Highlights of 9/25 Lincoln Board of Education Meeting

 

Highlights of 9/25 Lincoln Board of Education Meeting

 

The Lincoln Board of Education held a regular meeting on Tuesday, September 25, at Lincoln Public Schools District Office, 5905 O St.  The Board will hold its next regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Board approves final property tax request

The Lincoln Board of Education Tuesday took a final step in solidifying the Lincoln Public Schools budget for the 2018-19 school year, approving a modified official property tax request for the coming school year.   

This year the total approved property tax request for the General Fund budget is about $232 million – and for the total LPS budget, about $272 million. 

Public hearing on parent involvement and engagement

The Lincoln Board of Education Tuesday held a public hearing on the LPS parent involvement and engagement policy – to receive possible input.

The U.S. Department of Education and the Nebraska Parental Involvement Act dictate that public school districts hold annual hearings. There were no public comments Tuesday evening. 

According to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-533, the Board must hold a public hearing on its parental involvement and engagement policy. After the hearing, the Board must either alter and adopt the revised policy or reaffirm it as written.  Policy 6443 has been revised to match new language crafted by the U.S. Department of Education. The Board will vote final approval on Oct. 9.

Policy change proposals:

The Board heard several proposed policy changes – which will be approved Oct. 9 – including:

Recording others:  Recent advances in technology have made it easier to record conversations, so many individuals do not realize the risk to privacy in such recordings.  Nebraska is a "one-party" consent state—meaning as long as one person knows that they are recording, it is allowed.  However, in a meeting at school at which educational records are being shared, it is important that all parties are aware of any recording, so students’ privacy can be protected and only the information that has been authorized for release can be taken from the meeting.  Policy 1102 establishes recording authorization requirements that better ensure the privacy and confidentiality of student information. 

Funds Management: The Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs is authorized to sign contracts and agreements for the school district.  The workflow process is currently managed through paper documents in folders for signature.  Contracts and agreements at all funding thresholds are routed through the hard copy paper process.  All contracts and agreements are vetted to ensure that the appropriate administrator has approved the activity and budget authority is available for any cost.  Contracts and agreements in excess of $25,000 are approved by the Board of Education. In an effort to create efficiency revisions in Policy 3500 would assist with the workflow process being developed for the new Enterprise Resource Data Program (ERP) by granting the position of Director of Purchasing or designee the authority to sign contracts under $5,000.  Establishing a threshold for approval in the Purchasing Department would allow work flow to be processed more effectively and ensure appropriate staff verify the activity. 

Purchasing: The Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs is authorized to sign contracts and agreements for the school district.  The workflow process is currently managed through paper documents in folders for signature.  Contracts and agreements at all funding thresholds are routed through the hard copy paper process.  All contracts and agreements are vetted to ensure that the appropriate administrator has approved the activity and budget authority is available for any cost.  Contracts and agreements in excess of $25,000 are approved by the Board of Education.. In an effort to create efficiency revisions in Policy 3610 would assist with the workflow process being developed for the new Enterprise Resource Data Program (ERP) by granting the position of Director of Purchasing or designee the authority to sign contracts under $5,000.  Establishing a threshold for approval in the Purchasing Department would allow work flow to be processed more effectively and ensure appropriate staff verify the activity.

Searching LPS policies

Lincoln Public Schools has created a more easily accessible system to search for LPS policies. Check it out at: https://www.lps.org/about/policies/

Student Celebration:

The Lincoln Board of Education Tuesday heard a presentation about the 2017 Nebraska College and Career Ready Science Standards - and what that actually looks like for science instruction inside our classrooms.  

Presenters were:

• James Blake, K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist for Lincoln Public Schools
• LaQuinte Campbell, sixth grade science teacher at Dawes Middle School
• Dawes Middle School sixth grade student Caleb Stamm, and seventh grade student Tom Parker

To view the entire Board meeting;
Go to: Youtube.com/user/lpsorg

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