Robotics Class robots are ready for a contest

The students in Robotics are putting the finishing touches on their robots. The robot contest involves picking up beanbags and placing them in specified locations. The students/robots will work in teams of two.

Saturday B-R Invite Speech Schedule

The concession stand will be serving Barb Wegner's French Toast and Biscuits/Gravy starting around 7:45 am.

East Husker Conference Girls Basketball Tournament

East Husker Conference Boys Basketball Tournament

Legislative Issues Conference

The Nebraska Association of School Boards Conference was held today in Lincoln. Governor talked about how the state assessment results have shown improvement every year. He read the names of schools that had shown improvement every year in reading and Math, and Bancroft-Rosalie was on the list of schools that have improved their state scores in Math each of the three years the tests have been given. The Governor advocated for reducing taxes since the state cash reserve is much higher than he feels we need, so some of it should be returned to the taxpayers. Senator Campbell, Chair of Health and Human Services, spoke in support of the Medicaid expansion. Senator Mello, Chair of Appropriations, said that he is not in favor of cutting the cash reserve because of the expected increase in costs in the next biennial budget. Senator Sullivan, Chair of the Education Committee, covers several issues, the most interesting of which was the Superintendent Contract legislation. This bill requires school district to publish the contract of the Superintendent (most likely it would be on the school website). It must include an estimate of all of the current and future costs associated with the contract. Not sure why they specified only superintendents out of all public employees in the state, and it isn't clear why "estimated future costs" was included. You would think the contract would speak for itself. We had lunch with Senator Brasch, who hurried over after the completion on testimony on one of her bills. She said that it is difficult to predict what will happen during this short legislative session. So far things are moving very slowly.

Legislative Bill 1081 would classify school varsity teams by enrollment and on their past success

Legislative Bill 1081 would place schools with winning teams year after year into the next higher class for varsity competition. State Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber is concerned with the disproportionate number of state championships won by parochial schools. There is a belief by some people in Nebraska that private and parochial schools are able to recruit players and can control their student numbers so that they can compete in lower classes. The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) classifies schools by their enrollment. The NSAA is governed by its members schools, which includes nearly all of the public and private schools in the state. Changes to how schools are classified by the NSAA must be proposed by member schools and agreed upon by the membership before they can be implemented. I serve on the management committee for NSAA District III (the Northeast District of the State). During my 21 years as Superintendent, there have been proposals to address the parochial/private vs. public school issues regarding classification. Several years ago the NSAA had a study committee look into it and no recommendations came out of the committee. There are strong feelings expressed whenever this is brought up among the schools, and I doubt we see it addressed again anytime soon.

Bancroft Income Surveys - some stiil needed

128 surveys have been returned, and only 23 more are needed. If you received a survey and have not turned it in yet, please do so.

Four day school weeks? Not a Fan

The Sioux City newspaper had an article today about an Iowa school considering a four day school week. Several schools in Nebraska have implemented a four day school week, most of them small, rural schools. They can meet the minimum hours of instruction required by the Nebraska department of education (1080 hours) by having a longer school day. I cannot agree with those who only want to meet the minimum hours of instruction. My philosophy is that we need to maximum academic learning time for our students. We hire teachers to work 185 days, with 180 of those days intended to be teaching days. Our high school students receive between 1225-1250 hours of instruction each year and I don't intend to settle for anything less. That stance isn't always popular with students (and some staff).

Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools Foundation Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools Foundation was held in the Bancroft-Rosalie School library Monday January 22 at 7:00 pm. The net assets of the Foundation as of December 31, 2013 were $60,339.92. The Foundation Board approved awarding 6 scholarships to the Bancroft-Rosalie Class of 2014, each scholarship in the amount of $350 with at least one scholarship awarded to a student attending a two year school. The Board reviewed the list of previous scholarship winners and their current occupations. The Board was pleased with the success of the people that have benefited from the Foundation scholarships, including three that are currently employed at Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools. The Board reviewed and approved the form 990 that is filed with the IRS and the State of Nebraska each year to continue 501c3 non-profit status.

Bancroft-Rosalie Drug-Alcohol Policy for student activities

Student Handbook policy on Drug and Alcohol Use at School or School Activities

Activity Policy on Drug and Alcohol Use Outside of School

Saturday's Junior High Basketball Tournament Schedule

Bancroft-Rosalie School state aid projected to be $300,000 less next year

The Nebraska Department of Education School Finance Office released a projected state aid model for 2014-15. The model has Bancroft-Rosalie receiving $222,611 in state aid next year, down $300,000 from this year's calculated aid. The two main reasons for the amount of aid lost were due to: 1) the 20% increase in District property valuation and 2) the loss of $137,401 in net option funding. The number of net option students dropped from 33 last year to 17 this year (as of December 31).

Each net option student adds approximately $8400 to our state aid amount.

"The Deadliest Mile"- A presentation on Steamboat Wrecks south of Decatur- This Sunday at the Neihardt Historical Site

January School Board meeting summary

Bancroft-Rosalie School Board news The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, January 13, 2014 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft. Board officers elected for 2014 were Doug Reil- president; Naomi Brummond- vice president; Pat Browning - secretary; and Mike Nottlemann- treasurer. Superintendent Cerny presented the December transportation report, upcoming conferences, and Civil Rights compliance. Principal Sjuts reported honor roll. The Board reorganization committee reported that they will meet with a Lyons-Decatur School Board committee on Wednesday January 15 at 7:00 pm in the Bancroft-Rosalie library. The committee meeting is for information sharing and will not be open to the public. In new business, President Reil appointed the following board committees: 1. Negotiations – Reil, Hansen, Browning 2. Citizenship/Instruction/Americanism - Brummond, Bonneau, Nottlemann 3. Personnel – Brummond, Reil, Browning 4. Buildings and Grounds – Nottlemann and Bonneau 5. Transportation – Bonneau and Hansen 6. Insurance - Brummond and Reil 7. Reorganization- Hansen and Browning President Reil also appointed Judy Ross, Laurie Soll and Lori Archer to three year terms on the Bancroft-Rosalie Educational Foundation. The board gave first approval to board policy 762.41 Bus Safety Program, approved the interlocal agreement with Pender and West Point-Beemer for baseball, and accepted the bid from Cooney Fertilizer for dirtwork on the new parking lot south of the school. The board went into executive session to discuss the appraisal of the Superintendent.

John G Neihardt State Historical Site seeks new Director

Due to retirement, the John G. Neihardt Foundation Board of Directors is seeking applicants for the position of Director for the John G. Neihardt State Historical Site in Bancroft, Nebraska. The position will begin in May 2014. Interested applicants are asked to contact Nancy Gillis, current Director, at 402-648-3388. Here is the job description for the Director position:

Bancroft residents- Complete your Income Survey

In come surveys were mailed out to 151 Bancroft households last week. Everyone needs to circle if their income is higher or lower than the income levels on the form and return it in the stamped self addressed envelope. The Village needs 100% of the surveys returned. The survey results will be used to determine Bancroft eligibility for federal and state grant funds. It is based on the percentage of low income households in the community.

January School Board Meeting Agenda

Bancroft-Rosalie Community School Regular Board of Education Meeting Agenda Monday, January 13, 2014 --- 7:30 p.m. in Bancroft 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Open Meetings Act is located on the north wall of the library. 4. Reorganization of the board for 2014. A. Appoint Supt. Cerny temporary chairperson. B. Nomination and election of board President. C. Nomination and election of board Vice-President. D. Nomination and election of board Secretary. E. Nomination and election of board Treasurer. 5. Read and approve the minutes of the December 9, 2013 regular board meeting. 6. Treasurer’s Report A. Approve the Bills B. Financial Review 7. Review Agenda 8. Public Hearing 9. Reports: A. Superintendent’s Report B. Principal’s Report C. Board Committee Reports 1. Negotiations 2. Citizenship/Instruction/ Americanism 3. Personnel. 4. Buildings and Grounds. 5. Transportation. 6. Insurance. 10. Old Business: A. 11. New Business: A. Appointment of Board Committees. B. Appoint educational foundation members- Lori Archer, Laurie Soll, Judy Ross C. New Board policy #762.41 Bus Safety Program D. Approve interlocal agreement for baseball E. Accept bid for dirtwork 12. Discussion Items A. 13. Executive Session- Suoerintendent appraisal. 14. Future Planning- Next meeting- Monday, February 10, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in Bancroft. 15. Adjournment.

Drug and Alcohol testing of high school students

The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure and requires probable cause to do so. The rights of students to not be subject to drug and alcohol testing falls under the fourth amendment. In 1995 the United States Supreme Court upheld as constitutional a school policy that required students to consent to random drug testing as a condition for participation in interscholastic activities. The Court had to weigh the students right to privacy versus the governments interest in drug-free schools. The Court ruled that athletes have a lower expectation of privacy. In 1998 the 7th Circuit Court ruled that schools can prohibit high school students from participating in extracurricular activities if they refuse to consent to random drug testing conducted by urinalysis. The court claimed that extracurricular activity participation is a privilege in which students have voluntarily chosen to participate. This is how we justify giving students a breath test before entering Prom. Since school attendance is required, it would be unconstitutional to prohibit students from attending school because they refused to be drug tested or failed a random drug test. Private schools may be able to get around this by claiming that students choose to go there and as such attendance is voluntary. Some schools have policies in place that give student-athletes that get Minor in Possession an option to be suspended from activities or attend some sort of counseling/treatment program. I personally like to leave student drug/alcohol abuse to law enforcement unless it is a problem that impacts the culture of the school. I don't see that at Bancroft-Rosalie right now.

Five students complete CNA course

Who was that masked man? Probably one of the B-R students who completed the CNA course this Fall. Linda Munderloh was the instructor for the course, which had a minimum number of classroom and laboratory hours required by Northeast Community College. This meant that the students had to attend two additional days of schools (on Saturdays!!). For state certification they will be taking the state exam later this month. The students are Nick Sjuts, Drew Zitek, Paige Raasch, Caleb Hansen and Tim Browning. Congratulations in completing this first step toward a career in a medical profession.

Winter Reading MAP test Schedule

MAP testing for Reading will be done next week. Here is the schedule.
Any student that meets or exceeds their previous best score will be rewarded.

Grade K- Tuesday 2:25-2:50 and Wednesday 1:32- 1:57

Grade 1- Tuesday 1:32- 2:25

Grade 2- Thursday 2:25- 3:18

Grade 3- Monday 2:25-3:18

Grade 4- Wednesday 2:00- 2:50

Grade 5- Tuesday 2:53- 3:43

Grade 6- Thursday 3:18- 3:43 and Friday 2:53- 3:43

Grade 7- Tuesday 5th period Reading class

Grade 8- Tuesday in 1st and 2nd period reading class

Grade 9- Wednesday in 7th period English

Grade 10- Wednesday in 2nd period English

Grade 11- Wednesday in 2nd period English

Tim Browning signs with Northeast Community College for Speech

Tim accepts a Forensics scholarship from Northeast Community College to participate on the Northeast Speech team.

Nebraska Primary and General Election Filing Deadlines

The filing deadlines for candidates seeking to be placed on the ballot for the primary election in May are:
February 18, 2014 at 5 P.M. for incumbents
March 3, 2014 at 5 P.M. for non-incumbents

This deadline applies to candidates for the Bancroft-Rosalie School Board of Education.

An incumbent is anyone serving in any elective office, even if they are filing for an office other than the one they are presently serving.

The filing deadlines for candidates seeking to be placed on the ballot for the General election in November are:

July 15, 2014 at 5 P.M. for incumbents
August 1, 2014 at 5 P.M. for non-incumbents

This deadline applies to candidates for the Bancroft Village Board.