Highlights: 4/12 Lincoln Board of Education Regular Meeting

The Lincoln Board of Education met for a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 12, at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office, 5905 O St.

Special reports, presentations and celebrations of success

Staff Celebration: J.J. Toczek, Nebraska District I Athletic Director of the Year

The Board frequently honors staff who win state or national awards with formal resolutions. On Tuesday, the Board recognized Southeast Director of Athletics and Activities J.J. Toczek as he was awarded the 2021-22 District I Athletic Director of the Year by the Nebraska State Athletic Administrators Association. 

During Toczek’s time at Southeast, the Knights have had 70 student-participants honored with First Team Super-State/All-State accolades, won 17 Heartland Athletic Conference Championships, 18 District Championships, and have made 53 state tournament appearances resulting in Girls Tennis Class "A" State Championships in 2016 and 2019, and Class "A" State Runner-up in 2014 in Boys Golf, and in 2021 in Girls Tennis.

Toczek has worked collaboratively to create the Lincoln Southeast SHIELD Student Leadership Program and Academic Support Program, and he facilitates the Heartland Athletic Conference Student Leadership Cadre Program. 

Under Toczek’s leadership, Southeast High School’s education-based athletics and activities program continues to grow and the school’s athletic facilities continue to experience vital upgrades.

Lincoln Board of Education Goals for Equitable Outcomes

The Board listened to a presentation on the All Means All Action Plan - the goals for equitable outcomes. The plan is a culmination of work that began last summer.

During the 2021 summer retreat, Board members engaged in a visioning activity designed to facilitate dialogue centering on long-term goals for equitable outcomes for all student groups. As Board members discussed their vision for the district, themes such as academic success, school culture, honors course enrollment and hiring staff from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds surfaced as top priorities. Based on the priorities identified, the Board asked staff to present current data and draft potential language in the form of goal statements. The four measurable goals of the plan were adopted by the Board in the fall of 2021:

  1. Graduation Rate Goal: Raise the “All Students” graduation rate to 87.0%, and reduce existing differentials from “All Students” by 50%.
  2. Positive Behavior Goal: Reduce total suspensions for “All Students” by 20%, and reduce disproportionality ratios to 1.2 or less for all student groups.
  3. Honors Course Enrollment Goal: Reduce disproportionality by 75% between “All Students” who have completed at least 1 honors course, and each student group.
  4. Diverse Staff Goal: Increase the percentage of certi?ed staff from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds by 25%, to a target of 8.1%.

The Board then directed teams of LPS stakeholders to create a formal action plan to address these goals and report back in April. Committee members included teachers, counselors, social workers, administrators, Community Learning Center staff, community leaders, college and university staff, students and parents. 

As committees began to analyze data and build a clear picture of this work, it was determined that the implementation of these action steps would begin during the 2022-2023 school year, with an annual review of progress to be conducted both at the district and school levels, at the end of each school year. In addition, co-chairs will present progress to the Board annually.

While this action plan represents overarching district-wide goals for more equitable outcomes, each school will now begin the work of developing measurable objectives at the school level, including strategies to align with the recommendations in this report.

For more information about the goals and action plan, visit our website: lps.org/all.

First reading

Newly annexed property to the City of Lincoln

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln. This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend.

The proposal assigns the newly annexed area of South 40th Street and Rokeby Road to the Cavett Elementary School, Moore Middle School, and Southeast High School attendance areas.

The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next regular meeting.

Land acquisition: Bottler’s Building property

The Board Planning Committee recommends a proposal to purchase the Bottler’s Building located at 711 South 25th Street. The Arts and Humanities Focus Program along with itinerant staff are currently located in the space. The property consists of 1.72 acres across from Lincoln High School on Capitol Parkway. 

Due to a quick turnaround on the closing date, the Board waived second reading and approved the purchase price of $2.3 million plus closing costs to purchase the Bottler’s Building.

Title VI, Indian Education Program

The U.S. Department of Education through Title VI of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides funds to fulfill the federal government’s responsibility to the Indian people for the education of Indian children. These funds support the goal of ensuring programs that serve Indian children are of the highest quality and provide for not only the basic elementary and secondary educational needs, but also the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of these children.

LPS has received federal funds for services for Native American students since the mid-1980’s. Each year, LPS is required to submit a grant requesting funds. Estimated funding from Title VI for 2022-23 is $197,942. Decisions regarding the use of these funds are made in consultation with the Native American Advisory Committee.

The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next regular meeting.

U.S. Department of Education Demonstration Grant for Indian Children Program

The purpose of the U.S. Department of Education Demonstration Grant for Indian Children program is to develop, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Native American students.

The current grant will end on September 30, 2022, and LPS will submit a new grant proposal to build on the momentum of its current federal Demonstration Grant. A new award will allow LPS to further enhance services to American Indian students through strategies such as success coaching and mental health services at school, more advocacy and counseling at the high school level, and also new strategies meant to encourage participation in the teaching field, such as a partnership with the K-12 Education Pathway at The Career Academy.

Due to the grant’s deadline, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the application for $500,000 per year for up to five years.

Bid for shelf-stable, refrigerated and frozen foods

Bids were requested from interested vendors to provide shelf-stable foods, refrigerated, and frozen food products for use by Nutrition Services for all locations during the 2022-23 school year. 

The Board will consider approving the following bids for an estimated total of $5,492,548.62:

  • Arlington Valley Farms - $12,816.00
  • Bernard Food Industries, Inc. - 24,870.60
  • Butterball - 40,800.00
  • Cash-Wa Distributing - 782,545.06
  • International Food Solutions Inc. - 221,130.00
  • Kellogg’s Specialty Channels - 78,016.25
  • Mrs. Clark’s Foods - 127,121.50
  • Nardone Brothers Baking Company - 270,300.00
  • National Food Group - 19,987.50
  • Performance Foodservice - 2,296,451.68
  • Peterson Farms Fresh, LLC - 80,760.00
  • Ripple Foods, PBC - 7,020.00
  • Schreiber Foods, Intl. - 71,335.60
  • Sysco Lincoln - 598,749.73
  • Tecumseh Poultry - 44,800.00
  • Tyson Prepared Foods Inc - 815,844.70

The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next regular meeting.

Second reading

Newly annexed property to the City of Lincoln

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln. This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend.

The proposal assigns attendance areas to the following newly annexed areas:

  • Area near 66th and Arbor Road to Norwood Park Elementary School, Dawes Middle School and Northeast High School.
  • Rokeby Ridge to Wysong Elementary School, Moore Middle School and East High School.
  • Woodlands at Yankee Hill to Wysong Elementary School, Moore Middle School and East High School.

The Board voted to approve the assignments of the newly annexed property.

Processing of USDA commodities

LPS requested bids to process and deliver diverted USDA commodities for use by the LPS Nutrition Services Department for all locations. These commodities include mozzarella cheese, barrel cheese and bulk chicken. The contract prices are for July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023. There are two optional, one-year renewal periods.

It’s recommended the lowest bids that meet specifications be accepted, which are the following:

  • Nardone Brothers Baking Co. - $479,473.50
  • Land O’ Lakes, Inc. - 107,691.90
  • Tyson Food, Inc. - 801,653.50

The Board voted to approve the total estimated annual cost of $1,388,818.90.

Proposed negotiated agreement with the Lincoln Education Association

In a proposal presented to the Board, the Lincoln Education Association (LEA) and Lincoln Public Schools have reached a contract agreement with teachers for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

The agreement represents a careful balance between recognizing the valuable contributions our teachers make for Lincoln Public Schools - especially as front-line workers during a pandemic - while also acknowledging the revenue decline including a significant drop in state aid.

For the 2022-23 year, the tentative agreement approved by a vote of LEA members provides a total compensation package increase of 4.11 percent. The tentative agreement includes the district’s contribution for increases with health insurance, retirement, Social Security and an across-the-board increase of $1,250 along with movement on the pay schedule for a total increase of approximately $1,740-$3,248 for the year depending on the staff member’s placement on the salary schedule.

For the 2023-24 year, the tentative agreement approved by a vote of LEA members provides a total compensation package increase of 3.65 percent. The tentative agreement includes the district’s contribution for increases with health insurance, retirement, Social Security and an across-the-board increase of $1,055 and movement on the pay schedule for a total increase of approximately $1,545-$4,108 for the year depending on the staff member’s placement on the salary schedule. 

The Board voted to approve the negotiated agreement.

Public comment

There were 8 individuals that addressed the Board during public comment. You can watch the public comments in the full meeting video here. Please note: The Board did go into a short recess during public comment due to a Tornado Warning in the area. Public Comment resumed as soon as it was safe to do so.

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights the amazing things taking place in our school district. Tuesday’s video featured the Aspiring Diverse Educators Symposium. 

 


Published: April 12, 2022, Updated: April 12, 2022