Regular January Meeting and Organizational Meeting Monday, January 8, 2024 7:00 PM as advertised in the Pilot-Tribune/Enterprise and on High School Media Center the schools’ website fortcalhounschools.org ROUTINE BUSINESS-Call to Order: Mr. Green was presiding. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. There were 4 administrators and 3 visitors present.-Note Nebraska Open Meeting Laws: So noted.-Excused Absences: Moved that the absence of Kelli Shaner be excused. This motion, made by Schrum and seconded by Christensen, Passed: Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea.-Roll Call: Present-Mike Bonacci, Josh Christensen, Cassie Kelly, Amanda Schrum, Ted Welchert; Absent-Kelli Shaner. Approval of Agenda: Moved that the agenda be approved as presented. This motion, made by Christensen and seconded by Schrum, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea-Board Members Make Declaration for the Record of Any Conflicts of Interest per Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Laws: Josh Christensen declared he had a connection with Abe’s Trash Company. ELECTION OF OFFICERS-Election of President: Nominations opened. Josh Christensen nominated Amanda Schrum seconded by Mike Bonacci. There were no other nominations and they closed. Amanda Schrum was elected president by a unanimous 5-0 vote. President Schrum is now presiding.-Election of Vice President: Nominations opened. Cassie Kelly nominated Josh Christensen seconded by Amanda Schrum. There were no other nominations and they closed. Josh Christensen was elected vice president by a unanimous 5-0 vote.-Election of Secretary: Nominations opened. Amanda Schrum nominated Kelli Shaner seconded by Josh Christensen. There were no other nominations and they closed. Kelli Shaner was elected secretary by a unanimous 5-0 vote.-Election of Treasurer: Nominations opened. Josh Christensen nominated Cassie Kelly seconded by Mike Bonacci. There were no other nominations and they closed. Cassie Kelly was elected treasurer on a unanimous 5-0 vote.-Oath of Office: Board members recited the Oath of Office as a group. REGULAR AGENDA-Public Participation: There were no public comments.-Approval of Claims: Moved that the board of education approve the claims in the amount of $134,638.75 from the General Fund and $135,202.02 from Savings and Depreciation. This motion, made by Christensen and seconded by Bonacci, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. Mr. Green noted general fund bills regarding repairs to the Micro bus, the 1st fuel bill of the year for our regular bus fleet, and contract amounts from Sparq Data and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. Also noted were Savings & Depreciation bills for track/field project completion and elementary window coverings.-Claim for Abes Trash: Moved that the claim from Abe's Trash Service be approved in the amount of $1,565.45. This motion, made by Bonacci and seconded by Kelly, Passed. Josh Christensen: Abstain (With Conflict), Mike Bonacci: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea-Consent Agenda: Moved that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented. This motion, made by Kelly and seconded by Christensen, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. The new van will be coming shortly. It is being modified to be “school approved” by the state.-Set Regular Board Meeting Day and Time: Moved that the Regular Meetings of the Fort Calhoun Board of Education be held at 7:00 PM on the 2nd Monday of each month. Passed with a motion by Member #1 and a second by Member #2. This motion, made by Kelly and seconded by Christensen, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea-Designate the District Official Newspaper for Publications: Moved that Washington County PilotTribune & Enterprise and the Daily Record, when needed, be designated as the official newspapers for the Fort Calhoun School District. This motion, made by Christensen and seconded by Kelly, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. A question was asked about also using the Omaha World Herald.-Designate District's Legal Counsel: Moved to designate the attorneys of KSB School Law of Lincoln, Nebraska as district legal counsel. The District reserves the right to use the legal counsel of Nebraska Association of School Boards, as may be needed. This motion, made by Bonacci and seconded by Christensen, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. Mr. Green said we have been with them for a long time and they do a great job.-Board Authorization for Superintendent Actions: Moved that the Board of Education authorize and grant the superintendent or his designee, authority to represent the District in all matters relating to local, state and federal programs and funds. This motion, made by Christensen and seconded by Schrum, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. Amanda Schrum stated this gives Mr. Green the authority to do his job.-Appoint an Executive Secretary: Moved that Rose Tinkham be appointed as the Executive Secretary for the Fort Calhoun School District. This motion, made by Bonacci and seconded by Christensen, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea-Selection of Bank Depository for District Funds: Moved that WCB, Blair and Fort Calhoun Nebraska be designated as the depository for all School District #3 accounts for 2024. This motion, made by Kelly and seconded by Christensen, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea-Committee Assignments 2024: President Schrum said the committees will be the same as 2022-23, and noted the advantage of 2 years working on policies with the American Civics committee: American Civics/Facilities and Grounds, and Transportation: Ted Welchert, Cassie Kelly, Kelli Shaner; Finance and Technology: Amanda Schrum, Josh Christensen, Mike Bonacci-Standing Committee Reports: •Finance-The committee discussed timing systems for basketball and football; additional security cameras; meeting to update our current contract for our SRO; discussing assistance for the business manager; the HAL position and hoping to bring it up to .50 FTE, plans for a girls wrestling locker room, and a personnel update for the PLC for 2024-25. Information on who designed the boys’ wrestling room was furnished as a reference. •American Civics/Education-The committee reviewed policies and made necessary changes to only 5045 regarding preschool tuition and Before and After Care. Other items discussed were timing systems, additional security cameras, the SRO agreement and business manager assistance, High Ability Learning, a girls’ wrestling locker room, and reassignment of staff to the PLC for 2024-25.-Policies 3011-Transportation; 3015-Time Away from School Activities; 3016-Use of Tobacco Products; 3017-Press Releases; and 3018-Denying Access to School Premises or Activities: Moved that the board of education waive first reading and pass on second reading Policies 3011Transportation; 3015-Time Away from School Activities; 3016-Use of Tobacco Products; 3017-Press Releases; and 3018-Denying Access to School Premises or Activities. This motion, made by Kelly and seconded by Schrum, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. Mr. Green stated the committee will continue to review and update policies as needed. There are no changes to these policies.-Policy 5045 Student Fees: Moved that the board of education waive first reading and pass on second reading Policy 5045 as revised. This motion, made by Christensen and seconded by Schrum, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. The change on this reflects the increase in Preschool tuition and dropping verbiage regarding the Before and After Care as it is now not a school program.-Purchase of Timing Systems: Moved that the board of education approve the purchase of shot clocks for basketball and 35 second clocks for completion of the football field project and accept the Quote from Crouch Recreation, Inc. This motion, made by Christensen and seconded by Kelly, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. Mr. Schleifer assured the board that shot clocks in all classes for basketball will be put in place for next year.-Purchase of Security Cameras for the Track/Field Area and Bleacher/Concession Areas Moved that the board of education approve the quote from Prime Secured to put security cameras on the track/field, behind the bleachers and in the concession area. This motion, made by Kelly and seconded by Schrum, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea: Mr. Green had received a question about security in these areas. With the need for security cameras to monitor action between bleachers and east side of school, this is being recommended. It will be paid through an allocation from our EFC grant.-Resignation: Moved that the resignation of Charlee Potadle be accepted. This motion, made by Kelly and seconded by Schrum, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. She will be home with her family, has been a fantastic teacher, and we will miss her.-Board Member Reports: Amanda Schrum is glad to be back in school and the ‘swing of things’. She thanked the board for voting her to be their leader again, and asked that if there is anyone they know who may want to run for school board for the to be vacant seats.-Administrator Reports: •Dr. Wemhoff presented graphs showing the history of failing students, their grades, classes and how this has changed. Information was presented from 2018 to the present. Staff and administration now use MTSS to monitor and intervene to improve this. Percentages, numbers and trends were shown for both junior high and high school students. After using MTSS since 9/22 the facts show even though we now have more students there is less failing in both numbers and percentages. •Mr. Wagner: Said it was good to be back, highlighting events around the building in December. Having the Winter band concert a separate program was a success and they are looking to continue this in the future. He spoke on progress for the 6th grade position, in person training for the new Math Program, and upcoming preschool registration. The elementary currently serves 6 families in their backpack program. Updates on professional development and upcoming events were noted. •Mr. Schleifer: Reported on girls and boys basketball and their records; both boys and girls wrestling, and the final Unified basketball games. He highlighted upcoming activity dates for basketball and wrestling and the start of junior high practices. Basketball stats reflect Fort Calhoun having enough wins to host some Conference Tournament games and will will host the finals. Shot clocks and football field play clocks have been approved by the board tonight and will be ordered. -Superintendent Report: Mr. Green reported on the continuing board goals, the Unicameral now back in session with over 300 new bills introduced so far, and attending the upcoming Legislative Issues Conference. This session is big on Governor Pillen cutting property taxes and so far there is no detailed plan on how that will look and the impact on school budgets. To be in compliance with our ESSR grant, the COVID team met and no changes were made to the current policy. He will be attending career fairs and doing mock interviews to reach out to and get teachers interested in coming to Fort Calhoun to teach. Monday January 15th is a no school day but teachers will be participating in a Mental Health inservice. A host of speakers will talk about various issues not only for students but staff/adults also. Kudos to Ashley Dougherty and the committee for putting this together. It is not specifically for teachers; anyone who works for the schools may come. CLOSED/EXECUTIVE SESSION-Move to Closed/Executive Session: Moved that the board of education go into closed session for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual in compliance with the law. The president said a second time that the closed session was for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual in compliance with the law. The board entered closed/executive session at 7:38PM. This motion, made by Schrum and seconded by Kelly, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert: Yea. The board entered executive session at 7:38 PM.-Return to Open Session: Moved that the board of education return to open session at 8:25PM. This motion, made by Schrum and seconded by Christensen, Passed. Mike Bonacci: Yea, Josh Christensen: Yea, Cassie Kelly: Yea, Amanda Schrum: Yea, Ted Welchert. ADJOURNMENT-There being no further business, the president declared the meeting adjourned at 8:27 PM. ZNEZ PT 01-16-24
