Two new members and one re-elected member were sworn in during the Wayne Community Schools Board of Education regular meeting on Jan. 9.
Jaime Manz and Lynn Junck are new to the board and Wendy Consoli is beginning her third term on the board.
Administering the oath of office was Eric Knutson, who serves as the district's attorney. Knutson also led all board members in reciting the board member code of conduct prior to the electing of a board president and vice president.
Re-elected to the position of board president was Dr. Carolyn Linster.Dr. Jeryl Nelson will serve as board vice-president and Deb Daum was re-appointed to the position of recording secretary.
Board members also accepted positions on various committees including Foundation and Community Relations, Curriculum and Americanism, Facility/Safety, Policy/Title IX and Finance.
Superintendent Mark Lenihan informed board members on the current status of filling teaching positions that will be open at the end of the current school year. Interviews are currently being conducted for the position of junior-senior high school librarian. The high school English teacher position has been posted, as has a .5 full-time equivalent English Language Learner (ELL) position.
Lenihan also told the board he hopes to interview candidates for the Junior High Principal/Athletic Director position by the end of January and have a recommendation for the board at the February meeting.
During the business portion of the meeting, board members approved a health insurance quote from Aetna.
Steve Muir, with the Elkhorn Valley Agency, who serves as the local contact for the company, spoke to the board on the dual option health insurance being offered to all of the district's eligible employees for the 2017-2018 school year.
Employees will have the option of taking part in a health savings account (HSA), which has a lower premium, or continuing with the current plan.
Muir said he sees the HSA becoming more popular and said that a new presidential administration may bring changes to the health insurance industry.
Final approval was given to the 2017-2018 school calendar for the district. Classes are set to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 16.
Superintendent Lenihan highlighted a number of dates on the calendar, including the sports practice moratorium from July 22-30; Parent-Teacher Conferences for grades K-12 on Sept. 28-29 and several other events throughout the year.
The final day of the 2017-2018 school year will not be officially determined until the April 2018 board meeting and will be dependent on whether the district needs to make up any days due to weather-related closings.
The board's negotiations committee reported that a contract for the 2017-2018 school year has been signed with the district's teachers. There will be no increase in base salary in the one-year contract.
The Wayne Community Schools Board of Education will next meet in regular session on Monday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. in the junior-senior high school library.
