OPS board shake-up rolls on with elections this year and next

By   /   February 6, 2013  /   8 Comments

Joe Jordan | Nebraska Watchdog

If you like voting for the Omaha School Board you’ll love the latest vote by the Nebraska Legislature.

As lawmakers easily pushed ahead a bill reducing the size of the troubled board from 12 members to nine on Wednesday, they also set in motion a series of elections—with some board candidates looking to be on four ballots in less than 20 months.

Still standing is State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh’s original plan which finds candidates from each new district squaring off in this April 2nd’s primary election. The top two vote-getters in each district will advance to the May general election.

But by a vote of 26-10, backing a move by Omaha Sen. Burke Harr, lawmakers also OK’d another set of elections.

Following this spring’s votes the OPS elections would be moved back to where they’ve been for years—staggered elections in even numbered years.

In 2014 four of the district’s nine seats— the four even numbered seats— would be up; in 2016 the five odd numbered seats would go before the voters.

One more vote is needed to send the bill to the governor. In order for the plan to take effect immediately and set the spring elections in motion the bill will need at least 33 votes, which appears likely.

Contact Joe Jordan at joe@nebraskawatchdog.org

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Joe Jordan

  • Kevin

    Long overdue. Especially the 12 to 9 member board.

  • L.A.

    The fact remains that over 40,000 voters went to the polls last November and trusted in good faith that their votes would count for their school board representative. The same Constitution that guarantees gun owners their rights guarantees the right to vote via amendments. The votes were counted and legitimized according to law. Why would anyone bother to do it all again with a legislature that obviously approves of votes being thrown out and voters ignored?

  • Rich

    What do you mean specially? What else is this bill ending up being?
    By the way do you now know what district you are in and who will be on the ballot? Do you know the concerns that may be for other people in your new district? How informed will the electorate be on election day?
    This KneeJerk reaction may end up with a heck of a lot of confusion, and more than a bit of frustration for many. By that may be the WayneLatenbaugh (Scostin) purpose.

  • Kevin

    The 4-year even/odd member number election cycle is a good plan, it allows for tenure and new members to be there at the same time. Assuming, that is that new members are elected over incumbents. The 12 member board has proven its inefficiency over the last year. Especially the incompetence of Freddie Gray and the Nancy Sebring fiasco. Glad Gray stepped down. Too bad many of the others on the board saw no problems with her lies and voted to keep her there.

    I am currently in zone 1, my new zone will be 4. Current board member is Justin Wayne. I voted for him before, and will again.

    I am not too concerned about what my neighbors think. How many people consult their neighbors when they go to vote?

    This issue has had significant media coverage. If voters are not informed, that accountability lies with them, as with any election. I will cite in example people not knowing where their polling place is. Purely voter irresponsibility.

    So, I need to ask you, Rich, what is your opposition to this new plan if you are opposed to it?

  • http://www.facebook.com/montsho.rakeletso Montsho Rakeletso

    How many good deeds have this board done for the public? Did the test scores improve for the students? Did the board give away $,000,000 of public funds to a over priced employee? We need an election to get rid of some of them. Plus, it does not take 12 board members to make a decision, only one Law firm.

  • Rich

    You realize it is already a four year even odd election cycle, that did not change.
    If you remain with Justin Wayne, then your representation did not change, although he is talking about not running.
    Nancy Sebring would have had her email sex with her Des Moines Contractor without regaard to who was on the Board, and DMPS would not have informed OPS if there were 9 members or 12.
    Remember that the “FIASCO” was Nancy being unfit to serve as the Superintendent, She resigned as the word came forward, with no pressure from the Board or the Board President/Attorney – THEREFORE ….NO LAWSUIT.
    You may try to understand what happens before just repeating the insanity.
    This Bill was brought forth by a man known for curving the laws and creating Lawsuits. Ernie Chambers sued Lautenbaugh or redistricitng which created the law that school boards are to be drawn up by the election commissioner with Board input and approval.
    I am glad that the law suits you without your concern for your neighbors. There has not been good press coverage of the issues, as the reporter and the paper have a common aganda (not the peoples agenda) with the Senator and your Board member who does not attend Board meetings and even when he does, does not often vote, texts during the meetings (not in accordance with the Nebraska Open Meetings Laws) and not has a women he supervises on the Board. You did not read any of that in the press, as Justin is the only member who talks to the Ace reporter.
    But Justin did officially support the hiring of Nancy Sebring, it the Board was part of the Fiasco, then your representative did the same as all else. But if we were to assign the real culpability, it is the woman from Des Moines and that School Board who did nothing to inform anyone that the emails were maybe a bit more than what a teenager would read in Cosmo.
    My only opposition is that the Unicameral put bad language into the law (that is now pulled out) that creates a false crisis. In there hurry to fix what is really not broken – the election of 2012, they are not doing a good job of anything but knee jerking, which apparently excites you.
    By the way, you may ask you Board Member when he is going to attend the School Board training that has been paid for, and he chose to not attend, and has not reimbursed OPS for the expense. As you vote for him agian, you might think about getting him trained for his job this time. You may also let him know that 11 women is not that scarey of a situation for most men. Have you tested to see if he can handle being with eight?

  • Rich

    This School Board provides for an education that would have taught you the correct way to state that question would have been, “How many good deeds HAS this board done for the public?”
    The Board is elected and empowered to set policy, which is not done as a good deed, but as a fulfillment of responsibility.
    Test scores are on the rise and graduation rates are increasing. This Board is helping many new students how to read the evidence that some (?) apparently are not knowing about. The payout was not established by this board and it was a complete shock to many. As you may notice this Board along with other elected officials are moving towards greater transparency, so that even those, like yourself, can know the real truth and not just repeat the rumors.
    Actually the 12 members did vote to continue with this law firm as they investigate other alternatives. It isn’t quite like deciding not to go to HyVee and deciding you can get the same thing at Bag N Save.
    However, you could have lead them on there confusing journey by attending the biweekly open meetings and sharing your knowledge with them.
    You see whether it is 9 or 12, it is still up to you and me to let them know what we expect and demand. I do not lose my rights by electing someone to represent me. But I do forfiet my rights if I forget to let them know what I think and feel.

  • Kevin

    So you were “ok” with Freddie Gray withholding information that would have played a role in the approval or not of Sebring?