Lincoln Public Schools is proposing a nearly five-percent spending increase while lowering its overall property tax levy by one cent.
Dr. Liz Standish, LPS Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs.
The proposed 2026-27 budget totals about $586.4 million, a 4.96-percent increase. LPS Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs Dr. Liz Standish told the Board of Education that salaries and benefits account for nearly 90 percent of district costs.
Standish said LPS has also experienced a continuing decline in state equalization aid.
“We have received declining state aid over the course of several years,” Standish said. “We had about a $4 million drop in state aid this past year.”
Lancaster County certified a 5.6-percent increase in total property valuations—higher than the district’s earlier estimate of 4.75 percent. The proposed LPS levy would consequently fall from $1.02 to $1.01 per $100 of assessed valuation.
“Overall, the school district levy is going from $1.02 to $1.01—a one-cent reduction,” Standish said.
LPS will participate in the joint “pink postcard” property tax hearing at 6:30 p.m. September 17 at the County-City Building. The school board is scheduled to vote on the budget and tax request September 22.
In other action, the board approved an $802,250 bid from Cornhusker International Trucks for five wheelchair-accessible school buses with three-point safety belts. The buses will replace aging vehicles in the district’s fleet.
The board also reviewed a proposed $10,000 Viking Foundation grant application for The Career Academy. The funding would support 11 students receiving special-education services in the Early Childhood Education Pathway and help expand opportunities into residential construction.
Associate Superintendent for Educational Services Dr. Mike Gillotti said the grant would “expand opportunities for students receiving special education services to also complete some training in the career pathway field of residential construction.”
The grant application is expected to return for a board vote September 22.
Highlights of the September 8 Lincoln Board of Education and ESU 18 regular meetings are available here.