OSMOND — The Osmond Board of Education met Monday, May 12, with one main topic of discussion: co-ops with Wausa and Plainview.
The sharing committee of Tyler Gansebom, Michelle Reikofski and Mark Moes began with their meeting with the Wausa committee on May 5, and tours of both campuses. Reikofski said both are nice, but theirs has a lot of turns and up and down and the high school is separate from the rest of the school, where Osmond’s is dated but “the bones are good.” Wausa is also looking at bonds for upgrades.
Gansebom said they discussed how to decide which school would work best in the event of consolidation. Osmond is looking more at cooping, where Wausa is looking more at consolidation. They would like a signed agreement pushing toward consolidation.
The Osmond group had asked about co-oping junior high volleyball and other junior high sports and basketball, and also asked why Wausa has continued their co-op with Bloomfield on cross country — they said it just works well.
Wausa said they understand Osmond’s needs, but they seem to continue pushing for consolidation. A compromise doesn’t seem to be there. It was discussed that, if the two schools couldn’t come to an agreement, it would be okay to move on.
The Wausa group did say that they didn’t expect Osmond to pay on bonds if it came to that, and it seems that they don’t have a problem getting bonds for their school.
In the end, the Osmond committee members said that nothing new came out of the meeting, and there is not a lot of excitement regarding new options for co-oping with Wausa next year. It was pointed out that Osmond is still in a co-oping commitment with Wausa for several activities, and all are doing well, with the students getting along well.
The committee then turned to a recent meeting with a committee from Plainview Public School.
Gansebom said there was a lot of open discussion on boys’ and girls’ basketball and bowling. The Plainview group said that if it leads to consolida- tion that's fine, but they are okay with just co-oping. They would like it to be all ages, from little kids to high school, so that the kids can bond together. They are very open to coming here and using our facilities for practice. They had asked about Osmond’s previous co-ops with Randolph and Wausa and understood what happened with both situations.
Mr. Bremer said Osmond wants to get to a co-op that is on-going, and that is what Plainview would like to see also. Gansebom added that Plainview is not worried about clas- sification changes.
The committee members pointed out that the conversations were just between committees; the Plainview board also seems positive, but the public needs to be consulted.
Board Member Larry Krohn asked Gansebom and Justin Koehler, who coach youth sports, about those groups and the connections with Plainview. It was noted that a number of Osmond youth participate in soccer and dance at Plainview.
Krohn also asked the committee what kind of commitment is Plainview looking at. Gansebom said they would like to go all in, to form a partnership, to bond. They would like to see a junior high co-op and then continue moving on to high school. The teams would be Plainview-Osmond Pirates, because Plainview is a larger school.
It was pointed out that the Plainview board was meeting on Monday as well. The Osmond board approved co-oping all junior high sports with Plainview Public Schools beginning with the 2025-26 school year, with revenue and expenses beyond coaches’ compensation to be shared equally, with a second vote to be taken at the June board meeting.
In the meantime, a public meeting will be held in Osmond on Wednesday, June 4, at 8 p.m.
Principal’s Report
Principal Kurt Polt reported that the last day for students will be May 20, with a 1 p.m. dismissal and all grades due at the end of that day. Report cards will be sent home by the end of that week. Staff will conduct workdays on May 21 and 22.
An MTSS district leadership team data day was scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, in the city library meeting (Continued on Page 9, No. 1) SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSES WAUSA, PLAINVIEW CO-OPS room. Paige Parsons, the new K-6 principal, will be in attendance.
Upcoming events include district track on May 14 at Humphrey and Class C and D state track May 23 and 24 in Omaha; district golf May 19 at Leigh, and state golf May 28 and 29 in Columbus.
The Memorial Day program is scheduled for Monday, May 26, beginning at 11 a.m.
Superintendent Skip Bremer added another upcoming event is on May 21 when Just Love Coffee Cafe will have an iced coffee bar and lemonade here as a thank you to staff for their hard work.
Superintendent’s Report Superintendent Bremer reviewed board policies 5016-5020 and 5022, all of which are available on the Osmond Community School website.
Bremer reported that Sarah Polt has been hired as the new food service director, and will begin July 1. He added that Jacque Boos and Becky Wattier had really stepped up and are doing a great job in the lunch room.
In addition, he said the school’s five-year visit of food services was conducted April 4, and noted that Osmond had not been charging enough for adult meals; it will be increased to $4.80.
Bremer advised that the school has online payments set up if parents chose to use it, and he has sent out information for parents on how to set up accounts to see their children’s balances. From the parents’ account, they will be able to directly apply for free/reduced meals.
Mr. Bremer reported that the ALICAP safety inspection was held on April 28 and the district’s “Experience Modifier" is 0.81 - everything below 1.0 is good.
Court Floors, who was chosen to work on the gym floor, will work on it June 6-17. Also, the lighting and electrical on the school’s stage will be updated, and the summer room remodels will get started when the school year ends.
In other items, the board: - after brief discussion on the condition of the items, approved new volleyball standards, nets and officials stands for an amount not to exceed $11,300.
- approved going to a start time of 7 p.m. for board meetings year-round, beginning in July.
