Administrative Salaries, LA Curriculum Approved by JCC Board of Education

The March 11 Board of Education meeting at Johnson County Central Schools opened with presentations by FFA students on their State FFA Projects. Presenters were Catherine Wendt, Adree Case and Cooper Jones, Wes Schmid and Reese Badertscher.
Connor Bartels, FFA instructor at JCC Middle School, informed the board that fertilizer and lime have already been spread on the potential new school property which the FFA members will be utilizing for crop production until a new school building is constructed.
The board approved administrative contracts for the 2026-2027 school year. Middle School Principal Marsha Bacon will receive a salary of $114,000 while Special Education Director Dr. Laura Rademacher, High School Principal Justin Damme and Elementary Principal Rebecca Robeson will all receive a salary of $104,000. Superintendent Jon Rother’s salary was increased to $152,000.
Perkins Grant
The Nebraska Department of Education has offered a Perkins Grant and the CTE Career and Technical Education grant to acquire equipment and materials for job readiness courses. JCC Schools plans to use the Perkins grant to update the computer lab at Cook. JCC’s Nurse Jeanne Wolken has requested a hospital bed for the Certified Nurses Assistant (CNA) courses that JCC offers. This hospital bed will also be acquired with the Perkins grant. The CTE grant funds will be utilized for fees and related costs for students attending state and national conferences in FFA, FBLA, SkillsUSA and HOSA.
Four candidates have filed to run for the JCC Board of Education in the 2026 general election in November. They are Don Gadeken, Elisa Prado, Scott Straka and Kim Wellensiek.
Superintendent Jon Rother said that Johnson County Central needs to update its iPads for the district. JCC Schools must allocate $278,145.00 over a four year period as a lease to purchase agreement. This can be done at 0 interest and JCC Schools can use its REAP (Rural Education Achievement Program) funds for the lease. Board member Jon Schmid questioned the costs of iPads with touchscreen vs. iPads with standard keyboard/screen.
According to Supt. Rother, JCC Schools will be transitioning from Remind to ParentSquare for its communications system over the summer months.
Elementary auditorium
Emily Fricke, vocal music instructor, visited with the board about the lighting and sound system in the elementary auditorium. Currently, only three out of eight lights work on the stage. Only seven out of 13 lights in the balcony work. Custodian Casey Fricke has replaced all the lights  with new bulbs in the past year. Some lights stopped working only weeks after being replaced. Fricke is waiting on information from Theatrical Media Services of Ralston to see what options may be available. This could mean replacing lights or possibly renting lights for events that JCC Schools hosts. Fricke believes any lighting or light board that JCC purchases can be moved to a new site when necessary. However, it was also noted that the lighting used at Cook stage area could not be used in Tecumseh’s auditorium since the lighting isn’t the same.
Fricke said the JCC Schools would like to host One Act rehearsals and performances, but are unable due to the current lighting and sound situation.
Barebones recommendations for updating the lighting system in the auditorium include 16 total lights, eight in balcony and eight on stage, a DMX controller, and other required cables etc. Estimated costs for 16 lights is $16,000. This also includes mounting, hardware, cables, DMX controller, and electrical work. This does not include upgrading flimsy/old rigging/housing or configuration/setup of system.
Board member Dan Jones said the lighting and sound system for the elementary auditorium has been overlooked for many years. Speech instructor Matt Dierking, said that speech and drama staff have just been making it work with what they have. Emily Fricke recommended that LED lighting be purchased since LED lighting lasts longer.
Other business
The Johnson County Board of Education accepted the resignation of Mary Robison as fourth grade teacher and Brittney Teeman as the 6-12 grade art instructor, effective at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
Two new teacher contracts were approved for the 2026-2027 school year with Cheyenne Bishop (Art) and Macully Coffey (Elementary Physical Education).
When reviewing the monthly bills and claims, board member Jon Schmid recommended charging parents or taking up donations for snacks for Pre-K students during the day instead of the school continuing to pay. During an overview of JCC’s Preschool students, Schmid asked about the mission statement and what is being accomplished in offering a Preschool program. Schmid also questioned how one knows if a Preschool program is being successful.
Superintendent Rother said there is a set of standards that Preschool teachers go by to measure the learning skills of PreK students. It was noted that a Kindergarten teacher can usually tell if a student has participated in a PreK program or not. There are also resources for parents to help their students get off to a good start in school.
Board member Dan Jones said sending students to Preschool demonstrates that parents value a good start in education when looking at the end result. “I’m proud of what JCC Schools has done in its Preschool program.”
The JCC Board of Education approved of utilizing Apply CKLA for its new English/Language Arts curriculum for grades 6-12. This is a six year curriculum. Federal grant funding will be used for purchasing the high school curriculum portion of the Apply CKLA curriculum.