A new city park could crop up in far south Lincoln in future years if the sale of a portion of land owned by Lincoln Public Schools, which is intended to someday house an elementary school, is approved.Â
The Lincoln Board of Education is considering selling a 2.25-acre portion of the 17.7-acre plot of land owned by LPS near the intersection of Castle Pine Drive and Wilderness Hills Boulevard to the city for $207,000.Â
LPS often collaborates with the city to ensure there are neighborhood parks near the district's elementary schools, said Scott Wieskamp, director of operations.Â
The district originally purchased the land in 1998 for a future elementary school with the intent to someday sell a piece of it to the city to build a park. At the time, Wieskamp said, the area was primarily farmland and largely undeveloped. Now, the area is beginning to fill up with homes and businesses.
The sale of 2.25 acres will still leave plenty of land on which to build a school, he said, although it's not clear when LPS might be ready to move forward on one. Wieskamp said it will likely be part of the discussion when the district decides it's time for another school bond issue.
He said he doesn't know what the city's timeline is for building a park at the location, which is a few blocks south of Yankee Hill Road near 33rd Street, but he suspects it might wait until LPS moves forward on a school.
More vape detectorsÂ
LPS is continuing efforts to combat vaping in its middle and high schools with another purchase of devices that can detect vaping in school restrooms.
At the board meeting Tuesday, the school board approved the purchase of 150 more vape-detection devices from Kidwell Electric for $169,500.
The district has been working for nearly a year to install vape detectors, which can detect both nicotine and THC, in every bathroom at the eight high schools and 12 middle schools.
Lincoln East was the first high school to have the detectors installed last fall during a pilot program. Then in November, the district purchased 150 vape detectors, which are currently being installed at more high schools, along with the infrastructure required for the devices.
Wieskamp expects installation of the current detectors will continue into the beginning of the school year. Students and families at each high school will be informed once the devices have been installed and signs will be placed outside of each restroom.
Wieskamp estimates the district will need approximately 600 devices — about double what it will have following the purchase approved Tuesday — in order to place a vape detector in each restroom at all eight high schools. Then, LPS will move its focus to installing them at each middle school.
The money for the devices comes from a class-action lawsuit the district participated in against the popular e-cigarette company Juul. Superintendent Paul Gausman recommended last April that a portion of the nearly $1 million awarded through the settlement be used to purchase vape-detection devices.
Since the devices were installed at East last October, school officials have reported seeing a drastic decrease in the number of vape-related infractions at the school. In the first week the devices were installed, they went off over 100 times as a result of students vaping in the restrooms. But in February, Principal Casey Fries said that number had dropped to around 10 incidents per week.
Electric school busesÂ
After applying for and receiving a federal grant to replace old buses in the district's fleet with several new electric school buses, LPS is ready to finally make the purchase.
The school board discussed the purchase of three electric school buses on Tuesday for $833,250 through the Clean School Bus Rebate Program Grant, which will provide $265,000 toward the purchase of each bus. The district would pay the difference out of pocket.
The buses are supposed to have a 100-mile charge range and will fit the need of some of the district's shorter routes.Â
If the purchase is approved, the district will likely receive the buses around the start of next school year. Wieskamp said LPS has already begun working with Lincoln Electric System to find a good place to house the buses and the accompanying charging stations.Â
The addition of electric buses is just one "baby step" toward the district's goal of implementing more electric vehicles in its fleet in an effort to promote sustainability, Wieskamp said.
Now, he's anxiously waiting for the day he can finally "kick the tires" of the new buses.
"I think there's going to be a lot of excitement and anticipation until we can finally get them," he said.
The contract will be voted on at the next board meeting on Aug. 13.Â
School bus driver contract
Additionally, LPS has come to an agreement with the company it uses to hire additional contract bus drivers, First Student, to help address the ongoing driver shortage.
The board waived its usual second reading and approved the contract Tuesday night.
According to the contract, LPS will be able to utilize up to 15 of First Student's drivers.
Phil Skorupa, the district's director of transportation, has been working with First Student to come to an agreement for the upcoming school year, but the process has taken longer than expected because the company has also been struggling with the nationwide bus driver shortage.Â
Currently, LPS employs 134 bus drivers and 73 transportation paraprofessionals; however, the district would like to have more than 150 drivers and more than 100 paras.
While contracted drivers can help LPS meet student needs, using First Student is about 45% more expensive than if LPS were able to fill all of its bus driver positions, so it isn’t a sustainable solution to the driver shortage, Skorupa said.
The district is expected to pay $1.25 million from the general fund to cover this expense.Â