Learning Lunch gives audience a taste of budget process

The crafting of the Lincoln Public Schools budget is a complex, year-round process. It’s filled with difficult decisions every step of the way. At the most recent LPS Learning Lunch, those in attendance got a small taste of what it’s like to make those decisions.

LPS Associate Superintendent of Business Affairs Liz Standish offered an overview of the budget and the budget-making process, then asked audience members to participate in a hands-on activity with others at their table. They were tasked with prioritizing more than a dozen budget items, such as elementary school teachers, counselors, utilities, deferred maintenance and instructional supplies.

All groups reported at the end of the activity that they struggled to make such decisions. It’s the same balancing act for the Lincoln Board of Education and LPS administrators, Standish said.

“I think that’s what’s great about Lincoln. We care about serving students well - we also care about having great places for students to learn and for employees to work,” she said.

To listen in on some of those small-group discussions, as well as to hear Standish talk more about the LPS budget, you can rewatch the Learning Lunch below.

Learning Lunches are scheduled for noon in the boardroom at LPS District Office, 5905 O St. They're open to the public, as well as LPS staff. Doors open at 11:45 a.m., with the half-hour program starting at noon. Feel free to bring your own lunch – we’ll provide dessert. 

The rest of the LPS Learning Lunch schedule for the 2018-19 season:

• Tuesday, March 19: Twenty-five years of student-built houses, Bob Freese, Lincoln Northeast High School teacher
• Tuesday, April 16: LPS Student Debate, Mindy Murphy, curriculum specialist for English language arts for secondary education
• Tuesday, May 14: Aprenda mientras toma su almuerzo con los Mariachis de las Ciudad Estrella! (Learn while you have your lunch with The Star City Mariachi Ensemble), Lance Nielsen, curriculum specialist for music at LPS

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