School Board Feels District Moving In Right Direction

The Kimball School Board met for their regular meeting on Feb. 8 with a full agenda. The minutes, board bills and treasurer’s reports resulted in no surprises.

After viewing the treasurer’s report Board President Matt Shoup stated that “we are sitting better than we were.” Board member Travis Cook commented that the board should have 3 months of cash on hand and they felt they were moving in the right direction.

Cook reported to the rest of the board on a legislative meeting that he attended via Zoom. According to Cook, there are 684 bills introduced to the Unicameral and most of them have something to do with capping budgets.

He continued with information about state financing of the school – Nebraska is 49th out of 50 in what states spends on the public schools. The schools for the most part are funded locally by property taxes and there is a need to find another source of school funding, according to Cook.

Superintendent Trevor Anderson’s report was the Annual Report to Patrons.

The Mary Lynch Elementary report mentioned that Elite has restarted with between 35-52 students attending. A self-assessment and evaluation will be conducted this year. As of Jan. 6, 229 students are attending pre-k to sixth grade at Mary Lynch School.

The Jr/Sr High School report concluded that Longhorn Time continues to be successful with 317 referrals this semester. The 2019-20 yearbook was not completed and it will be re-published to fix the mistakes.

Under action items, a contract was approved for Mark Jefferis for the 2021-22 school year. Jefferis will teach 5th-12th art. The board also unanimously approved the Renovation project for the Student Center for $11,092.60, capped at $15,000. This project will be completed by shop teacher Gene Mohr and his students.

Three Kimball Civics students testified at the Nebraska legislative committee meeting and they shared some of their experiences.

The board received an update on the Continuous School Improvement Plan from Mrs. Heidi Chesley. She explained that they were focusing on Goals 5, 6, 7 and 8, which include monitoring instruction, setting measurable instructional targets, support to struggling learners and focusing on educational future and careers.

The 2021-22 school calendar was discussed but the decision on possible options will not be decided until at least the March meeting. Draft 4 was considered to be one of the best options because school would start a week later and get out a week later. Although due to a conflict with state track, graduation would be held on a Sunday. No decision was made.

Memorial policies for the school district were discussed and a generic sample was provided to the board. That discussion will continue with input from board members.

The next regular meeting of the Kimball School Board is March 8, while a work session will be held on Feb. 17 at 8:00 a.m.