Board of Education Regular Meeting School District of Seward 410 South Street Seward, NE 68434 Monday, July 13, 2026 5:30 PM Attendance Taken at 5:32 PM. Paul Duer: Absent Matt Hastings: Absent Jill Hochstein: Present Ryne Seaman: Present Danielle Shipley: Present Shawn Svoboda: Present Attendance Update Taken at 5:33 PM. Paul Duer: Present Attendance Update Taken at 5:42 PM. Matt Hastings: Present 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 July 8, 2026. 1.3. Roll Call 1.3.1. Action to excuse board members if necessary Motion to excuse Matt Hastings and Paul Duer from tonight's meeting Passed with a motion by Shawn Svoboda and a second by Jill Hochstein. 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 Jill Hochstein and a second by Shawn Svoboda. 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 Updated Drawings and Progress on Projects Bryan gave an update on the drawings, along with the progress of the HVAC projects at the high school and elementary school. 3.2. Summer Projects Update SHS Kitchen Hood is installed and hopefully completed in two weeks. Duct cleaning at the elementary school gym will be done on Saturday. Painting at the middle school is currently being done. Our maintenance crew is currently replacing seals and clamps at the high school for the water loop for HVAC. The shade structure still needs to be installed at the elementary. 3.3. Update with Bonds with D.A. Davidson Dr. Fields and Ryne Seaman attended a zoom meeting with Moody's and will have another zoom on July 14, 2026 to get our rating. 3.4. 2026-2027- Policy Updates Dr. Fields discussed the policy updates. 4. Short Recess Motion to take a five minute recess Passed with a motion by Jill Hochstein 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. Superintendent's Report Dr. Fields attended an ALICAP Summer Meeting Highlights last week. Dr. Fields discussed some of our State Budget Woes. Our estimated valuation is $2,362,882,568 which is a 6 percent increase. The August Board Meeting is the same night as back-to-school night. Our administrators attended the HumanEx Leadership Conference in Omaha. Board Quicks link - July 2026 e-update. 6. Action Items 6.1. Bus Bids Motion to approve the bid of $135,750 from Freightliner for a 2027 Thomas C2 bus. Passed with a motion by Paul Duer and a second by Danielle Shipley. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 6.2. Mammoth Contract Motion to approve the Mammoth contract as presented, with the turf committee paying for at least $700,000 of the contract. Passed with a motion by Paul Duer and a second by Jill Hochstein. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 6.3. Resignation of Mr. Scott Axt Motion to accept the resignation of Scott Axt at the end of the 2026-2027 school year. Passed with a motion by Danielle Shipley and a second by Paul Duer. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 6.4. New and Revised Policies 2026-2027 Motion to approve the adoption of the 2026-2027 new and revised policies as presented. Passed with a motion by Matt Hastings and a second by Shawn Svoboda. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 6.5. 2026-2027 Staff Handbook Motion to approve the 2026-2027 staff handbook. Passed with a motion by Jill Hochstein and a second by Matt Hastings. Paul Duer: Yea, Matt Hastings: Yea, Jill Hochstein: Yea, Ryne Seaman: Yea, Danielle Shipley: Yea, Shawn Svoboda: Yea 7. Future Agenda Items D.A. Davidson JEO Plans 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 - $1,605,624.12 8.3.2. Special Building Fund - $96,121.25 8.4. Approval of Consent Agenda Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented 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 9. Executive Session to discuss personnel Board did not enter executive session. 9.1. Restate the reason for moving into executive session: to discuss personnel. 10. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:02 PM with the next regular board meeting scheduled for Monday, August 10th at 5:00 PM 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 Prepared by: Jill Hochstein Heidi Covert Secretary Salaries from June 643,649.86; Jones Bank 7,561.53; Tennessee Child Support 9.99; Jones Bank 182,403.95; Nebraska Child Support 583.00; ASPIRE 9,186.25; Jones Bank 11,357.22; Tennessee Child Support 9.99; Jones Bank 1,127.13; NPERS 142,221.59; NE Dept. of Revenue 26,301.01; Inspira Financial 9,010.57; Jones Bank 53.61; Allo 190.00; Alvine and Associates, Inc 1,295.00; Amazon Capital Services 15,468.49; Ameritas 1,226.48; Anderson, Georgia 150.00; Apace 2,893.17; Apple Inc 26,156.00; Arbor Scientific 1,064.96; Blick 705.97; Blue Cross Blue Shield 265,327.62; Bohaty, Janet 150.00; BrainPOP, LLC 330.00; Breakout, Inc 259.00; BSN Sports 4.68; CAERT, Inc 585.00; Campbell Cleaning 15,200.00; Caroling Biological Supply 312.52; Cataputl Sports, Inc 9,000.02; CDWG 1,859.67; Centennial Public Schools 90.00; City of Seward 37,884.09; Collaborative Classroom 1,566.00; Computer Hardware 1,120.90; Connecting the Dots 2,000.00; Crane, Lisa 150.00; Crouch's Farm & Hardware 1,625.08; Culligan 40.00; DAS 635.74; Demco 307.53; Des Moines Stamp 34.00; Dimensions Educational Research 2,400.00; Eakes 2,778.51; Elan Financial 2,414.82; Embi Tec 477.00; Empowered Communications LLC 1,495.64; ESU 6 31,888.42; Explore Learning 940.00; Ever White 707.00; Farmers Cooperative 100.36; Follett Content Solutions 735.02; Follett Software 110.01; Freshworks, Inc 456.00; Glass Doctor 843.00; Go Physical Therapy 6,349.82; Gopher Sports 658.89; GoStrengths Inc 197.00; Grainger 732.14; Hamling, Grace 150.00; Hillyard 411.62; Imagine Learning 4,326.00; Impact Publications 90.90; In Tune Partners 450.00; Insect Lore 331.91; Inspira Financial 127.50; JAMF Software, LLC 3,630.00; John Deere Financial 1,316.59; Kaplan Early Learning 112.59; Kendall Hunt Publishing 261.22; Kidwell 1,405.00; Kozisek, Morgan 40.00; KSB School Law 280.00; Lakeshore Learning Materials 1,238.63; Learning Without Tears 113.85; Lee's Refrigeration 348.70; Life Track Services 2,360.00; Lincoln Public Schools 1,251.00; Lincoln Windustrial 4,902.30; Livestockjudging.com 200.00; Love Signs 7,775.71; Madison National Life 3,064.05; Marshall, Dorothy 150.00; Matheson 704.10; McGraw Hill LLC 3,812.26; Meehl, Jan 653.05; Midwest Alarm Services 4,281.24; Midwest Auto Parts 166.88; Midwest Bus Parts 1,971.13; Midwest Special Instruments 426.00; Midwest Technology Products 993.64; Midwest Turf & Irrigation 736.64; Milford Public Schools 90.00; Nasco 65.80; Navratil, Catherine 150.00; Nebraska Council of School Admin 300.00; Nebraska Landscape Solutions 2,756.79; Nebraska Safety Center 625.00; Noregon Systems, LLC 2,199.00; Omnify 20.60; One Source 272.00; Pac N Save 2.19; Paper Tiger 38.00; Perform Better 592.02; Piskorski, Pat 72.00; Pitsco Education 370.65; Planbook Inc 18.00; Precision Alignment LLC 1,209.00; Pyramid School Supply 3,804.96; Reed Electric 1,761.67; Riley, Joanna 40.00; Robotham, Ron 94.00; Rockler 4,240.24; SACK Lumber 141.98; School Dist. Of Seward High School Activity Fund 22,592.90; Scholastic 54.19; School Specialty 876.15; Sestak, Matthew 150.00; Seward County Independent 140.91; Seward Lumber 68.74; Seward Wellness Center 1,026.00; Sherwin Williams 1,678.25; Shipley, Daniel 150.00; Sodexo 60.05; Software Unlimited 5,250.00; Sunbelt Rentals 155.54; Teacher Direct 135.61; Teacher's Discovery 54.98; Timoney, Janet 150.00; Truck Center Companies 663.94; Typing Agent 635.00; Unite Private Networks 3,592.81; United Way of the Midlands 10,000.00; UNUM 536.40; Uribe 5,384.00; US Bank 1,357.41; Verizon 253.42; Visa 482.88; Ward's Science 279.10; Waterlink 225.00; William V. Macgill & Co 317.98; Windstream 318.13; WoodRiver Energy 5,015.28; WRS Group, Ltd. 337.44; Zultys 2,344.35 SCI — July 22, 2026 ZNEZ
