January 4, 2016 at 6:30 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:  Congrats to Wilson Focus School and Principal Bret Anderson.  The school was selected as an Apple Distinguished School for 2015-2017.  The award recognizes the school for being an exemplary learning environment for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence. 

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TREASURER 

The Treasurer's Report for November 2015 is attached for review.

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. 

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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 - SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA CLAIMS REPORT C:

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

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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 2015-2016 fiscal year be amended to include the following reimbursable programs: 

Foundation Grants and Grants less than $10,000.00 to be amended into the 2015-2016 budgets are available for review in the Board Workroom. 

1.   FOUNDATION GRANTS    

These budget amendments in the amount of $31,505.00 are for the period beginning September 1, 2015, and ending August 31, 2016.  These amendments represent only that part of the budget that will be expended during the 2015-2016 school year for new Foundation Grants. 

     This program is 100% reimbursable. 

2.   GRANTS LESS THAN $10,000    

These budget amendments in the amount of $1,614.00 are for the period beginning September 1, 2015, and ending August 31, 2016.  These amendments represent only that part of the budget that will be expended during the 2015-2016 school year for various Grants less than $10,000.

 

This program is 100% reimbursable.

Rationale:  Tort Claim Settlement.  Staff recommends approval of the attached Settlement Agreement between the Omaha Public Schools and Adrienne Elliott individually and as Special Administrator of the Estate of Demariont'e Brown-Elliott.  Ms. Elliott had submitted a tort claim for the drowning death of Demariont'e Brown-Elliott at Nathan Hale Middle School on November 14, 2014.

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

Rationale:  Bid No. 16-011 – 2014 Bond Program – FLSS, South High School

 

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This is to expand our current use of Talent Ed (we currently use their online application system) to include their Performance Module and their Records Module.  The addition of these two modules will allow us to move all phases of employee evaluations to an electronic format and to move our employee files to an online format as well.  The automation of these functions will reduce time for building staff during the evaluation process while increasing the transparency of the process for staff being evaluated.  These software systems will also provide a contingency plan in case of loss of data and increase Human Resource’s ability to respond to building and supervisor request for data. 

Rationale:  Committees of the Board of Education will provide a brief update.

Committees:
Accountability - scheduled to meet January 7, 2016
Budget and Audit
Communications
Policy
Americanism
Student Assignment Plan
Legislative - scheduled to meet January 14, 2016
Construction Manager at Risk (CM@R)
Specialty Schools Review and Recommendations (SSRR)
Citizen Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) - met on December 9, 2015
Code of Conduct - met on December 10, 2015

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

Rationale:  Representatives of Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) will provide the Board of Education an update on the 2014 Bond Program with regard to topics discussed in the CBOC meetings including schedule, budget and contingencies.                

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Staff will present proposed Human Growth and Development (HGD) Content Standards as an information item. In addition, a review of the work, timeline and activities on the HGD Content Standards will be provided that will include a synopsis of the research, content standard survey input from the community and parents as well as some of the data from the Douglas County Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Time for Board Member's questions will occur. 

There will also be a future Board of Education workshop on the topic to answer any additional questions from Board Members. There is no request for action or approval at this time. A future Board report (following the above mentioned HGD workshop) on the finalized HGD Content Standards will occur as an action item for Board Member approval later this month. 

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.