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Norris School Board approves HVAC contract, modest meal-price increase and multiple policy updates
Summary
At a June meeting, the Norris School District 160 Board of Education approved a one-year HVAC service contract, a 5-cent rise in school meal prices, approved required staff training and several policy updates; trustees discussed banking of district accounts and fundraising activity but deferred formal action on banking.
The Norris School District 160 Board of Education on June (date not specified) approved a one-year HVAC service agreement, approved certified personnel matters, adopted several required policy changes and voted to raise school meal prices by 5 cents for the 2025–26 school year.
The board awarded the district's preventive-maintenance HVAC contract for the 2025–26 fiscal year to Helm (vendor name given in meeting materials) at an annual cost of $51,387, described in the meeting materials as lower than the district's prior contract. Trustees were told nine companies submitted proposals; annual proposals ranged from about $40,800 to $105,200. Board members said Helm had good references and prior work for the district and that the lower-cost bid would provide the same services while improving direct communication between district custodial staff and the contractor.
The board also approved personnel actions to fill several teaching positions the district listed in the consent agenda. The superintendent reported that summer school has begun and that all open teacher positions had been filled for the upcoming year through hires and one-year contracts noted in the packet.
In policy business, the board approved multiple policy motions required by recent state legislative changes and district practice, including waiving the reading and approving Policy 5101 (student discipline, with updated sections addressing dress code, cell phones and “deep fakes”), approving revisions tied to LB71 and LB428 reflected in Policy 6400 (survey and parent opt-out provisions), and moving to rescind Policy 64‑10 (Title I parent/family engagement policy) as redundant. Trustees discussed the district's anti‑bullying policy (10.1), noting that it serves primarily to define bullying while the student-discipline policy contains procedural detail.
The board confirmed required staff training plans for 2025–26. Administrators said the district's SafeSchools (third‑party) training sequence totals 384 minutes across the school year; the district plans to release modules at once and allow certified staff to complete them on a schedule rather than releasing them monthly.
Norris administrators recommended a 5-cent increase for paid school breakfasts and lunches for the 2025–26 school year. School leaders said the district is exempt from the federal paid-lunch-equity tool because of a strong lunch fund balance; the district had filed a spend-down plan with the state Department of Education to reduce an
