April 14, 2015 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 Services to Children Award is given by the Nebraska School Psychologist Association. This award is given annually to an individual, outside of the profession of school psychology, whose efforts and activities have made a substantial contribution to the lives of children.

Explanation
Shannon Mitchell, assistant principal of Arnold Elementary School, has been honored with the Nebraska School Psychologist Association’s Service to Children Award.  

Mitchell has day-to-day and lifelong impacts on students at Arnold Elementary School, where she serves as assistant principal and much more. It should be noted that even though she is not a psychologist, she recognizes the value of proper evaluation, intervention and treatment of emotional and mental health issues, and knows it is everyone’s job to look out for the whole child.  

She has taught sixth-grade, then special education, and eventually became a coordinator and assistant principal. This path has allowed her to see the various overall needs of students and the best way to help families on an individual level.  

Mitchell’s co-workers noted in the nomination letter for her:
(Her) office is more of a meeting place for teachers, staff, families, and children. It is the norm to have kids in her office checking in and checking out during the day as part of their plan and receiving direct feedback and support from her. The great thing is that she has coached the rest of us in the model, and it has become the building norm for all of us to fight for kids needs and maintain excellent relationships and rapport with kids and families.

As assistant principal, Mitchell has coordinated the Special Education Process, the Student Assistance Team Process, the School Improvement Team process, and more. She was instrumental in implementing the Response to Intervention Process at Arnold more than 10 years ago.  

Co-workers report that Arnold parents rave about Mitchell’s ability to understand their wants and needs and to respond in a positive fashion.

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: 

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.

Explanation
This report includes routine Human Resources changes:
   a.  Administrator Certificated Employees:
             Elections – 5
             Changes of Status – 4
             Leaves of Absence – 1
             Separations – 1
   b.  Certificated Employees:
             Elections – 7
             Re-Elections New Assignment – 1
             Changes of Status – 3
             Leaves of Absence – 21
             Separations – 19
   c.  Substitute Certificated Employees:
             Elections – 32
             Changes of Status – 1
             Separations – 1
   d.  Classified Employees:
             Elections – 23
             Changes of Status – 2
             Separations – 17
   e.  Other:
             Employment of Family Member – 2
             Workers’ Compensation Lump Sum Settlements – 3

   f.  Approval of recommended agreement with Gallup Inc. to subscribe to TeacherInsight, PrincipalInsight
       and SupportInsight.

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 April 14, 2015, were previously provided.                

Federal Tax ACH Deposit of $5,386,447.06.                

Procurement Card ACH Transfer of $221,926.13.                

Office Depot ACH Transfer of $68,667.81.                

Retirement ACH Transfer of $8,629,226.43                

Vendor ACH Transfer of $69,086.56. 

b.  PAYROLL FOR RATIFICATION – Payroll for the periods ending February 5, February 24, March 13, and March 31, 2015, in the amount of $14,230,760.16. 

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 renewal of software subscriptions; renewal of online periodicals, multimedia, and reference resources; renewal of an online science resource used by middle schoolers; purchase of science equipment and software for The Career Academy; purchase of sewing machines for Family and Consumer Science classrooms; a general contractor for construction of Wysong Elementary; purchase of a cargo step-van for Transportation; purchase of replacement fire alarm systems for Brownell and Huntington; purchase of chromebooks; purchase of computer workstations for all six high schools and Bryan; purchase of computer workstations for five middle level computer labs; an amendment to the CLC agreement with Lincoln Parks and Recreation; an agreement to enable selected LPS teachers to continue a program of graduate education; the opportunity for LPS mascots to appear on debit cards; an agreement to provide sack breakfasts and lunches for the LLCHD Summer Feeding Program; an agreement for digital curriculum for 6th grade math; items to be 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 April 14, 2015.  

b.  Payroll for the periods ending February 5, February 24, March 13, and March 31, 2015.  

c.  Gifts for Brownell, Eastridge, and the district.  

d.  Bids/contracts/other routine business for renewal of software subscriptions; renewal of online periodicals, multimedia, and reference resources; renewal of an online science resource used by middle schoolers; purchase of science equipment and software for The Career Academy; purchase of sewing machines for Family and Consumer Science classrooms; a general contractor for construction of Wysong Elementary; purchase of a cargo step-van for Transportation; purchase of replacement fire alarm systems for Brownell and Huntington; purchase of chromebooks; purchase of computer workstations for all six high schools and Bryan; purchase of computer workstations for five middle level computer labs; an amendment to the CLC agreement with Lincoln Parks and Recreation; an agreement to enable selected LPS teachers to continue a program of graduate education; the opportunity for LPS mascots to appear on debit cards; an agreement to provide sack breakfasts and lunches for the LLCHD Summer Feeding Program; an agreement for digital curriculum for 6th grade math; items to be listed for auction; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.

Rationale:  On February 10, 2015, the Board adopted a resolution to accept option students for the 2015-16 school year.  Applications have been received from students requesting that they be accepted as option students for the 2015-16 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 10, 2015.      

Explanation
Staff has examined the applications of the students included in this proposal.  The students meet one of the criteria set forth by the Board in its resolution of February 10, 2015.  Staff recommends approval of these applications.      

Proposal
That the Board adopt the following resolution:  

WHEREAS the students who have been assigned student numbers 405452, and 274992 (for purposes of confidentiality, assigned numbers are being used) meet one or more of the criteria of the Board resolution of February 10, 2015, 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:  March 15, 2015, 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 2015-16 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
Request from students who resides in the Lincoln Public Schools District and wishes to attend school outside of the Lincoln Public Schools District has been received after the March 15, 2015, deadline.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education may deny or approve these requests.  If these requests are approved by the Board of Education, they will be forwarded to the option school districts for their approval.  

Student Number  Option District                                      
244979   Raymond Central
271628                             Norris                                        

Proposal
That the Board approves these request for option out for the 2015-16 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: 

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to new schools and property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln or newly platted.  This action establishes school attendance areas allowing parents and students to know what schools the children will attend.      

Explanation
The new Wysong Elementary School is scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.  Wysong Elementary School attendance boundaries need to be assigned, and the Cavett Elementary School, Humann Elementary School, Maxey Elementary School, and Zeman Elementary School attendance boundaries need to be modified so that parents and students will know which schools they will be attending.  

It is recommended that beginning with the 2016-17 school year and continuing until further modified that the Wysong Elementary School attendance boundaries be established and that the Cavett Elementary School, Humann Elementary School, Maxey Elementary School, and Zeman Elementary School attendance boundaries be modified as shown on the map attached to this agenda item.      

Proposal
That the Board discuss the proposed attendance area assignments of Wysong Elementary School, Cavett Elementary School, Humann Elementary School, Maxey Elementary School, and Zeman Elementary School.  

Rationale: 

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to new schools and property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln or newly platted.  This action establishes school attendance areas allowing parents and students to know which school they will attend.      

Explanation
The new Moore Middle School is scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year.  Moore Middle School attendance boundaries need to be assigned, and the Lux Middle School, Pound Middle School, and Scott Middle School attendance boundaries need to be modified so that parents and students will know which schools they will be attending.  

It is recommended that beginning with the 2017-18 school year and continuing until further modified that the Moore Middle School attendance boundaries be established and that the Lux Middle School, Pound Middle School, and Scott Middle School attendance boundaries be modified as shown on the map attached to this agenda item.  

In addition, it is recommended that staff manage the student enrollment process, including option and transfer requests, in a manner that limits new enrollment growth for Scott Middle School.      

Proposal
That the Board discuss the proposed attendance area assignments of Moore Middle School, Lux Middle School, Pound Middle School, and Scott Middle School.  

Rationale: 

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to new schools and property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln or newly platted.  This action establishes school attendance areas allowing parents and students to know which school they will attend.
     
Explanation
The new Moore Middle School is scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year.  This adjustment of high school attendance areas allows for Moore Middle School to fall within the East High School attendance boundaries.      

Proposal
That the Board discuss the proposed attendance area assignments of East High School and Southeast High School.  

Rationale: 

Over the last six years, Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) has seen a thirty-one percent (31%) increase in school breakfast participation and a seventeen percent (17%) increase in school lunches.  Additionally over the last six years, LPS has seen a thirty-three percent (33%) increase in food purchases and a forty-five (45%) increase in commodities received.  Also, the following challenges have occurred or are anticipated:  (1) LPS has added thirteen new school kitchens to the district since 1990; (2) Between 2009 and 2014, student enrollment has increased by eleven percent (11%); and (3) Two additional school kitchens will be added in 2016 and 2017.   Food Stores has no room to expand at its current location in the Distribution Center (DC) and has out-grown the current freezer space at DC.  The advantages of a new facility include eliminating the need to rent outside cold storage, enabling LPS to receive larger truckload deliveries of dry and frozen food from the USDA, and to use more commodity food items to cover the menu, in turn saving the district money on shipping charges and food purchases.      

Explanation
In September of 2013, LPS issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking proposals from interested owners on the acquisition by lease/purchase of a property and building suitable for warehouse space to accommodate the LPS Nutrition Services Food Store, noting that proposal may involve any existing or build-to-suit facilities.  In October of 2013, LPS received eleven (11) submittals (representing seventeen land parcels), all located in the Southwest quadrant of the City of Lincoln.  As a result of extensive study and analysis, staff and the Planning Committee are recommending purchase of the warehouse/office building and adjacent land located at 710 Hill Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, generally known as the Bison site.  The Bison site consists of ±4.2 acres and includes a 39,113 square foot building improvement designed for warehouse/office use.  A copy of the proposed purchase agreement and all other details are available in the Purchasing Department.  The purchase price is $2,075,000 to be paid from the Building Fund.      

Proposal
That the Board discuss the purchase of the Bison site.

Rationale: 

This grant, funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, assists eligible school districts and partners in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools.  

Farm to School includes efforts that connect schools with local or regional farmers, food processors, and manufacturers to serve local or regionally procured foods in school cafeterias.  Increasing locally sourced, fresh fruits and vegetables into school cafeterias is a seminal activity of many farm to school efforts.  Procuring locally sourced minimally processed main meal items to ensure the school meal is representative of regional options is also a focus of many farm to school programs.  In addition, these programs often include food, agriculture, and nutrition-based educational efforts including standards-based curriculum and hands-on experiential activities, such as school gardens, field trips to local farms, and cooking classes.  To embed farm to school activities into school culture, promotional and outreach efforts often aim to keep farm to school activities front and center in both the school and broader community.  Lincoln Public Schools applied for the grant in 2014, and was not awarded.  LPS is reapplying for the 2015-16 school year.      

Explanation
Currently Lincoln Public Schools works with several local farmers, food processors, and manufactures in order to serve locally produced foods in school cafeterias.  These relationships primarily result in local produce and meat on school lunch trays or as snacks in after-school programs; some items are offered to all students across the district and some are offered in smaller quantities because of a limited production scale.  LPS will apply under the grant planning option since the district is in the early stages of determining to what extent it is prepared to take this effort to scale across the district.  Utilizing the required USDA’s Farm to School Planning Toolkit, Lincoln Public Schools will engage a wide variety of internal and external collaborators over the course of the one-year grant period in the design of a Farm to School Implementation Plan.  Other grant activities would include working out issues related to distribution across the district and inventorying school kitchens for related equipment needs.  Partners would include the Nebraska Food Cooperative, Community CROPS, Prairieland Dairy, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s County Extension Program, and Teach a Kid to Fish.      

Proposal
That the Board discuss the submission of the Farm To School Planning Grant Application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the approximate amount of $45,000 for one year.  This program has a twenty-five percent match requirement, which will be met through in-kind contributions of time provided by our community collaborators participating in the year-long planning process.   The grant application is due May 20, 2015.  

Rationale:  The U.S. Department of Education releases funds to State Departments of Education annually, which then release an application to local education agencies to apply for a School Improvement Grant (SIG).  In Nebraska, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) reviews school performance to identify specific schools considered eligible for a SIG grant.  Three tiers of schools are identified by NDE as Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools (PLAS), making them eligible to apply for a SIG.  Tier I schools are the lowest performing fiver percent (5%) of Title I schools in Nebraska. Tier II schools are the lowest performing five percent (5%) of Title I-eligible but not Title I-receiving secondary schools with graduation rates below 75 percent over a period of three years. Tier III schools are all Title I schools identified as being in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring based on their lack of making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act.  

The Nebraska Department of Education is currently working on an application to the U.S. Department of Education for SIG funds, which is due April 15, 2015.  On April 16, NDE will release an application to school districts to apply for these funds, estimated to be a total of $2.4 million.      

Explanation
Within Lincoln Public Schools, no school has been identified as Tier I and one school, Lincoln High School, has been identified as Tier II. Because the annual AYP requirement has become 100% proficiency this year, 22 LPS Title I-funded schools are included in Tier III, as are approximately 250 other schools across Nebraska.   

Lincoln Public Schools proposes to submit a SIG application on behalf of Lincoln High School (LHS).  The LHS state-calculated graduation rate hovered around 69 percent (69%) for three years, but decreased slightly to 66.6 percent (66.6%) last year.  LHS student demographics reflect the highest rates of mobility, poverty, English Language Learners, Special Education, suspensions, and expulsions.  The additional supports available through a SIG grant would provide an unprecedented opportunity to create or enhance academic and support services at LHS.  We would propose to submit a SIG proposal following the Transformation Model, one of four required models that must be used. This proposal would allow LHS to enhance efforts to improve the high school graduation rate through the use of targeted strategies including staff development, instructional reforms, increased learning time, and district operational supports.      

Proposal
That the Board discuss the submission of a School Improvement Grant Application to the Nebraska Department of Education for the approximate total amount of $2,000,000 for a total of five years, dependent upon final funding determination. There is no match or in-kind requirement for this award.  

Rationale:  The Sixpence Early Childhood Education Endowment Grant Program was established to serve children from birth to age three, and is a public-private partnership funded from the State and from the private sector. The fund is used primarily for grants to school districts to provide programs and services for infants and toddlers who are at risk of school failure in partnership with community agencies and child care programs serving this age group. The purpose of the Endowment Grant is to help promote opportunities for children to experience positive environments that provide for their healthy growth and development during their earliest years.  

Lincoln Public Schools has been fortunate to receive Sixpence funding since the program’s inception in 2008, when our application for $300,000 to support both enhancement and expansion of Student/Child Learning Centers was awarded.  In 2014, we received an additional $300,000 to support partnerships with CEDARS and Educare for home-based and center-based programming for children birth to age three.      

Explanation
Lincoln Public Schools was recently notified by the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, which administers the Sixpence program, that our original award of $300,000 is now eligible to receive an increase of $45,000 per year, for an annual total of $345,000.  This increase is intended to address our need for additional support for program costs that have slowly increased over the last six years.  LPS must submit a continuation proposal for a Sixpence Endowment Grant in order to receive these additional funds for the Student/Child Learning Center program. Our combined total continuation request for $645,000 will include continuations of the partnerships developed last year            

Proposal
That the Board discuss the submission of a continuation proposal for Sixpence Endowment Grant funds to support ongoing programming of the Student/Child Learning Center program, as well as partnerships with CEDARS and Educare. The continuation application request is for $645,000, which requires a local level match with at least the same amount. $600,000 of match has been provided annually by LPS from existing program costs that are provided through other existing funding sources such as child care subsidy reimbursements, Title I, and LPS general funds.  The additional $45,000 of match required this year will be provided through this same mechanism.  

Application due date: April 30, 2015.

Rationale:  April 19, Rousseau Elementary 50 Year Anniversary Open House, 1:00-3:00 pm, Rousseau Elementary
April 19, Eastridge Elementary 60 Year Anniversary Open House, 2:00-4:00 pm, Eastridge Elementary
April 21, Native American Student Recognition, 6:00 pm, Firefighters Hall
April 22, Chamber Public Policy Forum, 8:00 am, Chamber Office
April 22, TeamMates Graduation Celebration, 9:30 am, UNL Student Union
April 24, Marilyn Moore Middle School Groundbreaking, 11:00 am, 84th & Yankee Hill Road
April 25, Hispanic American Student Recognition, 1:30 pm, Lincoln High School North Parking Lot
April 27, Leadership Lincoln Lunch, 11:30 am, Innovation Campus
April 28, Board Meeting, 6:00 pm, LPSDO

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: 

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.