51¶ÌÊÓƵ

So far, the LPS operations department has been in charge of installing the devices, which can detect both nicotine and THC, but the work has been moving slowly because staff also has other tasks to focus on, Director of Operations Scott Wieskamp said.

In response, the Lincoln Board of Education approved a bid Tuesday evening for $45,445 to hire Kidwell Electric to help speed up the process and take over a majority of the installation work at the high schools. 

"I'm just thankful that we have the money available to be able to expedite this because our team is really working hard. They're overloaded," Wieskamp said. "We're just trying to help them dig out of a big, long list of projects, and this helps our crew."

Once LPS has finished installing the devices at the high schools, the district will move its focus to installing them at every middle school. If officials need outside help with the installation process again, Wieskamp said they would have to enter into a new contract with Kidwell to complete the middle schools. 

Since the vape sensors were first installed at LPS in October 2023, district officials have reported seeing a drastic decrease in the number of vape-related infractions in the high schools with them already installed.

In the first week the devices were installed at Lincoln East, Principal Casey Fries said they went off over 100 times as a result of students vaping in the restrooms. But in February, that number had dropped to around 10 incidents per week.

Option enrollment 

In response to overcrowding at several LPS schools, the district is considering once again closing three high schools to transfers for the 2025-26 school year.

Lincoln High and Lincoln Northwest will likely remain closed to transfers next school year, alongside Lincoln Southwest.

Those high schools are the only ones at LPS currently over capacity, with Northwest over its 1,000-student capacity by 16, and Southwest and Lincoln High both over their 2,000-student capacities by about 100 students.

If the board votes to close the three high schools, all incoming freshmen would still be able to opt into them by the choice filing deadline of Jan. 31, but students in all other grades would be unable to transfer to the schools for that school year.

Northwest and Lincoln High were both on the list of schools closed to transfers last year, too, alongside Lincoln East, which has since been dropped from the list as enrollment has evened out there thanks to the growth of Standing Bear. Southwest was closed to transfers last year.

The school board will vote on the measure at its next meeting on Nov. 24.

Athletic complex bids approved

The school district is now one step closer to completing athletic complex projects at Lincoln's two newest high schools after the board approved bids for construction Tuesday night.

The $4.9 million bid to Hampton Construction approved by the board Tuesday will go toward completing several priority projects at the complexes at both Standing Bear and Northwest, including building restrooms and concession stands at Standing Bear, locker rooms at Northwest and field houses at both high schools.

The board voted to waive its usual second-reading format and approved the measure Tuesday night. 

According to Wieskamp, the plan is to break ground on the facilities before colder weather rolls in and wrap up construction next summer to have the facilities complete before the fall sports seasons begin.