Highlights of the July 22 Lincoln Board of Education work session and regular meeting
July 22, 2025
The Lincoln Board of Education met for a work session and regular meeting on Tuesday, July 22, at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street.
Work session
Board members held a work session at 4:30 p.m. for the purpose of further discussing the proposed 2025-2026 budget.
Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs Liz Standish provided an update on discussions by staff and the Finance Committee regarding news that distribution of several federal grants have been paused while undergoing further review by the U.S. Department of Education and Office of Budget and Management. The ultimate status of funding for these programs remains undetermined, so LPS will monitor vigilantly and plan for multiple possible scenarios.
“By the time the budget process reaches the end of July, it is difficult to make substantial program and personnel changes as we prepare for the start of school in four short weeks,” added Interim Superintendent John Skretta. “LPS has plans in place to continue operation of all programs during the 2025-2026 school year, and should funding be cut, we would make decisions about sustainability and prioritization of programming during the 2026-2027 budget process.”
You can watch the entire work session on the LPS YouTube Channel. More information about the proposed 2025-2026 budget can be found on the LPS website: lps.org/budget.
Lincoln Board of Education regular meeting
The Board held its regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. You can watch the video of the full meeting on the LPS YouTube Channel.
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 proposal assigns the newly annexed area east of South 79th Street and Augustine Avenue to Wysong Elementary School, Moore Middle School and Standing Bear High School.
The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next meeting in August.
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 2025-2026 remains the same as the previous year and there are no proposed changes.
The Board will hold a second reading and vote to reaffirm the guidelines at the next meeting.
2025-2026 Board of Education and Superintendent annual goals and priorities
Annually, the Board evaluates the superintendent and develops annual priorities for the superintendent for the coming school year. The 2025-2026 Board of Education and superintendent annual goals and priorities are presented below for consideration and adoption at the next meeting.
Student Wellbeing and Outcomes
* By April 15, 2026, present to the Board of Education an overview of best practices and measurable progress related to student belonging, in alignment with the district’s 2024-29 Strategic Plan.
* By April 15, 2026, review district measures of student success, monitoring and reporting progress for all student groups on district, state and national assessments and post-graduate outcomes.
Staff Wellbeing and Outcomes
* By April 15, 2026, present to the Board of Education an overview of best practices and measurable progress related to filling vacancies in critical shortage areas, including identifying and implementing recruitment and retention strategies in alignment with the district’s 2024-29 Strategic Plan.
Family and Community Engagement
* By April 15, 2026, develop and implement an early childhood outreach plan to help increase the collective capacity of community child care organizations to serve children and families.
District Systems and Operations
* By April 15, 2026, study facility capacity and enrollment trends.
The Board will hold a second reading and vote to approve the goals and priorities at the next meeting.
Student Services agreements with Blue Valley Behavioral Health, Family Service, HopeSpoke, Lutheran Family Services and Morningstar Counseling
To assist in meeting the 2024-29 Strategic Plan goals around Student Wellbeing and Outcomes, staff recommend the district partners with community agencies to provide mental health services for students and families as needed. LPS will partner with: Blue Valley Behavioral Health, Family Service, HopeSpoke, Lutheran Family Services and Morningstar Counseling.
The partnerships will cost approximately $1,545,124, and be paid from the General, Federal and Special Grant Funds. The agreements would be valid from July 31, 2025, to Aug. 5, 2026.
The Board waived second reading and voted to approve the agreements in preparation for the 2025-26 school year.
Policy updates - 5000 and 6000 series
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.
Staff and legal counsel recommended five policy and regulation changes and one existing regulation be folded into a policy. You can find all of the proposed policy and regulation changes here.
Due to the requirements of newly passed laws in Nebraska and timelines in preparing for the next school year, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the policy updates.
Second reading
Property exchange agreement - Northwest/Pegram
Staff recommended that the school district enter into a property exchange agreement with the Robert L. Benes Revocable Trust. As part of the agreement LPS will transfer the approximately 26.7-acre tract of real estate near West Holdrege and Northwest 56th streets adjacent to the Lincoln Northwest High School site, plus the approximately 15.4-acre tract of real estate near North 18th Street and Folkways Boulevard commonly known as the Pegram site. In exchange, LPS will acquire an approximately 19.9-acre parcel of land generally located south and west of West Holdrege and Northwest 56th streets, and the Robert L. Benes Revocable Trust will also pay LPS $1,646,867. The new property will be better positioned in a developing neighborhood to provide an opportunity for a new elementary school.
The Board voted to approve entering into the agreement.
2025-26 Transportation Plan
At the June 24 meeting, LPS Transportation Director Phil Skorupa gave an overview of the previous school year and transportation plans for the upcoming year to the Board.
The mission of LPS Transportation is to provide safe and timely student transportation to and from assigned schools and activities according to district policies. During the 2024-2025 school year there were 4,366 LPS students who used LPS Transportation each day, up 427 students from the year prior. More than 1.7 million route miles were logged during the school year, and 201,680 miles were for activities and athletics.
There continue to be challenges in filling open positions. To address the staffing shortage, the number of routes was reduced to 124. Skorupa said they are working to fill open positions and build back up to 150 routes to help reduce the amount of time students spend on bus routes.
The Board voted to approve the 2025-2026 Transportation Plan.
Agreement with ProCare Therapy Inc
Staff recommended entering into a contract with ProCare Therapy Inc to assist in providing services remotely for LPS students. These services will assist the school district in lessening the gap in services provided, and alleviate the workload on in-house school psychologists. The proposed agreement would be for $1,160,325.
The Board voted to approve the agreement.
Extending agreement with EverDriven Technologies - header 3
Staff recommended extending an agreement with EverDriven Technologies to provide transportation services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
This will be an estimated annual expenditure of $1,000,000 from the General Fund. The Board voted to approve the extension agreement.
Planning Region Team Grant Proposal
The Planning Region Team (PRT) is an organized group of parents, advocates and representatives from community agencies, organizations, daycares and childcare providers and LPS who assist with the planning and implementation of the Early Intervention Act within LPS.
Staff proposed submitting a grant application to the Nebraska Department of Education for $65,750 to support the work of the PRT in implementing the Early Intervention Act.
The Board voted to approve the proposal.
Informational items and reports
Superintendent Update
LPS Interim Superintendent John Skretta spoke about the many professional development opportunities and activities that have been taking place this month. Scores of school leaders gathered at Southwest High School on July 21 for the annual Leadership Day event, where they learned about the importance of becoming and staying connected with each other. Multiple other professional learning activities will be taking place this week.
“I just wanted to highlight these incredibly important professional learning opportunities and share that with our board and the public, because I think it really emphasizes that in a high-performing, top-notch school district like the Lincoln Public Schools, there is no offseason,” Skretta said. “The tireless dedication and the diligence of our administrators both at the building and district level is highly evident, and that work ethic and professionalism our admin show is something we can all be proud of.”
You can watch a highlight of Skretta’s update here on YouTube.
Public Comment
There were two people who addressed board members during the public comment period. You can view their comments on YouTube.
Glimpses of LPS
Every Lincoln Board of Education meeting begins with a Glimpses video. The video series highlights the educational lessons that LPS students are learning throughout the year. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured the new Spark Middle School Tech Camp, which was organized this summer by the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools.
You can watch the newest Glimpses video on YouTube.
Published: July 22, 2025, Updated: July 22, 2025
