Bills would allow school emergency expenditures, electronic records

Schools would be allowed to make emergency expenditures and keep electronic public records under bills heard Feb. 11 by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Currently when there is a disaster, emergency or civil defense emergency, local governments may make expenditures for emergency management purposes. LB283, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Roy Baker, would extend that authority to school districts and educational service units (ESUs).

Prior to making expenditures, a school district or ESU would be required to secure a certificate from the emergency management director serving the local jurisdiction in which the school or ESU is located.

As the former superintendent of the Norris School District, Baker said he had firsthand experience of the need for the bill. The district campus was struck by a tornado in May 2004.

“Everything on the campus was either damaged [or] out-and-out destroyed,” he said, adding that the ability to obtain an emergency proclamation through the local governing authority allowed the school to recover quickly.

Stephen Joel, superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools, testified in support of the bill, saying schools facing an emergency situation may need bidding and contracting authority that is outside of their normal budgeting authority.

“Schools cannot authorize the emergency spending described in the bill on their own,” Joel said, “but they should be able to do it if an emergency arises.”

LB365, also introduced by Baker, would allow a school district or ESU to retain all books, papers, documents, reports, records and minutes of board meetings as electronic records.

Baker said the bill would clarify the ability of school districts and ESUs to comply with public records laws through electronic means.

“More and more boards are going to paperless board meetings where there is never any paper generated,” he said.

Jennifer Jorgensen, legal counsel for the Nebraska Association of School Boards, testified in support of the bill. Some school boards are concerned that they may be violating the existing law due to its antiquated language, she said, and LB365 simply would clarify that school boards are allowed to type and store their minutes in electronic form.

“It does not change any aspect of the availability to the public of these records,” Jorgensen said.

No one testified in opposition to the bills and the committee took no immediate action on them.