June 9, 2015 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

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.

Rationale:  The attached minutes are intended to accurately reflect the action of the Board at its previous meetings.

Explanation
The minutes have been prepared for Board approval.

Rationale:  In keeping with Policy 8420, 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.

Rationale: 

Rationale: 

Explanation

The Human Resources Division also includes the Office of Risk Management.  As such, in addition to the Lincoln Board of Education approving all contractual agreements with employees, all employee benefit issues, all personnel actions, and all other matters within the scope of the Human Resources Division, as part of the Human Resources Matters agenda; the Lincoln Board of Education also must approve the settlement of Workers’ Compensation claims, take action on tort claims filed against the district, and take action on all other matters within the scope of the Office of Risk Management.

This report includes  routine Human Resources changes:

   a.  Administrator Certificated Employees:

             Elections –1

   b.  Certificated Employees:

             Elections –38

             Re-Elections Same Assignment –3

             Re-Elections New Assignment –4

             Changes of Status -4

             Leaves of Absence – 37

             Separations –13

   c.  Substitute Certificated Employees:

             Separations – 16

   d.  Classified Employees:

             Elections –40

             Changes of Status –7

             Separations –61

   e.  Other:

             Workers' Compensation Lump Sum Settlements – 1

             Employment of Family Members – 1

   f.  Approval of proposed agreement with Maintenance Employees Association for the 2015-16

       school year.

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.

Rationale: 

At each meeting, the Board of Education is asked to approve certain items of routine business of the school district.      

Explanation

The items included in routine business for this meeting are:  

a.  REGULAR CLAIMS – Claims for the period ending June 9, 2015, were previously provided.                

Federal Tax ACH Deposit of $39,253.47.                

State Tax ACH Deposit of $705,292.61.                

Procurement Card ACH Transfer of $85,081.92.                

Office Depot ACH Transfer of $60,949.93.                

Vendor ACH Transfer of $54,679.77. 

b.  PAYROLL FOR RATIFICATION – Payroll for the period ending May 15, 2015, in the amount of $118,585.58. 

c.  GIFTS – Approval for the gifts listed on the attached gift report. 

d.  BIDS/CONTRACTS/OTHER ROUTINE BUSINESS – Bids/contracts/other routine business will be presented for approval for the purchase of paper products used by Nutrition Services; repairs to the lighting poles at Seacrest, Den Hartog, and Beechner; payment of AP exam fees; the purchase of tools, hardware, and equipment for The Career Academy; the purchase of classroom furniture for The Career Academy; modifications to the Facilities and Maintenance Building; professional engineering services related to the Moore Middle School/YMCA project; an agreement for the provision of deaf or hard of hearing services; a portion of the cost of Project SEARCH; classroom digital workflow software license subscriptions; an amendment to the Interlocal Agreement related to TCA; the purchase of digital workflow software; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.      

Proposal

That the Lincoln Board of Education approve the following items of routine business:  

a.  The regular claims for period ending June 9, 2015.  

b.  Payroll for the period ending May 15, 2015.  

c.  Gifts for Eastridge, Northeast, and the district.  

d.  Bids/contracts/other routine business for the purchase of paper products used by Nutrition Services; repairs to the lighting poles at Seacrest, Den Hartog, and Beechner; payment of AP exam fees; the purchase of tools, hardware, and equipment for The Career Academy; the purchase of classroom furniture for The Career Academy; modifications to the Facilities and Maintenance Building; professional engineering services related to the Moore Middle School/YMCA project; an agreement for the provision of deaf or hard of hearing services; a portion of the cost of Project SEARCH; classroom digital workflow software license subscriptions; an amendment to the Interlocal Agreement related to TCA; the purchase of digital workflow software; and any other bids/contracts/routine business as presented.

Rationale: 

On February 10, 2015, the Board adopted a resolution to accept option students for the 2015-16 school year.  Applications have been received from students requesting that they be accepted as option students for the 2015-16 school year.  Staff recommends that the students referred to in this agenda item be accepted for enrollment as they are in compliance with the Board resolution of February 10, 2015.  

Explanation

Staff has examined the applications of the students included in this proposal.  The students meet one of the criteria set forth by the Board in its resolution of February 10, 2015.  Staff recommends approval of these applications.

Proposal

That the Board adopt the following resolution:  

WHEREAS the students who have been assigned student numbers 406333 and 406384 (for purposes of confidentiality, assigned numbers are being used) meet one or more of the criteria of the Board resolution of February 10, 2015, with regard to such option students;  

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the aforementioned students be accepted as option students on the condition and with the express understanding that all programs, all classes and all buildings of assignment, except as otherwise required by law, shall at all times and from time to time during attendance at Lincoln Public Schools be determined solely by Lincoln Public Schools.   

Rationale: 

March 15, 2015, was the deadline for enrollment option applications to be completed for students wishing to attend school in a district other than the one in which they reside for the 2015-16 school year.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education has authority to waive the deadline for late enrollment option requests (NDE Rule 7, Section 004.05).      

 Explanation

Requests from students who reside in the Lincoln Public Schools District and wish to attend school outside of the Lincoln Public Schools District have been received after the March 15, 2015, deadline.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education may deny or approve these requests.  If these requests are approved by the Board of Education, they will be forwarded to the option school districts for their approval.                                      

Student Number Option District  

223114  Waverly

191741    Raymond Central                                                                                                    

Proposal

That the Board approves these requests for option out for the 2015-16 school year.  

Rationale:  *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  Board 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.

Rationale: 

The Lincoln Board of Education has recognized the Nutrition Services Workers Association as the exclusive bargaining agent to negotiate salary, fringe benefits, and working conditions for members of the employee group.  Mr. Ken Babcock has negotiated with the employee group.  Mr. Babcock has also met and conferred with the representatives from the Technician group.  Tentative agreements have been reached between Lincoln Public Schools and the respective employee groups for the 2015-16 school year.

EXPLANATION

The proposed agreement for each employee group calls for a 2.88 percent salary increase for 2015-16.  Each settlement is within the parameters set by the Board of Education.

PROPOSAL

That the Board of Education consider and discuss the proposed agreements with the Nutrition Services Workers Association and the Technicians for the 2015-16 school year.

Rationale: 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is the primary piece of federal legislation dealing with the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness.  The McKinney-Vento program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.  Under this program, State Educational Agencies (SEAs) and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth.  Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held.  States and districts are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school.      

Explanation

The Lincoln Public Schools Homeless Outreach Advocate works with families experiencing homelessness to arrange transportation services for children to attend school and works with families to provide other supports which create a more stable environment for children experiencing homelessness. LPS will use funds received through the McKinney-Vento Act to continue to support the salary of the Homeless Outreach Advocate and to pay transportation costs for homeless children to attend school.         

Proposal

That the Board discuss the submission of the McKinney-Vento Grant application for approximately $45,000 with the final allocation to be determined by the State of Nebraska and dependent upon grants awarded to other applicants. This grant requires a 100% match from Title 1. Title 1 funds have been used in past years to cover the required match for this grant.  

The grant application is due June 19, 2015.

Rationale: 

Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) and Educational Service Unit 18 (ESU 18) have participated in an ongoing interlocal cooperation agreement in which LPS is to provide “Core Services” in the areas of staff development, technology, and instructional materials with ESU 18 reimbursing LPS for said services.  The term of the renewal period for this agreement will be September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2018.      

Explanation

It is recommended that the agreement between LPS and ESU18 be extended.  ESU 18 agrees to reimburse LPS for all expenses incurred in providing services pursuant to this agreement, except that the amount of such reimbursement shall not exceed:  

$4,000,000.00         for 2015-2016

$4,250,000.00         for 2016-2017

$4,500,000.00         for 2017-2018  

A complete copy of the proposed agreement is available in the Purchasing Department.      

Proposal

That the Board approve this agreement.  The Board, by approving this agreement as presented or with such other or additional terms and provisions as negotiated and approved by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, is hereby delegating to and authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee in conjunction with other staff, to select any needed services under the agreement, and the Board is further hereby delegating to and authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, to sign, execute, and deliver the agreement and all such other documents, make all contract payments, act as the program administrator and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete the transaction, and to administer, operate, terminate, and/or implement the agreement on a day to day basis during its term as contemplated thereby, for and on behalf of this school district.    

Rationale: 

Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) and Educational Service Unit 18 (ESU 18) have participated in an ongoing interlocal cooperation agreement in which LPS is to provide certain services typically provided by ESUs elsewhere in the state.  Such services include instructional media services, technology, and staff development with ESU 18 reimbursing LPS for said services.  The term of the renewal period for this agreement will be September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2018.      

Explanation

It is recommended that the agreement between LPS and ESU18 be extended.  LPS agrees to reimburse ESU 18 for actual costs incurred in providing services pursuant to this agreement, except that the amount of such reimbursement shall not exceed:

$5,500,000.00         for 2015-2016

$6,000,000.00         for 2016-2017

$6,500,000.00         for 2017-2018  

A complete copy of the proposed agreement is available in the Purchasing Department.      

Proposal

That the Board approve this agreement.  The Board, by approving this agreement as presented or with such other or additional terms and provisions as negotiated and approved by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, is hereby delegating to and authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee in conjunction with other staff, to select any needed services under the agreement, and the Board is further hereby delegating to and authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, to sign, execute, and deliver the agreement and all such other documents, make all contract payments, act as the program administrator, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete the transaction, and to administer, operate, terminate, and/or implement the agreement on a day to day basis during its term as contemplated thereby, for and on behalf of this school district.  

Rationale: 

The current Xerox contract term is a base period of five years with an option to renew for additional periods upon mutual agreement and successful contract performance.  The existing contract expires in December, 2015.  It is recommended that LPS renew the print and copy services agreement with Xerox Corporation for calendar years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.  The agreement will provide for the addition of one device in the Print Center necessary to meet increasing demand and, with the exception of one device that will be retained from the existing fleet, all other Xerox devices will be replaced with new equipment.      

Explanation

It is recommended that LPS renew the print and copy services agreement with Xerox Corporation.  The cost per impression agreement is a comprehensive program that provides:  

Management, maintenance, and toner of high speed copiers, multifunction devices, printers, and documents

Accountability by way of detailed reporting of print/copy activities throughout the district

Cost management by provisioning for printing/copying at each building as well as the electronic submission and routing of documents to higher volume devices offering lower cost

The infrastructure necessary to transition document processes to a digital environment

Reduction in school workload by allowing them to offload document production to the Print Center

A sustainable replacement cycle for all devices  

The cost per impression for black and white and color varies depending on the machine model being used. The total annual cost at current impression levels is shown below:              

Current                  Proposed  

Number of b/w impressions                              93,309,759             93,309,759

Number of color impressions                              1,980,812               1,980,812

B/W total cost                                                 $1,702,669             $1,560,418

Color total cost                                               $   111,222              $  110,558

Docushare (digital document repository)           $  112,908              $    74,616

Total cost                                                        $1,926,799             $1,745,592  

This will be an annual estimated expenditure of $1,745,592.00 from the General Fund, Nutrition Services Fund, Federal Fund, Activities Fund, Special Grant Fund, and ESU 18 Fund.  Actual expenditures will be determined by usage.      

Proposal

The Board, by approving this agreement with Xerox Corporation, is approving the award, the contract documents for this project, and all associated documents related thereto according to the terms and conditions as on file with district records or such other or additional terms and provisions as negotiated and approved by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, and the Board is hereby delegating to and authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs or a designee, to sign, execute, and deliver the contract documents and all such related documents, make all contract payments, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action and sign any other documents as may be necessary to complete the transaction, and to administer, operate, and/or implement the contract and all associated documents related thereto on a day-to-day basis during this project as contemplated thereby, for and on behalf of this school district, and hereby designates the Director of Purchasing, or another person as selected by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee from time to time, as its program administrator under this agreement.

Rationale: 

Sealed bids were received on May 7, 2015, from interested vendors, to provide Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) construction of the Norwood Park Elementary School IAQ project.  The project also includes additions including the expansion of the administration area and new food service and cafeteria areas.  The following award recommendation is for IAQ improvement and addition of Norwood Park Elementary by a general contractor.      

EXPLANATION

It is recommended that award be made to:  

Sampson Construction (Lincoln, Nebraska)                                            $6,119,000  

Bid Results:  

Sampson Construction (Lincoln, Nebraska)                                            $6,119,000

Cheever Construction (Lincoln, Nebraska)                                              $7,115,000  

A complete bid tabulation is available in the Purchasing Office.   This will be an expenditure of $6,119,000.00 from the appropriate facilities funding source, including the Bond Fund, or other appropriate funds.      

Proposal

That the Board approve this award.  To meet the projected completion date, it is necessary that construction begin as soon as possible following approval.  The Board, by approving this agreement with Sampson Construction, is approving the award, the contract documents for this project, and all associated documents related thereto according to the terms and conditions as on file with district records or such other or additional terms and provisions as negotiated and approved by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, and the Board is hereby delegating to and authorizing the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee, to sign, execute, and deliver the contract documents and all such related documents, make all contract payments, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action and sign any other documents as may be necessary to complete the transaction, and to administer, operate, and/or implement the contract and all associated documents related thereto on a day-to-day basis during this project as contemplated thereby, for and on behalf of this school district, and hereby designates the Director of Facilities & Maintenance, or another person as selected by the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs, or a designee from time to time, as its program administrator under this agreement.  

Rationale: 

Wednesday, June 10 - Joint Board Meeting, 8:00 a.m., SCC

Monday, June 22 - Board Retreat, 4:00 p.m., LPSDO

Tuesday, June 23 - Public Budget Forum, 5:00 p.m., LPSDO

Tuesday, June 23 - Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m., LPSDO

Rationale:  In keeping with Policy 8420, 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.

Rationale: 

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.

Rationale:  The Lincoln 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.