Minutes- April 17, 2017
The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Creighton Community School District No. 13 was held on April 17, 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 Morrill called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Morrill announced that the Open Meeting Laws Act Poster was displayed on the wall.
Members present: Kay Morrill, Colleen Farnik, Greg Kuhlman, and Duane Fanta. Dixie Hanefeldt arrived at 7:02.
Others Present: Superintendent Petersen, Principal Nilson, Secretary Hoffman, and district patrons.
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Kuhlman moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Fanta. RCV: 4-0. Gragert excused. Hanefeldt absent. Motion Carried.
Public comment: Visitors were welcomed and the public comment statement was read. Mark Wilmes addressed the board on performing exit interviews to staff that is leaving.
Fanta moved to approve the consent agenda consisting of the monthly financial reports, minutes of the March 13th and 21st meetings, and excusing Tim Gragert for military leave. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Reports:
Superintendent Petersen shared information on the AQuESTT conference she attended last week. The meeting focused on how schools are graded based on the six tenants of AQuESTT. We have partnered with UNL on a PK-3 project about policies that influence early learning. Thirty five students qualify for summer school.
Principal Nilson stated that NeSA and MAPS testing began last week. The ACT test for juniors will be on April 19th. Preregistration for classes is completed and he is working on the master schedule for next year. He attended several Career and Technical Education sessions at the AQuESTT conference.
President Morrill stated that Principal Nilson’s contract had been sent to the attorney so it can be set up in the same template as incoming Superintendent Thompson. A response has been received from the Attorney General’s office. According to KSB Legal Services, the violations were improper motion to enter closed session, improper reason for entering closed session, and sufficiency of the board’s minutes. No penalties were accessed and more training has been received on closed session.
Fanta reported on the Back to the Basics conference. A lot of scenarios and how to handle them were discussed and it was very informative. Hanefeldt also attended and shared four themes from the meeting: being frank and open at meetings keeps trust in the community, every board action is based on some policy so keep policies current, agenda items need to be specific, and school districts need to educate any student that lives in that district.
The McDowell committee met prior to the meeting and decided that all applicants would receive $2,000, payable in two payments.
The Community Outreach committee is interested in having an informational meeting with FES. FES works on “branding” and promoting your school and community. The city council is interested in listening to their presentation. Discussion occurred as to whether or not we would like to listen to the presentation. If they do come, the city has already asked them to come with a cost proposal. We will wait and see if there is a possible date by the next meeting. The next step in the Beef in Schools process would be to have someone from Nutrition Services at the Department of Education to speak with school food service directors.
If any board members see changes that need to be made to policies, they need to let the committee know. The Finance committee has met to discuss the pay schedule for the classified staff. The Transportation committee has met and is analyzing expenses at this time. The Safety committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. on May 1st. The Transportation committee will meet on May 3rd following the HVAC monthly update. The Policy committee will meet at 4:30 on May 3rd.
Discussion/Action Items:
- Fanta moved to accept the resignations of Elizabeth Glynn, Laurie Twibell, and Mary Udell. Kuhlman seconded the motion. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Hanefeldt moved to accept the high school science contract for David Huston, seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Kuhlman moved to accept the contract for Curtis Stevens for instrumental music. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Hanefeldt moved to accept Caitlin von Lau’s contract for middle school. Kuhlman seconded the motion. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- A motion was made by Kuhlman to ratify the certified contracts for the 2017-2018 school year. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Summer school will be offered and ran the same as in the past. Hanefeldt moved to accept the summer school contracts for Kim Lemke and Teresa Kuhl for the summer of 2017. Seconded by Kuhlman. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- Joe Pfanstiel is taking classes to teach drivers ed. Hanefeldt moved to offer drivers education at a rate of $225 per student and to pay Joe Pfanstiel $145 per student. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- The board has been working on reviewing policies. Hanefeldt moved to fix the typos in policies 102.00, 103.00, 203.07, 204.07, and 204.12. The motion was seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
- The board did a first reading of several policies. Fanta moved update policy 103.00, Equal Educational Opportunity, by ending the first sentence in the second paragraph at the word access, deleting to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups, and to change the phone number to 402-358-5000. Seconded by Kuhlman. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried. For policy 203.01, Board Organizational Meeting, the board discussed having a special meeting prior to the January meeting to reorganize board officers. Morrill felt this would be beneficial for the new president. A proposal will be put together for the next meeting. Morrill moved to delete the third paragraph of policy 203.03, Vice President, because it is not a valid aspect of our meetings. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried. A proposed policy will be worked on to update 203.05, Treasurer. The community outreach committee needs to be added to 203.06, Board Committees, and definitions may be added as well before approval. On Policy 204.10, Agenda, the board will just clarify in paragraph two that they are using public comment correctly since patrons should talk at public comment unless the agenda item is for the purpose of discussion or if action is needed. For a fee, Nebraska Association of School Boards is providing us with any new policies that are required. The first reading of policies 509.03 Student and Staff Memorials, 607.09 Service Animals and Therapy Dogs, 804.01 Computer and Data Security, and 801.01R ( 801.01 Revision) were completed. The board should review the 300 and 400 policies.
- Fanta moved that Farnik and Morrill attend the School Law Seminar in Kearney on June 9th. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 5-0. Gragert excused. Motion Carried.
The following bills were paid:
At 8:22 p.m., President Morrill adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, May 15, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library.
Jennifer Hoffman, Secretary
