I was surprised at the level of difficulty associated with making the recommendation about the site for building a new Lincoln Public Schools District Office. The number of e-mails and phone calls, not to mention casual conversations, was beyond impressive. The Lincoln community cares where we ultimately land on a location and I can certainly appreciate that.
My decision to make a dual recommendation truly came down to the fact that each of the top sites offered the school district both benefits and challenges. The site near Seacrest Field is situated nicely for a district office and the location is attractive. The available space represents opportunities to improve park landscape, improve Seacrest parking and enhance the corner on “A” Street. The existing site at 5901 O st. is one we are all familiar with in terms of access, neighbors and fairly central location. The land also has an appraised value of more than $6 million. When we look at our list for LPS facility projects, and realize that our resources for those projects are dwindling, that number becomes very attractive.
Truly, any one of the five top sites is workable to construct a new office for our school district. The decision is now in the hands of members of the Lincoln Board of Education who will reflect on the pros and cons and, I’m sure, continue to receive plenty of community feedback.
Meanwhile, once again, LPS has performed beyond admirably on academic measures. The recent release and subsequent media coverage of the State Report Card – highlighting the performance of students across the state on reading, mathematic and writing tests – is one more endorsement of a winning teaching and learning formula. I know I speak for an entire community when I state how appreciative we are for the great work of all of our staff. WAY TO GO.
Our strategic planning process is winding down. I expect that the action plans for our four key areas will be defined and ready for public presentation in mid-November. Despite the setback caused by the fire, our teams have worked diligently to conclude the writing. While the document will represent our focus and direction for the next several years, it will also be a working document that will be modified and adjusted as conditions warrant.
Steve
