Sidney school board passes policy changes, approves report

The Sidney Public Schools Board met on Monday night for its first meeting of the summer and for the first time since the Nebraska Legislature concluded its 89-day session.

The majority of the meeting was spent passing a few policy amendments to confirm with recent legislative changes and federal regulations.

Terminology to an existing bid letting and contract policy was amended to allow the district to award construction contracts under $100,000 without seeking bids.

Superintendent Jay Ehler explained the change.

“It used to be if any construction exceeded $40,000, we had to get bids,” he said. “But now, the Unicameral moved so that school districts can have a policy of anything less than $100,000, we don’t necessarily need to get bids.”

However, Ehler said it is his general practice to seek bids for projects even a fraction of that price.

“Even projects as low as $20,000, I take bids from local contractors,” he said.

A special education procedures policy also passed, 5-0. Board member Randy Miller was absent and excused from the meeting.

The 11-page policy document includes four changes:

• addressing steps to prevent the over identification by race and ethnicity of children with disabilities;

• disallowing school district personnel from requiring parents to obtain certain prescriptions for a child as a condition of attending school;

• allowing to district to contract with a national center for instructional materials;

• identifying the district’s program options for full educational opportunities for all children with disabilities aged birth to 21.

Angie Jacobson, the school district’s special education coordinator and psychologist, said the changes are required by federal regulations.

“On most of this, we don’t have much choice – it’s mandated by the state?” board member Steve Mattoon asked.

Ehler replied that is indeed the case.

“Yes, I’d say it’s an all encompassing thing for the federal government,” Ehler explained.

Also at the meeting:

• Prior to the board meeting, the district held a brief meeting on special education services for home schooled students who live within the boundaries of the school district.

Jacobson said federal law requires the school district to serve all students within the district’s boundaries who meet special education requirements – even if they’re home schooled.

Ehler said the meeting was being held to satisfy a federal mandate to allow parents of those kids an opportunity to provide input to the school board.

With no one present to make a public comment, the hearing closed after 10 minutes.

• Board members unanimously approved school district multicultural reports. The reports, spanning kindergarten through high school, identified the multicultural topics students learn.

“This is annual requirement, one of the several annual requirements, and principals do a nice job of updating the things going on in their schools,” Ehler said.

• Andrew Sherman, the recently hired Sidney Public Library director, introduced himself to school board members. He said he wanted the library to be a resource for the district and asked the board to let him know how to library could assist the schools.

“I’m just wanting to make the library available to the school as a resource outside the school,” he said. “We’d love to be able to set up partnerships or anything like that. We’ve very, very willing to seek out that partnership and support our schools in Sidney.”

The board welcomed Sherman to town and said they looked forward to working with him.

• The next Sidney Public Schools Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the district administration building. The meeting will temporarily be moved from Monday to Tuesday for next month.