## Board of Education Regular Meeting Monday, May 11, 2026 7:00 PM ## Public School Library 506 W. 9th Street ## Dorchester, NE 68343-0007 1. Call to Order and Announce Open Meetings Act Verification ## 2. Roll Call 3. Receive Visitors and Announce Open Forum for Public Comment 4. Request for Change of Agenda 5. Approval of the Minutes of the Last Meeting(s) ## 6. Financial Report 7. Reports ## 7.1. Athletic Director's Report ## 7.2. Principal's Report ## 7.3. Superintendent's Report ## 8. New Business 8.1. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the adjustment of the 2025-2026 school calendar to change the last student day to Tuesday, May 19th at 12 P.M.. 8.2. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the transfer of $110,000.00 from the Bond Fund to the Special Building Fund. 8.3. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the quote for the installation of the loft above the stage. 8.4. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the Elementary hallway carpet project. 8.5. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the High School classroom carpet. 8.6. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the elementary playground and sidewalk project. 8.7. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the classified work agreement for Jeremiah Sistek for the 2026-2027 school year. ## 9. Board Committee Report(s) 10. Closed Session (as necessary per statute) 11. Establish Future Board of Education Meeting Date(s) and Time(s) 12. Adjourn ## Board of Education Regular Meeting Monday, April 13, 2026 7:00 PM ## Public School Library 506 W. 9th Street ## Dorchester, NE 68343-0007 Notice of the time and place of the Dorchester Board of Education meeting was published in a newspaper of general circulation within the district. Newspapers of general circulation in the district include, but are not necessarily limited to, the Crete News, the Lincoln Journal Star, or the Omaha World-Herald. Notice is also posted in at least three prominent places within the school district which may include the following: Dorchester Public Schools, Farmers Coop, First State Bank, and the Village Office. Individual board members received in advance the meeting agenda and meeting materials. Pursuant to Section 84-1412 of the Nebraska Statutes, the public is hereby informed that a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted in the Board meeting boardroom. ## Matt Bolton: Present ## Matthew Hansen: Present ## Shelly Lehr: Present ## Carol Schnell: Present ## Matt Smith: Present ## Steve Vyhnalek: Present ## 1. Call to Order and Announce Open Meetings Act Verification The meeting was called to order by President Steve Vyhnalek. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. ## 2. Roll Call Also present were Superintendent Nick Mumm, Principal JJ Wagner, and Jen Bond. ## 3. Receive Visitors and Announce Open Forum for Public Comment Visitors present were Jessica Sherwood and Craig Bergmeyer. 4. Request for Change of Agenda No request for change of agenda. 5. Approval of the Minutes of the Last Meeting Motion to approve the reading of the last meeting minutes passed with a motion by Matt Bolton and a second by Shelly Lehr. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea ## 6. Financial Report Motion to approve the financial report passed with a motion by Matthew Hansen and a second by Carol Schnell. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea 7. Reports ## 7.1. Athletic Director's Report Athletic Director, Brent Zoubek, gave the board a list of upcoming activities. ## 7.2. Principal's Report Mr. Wagner informed the board that he attended IPG (Instructional Practice Guides) training in Beatrice. It is a new thing that will be required. Mr. Bird, Mrs. Ridpath, and Mr. Wagner attended CLSD (Comprehensive Literacy State Development) meeting. It focused on what our Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III should look like moving forward. The track season is off to a great start. The spring play was a success. Many members of the Threat Assessment Team attended a training via Zoom on March 19th. It focused on how to decide if a threat is credible and what steps to take if a threat is made. Mike Donahue came and talked to students, staff, and the public. He had a great message about valuing yourself and others. ## 7.3. Superintendent's Report Dr. Mumm told the board that the junior class completed the ACT this past week. Students K-8 are currently working through the NSCAS State Assessments or MAP Growth testing. He also told the board that over the past seven months, district spending has increased by an average of 2.9% per month compared to last year. ## 8. New Business 8.1. Discussion and presentations by Ella Vyhnalek and Sierra Sherwood. ## • FBLA State Conference • 2026-2027 proposed study hall schedule Ella Vyhnalek talked to the board about FBLA State Leadership Conference and what it is all about. Ella Vyhnalek and Sierra Sherwood talked to the board about their concerns about possible changes to class schedules. 8.2. High Ability Learners Program Presentation from Mrs. Brenda Nerud. Brenda Nerud talked to board members about the HAL (High Ability Learners) program. She thanked board members for their past support of HAL and giving the kids the opportunity to attend the Bright Lights program each year. 8.3. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve 2026–2027 certified teacher contracts. Motion to approve the 2026-2027 certified teacher contracts passed with a motion by Carol Schnell and a second by Matthew Hansen. Steve Vyhnalek: Abstain (With Conflict), Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol ## Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea 8.4. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the update of board policy 6009, Grade Placement of Transfer Students. Motion to approve the update of board policy 6009, Grade Placement of Transfer Students passed with a motion by Shelly Lehr and a second by Matt Bolton. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea 8.5. Discuss and take all necessary action to approve the First Student contract for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year. Motion to approve the First Student contract for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year passed with a motion by Matthew Hansen and a second by Matt Smith. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea ## 9. Board Committee Report The Maintenance/Transportation Committee has been talking about several facilities projects that they would like to see within the next few years. 10. Closed Session (as necessary per statute) Motion to go into closed session at 7:44pm passed with a motion by Carol Schnell and a second by Matthew Hansen. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea Motion to go back into open session at 9:02pm passed with a motion by Carol Schnell and a second by Matthew Hansen. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea ## 11. Establish Future Board of Education Meeting Date and Time The next scheduled board meeting is Monday, May 11th at 7:00pm 12. Adjourn Motion to adjourn at 9:03pm passed with a motion by Shelly Lehr and a second by Matt Smith. Matt Bolton: Yea, Matthew Hansen: Yea, Shelly Lehr: Yea, Carol Schnell: Yea, Matt Smith: Yea, Steve ## Vyhnalek: Yea ## Shelly Lehr, Secretary of the Board of Education ## Principal’s Report May 11th, 2026 ## Music Programs Both the Elementary and JH/HS Music Programs were held and all the kids sounded fantastic! ## Sports The JH Track Season has come to an end. They did a great job and had some new school records broken. The HS Track Season comes to an end soon with Districts and the State Meet. ## State FBLA I had the privilege of attending the State FBLA as the male chaperone. Our students did a great job of representing Dorchester. They paid close attention to the keynote speakers and applauded those that won awards. ## Threat Assessment Team We had our first meeting. ## Criminal Justice Day I took 8 students to Peru State for Criminal Justice Day. The students competed in a variety of events throughout the day. They brought home many awards. The students really enjoyed the experience. ## State Journalism Dorchester had another successful trip to the State Journalism competition. The students brought home many awards and one state championship. ## Athletic Banquet The athletic banquet was well attended ## Honors Night Lots of our students received awards. ## Upcoming Events 5/13 - District Track @ Pawnee City 10 A.M. ## 5/15 - Elementary Field Day 5/15 - Family Bingo Night 7 P.M. ## 5/16 - JH Track @ State Meet @ Gothenburg 5/18 - Last Day of Preschool ## 5/19 - Last Day of School K-11 5/22 & 5/23 - HS Track @ State Meet in Omaha 5/23 - Alumni Banquet ## 5/26 - CRC Golf Outing @ Friend ## 5/29 - CRC All-Star Basketball Game ## 5/30 - Alumni Golf Tournament 6/1 - 6/5 - Bright Lights ## 6/1 - CRC All-Star Volleyball Game 6/8 & 6/9 - CLSD Grant Meeting ## Maintenance/Transportation The maintenance department is preparing for summer cleaning and repairs following the school year. We are also getting ready to begin several projects immediately to ensure they are completed before summer school begins. At this time, there are no major maintenance issues to report. In transportation, we are currently looking for a bus driver for next school year. We also still have a school van and a bus on order that should arrive soon. There are no other transportation issues to report at this time. ## Finances The budget is looking good as we enter the latter part of the current budget cycle. Preparation for the new budget cycle will begin in late June. With the new law requiring all schools to attend the joint public hearing, I will need to begin the budgeting process earlier than usual. It sounds like the joint hearing will now take place in July instead of September, so the entire timeline will move up. More information will be shared in the coming months. One item I would like to implement next year is ensuring that all students can attend field trips at no cost to families. After the PTO contributes to the field trip expenses, the district would cover the remaining balance. As a public school, we want to ensure these educational experiences are accessible to all students. We will also discuss moving funds from the bond fund to the special building fund, where the interest rate is significantly higher. The bond fund currently earns 0.25% interest, while the special building fund earns 3.75%. ## New Bills/Policies At the end of the legislative session, there were not many bills that had a major impact on our district. The reading bill did not pass, nor did the proposed two-percent cap on school budgets. A few bills that did pass will impact school operations. All schools will now be required to attend the joint public hearing, even if they are not on the “pink postcard” list. In addition, some car line taxes will shift from the school budget to the county budget. Another change is that if a district accepts an option-enrolled student, the district must also accept that student’s siblings without question. There were also changes regarding student behavior policies. Schools now have slightly more flexibility when addressing certain behaviors in grades K–2, including the ability to send students home in some situations. More information on all of these legislative changes will be available once KSB updates district policies. It has been a great school year, and our students have grown tremendously. I appreciate the support from the board, staff, and families throughout the year. We have wonderful people at Dorchester, and I look forward to the start of another great school year. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to stop by or reach out at any time. ## NM ## Dr. Nick Mumm ## Superintendent Dorchester Public School (402) 946-2781 - School (402)768-3311 - Cell