WESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS DISTRICT 66 Board Meeting Minutes January 13, 2014

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1 WESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS DISTRICT 66 Board Meeting Minutes The Meeting of School District 66 was convened in open and public session on at 6:30 p.m., at the Westside ABC Building, 909 South 76th Street, Omaha, Nebraska. Board members present: Absent: David Woodke, President Martha Slosburg, Treasurer Scott Hazelrigg, Secretary David Williams, Director Rosie Zweiback, Vice President Tom Baker, Director Notice of the meeting was given in advance by publication on the district website ( beginning on January 9, 2014, a copy of which is attached to the official minutes. Notice of this meeting and the availability of the agenda was simultaneously given to all members of the and available to anyone at the offices. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public. District Administrative Office Staff Members in attendance: Blane McCann, Peggy Rupprecht, Bob Zagozda, Rick Avard, Alison McGinn, Enid Schonewise, Kami Jessop, Garrett Mueller, Molly Hurley. Other District Staff and Visitors: Garrett Higginbotham, Beth Welke, Dave Richardson, Greg Betts, Laura Iliff, Marla Fries, Gabi Christensen, Hannah Dickson, Doug Krenzer, Beth Morrissette, Dana Blakely, Cindy Kohll. President, David Woodke called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. He acknowledged that the meeting had been publicly announced and the agenda was available to any interested parties. Board member roll call was taken and attendance is noted above. Mr. Woodke welcomed the audience and encouraged everyone to sign the attendance sheet since this information is part of the official minutes of the Board meeting. Mr. Woodke told the Board that the Nebraska Open Meetings regulations have also been posted. He also announced that handouts of supportive documents dealing with issues being discussed during the meeting were available. Mr. David Williams, Board Director, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Board of Education Meetings held on December 9, 2013, with correction noted to board member attendance. Ms. Martha Slosburg, Board Treasurer, seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

2 Page 2 of 5 Treasurer s Report Ms. Slosburg presented the Treasurer s report, along with a motion to approve expenditures in the amount of $9,040,710. Expenditures this month included a $3,000,000 payment in bond principal and interest. Revenues were higher in Nutrition Services (two new contract-meal schools) and the General Fund (Federal SPED receipts). Revenue from Cell Tower Ground Leases is going into the Special Building Fund and we are paying for projects from this Fund instead of the Depreciation Fund. Expenses were high in the General Fund due to technology payment to Apple, and in Nutrition Services Fund due to higher food costs. Mr. Scott Hazelrigg, Board Secretary, seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. (A copy of the report is attached to the official SAB Ms. Hannah Dickson and Ms. Gabi Christensen, co-presidents of the Westside High School Student Advisory Board, provided an update on SAB activities. They sold Holiday Grams (goody bags) in the days leading up to finals before the end of first semester. Winter Formal and Battle of the Bands will be held February 16 th. The theme this year is An Evening in Paris. They are holding work-nights for students Monday through Thursday. All proceeds from Winter Formal will be going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Communications The week of January is School Board Recognition Week in the state of Nebraska. Dr. Blane McCann, Superintendent, recognized our board members for their dedication and commitment to our students and Westside Community Schools. Dr. McCann also acknowledged our candidates who were in attendance. Personnel Report Dr. Enid Schonewise, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, presented the personnel report, which consisted of approval of one probationary contract for the contract year; approval for two retirements one effective January 7, 2014 and one effective upon completion of the contract year; and one approval for resignation effective January 6, Mr. Hazelrigg made a motion to approve the personnel report. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. (A copy of the report is attached to the official School Safety Mr. Rick Avard, Director of Building & Grounds and Shannon Kinsey, School Resource Officer (SRO), presented an update on district safety and security. Over the past few years, security measures have been increased at every building. Cameras and video intercoms have been installed in all elementary buildings and nearly all Early Childhood sites.

3 Page 3 of 5 Westside Middle School has 19 high-definition cameras (17 inside and 2 outside) that are monitored by personnel in the main office. There are four keyless access points that require a designated key fob to enter the building. Officer Kinsey and her K-9 partner Mojo are also assigned to the Middle School. The High School has 32 high-definition cameras (25 inside and 7 outside) that are monitored by various school personnel. There are six keyless access points and security personnel continuously monitor the main entrance. The high school also has a full-time SRO. The Community Conference Center (CCC) has six cameras (4 inside and 2 outside) and two camera / video intercoms one at the south CCC entrance and one at the north Westside Room entrance. Other district buildings with cameras and video monitoring include the Service Center, the Alumni House and the ABC Building. All educational facilities are equipped with intruder door lock mechanisms that allow teachers to lock classroom doors from the inside. Emergency Response Plans are also currently being uniformly updated at all buildings. Previously, each building had its own response plan. Once this update is complete, every building will follow the exact same format and will provide consistency and familiarity for staff who work in multiple buildings. The four major components to the emergency response plans include: Lockdown; Sheltering; Evacuation; Reunification. The District also has two safety committees that meet a number of times throughout the year to discuss district-wide safety concerns. The Workplace Safety Committee is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure working environment for all District employees. The Safe and Secure Schools Committee is dedicated to student-related safety issues and making recommendations regarding building safety protocol. The Omaha Police Department meets periodically with district officials to discuss safety issues and to schedule annual safety audits. The audits occur unannounced in all buildings. Additionally, SRO Kinsey also conducts audits and lockdown drills in the buildings. These audits have helped in the development of improvements to the District s emergency response plans. In addition, an update to security panels in the buildings has provided a significant increase in the number of employee codes, thereby eliminating the need to share codes throughout the District. This will allow building administrators to determine specifically who is entering and leaving a building. These updates also provide the ability to log in to any building s security system from any computer, anywhere, to turn the system on or off; check the status of alarms; and view who has entered the building.

4 Page 4 of 5 The District continues to seek new ways to secure our buildings and keep them safe for students and employees. The building study, currently being conducted by DLR, will also help us determine deficiencies in the area of safety and security. (A copy of the Executive Summary is attached to the official Legislative Introduction Dr. McCann introduced Westside Community Schools new lobbyists, Sean and Mike Kelley, of Kelley & Jerram. The Kelley s were selected following an RFP process that opened on September 19, 2013, and closed on October 21, 2013, and subsequent interviews with three firms that were held on November 11 and 13, Sean and Mike Kelley have a wealth of experience in governmental relations and, as residents of District 66 since 1951, understand first-hand the mission of Westside Community Schools. Westside Community Schools will be Kelley & Jerram s only PK-12 School client. Mr. Mike Kelley expressed that their firm was honored to be representing Westside Community Schools. He also stated that their unique, bi-partisan approach to lobbying allows them to work well on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Sean Kelley will be working exclusively with the State Legislature and will meet regularly with District Administrators on bills they flag as important. Since the new legislative session began only four days ago, they did not have an official legislative report for tonight s meeting. The Kelley s replace Mr. Herb Schimek, who announced his retirement as Westside Community Schools lobbyist in January Mr. Schimek worked with the District until a replacement was hired. Dr. McCann expressed the District s appreciation for Mr. Schimek s contributions and well wishes in his retirement. (A copy of the Executive Summary is attached to the official Visioning Process Dr. McCann provided an update on the District s long-term visioning process that started back in the spring of Fifteen focus groups (made up of teachers, parents, students, business leaders, community members, retired educators, clergy, members and Westside Foundation members) provided input on their perceptions, perspectives, hopes, fears and advice regarding the future of District 66. This information was gathered to help inform the visioning process.

5 Page 5 of 5 While Westside Community Schools has been guided for many years by a mission statement and set of core values / beliefs, a vision statement will help push us forward and inspire us to create a future that we want for all children of our District. The vision statement will make clear the aspirations of our organization; capture the why of our work and the passion of our District. These three elements mission statement, core beliefs and vision need to be aligned to focus our work as a pubic school district. In addition, they will be used as benchmarks and standards to hold us accountable to our community. Westside Community Schools places a high value on our learners, our staff and our community members. Additionally, we value innovation, individualized learning, autonomy and high expectations. Our focus groups also identified these values and expressed their desire that we continue our efforts to nurture and support them into the future. From January through May, various groups will meet to create a vision outline, gather feedback from district stakeholders, hold town-hall meetings, refine the vision and outline an implementation plan. These steps will include regular updates to the. In May, District Administrators will recommend the vision and District goals for to the for approval. (A copy of the Executive Summary is attached to the official Announcements Dr. McCann reviewed upcoming dates which include: UNO/PDK Chapter Dinner January 15, 2014; Martin Luther King Holiday January 20, 2014; Nebraska School Board Recognition Week January 26-31, 2014; Meeting February 3, 2014; District Caucus February 11, 2014; President s Day Holiday February 17, 2014; Meeting February 18, There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:26 p.m.