December 12, 2017 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Notice of the time and place of the Lincoln Board of Education meeting was e-mailed to an extensive list of local and regional news media.  A mailing list is maintained at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office.  A public notice was published in the LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR.

 

The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Rationale: 

The attached minutes are intended to accurately reflect the action of the Board at its previous meetings.

Explanation
The minutes have been prepared for Board approval.

Rationale: 

The following employees have achieved the goal of 25-years of professional service to the youth of Lincoln and Lincoln Public Schools:

Darcy Ahlman

Linda Bouwens

Leslie Brown

Carrie Burkey

James Danson

Kathryn Dean

Sandra Devlin

Susan Dinsdale

Julia Dixon

Robin Douglas-Lundy

Kathleen Drahota

Teresa Drake

Richard Drommond

Lynette Dunse

Deborah Eastman

Julie Eschliman

Patrick Gatzemeyer

Stacey Haney

Sandra Hanson

Stacey Heiser

Richard Herrera

Kathy Hoffart

Anne Hubbell

Kevin Hubbell

Trisha Knoell

Lisa Kramer-Hansen

Karen Krull

Karen Langan

Roman Lys

Robert McEntarffer

Kelly Mitchell

Carol Moravec

Lisa Morehouse

Marsha Munger

Allegra Penington

Nancy Peters

Richard Powers

Darin Raguse

Cynthia Sell

John Snoozy

Joyce Sohl

Pamela Steckelberg

Stacy Steffensmeier

Shari Stock

Donna Straight

Larry Sypho

Scott Vicroy

Sherry West

Sandra Whiston

Judith Wittwer

Cheryl Wood

Gary Zellweger

Mara Zigurs

 

Rationale: 

In keeping with Board Policy 8420:

• Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose. 
• A time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.
• Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment. A “Record of Appearance” card is provided for this purpose.
• Persons wishing to appear will be heard in the order in which the Chair of the meeting determines appropriate.
• In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.
• If the number of people wishing to speak under the public participation portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled or the discussion be limited on the issue in question.
• Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials available to the Board but may not use any other form of media.

Rationale: 

Rationale: 

Explanation:

The Human Resources Division also includes the Office of Risk Management.  As such, in addition to the Lincoln Board of Education approving all contractual agreements with employees, all employee benefit issues, all personnel actions, and all other matters within the scope of the Human Resources Division, as part of the Human Resources Matters agenda; the Lincoln Board of Education also must approve the settlement of Workers’ Compensation claims, take action on tort claims filed against the district, and take action on all other matters within the scope of the Office of Risk Management.

This report includes routine Human Resources changes:

   a.  Certificated Employees:

             Elections - 22

             Separations - 1

   b.  Substitute Certificated Employees:

             Elections - 16

             Separations - 18

   c.  Classified Employees:

             Elections - 28

             Changes of Status - 5

             Separations - 12

   d.  Other:

             Civic Leaves - 2

             Employment of Family Members - 1

   e.  Approval of a settlement agreement.

 

Proposal:

That the Board approve the Human Resources items presented in the attachment(s).*

 

*The information in the attachment(s) may be protected by privacy legislation until the Board of Education takes action on the staff recommendations.  Therefore, this attachment(s) is not included in agenda materials provided the public and the news media.  Any information in the attachment(s) that is not protected by privacy legislation, however, is available for public inspection from the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources upon request.

That the Board is approving the Human Resources items attached with the information as presented or as on file with official district records and documents relating to each such item, or in such other form as may be approved by the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, and that the Board hereby authorizes the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, to transact and complete each such item approved hereby, and to sign, execute, and deliver necessary documents or contracts, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete each such item of transaction as contemplated, for and on behalf of this school district.

 

Rationale: 

At each meeting, the Board of Education is asked to approve certain items of routine business of the school district. 

EXPLANATION
The items included in routine business for this meeting are:

a.  REGULAR CLAIMS - Claims for the period ending December 12, 2017, were previously provided.

                Federal Tax ACH Deposit of $6,011,238.70.

                Procurement Card ACH Transfer of $82,326.78.

                Child Support ACH Transfer of $18,042.75.

                Office Depot ACH Transfer of $6,997.05.

                Vendor ACH Transfer of $192,984.07.

b.  PAYROLL FOR RATIFICATION - Payroll for the period ending December 1, 2017, in the amount of $15,623,468.14.

c.  GIFTS - Approval for the gifts listed on the attached gift report.

d.  BIDS/CONTRACTS/OTHER ROUTINE BUSINESS - Bids/contracts/other routine business will be presented for approval for payment of IB annual school and exam fees; purchase of custodial large cleaning equipment; purchase of projectors for elementary classrooms; an agreement for math curriculum pricing; the purchase of a social media management service; items listed for auction; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented. 

PROPOSAL

That the Lincoln Board of Education approve the following items of routine business:

a.  The regular claims for period ending December 12, 2017.

b.  Payroll for the period ending December 1, 2017.

c.  Gifts for Clinton, East, Goodrich, Irving, McPhee, Northeast, Roper, The Career Academy, Zeman, and the district.

d.  Bids/contracts/other routine business for payment of IB annual school and exam fees; purchase of custodial large cleaning equipment; purchase of projectors for elementary classrooms; an agreement for math curriculum pricing; the purchase of a social media management service; items listed for auction; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.

Rationale: 

On February 14, 2017, the Board adopted a resolution to accept an option enrollment student for the 2017-18 school year.  An application for enrollment during the 2017-18 school year has been received and is in compliance with the Board resolution of February 14, 2017.      

Explanation
The application included in this agenda item has been examined by staff and meets one of the criteria set forth by the Board in the resolution of February 14, 2017.  Staff recommends approval of the application.  

Proposal   
That the Board adopts the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the student who has been assigned student number 217794 (for purposes of confidentiality, an assigned number is being used) meets one or more of the criteria of the Board resolution of February 14, 2017, with regard to such option student;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the aforementioned student be accepted as an option student on the condition and with the express understanding that all programs, all classes and all buildings of assignment, except as otherwise required by law, shall at all times and from time to time during attendance at Lincoln Public Schools be determined solely by Lincoln Public Schools.

Rationale: 

March 15, 2017, was the deadline for enrollment option applications to be completed for students wishing to attend school in a district other than the one in which they reside for the 2017-18 school year.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education has authority to waive the deadline for late enrollment option requests (NDE Rule 7, Section 004.05).      

Explanation  
A request from a student who resides in the district of Lincoln Public Schools and wishes to attend school outside of Lincoln Public Schools has been received after the March 15, 2017, deadline.  The Lincoln Board of Education may deny or approve this request.  If the request is approved by the Board of Education, it will be forwarded to the option school district for their approval. 

Student Number            Option District
241637                          Elmwood/Murdock

Proposal  
That the Board approve the request for option out for the 2017-18 school year.

Rationale:  *The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education  Board releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Rationale: 

United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County is a vital resource to support community-based services in our community. We are fortunate as a community that United Way conducts an annual community campaign to raise funds that support important initiatives focusing on its local strategic priorities which are to serve children through activities that lead to graduation and to address the needs of persons in crisis.  

United Way recently announced that it is accepting competitive applications for projects under a two-year funding cycle, from July 2018 through June 2020.  Projects must be ready to implement programs under one of three strategic pillars, one of which is education.  Lincoln Public Schools operates a successful Two Generation Family Literacy Program which is considered an ideal Educational Support strategy.  LPS currently receives a grant from United Way for $17,500 annually, which will expire in June 2018.

Explanation
LPS serves a minimum of 160 refugee and immigrant parents of LPS students, all of whom have a desire to be more proficient in speaking English and in understanding and supporting their children at school. Parents attend a Two Generation Family Literacy Program at one of the following LPS elementary schools: Arnold, Belmont, Campbell, Clinton, Elliott, Everett, Hartley, Lakeview, Prescott, Randolph or West Lincoln (plus a program at McPhee that is part of United Way’s more comprehensive "Engage. Empower. Graduate." initiative). Languages spoken by these participants have included Arabic, Chin-Zomi, Dinka, Farsi, Karen, Karenni, Kurdish, Nuer, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Typically, 100% of these families qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

The evidence-based Family Literacy model followed by LPS includes the following four components:

• Adult Education Instruction—provided through high quality ESL classes
• Children's Education—teaching literacy through a viable district curriculum
• Parent and Child Together Time (PACT)
• Parenting Education Classes

These services are provided to 14 or 20 families at each location. The parents commit to participating in at least 10 hours each week in support of their family literacy development.  An award from United Way in the amount of $20,000 per year will assist in providing general operating support for all eleven sites.

Proposal
That the Board discuss the submission of a proposal to United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County to support the Two Generation Family Literacy Program in the amount of approximately $20,000 per year for a two-year funding cycle.

Applications are due to United Way in February, 2018.

Rationale: 

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln or newly platted.  This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend. 

EXPLANATION
The City of Lincoln has annexed a parcel of land, which automatically brings this property into the district of Lincoln Public Schools.  This property needs to be assigned attendance centers so that potential purchasers of homes in these areas will know which schools they will be attending:

S 40^th & Yankee Hill Rd, Annexation Ordinance #20572, for 2017-18 school year:  Humann Elementary School, Pound Middle School, and Southeast High School. 

PROPOSAL
That the Board approve the proposed attendance area assignments of the newly annexed property.

Rationale: 

BACKGROUND:

Lincoln Public Schools reviews policies on an on-going basis to ensure that they accurately reflect the ever-changing work of the district. The entire series of policies are reviewed together. After review, many policies do not require revision. These policies are presented to the Board for approval as a single block of policies to affirm the current policies of the district.

EXPLANATION:

The following existing 4000 series policies and their regulations can be found at http://www.lps.org/about/policies, unless noted elsewhere, are submitted as a group: 4000, 4100, 4200, 4220, 4310, 4320, 4330, 4340, 4400, 4420, 4500, 4520, 4615, 4620, 4630, 4640, 4650, 4660, 4670, 4680, 4690, 4700, 4710, 4720, 4730, 4740, 4760, 4772, 4780, 4790, 4800, 4810, 4820, 830, 4840, 4850, 4860, 4865, 4870, 4880, 4890, 4900, 4910, 4920, 4930, 4940, 4950, 4960, and 4970.

PROPOSAL:

That the Board approve the block of existing 4000 series policies.

Rationale: 

BACKGROUND:

Lincoln Public Schools reviews policies on an on-going basis to ensure that they accurately reflect the ever-changing work of the district. The entire series of policies are reviewed together. After review, many policies require only minor edits. These policies are presented to the Board for approval as a single block.

 

EXPLANATION:

The following revised 4000 series policies are submitted as a group: 4210, 4300, 4510, 4600, 4750, 4770, 4772, and 4775.

 

PROPOSAL:

That the Board approve the changes to the 4000 series of policies.

Rationale: 

The Lincoln Board of Education and Superintendent prioritized a strategic plan to identify community priorities for the district’s next five years.

EXPLANATION

The Board contracted with Leadership Resources to frame and guide the process, formed a Strategic Planning Committee to review the work, gathered community input, and formed a strategic plan.

The attached 2022 Strategic Plan represents the priorities of the community and will guide the work of the district for the next five years.

 

Rationale: 

The Nebraska Department of Education has developed a Consolidated Application for formula grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which includes all funded programs under this legislation.

Explanation
All accredited districts must develop and implement a Comprehensive Plan for School Improvement that integrates federal, state, and local programs.  The Comprehensive Plan for School Improvement must be approved by the Nebraska Department of Education prior to receiving the formula for federal grants the district is eligible to receive.  The budget amount listed below represents the estimated funding to be awarded to the district for the 2017-2018 school year.

Proposal
That the Board approves the submission of the Consolidated Application to the Nebraska Department of Education, estimated at $11,024,529. There are no matching funds required.  Application due date is January 5, 2018.

Rationale: 

Woods Charitable Fund is offering a new grant opportunity that will support promising and groundbreaking new programs, collaborations and/or organizational best practices in Lincoln.  The Breakthrough Initiative Grant (BIG) will be highly competitive, ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 per year for possible multi-year funding. Funded projects could address challenges or needs of broad relevance to Lincoln or could address a very significant challenge affecting a small but unique and vulnerable population in Lincoln. A proposed project could test a specific, innovative new response to an identified problem with a commitment to make the findings widely and openly accessible. Proposed projects must fit within WCF’s traditional funding interest areas of Arts & Culture, Civic & Community, Education, and Human Services.

Explanation
Research confirms that the level of academic achievement that students attain by 8^th grade has a large impact on their college and career readiness, and the transition from 8^th to 9^th grade is one of the most pivotal moments in a student’s education. Students in summer programs learn to navigate those transitions with the extra support of adults and are more likely to improve or maintain their grades and graduate from high school on time. By including career exploration in these transitional experiences, students are then also more prepared for life after high school.

Lincoln Public Schools proposes to develop a 6-week "TCA Summer Academy" at The Career Academy. This program will serve 8^th grade students in our five Title I middle schools who are invited by their principal based on interest and potential, with a focus on under-represented students. Courses will include Culinary Foundations and either a business or introductory engineering course (program is still being developed). A pilot project with 50 students will occur during summer 2018 with Title I funding, and if funded by Woods, the program will expand to serve 100 students in summer 2019, with additional activities included to retain student interest until they can attend TCA in their junior year.

Proposal
That the Board approves the submission of an LPS application to Woods Charitable Fund to support implementation of a summer school program for 8^th graders at The Career Academy. The grant application request will include up to $150,000 per year for up to three years, with no match requirement.

The application due date is January 16, 2018.

Rationale: 

The Lincoln School District issued limited tax obligation Build America Bonds on July 7, 2010.  The bonds were used for funding a comprehensive ten-year facilities improvement plan.  Bond principal and interest are scheduled to be repaid through January 15, 2030. 

EXPLANATION
On November 28, 2017 the Board of Education approved a resolution to authorize the advanced refunding of the Build America limited tax obligation school bonds.  An update on the advanced refunding will be provided.

PROPOSAL
Information item; no Board action required.

 

Rationale: 

December 13: TCA Joint Board Meeting, TCA, 8:00 am

December 19:

• Yankee Hill Mid-Term Graduation, Yankee Hill, 9:00 am
• LPS Learning Lunch - Restoring Calm: LPS Response to Crisis, LPSDO, 12:15 pm

December 26: No Board Meeting

January 9: Board Meeting, LPSDO, 6:00 pm

Rationale: 

In keeping with Board Policy 8420:

• Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose.
• A time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker.  At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time.  Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.
• Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment.  A "Record of Appearance" card is provided for this purpose.
• Persons wishing to appear will be heard in the order in which the Chair of the meeting determines appropriate.
• In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.
• If the number of people wishing to speak under the public participation portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled or the discussion be limited on the issue in question.
• Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may hand out printed materials to the Board but may not use any other form of media.
• If at any time persons appearing before the Board exceed the time limitations or become abusive in language or behavior, the Chair may declare that person out of order and to refuse permission to continue to address the Board, require a change in behavior and may require the person or persons to leave the premises of the Board meeting. 

Rationale: 

Explanation
At this point, it is appropriate for the Board to meet in closed session for one of the stated matters and/or any other permissible closed session matters in compliance with the law.

Rationale:  The Lincoln Board of Education is authorized by state statute to hold closed sessions.  Closed sessions may be held when clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest or for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual.  Reasons that meet this standard include but are not limited to:  (a) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining, real estate matters, pending litigation, or litigation which is imminent as evidenced by communication of a claim or threat of litigation to or by the public body; (b) discussion regarding deployment of security personnel or devices; (c) investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct; (d) evaluation of the job performance of a person when necessary to prevent needless injury to the reputation of a person and if such person has not requested a public meeting; and (e) legal advice.