November 26, 2013 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: 

Tommy Bender, a teacher and speech coach at Lincoln Southeast High School, has been named the 2013 John Thurber Distinguished Teacher of the Year.

The John Thurber Distinguished Teacher award is bestowed by the Nebraska Speech Communication and Theatre Association - specifically for educators who have been teaching for longer than seven years at the elementary, secondary or university level.  The honor is designed to recognize individuals who have displayed exceptional teaching ability, innovation in teaching methods, and contributions to the growth and professionalism of organizations in speech communications and/or publications.

Explanation
Tommy Bender, a teacher and speech coach at Lincoln Southeast High School, has been named the 2013 John Thurber Distinguished Teacher of the Year.  Bender teaches oral communications as well as Holocaust Literature at Southeast, and serves as speech coach. He has been an educator for 20 years, and at Southeast for 12 years.  He has been a member of the Nebraska Speech Communications and Theatre Association for 20 years serving in various capacities, and has long served on the Association’s Committee for the National Forensic League Nebraska South District.

Under Bender’s watch, the Southeast Speech and Debate Program earned significant recognition by the National Forensic League and placed in the top 10 percent of NFL chapters nationwide, earning membership in the NFL's prestigious 100 Club.

Bender is a teacher passionate about speech and teaching, with a genuine and deep belief in the value of speech education:

“Members on the speech team learn everything from leadership skills to confidence in themselves in any situation.  They open up and become expressive, and they learn how to compete.  They learn how to be eloquent, and how to think for themselves. They learn how to be resilient, as well as being resourceful. Many times there’s an amazing transformation between freshmen and senior years.”

Bender believes in creating a community of students in his classes through practice and experience:

“I think it’s important to build a rapport with students, and to help them be comfortable in the class, which eventually leads them to be comfortable in front of an audience.  I also think there’s no substitute for experience, so there are plenty of opportunities for students to speak in my class.”

Proposal

That the Lincoln Board of Education adopt the following resolution:

WHEREAS, Tommy Bender, a teacher and speech coach at Lincoln Southeast High School, has been named the 2013 John Thurber Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the Nebraska Speech Communication and Theatre Association; and

WHEREAS, Bender teaches oral communications as well as Holocaust Literature at Southeast, serves as the head speech coach, has been an educator for 20 years and at Southeast for 12 years; and  

WHEREAS, Bender is a teacher passionate about speech and learning, with a genuine and deep belief in the value of speech education: noting that his students learn everything from leadership skills and self confidence to eloquence and resilience; and

WHEREAS, Bender believes in creating a caring community of students with an open door policy that builds rapport and rich learning opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Under Bender’s watch the Southeast speech and debate department has won considerable and prestigious recognition.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Lincoln Board of Education does hereby congratulate Tommy Bender for being named the 2013 John Thurber Distinguished Teacher of the Year.

Rationale:  In keeping with Policy 8420, 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.

Rationale: 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Explanation
The items included in routine business for this meeting are: 

1. REGULAR CLAIMS – Claims for the period ending November 26, 2013, were previously provided

   Federal Tax ACH Deposit of $31,120.83.

   State Tax ACH Deposit of $666,177.87.

   Retirement ACH Transfer of $4,092,867.11.

   Procurement Card ACH Transfer of $88,640.83.

   Office Depot ACH Transfer of $8,288.33.

   Vendor ACH Transfer of $2,340.04.

      2. PAYROLL FOR RATIFICATION – Payroll for the periods ending November 6 and November 15, 2013, in the amount of $140,869.58.

      3. GIFTS – Approval for the gifts listed on the attached gift report

      4. BIDS/CONTRACTS/OTHER ROUTINE BUSINESS – Bids/contracts/other routine business will be presented for approval for purchase of Apple laptops for Special Education staff, for an agreement providing direct supplemental education services, for renewal of an agreement to provide two recycling sites, for an agreement to make available the use of high school facilities for emergency mass clinic operations, for an agreement to provide deaf or hard of hearing services to McCool Junction Public Schools; 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 November 26, 2013.

b.  Payroll for the periods ending November 6 and November 15, 2013.

c.  Gifts for the district.

d.  Bids/contracts/other routine business for purchase of Apple laptops for Special Education staff, for an agreement providing direct supplemental education services, for renewal of an agreement to provide two recycling sites, for an agreement to make available the use of high school facilities for emergency mass clinic operations, for an agreement to provide deaf or hard of hearing services to McCool Junction Public Schools; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.

*That the Board, by approving Routine Business, is approving Regular Claims, Payroll for Ratification, and all listed Bids, Contracts, and Other Routine Business items or transactions with the information and in the form as presented, and except as to conclusive award or contract amounts, in such other form and with such other or modified terms and conditions as may be negotiated and/or approved by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, and that the Board by this approval delegates to and is hereby authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, to (a) sign, execute, and deliver all necessary documents or contracts, (b) make all transaction or contract payments and designate a transaction or program administrator, (c) take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete the transaction, and (d) administer, operate, exercise renewals, terminate, and/or implement each listed and approved item or transaction and all matters thereto on a day-to-day basis during its term as contemplated, for and on behalf of this school district.

 

 

Rationale:  Background
On February 12, 2013, the Board adopted a resolution to accept option students for the 2013-14 school year.  Applications have been received from students requesting that they be accepted as option students for the 2013-14 school year.  Staff recommends that the students referred to in this agenda item be accepted for enrollment as they are in compliance with the Board resolution of February 12, 2013.

EXPLANATION
Staff has examined the applications of the students included in this proposal.  The students meet one of the criteria (currently enrolled) set forth by the Board in its resolution of February 12, 2013.  Staff recommends approval of these applications.

PROPOSAL
That the Board adopt the following resolution:

WHEREAS the students who have been assigned student numbers 280581, and 280582 (for purposes of confidentiality, assigned numbers are being used) meet one of the criteria (currently enrolled) of the Board resolution of February 12, 2013, with regard to such option students;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the aforementioned students be accepted as option students 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:  *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: 

During the district strategic planning process in 2011, a goal related to facilities reaffirmed the district’s planning process and an objective was set to update the LPS 10-Year Facilities Plan.  An update of the LPS 10-Year Facilities Plan was presented to the Board of Education at a work session on February 12, 2013, at this point the term infrastructure was added to the plan to represent the needs of the district.  Last spring, Superintendent Steve Joel called together the Superintendent’s Facility Advisory Committee. The group was charged with developing recommendations for the facility and infrastructure needs, of the district, over the next ten years.  The group of approximately 80 community and school stakeholders, from across the city, made recommendations to Superintendent Steve Joel at the Board of Education meeting on September 10, 2013.

In recent months, the Planning Committee and the Board of Education held numerous meetings and work sessions to review district facility and infrastructure needs, student enrollment data, building utilization data, capacity information, and the recommendations of the Superintendent’s Facility Advisory Committee.

Explanation

Rationale: 

In 2005, the Board of Education adopted a LPS 10-Year Facilities Plan to serve as a guideline for district facility and infrastructure needs and, in 2006, held a bond election supported by the voters to fund the plan.  The Finance Committee continuously monitors the funding streams available to support the work on the LPS 10-Year Facilities and Infrastructure Plan and the needs of the school district. The LPS 10-Year Facilities and Infrastructure Plan has been routinely updated and most recently spells out significant needs.  Due to state-imposed levy limitations, the district does not have adequate resources to make necessary facility and infrastructure improvements nor to construct new schools and additions to support student growth.  Expiring principal and interest payments can be replaced with the new debt to support the LPS 10-Year Facilities and Infrastructure Plan, based on the current levy with no planned levy increases, as previously demonstrated and discussed at numerous meetings and work sessions. 

In recent weeks, the Finance Committee and the Board of Education held numerous meetings and work sessions to review district facility and infrastructure needs in conjunction with funding available, financial analysis of debt capacity, and the potential proceeds from a successful bond issue based on the current levy.

Explanation

The Finance Committee recommends that the Board of Education approve the attached bond call resolution and associated documents.  A simple majority vote is required.

Proposal
The bond call resolution and associated documents are attached and presented for approval in accordance with this motion.

That the Board of Education approve the attached bond call resolution and associated documents.

Rationale: 

Explanation
In the spring of 2012, the Board approved a calendar for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school year.  Scheduling two school years in advance assists students, parents, and district personnel in planning.  The Calendar Committee believes that the calendar variables approved by the Board have helped strike an effective balance of instructional days for students, allowances for annual assessments, and the needs of families.  With this in mind, the Calendar Committee, following those same calendar variables has prepared a student calendar recommendation for the 2015-16 school year.  This will continue the process of approving calendars two years in advance and will allow staff and families to more confidently make advanced instructional and family plans.

Proposal
That the Board approve the proposed student calendar for the 2015-16 school years.

 

 

 

 

Rationale:  The district implemented a new math program for grades K-2 in the 2011-12 school year.  During the 2012-2013 school year, further modifications were made to the 3^rd grade curriculum based on the K-2 program.  This year, changes continue with the 4^th grade curriculum based on the success of the 3^rd grade modifications from the previous year. Explanation
This presentation is an informational update regarding the most recent changes in the 4^th grade math curriculum.   The changes are similar to those made last year for 3^rd grade, resulting in increased student achievement as seen in the NeSA-M scores. This is an information item; no Board action is requested.

Rationale: 

At the second Board meeting of the month, information regarding the district’s monthly financial report is presented.

Explanation
The monthly financial report for the month ending October 31, 2013, is attached.

Proposal
Information item; no Board action required.  

Rationale:  State Law Section 79-1089, Chapter 1, of Title 92 of the Nebraska Administrative Code, Board Policy 3600, and other state and federal laws and regulations require an annual financial audit for Lancaster County School District 001 (Lincoln Public Schools) and Educational Service Unit No. 18.

Explanation  
The 2012-13 audits for the school district and Educational Service Unit No. 18 have been completed.  A representative from HSMC Orizon CPAs, LLC will be present to discuss the audits.

Proposal  
Information item; no action is required.  

Rationale:  Wednesday, November 27-Friday, November 29, No School

Thursday, November 28-Friday, November 29, LPS Holiday Closing

Wednesday, December 4, Chamber Coffee, 8:00 a.m., Chamber Office

Tuesday, December 10, Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m., LPSDO Board Room

Rationale:  In keeping with Policy 8420, 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.

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.