School Board Meets for Work Session

The Sidney School District Board of Education met Thursday, July 19, for a Work Session.

Much of the meeting involved the Advanced Education visit and setting goals for the District. Nebraska public schools undergo an Engagement Review every five years, Sidney Supt. Jay Ehler said. The review is held in January and involves state officials interviewing students and staff, as well as reviewing procedures, visiting classrooms, and interviewing the Sidney Public Schools continuous improvement team.. Part of the goal is to track continued improvement in the District, he said. The Sidney High School and Middle School were reviewed with the AdvanceED process and the elementary schools with the Nebraska Framework review.

The assessment is part of the AQuESTT (Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow) program. The State Board of Education believes student engagement through positive partnerships and relationships is fundamental to successful schools and districts, according to the aquestt.com website. The State Board encourages best practices in student, family and community engagement to enhance educational experiences and opportunities, the site says.

The AquESTT Action Plan for Continuous Improvement for this year includes areas such as Positive Partnerships, Transitions, Educational Opportunities, College and Career Ready Opportunities, Assessment and Educator Effectiveness.

Rule 10 of Nebraska’s Regulations and Procedures for the Accreditation of Schools is one of the primary rules school districts in the state have to follow. One of the requirements under Rule 10 is for schools to reach a specific level of “Highly Qualified” teachers in each building. A teacher is considered highly qualified if he or she is teaching within their teaching endorsement; for example, a social studies teacher is teaching social studies, a teacher with an high school math endorsement is teaching math and a teacher with a health and fitness endorsement is teaching P.E.

The goal is for 90 percent of high school and middle school teaching staffs to be Highly Qualified, 95 percent with elementary schools.

The Sidney School Board also discussed the District’s Strategic Plan. Ehler said the strategic plan outlines what the District does and charts the course toward improvement. The goal is efficient learners, according to Ehler.

“So many jobs are changing, not defined yet, that kids are studying for now,” he said.

The board also reviewed the financial operations of the District. Ehler said the District has a strong cash flow because of its conservative financial practices. He said moving forward the District will continue with its conservative approach to budgeting. He said some of the challenges the District is bracing for include decreased valuation in the county and possibly more loss of students.

Nebraska schools are funded through the State’s Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA). TEEOSA traces its roots to LB1059 which was introduced in the 91st Legislature in January 1990. The Bill as introduced explained the method for computation and distribution of state equalization aid to public schools.

The board Thursday also reviewed facility needs and maintenance projects scheduled for the summer.