June 6, 2016 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Workshop

Notice to visitors: The agenda will be kept current and available for public inspection in the office of the Secretary of the Board of Education at the Administrative Building during regular working hours. 

Board members may request specific agenda item(s) be moved to a different place on the agenda.  Please attend the entire meeting to ensure you hear discussion on a particular agenda item.

Pursuant to Section 84-1412 of the Nebraska Statutes, the public is hereby informed that a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted in the Board meeting room on the north wall.

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS - SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS - SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA CLAIMS REPORT C:

All Claims submitted as potential conflict of interest for members of the Board of Education.

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS - EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNIT NO. 19

Staff requests permission to purchase textbooks for Business and Marketing subject area textbooks, from the Board of Education on June 6, 2016. This was presented as an information item, provided on May 16, 2016 to update the process, identified need, authority of action, timeline, and future steps. The fiscal impact is $269,000.

Staff request approval of the new Nebraska Math Standards from our Omaha Public Schools' Board of Education.  Statutory regulations require local school boards to adopt and approve these standards following the State Board of Education's approval of the standards. Staff provided an overview of the new Nebraska State Math Standards on Monday, May 2, 2016.

The Department of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment is requesting approval at the June 6, 2016 Board of Education meeting to purchase curriculum materials for 9th grade reading intervention. This recommendation aligns with Guiding Principle 2 Objectives 2.2 and 2.4 of the Strategic Plan. The projected total for the textbook and curricular materials is $230,000.

The Department of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment is requesting approval at the June 6, 2016 Board of Education meeting to purchase curriculum method books and resource materials for 4-12 instrumental music.  This recommendation aligns with principle 2.2 of the Strategic Plan.  This district-adopted instrumental music curriculum for students participating in instrumental music, grades 4-12, will replace method books that are over twenty years old.  The approximate cost is $100,000.

Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-516, the Board of Education authorizes indemnification of Dr. Dwayne Chism against expenses he has incurred or would otherwise incur in connection with threatened or pending action, suit, or proceeding that commenced because he is an employee of the school district.  The Board determines that indemnification of Dr. Chism is proper in the circumstances because he acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the school district.  The Board further authorizes the engagement of Baird Holm, LLP to provide the legal services related to the threatened or pending action, suit, or proceeding against Dr. Chism.

Members of the Common Grading Practices Committee will share updates and next steps for grading in 2016-17 and 2017-18. 

The Executive Directors of the Omaha Public Schools will provide an update on the Resources Employed Accordingly Creating Hope (REACH) Plan regarding the strategic alignment of differentiated resources and supports deployed to identified Persistently Low Achieving Schools (PLAS) identified by the Nebraska Department of Education.  Under the leadership of the Executive Directors, the new acronym REACH came to fruition.   The REACH Committee is made up of top district leaders who have a shared vision to provide the necessary structures and resources to these struggling schools.  In addition, the school leaders of Howard Kennedy and Wakonda Elementary will share updates on their transformational process throughout the 2015 - 2016 school year.