NCSA Today Magazine, Summer 2010

NCSA TODAYNCSA TODAYA PUBLICATION OF THE NEBRASKA COUNCIL OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

Nebraska Councilof School Administrators

May/June 2010 www.NCSA.org

Cliff Effect

PreservingPublic Education

Finding Solutions

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MAY/JUNE 2010 NCSA TODAY 1

FEATURES

NCSA MissionThe mission of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA) is to be an effec-tive leader for quality education and to enhance the professionalism of its members.

NCSA Today is a benefit of membership in the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, 455 South 11thStreet, Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68508. Telephone 402.476.8055 or 800.793.6272. Fax 402.476.7740. An-nual membership dues are $325 (active members), $100 (associate members), or $30 (student members).NCSA Today is published quarterly. Send address changes to NCSA, Membership, 455 South 11th Street,Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68508. Copyright ©2010 by NCSA. All rights reserved.

NCSA EXECUTIVE BOARD2009-2010

Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Matt FisherVice Chair . . . . . . . . . . . .Ryan RuhlPast Chair . . . . . . . . . . John Osgood

NASA RepresentativesPresident . . . . . . . . . .Bill MowinkelPresident-elect . . . . . . . .Jack MolesPast President . . . . . . . .Matt Fisher

NASBO RepresentativesPresident . . . . . . . . . . .Rick FeautoPresident-elect . . . . .Robin HoffmanPast President . . . Sandy Rosenboom

NAESP RepresentativesPresident . . . . . . . . .Sarah WilliamsPresident-elect . . . . . .Midge MougeyPast President . . . . . . . . . .Mary Yilk

NASES RepresentativesPresident . . . . . . . . . . . .Jane ByersPresident-elect . . . . .Peggy RomshekPast President . . . . .Ellen Stokebrand

NSASSP RepresentativesPresident . . . . . . . .Kenton McLellanPresident-elect . . . .Randy SchleuterPast President . . . . . . . . .Ryan Ruhl

NARSA RepresentativePresident . . . . . . . . . . . .Ron Joekel

NCSA STAFF

Dr. Michael S. DulaneyExecutive Director/Lobbyist

Dr. Dan E. ErnstAssociate Executive Director/Lobbyist

Kelly Coash-JohnsonTraining and Development Director

Amy PoggenklassFinance and Membership Coordinator

Dr. Bill KenagyNCSA Principal Liaison

Angie CarmanExecutive Administrative Assistant

Carol YoungAdministrative Assistant

Sarah F. SullivanNCSA Staff Correspondent

The opinions expressed in NCSA Todayor by its authors do not necessarilyreflect the positions of the NebraskaCouncil of School Administrators.

Historic Legislation to ChangeKindergarten Enrollment Date

Cloudy Economic Forecast Still HasGlimmer of Hope

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HasYour Evaluation Instrument Evolved with theTimes orAreYou Still Using Slate and Chalk?BY DR. KENT MCLELLEN

The Job of Elementary PrincipalBY SARAH WILLIAMS

CareerAcademy Partnerships/Collaboration atWorkBY DR. RANDY A. NELSON

ESU 13–Virtual High School:NebraskaEducationalVirtualAcademy (NEVA)BY DR. JEFFREY D. WEST

NAESP Outstanding New Principal of theYear

NCSAWelcomes New Finance andMembership Coordinator

NSASSPAnnounces 2009-2010AwardWinners

NAESPAnnounces Nebraska DistinguishedPrincipal of theYear

NAESP LongevityAwards 2009-2010

NSASSP LongevityAwards 2009-2010

Green Light to Go GreenBY DAVE RAYMOND and DENNY VAN HORN

Educators HealthAlliance (EHA) UpdateBY DR. MIKE DULANEY and DR. DAN ERNST

NCSA Honors LongtimeAdvocate

School Community Partnership forEssential Finance Planning

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

2 NCSA TODAY MAY/JUNE 2010

STATEWIDE

Last year at this time, 2011-12 seemed so dis-tant. Today, those of us who are finishing ourbudgets for next year are beginning to come to

the realization that 2011-12 (i.e., “The Cliff Year”) is justaround the corner.

Before we all have a panic attack, let’s back up a bit,take a deep breath, review how we got where we are, andexamine some options available (both at the state andlocal levels) for meeting the Cliff Year challenges.

Recent HistoryAs you will recall, at the end of 2008 and the start of

2009, the national economy began to unwind. It hadpreviously been on a terror bolstered by subprime (andeven fraudulent) loans. Real estate prices were escalat-ing at dizzying rates. There was even a TV series basedon the wealth that could be generated “flipping” houses(i.e., buying them, fixing them up a bit, and then re-selling them for a handsome profit). Consumers werespending what they didn’t have and investors were in-vesting in what they didn’t understand. Eventually, thehouse of cards began to fall.

As the Obama administration took office in early2009, it was staring into the face of what some believedwould be “The Great Depression Part II.” The Adminis-tration and Congress quickly engaged in unprecedented

actions to slow the eco-nomic free fall. Thoseactions included the ap-propriation of massiveamounts of money to bedistributed to states toassist with the fundingof governmental pro-grams – especially edu-cation.

State AidNebraska received

millions of federal dol-lars through the StateFiscal StabilizationFunds under the Ameri-can Recovery and Rein-vestment Act of 2009

(ARRA-SFSF). Most of this money was required to go toeducation. Rather than allocate the full amount (i.e.,$234 million) in one year, Nebraska made the decision tospread it out over two fiscal years. Further, it decided touse the $234 million to replace its planned increases instate aid to schools. By supplanting the increases instate aid, the state was able to free up some funds tosupport other programs and services at the state level.

The original “plan” for the use of ARRA-SFSF moneyswas to freeze the state’s contribution to K-12 educationat $839 million dollars (i.e., the amount distributed instate aid in 2008-09) for two years and then add $94million of ARRA-SFSF money to it in 2009-10 and the re-maining $140 million to it in 2010-11. In 2011-12, afterthe federal moneys were exhausted, the plan was for thestate to appropriate the funds necessary to replace thefederal moneys plus continue funding the existing stateaid formula.

This plan, however, didn’t last long when it becameapparent that the state’s revenues were continuing todecline. In a special session in 2009, the legislatureamended the state aid statutes to reduce the state’s ap-propriation for state aid to $810 million dollars. Thus,in 2010-11, schools in the state received $29 milliondollars less than was originally planned. Unfortunately,that’s not the end of the story.

In the past few weeks, revised projections have beenmade regarding state revenues and expenses for the2011-13 biennium (i.e., two years). The 2011-13 bien-nium includes the magic year (i.e., “The Cliff Year”) whenthe state will be faced with replacing the ARRA-SFSFfunds. When the replacement of ARRA-SFSF funds isadded to all of the other projected expenses at the statelevel, the projections for the 2011-13 biennium indicatea deficit of about $679 million (i.e., an average of about$340 million per year).

Property TaxesAlthough a lot of the Cliff Year focus is on state aid,

consideration must also be given to the changes in prop-erty values in the state in order to get a good feel for thenet impact the Cliff Year might have on schools. As weall know, property taxes comprise the largest single rev-enue source for the funding of Nebraska schools. There-fore, any significant changes in property values will have

The Cliff YearBY KEN FOSSEN, Associate Superintendent, Millard Public Schools

(continued on page 3)

Fossen

a corresponding impact (either positive or negative) on the pro-grams and services offered by the school districts.

The latest information indicates that the total value of exist-ing properties statewide increased by 3.3%. over the past year.This increase, however, was not uniform. Existing residential andrecreational property declined by 0.4% while existing commercialproperty and agricultural land increased by 1.8% and 11.9% re-spectively. This disparity of valuation changes for different realestate classes produced a similar disparity in the total propertyvalue changes at the county level. For Douglas County, the totalexisting property values decreased by 0.4% while in Logan Countythey increased by 25%.

Thus, when property taxes are considered in the analysis of theCliff Year impact, some school districts may fare better than oth-ers. As Senator Greg Adams put it, “Some [districts] will weatherthis well. For others, it will be far more stressful.”

ExpendituresWhen it comes to budgeting, there are two sides to the ledger

– revenues and expenditures. To be fair, we need to examine ourexpenditures as critically as we examine our revenues.

Every district is subject to the normal cost increases associatedwith inflation, but inflation has been relatively mild for the pastfew years. At this time last year, the CPI was actually below zero.Today, however, it is back on the positive side and is running ata somewhat mild 2.4%.

While general inflations has been relatively low, school budg-ets have been increasing at a significantly faster pace. Why?Schools are service organizations that have about 80% of theirbudgets tied to employee salaries and benefits. While inflationactually turned negative for a while, the cost of salaries and ben-efits did not. At present, it appears that the midpoint for 2010-11 salary and benefit increases (via collective bargaining withemployees) will be around 4.2%. Many superintendents have ex-pressed that of this 4.2% only about a percent and a half is ac-tively bargained at the table. The remaining amount is related tothe movement of staff on the existing salary schedules and to theincreases in health insurance premiums.

OptionsWith the Cliff Year presenting potential reductions in state aid,

with stagnant property values for many districts, and with in-creasing expenditures for all districts, something has to give inorder for school district’s to balance their budgets. Here are somepossible options (both state and local) that have been suggested:1. Eliminate the State’s Property Tax Credit: The state transfers to

the counties about $115 million each year as property tax cred-its for property owners. If this credit were eliminated, the statedeficit for the biennium would be reduced by about $230 million.

2. Reduce Incentives Under LB 775: In 1987, the Legislature en-acted LB 775 which provides income tax credits, sales tax re-funds, and property tax exemptions to companies that makeinvestments that meet certain requirements. “At the time thebill was passed, the legislative fiscal office estimated that thecost to the state budget (in tax refunds and credits) wouldstart at $3 million, rise by several thousand per year and leveloff by the late 1990’s, presumably at something less than $10million per year. The actual budget costs rose to ten times thatamount, over $100 million in 2000 and in 2001.” The specialbenefits to businesses under LB 775 continue today despitefrequent calls for reform or repeal. Reducing these benefitscould have a significant impact on the state’s projected budgetdeficit.

3. Reduce Medicaid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: In recent testimonybefore a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee, Nebraska Assis-tant Attorney General D. Mark Collins commented, “Althoughmost taxpayer dollars go directly toward providing essentialmedical care for the intended beneficiaries of the [Medicaid]program, a tremendous amount of money is lost to fraud, wasteand abuse.” He went on to state, “The [Fraud] Units have seenwave after wave of fraud sweeping through nursing homes andhospitals, clinics and pharmacies, podiatrists, labs, homehealth care providers and durable medical equipment vendorsand, more recently, pharmaceutical companies. Each surge hasbrought its own special brand of profiteer in search of the next


STATEWIDE


STATEWIDE

great loophole in theMedicaid program.” Anyreduction in fraud,waste, and abuse in theNebraska Medicaid pro-gram would help addressthe budget deficit facingthe state.4. Reduce State Aid toSchools: The currentstate projections assumethat the state aid for-mula will remain in ef-fect as it is currentlywritten. This means thatthe budget projectionsinclude not only the re-placement of the ARRA-SFSF funds but also theannual increases in stateaid inherent in the statu-tory formula. Thus, the

state could revise (again) the formula and bring about what-ever reduction in state aid the Legislature determined appro-priate under the circumstances.

5. Reduce the State’s Cash Reserve Fund: The state maintains acash reserve fund a/k/a “the rainy day fund.” If this fund wereeliminated entirely, the state deficit for the biennium would bereduced by $321 million. It should be noted that, unlike theProperty Tax Credit, this fund would present a one-time “shot”to the state finances. In future years, the state would have norainy day funds available.

6. Increase the State Sales Tax Rate: In order to increase rev-enue at the state level, the state sales tax rate could be in-creased. Increasing taxes, as we all know, is not popular withanyone.

7. Increase the State Income Tax Rates: Increasing the state’sincome tax rate would also be an option for increasing staterevenues. Like any other tax, it would not be enthusiasticallyendorsed by anyone.

8. Reduce Local Programs/Services: At the local level, programsand services could be reduced or eliminated to mitigate ex-penditures. Since about 80% of local budgets are tied to em-ployee salaries and benefits, any significant reductions wouldinevitably lead to a reduction in the number of employees. Itshould, however, be noted that some reductions might result

in a decrease in future state aid to the district (e.g., trans-portation, special education, class sizes in grades K-3, etc.),therefore, every proposed reduction should be evaluated basedupon its “net” impact on the district’s finances.

9. Reduce Local Salaries/Benefits: During the Cliff Year, job se-curity could become a more important issue for employeesthan wages and benefits. If so, the pressure on salary andbenefits could mitigate. In the end, however, the issue willbe one of comparability with employee compensation providedin other districts – at least for employees in collective bar-gaining units subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission ofIndustrial Relations.

10. Reduce Other Local Expenditures: School districts will alsoneed to examine ways to mitigate some of their non-person-nel-related expenditures. In smaller communities this maypresent some significant political issues if savings can be re-alized by purchasing goods and services from vendors who donot reside within the local community.

11. Increase Local Property Tax Levies: Raising taxes is unpopu-lar at any level of government. Nonetheless, increasing thelocal property tax levy is one option available to school dis-tricts – it least those that are operating on a levy that isbelow the statutory levy limit.

12. Reduce Local Cash Reserves: School districts may want to con-sider reducing their cash reserves during the Cliff Year. Sinceall districts need a cash reserve to meet their cash flow needsuntil property tax receipts arrive, this option will work best fordistricts that have more cash reserve than is needed for cashflow purposes. For school districts with very limited cash re-serves, this option is still available. However, these districtswill need to make arrangements for tax anticipation notes orlines of credit to cover their cash flow needs when the pay-roll is due but tax receipts have not arrived. Of course, theinterest related to this borrowing will increase the district’sexpenditures for the year.

ConclusionThere are some significant financial challenges ahead of us as

we prepare for the Cliff Year. Although these challenges may seemoverwhelming at times, they are not. There are options, includ-ing those noted above, available to get us through this difficultperiod of time. We’ve done it before. We can do it again.

Finally, one of the more difficult challenges of the Cliff Year willfall on school administrators. They will be the ones responsiblefor implementing the final policy decisions in such a manner asto mitigate any negative impact on the educational opportuni-ties for our young people. They, too, have done it before. They’lldo it again.

The CliffYear…(continued from page 3)

School leaders across the nation have been facedwith difficult choices because of lack of fundingfor their districts. Many of these decisions have

been made without a well-developed plan and in manycases these decisions have proven to not be in the bestinterests of the students attending their schools. Theproblem of funding shortfalls for schools is becomingmore and more ominous. A recent edition of the AASASchool Business Brief contained numerous headlines de-scribing the current economic situation for schools. Itwould appear that the problem of inadequate schoolfunding may be on the horizon for some Nebraska schooldistricts. Many school finance leaders have expressed aconcern of a possible “perfect storm” occurring in Ne-braska causing what others have termed the “cliff ef-fect.” Factors considered are the possible decline in salesand income tax, loss of stimulus funds and the potentialreduction of state aid in the upcoming years. The possi-bility of Nebraska school officials being faced with sig-nificant cuts appears to becoming more of a reality.

School superintendents and board members have end-lessly pondered the appropriateness of involving com-munity members in pivotal decisions that may have asignificant impact on the future of their school districts.When and on what issues should patron input be sought?Or is it easier to take a “let’s decide and then defend ap-proach.” Although some school leaders pay “lip service”to the merits of community involvement, few actuallyhave identified what it means in their district and moreimportantly how would this involvement be structured.

In an effort to address the issue of community in-volvement, the Nebraska Council of School Administra-tors (NCSA) and the Nebraska Association of SchoolBoards (NASB) invited educational leaders to attend atraining session for facilitators that would be availableto work with Nebraska school districts to address schooldistrict financial considerations. The workshop was struc-tured to train participants to facilitate the steps involvedin the School Community Partnership for Essential Fi-nance Planning. The workshop was facilitated by Marge

Beatty, Educational Service Unit Administrator, ESU 16,and was held on May 11, 2010.

The School/Community Partnership forEssential Finance Planning Process

The “Financial Planning” process has been developedand implemented by Marge Beatty, in an effort to supportarea schools in their financial planning. Ms. Beattyagreed to facilitate the community discussions and toassist the groups in setting goals and making recom-mendations. The process involves several group meet-ings. The districts involved in this process ranged in sizefrom 160 to 2,000 students.

The requests for her services have grown beyond whatwould be expected, therefore she has partnered withNCSA and NASB to facilitate training of individuals towork with schools. The Essential Financial Planningprocess is designed to train and develop community lead-ers to have knowledge of school district programs, serv-ices, offerings and finances. The process approaches apotential budget crisis from a positive, pro-active, andcommunity-focused standpoint. Successful school lead-ers and board members understand that making majordecisions without involving parents, teachers, and othercommunity leaders can create controversy and threatenfunding support.

The process is aimed at helping school personnel andcommunity members to determine what they are not will-ing to give up and also to develop a process to identifyareas that may not be essential to the district. The focusof the process is to create a committee(s) made up ofboard members, teachers and community members tomeet and analyze the challenges that the school facesand to gather information to make recommendations tothe Board of Education on how to address the projectedbudget shortfall. The local Board of Education remainsresponsible for final financial decisions for the district.These meetings will focus on the purpose of the process,understanding the current environments, reviewing man-dated and comparative course offerings, understanding


ECONOMY

Making Effective Decisions inTough Economic timesBY DR. KEN NELSON, University of Nebraska at Kearney

(Educators trained to lead the School/Community Partnershipfor Essential Finance Planning Process)

Nelson


AFFILIATE LEADERSHIP

“…a man who continues putting off some unpleasantbusiness from day to day, yet knows it must be done,hates to set about it, wishes it over and is continuallyhaunted with the thoughts of its necessity.”

Thomas Paine

School days. Reading, writing and arithmetic.What are your memories of your school days?Prom? Football games? Friends? Graduation Day?

We all have memories of those thirteen years of our livesthat seemed to last forever but, in hindsight, went by sofast. We remember the friends and the friendships weforged. We remember the good, the bad and the ugly.We also remember the adults that we saw every day, ourteachers.

Mr. Hoverstein, my fifth-grade teacher. Mr. Hirshman,my algebra teacher. Mr. Burchard, my wrestling coach.Mr. Ackerman, my Intermediate Accounting professor. Iremember them all quite clearly. They didn’t just teachme, they educated me. They challenged and inspired me.They molded me. How can you put a price tag on whata teacher means to a student? One word of encourage-ment, one wink, one pat on the back could have a pro-found effect on a sometimes fragile psyche of a youngstudent. Priceless. Their effect can truly be priceless.

Many people believe teachers deserve better com-pensation. Rock stars make millions. Ball players andCEO’s too. Why not teachers? Maybe not millions, butwhy do teachers’ salaries seem to be lagging. I’ve workedfor South Sioux City Schools for 23 years now and beeninvolved with the negotiation’s process the entire time.I’ve heard the argument from both sides. I have a daugh-ter who just began her teaching career in Chicago, inthe shadow of Wrigley Field (okay, it’s about five blocksaway). I wish the best for her and wish she could bringhome a bigger paycheck. But I know that it’s quite a bal-ancing act for board members to pay a fair and compet-itive wage, while preserving their responsibility to thetaxpayers they serve. But how much control do localboards really have on the outcome of negotiations withtheir teaching staff?

We live in a country that currently has an unemploy-ment rate stretching to reach 10% and an underemploy-

ment rate that may exceed 20%. We have a federal gov-ernment that is staring down the barrel of a $3.8 trillionannual budget deficit. Our military is active in numer-ous overseas missions, as threats to national securitycontinue to grow. These are all serious national chal-lenges, but what will affect school districts across thecountry the most is the loss of the State Fiscal Stabi-lization Funds in 2011.

In the state of Nebraska, school districts may be fac-ing a time when annual revenues decline by 20% or morein the not-too-distant future due to the loss of SFSFunds. At the same time, it seems as though teachersalary increases are on auto-pilot. If revenues are de-clining and a school district’s biggest individual expen-diture is increasing, put simply, it has a problem. Ifsalaries continue to grow by 4% or 5% and revenuescan’t keep pace, what are the options? Unfortunately formany districts, the only options may be to reduce thenumber of personnel employed and in some cases, dis-mantle programs that are considered to be surplus in atime of economic distress. So why the perception thatteacher salaries are on auto-pilot? The answer lies inthe way teacher’s compensation packages are negotiatedin Nebraska. When the negotiation efforts fail to cometo an agreement, the local association and the localschool board must take their case to the Commission ofIndustrial Relations (CIR) and a concept that the CIR hasnot allowed to enter into their decision making processis a district’s ability to pay. Simply put, if the CIR feelsthe compensation package that a district offers to itsteachers in inadequate, it will force them to increasethat package without regard to whether or not the dis-trict has the financial ability to pay that amount. Manydistricts will be on the brink of financial collapse in thenext few years. A large settlement for teacher compen-sation may push them over the edge. A temporarychange of position on the ability to pay may be reason-able alternative.

If our crystal ball showing decreased revenues and in-creased expenditures is correct and a problem that Ne-braska schools are most likely going to be facing, whatis an equitable solution? In attacking this dilemma, the

How big does the elephant have to get?

Financial Distress andTeacher CompensationBY RICK FEAUTO, Business Manager-South Sioux City Community Schools

Feauto



AFFILIATE LEADERSHIP

“I am in total disagreement with the holding that aschool district's ability to pay is not an issue which canbe raised before the [CIR]. In my judgment the schooldistrict's ability to pay is of vital concern and its consid-

eration of the issue is inherent in the act itself.”

Nebraska City Ed. Asso. v. School Dist.,201 Neb. 303, 306 (Neb. 1978)

(Spencer, J., dissenting)

Since the 1920’s our Nebraska Constitution has in-cluded a provision allowing the legislature to es-tablish an “Industrial Commission.” Neb. Const.

art. XIV, sec. 9 (1920). In the late 1940’s, the legisla-ture passed such a law and we now have Sections 48-801to 48-838, R.R.S., known as the “Industrial RelationsAct” (“Act”). In that Act, the legislature created theCommission of Industrial Relations, commonly referredto as the “CIR.”

The purpose of the CIR was to resolve “industrial dis-putes” to assure the “continuous, uninterrupted andproper functioning” of governmental operations andservices since it also prohibited public sector strikes,lockouts, or other means of hindering, delaying, limiting,or suspending the continuity of governmental service.Section 48-802, R.R.S.

The Commission is composed of five Commissionersappointed by the Governor with the advice and consentof the Legislature. They are appointed for a term of sixyears and are appointed, based on their experience andknowledge in legal, financial, labor and industrial mat-ters. The Commission offices, by statute, are located inthe State Office Building at 301 Centennial Mall South,Lincoln, Nebraska. For more information about each Com-missioner, and the CIR itself, go to the CIR’s website athttp://www.ncir.ne.gov/.

In terms of the legalize surrounding the concept of‘ability to pay,’ the statute which lies at the core of theissue is Section 48-818, R.R.S. That statute allows theCIR to hear labor disputes and enter orders that “estab-lish or alter the scale of wages, hours of labor, or condi-tions of employment ….” Beginning in the early 1970’s,the CIR ruled that it was not proper “under present law”to consider ‘ability to pay’ in setting teacher compensa-

tion. Fremont Educ. Assoc. v. School Dist., 1 CIR 50-1, 14(1972) and Nehawka Educ. Assoc. v. School Dist., 2 CIR65-1 (1973).

In 1978, the CIR’s interpretation of Section 48-818was reviewed on appeal by our Supreme Court in the caseof Nebraska City Ed. Asso. v. School Dist., 201 Neb. 303(Neb. 1978). In that case, the school district before theCIR had presented (a) testimony concerning the tax con-sequences of any proposed salary increases, and (b) in-troduced a compilation of financial information aboutitself and seven other comparable school districts, show-ing valuation per pupil and general levies. The CIR re-fused to consider such evidence. A majority of ourSupreme Court agreed and upheld the CIR’s ruling stat-ing:Had the Legislature wanted the [CIR under Section48-818] to consider factors such as "ability to pay,"when setting wage rates and conditions of employ-ment it would have specifically provided therefor.We cannot rewrite the statute under the guise of in-terpretation. As we observed in School Dist. of Se-ward Education Assn. v. School Dist. of Seward, 188Neb. 772, 199 N.W.2d 752 (1972), “‘* * * defendantis making his contentions in the wrong forum. Theymight appropriately be addressed to the NebraskaLegislature * * *.’”

Id. at 201 Neb. 306.The lone dissenter in Nebraska City Ed. Asso., was the

honorable Judge Spencer J. It seems Judge Spencer wasvery familiar with the elephant in the room, especially,as it relates to our current times of financial distress.For in addition to his authoritative assertions quoted atthe beginning of this article, the balance of JudgeSpencer’s dissent read in relevant part as follows:

… The power to tax is the power to destroy. The[CIR] by this decision is given the power to require tax-ation beyond the ability of the district to pay. It caneven ignore maximum levy limits if any such exist. Wehave held the Legislature may destroy a school district.We now hold the [CIR] has that legislative authority.

To brush off the contention that because section 48-818, R. R. S. 1943, makes no mention or reference to the

Gessford

How big does the elephant have to get?

Ability to Pay and the CIRBY JAMES B. GESSFORD, Perry, Guthery, Haase & Gessford, P.C., L.L.O.


PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

The NSASSP Jack Hallstrom Friend of Education Awardhonors individuals committed to education – who over alife-time of service, have made significant contributionsto schools at the local level, or to advance organizationalleadership at the district, state or national levels. Someof the folks so honored thus far include: Kent Mann,Grand Island Principal; Larry King, owner, Awards Un-limited; Jack Martin, photographer; Jerry Sellentin, re-tired Executive Director, NCSA; Bob Whitehouse, formerBryan principal; Fritz Stanek, 38 years in education,Omaha Public Schools and Barry Stark, NASSP NationalPresident.

This year’s recipient Gaylord “Doc” Moller is an individ-ual with over 50 years experience in the field of educa-tion (over half of those years as the principal of CentralHigh School from 1968 – 1995), the longest tenure inCentral history. Bob Whitehouse states “Doc is one ofthe most even-tempered, patient, and professional indi-viduals you will ever meet.He generally stands in the background and lets otherstake credit for that which he is usually responsible. Dochas helped countless administrators in the business. Ifthere was ever one single administrator whom you mightpattern yourself after – I’d suggest it be Doc Moller.”

Doc continues to be, work in the field of observationsand evaluations. He has spent countless hours with stu-dent teachers, as well as regular staff, counselors, de-partment heads, Assistant Principals, and buildingprincipals. He has a keen eye and a wealth of knowledgeto back up suggestions and recommendations. He has

mentored student teachers and administrators at everylevel.

This recognition will go alongside the NCSA Distin-guished Service Award Doc received in 2005. This selec-tion truly exemplified the motto: Honor the past toinspire the future.

Jack Hallstrom along with Bob Whitehouse, UNL Regionpresented the award established in his name to DocMoller at the NSASSP Region II Principals meeting onApril 14, 2010.

Jack Hallstrom Friend of EducationAward

Nelson


PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

This is the book America is talking about and a must read for ed-ucators. It isn’t often that a high profile influential figure re-nounces previously held beliefs. But this is precisely what DianeRavitch has done. Ravitch a respected educational historian andformer Assistant Secretary of Education has changed her mind.Once a proponent of testing, accountability, choice, and rigorousnational standards, she now presents a case for how testing, ac-countability, choice and markets have been “hijacked” by priva-tizers, particularly the charter school movement. She is fearful ofthe embracing of charter schools and testing by President Obamaand his secretary of education Arne Duncan. In her opinion,strong backing from government and rich foundations has led tothe sucking the best students and most committed parents bothfrom public systems and good parochial schools, and killing both!Diane Ravitch begins her book with what amounts to an apologyof her evolved thinking on the subject of public education inAmerica. As a respected education historian who also has a deepbackground in the Bush/Clinton/Bush era of school reform, shefreely confesses that many of the reforms she had enthusiasti-cally supported in the 1980’s and 1990’s—“testing, accountabil-ity, choice, and markets”—are simply not working.As she develops the book, Ravitch combines historical perspectivewith the results of numerous foundation studies and statistics toargue her case that American public education has gone seriouslyoff-track since roughly the time of the first Bush Presidency in1989. She faults both Democrats and Republicans for this situa-tion with their political posturing around quick fixes and infatu-ation with corporate business models and free market thinking asthe answer to America’s educational issues. As a result, the idealof a liberal education, encompassing not just multiple subjectareas but also such traits as curiosity, passion, persistence, risk-taking, self-learning, empathy, and tolerance had been replacedby “measurables,” especially test scores in math and reading/Eng-lish.The book follows a chronological path on reform beginning withthe Nation at Risk study in 1983. A chapter devoted to New YorkCity’s District 2 and the rise of “Balanced Literacy” as the answerto reform education followed. Other reform movements are re-ported in chapters titled, Lessons from San Diego, and The NewYork City business model for education implemented under MayorMichael Bloomberg. A chapter on No Child Left Behind and one onChoice provide good solid data on how they became part of thecore for reform. In the latter third of the book, Ms. Ravitch ad-dresses three other, important points of contention:• The problems introduced by devotion to quantifiable ac-countability as the only measure of school success.• The definition of “great teachers” and how they aremeasured under current systems, and• The role of publicly unanswerable major foundations(Walton, Gates and Broad) and how they are almost single hand-edly dictating the path of public education reform.

One of the most revealing and alarming chapters for me was chap-ter ten, The Billionaire Boys Club. Foundations like the Annen-berg, W.K. Kellogg, the Lily Endowment, and the David & LucilePackard Foundation were familiar in educational circles throughthe 1990’s. They reviewed proposals submitted to them fundingones they felt held promise. By 2002 they had been supplantedby a new group of foundations where the focus became more di-rect as the new foundations decided what they wanted to ac-complish, how they wanted to accomplish it, and whichorganizations were appropriate recipients of their funds. In 2002for example, the top two philanthropies were the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. These newtitans of the foundation world were billionaire entrepreneurs andcorporate leaders. They were joined by another billionaire, EliBroad, who made his fortune in home building and the insuranceindustry. Gates, Walton, and Broad came to be called venture phi-lanthropies, organizations that made targeted investments in ed-ucation reform. These venture philanthropists treated their giftsas an investment that was expected to produce measurable re-sults, or in business language, “a return on investment.” Theyfunded new entrepreneurial organizations that shared their goalsand they created new organizations to receive their funding whennone existed that met their purposes. Over time they focused onsupporting reform strategies that mirrored their own experiencein acquiring huge fortunes, such as competition, choice, deregu-lation, incentives, and other market based approaches. These werenot familiar concepts in the world of education where high valuewas placed on collaboration. The venture philanthropies usedtheir funds assertively to promote their goals. As a result theGates, Walton and Broad Foundations came to exercise vast in-fluence over American education. These foundations set the pol-icy agenda not only for school districts, but also for states andeven the U.S. Department of Education!In the concluding chapter, Ravitch stated, “the policies we arefollowing today are unlikely to improve our schools. Indeed, muchof what policy makers now demand will very likely make theschools less effective and may further degrade the intellectual ca-pacity of our citizenry. The schools will surely be failures if stu-dents graduate knowing how to choose the right option from fourbubbles on a multiple-choice test, but unprepared to lead fulfill-ing lives, to be responsible citizens and to make good choices forthemselves, their families, and our society.” (Page 224)What does Ms. Ravitch believe are the fundamentals of a goodeducation? On page 224 she lists the essential ingredients of asuccessful education system:• A strong curriculum• Experienced teachers• Effective instruction• Willing students• Adequate resources• A community that values education

BookReview by Ron JoekelThe Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining EducationAuthor: Diane Ravitch New York:Basic Books-a member of the Perseus Book Group, (2010). ISBN 978-0-465-01491-0


PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

A variety of influences and a somewhat unique set of needs haveconverged in Grand Island that now finds our district on the vergeof opening an industrial-Technical Career Academy (ITCA). In com-pliment to these influences and needs, a collaborative and en-

gaging dialogue with Central CommunityCollege, the Grand Island Chamber of CommerceBusiness and Education Committee, and keyleaders in the Grand Island business communityhas guided the development of the Grand IslandITCA. One set of circumstances, a continuousand steady increase in the student enrollmentat Grand Island Senior High and an urgent needfor more instructional space, we find ourselves

in the final stages of planning and design for a satellite campusat Senior High will house our new ITCA.Early interactions with representatives of the business commu-nity in Grand Island attempted to address the need for qualifiedand prepared employees for the communities major manufactur-ing entities. While dual credit and certifications were already inplace between Central Community College and Senior High, the“work force” that we were preparing in courses like Welding, Man-ufacturing and Drafting, Certified Nurse s Assistant, and AutoParts and Management, the demand still exceeded the supply. Rep-resentatives articulated the need for future employees who had arequisite set of “industry” skills and competencies that could bespecialized by any of the prospective employers in the Grand Is-land community. High demand existed for workers with weldingskills, competencies in powder coating and painting, and metalfabrication skills.The existing working relationship between Central Community Col-lege and Senior High became a template for the initial design ofexpanded programs that would allow students to acquire trainingand certification in a broader set of skills and competencies thatwould posture them to the growing number of good paying jobswithin the trade and manufacturing community in Grand Island.Much of our discussion and planning efforts focused on dual creditoptions, program certification, and a favored status in the jobmarket for the graduates with the business community. A delega-tion of approximately 35 representatives from the high school,community college and the business community in Grand Islandembarked on a fact finding mission to Phoenix, AZ where wetoured two very unique career academies.The fact-finding group visited West-MEC, a career and technicaleducation center where students prepare to become members ofa highly trained and skilled workforce for the 21st century. TheWest-MEC program was a consortium of high schools, organized tooffer 22 different courses, in the high school within a dual-credittype format (students in the course at the high school earn cred-its through West-MEC toward anacademy certificate or endorse-ment). The second site visit was at the Maricopa Community

College. Various campus locations offer a variety of career andtechnical programs of study. High School students have the op-portunity to enroll and participate in dual-credit and early entrycourses that transition into a certificate, endorsement, or degreeprograms within the community college system. In addition tothe programs offered and the career options that were available,funding for the projects was of great interest to the fact findinggroup. Both programs received funding from the State of Arizona.Residents of the greater Phoenix area contribute through a taxformula that draws on a population of over 5 million people.Needless to say, even if a similar structure could be created inNebraska or the Grand Island/Hall County area, the Nebraska pop-ulation could not even come close to generating the funds thatwere available each year for the operation of the programs thatwere visited.In the fall of 2009, a large warehouse and office complex cameonto the market. The Grand Island Board of Education success-fully negotiated the purchase of the property in southeast GrandIsland that includes 3 separate buildings, an office complex anda large compound area. The overall site includes 350,000 squarefeet of warehouse/production area space, an office area of ap-proximately 3,000 square feet, and a compound of nearly 3 acresof green space. With the site acquired, plans for ITCA are movingforward to prepare to ready the site for occupancy.The plan for the ITCA will develop during the course of the 2010-2011 school year as follows: -

-Finalize the program curriculum.-Finalize the program staffing needs (reassign some existing staffand hire new staff).-Transition most of the existing courses in Woods, Metals, andAutos from Senior High to the new site.-Articulation of additional dual credit and/or certification courseswith Central Community College.-Renovation of the existing office space to become instructionalclassrooms, meeting rooms and program administrative space.-Creation of instructional labs and project areas.-Installation of industry standard training equipment.

When the ITCA does open, we hope to offer an increased numberof specialized training and certification courses that will preparestudents for the local jobs which exist in the Grand Island manu-facturing community. The Grand island Public Schools recently ac-quired an Innovation Planning Grant in the amount of $80K thatwill be used for program development and implementation.When the ITCA opens, students will likely include a morning orafternoon experience at the ITCA site and be complimented witha schedule of core classes at the high school site to meet GrandIsland Public School s graduation requirements. The Grand IslandITCA could possibly open in the fall of 2011.

Development of a Career &Technical Academy Sitein Grand islandDr. Kent B. Mann, Principal Grand Island Senior High School

West


RECOGNITION

The Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Prin-cipals is proud to recognize Dr. Robert Michl, Principal atFreeman High School in Adams and Mr. Lance Fuller, Prin-cipal at Sunrise Middle School in Kearney, as their Dis-tinguished Principals of the Year.

Dr. Robert Michl was selected to represent Nebraska asthe High School Principal of the Year. Bob received hiseducation from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Bach-elor of Arts, Master of Arts, Educational Specialist andDoctorate). Dr. Michl has served as a practicing schooladministrator for the past 9 years serving as Principal atFreeman High School since 2000. Prior to that, Bob wasa classroom instructor and coach at Gretna High School.Dr. Michl is active in many professional organizations andcommunity leadership positions such as the National As-sociation of Secondary School Principals, the NebraskaCouncil of School Administrators, and the Nebraska StateAssociation of Secondary School Principals, where he hasserved as an Executive Board member since 2008. He isalso a member of the Gage County Safe Schools AdvisoryCommittee, the First Lutheran Church, where he is a Sun-day and Bible School teacher, and has served on theOmaha World Herald Academic All-State Selection Com-mittee.Dr. Michl has several other honors, including the NSASSPRegion I Principal of the Year and the Nebraska CoachesAssociation’s 25 Years of Service Award. Bob also servesas a delegate at the NSAA Representative Assembly. Hehas also been a presenter at several state and areaevents.Dr. Gary Hammack, Superintendent of the Freeman Pub-lic Schools, states: “Dr. Michl truly utilizes evaluationand instructional programs to improve teaching by pro-viding clear and valuable feedback and expectations thataid and facilitate student learning. Student success is al-ways his litmus test for school improvement.” SandraRenken, Social Science instructor at Freeman High, says:“Dr. Michl possesses strong leadership skills and leads byexample. One of his strongest qualities is that he is veryapproachable for his staff. He vies himself as our teamleader and welcomes comments and suggestions from hisstaff, as well as from parents in order to make our schoola great place to learn.” Mary Gramann, Assessment Co-ordinator states: “Dr. Michl has a keen vision for theschool and works to carry through his goals. He has ex-cellent communication and rapport with the studentsand staff. As a parent of Freeman students, I know thatour school offers an excellent education for all students,thanks to the efforts of Dr. Michl”

Dr. Michl will receive his award at the Nebraska State As-sociation of Secondary School Principals State Confer-ence and with his selection will be eligible forconsideration for the 2011 Metlife/NASSP National HighSchool Principal of the Year.

Mr. Lance Fuller was selected to represent Nebraska asthe Middle School Principal of the Year for the NebraskaState Association of Secondary School Principals. Lancereceived his education from the University of Nebraska-Kearney (Bachelor of Arts and K-6 endorsement) re-ceived his and Master of Arts in EducationalAdministration, from the University of Nebraska-OmahaLance has been the principal at Sunrise Middle Schoolsince 2001. His previous educational experience includesteaching at Kearney High School (1993-1995) and atMission Junior High and Bellevue East High School(1987-1993). While at Bellevue East, Mr. Fuller alsoserved as the Dean of Students (1990-1993). Prior tohis being named principal at Sunrise, he was the Assis-tant Principal at Kearney High School for six years (1995-2001).Mr. Fuller is active in many professional organizationssuch as the National Association of Secondary SchoolPrincipals, the Nebraska Council of School Administra-tors and the Nebraska State Association of SecondarySchool Principals, Association for Supervision and Cur-riculum Development, the National Middle School Asso-ciation, and the Nebraska Association for Middle LevelEducation. He is the Chairman of the Kearney PublicSchool District Safety Committee, a member of the KPSBond Issue Facility Planning Committee, an alternatemember of the Nebraska Council on Teacher EducationCommittee, and is the Co-Chair of the Nebraska MiddleLevel Academy Planning Committee. Mr. Fuller has beenthe presenter for numerous university classes and con-ferences.Mr. Fuller has been honored as the Region IV MiddleSchool Principal of the Year in 2004 and 2009.Dr. Brian Maher, Superintendent of the Kearney PublicSchools, states: “Mr. Fuller is student-centered, quickwitted, very savvy and has a passion for his school dis-trict and his school building. His character, ability to re-late to people and ability to think on his feet providehim with the skills to work through those very difficultsituations that all school principals face – and he doesit with class and grace.” Mary Alice Konz, High AbilityLearner Language Arts instructor says: “Each of us atSunrise has a terrific ally in Lance Fuller. He makes usfeel valued and challenges us to grow as professionals.

Nebraska StateAssociation of Secondary School Prin-cipalsAnnounces2010 Distinguished Principals of theYear

Poggenklass


RECOGNITION

All two hundred fifty-three Nebraska public school districts arerequired to be accredited by following the regulations in Rule10, a rule which was originally initiated to provide equitableeducational opportunities for K-12 students across the state ofNebraska. While Rule 10 provides the rules and regulations forthe operation of the schools, the requirements are generallyminimal when compared to the opportunities that Nebraska dis-tricts offer to students.The standard practice at the Nebraska Department of Educationhas been to review Rule 10 every five years. This practicechanged over the years to one of continuous review to accom-modate factors such as Nebraska legislation, Federal legislation,NeSA, State Board of Education policy adoption, State FiscalStabilization Fund (SFSF) requirements, and school needs.As of this writing, the effective date of the most recent Rule 10is January 19, 2010, which replaced the June 24, 2007 Rule 10.However, don’t plan on that version lasting for very long. An-other draft of Rule 10 just went to hearing on April 13, 2010.What do schools need to know about Rule 10 in its presentform, what is new in the most recent hearing draft, and whatdirections is the rule likely to take in the future? The followingmay give us an idea of where Rule 10 is and where it is headed.New and Revised Items in the January 19, 2010, Rule 10• Revision for Clarity: “Foreign,” is changed to “World”language and “Vocational,” is changed to “Career Education.”(Sections 002.05, 004.03 and 004.04B5)• Graduation Requirements: By 2014-15, school systemsmust adopt graduation requirements specifying that studentssuccessfully complete forty credit hours of language arts andthirty credit hours each of mathematics, science, and socialstudies in order to graduate. (003.05-003.05A4)• School systems may adopt a local policy that will allowhigh school credit to be awarded to students enrolled in middlegrades if the course content and requirements are equivalent toa course offered in the high school. (003.05B)• The ‘old’ Career and Technical Education course de-scriptions have been replaced with the ‘new’ Career Field defini-tions. (004.04B6-004.04B6j)• The assessment sections are aligned with the QualityEducation Accountability Act (Statute 79-760) requirements,sun-setting the requirement for districts to submit local assess-ment plans and student success in reading on local CRTs.(005.01A, 005.01B, and 005.02)• The word “systems,” is changed to “districts” to alignwith Statute 79-760. (005.03-005.03B)• Teachers holding a content area endorsement at thesecondary level may teach grade six in that content area if theyacquire six credit hours per year toward the elementary or mid-dle grades endorsement or participate annually in staff develop-ment in accordance with a local mission and plan for education

of middle grade students. (007.02A2)• School districts, by July 1, 2010, are required bystatute to develop and adopt a policy to address incidents ofdating violence involving students at school. (011.01E)• Sunset the current mathematics content standards,June 30, 2010, and add the new mathematics standards as Ap-pendix B. (Appendices A and B)• Updates assessment schedule to align with Statute 79-760. (Appendix E)The April 13, 2010, Rule 10 Hearing Draft contains only twoitems found in Sections 007.04B and 007.05D. School systemshave been able to assign certificated staff without appropriateendorsements to both Media/Technology and Guidance posi-tions if the assigned staff member acquires at least six credithours each year toward an appropriate endorsement. In the ex-isting Rule 10, these options will sunset on September 1, 2010.Historically, this sunset date has been changed and extended invarious drafts of Rule 10. The proposed revision drops the dateentirely. Even though the date is dropped, schools will need toreport in their annual assurance statement the use of this op-tion and the progress toward endorsement of the person who isin this position. All hearing testimony, both written and oral,was supportive for the elimination of the dates.Future Revisions of Rule 10 promise to include, at minimum,two areas of discussion:• (004.02C and 004.03C) The number of contests al-lowed for seventh and eighth grade athletic competition islikely to change in number.• (005.05 and 005.05B) Student performance ratings forreporting accountability will be established as the assessmentsin reading, mathematics, and science are fully implemented.Additional changes on the horizon include the following:• As new standards are adopted for science, they will beadded to the appendices.• For the state to comply with Federal Legislation, Rule10 will address the need to develop and adopt policy regardingseclusion and restraints.• To qualify for federal funds, evaluation procedures forall certificated employees will be required. Therefore, inclusionof staff evaluations for administrators will be added to Rule 10.The evaluations will need to include the performance level forthe certificated personnel, and teacher evaluations will likelyinclude a student performance component.• With new graduation requirements, some adjustmentsin Rule 10 may need to be made to accommodate increased useof web-based courses to meet these requirements.• With state assessments in reading and mathematics,rather than STARS, becoming the basis for determining schoolperformance, Rule 10 will need to reflect how it determineslow-per-

Rule 10:What’s New andWhat Might be on theHorizon?By: Freida Lange, Approval and Accreditation, Nebraska Department of Education



RECOGNITION

forming schools and what processes NDE will implement to as-sist these schools.Rule 10 continues to evolve, but not without the input of thoseit affects. We encourage you to share ideas and concerns re-garding potential revisions and changing needs of Nebraskaschools. Together we can maintain a rule that truly supportsthe educational needs of Nebraska students.

NSASSPAwardWinners(continued from page 12)



RECOGNITION

Raise your hand if you can use a new and fresh approach toyouth engagement in your school! Raise your hand if you wantyour students to be accepting others and have resources tocomplement and enhance the existing curriculum.

Be among the first to have access to the new K-12 SpecialOlympics Get Into It (GII) e-tools that will be available in Au-gust 2010.

Special Olympics GII e-tools will consist of online resourcesthat include lessons, activities, videos, athlete stories and sup-plemental materials. At the core of GII e-tools will be age-ap-propriate lessons designed to be taught in the context of classperiods. Activities with ties to service-learning are completed ina classroom or community setting, as part of a club, an after-school activity or a community-based event and include in-volvement with local Special Olympics Programs wheneverpossible.

• Web-based interactivity for students and educators• Service-learning emphasis• State standards compatible• Fun!UntilSpecial Olympics has developed an organizing framework for GIIe-tools that, while simple and effective, is results oriented andadvances community impact movement by focusing on students’civic knowledge and skill development. Our call to action in-cludes:

a. Educate: Provide young people with school and community-based opportunities and strategies to help them understandtheir potential and ways to serve as active agents for change intheir local, national and global communities;b. Motivate: Energize young people to unleash their creativeleadership potential to accept, respect and advocate with andfor persons with intellectual disabilities, with inclusive sportsserving as the experiential component;c. Activate: Stimulate new approaches for sharing experiences,engaging in community action and policy change.

You are invited to attend a session at administrator days andlearn how the curriculum is adaptable to our existing programsand curriculum

Until Administrator Days, where you will be invited to attend asession regarding the curriculum and materials available toschool, feel free to download the current version of SpecialOlympics GII resources…

www.specialolympics.org/getintoitFor more information email [email protected] look forward to seeing you at administrator days in Kearney,

K-12 Special Olympics Get Into ItBy: Sally Ganem, First Lady and Former Elementary School Principal


RECOGNITION

The NASES Distinguished Service Award was presented to JohnStreet, current Director of Student Services, Grand Island PublicSchools and the Central Nebraska Support Services Program(CNSSP).

Prior to his current assignment, John was a special educationteacher in Chapman from 1977-1979. From 1979-1986 he wasan educational consultant and program coordinator at Grand Is-land/CNSSP. In 1986 John became a supervisor of special edu-cation for Grand Island/CNSSP. He held that position until 2000when he became the Director of Student Services.

According to his colleagues, John Street is a true child/familyadvocate and educational leader. Always emphasizing straight-forward fairness, honesty and integrity, John has devoted hisprofessional and personal life to children with disabilities andtheir families.

Ryan O’Grady, Special Education Supervisor, CNSSP/GIPS says:Over the past 30 years, John has been a key individual in mak-ing an impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities on alocal, state, and regional level. In Central Nebraska alone, hehas worked to ensure that students with disabilities have everyopportunity to be successful during early intervention services,school age services, and transition into adult life. He has beeninstrumental in guiding CNSSP member districts in the RtIprocess and believing in the process. John has helped to de-velop many successful individuals that have had the fortune ofworking under him at CNSSP.

John was presented this award at the annual Nebraska Associa-tion of Special Education Supervisors Spring Conference inNorth Platte on April 15th.

NASES Distinguished ServiceAwarded to JohnStreet


ENVIRONMENT

Sue WarnerSenior Regional Service RepresentativeBlue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska

As Senior Regional Service Representative for Blue Cross andBlue Shield of Nebraska, Sue Warner services Nebraska schoolaccounts and county groups across the state.

Sue has served in multiple capacities during her 20-year careerwith BCBSNE—including Customer Service and Marketing func-tions. While in Marketing, Sue has serviced both local and na-tional small and large group accounts. Sue has been part of theEHA/NACO service team since 2004.

Sue has attained a Nebraska Producers License, and has com-pleted all of BCBSNE’s systems modification training, includingClaims and Customer Service systems training.

Tara StevensonRegional Service RepresentativeBlue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska

As Regional Service Representative for Blue Cross and BlueShield of Nebraska, Tara Stevenson services Nebraska school ac-counts and county groups across the state.

Tara has served in multiple capacities during her 16-year careerwith BCBSNE—including Claims, Customer Service and Market-ing functions. While in Marketing, Tara has serviced both small-and large-group national accounts. Tara moved to the EHAteam in 2010.

Tara has attained a Nebraska Producers License, and has com-pleted all of BCBSNE’s systems modification training, includingClaims and Customer Service systems training.

MeetYour Blue Cross Blue ShieldTeamBY DAVE RAYMOND and DENNY VAN HORN, TRANE



NCSA REPORT

Recognition is an important component of the NCSAStrategic Plan adopted by the NCSA Executive Board.Recognition includes honoring members’ accomplish-ments, as well as highlighting noteworthy achievement.We are extremely pleased to honor those members thathave been elected by their peers and colleagues to serveas their respective affiliate president-elects for the 2010-2011 year. We feel extremely fortunate to have highlyqualified and worthy individuals that participated ineach election and wish to say thanks for those individ-uals willing to run for leadership positions. To be electedby your peers is certainly noteworthy and now thesenewly elected individuals will have the opportunity toserve and lead school administrators across the state.

In addition to their roles and responsibilities for theirrespective affiliates they also will begin as members ofthe Nebraska Council of School Administrators ExecutiveBoard, with official duties to begin on September 1,2010. The new leaders will attend an orientation sessionprior to attending the June meeting as non-voting at-tendees.

We wish to congratulate and welcome the following newPresident-Elects:

NASES – Stuart Clark, Special Education Director, ESU #1

NASBO - Melanie Kreider, Business Manager, Gering Pub-lic Schools

NAESP – David Kraus, Assistant Principal, Beatrice Mid-dle School

NSASSP – Mitchell Bartholomew, Principal, York HighSchool

NASA – Greg Barns, Superintendent, Seward PublicSchools

NCSA Dues for 2010-11

The NCSA has enjoyed a very stable financial picture forthe better part of two decades. Our association dues re-main relatively low in comparison to our counterpart or-ganizations in surrounding states. Every effort is madeto keep our expenses low while at the same time main-taining quality services to members. The current dueshas been in place for the last three years and the revenuefrom this source coupled with a strong “non-dues” rev-

enue stream has served the association well for this pe-riod of time.

We do not wish to see a diminishment of the importantservices and programs provided to members and it didindeed become necessary to impose a modest dues in-crease beginning for the 2010-11 membership year. Theactive membership dues are currently set at $325. Thedues increase amounts to $10, thereby bringing the an-nual active dues to $335.

State Association 2010-11 DuesColorado (CASE) $285-$630Iowa (SAI) $435Kansas (USA/Kansas) 0.301% of salaryMinnesota

MASA (Supts) $775MESPA (Elem Prin) $623MASSP (Sec Prin) $533

MissouriMASA (Supts) 0.5% of salaryMAESP (Elem Prin) $279MASSP (Sec Prin) $150-$200

Nebraska (NCSA) $335North Dakota (NDCEL) $360-$475South Dakota (SASD) 0.55% of salary

NOTES: North Dakota charges a set rate for active duesand then requires the member to pay affiliate dues,which all differ. For example, a North Dakota superin-tendent pays $435 for dues ($350 for active dues and$85 for affiliate dues).

South Dakota, Missouri (MASA), and Kansas dues are cal-culated using a percentage of the administrator’s salary.As an example, using an annual salary of $80,000, SouthDakota dues would be $440, Missouri (MASA) dues wouldbe $400 and Kansas dues would be about $240.

Missouri (MASSP) determines their dues by the adminis-trator’s salary also. As an example, if the administratorearns $80,000 or less he/she would pay $150 and ifhe/she earns more than $80,000 he/she would pay $200.

Colorado (CASE) uses a set schedule to determine duesbased on the Administrator’s salary. For example a Col-orado administrator who earns $80,000 would pay duesof $630.

NCSAAnnounces NewAffiliatePresident-Elects for 2010-2011YearBY DR. MIKE DULANEY, Executive Director; and DR. DAN ERNST, Associate Executive Director

Dulaney

Ernst


APPRECIATION

Administrators’ Days2010

July 28-30Holiday Inn – Kearney

Keynote Speakers:Michael Fullan – Thursday AMTodd Whitaker – Thursday PM

Ian Jukes – Friday AM


LEADERSHIP


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAY7 NASES Region III 12:00 p.m. TJ’s Norfolk14 NASES Region II 9:00 a.m. Plattsmouth Central Office Plattsmouth19 NASA Region II TBD TBD TBD28 NASES Region I 9:30 a.m. Crete Central Office Crete

JUNE2 NAESP Executive Board 9:00 a.m. NCSA Lincoln2 NSASSP Executive Board 6:00 p.m. Lazlos Lincoln2 Hal Urban Workshop 8:30 a.m. GR Senior High Grand Island3 Hal Urban Workshop 8:30 a.m. Sandhills Conv. Center North Platte3 NCSA Executive Board 9:00 a.m. NCSA Lincoln23 NCSA Golf Tournament 12:00 p.m. Wilderness Ridge Lincoln

JULY27 NCSA Executive Board 5:00 p.m. Holiday Inn Kearney28 NASES Executive Board 11:30 a.m. Holiday Inn Kearney28 NSASSP Executive Board 11:30 a.m. Holiday Inn Kearney28 NASA Executive Board 5:00 p.m. Holiday Inn Kearney28-30 Administrators’ Days 8:00 a.m. Holiday Inn Kearney

NATIONAL CONVENTION DATESCASE – July 9-11, 2010 – San Francisco, CAASBO – September 24-27, 2010 – Orlando, FLCASE – November 5-7, 2010 – San Diego, CAAASA – February 17-19, 2011 – Denver, CO

NASSP – February 25-28, 2011 – San Francisco, CANAESP – April 7-10, 2011 – Tampa, FL

Administrators’ Days 2010July 28-30 — Holiday Inn — Kearney

Bronze Sponsorships

Gold Sponsorships

Silver SponsorshipsARCHI + ETC. LLCStacy LaVigne6500 Holdrege St., Ste 007Lincoln, NE 68505402-429-7150; fax: [email protected]

Awards UnlimitedLarry King1935 O St., Lincoln, NE 68510402-474-0815larryking@awardsunlimited.comwww.awardsunlimited.com

Cannon Moss Brygger& Associates, P.C.Bradley Kissler2535 Carleton Ave., Ste AGrand Island, NE 68803308-384-4444; fax: [email protected]

Nebraska Public AgencyInvestment TrustBecky FergusonPO Box 82529, Lincoln, NE 68501402-323-1334; fax: [email protected]

RBC Capital MarketsNate Eckloff1200 17th St., Ste. 2150Denver, CO 80202303-595-1206; fax [email protected]

AmeritasAl Eveland5900 O St., 1st FloorLincoln, NE [email protected]

CDIPaul Copeland130 South Town Centre Blvd.Markham, Ontario L6G [email protected]

DLR GroupPat Phelan, Whitney Wombacher400 Essex Ct.,Omaha, NE [email protected]

Energy EducationKaren Mullins5950 Sherry Lane, Ste 900Dallas, [email protected]

Innovation in Education–Houghton MifflinHarcourtDonna Droge6140 SE 53rd

[email protected]

Learning TogetherJulie Smith5509 B W. Friendly Ave.Ste 201Greensboro, NC 27409866-921-0000julie@learningtogether.comwww.learningtogether.com

Horace MannCindy Dornbush10612 Monroe Street, #4Omaha, NE [email protected]

National InsuranceMike Boden9202 W. Dodge Rd., Ste 302Omaha, NE [email protected]

National Institute ForDirect InstructionKurt EngelmanPO Box 11248Eugene, OR [email protected]

NLAFBarry Ballou455 S. 11th St.Lincoln, NE [email protected]

SchoolFusionCarson Apps999 18th St., Ste 2150South TowerDenver, CO [email protected]

Smart TechnologiesChris Kidwell20 South Clark St.Chicago, IL [email protected]

TRANEDanny Szegda5720 S. 77th St.Ralston, NE [email protected]/omaha

Virco, Inc.Matt KirklandPO Box 6356Lincoln, NE [email protected]

Wells FargoCristina Castro-Matukewicz1919 Douglas StreetOmaha, NE 68102402-536-5710cristina.v.castromatukewicz@wellsfargo.comwww.wellsfargo.com

John Baylor Test PrepJohn BaylorP.O. Box 30792Lincoln, NE 68503402-475-7737john@johnbaylortestprep.comwww.jonbaylortestprep.com

D.A. Davidson & Co.Dan Smith1111 N. 102nd Ct., Ste 300Omaha, NE [email protected]/ficm

JostensDon Bartholomew309 S. 8th St.Broken Bow, NE [email protected]

Sports ExpressJoey Carder425 Cedar St.Pleasant Dale, NE [email protected]

PRSRT STD.U. S. POSTAGE

PAIDLINCOLN,NE

PERMIT NO. 951

455 So. 11th Street, Suite A • Lincoln, NE 68508-2105

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Nebraska Council of School Administrators

HSA (Health Savings Account)HRA (Health Reimbursement Arrangement)

Learn more about your Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan options

Encouraging participation in more affordable and sustainable plan design options

Making the plan more affordable for employees to retire early

Transitioning to a high deductible option for new hires

Promoting “consumerism” in health care decisions

Our Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans have helped hundreds of school districts and educators save by:

Your New EHA Medical Plan Options + Our HRA or HSA________________Savings for both District and Employee

800.597.2341

NIS has helped implement over 447 governmental/school district Medical Reimbursement plans in 7 states since 2002. Put our expertise to work for you. Give either of us a call or send an email

Mike BodenSteve Ott

NCSA Today Magazine, Summer 2010

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Transcript of NCSA Today Magazine, Summer 2010