Projected Bond repayment schedule

Here are the projected figures for bond repayment if the May bond election passes. The preliminary numbers were obtained from DA Davidson, the school fiscal agent.

Adjusted general fund operating expenditures for similar size schools

Here is data from the Nebraska Department of Education website showing the adjusted general fund operating expenditures for Nebraska Public schools in 2010-11 arranged by order of formula students.

What is noticeable about this list?

Bancroft-Rosalie, Allen and Harvard are the only schools under $2,000,000 in adjusted general fund expenditures.

ALLEN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS 1,749,358.44

LYONS-DECATUR NORTHEAST 2,363,476.60

ELWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,405,723.83

GARDEN COUNTY SCHOOLS 2,613,270.87

HARVARD PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1,965,688.15

KENESAW PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,108,165.27

HITCHCOCK CO SCH SYSTEM 2,305,846.14

ELKHORN VALLEY SCHOOLS 2,961,506.81

HARTINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,749,668.06

SCRIBNER-SNYDER COMMUNITY SCHS 2,358,743.91

PAWNEE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,408,067.03

EAST BUTLER PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,725,730.50

LOUP CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,852,613.77

EMERSON-HUBBARD PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,504,102.86

RANDOLPH PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,640,077.58

FRIEND PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,528,510.49

BANCROFT-ROSALIE COMM SCHOOLS 1,852,941.99

OSCEOLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,352,659.96

MAXWELL PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,701,547.23

AXTELL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS 2,641,013.92

JOHNSON-BROCK PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,571,016.74

OVERTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,432,431.29

PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,357,974.15

ARAPAHOE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,917,496.21

ALMA PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2,560,564.29

Time to change Conferences?

The East Husker Conference has invited Bancroft-Rosalie School and several other schools to attend an informational meeting to discuss expanding the East Husker. The East Husker Conference currently has ten teams with West Point being the geographical center (Lyons-Decatur, Pender, Oakland-Craig, Scribner-Snyder, Stanton, West Point-Beemer, Wisner-Pilger, Logan View, Tekamah-Herman, and North Bend). These schools are larger than most schools in the 15 team Lewis and Clark Conference, but they are also closer to B-R. The mileage to conference events would be considerably less as a member of the East Husker.

Ag Opportunities Conference

Eight B-R students attended the Agriculture Opportunities Conference today at the Nielsen Center in West Point. Here are some of the notes I took from the presentation of Weldon Sleight, Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska:

- Bancroft peaked in population in 1910 with 742 people.
- Children are rural Nebraska's greatest export (not a good thing. We want them to return home).
- Invite young people to return home after college. Show them opportunities in the community (agriculture, business, professional)
- 70% of Nebraska farm ground will change hands in the next 20 years.

New Math Teacher hired

Kyle Elsasser has accepted the math teaching position at Bancroft-Rosalie School. Kyle is a 2004 graduate of Bancroft-Rosalie and a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan, where he was an Academic All-American for the football team.

Bancroft Community Attitude and Income Survey

Residents of Bancroft should have received their Bancroft Community Attitude and Income Surveys in the mail Thursday. It is very important that you complete and return these surveys. The community needs 100% of the income surveys returned in order to qualify to apply for federal grant assistance to help the community make improvements.

I strongly recommend that community members complete the on-line attitude survey if you have computer access. It is more detailed than the paper survey and will provide the community better information than the paper survey.

Please be honest in your responses. There are many in the community concerned about housing and we need to know what the priorities need to be (maybe we have several housing priorities). Economic development is also a concern so feel free to offer some comments or suggestions.

When you see your friends and neighbors, encourage them to complete and return their income survey. We all need to support the community improvement efforts taking place in Bancroft.

Special School Board meeting Friday at 1:30 pm

The School Board has scheduled a special meeting Friday, March 25 at 1:30 pm in the school library. The purpose of the meeting is to adopt the Resolution to authorize the issuance of the Schools General Obligation Refunding Bonds and to have the Bond Purchase Agreement executed in order to lock in the interest rates. D.A. Davidson, the bond company handling the school bonds, was able to negotiate interest rates that generate present value savings of $40,655.70.

The school has five more years of bond payments on the 1997 bond issue.

Advertisement for COPA program this Saturday

COPA this Saturday in the old gym. View the video advertisement Mr. Smith put together at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SurQYVCc0s4.

Bancroft Fire and Rescue Soup dinner Sunday

Chili, chicken noodle, and Arlan's Bean soup (with or without the bone) are on the menu for the annual Bancroft Fire and Rescue Soup dinner this Sunday in the Community Building. The free will offering will go toward keeping the Department's supplies and equipment up-to-date.

I am planning on baking a peach pie as one of the desserts so try a piece and support the department.

And afterward stop in at the Neihardt Center for some Celtic music.

Troubadour to perform at Neihardt Center

On Sunday, March 20 at 2:00 PM, the musical ensemble TROUBADOUR will present a program of music “From Celtic to Contemporary” as the next Neihardt Sunday Afternoon at the Museum. Duane Miller, Jeffry Bunce, and Jan Cline-Zimmerman bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences in the music field, and create a blend of different instruments and musical styles crossing genre definitions.

In music ranging from the 15th century to the present they have found many lyrics and melodies which weave the times together. Miller, from Fremont, plays fiddle, guitar, Irish drum, banjo and mandolin and has played at Civil War reenactments. Bunce is an Iowa native who composes as well as plays. Involvement with Renaissance Faires led to the lute and the Hurdy Gurdy as well as the penny whistle. Cline-Zimmerman is a folk and Contemporary Christian music singer, both writing and performing. Her new album, “Verily/Abide” was nominated for folk gospel CD of the year by the National Traditional Country Music Association.

The group’s performance at the Neihardt Site will focus on Celtic music but with a few more contemporary pieces included. They have been heard at John C. Fremont Days, the Oakland Swedish Fest, the Decatur Museum House, and West Point Community Theater. The program is free and open to the public.

Graduate Data

Here is some data I put together on what Bancroft-Rosalie students do after graduation.

Graduation data for Bancroft-Rosalie students 2001-2011

Number of Graduates- 250
Number that attended 4 year school- 125
Number that attended other postsecondary school- 82
Number that joined the armed forces- 4
Number that went into the work force- 39

Graduate Location data from 2001-06

Number of Graduates- 150
Number that stayed local- 52
Number that left the community- 98

Results of October parent survey

Parents were given a survey during Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences. Here are the survey results.

Safe and orderly environment
Teachers at this school really care about the students
Strongly agree 31
Agree 18
Undecided 6
Disagree 0
Strongly Disagree 1

High expectations for success
This school has high academic standards for all students
Strongly agree 27
Agree 23
Undecided 3
Disagree 3
Strongly Disagree 0

Instructional leadership
The administration communicates well with parents about the School's instructional program.
Strongly agree 19
Agree 22
Undecided 9
Disagree 6
Strongly Disagree 0

Home-school relations
The school is inviting to all parents
Strongly agree 24
Agree 23
Undecided 8
Disagree 1
Strongly Disagree 1

Clear and focused mission
The subjects taught to my child in school are important ones for their future.
Strongly agree 30
Agree 22
Undecided 3
Disagree 1
Strongly Disagree 0

Opportunity to learn/Time on task
Teachers in the school use their classroom time very effectively with little wasted time.
Strongly agree 20
Agree 22
Undecided 8
Disagree 2
Strongly Disagree 0

Frequent monitoring of student progress.
Teachers give my child prompt and immediate feedback on the quality of their classroom work.
Strongly agree 19
Agree 22
Undecided 12
Disagree 3
Strongly Disagree 0

Highest marks were for caring about students and subjects taught are important. Lowest marks were administrator communication with parents about the instructional program.

I guess I need to do something to increase the number of parents that read this blog, because this is my avenue for sharing information about the instructional program. Please help spread the word.

Community Theater meeting tonight

The Bancroft Community Theater will have a meeting tonight at 6:30 pm in the school library. Everyone interested in participating is encouraged to attend.

Teacher workday

Rick Williams, staff developer from Educational Service Unit 2, worked with the grade 7-12 teacher on using technology in their classrooms. Podcasting was the main topic, including adding audio and video to enhance the podcast. Rick also provided some websites that teachers could use to access resources for their classrooms.

Dual Credit

Last week the Omaha World Herald wrote an article about dual credit classes. Dual credit classes are high school classes in which students can earn both high school and college credit at the same time. Bancroft-Rosalie School currently offers 4 dual credit classes. All four classes are taught for credit through Northeast Community College.

These classes are: English Composition 3 hours, British Literature 3 hours, Calculus 5 hours, and World History 3 hours.

Ronda Ras teaches the English Composition and British Literature, Dennis Zavadil teaches the Calculus, and Kate Trindle teaches the World History through distance learning from Wisner-Pilger. This year Mrs. Ras taught students at Lyons-Decatur using distance learning. Calculus was offered over distance learning but no other schools chose to participate this year. In past years Mr. Zavadil has had students from Wakefield, Wynot, and Giltner take the class.

Dual credit offers students the opportunity to get some college requirements completed prior to entering school in the fall. These courses can help students to complete college sooner than they normally would.

The admissions director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln questioned whether dual credit classes taught by high school teachers adequately prepared students for subsequent college classes they would take. I don't believe that is an issue with the classes we are offering. These 14 hours are intended to meet the general education requirements, not to take the place of a first year class and jump right into a second year class. For example, if a student wanted to be a math major and plans to take Calculus I dual credit and start in Calculus II as a college freshman, he had better do very well in Calc I at B-R, or consider retaking Calc I in college.

Another issue that was mentioned in the article was the lack of transferability of dual credit classes to out-of-state colleges. Our students have not had a problem with the credits transferring to any colleges. There has been one situation where the college accepted the credits as electives rather than general education credits, so the student still had to take the composition class required of all freshman at that college. But in-state colleges all accept the credits for gen ed requirements.

Alex Berg signs with Briar Cliff

Alex Berg signed a letter of intent to play football at Briar Cliff next year. The coaching staff said Alex will play quarterback for them.

Bancroft-Rosalie Spring assessment schedule

I am posting the spring assessment schedule for State assessments, Achievement Tests and Measures of Progress Tests.

Parents- Please try to not to schedule appointments on assessment days. Scheduling time to have students make-up assessments is very difficult.

Bancroft Betterment News

The Bancroft Betterment met at 5:15 pm March 8 at the Country Pub. Marjorie Vogt hosted the meeting.

Reports
Bancroft-Rosalie School:There will be a bond election May 10 to vote on issuing $1,000,000 in bonds for construction of a four classroom addition at the north end of the secondary school building. The rooms will be used for an elementary classroom, a special education classroom, a social studies classroom and a family and consumer sciences classroom.

Cuming County Economic Development: The Agricultural Opportunities Conference has been re-scheduled for Monday, March 28.

Neihardt Center: The musical group "Troubadour" will perform their Celtic music program "From Celtic to Contemporary" on March 20 at 2:00 pm.

Recycling: The next green fiber drive will be in April.

Community Theater: An organizational meeting will be held March 15 at 6:30 pm in the school library. Anyone interested in participating are encouraged to attend.

Housing: The information requested by the Northeast Economic District has been sent by the Village office. We are awaiting a response.The deadline for applying for a grant to facilitate the housing survey is in April.

Community Club: The organizational meeting had 22 people attend. They are deciding on a name for the group. The next meeting is Monday,March 28 in the Community Building.

Deb Bonsall provided information on the Oakland Food Pantry. It is held the second Saturday of the month from 9:00-11:00 am. They provide both commodity and food pantry items. Items are picked up in Sioux City but starting in July they will be getting them from Omaha. Commodity items are free and food pantry items cost 16 cents per pound. Donations from food pantry participants help cover the cost.

If Bancroft should decide to start a food pantry, Deb volunteered to manage the program. Two others have also volunteered to serve on a food pantry committee. Oakland has agreed to bring back Bancroft items from Omaha if Bancroft could pick them up in Oakland. The Holy Cross Catholic Center is considering allowing the food pantry use of its basement. Deb suggested having the pantry open the same date and time as Oakland.

The next meeting will be April 5 at 5:15 pm at the Country Pub. Greg Moser from the Health Department will be presenting the "Healthy Community Initiative."

Bancroft-Rosalie School Board news

The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, March 7, 2011 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft.
Superintendent Cerny presented the February transportation report, the NRCSA Spring Conference, estimates on the cost of a digital school display sign, and the lot for sale south of the school. Principal Sjuts reported on Parent-Teacher Conferences, a winter and spring activities summary, and transportation issues.

Jerry Spethman from DA Davidson presented a proposal to provide bond underwriting services. The proposal included underwriting the $220,000 Quality Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB), the $334,000 Quality School Construction Bonds (QSCB), and refunding the existing 2007 bonds in the amount of $1,440,000. The QZAB and QSCB bonds will have a fifteen-year repayment schedule at one percent interest. To complete the proposed classroom addition, a bond election for $1,000,000 will be necessary. The board unanimously approved a resolution calling for a special election on May 10, 2011 to approve the issuance of one million dollars in bonds to finance the construction of a four classroom addition to the north end of the existing secondary school building. The board also approved the refunding of the 2007 bond issuance at a projected savings of $41,000.

In new business the board adopted the 2011-12 school calendar. The board also named Superintendent Cerny authorized representative for federal, state and local programs, approved a contract with Peters Lawn Service, approved Roxanne Raasch for driver education, and approved an application to the Nielsen Foundation for a football booth.

Thursday March 31 was set for a board planning session facilitated by Burma Kroger of the Nebraska School Board Association. The board discussed the possibility of replacing the basketball and football scoreboards and asked about morning and after-school routes.

Principal Sjuts recognized the teaching staff as the best staff he has had as Principal, and recommended that they all be offered employment for 2011-12. The board went into executive session to discuss the evaluation and hiring of teachers. Following executive session, the board voted to offer contracts to all of the teaching staff.

Bancroft Betterment Agenda March 8 5:15 pm

Bancroft Betterment Monthly Meeting Agenda
March 8, 2011
5:15 pm at the Country Pub

Call to order.

Host- Marjorie Vogt

Read and approve minutes of February 2011 meeting

Reports
1. School
2. Village
3. Cuming County Economic Development
4. Neihardt Center
5. Recycling
6. Community Theater
7. Housing

Guest Speaker- Deb Bonsall, Oakland Food Pantry


Next meeting April 5, 5:15 pm at Country Pub. Guest- Tony Moser- Healthy Community Initiative

Meeting adjourned

March 7 School Board agenda

Bancroft-Rosalie Community School
Regular Board of Education Meeting Agenda
Monday, March 7, 2011 --- 7:30 p.m. in Bancroft

1. Call to Order
2. Open Meetings Act
3. Roll Call
4. Read and approve the minutes of the February 14, 2011 Regular Board Meeting.

5. Treasurer’s Report
A. Approve the Bills
B. Financial Review

6. Review Agenda
7. Public Hearing

8. Administrator’s Reports:
A. Superintendent’s Report
B. Principal’s Report

9. Old Business:
A.

10. New Business:
A. Adopt school calendar for 2011-12.
B. Name Supt. Cerny authorized representative for Federal, State, and Local programs, including Title programs, Special Education, Food Services, NSAA, and Lewis and Clark Conference.
C. Offer driver education contract to Roxanne Raasch.
D. Evaluation and hiring of teachers
E. Peters Lawn Service contract
F. Board planning session
G. Approve Nielsen Grant application
H. Adopt resolution authorizing a bond election in May

11. Discussion Items:
A. Scoreboard

12. Executive Session- Evaluation and hiring of teachers.
13. Future Planning- Next scheduled meeting- April 11, 2011 in Bancroft.
14. Adjournment.

Cuming and Thurston County census data

Jon Bailey provided the latest census data for towns in Cuming and Thurston Counties. Bancroft lost population from 2000-2010, but has the same population as in 1990. Bancroft fared way better than the estimated population. Rosalie dropped below 1990 number.

Now is the time to move forward with improved housing in the school district. We need to maintain or increase our populations.

Cuming County 2000-2010

Bancroft 4.8% decline
Beemer 12.3% decline
West Point 8.1% decline
Wisner 7.9% decline

1990-2010

Bancroft 0%
Beemer 0.1% increase
West Point 3.5% increase
Wisner 6.6% decline

Thurston County 2000 to 2010:

Rosalie – 17.5% decline
Pender – 12.2% decline
Walthill – 14.2% decline
Macy – 7.0% increase

1990 to 2010:

Rosalie – 10.1% increase
Pender – 16.6% decline
Walthill – 4.4% increase
Macy – 22.4% increase

MAP test high scorers

Bancroft-Rosalie duffel bags were the prize for the high scores on the winter MAP tests. High RIT scores for grades 9-12 were:

Reading- Olivia Nottlemann 250, Jess Redding 244, and Jasmine Greenfield 244.

Math- Preston Peters 274 and Makala Muller 271.

High RIT scores for grades 7-8 were:

Reading- Chase Bonsall 244 and Suzanne Ras 239.

Math- Derek Ahlers 260, Ian Nottlemann 260 and Hannah Flock 260.

RIT scores are not based on grade level, but instead on performance level. Therefore the RIT score is used to compare students of all grades against each other.

A RIT score of 240 in reading is what is needed to show college readiness. A RIT score of 255 in math shows college readiness.

B-R receives Edu Jobs funds

Bancroft-Rosalie School was notified that we will receive a federal Education jobs allocation of $71,024.37. This money is a one year payment to help school districts avoid laying off teachers.

The Nebraska Department of Education recommends that the federal money be spent during the current school year and the amount of budgeted money it replaces is to be carried over to the 2011-12 school year to help pay teacher salaries.

This will help lessen the blow of the projected loss of state aid next year for Bancroft-Rosalie School.

Bancroft Harvestfest September 24, 2011

The date for this year's Bancroft Harvestfest is set for Saturday, September 24. Alumni can make their plans to return for festival activities. Planning is still underway, so if anyone wants to volunteer to help please attend the next meeting March 28 at the Community Building.

Neihardt Center sculpture drawing

Nebraska-born sculptor Herb Mignery has completed a drawing of a proposed sculpture for the John G. Neihardt Historical Site in Bancroft. The cost of the sculpture will be $150,000. The Neihardt Foundation has raised $41,000 for the project. The sculpture of Neihardt and Black Elk will be placed near the museum entrance.