April 20, 2015 at 6:00 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:  NCJW mini-grant winners

***

Congratulations to the OPS students who have been competing recently at the Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) spring 2015 poetry events.  Hailing from Central and South, the students represented the district with distinction.  LTAB is a youth poetry organization which originated in Chicago; the group’s Great Plains chapter, to which metro schools belong, boasts hundreds of students from 35 high schools who actively write and share poetry.  The chapter’s 2015 festival wraps up April 20^th at the Holland Center.

Rationale:  Treasurer

The Treasurer's Report for March 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. 

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 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

Rationale: 

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.

Rationale:  The Committee on Claims met on 04/20/2015 and approved the audit of claims conducted by the Secretary to the Board of Education. 

Rationale:  The Department of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment requests permission to apply in partnership with Omaha Early Learning Centers and Educare, for the Sixpence Early Childhood grant from the Nebraska Early Childhood Education Endowment. Currently, Educare receives a Sixpence grant awarded in partnership with OPS, and this proposal will extend our partnership to include the Omaha Early Learning Centers located at Skinner and Gateway. Educare and OPS receive federal funds from Early Head Start and state funds from the Sixpence endowment to provide services for infants and toddlers most at risk for school failure. Risks factors to identify children in need of Sixpence funded programs include: free or reduced lunch status, premature birth or low birth weight, English as a Second Language, and teen parents or parents without a high school diploma.  Ninety children enrolled in OPS/Educare centers for the 2014/2015 year receive services funded by the Sixpence endowment totaling $525,000. The proposed grant will serve an additional 55 children at the Omaha Early Learning Centers and in a newly created home visitation program at Educare. The Sixpence grant award request for the Omaha Early Learning Centers and Educare of Omaha in partnership with OPS for the 2015-2016 school year will be $612,000.

Rationale:  Steve Gering will provide an update on Developing Principal Leadership.

Rationale:  Curriculum Instruction and Assessment staff will provide an update on the new State Board-approved Nebraska K-12 English Language Arts Standards. Staff have teacher training and curriculum revision work scheduled to occur this summer and early August in preparation for the implementation of the newly revised Nebraska K-12 English Language Arts Standards in the fall of 2015. In order to comply with Nebraska statutes, this item will return to the OPS Board of Education for approval on May 4, 2015.

Rationale:  Several committees of the Board of Education will provide a brief update to the Committee of the Whole. 

Committees:
Accountability
Budget and Audit
Communications
Policy
Americanism
Student Assignment Plan
Legislative
Construction Manager at Risk (CM@R)
Specialty Schools Review and Recommendations (SSRR)
Citizen Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC)
Priority Based Budget Advisory
Code of Conduct
OSERS

Rationale:  Mr. Jerry Corner will provide and update on the Office of Community, School, and Family Engagement. 

Rationale:  Mr. Sharif Liwaru will provide an update on the Office of Equity and Diversity.

Rationale:  To bring from the table the SIG Application from April 6, 2015 for Kennedy Elementary. 

Rationale:  The Board may vote on any items presented by the District Lobbyist, John Lindsay, and any bill currently in front of the Nebraska Legislature.

Rationale:  Jacobs will present the recommendations that are within the Economic Inclusion Plan document for Board of Education approval.  The entire Economic Inclusion Plan document will not be presented during the meeting but has been posted online.  The Economic Inclusion Plan document contains information regarding data gathered through the engagement of OPS staff, Baird Holm legal counsel, and the community for development and implementation of an OPS 2014 Bond Program Economic Inclusion Program.  The plan document also contains input from the Board of Education received at the March 26, 2015, Economic Inclusion work session and community and contractor input received by the April 03, 2015 deadline. 

Rationale: 

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.   SPECIAL EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE GRANT, NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - PROJECT 465015.

 

     Central administrative staff request approval to accept the Special Education Collaborative Grant budget.

 

This budget amendment, in the amount of $100,879.00, is for the period beginning September 1, 2014, and ending August 31, 2015.  It represents the continued participation in a program conducted during the 2013-2014 school year for the purpose of funding activities for each Educational Service Unit (ESU) in the state to support program improvement efforts through the “Improving Learning for Children with Disabilities” (ILCD) process.

 

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.   GRANTS LESS THAN $10,000

    

These budget amendments in the amount of $400.00 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:  The Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council (ESUCC) meets monthly to support the statewide coordinated provision of the most cost-effective services for students, teachers, and school district in each educational service unit.  Following approval of the meeting minutes by the full Council, these minutes are provided to the Board of Education as an update. ESU Coordinating Council Meeting minutes for March 2015 are provided as an attachment.

Rationale: 

This report is an update on the Nebraska waiver for flexibility from the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The federal law ESEA, is also referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Currently 43 states have waivers from NCLB, which allow them to forgo certain accountability requirements in exchange for implementing education reforms outlined by the Federal Department of Education. The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has not previously applied for a waiver.

Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has gathered community input on the draft waiver, had on-line surveys, and held community forums. OPS hosted one forum in late March for NDE with approximately 30 attendees. This report includes an overview of the NDE Waiver which includes three principles: 1) College and Career Ready Content Standards 2) AQuESTT which is the new school and district accountability framework and 3) Principal and Teacher Evaluation Framework. Although the waiver has been submitted the time frame for response from the Federal Department of Education is unknown.

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.