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The biggest reason the Northwest school district is losing more than $200,000 in state aid from the current year to next school year is the way the state now counts students.
Northwest Superintendent Bill Mowinkel told his school board Monday night that under the old state aid system, an elementary student counted as 1 full-time student, a middle school student counted as 1.25 and a high school student counted as 1.4.
"Now, every student counts as 1," said Mowinkel, explaining one of the big differences between the current system and LB988, which was approved by the Nebraska Legislature this spring.
That is especially critical for Northwest, which has such a high proportion of its total enrollment in the high school, Mowinkel said.
He told the board that other significant changes include a requirement that the minimum general fund levy now be $1 per hundred dollars of property value, instead of 95 cents per hundred dollars.
With ag land values scheduled to rise, some rural school districts may struggle to get to that $1 minimum, Mowinkel said. If they do not reach that minimum, they will be penalized regarding their state aid.
Mowinkel said any additional state aid could go to the Learning Community in Douglas and Sarpy counties, which includes Omaha and its neighboring school districts.
Mowinkel said he wonders whether LB988 might be amended during the 2009 legislative session. He said he is trying to arrange a meeting with State Sen. Greg Adams and State Sen. Gail Kopplin, two potential chairs for the Education Committee in 2009.
In other action, the board:
* Heard that 30 teachers had donated time to the "sick bank" for a staff member who needed additional sick days.
* Heard that Terry Brown of Olsson and Associates is working on three options for paving the parking lot east of the high school. One would include a concrete drive-through and asphalt lot, one would be all concrete and the other would involve a new overlay process. The specifications will be readied so the project can go out to bid.
* Accepted the resignations of Chapman kindergarten teacher Jenna Davis; Northwest special education teacher Melinda Moural; Northwest technology coordinator Duane Coates; District 1-R math teacher JaLena Clement; Northwest band teacher Pat Nebesniak; Northwest math teacher Jeff Korus; and Northwest science teacher Brandon Henkel.
* Approved hiring Doug Hermsen for alternative education at Northwest; Ryan Rathke for Northwest Math, Turner Trofholtz for Northwest physical education; Rueben Burbach for Northwest strength training; Jenny Jameson for District 1-R lower elementary; and Vanessa Schmit for District 1-R upper elementary.
* Approved the graduation of a student under the new performance-based diploma program for the Northwest alternative school.
* Recognized Sydney Page for receiving FFA honors in state competition and Alex Mohr, Ben Versaw, Logan Gregory and Emilee Bruns for receiving FBLA honors in state competition. Mohr, Versaw and Gregory all qualified for the FBLA National Leadership Conference.
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