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Norfolk Public Schools board swears in two members and reorganizes leadership, committees
Summary
The Norfolk Public Schools Board of Education administered oaths to two incoming members, elected officers for 2025 and approved committee assignments during its January meeting.
The Norfolk Public Schools Board of Education administered the oath of office to Steve McNally and Patty Goebbels and reorganized its leadership and committee assignments at a meeting called to order at 5:30 p.m.
Board members elected Brenda Carhart as president and Tom Stanton as vice president. The board also appointed Eric Wilson as board treasurer, Doctor Thompson as board secretary and Callan Collins as recording secretary. Perry Law Firm was reauthorized as the district's legal counsel.
The reorganization began with the oath for the two new members. After the seating of McNally and Goebbels, Dr. Thompson led roll call and confirmed a five-member quorum. Tom Stanton moved that Brenda Carhart be elected board president "to serve a term of 1 year or until the person's successor is elected and qualified," and the motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote. A separate motion to elect Stanton as vice president carried as well.
Dr. Thompson noted customary practice for officer assignments when recommending the treasurer and secretary appointments. "It is customary for the district's director of business services to serve as board treasurer," Dr. Thompson said when recommending Eric Wilson for the role.
Board members spent an extended portion of the meeting assigning representatives to standing committees. The board confirmed these committee rosters: Negotiations (Tom Stanton, Steve McNally, Terry Bauer); Finance and Facilities (Brenda Carhart, Tom Stanton, Steve McNally); Policy (Tom Stanton, Doctor Patty Goebbels, Cindy Booth); Curriculum and Civics (Steve McNally, Doctor Patty Goebbels, Cindy Booth); Government Relations (Tom Stanton, Doctor Patty Goebbels, Brenda Carhart); Superintendent Evaluation (Brenda Carhart, Terry Bauer, Tom Stanton); Activities (Brenda Carhart, Terry Bauer, Tom Stanton); Staff Member of the Month (Doctor Patty Goebbels); Foundation liaison (Brenda Carhart); District Wellness (Cindy Booth).
Board members discussed distribution of committee work and noted an effort to rotate assignments yearly so members can work with different colleagues. Several members volunteered to shift committee seats to balance workloads and accommodate schedules; Cindy Booth’s exact preferences were noted as pending because she was absent due to illness.
The board approved the committee assignments by motion. The leadership and committee changes will serve until successors are elected and qualified or until the board votes otherwise.
Looking ahead, government relations committee members were invited to attend local and statewide legislative briefings and workshops, including a GNSA meeting on Jan. 15 and an NASB legislative issues workshop Jan. 26–27, and the committee planned a meeting after bill-introduction ends on Jan. 23 to review education-related bills and decide whether the district will appear as proponents, opponents or neutral parties.
