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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:  Congratulations to the Omaha Schools Foundation! A recently released study declared it to be among the top scholastic foundations in America. OSF ranked third in the national study "Stepping Up: The Top K-12 Education Foundations in the Nation" conducted by a Florida group. The study, whose findings were announced last week, looked at foundations connected to the 100 largest districts in the nation and determined OSF to be one of the best. The study examined eight key performance categories to determine the final rankings.

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

REIMBURSABLE 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:

1. CARL D. PERKINS VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION GRANT, NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION – PROJECT 471815.

        Central administrative staff request approval to accept the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Grant budget.

        This budget amendment, in the amount of $818,053.00, is for the period beginning September 1, 2014, and ending June 30, 2015.  The total budget is written for the period beginning July 1, 2014, and ending June 30, 2015.  This amendment represents only that part of the budget that will be expended during the 2014-2015 school year.  It represents the continued participation in a program conducted during the 2013-2014 school year for the purpose of improving and expanding career and technical education programs.

     This program is 100% reimbursable.

 The Sherwood 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.

2.   SHERWOOD FOUNDATION GRANTS

These budget amendments in the amount of $1,004,589.00 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 programs from the Sherwood Foundation.

     This program is 100% reimbursable.

Rationale:  PROPOSED 2014-2015 NON-RESIDENT TUITION RATES

Rationale:  Staff recommends that the maintenance agreement with Paul Wenninghoff for the 78th and Craig Street acreage be extended to October 31, 2015.

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OMAHA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM – APPROVAL OF CONTRACT WITH MARINER REAL ESTATE PARTNERS IV

Staff, at the direction of the Board of Trustees of the Omaha School Employees’ Retirement System and following legal review by the attorney, will recommend contracting for limited partnership interests in Mariner Real Estate Partners IV, LP, a fund investing in a real estate secured debt instruments.

Rationale:  Ms. Gould agrees to resign her employment and release all claims against the District, including but not limited to any and all matters arising out of or in connection with her employment with and resignation from the District; Charges of Discrimination she filed against the District in July 2013, April 2014, and September 2014; a lawsuit she filed against the District in September 2014, and all other matters arising under federal, state, and local law.  In exchange the District will withdraw the recommendation to terminate Ms. Gould's employment and pay her $66,789.00.  This settlement agreement does not create a separate entitlement in addition to the payment referenced in the Pre-Determination Settlement between the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, Ms. Gould, and the District; rather, it is the same sum and serves as consideration for both documents.  The total payment ever due to Ms. Gould from the District is $66,789.00. 

Rationale:  This Agreement will resolve Charges of Discrimination Ms. Gould filed against the District in April 2014 and September 2014 in exchange for the District paying Ms. Gould $66,789.00.  This settlement agreement does not create a separate entitlement in addition to the payment referenced in the Settlement Agreement and Release between the District and Ms. Gould; rather, it is the same sum and serves as consideration for both documents.  The total payment ever due to Ms. Gould from the District is $66,789.00. 

Rationale:  Annually the Special Education Division within Curriculum Instruction and Assessment negotiates and renews contracts with outside agencies for special education services that are required under Rule 51. Attached you will find: a contract rate sheet and a contract cost sheet for your review.  The contract rate sheet includes services that need to be purchased by Omaha Public Schools from outside agencies that will provide special education services to students ages birth-21.  The contract cost sheet includes the agency, address, type of service the agency provides, the number of students that receive services from that agency and the 2014-2015 approved rate. The sheet includes an estimate of the total cost for school age and early childhood special education services provided by contract agencies.  The rates and contracts have had legal review and are budgeted for within the upcoming school year.

Rationale:  Imagine Learning provides personalized and differentiated learning for students in literacy and language learning. The program has built in instructive feedback that is specific to each learner. In the past, schools have purchased licenses for Imagine Learning individually. By purchasing at the district level, the Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Department have been able to obtain a substantial cost savings of approximately 40%. This purchase will be funded by Title I allocations and charged to each building upon principal requests. Pending building principal requests the district contract will be up to $987,500.00.

Rationale:  Reading A to Z is a resource that provides decodable books, leveled readers, fluency passages, phonological awareness and phonics lessons, vocabulary books and graphic organizers that can be used district-wide. Reading A to Z comes with thousands of downloadable, projectable, printable teacher materials that support reading instruction. It is a supplemental tool to help support differentiated instruction. This is a continuation of the existing district license. The district license annual renewal is $71,639.85.

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

Rationale:  A part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requirements includes providing educational services for children in local and state institutions for neglected, delinquent and homeless children and youth.   Title I contracts with 15 agencies to ensure we meet the criteria for students who are neglected, delinquent and homeless must have the opportunity to meet the same challenging state academic content and student achievement standards that all children in the state are expected to meet

Rationale:  The fine arts have historically served as an important component of a well-rounded comprehensive education in the Omaha Public Schools.  Art and music education are offered at all OPS elementary schools and the study of art, music, dance, and theater remain a viable option  which high school students can choose as a part of their daily coursework.  While some Nebraska districts have minimized the number of minutes devoted to the arts, the Omaha Public Schools has maintained the amount of time for these disciplines and, in addition, has deepened the content and rigor. The attached presentation describes not just the accomplishments of the OPS fine arts curricula but the challenges as well. This is divided into four categories:  vocal music, instrumental music, visual arts, and drama.   Also included are the Nebraska Fine Arts Standards.

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As a part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) sanctions, a portion of the Title I funds must be spent on academic tutoring from Supplemental Educational Service Providers (SES) state approved providers.  Students eligible for Supplemental Educational Services must attend a second year “Needs Improvement” Title I school, qualify for the free/reduced lunch program and have greatest academic need based on Nebraska State Accountability (NeSA) scores.  

 All 17 SES providers are required to have the following documents turned in to the Title I office before servicing students:

• SES Service Agreement Contract
• Background authorization forms
• Student Learning
• Parent SES Evaluation Survey

Rationale:  Summary of Fiscal Year 2013-2014 District cost savings through protocols regularly followed in procurement processes.  Documents presented include the 2013-2014 main report and attachments A-L containing supporting material on processes.

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.