Kimball board opens due‑process hearing on proposed reduction of teacher Christine Lewis’s contract

The Kimball Public Schools Board of Education opened a due‑process hearing at 7:08 p.m. on April 8 to consider a recommendation from district administration to amend teacher Christine Lewis’s contract from a full‑time (1.0 FTE) position to a 0.25 FTE position for the 2024–25 school year. Board President (speaker 1) explained Nebraska procedural rules for the quasi‑judicial hearing and said the board would base any decision only on evidence presented at the meeting.

Mr. Anderson, presenting for administration, told the board that Spanish course enrollment has fallen to four students in 2023–24 (down from six the prior year) and that distance‑learning partner districts that previously helped fund the position have withdrawn participation. Anderson said the partnering districts had contributed roughly $54,000 toward Lewis’s salary and benefits this year; with those districts no longer participating, the district would shoulder the entire cost of a full‑time instructor. "This cost is approximately $95,000 for a 1 FTE instructor at Kimball Public Schools," Anderson said, and he recommended reducing the foreign‑language position to 0.25 FTE as the district plans one period each of Spanish I and Spanish II in the core schedule.

Christine Lewis presented a prepared statement and documentary materials describing her hiring in 2015, current endorsements and coursework toward an English endorsement she expects to complete in May 2024, and prior discussions about offering other electives (journalism, speech and drama, keyboarding) that she said could have filled her day. Lewis said she was surprised by the 0.25 FTE offer and described the personal and financial consequences: the smaller contract would remove employer‑provided health insurance, place her compensation below the federal poverty threshold she cited from Healthcare.gov, and complicate her eligibility and timing for pension benefits. "This action that you have taken also takes away my insurance," Lewis said, and she asked the board for answers to specific payroll and benefits figures.

Administrators answered questions on the record. Anderson explained the district’s calculation of salary plus employer FICA and benefits, stating a district‑borne total near the figure presented in the hearing packet (about $94,772.37). On one clarification, Anderson noted that several of the distance‑learning partner districts signaled they would not continue at an increased per‑district cost for 2024–25, leaving Kimball Public Schools responsible for any remaining staffing cost.

After the evidentiary portion ended, the board president asked whether any member wished to deliberate in closed session. A motion to enter a closed session for deliberation was made and seconded; the board moved to take up a 20‑minute closed session to consider the evidence and possible actions regarding Lewis’s contract.

The board did not announce a final decision in public at the April 8 meeting; the hearing packet, witnesses’ statements and the board’s closed‑session deliberations will form the basis of any formal action the board takes in writing after the hearing.