The South Central Nebraska Unified District #5 voted at the September 2022 board meeting to not renew the current Unification Agreement.
It is set to expire on Aug. 31, 2024. In January 2023, they hired me to oversee and help them navigate this de-unification and prepare both districts to be independent districts again, beginning with the 2024-25 school years. There were many things that needed to be done to prepare for this.
ROAD MAP: We deveoped this Road Map for our work that needed to be completed this school year. This Road Map is also meant to give everyone a visual that we could use to track our progress.
As we wrap up our third quarter of the year, we are on track to accomplish the work we had before us.
Here are the updates on our progress:
• STAFFING PLANS FOR EACH DISTRICT: At the April 2024 board meetings, each district voted to offer teacher contracts for the 2024-25 school year. This is significant as each staff member is now, either a Lawrence-Nelson Raider or a Sandy Creek Cougar!
When it is all said and done, here are the final totals for staff members for each district:
SC L-N
# of Para Educators-...........................20.................... 10 (2 unfilled) # of Food Service-.............................. 4.5.............................. 4 # of Custodians....................................5............................... 4 # of Transportation..............................7............................... 5 # of Secretaries....................................5............................... 3 # of Nurses..........................................1................................8 # of Elementary Teachers....................21............................. 12 # of Secondary Teachers.....................26............................. 12 # of Shared Teachers............................4............................... 2 # of Administrators................. 2 (2 shared 60%).......3 (2 Shared 40%) 97.7 positions (64.1%)...... 54.6 (35.9%)
•TECHNOLOGY SEPARATION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS:
A tremendous amount of energy has been consumed “behind the scenes” by several staff members on various aspects of technology as we prepare for our split. technology is the fabric of just about everything we do. If Technology is the fabric, then Google is the thread.
•TECHNOLOGY STAFF:
In general, these guys have been working all year on preparing, cleaning up data, looking for solutions and options and just helping with preparing us for the split:
• Judy Schroer, Jessica Stokes, Michelle Janda, Alicia Vavra, Amy Schroer, Alex Kucera, and Carlie Pohlmeier from Lawrence- Nelson
• Jeremy Borer, Krista Calderon, Candice Dooley, and Lindsey Spray from Sandy Creek
• Gary Needham, Dallas McLain, Wayne Wiens, Tim Kalvelage, and Ellie Schroeder from ESU 9 and 10.
• GOOGLE: Google was one of the hardest threads to get through the “proverbial” eye of the needle to get started. Google, literally, seems to be the gatekeeper for so many things we do and rely on each and every day. Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, login with Google, etc. Everything seems to center around Google. It took months of coordination with Google, Nebraska Department of Education, the State Board of Education and our ESU 9 support to finally get Google to recognize us as independent districts. Once that finally happened, everything started to fall into place. I want to thank Jeremy Borer, Krista Calderon, Dallas McClain, and Gary Needham, ESU 9 Tech Support for their tireless efforts with Google!
•WEBSITE BUILDING: Another “behind the scenes” tech task was creating and building our new, independent websites. Each district chose to go with Apptegy. Jordan, from Apptegy has been instrumental in helping our staff to transfer from our current, SCU #5 website to our new websites, but also to guide our staff in their efforts to learn how to create and manage new content for the new sites. I would encourage everyone to check them out: https://www.sandycreek.us/ https://www.lnraiders.org/ • POWERSCHOOL: This is our “Student Management” software that connects “families to school” and “school to the Nebraska Department of Education.” This is used every moment of the day, every day, by someone. The act of splitting this system has fallen on the capable shoulders and minds of Amanda Skalka, Cindee Woodbury, and Carlie Pohlmeier. They have been fantastic, not only getting our data cleaned up and ready for migration, but also tutoring and preparing staff in each district to be ready to assume the mantle of duties associated with Power School. The secretarial staff of each district is to be commended on having the attitude of “whatever needs to be done” we can do it!
• ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE: You have to pay the bills! You have to pay the staff and you have to report to the government! One more big task to prepare for the split was the timing of migrating our financial information to a new accounting software system. We wanted to find a “user friendly”, “reporting friendly” system. Lindsey Spray, Candice Dooley, and Amy Schroer did their homework and recommended each district to choose Software Unlimited. Aside from the user aspect, there are also a large number of school districts in our area that use Software Unlimited as well. This will be a great asset to have peers we can reach out to for support. The conversion is set to take place on the first day of each district’s independence.
• BOARD POLICIES - Each board has been working on adopting their own set of policies to guide our districts into the future. To date, each board policy committee and administrative team has devoted many hours of review and discussion on what our policies should include. This is a cornerstone task a board of education is required to do, to set policy for the district. Each board of education has taken this head on! As we transition from school year to summer, we turn our attention to making sure all of the details are completed. There are still many tasks at hand, but the end is in sight. I want to thank the following:
• STAFF (CERTIFIED AND CLASSIFIED): Both district’s staff have been amazing to work with this year. Not only have I enjoyed getting to know and work with everyone, but everyone has also been focused on educating our students. Teaching is hard. Coaching is hard. Our staff “brings it” every day to make sure your child is set up for success! There were ups and downs throughout the year, but our staff shined throughout!
• ADMINISTRATION - This has been a very taxing year for our administrative team. The rigors and stress of a “normal” school year was not enough for them. They also had to endure being relied upon to help navigate this de-unification as well! We spent a lot of time looking up answers and trying to find solutions for potential pitfalls along the way. They took everything in stride.
• COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PATRONS: While I was not able to connect with everyone this year, I have felt the support, pride and connection that you all have with our districts. Raider Pride and Cougar Pride are alive and stronger than ever! This culminated this past Graduation Weekend. It was wonderful to see!
• BOARD OF EDUCATION - I want to thank the SCU #5 Board of Education for placing their trust in me last January to help you through this process. They have been instructive and supportive throughout! They are truly dedicated to your district and want each student to have all of the support and opportunities each student deserves! It has been an honor for me to assist and lead. I look forward to finishing this de-unification this summer. I look forward to leading both districts again next year as they enjoy their first year as two, independent districts.
