Conestoga Board of Education
Pending Approval
The regular
meeting of the Conestoga Board of Education was held Tuesday,
January 13, 2009, at the Conestoga Elementary School, 104 East High
Street, Murray, NE. Dennis Martin, President, called the
meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Board Members
Dennis Martin, Jeff Stanley, Dean Nickels, Pat Neu, Gary Todd,
Scott Moore; Administrators Mark Sievering and Eric Dennis; two
visitors. Angela Leifeld and Robin Frost, excused.
Notice of the meeting was given in advance by publication and/or
posting in accordance with the Board approved method for giving
notice of meetings. Notice of this meeting and the subjects
to be discussed at this meeting were given in advance to all
members of the Board of Education. A current copy of the
agenda was maintained as stated in the publicized notice.
At the beginning of this meeting, Dennis Martin, President,
announced and informed the public that a current copy of the Open
Meetings Act is posted on the West wall of the meeting room.
Pat Neu, secretary, administered the Oath of Office to new and
re-elected board members Scott Moore, Dennis Martin and Dean
Nickels. A Certificate of Election was presented.
Reorganization of the board for 2009
President Dennis Martin opened the floor for nominations for the
office of President
Gary Todd nominated Dennis Martin, second by Jeff Stanley.
Motion by Pat Neu to cease nomination and cast a unanimous ballot
for Dennis Martin, President of Conestoga Board of Education.
Motion seconded by Gary Todd. Motion carried 5-0 by roll call
vote. Dennis Martin, abstain.
Pat Neu nominated Gary Todd for the office of Vice President,
second by Jeff Stanley.
President Dennis Martin called for additional nominations.
There being none, nominations were closed. Motion carried 5-0
by roll call vote. Gary Todd, abstain.
Dean Nickels nominated Pat Neu for the office of Secretary, second by Gary Todd. President Dennis Martin called for additional nominations. There being none, nominations were closed. Motion carried 5-0 by roll call vote. Pat Neu, abstain.
Gary Todd nominated Dean Nickels for the office of Treasurer, second by Pat Neu. President Dennis Martin called for additional nominations. There being none, nominations were closed. Motion carried 5-0 by roll call vote. Dean Nickels, abstain.
Committee Assignments
| Budget and Finance |
Dean
Nickels |
| Negotiations | Pat Neu Scott Moore Gary Todd |
| Americanism/Instruction/Policy | Pat Neu Scott More Jeff Stanley |
| Transportation | Scott Moore Dennis Martin Jeff Stanley |
| Building and Grounds | Gary Todd Pat Neu Dean Nickels |
| Legislative Liaison Alternate |
Jeff Stanley Scott Moore |
Motion by Gary Todd, second by Pat Neu to approve the minutes of the Tuesday, December 9, 2008, regular meeting. Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote.
Motion by Pat Neu, second by Gary Todd to approve the claims as submitted. Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote.
The agenda was set as presented.
SCHEDULED AUDIENCE:
Auditor Gary Pohlmann, Dana F. Cole representative, gave an overview of the financial record of the district for the 2007-08 year.
REPORTS:
Eric Dennis:
- Implemented Cougar Traits, promoting positive behavior.
- Door control system for High School and Alternative site discussed with Siemens.
Angela
Leifeld: Report as submitted
Robin Frost: Report as submitted.
Mark Sievering:
- Wind energy proposal was not accepted by the local public power districts. Companies will continue to work on those projects and may contact Conestoga again in the future.
- Monitoring the legislative session for decisions concerning schools.
- No Child Left Behind assessment indicates that the elementary program needs improvement. This classification was not due to any deficiency in scores, but rather due to the fact that the district was short less than .05% of the special education students taking the test. Due to the guidelines, all students, even those who do not attend the district school and are contracted out to specialized services, must be tested. It is difficult for those students to be tested under the curriculum of the district due to the fact that the student are not on site. Therefore, the system of testing must be corrected to involve those contracted students.
- Informed the board of a possible opportunity to teach a college education class, during evening hours.
Kyle Steckler entered the meeting at 7:59 p.m.
NRCSA/NASB:
- NASB workshop brochures submitted for review.
- NRCSA legislative meeting in March, Mr. Sievering scheduled to attend.
COMMITTEE:
Buildings and
Grounds: No report
Budget and Finance: No report
Negotiations: No report
Policy/Americanism/Instruction: No report
Transportation: No report
Legislation: No report
DISCUSSION ITEMS: None
ACTION ITEMS:
No action taken regarding Athletic/Activity Practices: Discussion and Board agreement that coaches have the authority to set practices as long as board policy is observed.
The point system used by coaches, parental concern regarding mandatory practices on non-school days, commitment of participating students, games and practices on non-school days were topics discussed.
Motion by Gary Todd, second by Pat Neu to accept the contract with David Brown, high school Science teacher, for the remainder of the 2008-09 school year. Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote.
Motion by Gary Todd, second by Pat Neu to accept the resignation of Angela Leifeld, secondary Principal, at the end of the 2008-09 school year. Motion carried 5-1 by roll call vote. Dennis Martin, nay.
Motion by Gary Todd, second by Pat Neu to enter executive session at 8:27 p.m. to discuss the evaluation of job performance of an employee to prevent needless injury to the reputation of the employee. Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote.
Dennis Martin reminded the board of education members that the executive session will be to discuss the evaluation of the job performance of an employee to prevent needless injury to the reputation of the employee.
Motion by Gary Todd, second by Jeff Stanley to reconvene from executive session at 9:15 p.m. Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote.
FUTURE DATES:
February 10, 2009 Board of Education Meeting
Motion by Gary Todd, second by Pat Neu to adjourn as there was no further business to be brought before the Board of Education. Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote. President Dennis Martin adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.
