001Good evening, everyone. >> [snorts] >> I'll call call to order the Papillion La Vista Community Schools Board of Education meeting for March 23rd, 2026. Uh, make note that the Nebraska Open Meetings Law is posted at the entrance to the board room. We'll move into section one, call to order. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you all. Uh, roll call, please. Mr. Madler. Here. Mr. Lotus. Here. Ms. Wood. Here. Mr. Bailey. Here. Ms. Witt. Here. Ms. Butler. Here. All present. Thank you. Moving on to section two, communications. Uh, we'll start off tonight with item A, our recognition. Dr. Rickly. Thank you very much, Mr. Lotus, members of the board, and for our members of the community that are with us this evening, thank you for joining us. Thank you for engaging in your Board
002of Education. So, for those of you that may watch our board meetings online or attend in person, you know that one of the things that we like to do, uh, at least once a month, is do a recognition for students and or staff that have somehow exemplified themselves, their program, through their efforts. Uh, the criteria we use are basically, if you win some type of state level or national level recognition, uh, we bring you before the Board of Education. And we have two different groups this evening that are represented. So, the way to look, since we have two different groups, is I'll make the announcement on the first group, and if we have at least one student in attendance, and I think we do, please come up and be recognized by your Board of Education.
003If we have moms and dads, whomever that would like to take pictures, please come up and join us, take pictures. We'll we'll let them, uh, take their seat, and then we'll, uh, do the second announcement. So, uh, please come up and recog- be rec- recognized if you would. The very first group that we are recognizing this evening is from Papillion La Vista High School. Educators Rising, which is a group that's very near and dear to our hearts, Dr. Settles in particular with the close work that she does with her Education Academy, does some work with students that have an interest in the education field. Uh, we have Coach Joe Pilkauskas. I don't know that I saw Joe. Did Joe I didn't see Joe when I walked in. But, Coach Joe Pilkauskas, uh, coaches the Educators
004Rising group, and we had three different students that I'm going to announce here shortly. This team won first place for their video on Inside Our Schools category at the 2026 State Leadership Conference. Educators Rising cultivates a new generation of highly skilled educators by guiding young people on a path from high school through college and into their teaching careers, and hopefully into the Papillion La Vista Community Schools, because we love to hire our Titan and Monarch grads. The three individuals who will be honored this evening from Monarch High are Sammy Draper, Maggie Novak, and Sammy Ritterbush. Please be recognized by your Board of Education. >> [applause] [applause] >> Uh, and ladies, before you leave, uh, see Dr. Settles. I think she has a teaching contract in hand for you. Uh, I was only half joking about,
005uh, wanting to hire our grads. We love to hire our grads. So, ladies, congratulations. Thank you for representing Monarch High so very well. This Uh, Dr. Settles says she's had her eye on them for some time. This is what Dr. Settles does is that she, uh, she data mines early. The second group, uh, is is no stranger to this Board of Education. It is the ProStart team from Papillion La Vista South High School, which is taught by Jennifer Dunn, who's a teacher at Papillion La Vista South. If you're not familiar with ProStart, it's a really, really cool program with a focus on career pathways and career exploration. This Culinary ProStart team consists of juniors and seniors, and they recently won first in the culinary category in the statewide top three competition. They will compete at
006the national level in May. I think we've brought this group in before this Board of Education at least once before. Again, a little bit more about ProStart. It's a two-year industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management program specifically geared for juniors and seniors in high school. The program reaches more than 214,000 students in over 2,100 schools, and it is found in all 50 states, Washington D.C., the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. The four individuals that we are moni- that we are honoring from Titan High are Aiden Benek, Rafe Flynn, Marissa Litz, and Braden Small. Please come down and be recognized by your Board of Education. >> [applause] >> Uh, oh, look at this. Love it. Love it. >> [applause] >> Uh, as Chairperson Lotus pointed out, I think they're back-to-back, and not only that, but
007Ms. Dunn reminded me, this wasn't on my list, but, uh, Ms. Dunn was recognized as the ProStart Teacher of the Year. Well done, Ms. Dunn. We are so very lucky to have you. Round of applause, please. >> [applause] >> So, as always, our staff and our students continue to exemplify what it means to be a Papillion La Vista Community Schools Monarch and Titan. Again, speaking of, we have our head monarch in the front of the room, Mr. Ryan. Thank you for being here to support our students. And with that, Mr. Lotus, I'll turn the meeting back over to you. Thank you, Dr. Rickly. Moving on now to item B under section two, communications, our military advisory report. I'll welcome up Colonel Mark Russell. Welcome, Colonel. Welcome, Colonel. Good evening. All right. Thank you again for
008having me, as as usual, every month. Um, so, big focus this time will be on what's next week, right? Um, Month of the Military Child starts. So, MOMC starts next week. Uh, we know you already have a lot of engagement with the schools in Papillion La Vista. We really appreciate that continued engagement. Um, just from a personal note, I've got a couple kids, right? We ask an awful lot of our military kids. Um, they're extremely resilient. They're they're really asked to, "Hey, wherever you land, just thrive and bloom and be resilient, right?" Um, so, I I uh, one thing I like to say is our military children are they don't they do not have superpowers. Rather, they are ordinary children put into extraordinary situations due to their parents' service. Um, so, for us, it's a
009huge, uh, blessing to have a community and a a school district like you all that supports our military children the way you do. Um this month, I know we've got several things lined up, everything from uh hero story time, uh high fives, uh some MIC3 training, uh as well as the military signing days at both schools. So, super excited about those. Um and just in general, the continued partnership uh that you all that you all do. So, I know my kids, for example, uh in the last 5 years, four different schools. Um so, it's it's a lot. And so, having a a month like this where we get to kind of celebrate um you know, what what they have gone through and what they go through every day uh is unique. And and now, perhaps
010more than ever, uh where several of them may have parents who are downrange um supporting operations. So, um that being said, April 15th is also Purple Up Day. So, encourage everybody to wear their purple on April 15th in support of our military children. Uh and then, finally, a note here, just deployment family resources. So, just a reminder and we remind on base a lot and let our our our members know, um but for folks who have family members who are downrange right now, there are a lot of family resources available on base uh to so help support those families during um some of these difficult times and and when they may have uh family member downrange uh supporting operations. So, we have a number, obviously, right now uh directly supporting operations. So, um any questions
011for me? Colonel, you mentioned uh April 15th being a Purple Up Day, and I believe our own Dr. Villarreal has made Purple Up T-shirts available to staff, and we've already distributed or sold several of those. So, um staff members that are here or maybe watching at home, please help us show our pride in our military families. Colonel, I don't know you that you would have this at your fingertips, and maybe Dr. V would. Um the military signing day. That's something we're really excited about. And I think this is perhaps the first year we've done this. It it it will look and feel a whole lot like a college letter of intent day where 100%. So, >> It's meant to mimic that, and I think it is is the first time we we've done [clears throat]
012this. Do you don't happen to have the day at your fingertips, Colonel? If not, we will find it, and Dr. V is feverishly looking it up, but April 8th for Monarchs. Thank you, Coach Ryan. And 20 29th is the other one. >> And and the 29th for So, we'll push that out to board members, but thank you for the reminder for that, Colonel. We're really excited about being able to honor our our soon-to-be military enlistees. Yes, sir. Thank you very much. Thank you, Colonel. All right, moving on to item C under Section 2 Communications. Our presentation for this evening, our Bergan App Array, Yeah. Dr. Siri. Perfect. So, as they make their way up here, I I do want to welcome um the principals from the Bergan App Array. The Bergan App buildings are represented
013by Bell, Rumsey, Ashbury, Patriot, Portal, and Perry Queen. Um so, they are here tonight, and they are going to share with you um a little bit about our positive behavior support system. So, I'll let them jump in. And you guys want to introduce yourselves in the buildings you're in? Maybe Perfect. Do we start? Yeah. Good evening, everybody. Uh Brian Giesing, principal at Bell Elementary. I'm Seth Hively, and I'm the principal at Perry Queen Elementary. Ann Burmeister, Rumsey Station principal. Mindy Grimm, proud principal of Patriot Elementary. Megan Schumacher, principal at Portal. The graphic that we have projected right here, we the purpose of projecting the graphic is because we are going to talk through the PBIS systems and the behavior response that we do in each tier for our students to give them the best opportunity
014to succeed in our environment. And so, we'll start in the blue area, which is the essential core practices for all. And then, as we progress throughout the presentation, we'll go up the tiers to talk about what we continue to do in all of those tiers to support all students. So, our first tier, tier one, is essential core practices. Every student at in every building in Papillion-La Vista has access to these essential core practices, and it's really what works for most students. The 80 to 90% students is it's what we give all access students all access to to succeed. That's our positive supports we put in place for students. It's the tier one instruction we do in the classroom to teach them missing skills or the so the um learning development, and it's just our core
015practices that we do for all. And so, it's best practice, and for the most part, that reaches a lot of the students that we service in the classrooms. One thing that we have all students have access to is Skills for Success. And so, at the elementary level, this is being implemented through the Everyday Speech curriculum. We hit five core competency areas for that. Most of the lessons fall within self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. And the goal for this curriculum is that students engage in appropriate lens lessons that enhance the classroom culture, but it also is a it's a huge and awesome resource for our staff because it we are able to assign individualized lessons for students based on their individualized missing skills. And so, it really helps us meet students where
016they are. And then, we also each classroom teacher starts their morning, or they can close out their circle at the end of the day with a Skills for Success lesson, and all students receive that kindergarten through sixth grade. This is me. This is one of my This is one of my favorite things to talk about. How, through PBIS, do we recognize students for positive behavior? There's many different ways that many schools do things. One way we do is we do positive office referrals. As we know, supporting kids and recognizing when they are being safe, responsible, respectful, and kind through descriptive feedback, through giving tickets, through positive office referrals. It's funny, that's something that I do in my building, and I'll call parents and say, "Hi, this is Mrs. Grimm. I have Seth in the office
017today." And the first thing they'll do is uh is he in trouble? Well, Seth would definitely be in trouble, but >> [laughter] >> But these are things that um my teachers do once a week. They nominate kids once a week. I bring them in the office. I talk to the parents. I talk about how proud we are, all the wonderful things they've done in the classroom, and recognize all the great things they've done to make sure that they follow those positive behaviors, being safe, responsible, and kind. But then, I let the parent actually talk to the child on the phone, too. And you can see the smile on the child from ear to ear. They are smiling, the parents are smiling. It's just a great way to build relationships and get that positive relationship between
018school and home. So, that helps support us in the building. Also, a lot of buildings also do Student of the Week. So, we have PBIS traits each month that we work on, and we recognize kids once a week for the positive things they're doing. Along with making sure that our staff development in our building for not just certified staff or classified staff is all based on those traits. So, we make sure that we have a common language, a common curriculum amongst all the classrooms. And also, making parents informed through newsletters, through social media posts to let the students see pictures of students doing safe, responsible, and respectful, kind things. Um each of the schools give out They have some type of ticket system that they use where kids earn tickets and giving descriptive feedback and
019maybe saying, "Stephanie, I really like the way you're sitting in your chair nicely. Thank you for continue to engage in your work." Instead of just saying, "Stephanie, good job." Cuz what does that mean to Stephanie? That doesn't mean anything to Stephanie. But you're positively rewarding them and giving that continuous communication on all those great things that they are doing as you're working on a school-wide. There's common language amongst the school and making sure to get the parents involved. I think that's a big piece of it, building that positive relationship with those parents and getting them involved in what you're doing in the school and in the classrooms. Sorry, and I talk really fast. Okay, another piece of that is, of course, being proactive in the classroom, common have common area and expectations. If you walk
020in any of the elementary buildings, and I think secondary buildings, there are area signs in the restroom, in the lunchroom, in the hallway, in the classroom. That way, that's a reteaching stopping piece, also. So, as I walk my kids down to lunch today because I supervise the lunch, we'll stop at the restroom sign in the hallway and say, "Remember what we do in the hallway. We do four things. We walk quietly. We make sure that we keep hands to self. We make sure that we're uh being respectful of others' privacy." Those are stopping points, but it's also a good reteaching. Also, we make sure we provide all of our teachers that common area expectation lesson at the beginning of the school year. But it's also important that we don't just teach these things at the
021beginning of the school year. We teach these things throughout the entire school year. We reward kids throughout the entire school year for following those common expectations. That is common language throughout every building. And then, we also give the teachers the autonomy to actually have those common procedures and expectations in the classroom. Each classroom, yes, we have school-wide expectation procedures, but the teachers have the ability to set those procedures in their classroom and involve the kids in that. It's not just the teachers saying, "This is how we're sharpening our pencil." Or, "This is what we do when we get out work." They're involving those kids in that process, so they take some responsibility and ownership in their behavior and expectations amongst themselves and within their classroom, building that positive classroom culture. You can go to the
022next graphic. So, we listened to a beautiful speech from Mindy and Ann about that tier one process. And what is that core foundation that we're setting for all students building-wide. And so, as we think about and move through that process, how are we providing differentiated instruction for all students? And so we use this model to guide us through intentional intentionally layering those supports and putting those in place, and we use that based on data. So in this next slide, it's showing what interventions are available to all buildings and that everybody has access to. So this is creating equity for all students and all buildings. And practical interventions that address those lagging skills and areas of focus that we need to hone in on for students. So this is an example and every building maybe does
023this a little bit differently, but we use this internally to help our teams. So the focus has been earlier interventions. So when kill when students are not meeting expectations based on we provided skills for success, we have common area expectations that works for the majority of our students, but there are some that come in with some lagging deficits and we want to help them develop those just like we do academically too. We want to provide what additionally can we do to give them feedback on areas. So we'll show you an example of what a booklet looks like, but basically when we see students maybe getting office referrals, they might be even asking for counseling visits. They might be tardy, they might be frequently absent. So we have identified ways so as a team we can
024just go off of this list and go hey, I think this might be a good consideration to put them on. We'll highlight some check in check out is what it's called that we can pair them with a trusted adult outside of their classroom teacher to get some positive feedback, a check in in the morning, a check out at the end of the day, and then typically we incentivize that. So they're meeting goals and getting rewarded for that. So we'll show you an example of that. In addition to some of those intervention ideas that we can kind of match to a skill area, something really simple that a student gets this is one of our examples at Bell is they get a daily check in check out sheet. So every hour of the day they take
025it across all settings, they bring this to their facilitator in the morning, they have a great little one minute pep talk about their focus for the day. Hey, what's our you know, let's focus on safety first today. Here's some things we know that we've been working on. Can't wait to see at the end of the day how you do with that. And then it's typically their classroom teacher, but we do have you know, specialists that will fill this out when they go to their specials courses. We have a document that shows all of our students who do have this as a check in check out. So we know who's coming with their charts and is accepting and expecting feedback, but we've put these in a booklet so we get about 20 days of data to
026just see hey, how are they doing and be respectful? And this is tied to those building wide expectations that they focused on in tier one. So it's that same common language. It just gets a little bit more specific in those four domains across the top of this particular students focus. And just those quick check in feedbacks of hey, you did really well with this. Great job. You had a perfect score for the 3:00 hour and so forth from there. The other thing that we want to highlight is that we've put parent communication as a big part of this too. We want their partnership. We want that communication to go home on how their day is going. So at the bottom we just have a little perforated slip that they'll tear out and take home to
027mom and dad that says hey, did they meet their goal or not? Here's some little highlights or things we're working on for the day and then they can respond to the teacher if needed. But we really thought that was an important aspect to keep that home school communication going. Megan will make fun of me cuz I bring a notebook, but I don't actually look at it. So this is just this is just for me to hold on to. Part of you know, at first I guess the PBIS leadership we have a district PBIS leadership team and they've done a ton of work on these workbooks. So what we've been referencing buildings have autonomy to do things their own way, but there is that foundation laid for everybody and that's been extremely beneficial. They did some
028research from surrounding districts and they found out that check in check out is a really good first level intervention for a kid that's exhibiting some sort of extra behavior. It could be with absenteeism just kind of like what Brian talked those early indications of something might be going on. Let's get them a trusted adult. Let's track some data, make sure things are in place and see how things turn out. So we have good exit and entrance criteria for that. But our district PBIS leadership team, I know I'm going to miss somebody, but I know Chad Nichols, Kaylee Ayala and Tammy Boysen did a lot of work on creating these guidebooks for us and that was new this year. So we have every building has that foundation guidebook to do things the same way, which is
029very hopeful. Um because every building you know, Brian does booklets for his kids, we have Excel sheets. So there is a little bit easier way like for people whatever works for your building. So to give you a like a just kind of like a snapshot, this is just Prairie Queen. Everybody has different data from this. Everybody's at a different position in their building depending [clears throat] on leadership, teacher turnover, things like that that can impact your ability to you know, mentor kids and do all the things that you need to do. So at Prairie Queen since I pulled these numbers, we've had 23 students that have been on check in check out since August. So that's 5% of our population. We have kindergarteners all the way to sixth graders represented in those numbers. We have
03020 staff facilitators. So in the check in check out is what I'm referencing. We have two coordinators. So part of that process you have coordinators who organize the system. So they're the ones like a teacher's like I need help with a kid or we're looking at data, we reach out to the coordinators. Sarah Clausen for us is our school counselor. She does K to three and then we have our school psychologist that does four through six. So teachers know they have a direct line if they need help and then if parents have a request, we have some parents that will request this sometimes and then we can look at that and go through that. I'm very long-winded so you're going to have to nudge me. So the facilitators are the teachers. We actually have some
031paraprofessionals. It's supposed to be certified, but when a kid wants when they pick like we had a kindergartner that picked our media para. We asked the kids who who do you like in the building? Who do you look up to? And they pick their people because then there's some buy in that they want to go check in with that adult. Again, we have to make sure schedules align cuz they got to check in in the morning and at the end of the day. We have seen like some of our paraprofessionals even and it it gives them some good purpose to show up every day for those few kids that that pick them to be their facilitator, their mentor. So that's been really neat. We have so out of 23 students, we've had 11 students that
032have graduated off the program cuz there is exit guidelines. So if we monitor that data, which is our tier two and tier three team, we look at those spreadsheets and we look at their percentages over the weeks and if they're do if they're being successful just like an academic intervention, if you're being successful, you don't want to keep intervening that whole time. So you you tier them back to tier one. So then we let the the general tier one system work itself. If we would need to get back on it for some reason, we have it and we have a mentor ready to go. Um So out of 23 we have 11 students that graduated, 10 showing a positive response or they're new to it so they're currently in it. And then we've had two
033students that have moved to a modified, which that would be like a 2.5. Not quite tier three yet, but that would be if we take that basic check in check out chart, we might add a couple breaks during the day. We might add another check in. We might add more frequency and feedbacks. Like if an ELA block is 75 minutes, maybe the kid needs to be given specific or corrective feedback halfway through that subject time. So that's modifying that and we would call that like a 2.5 and we base those decisions off of data in order to do that. Let's see if I have anything else. Yeah, the impact I put that up there. I mean it this intervention is based on relationships. So if you get kids that can connect with adults at school,
034they kids want to please their adults. They want to do good and it's it's shown to be beneficial in our schools. I'm glad as a district that tier that tier two team has put that together. Yep, and then before I get back to Megan to kind of close out just highlighting a couple other things that we do at the buildings. I just put data collection. I know Seth kind of talked about this too. It's an internal spreadsheet so we do track per hour how they're doing depending on how we set that up. Ours is color coded so we can identify maybe some hours that are harder for them and that's like Seth said, if we feel like the morning is just long, we'll build in some breaks if that feels like that's going to set
035them up for success. And I just said that allows us to identify and personalize for each student and if we need to do additional team problem solving, that really is a good way to make it visual for us so we're not spinning our wheels going why can they not quite get this full day together? And then he mentioned this too. Every building does this a little bit differently. We did train all staff at Bell. We just felt like you know, Seth highlighting his media para, we want any adults to be that extra trusted adult that a student might pick as their facilitator. So we thought if everybody's ready, it might be the next person picked that the student really wants to add in the feedback in the morning and the end of the day. So
036I think it's just that extra buy in. Seth really highlighted it. It's all about the relationship for some of these students. They just need that additional adult giving them those pep talks in the morning and throughout their day. I gave my talking minutes to Seth and Brian. >> [laughter] >> So, just to kind of close out what what everybody has said, but our collaboration with families is so important. So, that check-in check-out sheet or whatever data collection that we're sending home is a good home-school communication piece. So, that we're always communicating and with with parents and families about what does that look like in the day? What are some highlights? What are some maybe areas that uh we need to uh work on a little bit more and we can always have that open communication.
037In my building at Portal in particular, we've done a few different things. So, we do have multiple staff members who also do check-in check-out. It like um everybody has said, I echo that. It has given purpose to all staff members and it's been very powerful to have multiple different um people for students to connect with across the building. So, it makes a big difference. Um one other thing that we've been doing in particular at Portal is every certified staff member has three students and they do a 2x10 with. So, they pick three students that are either challenging for them and they need to build a relationship with, someone that they see that needs maybe some more support. And all it is is 2 minutes for 10 days, a little longer depending on the student. Um
038and just connecting with them and building that relationship and um it's been really great to see um to have multiple people um connecting with different kids in different ways. So, it's been really great. It's Seth again. I won't talk long cuz maybe you'll ask questions about some next steps. Um I happen to be on the district PBIS leadership team, so this is something that's that I have a lot of pride in, but the the team, you know, we met and it's like what's next? So, we've done some of the tier one, we've we've gone over tier two. We know we need to refine and collect some feedback about how did how did the tier two implementation go? Um how do we get better at collecting data? So, all those things are being reviewed. We talked
039about like fidelity checks, um just like we have on academic interventions, how do we ensure that the interventions are run with fidelity? And if we have walk-through checklists, things like that, those are coming. Um and then some of those work groups, um we typically get um some stipends from a grant through PBIS where we pay teams to come in in the summer and we do uh like a three or four-hour session and train people on the new material. So, the next step is they're going to be forming that tier three work group. Um so, once you've tried multiple things and uh kid needs more support, um that might not be identified in special education, we have a plan and a process, which we do, um but it's good to align across the district. So, that's
040what's next. Now, I think you guys can ask questions to Brian. Do you guys have any questions? You know I do. I usually like to wait, but uh I'll jump in. Uh one, hope everyone had a great spring break. Uh apologies at the Monday full day back, you also have to come here, but I appreciate you spending the time and putting us together and sharing uh always great information. So, you uh everything you talked about was about uh you know, what the schools and the staff are are doing to help these students. What do we Is there anything the district can do better to give parents and the families more information to also help with the things that we're trying to focus on in the schools for those students? Is there anything that that uh
041you feel like the district could could maybe do more to get the parents the information so they could work on it at home as well? Yeah, I think I think it's a great question and I think it's it's individualized. So, when we talk about like check-in check-out, we want it to be all a positive experience and so, I guess if that message goes out to our families, it's you know, there's a reason that we don't send the whole chart home um unless it's modified. We send the bottom and it has did we meet the goal or not meet the goal? Um we don't want to focus on any of those scores that were below a two um because we want to pump kids up for what they did well and then hopefully that catches momentum
042um and keeps them going and keeps them motivated to do good in school. So, I think I mean, when it comes to it like good practices to reach out to parents if if there's if you're struggling with certain things and the data's the data's showing that, I mean, we have a very clear process for tier two now. So, it's like what's next? We want, you know, maybe it's bring the parents in and you know, I can speak for myself, that's what we try to do at Prairie Queen is if if we're having difficulties, well, parents know their kids the best. So, they'll they're the ones that can share um good information, too. So, not I don't know if that really answers your question, but And I think to add to that, I know the mental
043health collaborative group, which involves counselors, school psychologists, um special education teachers and representatives, this is something at our building, we do have additional teams and committees. If we have a student that's continually coming up and we just can't quite solve this, um one thing I do know, I'm sure each of their principals here would say, our counselors and uh social workers do a phenomenal job of tapping them into community resources. If there's an outside provider that they um you know, we don't necessarily make recommendations, but if they at least need places to start, we want to tap them into those resources if they're as a parent really going, "Well, what else could we be doing?" So, we try to make those conversations collaborative and they just have a lot of great ideas and resources tap
044into. So, at least in our building, I know they would say the same. We do lean on our counselors, social workers, and psychs to help with that mental health side of things if we feel like we're just continuing to see regression or something not clicking for our students. We we also encourage our teachers, those skill for success lessons have little blurbs you can include in your newsletters and so, we're trying to be really intentional to educate and advocate to families on the skills we're working on in school because that is great supper conversations at home, right? And so, giving that information to parents and uh guardians so they're able to continue that conversation at home cuz all students are receiving tier one instruction on how to make those good responsible decisions and so, it's just
045leading that conversation at home as well with families. And I think also the importance of celebrating because we know social media's huge. If you send parents long newsletters, they'll probably read a quarter of what that is and call school and say, "I didn't know about this." And it was in the newsletter. So, sending small blippets out instead of and I'm portable, I usually send out how I talk massive things. Um send small blips out social media, showing pictures all the time like student of the week or a focus skill of the month and parent tips, very short things along the way. I think that engages parents more and lets them know what we're doing in the buildings. The pictures, the small blippets, I think those things are important. They weren't way back when I first
046started, but they are definitely now and you want to keep parents engaged. I know at our school, that's one big thing we're really focusing on as the district is is parent engagement. How do we get parents back in the building? How do we get parents more involved? So, I think that's important to all of us as we work in schools because that's the way we're going to be able to support kids and support their success even either the on the behavior side or the academic side or both. You know, I love this stuff, you know I do. And you guys are doing such a wonderful job of taking this universal practice and having a common language across all buildings and making it part of what we do as a district, but also using your data
047to make decisions for individual kids and making it unique at your buildings. But there's a lot of moving pieces with PBIS and even though it's been around for a long time, how do you continue to keep it new and fresh for staff? How do you keep those that have been doing it for 15 years still excited about it and at the same time teach those that are just starting their careers so that it is done with fidelity. So, can you talk a little bit about your staff development process or with this? It's my turn. Um No, I think you know, the district has done a really nice job of rolling out that uh we we talked about trauma-informed um business instructional practices last year in particular and that was a district-wide presentation that we did
048in different modules. And so, that was one way that it was fresh. It was maybe not new learning, but a good refresher course that provided updated learning and um something that was tangible. You might learn some of those pieces in college, but it's different when you're actually in the classroom where you can apply it to a student that is in your in your room or in your building. So, I think that was one of the ways that it does feel a little bit more relevant and fresh and then with our check-in and check-out process, that has been another added layer for all staff to be a part of in that training. So, I feel like for that those pieces, for me, I think that has been helpful in keeping it relevant. And as you say,
049teachers have done this a long time, they continue to do the same thing. So, I think in the last year at least at Patriot, we looked at the systems we had in place and we didn't do it just as a PBIS team. I involved the whole entire staff in that process because I think you get ownership if it's something that the whole staff's involved in that process. So, we revamped our flow sheet, we revamped our referral sheet, we got input from every single person on the staff inclu- including classified staff because they're all involved in making sure kids are successful and that way it kind of revitalized things also um and it involves the whole staff. I think that yes, we do have a PBIS leadership team, but we involve the whole staff. We'll create
050something with PBIS, but then we go to the whole staff and ask what else can we do for this? What other things do you need? We I send out surveys quite a bit. Where are the hotspots? What do we need PD in? Um is it just a grade level? Is it um during a PLC meeting or is it whole staff? So, I think that data is a really really important piece as we look at classroom data, individual data, and whole school data is making sure we're continuing looking at that where we need to grow and where we need to celebrate because celebrating is also very very important for our staff, kids, and parents. Can I ask one more question? Can you share with the board just um some basic information about restorative practices? I know
051that more of you are utilizing that and I'm not sure that we all have an understanding of exactly what that looks like. I'll try. Um we're not a pilot building for that right now. Um I know Trumble Park and Kersey Hill. Um I went through that training with Kersey Hill last year when I was principal at Kersey Hill. Um and it was a two-day training and then there was a lot of follow-up. Um and it's really I mean, it is very powerful work. It it takes a lot of time. Um it's a lot of basically if you think of like, you know, being in a circle and um having pieces that you can talk with and letting everybody have a voice about what they feel about a situation and it's basically it gets multiple perspectives
052in the room um and it lets you hear from other people about kind of what's going on. So, I know this year they went through some of the conflict resolution side and it's just like when we went through like TCI T training, you know, you do the foundation first and then you learn how to deal with when something happens, then we do this as a response. So, it's all about the procedures at the beginning. So, again, I don't want to misspeak on the restorative practice cuz I'm not in the pilot building and they've done more training. Um but I do know that it's been successful. We've talked about it at our district PBS leadership team meetings. Um they've had a lot of fun with it. The staff has been um trying things. I know for
053sure at Carriage um because uh Tracy McShane joined our uh team as well. And so, she spoke very highly of it and that her staff is um on board. So, did you have anything else? All right. Thank you. I want to thank these five individuals because as I I hope one of your takeaways tonight is that everything we do is super strategic. And even though they're a lot of times I know at your liaison lunches and in your meetings with parents or teachers, sometimes you'll hear about behavior and it's often one or two kids, but we have a lot of things going on to support. Um and this is one of our essential core practices. We have six. There are six essential core practices that all buildings um are expected to implement, but as Seth
054mentioned, um making it work within the culture of that building might look a little bit different. But these um five individuals along with Corey Hall, who couldn't be here tonight cuz he's at his son's banquet, uh it really does start with the leader. And it's a lot of work um to make sure that staff is buying in and that they're on board, but in order for kids to be successful and academically learn, it's a necessity um to get them ready and sometimes we have to teach them how to be learners. Um and that includes behavior as well. So, I thank you for giving another night. I thank you for leading this in your buildings and thanks for giving Monday after spring break. Sorry about that. So. Thank you. >> [sighs] >> Thank you very much.
055Moving on to item D under section two communications uh reporting section, I'll turn it over to Dr. Rickley for the superintendent's report. Thank you again uh Mr. Lotus, members of the board. And again, just for the audience members who remain, thank you for being here and those that are watching online, thank you for engaging with your board of education your school district. Uh just want to also reiterate what we've heard a couple of times, but hope hope that everybody really had a great spring break. Uh it comes at a really nice point in the school year. It generally serves as the the line of demarcation between third and fourth quarter. Uh and hopefully if we get a nice nice bit of weather out of it and we certainly had a little bit of that this
056weekend along with some basketball. So, uh here's wishing everybody a strong start to the fourth quarter. I know we will finish strong. Uh speaking of good weather and getting outdoors, we had I don't know how many years we've done this, ladies and gentlemen, but we had the Superintendent's Cup event this afternoon. Some of you have attended, some of you have had sons or daughters participate, but it's the Titan Monarch uh golf outing. It's at uh Tara Hills golf course. Uh I think the golfers were probably hoping for a little bit warmer weather and maybe a little bit less wind. Uh but it was a great opportunity to see our kids in action, our coaches in action, and uh I believe there's one other golf invite where Monarch versus Titan square off, but this is kind
057of the traditional start to the school year and a great way to see our kids compete even though the weather didn't cooperate as well as we'd like. Also wanted to thank not only the CEO staff, but Dr. Villarreal and his staff for coordinating our staff pick-me-ups. I've mentioned to the board a couple of times. We've tried to change those up over the years doing everything uh from donut deliveries to hoodie deliveries. We've done coffee deliveries a number of years. Uh this was another coffee delivery. And uh it's it's a staggering amount of work to coordinate 21 schools and an additional four or five ancillary programs from technology, Pleak, uh Ideal, uh all all of our early childhood programs, and every single one of the 1,800 staff members that call Papillion-La Vista Community Schools their home
058gets a visit and we can't always catch them in the classroom or in their office, uh but more often than not we do. So, it's it's a great way to provide a pick-me-up. It's a great way for us to be in our buildings and to be visible. But it takes a lot of work. So, Dr. V and all of our volunteers, thank you for that. Uh also wanted to share with the board uh we're finishing up some student engagement uh along with Dr. Hildebrand, I've had another opportunity to teach um history uh excuse me, Liberty Day. Uh most of the board is aware this is something that we do annually and a handful of CEO administrators uh go out and teach a mini lesson on Liberty Day, which really consists of uh a number of
059topics, American Revolutionary War, uh the Articles of Confederation, which uh were our form of government as we know after the the end of the Revolutionary War, the pre-Constitution period, and the development of this great nation's Constitution. And then we talk a little bit about Bill of Rights. We talk about the amendment process, branches of government, and all that stuff that former government teachers like myself geek out to. It always amazes me uh how talented and gifted our kids are. And the board's heard me say this any number of times, but um if you spend even just a small amount of time in our schools or in our classrooms, you will have great faith in the future of this country. I promise you that. We've got good kids. We've got smart kids. We've got respectful kids.
060We've got engaged kids. Uh so, it's a good reminder for me because I'm not as close to the classroom as I used to be. Uh we also had a great student luncheon. Uh Jason Ryan hosted again at Monarch High. We had a group of eight Monarchs, eight Titans. Had a spirited conversation around student attendance, which is really important this time of year when the weather starts turning nice. And we had a conversation about not only what draws kids to school. Why are you here, right? It can be kids, uh friends. It can be a favorite teacher. program. It can be something else. But we also talked about what are those barriers? What are those things that prevent you from being at school on a regular basis because we need to know what to reinforce, but
061we also need to know what obstacles are in front of us. So, as always, we had a great conversation with our kids. And lastly, uh just a reminder, we are rapidly approaching the end of the legislative session. Today was day 48, uh which means we only have 11 days left on the legislative calendar. Sine Die is the middle of April. Uh so, there's still a number of breaks between now and then, but there's just not much time left. Two bills in particular that Brett's been watching closely, 1219, uh the 2% cap. Uh we don't want to assume anything yet, but it's looking like that bill is losing some momentum, which is probably good news for public education in the state of Nebraska. Uh we did find out that LB 1050, which this board has been
062tracking very closely, uh which deals with uh mandatory retention, that did come out of the education committee just this afternoon, which means it will go on general file. Again, I don't know if there's going to be enough time to get done with anything with 1050, but we'll monitor closely. And as we get closer to the end of the session, I know Brett and I always work with Senator Gay on doing kind of a wrap-up of the legislative session and how it might impact uh school district operations. And with that, Mr. Lotus, members of the board, I would conclude my superintendent's report. Thank you, Dr. Rickley. Moving on to board member reports for this evening. Uh the only thing I have is that uh tomorrow at 8:15 is the Senator Roundtree call. I know Skippy mentioned
063that two meetings ago. Um it's so it's for anyone uh for any school board members on uh in a district that Senator Roundtree touches. So, I think he might have even done like the whole metro area, but last time around I was the only board member out of any school board to join, so I got a uh 15-minute uh face-to-face with him, which was great. Uh he's uh always um great chatting to and trying to talk to on these bills, especially I know we have some of these uh unknowns uh that are potentially moving to the floor. So, it'll be good. I plan on joining tomorrow if I can, but if if anyone else can join, it's at 8:15 and if you didn't get the link, let me know and I can shoot that over
064to you. >> Uh I've just been attending a a lot of sporting events. Obviously state basketball a couple of weeks ago right after our last board meeting. Uh Titans uh made it all the way to the finals again with the Monarchs being there and having a a very close loss in the first round. Uh but congratulations to the the Titan boys basketball team and I mean state title game back-to-back years with being state champions last year and then state runners-up this year. And for coach H, what a great way to to go out uh with a with a heck of a a championship game and a battle as he heads into retirement. Um All the spring sports have kicked off over the last couple of weeks. So um all all four men's and women's soccer
065teams have have chalked up wins. Uh with the Titan boys winning the Kearney Invitational on Saturday in that fun 95 plus degree heat. Uh and both track programs were at the College of Saint Mary's indoor invitational this weekend as well and had lots of uh success on both sides and obviously Dr. Rickly mentioned golf uh was out today. So lots of activities going on and we know when we hear from our student council reports, obviously the spring plays and other activities are are are going on as well. All right, moving on to our final section item E committee reports building grounds and finance. Uh we have not met since the last meeting. Human resources and student services. Yes, we met on March 17th. We will be meeting with PLEA leadership in the near future just
066to kind of discuss some feedback that they received from members regarding our recent negotiations so that can help us reflect on what was done and look to the future. Uh you'll see later on in our agenda we will be going Dr. Settles will be sharing some information with us about administrative salaries and also superintendent salary. And then we also touched on the 4000s that will be coming up for review in the near future. Thank you, Ms. Wood. And curriculum and Americanism. Yes, we met on the 19th. Moved that up so that we could discuss a few things before this meeting. We talked [snorts] touched on a number of things. Excuse [clears throat] me, I'll try to keep it pretty short but talked a little bit about the summer school. I know they're planning on doing
067a course review of that that would be next year. They're starting to work on a couple of like online the personal an online personal finance course. >> [snorts] >> And then also kind of a pilot for an online computer science class as well. And then talked a little bit about the strategic plan and the forming of the implementation teams. I know that Dr. Siri mentioned that if you have anybody that uh you think might be good on those teams to get in touch with her. I don't know if you've finalized that yet or if you're still looking for names. So if you have somebody or if anybody's interested here as well let her know. We talked a lot about some the literacy literacy plans. Wow, words are difficult tonight. Uh um and talked about some
068of the apparent literacy nights. I just I got to get rid of that word. And I don't know if you saw some of the on Facebook Walnut Creek had like a superheroes night with parents coming in and the kids it looked like it was a lot of fun. I [snorts] saw those pictures and then I know that Rumsey Station had a a parents night as well. Um and then I know that the high school I think the librarians there are working on some book clubs for the parents. And [snorts] in that in in both high schools. Um also [snorts] talked a lot about the a little bit about the ICG that they went to some of the schools and did the data collection for that. And now they've deployed the surveys and so they're continuing
069to work on that. That's all part of that CSLD grant. And then finally I know that NDE is looking for a new screener based on I think for that literacy law that'll be implemented and talking about Dibels 8. So we kind of talked a little bit about that and Dr. Siri went through that [snorts] and how it will change what we currently do and what the district is working on for that. >> [snorts] >> Um then we also did a um we talked about the middle school land purchase. I know that you all had talked about that and we kind of got all the information from what you all are looking at and went through some of that information and kind of talked through what we thought might be some good choices and I know
070that'll be coming up for the full board here but it a lot of good information. I know we're still gathering data on that. And then finally of course the transportation discussion. We got a lot of information on that. I appreciate all the information that you've already put together. We came up with a number of questions that we had put back to the administrative team so that we could get some more information and try to determine what will work for our district. And the biggest thing I can say is that I mean decisions like this are going to take time and we just need to you know, understand that this is just going to be a process that we will keep working on and and keep coming up with some keep asking questions, keep digging and
071keep figuring out what would be best. So appreciate like I said you putting together all that for us. So I think that's about it. Thank you, Mr. Bailey. >> [snorts] >> All right. That concludes section two communications. Moving on to section three action items. Our only item under action items is item A action by consent. I'll make a motion to approve the action by consent as written. Second. I have a motion by Mr. Bailey as seconded by Mr. Madler. Roll call, please. Mr. Lotus. Yes. Ms. Wood. Yes. Mr. Bailey. Yes. Ms. Witt. Yes. Ms. Butler. Yes. Mr. Madler. >> Yes. Motion carried. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Moving quickly along to section four our discussion and information items for this evening. Our first item up item A is the update to the technology purchase purchase
072of staff devices. I'll turn it over to Mr. Moore. Thank you. Good evening. Uh so yeah, I just wanted to give you guys a quick update for the board and the public to let them know let you guys know we've had some some slight changes in our in our purchasing of the staff devices. Um so on February 23rd you guys approved the purchase of our staff device refresh. And I did the paperwork and got everything solidified and then was called by Apple a few days later saying that they could not fulfill the order. Um so went back to the drawing board. Dr. Siri helped me craft some some communication back to Apple trying to get a different solution than what they were giving us. So they came back with um a bigger model. So instead
073of the 13-in it's the 15-in but it also comes with more memory. And so a bigger hard drive and also more memory. So it was actually a good upgrade. We did discuss it and we moved forward with it but we just wanted to bring it up for discussion here so everybody's aware of kind of where we're sitting. They didn't say anything. No, that's just the it's no additional cost. >> Yes, no additional cost. >> upgrade of the machine and we will be very strategic in communicating with staff that this is a unique situation cuz this would be an expensive machine if we just had to buy it. Yeah, the 15-in versus the 13-in there is a cost difference between the sizes. So Any questions? We'll discuss. >> in motion, Mr. Yeah, no change. Nothing there
074but Correct. Yep, the motion was to order devices for staff from Apple computers for that purchase price and that purchase price remains. So I'm glad they were you know, flexible and and willing to kind [clears throat] of come up with a a creative solution that solved our our needs without without causing delay or asking to come back and and increase the the cost to the district. So appreciate Dr. Siri and your leadership and getting you know, better devices with you know, double the memory uh with larger screens for the for the identical price. That's I'll consider that a pretty good win-win. So thank you for all your work. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. All right, moving on to item B under discussion and information items. The administrative salary 2026-27. Dr. Settles. Yep, thanks so much. Uh
075so this is something our HR student services subcommittee has been working on. Uh just a little bit of background. We do not negotiate with the administrative group. Um what we do is annually meet with several of them representing their group and just kind of talk about what are some things that they would like looked at. What are some issues? What are some things that they appreciate in their administrative package? What are some of the pieces that, you know, kind of some wishes and things like that. Um so, we spent some time doing that and then um we discussed some of those items as well. Um uh do quite a bit of work just working up the costs and pieces for a proposal for the following year. Um so, as we do that, one of the
076main things that we keep in mind is where did we land with teachers? That is our largest that absolutely needs to be our driving force when determining um a proposal to you for the um administrative salaries. So, just a reminder on that, um we brought to you in January and you approved the teacher negotiated agreement for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years. Um this was a total package increase for teachers of 3.5% in year one and 3.49% in year two. And that is one of the pieces that the subcommittee discussed as well in um determining the following recommendation. So, as we looked at that for certified administrators, classified directors, um it would be an average package increase of 3.25%. Uh this would be an increase on the base of $2,525 and moving from um $74,290
077for base to $76,815. Uh it also, like the teacher package, would allow for both vertical and horizontal movement. Um along in this same group, the assistant superintendent's recommendation for package increase is 3.25%. Thank you, Dr. Settles. Any questions, discussion? Uh yeah, I appreciate the uh HR subcommittee putting it together, um coming up with the proposal and sharing it out and for the information. Uh could you I just don't have it anymore. I tried looking for it, but I can't find it. The could you send the vertical and horizontal like tier the the movements that we have? I just can't remember what that looks like and what the multipliers are at the different levels. You bet. So, just send you a copy of that. >> Yeah. Yeah, I just want to take a look at it.
078Um so, overall package increase 3.25%. If but I know the [snorts] insurance is part of that increase, right? And a pretty significant part of that increase. Yep. Uh It sure is. And when I do the math of the 2525 over the 74,290, that's over the 3.25. That's 3.4%. So, knowing that's over the 3.25% and knowing that insurance takes a large chunk of it, what am I missing on how we get down to the 3.25%? Is it that so many people are like capped out on the vertical movement where they don't get as large of a raise? We have some people like that. We also have um several that don't take insurance. Um we have several people who their um spouses are also in the district, so uh rather than a large insurance increase there, um
079they get a uh fairly small in lieu of. So. Got you. Mhm. Okay. Just making sure I wasn't missing anything on those numbers. Yep. All right. Thanks. Any other questions, discussion? All right. We will move on to our final item under discussion and information items. Item C, the superintendent salary uh proposal for 2026-2027. Dr. Settles. Yes, thank you so much. Um this one is one that we spend also quite a lot of time doing some research, some background um every year and uh again for the superintendent salary, we uh certainly consider the teachers are our largest group. We want to make sure that um where we are very cognizant of that in making a proposal um with the teachers being at a 3.5%. Um as we looked at varying factors, we are bringing to you
080a total package increase, which would be a 3.002% um total package increase for Dr. Rickly. Uh we do take some time and look at um the top 15 largest districts in the state in making um a recommendation. In every which way that we look at this, um we have noticed that Dr. Rickly falls um between 8 and 11 um determining if you're looking at total salary or total compensation. Uh we also on this one then, with that 3.002%, it would uh propose Dr. Rickly's salary to be $288,100 or $288,136.41. Um one of the pieces that we noticed, this [clears throat] probably falls into the your last question as well, Marcus, um and we saw with the teacher piece as well, since we did have the retirement um representing a decrease for um district contribution with
081the legislative changes, um that does impact that total package as well. Um when we also consider in those retirement contributions plus the increases that we see in FICA, Medicare, and insurance rates, calculated, that's a total package cost of $351,780.16. Um and that does not include the budgeted amounts and allowance for reimbursement and uh travel reimbursement that is, and association and membership dues. Uh the total budgeted amount for those um items are included in the Transparency Act as well. Um the total budgeted amount for the whole contract is $361,780.16. Uh this contract you uh did update back in December um adding an additional year. There were no other changes made back in December when you did that. So, at this time, the only piece that you have to look at is the um salary and total
082budget cost. So, this contract does cover through the 2028-2029 contract years. Uh there is a copy always of the three-year contract available for patron review on the district website in accordance with Nebraska Superintendent Contract Transparency Act. Thank you, Dr. Settles. Questions? Any discussion? No, and so we take a look at this in in subcommittee. Uh as Dr. Settles mentioned, I mean, we are looking at comparables, um our peer group, uh you know, similar-sized districts uh throughout the state. Uh and again, we recognize, you know, we are the fourth largest district in the state of Nebraska. Uh and as uh Dr. Settles mentioned, you know, we're nowhere near the fourth highest uh paid uh superintendent in uh in the state. Um we have to one, take a step back uh and take the man sitting next
083to me kind of out of the equation as we look from a competitive standpoint. The the one thing we can't do is allow ourselves to fall too far behind um and then if Dr. Rickly were to leave or at some point decides to retire and we then have to go to market to find uh you know, the next top-notch leader of this district, you know, it would be very hard for us to come to a meeting and ask the public uh to to support us in uh you know, a 30% increase because we've been too conservative as we look at the position itself as the leader of the fourth largest district. So, um that that's been kind of a standard set uh forth by the HR subcommittee for for many years now is is looking
084at it as the position and and not the man. And then we come back and factor in, obviously, uh performance and everything else uh the other considerations that Dr. Settles mentioned uh to try to come up with a fair and reasonable uh uh package increase. So, seeing no further discussion or questions, we will uh conclude section four discussion and information items. Uh we do not have any uh public comment for items not uh on tonight's agenda. So, we'll move quickly to section six, the future board calendar. April 3rd, 2026, no school for students and staff. April 6th, 2026, no school for students, but it is a staff development day. Uh can't believe we're already coming up on prom season, but uh April 11th, 2026, Papillion-La Vista South High School's prom. And on April 13th, 2026,
085the next Board of Education meeting at 6:00 p.m. here at the central office. Seeing no further business before the board, I will adjourn the Papillion-La Vista Community Schools Board of Education meeting for March 23rd, 2026 at 7:07 p.m. Thank you all. Good night.