Falls City Public Schools Superintendent’s District Update – August 13, 2019

Superintendent, Tim Heckenlively

The Falls City Public Schools held its regular monthly board meeting on August 12, 2019. Here are the highlights of the meeting.

            The Falls City High Cheer Program led by Courtney Kreifels and Machia Kirkendall enters the new school year with 10 members on the cheer squad, representing every grade at Falls City High. A report on the financial status of the cheer program along with costs associated for membership were reviewed with the board. Fundraising and donations are the primary source of income for the cheer squad, generating funds for cheerleading apparel and cheer camps. A Turkey Bingo fundraiser will be a new fundraiser for the cheer squad coming in November.

            A contract with Bahr, Vermeer & Haecker Architects for the design and construction administration for the construction of the High School Career and Technical Education (CTE), Instrumental Music and Chorus Renovations and Additions and the SFM Protocol for Falls City Public Schools was reviewed and discussed by the Board of Education. Action on the architect’s contract was tabled by the board for additional review and editing of the contract, and will again be considered at the next meeting of the board.

            Nebraska Department of Education has selected FCPS to participate in the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for the 2019-2020 school year. The Nebraska Department of Education will award the district $8,874 to fund the program.

            Employee Safety Award Recognition - The Falls City Public School is being recognized for the third year in a row as one of the 2018-2019 Safety Honor Roll school districts in the ALICAP pool. Our employee safety program requires the combined efforts of all those who work for the school district, and our employees should be commended. The effective and proactive efforts of the Safety Committee continue to make a positive difference. Only the top 33% of ALICAP’s membership earn this safety

            Nearly all projects scheduled for completion over the summer months are wrapping up. A summary of completed projects and projects underway include:

            High School:               Turf Maintenance Program

                                                Parking lot concrete expansion

                                                Parking lot asphalt seal

                                                Tuck point stadium wall

                                                New stage platforms

                                                Auditorium stage reinforcement, extension, and new stairs and handrails

            Middle School:           North entrance concrete expansion and outdoor commons tables and                                                          benches

                                                Gas line service relocated to north side of building

                                                Replaced mobile bench lunch tables

                                                Re-lamped hallways with LED lighting

                                                Gym walls painted

            South School:              Main front side sidewalk replaced

                                                North side sidewalk replaced

                                                New chest freezer for kitchen

                                                Gym roof replaced

            North School:              Epoxy bathroom floors – east end

                                                Wood chip fill in playground areas

                                                Ceiling repairs

                                                Classroom painting

                                                Installed new bathroom dividers

            Continuous School Improvement & Strategic Planning leads FCPS into year four of our school improvement cycle and directs the focus to updating our district profile, collecting student data and analyzing the data. We will be conducting stakeholder surveys during fall parent/teacher conferences again this year to collect perceptual data.

            Richardson County Emergency Management has been working with FCPS to develop crisis reunification plan for each school building in the district to include (fire, EMS, law enforcement). The best solution for getting this information out to groups has been determined to be a power point delivery with discussion and question for each organization separately. The training for administration and counselors will be August 27^that 10:00AM.

The District 56 Board of Education acted on two items before concluding the regular meeting.

1)    Approved the final reading on Board Policy Reviews and Revisions: 1) 7138 Safe Pupil Transportation Plan Rule 91

2)    Set the Budget Workshop for August 23, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in the High School Conference Room

The next regular monthly Board of Education meeting is scheduled for August 9, 2019, at 6:30 P.M. in the Central Office in Falls City Middle School. Regular and special meeting agendas are kept in the Office of the Superintendent.

Falls City Public School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, age, genetic information, citizenship status or economic status in its programs, activities and employment.