Highlights: 1/10 Lincoln Board of Education work session and regular meeting

The Lincoln Board of Education met for a special work session and regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street. The full videos and summaries are below.

Special work session

The purpose of the special work session was to hear proposals and interview strategic plan consultant firms. Two firms presented their proposals: District Management Group and Hanover Research. 

  • Watch the District Management Group presentation here.
  • Watch the Hanover Research presentation here.

The Board met in closed session after the regular meeting to discuss the proposals. A firm will be selected and voted on at an upcoming regular meeting.

Regular meeting

Special reports, presentations, and celebrations of success

Staff Celebrations

Lincoln Public Schools staff perform exceptionally every day.  Periodically, LPS staff are recognized at the state, regional or national level.  It is important for the Board to recognize these high achievements to honor the staff members and for the community to be aware of these honors, so they can join in the celebration of the great staff that serves the students and families in the community.

Mindy Burbach, LPS Communications Director
Mindy Burbach, LPS Director of Communications, was honored with the Nebraska High School Press Association Friend of Journalism Award. The NHSPA’s Friend of Journalism award honors individuals from "professional media, high school administration, local Nebraska communities or Nebraska colleges who significantly supported scholastic journalism."

Sara Parkening, Pound Middle School French Language Teacher
Pound Middle School French Teacher Sara Parkening was honored as the 2022 Nebraska French Teacher of the Year by the Nebraska International Language Association (NILA) and the Nebraska Association of Teachers of French (NATF).  The Nebraska International Languages Association is a professional organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the teaching of languages in the state of Nebraska. Anyone actively engaged in teaching a world language at any level of education in Nebraska is eligible for membership. The organization annually recognizes outstanding Nebraska educators and supporters of world language education at its fall conference.

Coral Su, North Star High School Chinese Language Teacher
North Star High School Teacher Coral Su was honored as the 2022 Chinese Teacher of the Year by the Nebraska International Language Association (NILA) and the Chinese Language Teachers of America - Nebraska Chapter (CLTA-NE). The Nebraska International Languages Association is a professional organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the teaching of languages in the state of Nebraska. Anyone who is actively engaged in teaching world language at any level of education in Nebraska is eligible for membership. The organization annually recognizes outstanding Nebraska educators and supporters of world language education at its fall conference.

First reading

2022-23 Mid-year appraisal of the Superintendent of Schools

Nebraska Law requires that new superintendents be evaluated twice in their first year. One of the most important responsibilities of the Lincoln Board of Education is the evaluation of the superintendent.

Board President Don Mayhew read a summary of the evaluation based on responses from Board members in written evaluation documents and meetings conducted with each individual board member near the end of last semester. 

At this mid-year evaluation, the Lincoln Board of Education recognized and applauded Gausman’s work as the Superintendent of Schools. Comments from Board member in the summary included:

  • “Paul is very open to discussion and debate on key topics.” 
  • “Daily Communications emails keep the board informed of events. Additionally, Dr. Gausman calls board members individually to keep us informed of the most important matters. This is working well.” 
  • “Paul has been good in coming prepared to meetings with background information and plans of action/opinions with that information.  He also listens well and is willing to reconsider as he gains more knowledge.” 
  • “Dr. Gausman has exceeded all expectations when it comes to meeting with community leaders. I know more people he has met with than not! The feedback I am getting from these leaders is that he is very collaborative and willing to listen to all viewpoints.” 
  • “Dr. Gausman is progressing rapidly in familiarizing himself with LPS and the larger community. I have received many positive comments regarding Dr. Gausman’s community engagement.” 
  • “[Dr. Gausman’s] report was extremely thorough for a mid-year report. He has truly jumped in with both feet to learn how to be the Superintendent for LPS…. It will be interesting to see how his themes will develop for the April presentation.” 
  • “I appreciated Dr. Gausman’s approach to his mid-year report. As our district continues to deal with challenges, I believe Dr. Gausman has the experience, ideas, and energy to help LPS continue to improve outcomes for our children.” 
  • “Dr. Gausman has truly brought his leadership strengths of consideration, learning, and vision to LPS.” 
  • “Dr. Gausman’s personal and professional conduct has been appropriate and reflects well on the district.” 
  • “In his short time here, Paul has really taken seriously his role to visit, meet, and learn about all our various learning settings within LPS.” 
  • “At this mid-year review, I feel like Dr. Gausman is doing a fantastic job. He has surpassed all my expectations.” 

School Choice Filing Deadline January 31, 2023 - East High School, Lincoln High School, North Star High School and Southwest High School

Each year staff monitors enrollment trends and available capacity in schools to determine the impact on educational programs and the availability for students to transfer to a school outside their assignment area.

Each year, incoming ninth grade students can choose what high school they would like to enroll in, and must turn in their High School Choice Form by January 31. 

Enrollments at East, North Star, Southwest and Lincoln High continue to exceed building capacity. Because of this, staff have determined and recommended that any additional transfer requests made after the Jan. 31 deadline not be accepted. These follow current high school enrollment procedures, and confirms past years’ practice.

The Board will vote on renewing this proposal at its next meeting.

Mickle Middle School renovation project

Staff recommended the lowest bid for renovations at Mickle Middle School that will include expanding the cafeteria and multipurpose room. It would also include improvements to Career and Technical Education classrooms.

The Board waived second reading and voted to approve the bid from BIC Construction LLC for $2,662,000.

Southeast High School renovation project

Staff recommended the lowest bid for renovations at Southeast High School that will include modifying traffic flow off of Van Dorn Street and enhancements inside classroom spaces.

The Board waived second reading and voted to approve the bid from BIC Construction LLC for $3,126,900.

CLASS annual chromebook purchase (grades 6 and 9)

In 2013, the Board adopted the CLASS Technology Plan as a result of a two-year strategic planning process. After 10 years, the CLASS Technology Plan provides budget resources in the 2022-23 fiscal year to continue the practice of assigning a Chromebook to each 2023-24 sixth grade student (approximately 3,094) and ninth grade student (approximately 3,300) that they will use throughout their middle and high school years, respectively.  The current estimated lead time for delivery of Chromebooks is four months, making a purchase at this time necessary to ensure delivery with enough time to prepare the Chromebooks prior to the start of the 2023-24 school year. Staff recommend the Acer C734 (8GB/32GB) as the best option for incoming middle school students at a bid of $931,294. The Dell 3110 2-in-1 as the best option for incoming high school students at a bid of $1,275,252.

The Board waived second reading and voted to approve the bids to allow the Chromebooks to be delivered in time for next school year.

Informational items and reports

Superintendent update

Gausman provided the Board with an update. He told the Board that work continues on the transition plan that will be presented in April. 

He reminded the Board and the community that there are high school open houses going on over the next couple of weeks. Last week, LPS held its first ever event that featured all of the LPS Focus Programs in one place. There were approximately 400 students and families that attended the event.

Public comment

There were three individuals that addressed the Board during public comment. You can watch the public comment agenda item in the full meeting video here.

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights Lincoln Public Schools. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured Therapy Dogs at work in Eastridge Elementary School. 


Published: January 10, 2023, Updated: January 24, 2023