The East Butler "Board Brief" is a monthly online publication that focuses on sharing the important highlights of the East Butler Public School's Board of Education meeting.

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Public Meeting Agenda

Mission Statement 

East Butler Public Schools will develop respectful, responsible, and productive citizens.

Vision Statements

Create a safe environment of respect and mental well-being for students and staff.  

Continue the pursuit of commitment, collaboration, and communication among students, staff, and community members.

Construct a curriculum that is rigorous, adaptable, utilizes technology, and aligns with recognized standards. 

SCHOOL PROJECT FINANCING REPRESENTATIVE

Cody Wickham of D. A. Davison was present at the meeting to discuss with the school board, options in financing a school project. This is similar to the steps that the school board took when the kitchen/commons addition was built. The school district has two sources that can be used to fund a building project. Options available to the district are:

Bond Fund

Special Building Fund

***(No decision has been made on the financing of this project)***

NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE UPDATE

Annually, the school board negotiates with the East Butler Education Association (EBEA) to reach an agreement on benefits and salary for the next school year. The negotiations committee shared their current discussions with the EBEA.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK

As part of the consideration of conducting an addition (Gym, Fitness Center, Classroom, etc), the school board advertised for a Construction Manager At Risk. This construction delivery method is utilized to streamline a construction manager. The objective of having this firm, is to facilitate the bidding process and implementation of the project. 

The district advertised for a Request For Proposal (RFP) beginning on October 30th. The RFPs were due on December 3rd. By State Statute the district is required to advertise for a minimum of 30 calendar days. The school district received 8 RFPs. The district received RFPs from the following firms:

3G, Lueder Construction, Boyd Jones, Meco Henne, Hausmann Construction, Otte Construction, Kingery Construction, and Sampson Construction.

The Construction Manager At Risk committee met and reviewed the proposals on December 3rd at 4:00 PM. The committee recommended that the school board consider hiring Boyd Jones as the Construction Manager At Risk. Boyd Jones is the same Construction Manager used in the construction of the Kitchen/Commons.

The school board moved to approve hiring Boyd Jones as the Construction Manager At Risk.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0

SCHEMATIC DESIGN APPROVAL

Over the last several months, the district has had many conversations about undertaking a major facility project in addition to improving parking around the Brainard school building. There are many steps that have had to take place in order for the district to arrive at a schematic design. The following is the timeline:

Oct 20th - Village Meeting #1 – Street Closure Introduction
Nov 3rd - CM Selection process
Nov 5th - Facility Committee Mtg #1 – Budget/priorities
Nov 12th - Facility Committee Mtg #2 – Concept floor plan
Nov 12th - Staff Meeting #1 – Concept floor plan and initial thoughts
Nov 17th - Village Meeting #2 – Street Closure
Nov 19th - Facility Committee Mtg #3 – Concept floor plan
Nov 19th - Staff Meeting #2 – Schematic plan
Dec 3rd - Staff Meeting #3 – Site Plan
Dec 3rd - Construction Manager At Risk Selection

As outlined in the design below, the project would include improved parking around the facility, the addition of a fitness facility (3 times larger than our current space), a new band room, and a competition gym. The focus of the discussion has always been on striving to enhance our learning facilities, with keeping students at the focus of those conversations. Much of this space may be considered athletic, however, each of these are also classrooms during the school day.

Our current weight room facility, for the number of weight classes we have in our physical education program, does not currently meet our needs. In addition our band teacher, due to scheduling with elementary music classes, is currently teaching in other spaces that are not ideal (gym, commons, or stage).

The school district intends to have a facility enhancement forum in the near future (January or February).

Estimated Cost Structure:

Construction Cost: $12.6 Million                                                                                                                       Soft Cost: $1.5 Million (Soft costs are furniture, design, engineering, etc.)

The school board moved to approve the schematic design for this project with a $14.1 million estimated cost in addition to amending the contract with BCDM architecture.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0

******(The approval of this schematic design DOES NOT obligate the district in committing to this project)*****

CABINET BID

For the last several years, the school district has made progress in renovating the Brainard elementary classrooms. This process has been appropriately phased in throughout several summers, beginning in the summer of 2023 with the 4th grade classroom. This coming summer, the school will prepare to complete the classrooms with the renovations of the Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. The following bid was received for the cabinets in this project:

Woodmasters - $43,225

The school board moved to accept the bid from Woodmasters for the construction of the Kindergarten and 1st Grade classroom cabinets.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0

SCHOOL CALENDAR

Superintendent Eldridge presented the proposed 2026-2027 school calendar. The calendar contains, 179 students days, and 188 teacher contract days. Total hours in the calendar are 1289.5.

The school board moved to adopt the 2026-2027 school calendar.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0

POLICY REVISIONS

The school board reviewed the following policies at the December Board Meeting.

4003 - Drug Policy Regarding Drivers
4007 - Personnel Records
4008 - Outside Employment
4009 - Restrictions on Employees Receiving Gratuities
4010 - Inclement Weather
4011 - Employee Leave Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
4011.1 - Nebraska Family Military Leave Act
4012 - Staff Internet and Computer Use
4013 - Grievance Procedure
4015 - Employment of Board Members — Allowing Non-Certificated Positions and Substitutes
4016 - Jury Duty and Witness in Court

The school board moved to approve the update to policy 4010, and table policy 4015 until January.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0

SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION & CONTRACT

The school board moved to enter into closed session at 8:36 PM for the purpose of evaluating and discussing the superintendent's contract to protect the individual's reputation. The board limited themselves to discussing this topic.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0 (The board exited closed session at 9:54 PM)

After the school board exited closed session, Superintendent Eldridge was thanked, by the board for his service to the district and the consistent demonstration of positive outcomes in the school's finances as well as his involvement in the community.

The school board moved to approve a new three year contract, in addition to a 2% increase in his salary.

MOTION PASSED: 6-0

January 14, 2026 - 6:30 PM - Regular Board Meeting

BOARD MEMBERS

Sarah Strizek - Secretary

Dylan Spatz

Megan Kozisek - President

Ryan Pekarek - Vice President

Laurie Smaus

Brandon Jisa

The East Butler Public School's Board of Education meets on the second Wednesday of every month in the library at the Brainard school building. Each meeting starts at 6:30 pm.

Email: meldridge@ebutler.esu7.org
Website: www.ebutlertigers.org
Location: 212 S Madison St, Brainard, NE, USA
Phone: 402-545-2081
Facebook: www.facebook.com/eastbutlertigers
Twitter: @EBTigers

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