Sidney School Board opens 2023 with organizational meeting

SIDNEY -- The Sidney school board met Monday evening.
New business included reorganization of the board. New to the board is Rusty Gulbranson who was elected to the board seat in November. Tom Von Seggern chose not to seek another term.
Mike Palmer is returning as the board president with Brenda Smith as the vice-president. Deanna Kantor will continue as the board secretary and Lori Borchert will be the treasurer. All of the positions were approved unanimously with the exception of Palmer abstaining for the vote supporting Borchert as treasurer.
The board also appointed board committees; appointed the district superintendent as the official representative for all local, in-state and federal programs; and designated the official radio station and newspaper for the district. Designated depositories for District funds are as follows: General — Platte Valley Bank, Security First and Points West; Payroll — Security First; Petty Cash — Security First; Depreciation and Bond — Points West; and Qualified Capital Purpose Underwriting Fund (QCPUF, a levy account for special building projects) — Security First.
The new board also accepted the resignation of Jay Portenier, instructor in welding and auto metals.
"It is with great reluctance, yet with much anticipation, that I have made the decision to submit my letter of resignation," Portenier said in his resignation letter.
His resignation is effective the end of the 2022-2023 school year. He said the reluctance is based on closing a 27-year experience.
"Those 27 years have provided me with many great memories, friendships and the achievement of many goals I set for myself at the beginning of my career," he said.
He said he will miss the opportunities to interact with the students.