e-Sports Students Ready To Play Ball

In a well-organized and business-like presentation, a group of juniors and seniors presented the possibility of having a school-sponsored extra-curricular activity known as an e-Sports team.

E-Sports continues to grow in Nebraska. There are 71 schools in Nebraska, including regionally, Bridgeport, Banner County, Hemingford and Leyton. The proposal and presentation fell under Principal Danielle Reader's report.

According to the students, the benefits of the program include greater student involvement in an extracurricular activity, being affiliated with a team/club, and furthermore, the students representing the school in healthy competition with other schools. The competition consists of a heavy emphasis on communication, coordination and strategy. E-Sports has numerous scholarship opportunities.

The e-Sports proposal will be considered at November's school board meeting.

In action items, the board was forced to accept the resignation of board vice-president Albert Hargreaves. At the meeting, Hargreaves said it was a "tough decision." His resignation letter said he was moving out of the district. Hargreaves said, "It has been a pleasure to work with all the board members, administration, teachers, and staff."

The board passed a resolution to fill the vacancy after the Nov. 8 election. The fourth-place finisher will be appointed to the Board of Education at the regular meeting on Nov. 14. A contingency plan exists should the fourth-place finisher be a current board member. The vacancy must be filled in 45 days.

Action items continued with the board's approval of a music trip to San Antonio, Texas. It has been over five years since the Music Program has taken a significant trip, due mainly to COVID restrictions. The trip is scheduled for May and is 100% funded by the students and Music Parents organization.

Reports and updates to the board included Food Services Director Danessa Terrill and community Solution representative Jacob Hurla.

Terrill reported that over the summer, about 1,000 breakfast meals were served and 2,100 lunches. Forty-nine percent of the students are on free or reduced lunches. Conditions during the pandemic created free lunches for everyone, but that program is no longer available. Even if parents have difficulty paying and are not on the free or reduced lunch program, Terrill said they never turn a child down for a meal. The district has been fortunate and receives community donations for lunch bills when students have difficulty paying.

Jacob Hurla gave an update on the recent building improvements. Hurla, from Community Solutions, has been a regular at the school board meeting over the past year and a half. Hurla said he is confident that they are "moving forward" on the HVAC project, hoping for a completion date in October. Supply chain issues and price increases have plagued the HVAC project. On Wednesday afternoon, the power at Mary Lynch will be shut off, and the final stages of installing the HVAC system will be done. The Jr./Sr. High is waiting for some power panels and other HVAC equipment.

Principal Reader's report stated the enrollment for the Jr/Sr High is 170, with the 7th grade the largest class, 40 students.

Reader continued to explain that in addition to the current vocational classes, Clean Harbors will be providing classes in the future. Clean Harbors purchased the old Castronics building, and a portion of the building will be leased to WNCC for $1 a year for instruction in welding, pipefitting, electronics, and construction. These will be career-certified, non-college credit for high school students, and night classes will also be offered for adults. The WNCC program will be in addition to the current vocational classes that the school provides.

Elementary Principal Amanda Culek updated the board on Professional Development. PD includes WORDS – Workshops on Reading Development Strategies and Teach Like a Champion Book Study. A team from UNL looks at the data from the Reading Assessments, thus providing direction for instruction and curriculum. The UNL team will return to the school on Wednesday for further help in reading.

Superintendent Trevor Anderson's financial report showed that 9.65% of the budget was spent and 8% of fiscal year was completed. 92% of the year is remaining and 90.35% of the budget is unspent.

The next regular board meeting is Monday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m., with the American Civics Committee Meeting at 6 p.m. on that date.