Minutes January 8, 2018
The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Creighton Community School District No. 13 was held on January 8, 2018 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 posted at the City Offices, front door of the high school, and front door of the elementary school.
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 at the entrance.
Members present: Kay Morrill, Colleen Farnik, Tim Gragert, Greg Kuhlman, Dixie Hanefeldt, and Duane Fanta.
Others Present: Superintendent Thompson, Principal Nilson, Secretary Hoffman, and district patrons.
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Gragert moved to approve the agenda and to reorganize so the audit review would be discussed right after the agenda approval for the time convenience of presenter Lori Olson. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
Lori Olson from Dana F. Cole reviewed the 2017 fiscal year audit with the board. The audit received an unqualified basis opinion, and the deficiencies in segregation of duties is common in schools our size. Mrs. Olson went over the financial statements and explained that the cash balance dropped by two million, with a large part of that due to the building upgrades that were made. She finished by answering questions from board members.
According to Board Policy 203.01, the Annual Organizational meeting began with President Morrill turning the Chairmanship over to Superintendent Thompson. Since there were no new board members, the oath of office was not required and Superintendent Thompson began with nominations for president. Hanefeldt nominated Morrill. Farnik nominated Gragert, who declined. Gragert nominated Farnik. Kuhlman moved to cease nominations. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried. Written ballots were cast. RCV: 4-2 Farnik, Farnik, Morrill, Morrill, Morrill, Morrill. Morrill will remain president. Motion Carried.
Morrill accepted nominations for vice president. Farnik nominated Gragert. Hanefeldt nominated Fanta. Kuhlman moved to cease nominations. Seconded by Gragert. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried. Ballots were read. RCV: 4-2 Fanta, Fanta, Gragert, Gragert, Fanta, Fanta. Fanta will be vice president. Motion Carried.
Hanefeldt nominated Kuhlman for treasurer. Gragert nominated Farnik. Fanta moved to cease nominations and Gragert seconded the motion. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried. Ballots were read. RCV: 4-2 Kuhlman, Kuhlman, Farnik, Kuhlman, Kuhlman, Farnik. Kuhlman will remain treasurer. Motion Carried.
Fanta moved to appoint Jennifer Hoffman as the secretary for the next school year. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
There was no public comment.
Reports:
- Superintendent Thompson contacted Patrick Evans and Thomas Cummings from Tremco and they said they would send someone to do temporary repairs on the roof. We have signed a certificate of completion with 360 Energy stating that all major construction is done and all equipment is installed. We will now be in “performance phase” for a year. A group of elementary teachers will be visiting area schools to learn more about their reading series. They plan on having a recommendation in March. Interviews for a high school English teacher will begin at the end of this week.
- Principal Nilson stated that the trout eggs for Trout in the Classroom will arrive on January 11th. ACT prep began today for sophomores and the juniors will take the ACT on April 11th. He is working with ESU personnel on school improvement. A technology survey and technology usage survey were given to teachers to help with school improvement goal monitoring.
- Board President Morrill discussed the superintendent contract, goals, and evaluation and she created a spreadsheet for Superintendent Thompson to use to keep track of where he is on the goals. Three board members are up for reelection in November. There will be a Beef in Schools webinar on January 17th if any board members are interested in viewing it. The NASB will be holding several conferences in the next couple of months, including the Legislative Issues, Budget and Finance Workshop, Education Forum, and Presidents Retreat.
Copies of all reports are available at the office with the official minutes.
- There was no correspondence.
Gragert moved to approve the consent agenda consisting of minutes of the previous board meeting, monthly financial report, and Policies 502.02 503.03, 504.05, 507.01, 507.02, and 508.01E2. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
Discussion/Action Items:
- The audit review was conducted earlier in the meeting.
- Fanta moved to set the regular school board meeting as the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Seconded by Gragert. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
- Morrill moved to appoint the Superintendent as the district’s non-discrimination compliance coordinator. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
- Gragert moved to approve Morrill’s registration for the Legislative Issues/Budget and Finance Workshop on January 21st and 22nd. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
- Superintendent Thompson reported that he has heard from people in the community and the surveys completed last year that there is an interest in this area for industrial technology to be offered again. He asked the board for their thoughts. The board discussed the cost of adding the program. The main cost would be the salary and benefits of the teachers. Most of the tools and equipment that would be needed are already in the shop. Principal Nilson will survey junior and senior high students to gauge interest in the area. There are very few people graduating with degrees in this area, so we would have to see if there are any teachers even interested in coming. Discussion occurred about setting up the program properly and that it may take a while to get large class sizes in that area. For class scheduling purposes, it would be helpful to know if this is something we want to proceed with as soon as possible. The board gave Superintendent Thompson permission to explore the idea more by completing a survey, coming up with financials on it, and possibly advertising for the position and reporting back to the board at the next regular meeting.
- CCPS contracts with Educational Service Unit 1 in Wakefield for speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology, early childhood, etc. every year. Gragert moved to continue services with ESU 1 by signing the 18-19 service contract. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried
- The negotiations committee and the Creighton Teachers Association (CTA) have agreed on a base of $34,900 for next year, an $800 increase (2.3%) on the base. This base salary will keep us comparable and competitive with area schools. The school attorney recommended cleaning up the contract and updating some verbiage so as to avoid future legal issues. Gragert moved to approve the negotiation committee’s recommendation of increasing the base by $800 to $34,900. Seconded by Hanefeldt. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried. Gragert moved to allow the negotiations committee to work with the CTA committee on the verbiage of the master contract. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 6-0. Motion Carried.
- The planning and development committee met with Deb Wragge and recommended and was agreed to by Deb that her pay will be $300 per meeting and that she will be paid at the end of the process. The timeline for the Strategic Planning process will be an hour once a month with the goal for completion by August 2018. Adjustments may be made to the timeline after meeting with the Steering Committee. The Planning and Development Committee members recommended individuals to serve on the steering committee. Recommendations were based on community demographics with representation from as many as possible. Discussion ensued on the selection process and number to be on the steering committee. Farnik expressed a concern that all Board members had not had input on the selection of steering committee members. There are currently twelve on the recommended list and Deb had recommended no more than fifteen to keep the committee a workable size. Superintendent Thompson agreed to contact the twelve people listed and see if they would be willing to commit the time to be on the committee. With the possibility of not all from the recommended list committing to serve, Board members can all submit names to Superintendent Thompson by January 31st so that all members have input in the selection process. The Planning and Development Committee will meet to incorporate Board member recommendations that were submitted to Mr. Thompson for the remainder of the steering committee and bring another recommended list for board approval by the February Board meeting. Gragert moved to accept the committees recommended list of names as presented as a start for the steering committee. Seconded by Fanta. RCV: 5-1 Hanefeldt - yes, Kuhlman - yes, Fanta - yes, Farnik - no, Gragert - yes, Morrill - yes. Motion Carried.
The following bills were paid:
At 9:21 p.m., President Morrill adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 12, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library.
Jennifer Hoffman, Secretary
