President Sharon Kuska opened the Exeter School Board
meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2018.
The board rearranged the agenda to hear first from Mike
Norris who represents Southeast Nebraska Career Academy Partnership (SENCAP) which
allows high school students to take dual credit college classes.
Norris presented a short video on the program which
currently includes 45 high schools in the state. “This is an opportunity for students to take
some dual credit courses for them to see if this is what they want to do.”
The courses are offered online to juniors and seniors and
will transfer to many colleges. “The
selling point,” according to Norris, “is that students can explore a career and
decide they don’t want to pursue it.”
He touted the support of Exeter-Milligan counselor Denice
Kovanada and superintendent Paul Sheffield as the reasons the program is
working so well.
After fielding a few questions from the board Norris wrapped
up his presentation by telling about the recent field trip to Huddle with the
business students.
Kovanda added,”because of our relationship with the SENCAP
program when we needed a college level English class, Southeast designed a
college level lit class for our kids even though it wasn’t a SENCAP class.”
Exeter-Milligan teacher Matt Nicholas gave the board an
update on the planned senior trip to Galveston.
For the policy review portion of the agenda Sheffield
reviewed the updated safety and security plan.
The safety committee, headed by teacher Jordan Marr, has
been working on this system all school year and Sheffield emphasized that this
system is being standardized throughout the state.
The school presented the information to the students after
Monday afternoon’s speaker. Sheffield
showed the binder that is in each classroom and accessible to any substitute
which includes all of the information on procedures for each emergency.
The board returned to the consensus agenda and approved both
the bills and the minutes.
Moving on to old business the board approved the superintendent
and principal contracts unanimously.
Under the curriculum report Sheffield noted that they are
looking at adding a senior seminar course which would include financial
literacy information along with encouraging students to apply for scholarships
while in college.
The district is also looking at offering a calculus class as
well as looking at a way to add an Agriculture class on site in the next few
years.
Board member Eric Milton mentioned a need for a FFA and
Sheffield explained that FFA is an extra-curricular branch of an Ag
department. He mentioned that the board
could direct the curriculum committee to research the possibilities for an Ag
class.
Community member Kevin Songster asked to speak to the board
about an Ag education and FFA program at Exeter-Milligan.
Songster noted that “This is an Ag community. We have a program eight miles from us if we
can share an instructor or get something going.”
The board discussed the option of using SECAP classes for
Ag. Songster has talked to Friend and they have offered to let his daughter
pursue Ag and FFA there.
Board member Adam Erdkamp noted, “With a year or two of
using Ag classes through SENCAP and we can look into it.”
Milton was a fan of incorporating an Ag program, “We didn’t have
FFA when I was in high school. The
experience they had in public speaking was a big advantage from what I saw.”
Kuska asked the
curriculum committee to meet and look at it.
Under new business the board approved the Exeter Milligan
Education Association as the bargaing agent for the teachers. They also held a brief discuss on the new
transportation contract with A & M, Inc. before approving the changes.
A request for unpaid leave for a teacher was approved with
member Tim Pribyl abstaining.
The board held a discussion on whether or not to continue
paying Nebraska Association of School Board dues. Sheffield commented, “The items the NASB
provides that this board does take advantage of is minimal.”
After making a motion to approve the payment, Milton asked,
“It’s just an annual contract, right? I
think we should keep track of what we get out of it.”
The board approved paying the dues unanimously and Kuska
added – “with tracking.”
Sheffield presented the board with an option of funding an
update to the infrastructure on the wireless internet through eRate funds. He explained that the eRate funds to
reimburse telecommunications projects will be eliminated in the next two years.
The project would pay for new category 6 wire in the old
high school, the elementary and in Milligan.
“Currently it’s kind of cobbled together. It works, but for how much longer?” explained
Sheffield.
The project, which the board approved, will cost around $60,000
and the eRate funds will cover about half.
Sheffield estimated that this update should last the district around 10
years.
On the summer project list the district plans to move the preschool
playground south about 10 feet so that they can redo the sidewalk and fencing
in the area. This will coincide with the changes on the street project the
village is planning.
Also on the summer list will be new volleyball standards in
Exeter along with volleyball and basketball record boards.
In Milligan, the roof above the fifth and sixth grade
classrooms will be redone as well as sanding and refinishing the gym
floor. The district is looking into
rekeying the locks on the Milligan classroom to allow for a master key to be
used in the event of an emergency. They
are also planning to replace faucets in restrooms, repair the soffit and fascia
on the building and add rock to the parking lot in Milligan.
The board approved a local substitute request for Ashley
Looper. Sheffield explained she is
currently a student teacher in the fourth grade classroom at Exeter-Milligan.
The board discussed at length the possibility of entering
into a mental health services contract with Fillmore County Hospital. Sheffield explained that this would allow for
the Exeter-Milligan “staff to receive training to recognize issues with
students. Part would be training on
suicide awareness which is required by the State. I know it’s an added cost but it would help
us be proactive. We are noticing our
kids need a little more help.”
Principal Laura Kroll added that it would provide some
interventions and treatment and “quite a few services in the area of prevention
and direct services.”
The cost, according to Sheffield would be .25 FTE which
equated to $32,000. He explained that
some of that cost would be reimbursable through special education funds.
The board asked the about the advantages of a contract
versus what the district currently has and Sheffield explained that the new
contract would include training and counseling.
He emphasized the correlation between issues at home and the decrease in
academic performance.
The board approved the mental health contract before
Sheffield gave a legislative update of bills that related to education and
noted that the state aid amount for the 2018-2019 state aid would be $33,269 down
from the $37894 Exeter-Milligan received this year.
The board set the April meeting for Wednesday, April 11 at 8
p.m. in Milligan.
