Demographics, teacher salaries reviewed in annual report

McCOOK, Neb.-- The average teacher salary at McCook Public Schools was $50,479 last year, slightly lower the state average at $54,422.

This may be due to the number of teachers at MPS with master’s degrees at 37.7 percent, lower than the state average of 54.92 percent, said McCook Public Schools Superintendent Grant Norgaard.

Norgaard presented the McCook Public Schools annual report at the regular school board Monday night, that included demographic information collected from the Nebraska Department of Education.

Facts presented include that 98 teachers were on staff in 2018, with the average teacher at McCook Public Schools having 14.24 years of experience.

Concerns Norgaard noted included the college-going rate was lower than expected. This could be due to a number of students going of state to college, such as Kansas or Colorado, and being unable to track them via their state education ID number, he said.

Craig Dickes, McCook High School assistant principal, told the board Monday night that administration will be pro-active to address the college-going rate.

Other concerns Norgaard addressed in the report were:

-- plateauing of the district’s performance after significant growth

-- performing below the state average in third grade English/ language arts and seventh grade math not significantly outperforming the state average (scores were only three points higher than state average),

-- Financial standing weakening over the past several years as equalization aid to McCook has declined approximately $1 million in five years, as costs continue to rise.

Student demographics included that the district’s 14 percent of special education students in 2017-18 was lower than the state average of 15 percent; 11 percent of MPS students are identified as high ability learners; and 4.71 percent of MPS students have been identified as highly mobile, slightly higher than the state average.

For free and reduced lunch, the district’s percentage, at 42, is lower than the state average of 45.

Student population has fluctuated over the past 15 years, with the highest in 2006-07 with 1,510 students and the lowest in 2002-03 with 1,442. For last year, the student population was 1,424, higher than the 1,415 recorded in 2016-17.