August 3, 2015 at 7:30 PM - Omaha Public Schools Board of Education and Educational Service Unit 19 Board Meeting

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Notice to visitors: If you wish to speak, please obtain a “Request to be Heard” form from the entry table and return the completed form to the table attendant or the Board of Education Director.

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.

Agenda items are subject to reordering at discretion of the board president, please attend the entire meeting to ensure you're able to hear any discussion. If you would like to rehear any discussion, please listen to our podcast located on the District Web Page, district.ops.org.

Rationale:  Led by

Rationale:  The Vision:  Every Student.  Every Day.  Prepared for Success.

The Mission:  Omaha Public Schools prepares all students to excel in college, career, and life.

Rationale:  At this time, any Board member may request that any item in the consent agenda be removed from the consent agenda and be considered and voted on separately. 

Rationale:  The Committee on Claims met on 08/03/2015 and approved the audit of claims conducted by the Secretary to the Board of Education. 

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APPROVAL OF CLAIMS - SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA

It is recommended that the claims for the School District of Omaha be approved as presented by the central administrative staff.

A.    CLAIMS REPORT A

Rationale:  APPROVAL OF CLAIMS - SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA

It is recommended that the claims for the School District of Omaha be approved as presented by the central administrative staff.

A.    CLAIMS REPORT B

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APPROVAL OF CLAIMS - EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNIT NO. 19

It is recommended that the claims for Educational Service Unit No. 19 be approved as presented by the central administrative staff.

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GRANT FUND BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS

It is recommended that the receipts and expenditures of the detailed grant fund budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year be amended to include the following reimbursable programs:

Foundation Grants and Grants less than $10,000.00 to be amended into the 2014-2015 budgets are available for review in the Board Workroom. 

1.   FOUNDATION GRANTS    

These budget amendments in the amount of $210,000.00 are for the period beginning September 1, 2014, and ending August 31, 2015.  These amendments represent only that part of the budget that will be expended during the 2014-2015 school year for new Foundation Grants. 

     This program is 100% reimbursable. 

2.   GRANTS LESS THAN $10,000    

These budget amendments in the amount of $9,000.00 are for the period beginning September 1, 2014, and ending August 31, 2015.  These amendments represent only that part of the budget that will be expended during the 2014-2015 school year for various Grants less than $10,000. 

     This program is 100% reimbursable.

 

 

Rationale:  Central Office recommends changes to Policy 2130.

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The monthly Douglas County School District 0001 Head Start Governing Body Report for June 2015 is provided as an attachment in accordance with the 2007 Head Start Act.

 

Rationale:  The Curriculum Instruction and Assessment English as a Second Lanugage Office recommends that the Omaha Public Schools adopt the Nebraska Department of Education English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards.  The ELP Standards were adopted by Nebraska in December, 2013 with the recommendation of full implementation in the 2015-16 school year. OPS staff were part of the process of writing and reviewing the ELP Standards.  The link to the ELP Standards is http://www.education.ne.gov/natlorigin/ELP%20Standards/ELP%20Standards%20Sept%202014.pdf

Rationale:  Mr. Evans will provide district data including student achievement and enrollment data.

Rationale:  Jacobs staff will be available to present an update on bond progress and to respond to questions from the Board. 

Rationale:  Policy 5150 contains revisions of board policy 6.07.   Policy 5101 updates language to reflect current Office of Community, School, and Family Engagement.  Policy 5101 also removed reference to Elementary Behavior Guidelines and Director, Board of Education Services. 

Rationale:  Policy 2600 (Substance Abuse), Policy 4008 (Separation), Policy 4011 (Bloodborne Pathogen), Policy 4023 (Notification of Arrest) were updated from title of Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources to Chief Human Resources Officer.

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The Student Assignment Plan Committee recommends the new Student Assignment Plan middle school transportation walkzone distances be applied to the 2016-17 school year. The recommendation would change middle school walkzones to a maximum of 1.5 miles from the current maximum of 2.0 miles. 

The recommended change will help facilitate parents making choices that will be supported with transportation, if necessary, by the new student assignment plan. Additionally, this change will help avoid irregularities in walkzones that would be created with the transition of many district middle schools to a 6-8 grade configuration in 2016-17. Specifically, students who are 5^th graders in 2015-16 would currently fall under the elementary walkzone limitation of 1.5 miles. In 2016-17 these students would transition to middle school as 6^th graders and would fall under current middle school walkzone limitations of 2.0 miles. Then, the following year, in 2017-18 these now 7^th graders would go back to a walkzone of 1.5 miles. This variability (i.e., 1.5 miles, to 2.0 miles, back to 1.5 miles) would likely be confusing for families, and could be seen by some as a “penalty” for middle school grade standardization. By accelerating middles school walkzone reductions this same student would experience 1.5 mile walkzones from their 5^th grade to 8^th grade years. This stability would help simplify the student assignment plan for these families. 

This acceleration will come at an additional cost as expansions of walkzones will not initially be balanced by reductions in transportation routes that will come with the full implementation of the revised SAP in 2017-18. Although it is difficult to determine an exact cost, the estimated maximum cost for this change would be $600,000 dollars. The potential benefits of this modification include: supporting parents in making school choice decisions that will be supported by both the current and new SAP (e.g., choosing to attend a Home Attendance school rather than one just far enough away to receive transportation); increased consistency through the implementation of the new SAP; reductions in mobility (e.g., limiting the number of students changing schools due to selecting an unsupported option under the new SAP); the expansion of the availability for a safe ride to school for more students; and a slower rate of disruption to district practices (i.e., projections) used for strategically assigning district resources to schools.   

Rationale:  The Omaha 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.