Highlights of the June 9 Lincoln Board of Education regular meeting

June 9, 2026

The Lincoln Board of Education held its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 9, 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.

First reading

Policy updates: 3560 and 3610

The Board periodically reviews and revises policies to align with current practices or meet requirements set forth by local, state or federal laws and regulations. Recent legislative changes require Policy 3560 and 3610 to be updated to align with new requirements. 

The proposed policy revisions include updates to the service contract renewals process and the Board approval process to ensure competitiveness on bids. 

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the proposed revisions at the next meeting.

Newly annexed property to the City of Lincoln

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln. This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend.

The area of Wandering Creek PUD was recently annexed into the City of Lincoln. The proposal assigns the newly annexed area to Pyrtle Elementary School, Lux Middle School and East High School. 

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the proposed assignments at the next meeting.

Proposed 2026-2027 Pay Rates for Substitutes and Miscellaneous Employees

Each year the Board reviews pay rates for substitutes and miscellaneous employees.

This year the recommended salary increases are dependent on the employee group and range from no increase to a 4.34% increase. 

The proposed rate changes can be found online. The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the recommended salaries at the next meeting.

Proposed agreements with Maintenance Employees Association and LPS Association of Office Professionals for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 contract years

LPS recognizes the Maintenance Employees Association and LPS Association of Office Professionals as the exclusive bargaining agents to negotiate salary, fringe benefits, and working conditions for the members of their respective employee groups. Representatives from both groups met with the LPS chief negotiated and propose the following two-year negotiated agreement:

Maintenance Employees Association

  • The total package for 2026-2027 is 4.17%, which includes a 4.34% salary increase.
  • The total package for 2027-2028 is 4.25%, which includes a 3.70% salary increase.

LPS Association of Office Professionals

  • The total package for 2026-2027 is 4.62%, which includes a 4.25% salary increase.
  • The total package for 2027-2028 is 4.52%, which includes a 3.59% salary increase.

All agreements also include increases in FICA and retirement costs and an estimated 7.44% increase in health insurance premiums. The District will cover 80% of the out-of-pocket health insurance increase for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 years. The full negotiated agreements can be found online.

The Board will hold second readings and vote on the negotiated agreements at the next meeting.

Second reading

Evaluation and proposed contract for the superintendent

One of the most important responsibilities of the Board is the evaluation of the Lincoln Public Schools superintendent. The primary purpose of the evaluation is to assess the superintendent’s performance in managing the school district and improve student learning. Board Policy 8350 states that the Board president will present a summary of the superintendent’s annual evaluation at a regularly scheduled Board meeting. 

To facilitate the effective and efficient evaluation of the Superintendent, the Board follows an evaluation timeline and uses an evaluation instrument approved by the Nebraska Department of Education. 

At the last meeting, Board President Piyush Srivastav read highlights of the superintendent’s evaluation which included:

  • Skretta has cultivated strong positive relationships with the Board.
  • He has ensured that we project a positive image of the school district and he elicits respect within the school community, agency partners, and peer districts.
  • Skretta has cultivated and encouraged collaborative relationships with district stakeholders across Lincoln.
  • He has established and nurtured collaborative relationships with our staff.
  • Skretta has modeled honesty and integrity and a steady focus on student learning.
  • He has worked diligently with our district and building level leaders to strive for goal attainment on our Strategic Plan-aligned goals and priorities.

The Board considered a proposed contract with a 4.34% salary increase for Skretta starting with the 2026-2027 school year. The other LPS employee groups negotiated agreements recently approved by the Board include certificated staff salary increase at 4.34%, technicians salary increase at 3.21%, administrators salary increase at 4.26% and custodial salary increase at 3.93%. Later in the meeting, the Board considered a proposed 3.90% increase in salary for nutrition service workers and a proposed 3.89% increase in salary for paraeducators. Next meeting, the Board will vote on a 4.34% salary increase for maintenance employees and a 4.25% salary increase for office professionals.

You can find a full copy of the  superintendent contract on the LPS website. The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the superintendent’s evaluation and contract.

Newly annexed property to the City of Lincoln

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln. This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend.

The area of Grandale West PUD south of Rokeby Road along 40th Street was recently annexed into the City of Lincoln. The proposal assigns the newly annexed area to Cavett Elementary School, Moore Middle School and Southwest High School. 

The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the assignments.

Fresh fruits and vegetables

Proposals were requested from interested vendors to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to be delivered to all school cafeterias as needed during the 2026-2027 school year, with renewals for 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years. The proposed bid is from Greenberg Fruit Co., Inc for an estimated $850,000.

The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the bid.

Proposed agreements with Nutrition Services Workers Association and Lincoln Paraeducators Association for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 contract years

LPS recognizes the Nutrition Services Workers Association and Lincoln Paraeducators Association as the exclusive bargaining agents to negotiate salary, fringe benefits, and working conditions for the members of their respective employee groups. Representatives from both groups met with the LPS chief negotiated and propose the following two-year negotiated agreement:

Nutrition Services 

  • The total package for 2026-2027 is 5.05%, which includes a 3.90% salary increase and an increase to the service year stipend.
  • The total package for 2027-2028 is 5.15%, which includes a 3.18% salary increase.

Paraeducators

  • The total package for 2026-2027 is 4.72%, which includes a 3.89% salary increase, and an increase to the service year stipend for those at 15-19 years and 20+ year employee tiers.
  • The total package for 2027-2028 is 4.81%, which includes a 3.54% salary increase, and an increase to the service year stipend for those at 15-19 years and 20+ year employee tiers.

All agreements also include increases in FICA and retirement costs and an estimated 7.44% increase in health insurance premiums. The District will cover 80% of the out-of-pocket health insurance increase for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 years. The full negotiated agreements can be found online.

The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the negotiated agreements.

Informational items and reports

Finance Committee

Committee chair Annie Mumgaard reported that the committee is busy working on the preliminary proposed 2026-2027 Budget. The budget work session and public forums are coming up:

  • June 23, at 4:30pm: Budget Work Session in the Boardroom
  • June 24: Online input window opens (Link will be published on LPS.org)
  • June 24, at noon: Virtual Public Forum (Link will be published on LPS.org)
  • June 24, at 7pm: In-person Public Forum in the Boardroom
  • June 25, at 6pm: Virtual Public Forum (Link will be published at LPS.org)

Superintendent update

LPS Superintendent John Skretta opened his remarks talking about how the learning opportunities continue throughout the summer. We currently have athletic and music camps going on at schools across the school district. 

Skretta also spoke to the work administrators and staff are doing throughout the summer. The School Improvement workshops are tremendous opportunities for teachers and building-level leaders to come together and tell their stories by examining baseline and outcomes data, and focusing the attention of the school on the strategies that will make the biggest impact on student learning. The process analyzes evidence at a building level to identify action steps for the next school year.

Public comment

There were no individuals that addressed the Board during the public comment period. 

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights LPS. Tuesday’s Glimpses highlighted the eight graduation ceremonies held at Pinnacle Bank Arena. You can watch the Graduation Glimpses on YouTube.

Published: June 9, 2026, Updated: June 9, 2026