The Lincoln Board of Education and Educational Service Unit 18 held regular meetings on Tuesday, September 22, at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street. The Lincoln Board of Education meeting started at 6:00 p.m. with the ESU 18 meeting being held immediately after. You can watch the video stream from both meetings on YouTube.

Lincoln Board of Education Regular Meeting

First reading

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 near Fire Trail PUD was recently annexed into the City of Lincoln. The proposal assigns the newly annexed area to Maxey 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.

Resolution for option enrollment students 2027-28

Nebraska students may attend a school other than the one in the district in which they reside under the option enrollment statutes as long as they meet the statutory and legal conditions, and their application is received by Aug. 6, 2027.

A state law passed by the Nebraska Legislature requires school districts to adopt option enrollment capacity limits by Oct. 15 for the following school year. The capacity limits for the 2027-28 school year will be published on the LPS website.

Option enrollment is different from the High School Choice form for LPS students. Lincoln Public Schools eighth graders and those going into LPS Focus Programs will continue to have their choice of attending any of the LPS high schools as long as they return the High School Choice Form by the deadline.

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the resolution and capacity limits at the next meeting.

Legislative guidelines

Each year, various federal, state and local governmental bodies will consider legislative and administrative actions that will impact Lincoln Public Schools. To communicate the positions of the Board of Education, the Board approves legislative guidelines that provide guidance to district staff and representatives communicating with governmental bodies.

The proposed draft of Legislative Guidelines for 2026-2027 remains the same as the previous year and there are no proposed changes.

The Board will hold second reading and vote on the guidelines at the next meeting.

Second reading

2026-27 Lincoln Public Schools budget adoption and tax request

The Board Finance Committee proposes dropping the total levy one cent to $1.01 after the property assessments increase of 5.6% was certified by Lancaster County. The state invests nearly $1.2 billion in property tax relief providing credits to property owners. Now, approximately 30% of the tax revenue for a school district is paid through state revenue sources that include sales and income taxes instead of solely relying on property taxes.

Below is a comparison on the levy and valuation impact on an average home:

Building the budget begins each February when LPS staff review every budget line item and look at student enrollment and needs to match staffing levels for each school building. The budget process this year also focused on aligning resources with priorities adopted with the 2024-2029 LPS Strategic Plan.

LPS is proposing a 4.96% increase in the expenditure budget to $586,449,705. Staff salaries and benefits make up approximately 88.64% of the total 2026-2027 budget. Each month, LPS pays approximately 6,500 employees a total of $30 million - money that pumps back into the Lincoln economy through the purchase of goods, services and property taxes.

The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the 2026-2027 LPS Budget. More information about the LPS and ESU 18 budgets and the process can be found on the website.

Viking Foundation of Lincoln grant

In 2025, The Career Academy received a small grant through the Viking Foundation to pilot a program within the Early Childhood Education Pathway. This program helped 17 students who receive Special Education support prepare and train for employment in the childcare field during the 2025-2026 school year.

Staff would like to apply for a $10,000 grant to cover program costs for 11 students in the Early Childhood Education Pathway. Costs associated with the program include first aid training, transportation costs for field trips and practicums, and uniforms to wear during their practicum experience. This year, TCA is also looking to expand into the Construction Pathway to help additional students who receive Special Education support complete courses in residential construction.

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

Consultant agreement with Gallagher Benefit Services

The Board Ad Hoc Health Insurance Committee has been reviewing current employee wellness and health insurance programs, and through that review have been working with independent consultant Gallagher Benefit Services about the possibility of developing an additional alternative health plan for the non-teaching staff of LPS.

Gallagher Benefit Services has agreed to prepare and conduct a request for proposals for an additional alternative health plan for LPS non-teaching staff. For this scope of services and deliverables under the agreement, Gallagher’s proposed compensation at an hourly rate of $400 per hour up to a maximum of $50,000. The agreement can be canceled at any time. The hourly rate will be billed for the actual time worked up to the point of completion, limited by the maximum amount or cancellation.

The Board held first reading at the July 28 meeting, and voted on Aug. 11 to postpone a second reading and vote on the proposal until the Sept. 22 meeting. The Board voted and the proposal passed 4-3.

Informational items and reports

The Career Academy Board

Board member Annie Mumgaard provided an enrollment update from The Career Academy. There are currently 745 students enrolled this fall.

Superintendent update

LPS Superintendent John Skretta opened his comments celebrating the 44th day of school while highlighting events from the previous week that made him proud.

Last week on Wednesday, University of Nebraska President Jeff Gold visited Lincoln Public Schools to learn more about AVID at LPS and Food, Energy, and Water Systems programming in collaboration with the College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources.

On Friday, the community came together to celebrate Sheridan Elementary School’s 100th Anniversary Celebration.

Skretta also shared upcoming community events that staff and Board will be participating in. Those include Fitting Futures Gala, Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Banquet, Harvest Moon Festival hosted by the Asian Community and Cultural Center, and the NAACP Freedom Fund banquet at the Malone Center.

In closing, Skretta recognized Board member Bob Rauner for being named “A Salute to Life Saver” by Nebraska Cures.

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 featured the Pathfinder Program. The Pathfinder Program opened in 2002 and is specifically designed for students in grades 7-12 housed at the Lancaster County Youth Services Center.

ESU 18 Regular Meeting

The ESU 18 regular meeting was held immediately after the Lincoln Board of Education meeting. You can watch the ESU 18 meeting on YouTube.

First reading

2026-2027 ESU 18 budget adoption and property tax request

LPS Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs Liz Standish provided a brief presentation about the 2026-2027 ESU 18 budget. The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the proposed flat levy of $0.015, with a budget proposal of $23,244,443.

Highlights from the presentation include:

• Increases for salaries, benefits and contracted services to account for negotiated increases.

• Adjustments to the Pathfinder Program decreasing para, substitutes and professional learning and increasing a teacher for a total increase of $33,604.

• Increase for Co-op Contract for subscriptions and software costs of $22,900.

• Increase for Co-op re-alignment and new teacher professional development of $425,541.

• Increase for software costs of $566,158.