Lincoln Board of Education member Matt Schulte recently conducted a telephone survey of his constituents, which he said is an effort to better understand what issues are important to them.
“My intention is I would know what to advocate for based on what Lincoln does or doesn’t want,†said Schulte, who said used campaign funds to pay for the survey.
Primarily targeting Schulte’s district in east Lincoln, the telephone survey covered topics the school board is discussing as part of its strategic planning process. It also touched on standardized testing, a potential bond issue and a new high school.
The questions included whether respondents would support a bond issue if it did or did not raise taxes, and whether they would prefer one new large high school or two smaller schools.
The district has already sought community input on many of those issues.
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A task force of about 80 educators and community members are exploring options to deal with burgeoning high school enrollment.
Enrollment at four of the city’s six public high schools topped 2,000 this fall, and LPS officials have said it would be difficult for one full-sized high school to address the continued growth in all corners of the city.
They charged the task force with exploring options for dealing with that growth, such as a new traditional high school, additional focus programs, magnet schools or ideas relating to technology that would make enrollment more flexible.
At the same time, the school board has been updating its strategic plan, a process that involved an extensive effort to get public input.
School board president Lanny Boswell said the timing of the survey is confusing if it’s about the strategic plan, because the district is already compiling a final draft. And it hired a firm to help get a pulse on the public's priorities.
“The board and district have gone through a comprehensive outreach,†Boswell said. “It was a very good process and that will inform my decision on the strategic plan. I haven’t seen results of the poll, but I’d be very surprised if there was anything in there that would outweigh the extensive engagement the district has already done.â€
That outreach included 200 meetings with parents, teachers and community groups, four town hall-style open houses in each corner of the city, meetings with various community organizations and an online poll. Questions ranged from what sort of knowledge and skills graduates should have to what top thing could improve the district.
Boswell said they heard from 3,800 people, and the responses were analyzed and used to create major “themes†the board then used to guide its work on the strategic plan.
Schulte said his decision to conduct the poll has nothing to do with the quality of the strategic planning process.
“It really raised some good, valid ideas,"he said. "The question I have is, which ones of these valid ideas are most supported by the city of Lincoln and whatever those are, making sure I’m advocating for them.â€
There are numerous tentative goals, such as addressing high school enrollment, creating full-service community schools, and exploring early childhood education options and ways to address students’ mental health.
Schulte's priorities on the strategic plan included reducing standardized testing, and more exposure to world languages.Â
He said he asked about creating a dual-language program — something parents have advocated for at school board meetings — because he's intrigued by the idea and wants to see how his constituents feel.Â
Other school board members apparently did not know about Schulte's poll initially. Boswell said he got an e-mail from Schulte after he’d conducted it.
Schulte, who has been the lone no vote on several issues since he was elected to the board, most notably on the last budget, said he plans to share results with LPS officials and board members.
He said he won't talk publicly about them now because he doesn't want to influence the work of the high school task force.