May 13, 2007 Minutes
by Veryle Winter
March 22, 2007
NORFOLK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
NORFOLK, NEBRASKA
Notice -- Notice of the regular meeting was published in the Norfolk Daily News on Monday, May 7, 2007.
4:30 Session
4:30 Session -- The Board of Education met on Monday, May 14, 2007, at 4:30 p.m. for the study session at the Westside Elemenary School and the regular meeting at the City Council Chambers. Members present included Jane McDaniel, Brad Krivohlavek, Alfredo Ramirez, Julee Pfeil, Paul Cazabon, and Clark Froehlich. Absent: None. Also present were Superintendent Randy Nelson, Robert Waite, Doug Witte and Dan DePasquale.
Legal Meeting – Jane McDaniel, President, called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a legal meeting of the Board of Education.
Open Meetings Act–President Jane McDaniel announced that a complete copy of the Open Meetings Act was available for review if anyone was interested and that a complete board packet is available for review.
Building Principal Facility Review– Bob Hastings and Jennifer Drahota updated the board on their new facilities.
Construction Update –Mark Riley, Beckenhauer representative, reported on the construction projects presently underway. Mr. Riley reported that all of the building projects were progressing nicely and were either on target or ahead of target. Bel Air, Grant, Westside, and Middle School are essentially complete.
Multicultural Committee Update – Jennifer Robinson reviewed the goals of the Multicultural Committee and asked for support of the 2007-2008 goals which were (1) focus on classified staff, (2) inform all staff on “supporting multicultural education”, and (3) support Junior High “best program”. The board thanked the work of the Multicultural Committee and agreed to support their goals.
Procedures for Graduation – The board discussed how they would handle handing out diplomas at graduation.
Request from Senior High on First Day of School – Steve Morton and the Senior High administration recommended a change to the first half-day of school at Senior High. This would allow Senior High to have only new students and incoming sophomores on the first half-day of school. Juniors and seniors would be missing two hours of school and would start on day two.
It was the general consensus of the board to allow this request.
Update on GSA Subcommittee – Jane McDaniel reported that the subcommittee of Jane McDaniel, Alfredo Ramirez, and Paul Cazabon met with the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and has determined that the policy we currently have is very good and in compliance. She stated that some procedures could be changed at the Senior High and Junior High. She stated that the group met with the GSA group and felt that there was good dialogue and discussion. Alfredo Ramirez stated that he has since gotten some emails back from the group and he stated they feel very unhappy we didn’t take into consideration the language change they wanted. They are not in agreement with our decision.
It was the general consensus that we keep the committee informed and respond to the committee. Jane McDaniel will respond. We are attempting to be proactive.
Executive Session – At approximately 6:25 p.m. it was moved by Brad Krivohlavek, seconded by Paul Cazabon, o move into executive session for the purpose of discussion of personnel in order to protect the rights of the employee. Roll call: Aye – McDaniel, Krivohlavek, Ramirez, Pfeil, Cazabon, and Froehlich. Nay – None. Motion carried.
End
Executive Session–
At 7:12 p.m. it was moved by Clark Froehlich, seconded by Julee
Pfeil, to move out of executive session and back to regular
session. Roll call: Aye – McDaniel, Krivohlavek,
Ramirez, Pfeil, Cazabon, and Froehlich. Nay – None.
Motion carried.
Adjournment
– President Jane
McDaniel adjourned the meeting at 7:13 p.m. and moved back to
regular session.
REGULAR MEETING
Consent
Agenda
Regular Meeting– Jane McDaniel, President, called the regular meeting of the Board of Education to order at 7:30 p.m. and declared a legally advertised meeting. She welcomed everyone.
Open Meetings Act – Jane McDaniel, President, announced that a complete copy of the Open Meetings Act is posted on the West wall in the City Council Chambers located at 309 Madison Avenue and that a complete board packet is available for review.
Consent Agenda -- It was moved by Brad Krivohlavek, seconded by Julee Pfeil, to approve the consent agenda items as amended. Roll call: Aye: McDaniel, Krivohlavek, Ramirez, Pfeil, Froehlich, and Cazabon. Nay: None. Motion carried.
Minutes -- Regular Meeting, April
9, 2007
2nd
Meeting of the Month, April 26, 2007
Excused
Absence–
None
Approval of School Handbooks for 2007-2008 – Approved the district handbooks as revised and updated by the Director of Student Services’ Office. These changes would go into effect for the 2007-2008 school year.
Approval of Student Fees/Policy Revised – Approved the revisions proposed by the Director of Student Services’ Office for the Student Fees Policy. These changes would be effective with the start of the 2007-2008 school year.
(Insert copy of Student Fees/Policy Revised) – Exhibit A
Resignations/Replacement Staff – Approved the following resignations effective at the end of the 2006-2007 school year contingent upon the hiring of a suitable replacement:
- David Macek, 4th/5th grade Science/Social Studies teacher at Westside – moving to Lincoln to teach
Approved the following new staff members for 2007-2008:
- Jennifer Mejstrik, 2nd Grade, Grant Elementary
- Nicole Hardwick, Grades 5-6, Reiche Elementary
- Dawn Stange, Math, Junior High
- Lorie Summers, Special Education
- Deborah Borgelt, English, Junior High
- Lisa Dasher, Special Education, ECC
- Joette Hardin, Special Education, Senior High
- Peggy Machmuller, Special Education, Junior High
- Aimee Claussen, Pre-K, Grant
- Heather Kosch, Pre-K, Northern Hills
Transfer:
Jill Holcomb, Westside counselor, replacing Deb Navratil
Claims – Approved claims in the amount of $390,505.35 for General Fund; $671.80 for Asbestos Fund; $54,997.59 for Cooperative Fund; $142,814.75 for Lunch Program; $28,413.52 for Reserve/Depreciation Fund; and $76,322.09 for Special Building Fund.
Option Enrollment Request – Approved the request from Michael Clossen to have his son, Trent, option into the Battle Creek School District. The family is planning on moving to Battle Creek during the 2007-2008 school year and wants his children to attend beginning with the start of next year.
Regular Agenda
Award for Excellence – Ben Ries, Senior High staff member, was the Award for Excellence Recipient.
Focus on Students – Mark Claussen and the JOOI students gave the Focus on Students presentation.
Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Nelson reported on the following: congratulations to staff member/award for excellence; construction update; Legislative update (LB658 – Class I bill), and congratulations to the Junior High and Senior High Quiz Bowl Teams.
Financial Report– Robert Waite gave the financial report.
Instruction/Personnel Report – Dr. DePasquale reported on the Connections training and STARS assessment reporting.
Student Services Report – Mr. Witte reported on the following items: TeamMates Walk-A-Thon, Annual Johnson-O’Malley Banquet; summer school plans, end of year activities.
Finance Committee – Mr. Froehlich reported that the Finance Committee met and discussed the bills for the month. They also discussed the construction projects, equipment bids forthcoming and budget for next year.
Activities Committee Report – Dr. Nelson reported that the committee met on April 23, 2007
and discussed the following topics: update on music and activities, utilization of Fitness Center at Senior High, and revisions to coop policy.
REGULAR AGENDA ITEM
No Regular Agenda Items
Future Meetings– Regular Meeting – Monday, June 11, 2007, 4:30 p.m. Study Session/7:30 p.m. Regular Session; 2nd Meeting of the Month – May 24, 2007; National Honor Society Banquet, 5:45 p.m., Senior High Cafeteria, May 16, 2007; and Graduation, Sunday May 20, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.
Adjournment – President McDaniel declared the regular meeting adjourned at 8:18 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Randy A. Nelson,
Secretary Jane McDaniel, President
Board of
Education
Board of Education
