Preliminary Proposed Lincoln Public Schools 2025–2026 Budget

The Preliminary Proposed Budget for the 2025-2026 school year represents an investment in strategic priorities identified by the Lincoln Community. The Budget Work Session on June 24th provides details about the preliminary proposed General Fund expenditure and revenue budget. Two public work sessions, three public forums, six Board of Education meetings and an online input tool provide the community with opportunities to weigh in on the LPS budget.

June 24th, 2025 Budget Work Session

Important Dates and Events

View full 2025–2026 budget calendar

Tuesday, June 24

Budget Work Session at 4:30 p.m.
at the SJDLC, Boardroom

Board Meeting at 6 p.m.
Opportunity for Public Comment

Wednesday, June 25

Online Input Window Opens

Presentation & Budget Forum at Noon
District Website

Presentation & Budget Forum at 6:00 p.m.
Steve Joel District Leadership Center

Thursday, June 26

Presentation & Budget Forum at 6:00 p.m.
District Website

Friday, July 11

Online Input Window Closes

Tuesday, July 22

Budget Work Session at 4:30 p.m.
at the SJDLC, Boardroom

Board Meeting at 6 p.m.
Opportunity for Public Comment

August 25

Budget Hearing

August 26

Board Meeting at 6 p.m.
Opportunity for Public Comment

Key Contacts

Kim Schmidt – Director of Budget & Finance, kschmidt@lps.org; 402-436-1708

Doug Anderson – Budget Specialist, danders5@lps.org; 402-436-1614

Julie Dougherty – Budget and Audit Technician, jdougher@lps.org; 402-436-1757

Videos and Presentations

Past Budget Information

Interested in scheduling a budget presentation for your community group?

Contact Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs Dr. Liz Standish at 402-436-1636

Questions and Answers

Dear Board of Education, I want to respectfully advocate for the speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in our district and ask for your consideration regarding equitable support. I understand that over a one million dollar contract has been approved for the upcoming school year to support school psychologists through remote staffing. Additionally, school psychologists are receiving monthly stipends to help address ongoing staffing shortages and high workloads. SLPs are experiencing very similar challenges—consistently high caseloads, significant workloads, and frequent understaffing. Our roles are vital to student success and require highly specialized skills, yet we often face similar systemic demands without comparable supplemental support. Is it possible for the district to explore options for additional funding or stipends for SLPs as well? Supporting SLPs in this way would recognize the essential services we provide and help with retention and recruitment during these challenging times. Thank you sincerely for your time and thoughtful consideration.

We are evaluating how to recruit and retain numerous critical shortage area positions at LPS to better support staff and students, including SLPs. Because SLPs are part of the certificated employee group covered by the Professional Agreement with the Lincoln Education Association, any additional compensation has to be accomplished through a collaborative negotiations process with LEA.

In regard to the pause in Federal funding this week, how might the budget be adjusted to attempt to compensate for the student and staffing needs that will go unmet, ultimately affecting all students?

The district is monitoring the information related to Federal Funding very closely and working to estimate the total funds potentially impacted. Strategies to address a short-term funding gap will be reviewed. Long-term, the LPS budget process will be used to review and prioritize programming if funding is reduced.

Has the district considered establishing a formal replacement schedule or lifecycle standard for playgrounds and outdoor classroom spaces? Currently, each elementary building is independently responsible for fundraising when equipment needs to be replaced or upgraded. This approach places an undue burden on families and creates inequities, particularly for Title buildings, when it comes to access to safe and enriching outdoor spaces.

The district is considering process and standards related to outdoor spaces.

Why make a significant cut to the tax levy when we are not providing the same resources to schools that we used to? Our schools are understaffed and need more paras, instructional coaches, teachers, and interventionists. Ranking 211 out of 244 in per pupil spending shows that we are not making the same investment in our students as most districts across the state are.

The LPS budget considers various spending, levy, and taxation caps established. The staffing plan for each school is reviewed as a part of the budget process.

East Lincoln is in need of a new middle school, and the Northeast YMCA is long overdue to be replaced. Are there plans to provide Northeast Lincoln with a new middle school/YMCA combo in the near future as you did with south Lincoln and Fallbrook?

The district will be updating the long-range Facility and Instructure Plan in the coming years including the need for new schools based on student enrollment trends.

How is the district dealing with staff salaries that have not been finalized by negotiations?

Because we have recognized the two remaining associations, we are not able to implement salary increases for these two groups for 2025-26 until negotiations are concluded. We are continuing to work with both associations toward reaching an agreement before the new contract year starts on September 1. We have accounted for salary increases in next year’s budget.