By Clara Osten,
clara@wayneherald.com
The resignation of a long-time science teacher and his wife, along with a presentation (and food) from the school's Culinary Class, highlighted the Monday meeting of the Wayne Community Schools' Board of Education.
Dale Hochstein, who has taught science classes at Wayne Community Schools for 44 years will be retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Lenihan told the board he will "miss Mr. Hochstein's experience and I appreciate everything he has done for the district."
Laura Hochstein is retiring after serving as the district's EL teacher at Wayne Elementary School. Dr. Lenihan also said "Laura is always willing to help where needed and we will miss her."
Dr. Lenihan said the district has already started the process of trying to fill these positions.
Students in Alina Surber's Culinary Class made holiday designed snacks for all those in attendance at the meeting to share.
Each of the students shared information with the board on what they have gained from the class and how they plan to use that knowledge in the future.
Board members spent considerable time discussing an AIM document for a Human Resource position for the district.
Dr. Lenihan told the board that the job description was provided by the Perry Law Firm with a possible list of job duties.
Board member Lynn Junck told the board that he would be "more in favor of hiring someone for the position if it would be an hourly position, rather than a director position."
Dr. Lenihan said if that was the direction the board desired to move forward with, the job description would need to be worded differently.
Following discussion, board members voted to table the agenda item and will re-visit it at the next meeting.
Board members voted to approve the recently completed superintendent's evaluation.
Board President Dr. Jodi Pulfer said the evaluation was completed by board members through the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) and was "very positive." She and Jaime Manz, board vice-president, will meet with Dr. Lenihan to set goals for the coming year. These will be discussed at the next meeting.
The superintendent's contract was approved for three years (2024-2027).
The contract for the coming year will include at 2.75% increase in salary, which will be $163,106. Information on the contract and compensation package can be found on the district's website as part of the Transparency Act.
Pay Application No. 3 to Hausmann Construction for the school renovation/construction project was approved. It is for $1,028,954.
Director of Maintenance Jordan Widner told the board the contractors "are right on schedule. The weather has been great, allowing them to get work completed. Structural steel for a portion of the project should be coming in this week."
During Administration reports, Dr. Lenihan shared information on the Nebraska Education Profile Report. He talked about test results for the district and while the results are favorable, "we are always looking for ways to improve."
Enrollment numbers for December were shared also. As of Dec. 4, there are 1,006 students enrolled in the district, Pre-K through 12th grade. This includes second grade (80 students) and fifth grade (88 students) that are at capacity and therefore unable to add any additional option-enrollment students.
In kindergarten through 12th grade, the largest class is the sophomore class with 97 students and the smallest class is the first grade with 55 students.
Discussion was held on having Kindergarten Round-up earlier in the spring to help determine how many kindergarten students will be enrolled for the 2024-2025 school year.
Dr. Lenihan also told the board the district's Congia Accreditation External Review is scheduled for Jan. 11-12. Prior to that, board members are invited to take part in a Zoom meeting with the accreditation team.
The Wayne Community Schools' Board of Education will meet again in regular session on Monday, Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. in the junior-senior high school library.
