Beatrice School Board approves staff contracts, bids for services

BEATRICE – Staff contracts are in place for next school year in the Beatrice Public School System.  The Board of Education has approved classified staff salaries which carry a 3.2% increase in pay and benefits. The contract covers 181 employees in the district. The Board also approved an agreement with contracted staff members, which grants a 3.3% hike. That agreement covers about a dozen positions.

The Board approved administrative pay for the coming year, which amounts to a 2.78% package increase. The district is reducing administrative staff by one position.  The Board approved formally hiring Dylan Kendall as the new Assistant Beatrice High School Principal. Superintendent Jason Alexander says Kendall went to school at Beatrice.  "Just excited to bring home one of our own...a BPS graduate that has gone through our system. He's excited about being back. Dylan's only real weakness, if there is one....is going to be his experience. Other than that, I think he is as organized and is as much of a developer and ready to be a principal as anybody I've ever seen."

At the end of this school year, the district is losing over 300 years of teaching and administrative service due to retirements or staff leaving the district. Alexander says positions have been filled for the coming school year.

"Number one, we had great cooperation with the teachers who are retiring. They told us early so we could find replacements early. Our administrative team did an amazing job of getting out and hiring people and finding people to hire....in what is one of the most unprecedented teacher shortages we've seen in history. I'm very proud of the fact that we'll have a full staff of educators for our students, next year."

The Beatrice School Board approved contracts for bread and milk supplies for the coming year, with Rotella Bakery and Hiland Dairy. There was a slight increase in the bread price, while the dairy bid will not cause an increase in milk prices.  Breakfast and lunch prices were set about ten cents higher for the coming year in the district, ranging from $2.50 to $3.40 for students….and $2.85 to $4.70 for adults.

A new federal transportation rule is putting the squeeze on school districts that made use of large passenger vans to transport students to activities.
Superintendent Alexander says a van the district recently purchased will no longer meet the requirements of a new law, which bans 15-passenger vans. The district was refunded the purchase price, but it means the district is back on the market for replacement vehicles.

"It should be noted that currently, no new vehicle manufacturer is producing a gas-powered ten-passenger vehicle any longer."

Alexander says the district is now looking at the possibility of acquiring a mini-bus with a service door and step well, rated for up to 14 passengers.
"I just wanted take a moment in public to discuss this and let the public know that with the change in law, it creates issues for us in how and what we can utilize to transport students from point A to point B...and it also creates expenses."

Another option is eight passenger sport utility vehicles or vans. The Beatrice Public School district has seven 15-passenger vans that will no longer be allowable for transfer of students starting in May of next year. Those vehicles could be sold for other uses. Strangely, post-secondary students over age 18 can be transported in the vans.

"If we can get at least one, or maybe get two taken care of in the course of the next three or four months....then we can continue to see what we can do in the next budget cycle, and hopefully get a couple more."  The Beatrice Board of Education authorized administration to spend up to $70,000 to address the vehicle situation.

On the brighter side of things, it was announced that the school district has received grants recently totaling $175,000 for child literacy efforts and continuation of the Sixpence program in the district.