November 24, 2020 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Notice of the time and place of the Lincoln Board of Education meeting was e-mailed to an extensive list of local and regional news media.  A mailing list is maintained at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office.  A public notice was published in the LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR.


The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools. The Lincoln Board of Education shall also make available for examination and copying as requested by members of the public, at least one copy of all reproducible written materials to be discussed at the meeting.

This year LPS raised $137,191.35 for the United Way. This is a 6.2% increase from last year! Our theme, "Now More Than Ever," was reflected in the  staff efforts and contributions to support our students and families.

Top 5 Elementary Schools' Contributions:

• Clinton
• Campbell
• Kooser
• Elliott
• Huntington

Top 2 Middle and High School Contributions:

• Lefler 
• Pound

High School:

• North Star 
• East

Schools and Departments with 65% or greater staff participation

Elementary:

• Don Sherrill 88%
• Clinton
• Campbell
• Fredstrom

Middle School:

• Dawes 72%

LPSDO Departments:

• Payroll 100%
• Superintendent’s Office 100%
• Superintendent’s Office-Custodial 100%
• Government Relations 100%
• Teammates 100%
• Business Affairs Division
• Communications
• Federal Programs
• HR Risk Management
• Instructional Directors
• Library Media
• Student Services

In the interest of maintaining the orderly decorum of the Lincoln School Board's meetings, the following rules are established for the conduct of all person attending a meeting of the Lincoln Board of Education and for those participating in public comment:

Face coverings that cover the nose and mouth are required for all individuals attending Lincoln Board of Education meetings.  This requirement is in alignment with the recommendations of the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department for individuals in public settings and to protect other participants at the Board meeting who may be at higher risk or more vulnerable to COVID-19. When participating in public comment you may only remove your face covering while at the podium and addressing the board. 

No signs, posters, placards, etc. shall be affixed to the walls, doors, etc. of the Lincoln Public Schools District Office or any room therein, except by LPS staff in connection with District business and then only with permission of the Superintendent or designee.

No sign, placard, or poster which is carried by hand shall be permitted in the Lincoln Public Schools District Office building or any of its rooms.

In keeping with Board Policy 8420:

1. Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose. 
2. A time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.
3. Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment. A "Record of Appearance" card is provided for this purpose.
4. Persons wishing to appear will be heard in the order in which the Chair of the meeting determines appropriate.
5. In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.
6. If the number of people wishing to speak under the public participation portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled or the discussion be limited on the issue in question.
7. Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials available to the Board but may not use any other form of media.

Explanation:
This report includes routine Human Resources changes:

a.  Certificated Employees:
         Elections - 4
         Change of Status - 1
         Leave of Absence - 3
         Separations - 3
  
b.  Substitute Certificated Employees:
          Elections - 9
          Separations - 1

c.  Classified Employees:
          Elections - 21
          Change of Status - 2
          Separations - 26

d. Other:
          Civic Leave - 2
          Settlement Agreement - 1

Proposal:
That the Board approve the Human Resources items presented in the attachment(s).*

*The information in the attachment(s) may be protected by privacy legislation until the Board of Education takes action on the staff recommendations.  Therefore, this attachment(s) is not included in agenda materials provided the public and the news media.  Any information in the attachment(s) that is not protected by privacy legislation, however, is available for public inspection from the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources upon request.

That the Board is approving the Human Resources items attached with the information as presented or as on file with official district records and documents relating to each such item, or in such other form as may be approved by the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, and that the Board hereby authorizes the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, to transact and complete each such item approved hereby, and to sign, execute, and deliver necessary documents or contracts, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete each such item of transaction as contemplated, for and on behalf of this school district.

Staff annually monitors enrollment trends in Lincoln Public Schools facilities, as provided in policy and regulation, as to available capacity, impact on educational programs within the building, prior enrollment levels, and anticipated future growth within the building attendance area in order to determine availability for transfer.

Explanation  
Enrollment at East High, Lincoln High and North Star continues to exceed building capacity. In 2020-21 enrollment at East High and Lincoln High exceeds 2,300 and is nearly 2,300 at North Star.

Due to the factors noted above and in particular the ability of the school facilities to serve students, staff has determined and recommended that current high school enrollment procedures last updated in January 2019, be continued for the 2021-22 school year. Specifically, high school selection forms for ninth (9^th) grade students living outside of the respective East, Lincoln High and North Star attendance areas, selecting to attend any of these schools for the 2021-2022 school year, be approved through the standard process if such forms are filed by the filing deadline of January 31, 2021, and that all other selection forms filed after Board of Education approval of this recommendation and the filing deadline of January 31, 2021, for all other grade levels will be denied.

Staff has further determined and recommended that East High, Lincoln High, and North Star will continue to be unavailable to transfers for all other grade levels of students living outside of the East High, Lincoln High, and North Star attendance areas.  

Proposal  
That the Board continue current high school enrollment procedures for the 2021-22 school year.

In the interest of maintaining the orderly decorum of the Lincoln School Board's meetings, the following rules are established for the conduct of all person attending a meeting of the Lincoln Board of Education and for those participating in public comment:

Face coverings that cover the nose and mouth are required for all individuals attending Lincoln Board of Education meetings.  This requirement is in alignment with the recommendations of the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department for individuals in public settings and to protect other participants at the Board meeting who may be at higher risk or more vulnerable to COVID-19. When participating in public comment you may only remove your face covering while at the podium and addressing the board. 

No signs, posters, placards, etc. shall be affixed to the walls, doors, etc. of the Lincoln Public Schools District Office or any room therein, except by LPS staff in connection with District business and then only with permission of the Superintendent or designee.

No sign, placard, or poster which is carried by hand shall be permitted in the Lincoln Public Schools District Office building or any of its rooms.

In keeping with Board Policy 8420:

1. Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose. 
2. A time limit of five minutes will be allotted for any speaker. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.
3. Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment. A "Record of Appearance" card is provided for this purpose.
4. Persons wishing to appear will be heard in the order in which the Chair of the meeting determines appropriate.
5. In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.
6. If the number of people wishing to speak under the public participation portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled or the discussion be limited on the issue in question.
7. Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials available to the Board but may not use any other form of media.

Explanation
At this point, it is appropriate for the Board to meet in closed session for one of the stated matters and/or any other permissible closed session matters in compliance with the law.