The Falls City Public Schools held its regular monthly board meeting on Monday, November 11, 2024. Here are the highlights of the meeting.

FFA Land Judging Team Qualifies for National Competition – The Falls City FFA Land Judging Team including Bowdy Jones, Dayton Snethen, Malori Kuker and Taiylah Moore, accompanied by program sponsor Brian Miller, provided the audience with an informational presentation on land judging competitions. The presentation revolved around the importance of land judging in agriculture, which involves evaluating soil to determine its capability to grow crops sustainably. Key aspects include soil thickness, erosion, slope, soil texture, and soil depth. The land judging contest has two parts: judging the soil and applying these evaluations to sustainable land management. The Falls City FFA Chapter excelled this fall, with Bowdy Jones winning the district championship, Dayton Snethen scoring 4th in the state competition, and the overall team placing fourth at the state competition, qualifying for the national event. The team's success involved extensive practice and memorization of land judging aspects and scenarios. The presentation also touched on the challenges faced during the contest and the importance of team effort.

District 56 Audit and Annual Financial Report - At the November 11, 2024 Falls City Public Schools Board of Education meeting, Julie Bauman, CPA, P.C., made a presentation explaining the district’s audit report for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Julie Bauman discussed the audit process for Nebraska school districts, focusing on the federal single audit required for districts spending over $750,000 in federal funds. Key points included the timeline for audit completion (November 1 for AFR, November 5 for the audit report), the importance of accurate financial coding, and the need for 50% coverage in AFR submissions. The district's cash financial summary as of August 31 showed a total cash balance of $6,317,273, with a significant portion in the county treasurer's balance. The depreciation fund and school nutrition fund were also highlighted. The audit prioritizes the importance of compliance and control, particularly in federal grant management. 

Strategic Plan Update 2024-2025 - Falls City Public Schools' Board of Education has adopted a comprehensive 2024-2025 Strategic Plan focused on raising student achievement through targeted initiatives aimed at enhancing learning. The plan includes the following key goals:

1. Student Achievement & Well-being 

   - Improve performance in Language Arts and Math 

   - Strengthen Special Education and behavioral support services 

   - Expand extracurricular and youth activities 

   - Enhance student safety and well-being 

2. Facilities & Infrastructure

   - Align facilities with educational goals and best practices 

   - Evaluate building configurations and plan for space reconfigurations and renovations 

   - Assess and improve safety, security, and compliance 

   - Develop a long-term master plan to expand Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Early Childhood Education spaces 

   - Engage the community and stakeholders in planning future projects 

3. Addressing Educator Shortages 

   - Implement strategies to attract and retain high-quality teachers and staff 

4. School Finance & Resources

   - Sustain district programs despite funding challenges and recent legislation impacts

This plan aims to ensure continued progress and effectiveness, positioning the district for future success.

NRCSA Para to Teacher & Transition to Teaching Scholarships are now available for the spring 2025 semester. The scholarship provides opportunities for two programs that are helping to alleviate the teacher shortage in rural schools: (1) a “Para to Teacher” program such as those offered by Chadron State, Peru State and Wayne State, and (2) a transitional program in which a candidate is employed as a teacher while working to attain his/her teaching certification in a program such as that offered by the University of Nebraska-Kearney. The colleges or universities attended must be within Nebraska. Candidates must be currently employed by an NRCSA-member school district or ESU. 

Three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded for the fall semester and three scholarships for the spring semester each year. 

The District 56 Board of Education acted on several items before concluding the regular meeting.

1.     Approved the Final Reading on Policy Reviews and Revisions: 1) 6410 Volunteers; 2) 7116 Student Health; 3) 7117 Chronic Infectious Diseases/Students; 4) 7119 Drug-Free School Environment

2.     Accepted the District Audit and Financial Report, August 31, 2024

3.     Adopted the Strategic Plan Goals 2024-2025

4.     Accepted the Resignation of Linnette Fankhauser (26 years - Middle School Counselor, 18 prior years educator experience)

            The next regular monthly Board of Education meeting is scheduled for December 9, 2024 at 7:00 P.M. in the Central Office in Falls City Middle School. Regular and special meeting agendas are kept in the Office of the Superintendent, Tim Heckenlively.

Falls City Public School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, citizenship status or economic status in its programs, activities and employment.