REORGANIZATION OF BOARD

Plainview Public Schools Board of Education Meeting Monday, January 11, 2016 The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education of District 5 of Plainview, NE, was called to order at 5:30 p.m. in the secondary media center by Bob Green, president, on Monday, January 11, 2016. Roll call was answered by Green, Steve Mosel, Vicki Peterson, Mike Sauser, Jason Ashburn and Mike Scott. The rules for open meetings were posted at the back of the room. CONSENT ITEMS Consent items included the minutes of the December 14, 2015 regular meeting, the financial reports, the January claims and approval of the agenda. The financial report (with last month s figures in parentheses) showed a balance of $426,304.41 (693,673.63) in the General Fund. CDs total $1,000,000.00 (1,000,000.00), Special Building Fund $482,140.72 (481,679.91), Petty Cash $1,860.45 (2,444.31), Activity Account $73,372.68 (77,809.04), Lunch Account $9,332.35 (12,343.35) Employee Benefit Fund $51,113.04 (51,110.87), Depreciation Fund $562,883.73 (562,835.93), Payroll Account $1,029.32 (1,019.30), Custodial/Section 125 Account $19,938.10 (22,770.98). Total assets were $2,551,644.99 compared to $2,830,021.51 a month ago and $2,563,504.63 a year ago. December receipts totaled $107,864.30. That compares to $121,958.83 in November. Disbursements totaled $375,233.52, including $75,665.81 for claims and $299,567.71 for payroll. Building Fund receipts totaled $460.81. There were no Building Fund expenditures. Claims to the General Fund totaled $76,329.81. Sauser moved, Mosel seconded, to approve the consent items. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. REORGANIZATION OF BOARD Superintendent Alt assumed leadership of the meeting for the election of the board president. Peterson moved, Mosel seconded, to retain Bob Green as board president. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. Green was named president. Superintendent Alt turned the meeting over to Green. Ashburn moved, Scott seconded, to retain Mike Sauser as board vice president. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. Sauser was named vice president. Sauser moved, Mosel seconded, to retain Vicki Peterson as board secretary. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. Peterson was named secretary. Sauser moved, Peterson seconded, to appoint Imogene Wacker as board treasurer and recording secretary for the board for 2016. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. The president or vice president and the superintendent are authorized to sign checks from the General Fund, the Building Fund, the Payroll Account, the Depreciation Account and the Employee Benefit Account. BOARD COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS Board committee assignments were made as follows: Transportation Green, Scott Building and Grounds Green, Ashburn, Scott Negotiations Green, Peterson, Ashburn Budget Peterson, Green, Mosel Americanism Peterson, Mosel Technology Peterson, Sauser, Scott Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Peterson, Ashburn, Green Policy and Procedures Green, Sauser, Scott Safety Sauser, Ashburn School Improvement Mosel, Scott NASB Government Relations Network Representative Peterson

Cooperative Activities Scott, Sauser, Mosel PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Chairman Green read a statement, setting the parameters on what is allowed in the public comment period and also reminding those involved of a five-minute time limit. Dan Ashburn brought a proposal on purchasing new instruments from the music boosters list through Ashburn Music from various distributors. Brook Curtiss suggested that more information be put in the superintendent ad on the Teach in Nebraska website. Jason Ashburn moved, Peterson seconded, to change the agenda to allow discussion on the band instrument purchase immediately following the public comments. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. DISCUSSION/ACTION ON PURCHASING/LEASING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Music instrument purchases were discussed at the November board meeting, and again at the December meeting. It was requested that this topic be brought back in January for board action. Tessa Jacobsen and Susan Norris were present at the previous meetings and provided a list of instruments that are the highest priority for replacement. Most are large instruments that students cannot easily rent or purchase. Total cost was $45,847.20. A lease-purchase agreement is also available. Also suggested by the music boosters was about $1,500 in repairs for current school instruments. At the December meeting, Superintendent Alt noted that the administration was not previously aware of the need for instruments and extensive repairs and that the 2015-2016 budget does not contain an amount large enough to cover the purchases. He reiterated those comments. Jacobsen and Norris were again present at the meeting, along with other interested district patrons and students. They noted several concerns with the Ashburn Music proposal and again noted their support for either the Midbell Music or Midwest Music proposals. Following extensive discussion, Peterson moved, Mosel seconded, to pursue a five-year lease with Midbell Music of Sioux City for $11,000 per year. Upon roll call vote, Mosel, Peterson, Green, Sauser and Scott voted aye, and Ashburn abstained. Motion carried. Midbell will buy the district s old unusable instruments for $1,000. They also agreed to have the instruments delivered in three weeks and will set them up and tune them. Included in the lease purchase are new percussion instruments, two euphoniums and one flute, along with multiple mallets, drum heads, etc. DISCUSSION OF COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS Mosel and Sauser attended a community meeting in Creighton on December 16. Jim Tenopir, interim executive director of the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA), spoke at the meeting, with cooping activities as one of his topics. Sauser and other board members commented that they do not feel Creighton is interested in cooping any activities at this time. Green had spoken to the Osmond board president who agreed to have discussion at their January meeting on a possible committee meeting with Plainview to discuss cooping issues. Principal Novicki noted that decisions need to be made soon in order to work out any agreements. DISCUSSION ON JUNIOR HIGH BUILDING Green updated the board on committee discussions pertaining to the old junior high building. The need to offer tours of the building to community members was a priority. Board members agreed to give tours during the February 11, 2016 Parent-Teacher Conferences. The tours will be for all district patrons, not just parents attending Parent-Teacher Conferences. DISCUSSION OF AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE PROVISIONS Superintendent Alt reported on attendance at an Educational Service Unit workshop on completing the required forms for the Affordable Care Act. He also reported that the district will likely offer a single Blue Cross Blue

Shield policy to eligible classified staff members, with the district paying approximately eighty to eighty-five percent of the premium, with the remainder paid by the staff member. DISCUSSION OF SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH PLANS AND PROCEDURES Advertisements for the superintendent position were placed in the Omaha World-Herald and on the Teach in Nebraska website. Packets from the school attorney with information on hiring procedures were distributed to board members. A special meeting was set for Monday, January 18, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. to review and take action on developing a process and guidelines for hiring a superintendent. BOARD APPOINTMENTS AND DESIGNATIONS Several appointments and designations are made by the board each year. Peterson moved, Sauser seconded, to designate/appoint the following positions: Official Depositories of District Funds Midwest Bank and Madison County Bank in Plainview and Brunswick State Bank in Brunswick; District Auditor Michael Pommer, CPA, of Wakefield; District Attorney Perry, Guthery, Haase and Gessford of Lincoln; State and Federal Programs Director Richard Alt or the superintendent under current contract. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. APROVAL ON FIRST AND SECOND READING CHANGES TO BOARD POLICY 606.01R1 (INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SELECTION) Board Policy 606.01R1 (Instructional Materials Selection) was reviewed at the December board meeting, with changes discussed at that time to clarify wording and intent, particularly concerning digital materials and state standards. Sauser moved, Ashburn seconded to approve on first and second reading, changes to Board Policy 606.01R1 (Instructional Materials Selection). Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. DISCUSSION/APPROVAL ON FIRST AND SECOND READING CHANGES TO BOARD POLICY 407.02 (CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEE SALARY SCHEDULE ADVANCEMENT) Board Policy 407.02 (Certificated Employee Salary Schedule Advancement) was reviewed. A minor change is needed in the policy to bring it in line with the negotiated agreement and past practices. The change will allow the administration latitude in approving course work for movement on the salary schedule. The policy addition states, The administration may, when they feel it is in the best interest of the school district and its students, approve deviations to courses allowed for movement on the salary schedule. Peterson moved, Mosel seconded, to approve on first and second reading, changes to Board Policy 407.02 (Certificated Employee Salary Schedule Advancement). Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ON GENDER PARTICIPATION IN NSAA ACTIVITIES There has been recent widespread publicity in the state on the gender equity issue and the increasing pressure on schools and on the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) to adopt a policy that defines how the gender equity issue will be addressed. NSAA regional meetings are currently being held and two gender equity proposals are on the agenda for discussion with a possible vote in each NSAA district. Superintendent Alt included in the board packet a draft policy that the NSAA has prepared pertaining to gender participation and two NSAA proposals that deal with gender equity. The draft policy is a broad picture of gender participation. One of the individual proposals says that a student s gender is determined by the sex noted on his/her birth certificate at birth. The second proposal says a student s gender is determined by the sex noted on his/her birth certificate (which can be changed after birth). ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR S REPORT

Activities Director Cory Friedrich, in his written report, noted the start of speech competition on January 27 and Wayne State College Honor Band on January 30. He also listed winter athletic activities. PRINCIPAL S REPORT Principal Patty Novicki reported that NeSA statewide writing testing opens on January 18. She also reported that 64 students took semester tests on December 21 and 59 students on December 22. Peterson asked that the administration look early at the preschool numbers for the 2016-2017 school year and again look at offering junior kindergarten. PRESIDENT S REPORT Chairman Green noted that he had contacted the county clerk and as yet, no one had filed for the school board positions. SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT Superintendent Alt brought a thank you to the board. He again noted that the deadline for incumbents to file for re-election is February 16 and the filing deadline for non-incumbents is March 1. The board again set an afternoon meeting for February, with the board meeting for lunch at noon and the meeting scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Monday, February 8, 2016. He also noted that the new secondary air conditioning unit is ready to be installed when the weather is warmer, as the heating system must be shut down for the installation. CLOSED SESSION Sauser moved, Scott seconded, to enter into closed session for the purpose of discussing teacher negotiations. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. The board entered closed session at 7:47 p.m. The board returned to open session at 8 p.m. ACTION ON APPROVAL OF TEACHER NEGOTIATIONS The board and teacher negotiation teams reached a tentative two-year salary and benefits agreement. Peterson moved, Ashburn seconded, to approve teacher negotiations for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years, as agreed upon by the board and teacher negotiating teams. Upon roll call vote, the ayes were unanimous. Motion carried. Main points of the settlement include: 2016-2017 base salary - $33,625. 2017-2018 base salary - $34,375. An MA +27 column will be added to the salary schedule in 2016-2017 and an MA +36 column will be added to the salary schedule in 2017-2018. $900 deductible Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. Raising the pay from $20 to $30 an hour for a teacher covering a class for another teacher during their planning period. Teachers having one, two, or three years of teaching experience at the time they are hired will be placed on Step 3 of the salary schedule. They will be frozen on Step 3 until they have completed their third year of teaching, at which time they will be granted normal vertical movement in relation to their experience. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m. -------------

I, the undersigned, the duly appointed recording secretary of the Board of Education of District 5, Plainview, NE, hereby certify that the attached and foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the regular meeting of the Board of Education of District 5 of Plainview, NE, held in open session on the 11th day of January, 2016, which meeting was preceded by public notice published in The Plainview News. Imogene Wacker, Recording Secretary