Board of Education Regular Meeting School District of Seward 410 South Street Seward, NE 68434 Monday, May 11, 2026 4:30 PM Attendance Taken at 4:32 PM. Paul Duer: Present Matt Hastings: Absent Jill Hochstein: Present Ryne Seaman: Present Danielle Shipley: Present Shawn Svoboda: Present Attendance Update Taken at 5:05 PM. Matt Hastings: Present Attendance Update Taken at 6:41 PM. Danielle Shipley: Absent 1. Preliminary Procedures 1.1. Call meeting to order & announce Open Meetings Act is Posted 1.2. Public Notice as publicized per board policy The public notice was publicized in the Seward County Independent and posted at city hall, library and courthouse. The public notice was dated May 6, 2026. 1.3. Roll Call 1.3.1. Action to excuse board members if necessary Motion to excuse Matt Hastings from tonight's meeting Passed with a motion by Paul Duer and a second by Jill Hochstein. Paul Duer: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 1.4. Pledge of Allegiance 1.5. 1.5 Mission Seward Public Schools - a district rooted in excellence - in cooperation with family and community members is committed to the development of the whole student and affirms that all students will have the skills to become productive, resilient, and contributing members of their community. 1.6. Approval of Agenda Motion to approve the agenda as presented Passed with a motion by Shawn Svoboda and a second by Paul Duer. Paul Duer: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 2. Public Forum: (The Board President reserves the right to place time limits on individuals and topics.) 2.1. Public Forum on Agenda Items: This is your opportunity to speak to items on the agenda. If you are not a part of the presentation of the agenda item you need to speak now. Thank you for your participation. There was none. 2.2. Public Forum on Any Topic: This is your opportunity to speak to any topic concerning the school district. Since it is not an agenda item the board cannot discuss or take action at this time on the matter. Future discussion can be requested as an agenda item. Thank you for your participation. There was none. 3. Discussion Items 3.1. JEO Update on Bond Projects Ryan from JEO updated the board on the bond projects. Everything is on track as originally planned. The board also discussed dollars committed for the baseball field. 3.2. HumanEx/ NDE Perception Survey Results Dr. Dominy went over the HumanEx staff results and NDE Perception Survey from parents and students. 3.3. Bus Drivers Shortage Dr. Fields discussed the retirement of route drivers and finding replacements. If we can't find replacements, what will we do? Dr. Fields asked for the boards thoughts on this issue. 3.4. Apptegy Plattform Dr. Fields and Dr. Dominy discussed the new Apptegy Platform and what it can do for Seward Public Schools. 4. Short Recess Motion to take a 10 minute recess and return at 6:25 p.m. Passed with a motion by Matt Hastings and a second by Paul Duer. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 5. Reports 5.1. Administrator Reports Written reports were received from the administrators. 5.1.1. Superintendent's Report Dr. Fields gave the board a legislative update with the biggest one being background checks- 2027-28 school year for any new hires, teachers or classified staff. Thanks to the high school admin for a successful prom night. The Grill Out Days at each school is always a highlight for the students and staff. Our Spring Activities have had very successful seasons. Graduation is Sunday, May 17, 2026 board please be there at 1:40 in the high school. The last day of school is May 19, 2026 with a 11:30 dismissal, and teachers' last day is May 20th. Dr. Fields updated the board on the Nationwide Canvas Learning Management System for the high school cyber incident. State Testing- thanks to everyone for having a smooth testing experience for students. 6. Action Items 6.1. 2026-2027 Classified Staff Package Motion to approve the Classified total Staff Package of 4.02 % for the 2026-2027 School Year. Passed with a motion by Danielle Shipley and a second by Shawn Svoboda. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 6.2. Student High School Chromebooks Motion to approve the bid from Computer Hardware for $215,774 for high school student chromebooks. Passed with a motion by Paul Duer and a second by Matt Hastings. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 6.3. High School Business Resources Motion to approve the McGraw Hill bid of $21,552.16 and the Human Kinetics bid of $2,633.44 for the business and sport marketing courses. Passed with a motion by Matt Hastings and a second by Danielle Shipley. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 7. Future Agenda Items Bond Project 8. Consent Agenda 8.1. Approval of Minutes 8.2. Approval of Financial Reports 8.2.1. Treasurer 8.2.2. Budget 8.2.3. Activities 8.2.4. Athletic 8.3. Approval of Claims 8.3.1. General Fund - $1,880,094.87 8.3.2. Special Building Fund - $27,168.74 8.3.3. Unemployment Fund - $4,320.40 8.4. Out of State Travel 8.5. Approval of Consent Agenda Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented Passed with a motion by Paul Duer and a second by Shawn Svoboda. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 9. Executive Session Motion to enter into executive session at 6:40 pm to discuss middle mangement, administrator, and the superintendent pay and benefits for the 2026-2027 school year. Passed with a motion by Danielle Shipley and a second by Shawn Svoboda. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 10. Restate the reason for moving into the Executive Session 11. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:49 pm, with the next regular board meeting scheduled for Monday, June 8th at 5:30 pm. Passed with a motion by Shawn Svoboda and a second by Matt Hastings. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea Prepared by: Jill Hochstein Heidi Covert Secretary Salaries from April, 861,648.50; Jones Bank, 22,831.28; Tennessee Child Support, 9.99; Tyler Technologies, 45.00; Jones Bank, 181,985.64; Nebraska Child Support, 1,166.00; ASPIRE, 9,161.25; Jones Bank, 22,575.94; Tennessee Child Support, 9.99; Jones Bank, 25,038.73; Tennessee Child Support, 9.99; NPERS, 177,375.69; NE Dept. of Revenue, 31,924.37; Inspira Financial, 3,924.88; Ahern, J.F., 732.00; Allo, 195.00; Alvine and Associates, Inc, 292.50; Amazon Capital Services, 2,230.53; Americom Communications Corp., 361.13; Ameritas, 1,199.12; Anson, Harlan, 1,367.30; Apace, 4,997.29; Awards Unlimited, 255.62; Bisbee, Jill, 41.93; Bishop Business, 208.00; Blue Cross Blue Shield, 264,132.50; Campbell Cleaning, 17,361.00; CDWG, 1,930.21; Cerris System, 3,294.00; City of Seward, 33,702.74; Computer Hardware, 394.00; Crestline Specialties, Inc, 1,082.01; Crete Public Schools, 13,770.00; Crouch's Farm & Hardware, 488.85; Culligan, 40.00; DAS, 317.87; Davisson Furniture, 429.95; Dietze Music, 104.40; Eakes, 2,499.85; Elan Financial, 3,367.96; Empowered Communications LLC, 5,643.90; ESU 6, 644.71; Farmers Cooperative, 65.00; Follett Content Solutions, LLC, 1,033.42; Go Physical Therapy, 19,522.90; Hall-Schmeckpeper, Shannon, 150.00; Hardinger, Denise, 85.00; Hardwood Heaven, 1,577.55; Hire Right, 317.35; Inspira Financial, 127.50; JWPepper, 262.22; Kaye-Skinner, Ben, 100.00; KSB School Law, 434.50; Langner, Katie, 146.50; Lee's Refrigeration, 2,385.44; Levrack LLC, 3,847.50; Madison National Life, 3,034.45; Martin's Flag Company, 750.15; Matheson, 639.00; McGraw Hill LLC, 414.87; Meehl, Jan, 1,365.38; Menards, 12.49; Midwest Auto Parts, 3,008.01; Midwest Bus Parts Inc, 2,146.73; NCECBVI, 950.40; Nebraska Association of School Boards, 6,802.00; Nebraska Council of School Admin, 330.00; Nebraska Library Commission, 1,407.90; Nebraska Safety Center, 100.00; Omnify, 20.60; One Source, 449.35; Oriental Trading, 364.77; Pac N Save, 691.06; Paper Tiger; Pinkall, Jenny, 46.94; PowerSchool Group LLC, 2,978.30; Rising, Sarah, 10.70; Samuels, Kari, 65.70; Scholl, David, 375.00; School Datebooks, 896.08; School District of Seward Hot Lunch, 79.50; School District of Seward Middle School Activity, 2,450.00; Schroeder, Julie, 140.00; Seward County Independent, 396.92; Seward Wellness Center, 1,097.25; Shaw, Karen, 85.00; Sodexo, 96,673.33; TCI, 302.40; Tech Masters, Inc, 451.25; Toovey, Jim, 85.00; Truck Center Companies, 470.42; Unite Private Networks, 1,829.43; Unity School Bus Parts, 288.77; UNK Academic Advising and Career Development, 200.00; UNUM, 532.80; Uribe, 2,720.23; US Bank, 2,959.95; USA Clean, 543.43; Verizon, 253.42; Virco, 458.87; Visa, 18.73; Waterlink, 225.00; Windstream, 318.13; WoodRiver Energy, 9,400.15; Zultys, 2,408.51 SCI — May 20, 2026 ZNEZ
