Board members reviewed the district’s standing positions for legislative advocacy, discussed possible NASB (Nebraska Association of School Boards) coordination and received an update on the state school finance commission’s timeline for recommendations.

District legislative staff asked the board whether the standing positions as drafted should stand for the coming year; the board indicated general support for the document and requested staff to tidy formatting and consider consolidation where items overlap. Board members suggested adding or confirming two newer items: a chronic-absenteeism position and a local-capacity/autonomy statement; staff said they would check whether NASB already addresses those issues and report back.

Dr. Kim Schwartz and staff also briefed the board on the school finance commission’s work. Dr. Schwartz described a three-step timetable the commission is using: an initial phase through Dec. 1 to gather and surface facts and targets for the legislature; a second phase to build a model and dig into details; and a third phase tied to any legislative implementation. He emphasized the importance of measured work and reminded the board that a December report to the legislature is required under the commission’s schedule. Dr. Schwartz noted a recent shift in aggregate funding shares: “If you look at the percentage of funding for schools in Nebraska…in 22–23, it was 34%. This most recent year…is 53% statewide,” he said, and added the local Millard share moved from 36% to about 51% over the same interval.

Board members asked whether NASB has standing positions that cover the district’s suggested additions and discussed the mechanism to submit items to NASB and the NASB delegate assembly. Staff said they would contact NASB representatives and report back on deadlines and next steps.

Ending: The board signaled general agreement to keep the current standing positions for the year, asked staff to clean up formatting, and directed staff to follow up with NASB on whether to propose additional positions at delegate assembly.