Murray, NEB.- On Tuesday, April 11, the Conestoga school board held its monthly meeting. Allison Welch, Tracey Priefert, Candace Kelley, Jeremy Stone, Seth Arens, Greg Page and student member Jayden S were in attendance.

The meeting began with a legislative report from Jayden. He referenced the legislative advocacy day which he will be attending along with other representatives of the district. There they will learn more about what is going on in the legislature and have the opportunity to meet with state senators. He also mentioned some of the bills in the legislature including one that would place a cap on how much the school levy can increase in a year. This could be exceeded through a popular vote or a supermajority of the school board.

Allison Welch spoke on behalf of the building project committee. She mentioned a meeting they plan on holding on Sunday which they have invited “a diverse group of people” to. These community members from various backgrounds, various relationships with the school and various stances on the past bond proposals will hear a 30 minute presentation from an architect about what needs are present and what proposals are being considered. They will then be able to discuss some of the issues and attempt to gauge what projects have a prospect of gaining enough support if another bond is attempted.

The consent agenda was approved and the meeting moved on to administrative reports. Due to new legislation which adds requirements to school curriculums, Lisa Burgmeyer stated that freshmen will only have one elective next year. She also stated that while she had given a dollar amount to be approved for the purchase of a new English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum (one of the most expensive curriculum purchases due to its implementation throughout many grades), she believes that the price will go down as she is able to cut more sections out. This is thanks to the dual credit nature of one of the senior English classes. Rob Geise, the principal of the high school, mentioned in his report that the high school is out of junior high, senior high and athletic lockers. Eric Dennis, the elementary principal also mentioned that his school is expecting a large batch of kindergartners in the next few years which could further challenge their space availability.

Next, the board moved on to the action items on the agenda. The purchase of a new ELA curriculum not to exceed $186,524.21 was approved. They also approved the resignations of Trent Clauson, Sara DeWhispelare and Amanda Bair. They also approved teaching contracts for Shannon Conant and Troy Quick. Conant would act as secondary instructional coach and Quick would become the Strength and conditioning coach. The superintendent contract was approved and they approved an $0.05 increase in hot lunch prices for both students and adults during the 2023-2024 school year. Finally, the board approved the 2021-2022 annual report.

The meeting adjourned at 5:50.