Most pressing issue

Johnson-Farr said staffing and adequate financial resources are major concerns amid budget challenges. LPS, she said, can build on programs in special education and early childhood by collaborating with nonprofit agencies. Securing financial support and training for people who want to become paraeducators could help, she said. 

Meyer-Thompson said a fiscally responsible budget, retaining teachers and staff and student outcomes all are important. Balancing the budget while providing for student needs must be the focus, she said.

Top budget priority

Adequate funding to pay teachers and staff is the top budget priority, Meyer-Thompson said, because that affects student outcomes. Other areas of the budget may have to be trimmed, she said, in order to provide qualified teachers and resources to all students.

Johnson-Farr said the well-being of students and staff and student outcomes are linked. Alternative pathways to improved student achievement are available, she said, but they cost money, and residents and businesses must be willing to support the cost.

Superintendent search

Johnson-Farr said the district’s next superintendent must be compassionate, committed, communicative, realistic and invested. 

Meyer-Thompson said the next superintendent should have experience in a large school system, have good relationships with teachers’ unions and be a good communicator. If a consultant is hired to help with the candidate search, she said, it should be a Nebraska-based firm.

Test scores

Meyer-Thompson said each school building should review its School Improvement Plan and develop strategies to improve students’ scores by evaluating such factors as instruction, absenteeism rates, its number of low-income and English Language Learner students and how many tenured teachers are on staff. 

Johnson-Farr said Lincoln schools that were found to need more support may have been dealing with a variety of factors that affected their rankings.

Safety and mental health

Johnson-Farr said the district must create the least-restrictive learning environments possible, review the role of student resource officers and determine whether enough money is allocated to addressing students’ needs, such as mental health services. 

Meyer-Thompson said students and families need to feel a sense of belonging and should know how to report safety and mental health concerns. School resource officers should remain in middle and high schools, she said.

Teacher recruitment and retainment

Experienced teachers who don’t progress on contract steps and extracurricular assignments should be reviewed, Meyer-Thompson said. The district also should work with postsecondary institutions to attract student teachers and fast-track the holders of bachelor’s degrees pursuing a teaching certificate. 

Johnson-Farr said it’s important to attract more people to the teaching profession and that teachers should talk to community groups about their work, adding that once hired, they should be mentored.