June 9, 2011 at 6:30 PM - Regular Meeting June 9, 2011

Rationale:  It is 6:30 PM and I now call to order the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education Meeting.  This is the June 9, 2011 meeting.  Notice of this meeting has been advertised in the Grand Island Independent, which is the District's designated method of giving notice of these meetings.

We want those in attendance to know that copies of the Open Meetings Act are available at the entrance to the Board Room.  If anyone in attendance is interested in addressing our Board, you are welcome to do so.  We simply request that you complete the appropriate form and turn it in to us now so that you may be recognized during the Public Forum part of our meeting.  These forms are also located by the entry doors of this room.

Mrs. Wagner, will you please call the roll?

Rationale:  Roll Call.

Rationale: 

The Mission  

Every Student, Every Day, a Success
Within the Grand Island Public Schools,
- every student will be taught to read, write, and communicate effectively; solve problems; acquire and apply knowledge; and demonstrate mastery through performance to the best of the student's abilities;  
- every student will be treated with fairness and dignity;
- every student will experience a sense of belonging, contribution, and success; and
- every student will develop responsibility and show respect for others as well as oneself.  
In educating students, we teach hearts as well as minds.

Rationale:  The first item on the agenda tonight is the Consent Agenda.  The Consent Agenda to be approved is as follows:

(items read.)

This is the Consent Agenda as published.  Would anyone like to remove any items or add any items to the Consent Agenda? 

Rationale:  Dr. Cass will present the draft copy of the proposed 2011-2012 Board Goals.  Board members created these goals at a Board Retreat in March.  A committee then met to establish proper verbiage.  The Board will be asked to approve and accept these goals at the July 2011 meeting.

Rationale:  CNSSP contracts with various service providers for professional services in areas where need is greater than zero but less than full time for all CNSSP districts. An occupational therapy service for the CNSSP Preschool program is one of these areas. In keeping with district practice, the Board approves all contracts. Administration is recommending the proposed contract for occupational therapy services to be provided July 16, 2011 to July 15, 2012 for the CNSSP Preschool Program as an action item at the regularly scheduled July board meeting.

Rationale:  Discussion of the need for an Institute focused on career and technical education at the secondary school level in Grand Island, Nebraska, has increased in the last four years and involved staff from Grand Island Public Schools, area school districts, Central Community College (CCC), other postsecondary schools, major area manufacturers and employers, Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce, and Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation.  A planning team was formed and has met monthly over the past school year.  From those sessions, the Institute Learning Plan will be presented at the Grand Island Public Schools’ Board of Education meeting on June 9, 2011. 

Rationale:  Overview of Need:  The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a federal law enacted by Congress to address concerns about access to offensive content over the Internet on school and library computers. CIPA imposes requirements on any school or library that receives funding for Internet access from the E-rate program. Approximately 77% of Grand Island Public Schools’ Internet costs are funded through E-rate.
Process: For the past three years the District has contracted with ESU 10 for filtering services. The ESU 10 contract with the current filtering vendor, M8e6, is ending this summer. ESU 10 and several member districts have been exploring new filtering options. Grand Island Public Schools representatives have: • participated in the ESU 10 filtering discussions and tests of potential solutions. • collaborated with several surrounding school districts regarding potential solutions and actual tests of hardware and software. • conducted tests of two different filtering products on the District wide area network. Grand Island Public Schools representatives are proposing iBoss as the District filter for several reasons. • The filter addresses district needs and appears to be easily maintained and managed. • ESU 10 will also be running the iBoss solution, enabling us to seek knowledgeable assistance from ESU staff. • 

Rationale:  Annually, we review our meal prices in relation to other districts around the state and our own meal production costs.  For the 2011 - 2012 school year several other factors, including new Federal food standards are driving the pricing increase.  Mrs. Spellman, Director of Nutrition Services will provide a brief overview of the new Federal food standards and answer any questions the Board might have.  This is an informational item only as the Board will be asked to approve the increase during the July meeting after the required student fees hearing.

Rationale:  Grand Island Public Schools entered into a year lease with Head Start Child and Family Development Program, Inc. ("Head Start") for office space at the Early Learning Center (ELC) during the 2009 - 2010 school year.  The current lease agreement allows for a year to year continuation of the agreement without a formal new document.  However, it's the desire of the Head Start Child and Family Development Program, Inc. ("Head Start") administration to have a new agreement each year the lease is in effect.  Therefore, both the FY10-11 and FY11-12 lease agreements appear under this agenda item.  GIPS legal council drew up the original lease document and the new agreement(s) changes are limited to the appropriate dates.

Rationale:  The proposed revisions for the 2011-2012  Student and Parent Handbook are presented for final reading.  Lunch and Student Fees will be updated in July 2011.

Rationale: 

The 7/8th Science C&A team has been meeting to align STEM resources with Nebraska Science standards. This approach will support co-teaching for instruction and learning in Science and Technical skills. The team received quotes from 2 firms in January and the team recommends modular purchases from Moss Enterprises. This quote includes hardware, software, professional development, and service contract.  3 Labs @ $522,240.00 to be paid for with General Funds: T&L Curriculum Resources - 7 year Cycle

Rationale:  Over ten years ago the District first centralized the business partner we utilize for printing.  Prior to that time several vendors were used at a much higher cost both organizationally and financially.  That first contract was with Eakes and was again renewed after the first four years up until now for a total of ten years.  Six years ago the renewal included both MFD (Multi-Function Networked Devices) [e.g. scanning, printing, copying, facsimile] and Hewlett-Packard networked printers.

We've come to the time to revisit our printing needs as an organization.  Several major changes have occurred which include, but are not limited to, the following;

1.  Color printing is cheaper and more common on the MFD.
2.  The number of devices needed has continued to shrink.
3.  HP printing is more expensive and therefore being reduced greatly.
4.  A formal Request For Proposals (RFP) was NOT used as all three vendors won nationally driven RFP via national purchasing groups we hold membership in.
5.  In the past we also used DUPLO devices which are being phased out as old technology

The District prints about 20 million images a year and purchases paper by the multiple semi-tractor loads.

Three vendors were considered;  Computer Concepts (Xerox\Xerox), Modern Methods (Canon & Lanier\HP), and Eakes (Sharp\HP)

These factors where primary in the decision making process;

1.  Long Term Business Relationship
2.  Service and Support
3.  Vendor's Grand Island based support staff
4.  Number of Nebraska school districts using vendor.
5.  Demo review of ease of use, speed, function, form, fit, etc.
6.  Price

It is the recommendation of the administration to accept the proposal from _________ for the __________ solution as proposed to be paid from the districts General Fund and subject to negotiating and entering into a contractual relationship.

Rationale:  Annually we have our employee benefits legal counsel review our 403(b) plan to ensure we're in complete and full IRS compliance.  This years review brings the recommendation to amend the plan to include the components of the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recover Act or more commonly The known as "WRERA".

Rationale:  As a low cost way to have critical District information recoverable should a natural or otherwise disaster occur, the Director of Management Information Systems will review a contract for Off-Site Disaster Recovery & File Backup Services with ESU10 in Kearney NE. This will place the District in a position to have double redundancy - On-Site, Off-Site, and Vendor Site for critical District Data and information files.

Rationale:  Please See Attachment.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the Facility and Finance Committee.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the Teaching and Learning Committee.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the Personnel Committee.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the Policy Committee.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration by the Grand Island Education Foundation.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the Legislative Committee.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the Public Relations Committee.