Although the recent $153 million Lincoln Public Schools bond issue was approved less than two months ago, the work has begun in earnest. Dirt is being moved as we speak at Southeast Community College for the new high school Career Academy, while bids have been published to begin the major technology infrastructure projects in many of our schools.
We were beyond excited last week when the bonds sold at an average rate of 3.58 percent, which was significantly less than our estimate. This translates into more bang for the buck on our bond issue projects – saving money for our taxpayers and our students.
Meanwhile, we regret the technology frustrations experienced by our staff and students over the last couple of weeks related to some of the state assessment testing. I do need to stress: This is not an LPS issue. The Nebraska Department of Education has been working with the company that administers the tests to address the problem, so we hope the issues have been solved and that our students can move ahead to accurately demonstrate their knowledge and achievement.
As we move ahead into our fourth quarter at LPS, I would like to commend our Lincoln Board of Education members who recently attended the conference of the National School Boards Association. We appreciate their willingness to learn about national educational trends and to engage in conversations with school districts that share some of the same challenges and initiatives we are tackling here at LPS. Much of the conference content centered on technology as a tool for learning and many new ideas were shared. Another recurring theme was “standing up for public education,” which resonated with all of the 10,000 participants who work so hard to ensure all our students succeed. Despite the many political and financial challenges, there is great evidence that public education works and that we are getting better.
Board members and I left the conference encouraged about the future for our 38,000 LPS students. We appreciate the trust the community has in us. We pledge to work hard to maintain that.
steve
