Board of Education Regular Meeting

Monday, April 13, 2026 7:00 PM

Elementary Media Center in Diller
315 Smith St
Diller, NE 68342

1. Open Meeting

1.1. Roll Call

1.2. Recognize the Open Meetings Act information

1.3. Public Comment
No public comment was received.

1.4. Approve minutes of last meeting
Motion to approve minutes of last meeting Passed with a motion by Alissa Andersen and a second by Stuart Vitosh.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
There was no discussion.

2. Instruction and Related Items

2.1. Student Report
No student report was available.

2.2. Principals Report
Principal Hinrichs and Mezger reported on enrollment numbers, Prom, the required Multicultural Report, the Civil Rights Data Collection for the Feds, and a textbook schedule.

2.3. Renew MOU with Gage County for SRO officer
Motion Passed with a motion by Stuart Vitosh and a second by Adam Engelman.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
The agreement was necessary to approve so the County could secure a deputy for SRO training.  There is no charge to the district until a SRO begins work at the school.

3. Personnel Items

3.1. Accept the resignation of Stacy Hennerberg from teaching position effective at the end of the school year.
Motion Passed with a motion by Josh Carpenter and a second by Kasey Murphy.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
The Board and Administration thanks Mrs. Hennerberg for her 34 for years of dedicated service to the school district.  She personifies what an educator should strive to be and will be missed.  The Board and Administration wishes her the best in retirement.

Carly Vitosh will move to the reading coordinator position for 2026-2027 and the school will look for a person to teach first grade.

3.2. Approve teaching contract for Jerica Riesen for 2026-2027
Motion Passed with a motion by Adam Engelman and a second by Alissa Andersen.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
Mrs. Riesen will teach 5th grade in the fall.

3.3. Re-elect certified staff for 2026-2027 accept for those given notice of non-renewal or resigning.
Motion Passed with a motion by Kasey Murphy and a second by Josh Carpenter.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
There was no discussion.

4. Support Service

4.1. Technology Update

4.2. Facility Update

4.2.1. Approve security camera upgrade at elementary
Motion Passed with a motion by Stuart Vitosh and a second by Adam Engelman.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
The upgrade is necessary with the renovation at the elementary.  Diode Technologies will do the work.

Kasey Murphy inquired about adding more outside lighting north of the new gym.

5. Superintendent Items

5.1. Superintendent Report
Superintendent Meyerle reported on legislation.  Thankfully, LB 1050 failed to pass.  It was a

Third Grade Reading Retention Bill with numerous issues.  It most likely will return in the future in some form.  

LB 803 passed with new requirements for schools.  

Contracts will go out to certified staff this week.

Superintendent Meyerle recommended that the Board increase the budget authority this summer.  The increase has nothing to do with property tax requests.  It simply grows the budget so the school has the ability to spend if needed (grant money etc.)   By not growing the budget it would hamper spending available monies or grant money if there is no room in the budget.

6. Financial Items

6.1. Pay bills as presented
Motion to approve bills as presented. Passed with a motion by Stuart Vitosh and a second by Kasey Murphy.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
There was no discussion.

7. Board of Education Items

7.1. Committee Reports
The Board discussed the recent NRCSA Conference.  Topics of discussion included Superintendent evaluations and Board Self Evaluation.

7.2. Executive Session

8. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn Passed with a motion by Adam Engelman and a second by Alissa Andersen.
Alissa Andersen: Yea, Josh Carpenter: Yea, Angie Clifford: Yea, Adam Engelman: Yea, Kasey Murphy: Yea, Stuart Vitosh: Yea
Yea: 6, Nay: 0
President Clifford adjourned the meeting at 7:56 pm.  The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 11 at 6:00pm at the High School in Odell before the Awards Program at 7:00pm.

Bills:

Remingtyn is our March Student of the Month!  Remi comes to school every day not only ready to learn but ready to be an example for others in every aspect of The Griffin Way.   She is motivated to focus and do her best even when the surroundings might make that difficult.  Remi consistently practices being kind and respectful which makes her someone her classmates and teachers can count on when looking for a good partner, group member, or friend. She definitely has earned recognition as Student of the Month! Congratulations Remi!   

Due to scheduling conflicts, the JH Track Team will not be participating in the Thayer Central Invite.  They will now be competing in the Tri County Invite on Monday, May 4th. 

The Diller-Odell Speech Team had 8 state qualifiers competing across 8 events at the Class D1 State Speech Championships in Kearney on March 28. The Griffins earned 6th place as a team at the state tournament, with the following events placing in finals:

Jacob: 4th Extemporaneous Speaking

Aidan: 5th Interpretation of Serious Prose

Carter: 6th Entertainment Speaking

Aidan & Carter: 6th Duet Acting

Congratulations to all state competitors!  

    Good morning. My name is Michael Policky, a retired Beatrice Middle School teacher. For seven years I have been driving with young men and women teaching them the basic skills of safe and responsible driving. I work for the National Safety Council out of Omaha. I work out of Beatrice, and all driving is done in the Beatrice and Lincoln area. Registration for the Beatrice class will be opened to parents and students on Monday, March 23, 2026. You will register your child for the online classwork which is to be completed and will be monitored over a 30-day period. See below for directions on how to register for the class. On average, last year, students took about 35-45 hours to complete the classwork and successfully pass the exams. Your child must complete the coursework before you drive this summer. You are given 30 days to complete the class, and that would be working 1 to 1-1/2 hours per day. Parents, please see that your child has completed their coursework before their drive time. If the coursework is not completed by your drive time, you risk cancellation and a penalty payment for leaving that spot open in the summer. All classwork must be done before you drive. Once you are registered for the class, you will also sign up for your summer drive time. Everyone drives individually this summer. Those signed up first have the first choice of drive times for the summer. Driving will begin in May and continue through the first couple weeks in August before school starts again. The driving time options will vary, but the most common driving times you will have to pick from are as follows:

Option #1 is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 7:00 A.M to 9:00 A. M.

Option #2 is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 9:00A.M. to 11:00 A. M.

Option #3 is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P. M.

Option #4 is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P. M.

Option #5 is Thursday, and Friday from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 A. M.

Option #6 is Thursday, and Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P. M.

There are a few other options which you could also sign up for.

You are not allowed to miss any driving time or to be late for any drive time. You have five hours behind the wheel, and it all concludes with a driving test over familiar roadways that lasts approximately 45 minutes. I must let you know that driver’s education is offered by other companies in this area, but I am reaching out as an educator who knows many of the students already and who cares about the safety of the people on our roadways and I invite all of you to please seriously consider making this investment for your child's education and safety on the roadways. It is an expense as the rate for this online class and driving is $465.00. You could(Please check with your insurance agent about driver's education discounts and good grade discounts) save money on your insurance premiums by having your child take the class and that in itself will pay for the class over time and more importantly it could save a life. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me back or to call me at 402-239-4974. I will also be sending this email to Lewiston, Wymore, Diller-Odell, and Tri-County. It will be limited to the first who sign up for the class so please do not put this off thinking you may be able to get it done later as I do not know the demand that there will be this year for driver's education. I am once again going to be able to drive about 60 students over the course of the summer and the past two summers have been filled to capacity for me. Also, to inform you prior to the driving, if your child fails the drive test, there will be a $75.00 retest fee assessed each time they fail the test. Once again, on behalf of the National Safety Council and myself, Michael Policky, I would like to welcome you and thank you for considering having your child take driver's education through us. Have a good day.

***No one 18 years of age or turning 18 during the class may take this class.

***Anyone taking this class must have a valid school permit, learners permit, or provisional license in order to register for this class.

Go to National Safety Council Website:

#1. Type in your search bar National Safety Council teen driver's education then click on it.

#2. Once there, go down and click on Teen Driver Education You should now be at this website: Please read this entire website page. National Safety Council, Nebraska: Teen Driver Education

#3. After reading this page, go to the box "Register" “click on that.

#4. You will now begin registration. Please remember: To register to take an ONLINE class and select your Behind the Wheel sessions, click on the button below(Laptop or Desktop recommended). Please review the class & behind the wheel locations before selecting. You will be selecting BEATRICE. View Online Classes

#5. Once you are on this page it instructs you on how to register for the class and cancellation and missing drive time penalties.

AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLASS OPENS ON MARCH 23, 2026. Register for BEATRICE.

#6. Once you are registered, you will be sent a passcode within two-five business days and then you will be able to start work on your classwork. If you don’t get this, please check your spam folder. Classwork must be done in 30 days and completed before you are allowed to drive. Your progress over the course of the 30 days will be monitored.

#7. During registration, you will be able to schedule a drive time for this summer.

First to come and complete registration, the first to register for driving times.

Again, if you have questions, please feel free to email me at polickymike@gmail.com or call me at, 402-239-4974. Have a good day. Mike Policky Michael Policky 2021 Retired Beatrice Middle School History/ Civics/ English Teacher and Coach

Congratulations to all the Pioneer Conference basketball players who made All-Conference Teams. A special congrats to Griffin's Berkelee Beekman-3rd team, Aidan McKinney-Honorable Mention, Jack Phillips-3rd team, Xavier Zabokrtsky/Creyton Heidemann-Honorable Mention