August 4, 2014 at 6:30 PM - Board of Education Regular 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 your 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:  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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One Year Extension of Workers’ Compensation Managed Care Contract with OHARA. LLC  ($185,119 average per year)

Staff recommends extending the Subscriber Agreement with OHARA, LLC a managed care plan company approved by the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court for one additional year. An addendum to the original subscriber agreement will have an addendum added to complete the contract for an additional year. The OHARA, LLC discounts on medical care, supplies and pharmacy prescriptions, testing, and hospital stays usually is approximately a $200,000 net savings over the cost of the service.

The purpose of extending the Managed Care Plan Agreement is to have the Third Party Administrator Contract expire in the same year as the Managed Care Plan Agreement to allow the opportunity to bid for both services as stand-alone services or as a combined service with one provider which ever will bring the best cost savings to the District.

Rationale:  GRANT FUND BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS

REIMBURSABLE GRANT FUND BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS

 

It is recommended that the receipts and expenditures of the detailed grant fund budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year be amended to include the following reimbursable programs:

 

The Sherwood Foundation Grants and Grants less than $10,000.00 to be amended into the 2013-2014 budgets are available for review in the Board Workroom.

 

1.   SHERWOOD FOUNDATION GRANTS

    

These budget amendments in the amount of $981,198.00 are for the period beginning September 1, 2013, and ending August 31, 2014.  These amendments represent only that part of the budget that will be expended during the 2013-2014 school year for new programs from the Sherwood Foundation.

 

     This program is 100% reimbursable.

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KELLOM CONESTOGA LEARNING COMMUNITY AGREEMENT

This agreement is between the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties and the Omaha Public Schools

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Learning Community has the statutory ability to establish early

childhood initiatives;

WHEREAS, the Learning Community seeks, over time, to enter into a

Community-wide partnership with multiple community entities to provide model early

childcare education programming for Omaha neighborhoods for children ages birth

through age eight;

WHEREAS, OPS desires to be a part of the community-wide partnership that will

provide intensive support for parents, educators and childcare providers engaged in the

development of participating children, and seeks to do so through early childhood

education classrooms for pre-kindergarten-aged children at Kellom Elementary School

("Kellom") and Conestoga Elementary School ("Conestoga");

WHEREAS, the Learning Community and OPS each understand that the

community-wide partnership is a dynamic venture that must be flexible in responding to

emerging needs, and new understandings garnered through implementation, and

therefore seek to commit to continuous program improvement;

WHEREAS, the Learning Community anticipates that it will initiate partnerships

with post-secondary institutions wherein early childhood classrooms at Kellom and

Conestoga will be utilized as sites to train teachers and paraprofessionals by

experienced early childhood education faculty on-site; and

 

WHEREAS, the Learning Community and OPS are committed to providing

resources as set forth in this Agreement and to the joint participation in the planning of

the use of those resources in the implementation of the community-wide partnership,

through the provision of early childhood education classrooms at Kellom and

Conestoga.

THEREFORE, the Board of Education approves and commits to the attached contract this 4^th day of August 2014 and authorizes the Superintendent of Schools to execute said agreement.

Rationale:  The OSERS Board of Trustees recommends to the Board of Education the appointment of David Knutson to fill the business community trustee position, Roger Rea to fill the annuitant trustee position, James Ripa the classified staff trustee position, and Lance Purdy and John Young the certificated staff trustee positions. These trustee positions begin September 1, 2014 and run concurrently with the school fiscal year. Letters of recommendation from each of the employees and annuitant organizations supporting the appointments are attached.

Rationale:  The monthly Douglas County School District 0001 Head Start Governing Body Report for June 2014 is provided as an attachment in accordance with the 2007 Head Start Act.

Rationale:  On March 3, 2014 the District approved a contract with Jacobs to provide Stakeholder Engagement, Communication Services and Program Services to prioritize facility needs.   To develop a recommendation for a Facilities Capital Improvement Plan the Jacobs team has:

·      reviewed the provided facility assessment and enrollment forecast data,

·      conducted three community dialogue meetings,

·      met with the steering committee comprised of key stakeholders,

·      met with district staff, and

·      conducted three work sessions with the Board of Education.  

  
Jacobs will be presenting a process overview and update regarding the Recommended Capital Facilities Plan.

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Federal School Nutrition Community Eligibility Program

The Community Eligibility Program (CEP) provides an alternative approach for offering meals to schools that have low socioeconomic status.  Rather than collecting individual meal applications for free and reduced meals, the CEP uses information from other programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Temporary Assistance Program for  Needy Families (TANF) in lieu of the traditional application (paper and on-line applications) to determine the free and reduced status of each school or district.

 

The CEP became available nationally beginning July 1, 2014.  Omaha Public Schools is excited to begin analyzing and discussing this option for our students.  We believe the CEP could be a positive approach for many of our families. Thus, administrative staff plans to fully research all of the requirements.  

 

During the School Nutrition Association Conference held in July 2014, attendees were encouraged to use data from the upcoming 2014-15 school year and to fully research the CEP program.  Important areas of focus which will be included in the discussion will be:  analyzing which schools meet the criteria, what the reporting mechanisms will be for the different programs (e.g., Title 1, eRate, Nebraska Department of Education, Learning Community), timely communication to the families and community, and the ultimate financial impact on the district. 

Rationale:  LEARNING COMMUNITY

Douglas/Sarpy County Learning Community Coordinating Council minutes of the May 15, 2014 regular meeting.

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.