School board gets cellphone signal-blocking demonstration

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook High School students will have lousy cellphone reception this fall, but that’s OK.

That means the “faraday bags” they will be required to carry their phones in are designed to avoid distractions while they are supposed to concentrate on their lessons.

School board members were shown the signal-blocking bags, which come in various sizes and cost $6 to $12 each, which will be provided to students this fall.

The variety will also enable the administration to test and see which would be best to use in the future.

The McCook Public Schools School Board has approved an early retirement incentives program. The primary goal of this initiative is not to encourage retirement but to incentivize those considering retirement to give notice earlier in the school year.

This will provide the administration with more time to recruit new teachers. Teachers who give notice between October and December will receive a bonus, fostering a supportive environment for this initiative.

The board voted to increase school lunch prices by 10 cents. This is intended to address the deficit between MPS’s lunch charges and the mandated rates set by the Federal Food Services. The administration requests a ten-cent increase in student meals to narrow this gap.

This adjustment is necessary to maintain access to free and reimbursable lunches for qualifying students under the Federal Food Services Program.

The administration and school board continue to work on approving the new policy packages and are expected to complete the update before school starts. Many of the policies are similar or the same as the previous ones; they are more organized and have been approved by legal counsel for the schools.

Business manager Jeff Gross shared his appreciation for Opaa! Food Service employees who served 25,089 meals during the month of June. “That’s more meals than we ever serve, and they did it in the summer short-staffed.”

The school board also approved a 4.5% ($8,462) raise for Superintendent Grant Norgaard. This raise is based on surveys of the academic and sports districts we compete against.

Each building principal presented to the board regarding career and college development programs in their schools. At the elementary school level, the primary focus is on social skills, such as learning to get along and work with others. As the students age, they receive more in-depth career preparation and engagement through business tours and career development programs.