State Board Report
January 2019
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION ELECTS LEADERSHIP FOR 2019
The State Board of Education elected John Witzel as president and Maureen Nickels as vice president to serve in 2019.
John Witzel was appointed to the State Board of Education in 2014 and was elected to the board in 2016 to represent District 4. This will be the second year he has served as board president.
Maureen Nickels was first elected to the State Board of Education in 2014.
RECOGNITION OF NEWLY-ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS
The State Board of Education welcomed two new members this month. Deborah Neary and Robin Stevens won election to the board in November.
Deborah Neary served as Education Director for the Durham Museum, as well as Executive Director for Midlands Mentoring Partnership, bringing innovation, support, and hope to community schools, students, and families. She was elected to represent District 8.
Robin Stevens is a lifelong educator who has taught and coached in Dundy County and Gothenburg and is a retired superintendent of the Schuyler Community Schools. He was elected to represent District 7.
Educator Licensing System Modernization Approved
The State Board of Education voted to approve a contract of up to $500,000 to replace the current electronic Teacher Certification System. A Request for Proposal was issued in the Fall of 2018 for modernization. Two finalists have been chosen and the Best and Final Offering bids are currently under review.
The authorization allows the Commissioner to enter into a contract with the selected vendor to create a new system to manage teacher certification options, provide a secure portal for applicants to manage their history, and take advantage of web, mobile, and other technologies to provide convenience for educators seeking licensing.
The project is expected to be fully operational and implemented by early 2020.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the State Board of Education will be held on
Friday, February 8, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at the Nebraska State Office Building.
A work session will be held on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.
For detailed information about the work session or business meeting,
visit www.education.ne.gov/StateBoard/Agendas.html.