BROKEN BOW—The Broken Bow School Board held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 16. In the midst of the end of school celebrations, Superintendent Darren Tobey commended the 2022 graduates and co-valedictorians Molly Staples and Callie White and salutatorian Ava Williams. He also said some students will be receiving awards this week for MAPS testing.
The last day for preschool students will be Tuesday, May 17, 2022. The last day for elementary students will be Wednesday, May 18, 2022 with a 12:30 p.m. dismissal time. Lunch will be served. The last day of school for students in grades 6-8 will be Tuesday, May 17 with a regular dismissal time.
Mr. Tobey congratulated the 13 student athletes who qualified for state track this week in Omaha. Board member Tim Chancellor said he has been pleased to see people coming to town to utilize the new Broken Bow track. He said the concessions stand has also been put to good use and is a good income producer.
The school board approved a bid from Thomas Built Buses for a 53-passenger school bus (with air conditioning) in the amount of $106,428. The district received a $20,000 grant toward the purchase of the bus.
Treasurer J.B. Atkins said the school district’s checking account is higher at this time than last year and said the special building fund is designated for building improvements and sits at about $224,000. The depreciation fund holds about $364,000 and is set aside for purchases such as new school bus or things that were not originally in the budget.
“It just lets us put some money away for other things that could happen that wasn’t in the budget,” Atkins said.
Drug testing was a topic of conversation with Mr. Tobey explaining the plan is to approve a policy in July for students involved in activities throughout the school year and possibly summer. No decisions were made regarding the exact process to determine which students will be tested and how often. Whether the student drug testing will start in sixth or seventh grade was yet to be determined. The approximate cost could be around $15,000 per year according to Mr. Tobey.
Board president Tom Osmond said the purpose of the drug policy is to deter students from doing drugs and promote good-decision making.
The board also approved a total of $26,000 to be distributed amongst administrators by Mr. Tobey in addition to the administrators’ contracted salaries and with the knowledge that one administrator will not be returning next year.
A proposal from Lunchtime Solutions was approved for school lunches. Two new hires were approved for Cecilia Cross (Spanish) and Katherine Arias (Art) who will student teach art under Mrs. Barnes for the first semester until Mrs. Barnes plans to retire likely in December, according to Mr. Tobey.
Other comments from board members included J.B. Atkins saying he had received feedback and appreciation to the board members following a difficult spring and thanks to the board for providing a better understanding of how the school board operates with regard to concerns from the public.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
The next Broken Bow School Board Work Session will be on Monday, June 6 at 12 p.m. and the next regular meeting will be held on Monday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
