September 6, 2017 at 6:30 PM - Omaha Public Schools Board of Education and Educational Service Unit 19 Board Meeting

Rationale: 

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: 

Board of Education #OPSProud Spotlight - September 7, 2017

Madam President, members of the board, Superintendent Evans, our #OPSProud Spotlight is on more than fifty schools across the OPS district. During the 2016 - 2017 school year OPS was recognized as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified District.

 

Fifty-three schools and programs earned Common Sense School Certification by engaging in and learning more about digital citizenship and literacy. Students have strengthened their digital citizenship skills in focus areas ranging from preventing cyberbullying, to understanding their digital footprints, and maintaining privacy and security online. This is an important milestone to recognize for our staff, students and Instructional Technology Team who support our schools. I will now turn it over to Keegan Korf the Lead Teacher of Digital Citizenship for the district.

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: 

It is recommended that the claims for the School District of Omaha be approved as presented by the Central Administrative Staff.

Rationale: 

It is recommended that the claims for the School District of Omaha be approved as presented by the Central Administrative Staff.

A. Claims B Report

Rationale: 

It is recommended that the claims for Educational Service Unit No. 19 be approved as presented by the Central Administrative Staff.

Rationale: 

The Committee on Claims met on 09/06/2017 and approved the audit of claims conducted by the Secretary to the Board of Education. 

Rationale: 

As part of its ongoing effort to institutionalize mentoring as a service of the OPS system, OPS intends to establish a full-time "Mentoring Specialist" position within its Department of School Support and Supervision, reporting to the Elementary Executive Director at OPS, and a "Success Mentors" program focused on improving youth school attendance rates.  MMP is greatly encouraged by OPS’ youth mentoring initiatives and is eager to collaborate with OPS to help ensure the intended benefits are realized.  MMP believes that, if properly resourced and collaboratively executed, the OPS program can become a model for adoption by school districts across the country, providing the ancillary benefit of improving the lives of a much broader youth population and, therefore, society as a whole.

 

To help ensure its mentoring program is properly and efficiently executed, OPS wishes to collaborate with MMP by leveraging the guidance of MMP’s experienced personnel and adopting, as appropriate, its research-based and practitioner-informed practices. MMP has not only developed solutions to assist organizations across Nebraska in implementing research-based mentoring programs, it has become a nationally-renowned, thought-leading affiliate of the National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) by consistently offering innovative solutions to ensure programs are benefiting high-need populations through highly-effective services. To best leverage MMP’s substantial experience and resources, MMP will fund through a grant the full cost of a Mentoring Specialist to be hired by OPS under the direction of the Executive Director of OCSFE. 

 

Rationale: 

The Board will consider resolution to approve the 2017-18 non-levy budgets for Douglas County School District 0001 which includes the following:

School Lunch                      $41,452,438

School Activities                  $  6,500,000

Central Stores                    $   5,500,000

Depreciation                       $   5,000,000

Employee Benefit                $ 11,100,000

Student Fees                      $     800,000

Contingency                       $11,000,000

Cooperative                       $43,000,000

Prior Service Retirement      $     145,000  

Rationale: 

The Board will consider attached resolution to approve the 2017-18 Douglas County School District 0001 budgets, which require a tax levy, excluding the General Fund as follows:

Bond Fund $73,972,340

Special Building Fund  $238,467,312

Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund  $7,648,990

Rationale: 

The Board will consider attached resolution to approve the 2017-2018 General Fund local budget in the amount of $608,843,809 and a reimbursable grant budget in the amount of $89,450,000 for a total General Fund Budget of $698,293,809.

Rationale: 

The Board will consider attached resolution to approve the 2017-2018 ESU No. 19 budget of $29,057,638.

Rationale: 

The Board will consider a resolution to set the 2017-18 Douglas County School District 0001 property tax requests as follows:

General Fund  $224,563,730.00

Special Building Fund  $0.00

Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund  $5,678,329.00

Bond Fund $34,163,979.00

TOTAL PROPERTY TAX REQUIREMENT  $264,406,038.00

 

Rationale: 

The Board will consider attached resolution to set the 2017-2018 ESU No. 19 property tax request at $3,154,221.00

Rationale: 

Mr. Snow will provide an update regarding the work of the Superintendent Search Committee. 

Rationale: 

Central Office staff will provide an update on the Strategic Plan.  

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.