Highlights of 1/26 Board of Education Regular Meeting

The Lincoln Board of Education met for a regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office, 5905 O St. 

Staff Celebration

The Board honored Lincoln High School Associate Principal Ryan Escamilla with a formal resolution. The Nebraska School Librarians Association recently honored Escamilla with its annual Distinguished School Administrator Award. The award recognizes administrators outside the library profession who, through individual leadership and sustained effort, have made worthy contributions to the operations of school library services and advancing the role of school library services in education.

2020 LPS Pandemic Plan & Procedures Update

Superintendent Steve Joel gave a brief update to the Board on the latest with LPS response to the pandemic. 

• LPS is working and planning with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department for distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to LPS staff when it becomes available. 
• High school seniors have been invited back to full-time in-person starting Feb. 1.
• More information was shared about the one-year Remote Learning Plan for the 2021-22 school year.

First Reading

West Vine Street Infrastructure Project

Bids were requested from interested vendors for construction and installation of streets and related infrastructure on West Vine Street, between NW 48th and NW 50th streets, and NW 50th Street south of West Vine Street. This is part of the construction of a new high school, which is being paid for through the 2020 Bond Fund. 

Two bids were submitted. The Board waived second reading and awarded the project to 

K-2 Real Estate & Development (Lincoln) for $1,517,517.55. It was the lowest bid.

LPS WiFi Infrastructure Update

The majority of devices on the LPS network use wireless connectivity. It’s the only form of network connectivity for the district’s 45,000 Chromebooks and more than 9,000 iPads. It’s also the primary method used by more than 4,000 staff members to connect with their district-issued laptops. A robust, reliable and resilient wireless network plays a critical role in the instructional, operational and administrative work of the school district.

The school district’s current wireless equipment is nearing the end of support from its manufacturer. Most of the current wireless access points are at least seven years old. 

In compliance with Federal E-rate procurement requirements, sealed proposals for Wireless Network Infrastructure, including Access Points and associated software licensing, were sought. The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next meeting on the lowest bid, which is  from DataVison LLC.

Superintendent Update

Joel thanked Operations staff for their hard work in clearing the large amounts of snow around our schools. He also thanked the Board members during National School Board Appreciation Month for their dedication and hard work in serving 42,000 students and 8,000 staff members.

Public Comment

No members of the public attended the meeting to address the Board during Public Comment. 

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights the amazing things taking place in our schools. Tonight’s video featured students reading their poems for the Scott Middle School’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. event. Watch the full event here.

---