Wayne Community Schools Board of Education members received some good news during a presentation at Monday's meeting of the Board.
Cap Peterson with Northeast Nebraska Insurance, was present to discuss the district's property and casualty insurance package.
Peterson said that in large part due to a decrease in the district's Workers Compensation costs, the total premium to be paid by the district for the 2018-2019 year will be $95,901. This is down from the $109, 606 paid last year.
The district's Workers Compensation experience mod went from 1.04 (four percent more than average) to .73 (27 percent less than average) and the premium for this portion of the district's coverage went from $38,744 last year to $22,214 this year.
Peterson praised the district for the work done to increase safety in all areas and said this was a major factor in the lower experience mod.
Peterson also told the board he had sent information to five different insurance companies seeking bids for the district's casualty insurance. He said the quote from Employers' Mutual Company (EMC) was the lowest. This is the company the district has been with for a number of years.
Board members also discussed the Superintendent's appraisal.
Board President Wendi Consoli listed the superintendent's responsibilities and talked about goals set by Superintendent Lenihan.
These include providing the best education for all students and working to have all students have at least one advocate; keeping the school in a good financial position and communicating with students and the board.
The board also received the Wayne Community Schools District Audit. Superintendent Lenihan told the board the audit had already been sent to the state auditor and explained the information included in it, including student attendance throughout the district.
Superintendent Lenihan explained to the board and those in attendance at the meeting what will happen during the district's School Improvement Engagement Review, which will take place Tuesday through Thursday, Dec. 4 -6. Lenihan said the team that will come in to do the evaluation will meet with board members, staff members, parents and others within the district.
During the committee reports portion of the meeting, Superintendent Lenihan spoke on the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Project and said he was advised by Rex Schultze, an attorney with the Perry Law Firm, not to move forward with a letter of intent on the project with CTS Group. Schultze instead recommended that the district go out for competitive bidding on the project.
Jaime Manz, a member of the Foundation and Community Relations Committee, told the board that the Rec and Performing Arts Committee had met and looked at facilities already in town. She said the committee, which is made up of members from the Wayne Community Schools, City of Wayne, Wayne State College and Wayne County, is working on a needs assessment and is still in the information gathering stage of the process.
The Wayne Community Schools Board of Education will next meet in regular session on Monday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. in the junior-senior high school library.
