to discuss the survey results and avoid needless injury to a board member’s reputation. Farnik questioned the need for closed session for the qualities of the new superintendent, stating that all of them should be positive. The board discussed the motion and whether it was appropriate to enter closed session. President Morrill offered an amendment to the motion which clarified that the motion was only for purposes of preventing the needless injury to a board member when reviewing the survey results. Fanta seconded motion as clarified by President Morrill. RCV: 5-0 Hanefeldt – yes, Farnik – yes, Morrill – yes, Fanta – yes, Kuhlman – yes, Gragert excused. Motion Carried. Farnik asked to review the policy before going into closed session to make sure all board members knew of the parameters. Board President Morrill again clarified that the motion was limited to discussion of the survey results and was necessary to prevent needless injury to a board member, who did not object to the closed session, and that the board would come out of closed session for any other purpose. The board entered closed session at 8:15 p.m. Kuhlman made a motion to end closed session at 8:48 p.m. Seconded by Hanefeldt.
RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
Discussion was held on how to use the survey results and on restructuring the current PK-3 Principal/Superintendent position and contract into a PK-12 Principal and a full-time superintendent. Questions were asked to the superintendent and principal regarding the current contract arrangement and how it is done by other schools. The board will meet with the search firm on January 26th.
The following bills were paid:
At 9:05 p.m., President Morrill adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 13, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library.
Jennifer Hoffman, Secretary
