The early days of the Nebraska Legislative Session were on the minds of the Broken Bow School Board as they met for their Regular Session on Monday evening, January 19. Board President Tom Osmond called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM with all members present.
Nebraska Legislative Agenda May Impact School Operations
Board Member Pam Holcomb reported that several bills under consideration in the Nebraska Legislature may have an effect on school operations. Among these are bills that would change how schools are funded, provide for holding back children who have not reached grade-level reading standards by third grade, and to allow the suspension of students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade for behavioral issues.
Broken Bow Superintendent Darren Tobey noted that often bills introduced in the Nebraska Unicameral bear little resemblance to what is passed, saying, “If there’s some outlandish thing that’s on there, generally it’ll get changed before it ever gets passed, and it’ll be an abbreviation of what they started with.”
Osmond and Holcomb will be attending the Nebraska Association of School Boards Legislative Issues Conference in Lincoln next week, where they will hear more details on a number of issues before the State Government.
Middle School / High School Construction Complete; Some School Funded Work Continuing
Under District Accolades, Tobey announced that construction on the BBPS Middle School/High School has been completed. The construction manager has left for a new project, and the jobsites in the parking lots surrounding the school have been returned to their prior states. Move-in to the final completed classrooms should likewise be complete by the end of the week.
During the Treasurers and Claims report, Board Member Amy Staples asked about a couple of items related to the updates. The report contained an item for $17,000 for welding equipment. Tobey stated that represented costs for plumbing to bring welding gasses into the individual booths used by welding students as they learn about the trade.
Other items such as bookcases, stools, blinds, storage cabinets, and gym floor continue to show up on the Treasurer’s report as the finishing touches are added to classrooms.
Additional School Board Matters
- The lead officer team for the School Board was retained for 2026 from the prior year. Tom Osmond will continue as the Board President, with Pam Holcomb acting as Vice President. Jennifer Jackson was added as the Treasurer, taking over for Amy Staples. BBPS Business Manager Kay Einspahr will continue acting as Secretary for the board.
- The final set of nine policies was reviewed for the year. After completing the review Einspahr that all of the school’s policies had now been reviewed and approved for the academic year. The Board will pick back up with the review of policies, making any adjustments as necessary for the 2026 – 2027 school year in July.
- The Board approved the Negotiated Agreement with the Broken Bow Education Association. The collective bargaining between the Board and teachers’ union covers the 2025-2026 and 2026 – 2027 school years, with very little change from the prior agreement. Based on the agreement, teachers can expect to see a minimum raise of $1,400 moving into the next year.
- The academic calendar for the 2026 – 2027 School Year was set by the Board. School will start next fall the last week of August, with the half-week between August 26 – 28 designed to take care of housekeeping matters and get students back into the routine of the school year.
- Four candidates for the Broken Bow High School Principal have been selected for interviews, which begin next Monday, January 26.
Next week, January 25 – 31 is School Board Member Week in Nebraska. If you see a school board member during the week, make sure to say thank you for their work on your behalf.
Tobey Interviewing for Norfolk Position
Finally, it has been noted that Broken Bow Superintendent Tobey has been tapped to interview for the position of Superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools. When asked, Tobey stated the Norfolk district had approached him about the position.
Tobey said, “I think it’s just a credit to what we’ve done here to be recognized at other school districts for what we’ve been doing. So we’re going to go check it out and see what they have to offer.” H concluded by saying, “I love it here.”
Interviews for the Norfolk position are this week, with an announcement expected shortly thereafter.
The Broken Bow Board of Education adjourned at 6:35 PM. The next meetings of the school board are scheduled for February 2 at noon for a working session, and Monday, February 16, also at noon for the regular meeting.
