Highlights of the August 12 Lincoln Board of Education regular meeting

August 12, 2025

The Lincoln Board of Education met for its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 12, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street.

 

Special reports, presentations and celebrations of success

Josh Jones - The Career Academy

Josh Jones has served as The Career Academy Director since 2020 and was recently named Administrator of the Year by the Nebraska Educators Rising chapter.  

Jones has helped the education pathways thrive at TCA by providing support and resources in an effort to inspire and encourage future educators to find their passion for teaching and learning. 

You can watch a highlight of Jones' resolution here. 

Sue Cassata - Standing Bear High School

Standing Bear High School Principal Sue Cassata was named Region 1 High School Principal of the Year by the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals.

Cassata continues to be instrumental in building the traditions as she worked with her team to open Lincoln’s newest high school in 2023 - guiding students and staff to find "The Power of Place".  Serving Lincoln Public Schools for 34 years, 17 as principal, Cassata is an instructional leader who has mentored countless administrators through their educational journey. 

You can watch a highlight of Cassata's resolution here. 

First reading

Policy update - 2120

Periodically, the school district updates existing policy to ensure it aligns with current practice. 

Proposed updates to Policy 2120 establishes the Superintendent’s Executive Committee as a senior leadership group to provide the Superintendent with advice and counsel. Policy 2120 will also be revised to recognize the Administrator and Technician employee groups as groups of similarly situated employees, respectively, with a similar community of interest appropriate for bargaining by the Lincoln Board of Education. The recommended revisions align Policy 2120 with the District’s long-standing meet-and-confer bargaining practices with the Administrator and Technician employee groups.

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

Proposed Agreements with Maintenance Employees Association and Transportation Employees Association for the 2025-2026 Year

Negotiated agreements with the Maintenance Employees Association and the Transportation Employees Association were put before the Board for consideration. 

The proposed agreement for each employee group is as follows:

  • Maintenance: The total package increase for 2025-26 is 3.80%. This includes a 3.48% salary increase, an estimated 5.49% increase in health insurance premiums and increases in FICA and retirement costs.
  • Transportation: The total package increase for 2025-26 is 4.23%. This includes a 3.55% salary increase, an estimated 5.49% increase in health insurance premiums and increases in FICA and retirement costs.

Copies of the full agreements can be found here.

Due to timelines, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the agreements.

Community Learning Center agreements

LPS is entering into the 26th year of partnering with community organizations to offer Community Learning Centers. There are currently 31 schools that offer CLC programming at various sites. 

It is recommended the Board approves continuing the agreements between LPS and the following entities to provide CLC programming: Family Service, YMCA of Lincoln, Lincoln Parks & Recreation, Cedars Youth Services, Malone Community Center, Boys & Girls Club, Northeast Family Center, Willard Community Center and Lincoln Housing Authority.

Meadow Lane and Roper elementary schools added CLCs this school year.

Due to school year timelines, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the agreements.

Interlocal agreement for School Resource Officers and Threat Assessment Officer

Every year, LPS reviews an agreement with the City of Lincoln to fund school resource officers and a threat assessment officer as part of the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Agreement. The 14 SROs are assigned to LPS middle and high schools, and the threat assessment officer is assigned to the school district. 

The SROs help with the education of students, assist staff and facilitate communication between LPS and Lincoln Police Department. SROs take appropriate law enforcement action when situations arise requiring the exercise of police authority.

Each year in November, the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Board reviews and presents data and feedback collected by both LPS and the Lincoln Police Department. You can find the presentation from last November here.

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

Second 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 held a second reading and voted to approve the assignments.

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 held a second reading and voted to reaffirm the guidelines.

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.

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 Strategic Plan.
  • By April 15, 2026, present to the Board of Education a review of the 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 Strategic Plan.

Family and Community Engagement

  • By April 15, 2026, develop, implement, and present to the Board of Education the 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, develop and present to the Board of Education the results of the study of facility capacity and enrollment trends.

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

Informational items and reports

The Career Academy Joint Board Update

Board member Annie Mumgaard provided a summary of the joint meeting held at TCA last week. 

She noted that TCA is turning 10 and more information will be shared soon about a community celebration on Oct. 30. 

Mumgaard also reported that TCA enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is at a record-level 830 students as of today. That number could shift as school gets underway.

A new adjusted program will be piloted this year in the early childhood tract. This program will allow students who receive Special Education support to participate in the early childhood program, as well as, have an opportunity to do internships through Lincoln Littles.

Superintendent update

Interim Superintendent John Skretta provided the Board with an update about the first day of school for students in grades kindergarten, sixth and ninth. Wednesday will be the first day for all other students in grades first through 12th grade. 

Skretta expressed his appreciation to the custodial and maintenance teams for their work and countless hours in cleaning up storm damage and getting schools ready to accept students this week. 

Starting at 6:00 a.m. today, Skretta visited Transportation on the first day thanking drivers and paraeducators for their dedication and support for students. 

He also visited Adams, Hill and Zeman elementary schools on the first day. Skretta highlighted conversations with the principals in which they talked about working with Kyle Poore in LPS Security for updating their drop-off and pick-up procedures to help get everyone to and from school safely.

Skretta wrapped his report to the Board by talking about Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs Liz Standish and the work her team at LPS does during the budgeting process that will be wrapping up this month. Skretta is grateful for Standish’s leadership as she was selected to serve on the Governor’s School Finance Review Commission which met for the first time today.

Public comment

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

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights LPS. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured 2025 North Star High School graduate Alexandra and her mother Isle who also graduated from North Star in 2009. You can watch the Glimpses called “Full Circle” on YouTube.

 

Published: August 12, 2025, Updated: August 12, 2025