Highlights of the October 28 Lincoln Board of Education regular meeting

October 28, 2025

The Lincoln Board of Education held its regular meetings on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street. You can watch the full video of the regular meeting here.

Special reports, presentations and celebrations of success

Molly Kuhl - LPS school psychologist

The Nebraska School Psychologists Association (NSPA) recently honored Lincoln Public Schools psychologist Molly Kuhl with the 2025 Outstanding School Psychologist Award. The state group presents the award to one person each year who showcases exceptional work ethic, dedication and commitment in their school district.

Kuhl has been a school psychologist in Nebraska for nearly 20 years and is in her 13th year at LPS. Kuhl currently helps students at Lakeview Elementary School, Nuernberger Education Center, and Don Sherrill Education Center. 

Through her position, Kuhl works with multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) academic support teams, completes functional behavior assessments, and oversees behavior intervention plans at her schools. She also completes special education evaluations and provides mental health services for students.

You can watch a highlight of the presentation for Kuhl here.

First reading

Education Quest College Access grant application

EducationQuest Foundation awards College Access Grants through a competitive application process every other year. All Nebraska public and private high schools are eligible to apply if approved or accredited to issue a high school diploma. High schools are funded for four years and may use grant funds to develop and support college access activities. Previous College Access Grant recipients may reapply two years from the last year of funding.

This is a grant that all LPS high schools apply for. This is the year for Northeast High School and Bryan Community to apply. 

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the grant application at the next meeting.

Second reading

Lincoln High School pool unit replacement project

Sealed bids were requested from interested vendors for the pool unit modifications of the swimming pool at Lincoln High School. Staff recommend the lowest bid from BIC Construction in Lincoln, Nebraska, for $1,619,000.
The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the bid.

Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment grant

Staff recommend applying for a grant from the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment to support activities that reduce litter and waste and promote recycling.

The LPS Sustainability Department would use the money to supplement current district initiatives including community outreach, presenting to kindergarten classes during the Garbology unit in Science, installing additional signage and recycling bins at venues and standardizing waste bins in schools.

The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the $131,000 grant application.

Informational items and reports

Wellness, American Civics and Multicultural Committee

Wellness, American Civics and Multicultural Committee chair Mara Krivohlavek provided a brief summary of the committee meeting that took place prior to the Board meeting. 

As part of the meeting, a hearing on American Civics Curriculum as required by Nebraska State law was held. There were no community members that spoke during the hearing, however, there were six students from Northwest High School in attendance to observe the meeting for the Government and Politics course. 

“Shout out to their teacher Edgar Torres who encouraged them to attend and learn more about our governing process,” added Krivohlavek.

There was a presentation from K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Specialist Jackie Kellison on the American Civics Curriculum taught at LPS. LPS goes above and beyond the requirements outlined in Nebraska statute 79-724. LPS students are receiving civics lessons as early as kindergarten through the new English Language Arts curriculum - CKLA.

As part of the state statute, it states: “Schools should help prepare our youth to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good.”

In high school, LPS has all ninth grade students taking Civics, and all 11th grade students taking U.S. History. In addition, all high schools held voter registration drives for students last spring. Approximately 700 students were registered to vote through the drives. 

There were four high school teams that competed in the We The People congressional mock hearing competition. Last year, East won and Southwest came in second, so they combined and formed a super team to compete at nationals. 

The committee also received an update from K-12 Physical Education and Health curriculum specialist Matt Avey on fitness data and PE Minutes. 

LPS Wellness Coordinator Michelle Welch and Director of Nutrition Services Andrew Ashelford also reviewed with the committee the WellSAT audit as required by the USDA in order to participate in the Free and Reduced Lunch program.

The Career Academy

Board member Annie Mumgaard reminded the Board and community about the upcoming TCA Open House to celebrate the 10th anniversary. The event is sponsored by the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools and will be Thursday, Oct. 30, from 4:30-7:00 p.m. at TCA on the Southeast Community College Campus.

Superintendent update

During the Superintendent Update, John Skretta recognized school principals in honor of National Principal Appreciation month. 

“We have amazing building level leaders across the Lincoln Public Schools,” said Skretta, “On behalf of our Board and district level leadership we express our gratitude for all the amazing principals across this great district.”

Skretta went on to recognize Executive Director of Multicultural Education and Partnerships Brittney Hodges Bolkovac for winning the Young Lincoln Leader award from the Lincoln Young Professionals Group, an affiliate of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. , our Executive Director of Multicultural Education and Partnerships. 

“Under Brittney‘s leadership and initiative, the district has continued to advance equity priorities, and not only meets but exceeds the curricular and programmatic requirements of multicultural education under Rule 10 and in statute,” added Skretta. “Congratulations to Brittney!”

Skretta wrapped his report by congratulating all of the bands that participated in the annual LPS marching band invitational, and wishing all LPS volleyball teams good luck as they start their post-season play.

Public comment

There was one individual that addressed the Board during the public comment period. You can watch public comment as part of the full meeting video.

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights LPS. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured a special surprise for Maxey kindergarten students when their school received bikes through the All Kids Bike program. You can watch the Glimpses about the surprise presentation to Maxey on YouTube.

---