Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Dec. 22 Dorchester School Board Minutes

(The following minutes from the Dec. 22 Dorchester Board of Education meeting appear as submitted to the Dorchester Times by school administration staff.)

President Brad Havlat called the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education of Saline County School District 76-0044, a.k.a. as Dorchester Public Schools, to order at 7:35 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 22, 2008. All members, except Mark Bors, were present along with Superintendent Brian Redinger, Principal Mitch Kubicek, Joyce Karl and Scott Pohl, Athletic Director. Motion by Hansen, second by Kahle to approve the minutes of the November regular meeting, with appropriate date change for the December meeting. Members voting yes to the motion were Hansen, Kahle, Boller, Pracheil and Havlat. Bors absent. Motion passed 5-0.

After verification of publication of the meeting notice in the Crete News, local postings of the meeting notice (Dorchester Schools, Farmers Coop, First State Bank and the Village Office) and the advanced receipt of the meeting agenda and other meeting materials by individual board members, the President stipulated that meeting minutes should reflect that this meeting was held in compliance with the Neb. Open Meetings Law. It was also noted the Open Meeting Act Poster is posted in the boardroom. There was no request for change of agenda.

The November treasurer’s report was reviewed. Motion by Boller, second by Pracheil to approve report. Voting yes were Boller, Pracheil, Kahle, Hansen and Havlat. Bors absent. Motion passed 5-0.

Motion by Hansen, second by Kahle to approve November end of month and December expenditures for the General Fund, Special Building Fund and Bond Fund. Voting yes were Hansen, Kahle, Boller, Pracheil and Havlat. Bors absent. Motion passed 5-0.

Mark Bors arrived at 8 p.m.

Committee Reports

Building/Grounds Committee: Supt. Redinger will call Crete Lumber to see when the inside gym doors can be installed. The estimate for ADA door openers for the front east doors was discussed, along with the installation of railing for the entrance. Handicapped accessible and van accessible parking stalls were discussed. Specs will be obtained with further discussion to be held in January. The heating regulation problem was also discussed and Supt. Redinger will continue to monitor room temps.

Principal’s Report: Principal Kubicek shared that he consulted with mental health therapists about a possible program for students who are not experiencing academic success. He stressed that this is just an investigative step only and will get back to the board at a later date. He reported that the Apex program being currently used in credit recovery class is a success with the possibility of being used for a rigorous summer program. Otter Creek and Accelerated Math will be implemented in the future and Mr. Kubicek has applied for a grant to help defray the costs of these programs. The data on our State Report Card was discussed. Mr. Kubicek has secured a grant that will make it possible for 17 teachers and our administration to take part in a book study. Student surveys were distributed and results will be shared with the Board at a later date. Dorchester Schools has been approved as an ACT testing site that will be able to host up to 36 students in April and June.

New Business: Building accessibility for our patrons was discussed and will be tabled until the January 2009 meeting. Motion by Kahle, second by Hansen to approve Horace Mann as the District 44’s 403(b) plan administrator. Voting yes were Kahle, Hansen, Boller, Pracheil, Bors and Havlat. Motion passed 6-0. The Board instructed AD Pohl to order the portable seating for the multi-purpose room.

The next meeting of the Dorchester Board of Education will be Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.

Motion by Kahle, second by Hansen to adjourn at 10:30 pm. All members voted aye.

Signed: Ron Kahle, Secretary of the Dorchester Board of Education.

4 comments:

  1. I hope this becomes a regular feature on this blog. I also hope the village board follows suit. In a day and when the people see less and less accountability from the politicians in Washington, it's nice to see accountability at the local level.

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  2. Where can a person find a list of the expenses and bills>>

    are they included in the minutes or will we need to go to the Crete paper to find those?

    thanks

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  3. The crete paper stinks .............. 4 rolls of Charmin may cost a little more .................... but it certainly is more comfortable .......................

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  4. It will be another 3 weeks until it appears in the newsprint.

    I like seeing this online. Actually I don't recall ever seeing a line item budget in the school minutes.

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