Board debates adding progressive‑discipline language for classified staff; staff to provide cleaned personnel data
Summary
Trustees debated whether to add progressive-discipline language to classified-staff policy 4038. Some members supported clarifying handbook/policy alignment; others cited attorney advice to avoid prescriptive language. Staff said they will deliver cleaned resignation/termination data and a draft policy for the next meeting.
Trustees reviewed several personnel and administrative policies on Oct. 30, focusing most extensively on proposed language to add a progressive-discipline statement to policy 4038 (classified staff).
Speaker 1 opened discussion by noting attorney recommendations and asking trustees where they stood on adding progressive-discipline wording. One trustee said the current second paragraph "comes across very rough and uncaring" and urged language that reflects current practice of progressive discipline and handbook alignment. Another trustee said the language should be polished to align with staff handbooks, arguing the board should "meet our talk."
Several trustees disagreed with substantive changes. One trustee cited advice from legal counsel that being too prescriptive in policy could create enforceable expectations and increase legal exposure: "When you start putting things into policy, then people have expectations and it opens the door for lawsuits," the trustee said. That trustee and others signaled reluctance to change the policy now.
Dr. Rhodes and staff said they would clean five years of personnel data and return with a clearer breakdown of resignations versus terminations. Presenting preliminary figures, staff said that in the current school year (2025-26) out of roughly 200 classified employees there had been one termination and 14 resignations to date, but staff cautioned some historical 'terminations' may reflect failure to complete improvement plans rather than disciplinary terminations.
On superintendent-evaluation policy 4057, trustees discussed a minor language change aligning district practice with a KSB/KSP recommendation clarifying that the board president does not compile all evaluation data; trustees agreed the updated wording was acceptable and that the evaluation results should still be discussed at a board meeting.
District administrators also reviewed 5000-series housekeeping items, including updating closed-campus language at North Platte High School (policy 5032) and removing redundant policies (e.g., suggested deletion of 5034). Staff asked for guidance about whether to reference particular state statutes in some policies and committed to verify contact phone numbers in emergency procedures.
Board members asked staff to draft a revised version of policy 4038 reflecting the discussion and to provide the cleaned personnel data before the next regular board meeting so trustees can consider specific language options.
