EDUCATION COUNCIL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission
February 16, 2001, 9:00 a.m.
SECC-Board Room, Energy Square, 1111 O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska

APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT
Dennis Baack, Community Colleges	Dr. Roger Koehler, Independent Universities
Keith Bartels, Boards of Education	Joe LeDuc, K-12 Private-Parochial Education
Dr. Bill Berndt, Public Universities	Dennis Linster, State Colleges
Con Dietz, Independent Universities	Al Schneider, Educational Service Units
Dr. Kent Hendrickson, Public Universities	Art Tanderup, K12 Teachers
Dr. Jack Huck, Community Colleges	Alan Wibbels, Educational Service Units
Jeff Johnson, K12 Teachers	Dr. Robert Ziegler, K12 Administrators
LIAISON NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT
Michael Beach, NETC	Brenda Decker, Division of Communications
Members Absent: Larry Bock, K12 Administrators; Dr. Tom Krepel, State Colleges; Dr. Dean Bergman, Department of Education; Dr. David Powers, Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
Others Present: Yvette Holly (alt. Public Universities), UNMC; Linda Engel (alt. K-12 Teachers), Nebraska City Schools; Tip O'Neal (alt. Community Colleges), AICUN; Dr. David Wagaman (alt. DAS), DAS Budget; Dr. Chuck Friesen (alt. ESUs), Lincoln Public Schools; Max Thacker, UNMC; Sid McCartney, DAS DOC; Lori Lopez Urdiales and Tom Rolfes, CIO/NITC

CALL TO ORDER, POSTING, ROLL CALL, INTRODUCTIONS

Co-chair, Allan Wibbels, called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. It was stated that the meeting notice was posted to the NITC web site on January 22, 2001 and on the Public Meeting calendar on February 15, 2001. The agenda was posted to the NITC web site on February 15, 2001. Roll call was taken. There were twelve members present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business.

Mr. Bartels and Mr. Linster arrived at approximately 9:05 a.m.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Dr. Koehler moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Tanderup seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bartels-Yes, Berndt-Yes, Dietz-Yes, Hendrickson-Yes, Huck-Yes, Engel-Yes, Koehler-Yes, Baack-Yes, Linster-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, Ziegler-Yes. Motion was carried.

APPROVAL OF JANUARY 19, 2001 MINUTES

Mr. Baack moved to approve the minutes as presented. Dr. Koehler seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Ziegler-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Linster-Yes, Baack-Yes, Koehler-Yes, Engel-Yes, Huck-Yes, Hendrickson-Yes, Dietz-Yes, Berndt-Yes, and Bartels-Yes. Motion was carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

Mr. LeDuc and Ms. Decker arrived at approximately 9:08 a.m.

COMMITTEE REPORTS - OPERATIONS WORK GROUP

The Work Group has not met. The NEB*SAT Policies Task Group has been meeting to review the policies and will report under Agenda Item #8.

COMMITTEE REPORTS - POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND PLANNING

The Work Group has not met.

COMMITTEE REPORTS - TRAINING ADVISORY GROUP

Mr. Rolfes reported that the Work Group has not met since the last meeting but there have been lots of activity. A copy of the letter sent to educators interested in telecommunications training grants was distributed to the Council members. The letter indicated the web site address (http://www.nitc.state.ne.us/ec/workgroups/TAWG/NETCgrantforms.htm) to access the RFP and grant forms for 2001-2002. As of February 15th, there were 197 hits for grant information and applications. The grant information and application forms are available in several formats. The deadline for applications to be submitted is April 3, 2001.

COMMITTEE REPORTS - NET DISTANCE LEARNING REPORT

Mr. Beach reviewed the distance learning report and entertained questions from the Council. The Video Standard Work Group had their first meeting in January to begin work on the criteria for standards. Eight standards were determined and are being researched by the members. The Work Group will meet again in a month.

PRESENTATION - LINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLS TECHNOLOGY FOCUS HIGH SCHOOL
Chuck Friesen, Director of Instructional Technology, Lincoln Public Schools

Dr. Friesen distributed flyers on the Information Technology Focus Program (ITFP). The ITFP opened for students this January 22nd and is located in the Federal Building, Suite 300, 134 South 13th Street, in Lincoln. The purpose is to provide opportunities for students to develop technology skills and to make connections between their course work and the "real world" by participating in Lincoln Public Schools internships or business mentoring partnerships. Classes meet from 7:35-9:15 a.m. and 1:30-3:10 p.m. and from 3:15-4:55 p.m. Courses meet for the entire semester and are worth 5 credits towards graduation. Courses offered are as follows: Advanced Web Page Development, Advanced Interactive Media, Cisco Networking Academy, Advanced Programming Languages and Internet-based on-line courses through Class.com. Currently, there are 55 students enrolled in ITFP. Considerable outside funding made the startup possible. Private companies were very interested in partnerships. Dr. Friesen entertained questions from the Council members.

Mr. Schneider arrived at approximately 9:24 a.m.

RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR THE "BRIDGING THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS GAP" PROPOSAL

LB336, which embodies the original proposal, will be heard in front of the Appropriations Committee on March 5. LB833, which will provide the opportunity for schools to utilize lottery funds for distance learning, is a priority bill of Senator Kremer and will be heard before the Education Committee on March 13th. The consortium had come to the Education Council for input regarding their proposal, as well as endorsement and support.

Mr. Johnson arrived at approximately 9:45 a.m.

Considerable discussion followed as to whether the Education Council should take a position on the proposal, and if so, what does the Council want to say and to whom.

Dr. Berndt left at 9:45 a.m. Ms. Holly was present to assume voting participation.

There was also discussion regarding relative priority of the project versus projects that came before through the legislative budget process. Some members felt that the proposal would fall within accomplishment of the first priority listed in the Education Council's priorities regarding a statewide infrastructure.

Mr. Dietz moved that the Education Council recognize that the project is consistent with the Education Council’s 1st priority regarding a statewide infrastructure. Mr. Linster seconded the motion. After discussion, a friendly amendment was proposed and accepted by Mr. Dietz and Mr. Linster, to change the motion to read as follows: "The Education Council recognizes the 'Bridging the Telecommunications Gap Project' as being consistent with the Council's sector priority of 'Providing an infrastructure that will permit all citizens of Nebraska to have access to the same educational experiences, regardless of location". Roll call vote: LeDuc-Yes, Koehler-Yes, Johnson-Yes, Huck-Yes, Hendrickson-Abstained, Dietz-Abstained, Holly-Abstained, Bartels-Yes, Ziegler-Abstained, Wibbels-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Linster-Yes, Schneider-Abstained, Baack-Yes. Motion was carried by majority vote.

It was agreed by group consensus that if sponsors want to use the Education Council's action statement in their hearing it would be appropriate.

Members acknowledged the need for further discussion regarding the process, setting a precedent for situations like this in the future and yet still be sensitive to the needs of the Council's constituents.

Mr. Schneider left the meeting at approximately 10:55 a.m.

RECOMMENDATION TO NETC AND NITC REGARDING NEB*SAT SCHEDULING POLICIES

After discussion and review of the policy document, the following three areas changes were proposed:

• Disputing Scheduling Decision (page 6). The Work Group recommended that this decision should go back to the Program Utilization Committee.
• Page 8-Technical Problems, wording was changed to reflect cooperation.
• Page 10-Fees for Late Schedule Changes. Recommendations included: separating the amounts and figures for Net2 and Net3/4; include "exempt" situations; and site the legislative language in first paragraph.

Dr. Koehler moved to approve the Policies and Priorities Governing NEB*SAT Operations with proposed changes. Dr. Ziegler seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Baack-Yes, Linster-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, Ziegler-Yes, Bartels-Yes, Holly-Yes, Dietz-Yes, Hendrickson-Yes, Huck-Yes, Johnson-Yes, Koehler-Yes, and LeDuc-Yes. Motion was carried.

DISCUSSION: REVIEW OF EDUCATION COUNCIL PRIORITIES

Discussion dealt with the Council's priorities. It was suggested that a different word than "pursue" be used to show a more specific action item under Leading Edge Technology Applications. It was also suggested to take the numbers off the priorities.

Dr. Koehler left the meeting at approximately 11:10 a.m.

The Action Items will be the primary topic for the March working session meeting.

OTHER

WIDEN (Wide-band Integrated Digital Enterprise Network) project for the NETCOM (Nebraska Telecommunications network), Brenda Decker, Division of Communications:
The RFP, which will deal with the base layer of transport, has been started and is on track to be issued April 30th. Discussions have focused on the enterprise issue and it has been acknowledged the need to be careful that the network does not support any one specific type of network. On February 6th, a briefing was given to the Appropriations Committee and the Committee is very exciting and interested in this effort. The Division of Communications cannot serve the private sector or educational institutions directly.

Sid McCartney was hired as a consultant to assist with the assessment, aggregation, and efforts to incorporate educational needs. A total of $100,000 was appropriated for FY01. There is approximately $20,000 left over for FY02. The following entities have tentatively agreed to provide a contribution to fund this position for FY02: Nebraska Department of Education - $9,999; Community College System -$6,000; ESUs - $36,000; UNL - $7,500. A commitment of $75,000 is still needed for the consultant to continue in FY03. The Educational Service Units have been approached to contribute and are expected to vote on February 22. Mr. Schneider was not available to comment but Mr. Wibbels reported that at a recent meeting he attended that the ESU’s agreed to contribute but requested budget information from the Division of Communications. For FY02-03 appropriations there is a strong likelihood that the legislature would fund this position. Mr. LeDuc expressed appreciation of parochial schools' participation in the TINA study.

It was suggested that there be memos of understanding between contributing entities and the Division of Communications for FY02 stating what services will be completed with an option for prepayment. For FY03, testimonies from entities should include a statement supporting the funding of this position.

Constituent Communications.
Mr. Linster expressed concern regarding communication efforts to those persons and entities furthest from this process being informed about what is happening with the Council. At some point, he would like this to be an item of discussion for the Council.

Meeting materials.
Mr. Hendrickson recommended that the agenda and meeting material attachments be provided to members no later than 2:00 p.m. the Tuesday prior to the meeting.

Microsoft Workshops.
Mr. Dietz announced that Creighton still has openings for the upcoming workshops. Members were to notify him no later than Monday.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Education Council will be held on Friday, March 16th, 9 a.m., Creighton University. It will be an all day work session on the action items and will be a casual dress day.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned by Co-chair, Dr. Huck, at 11:41 a.m.

Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Tom Rolfes of the Office of the CIO/NITC.

Meeting Minutes