Posted 12:14 AM by Susan Darst Williams

WHAT DO LINCOLN VOTERS KNOW THAT OPS VOTERS SHOULD FIND OUT?

Lincoln Public Schools has twice been turned down by capital city voters recently in its attempts to override the state-mandated lid on school tax levies.

The Omaha Public Schools, has that question on the Nov. 5 ballot in Omaha, and it'll be interesting to see if OPS voters follow the lead of LPS voters in turning thumbs down.

The November 2000 vote in Lincoln failed by a significant margin, 54-46 percent. In April 2001, opposition from the Lincoln Independent Business Association pointed out that property valuations and state aid had increased several times faster than enrollment, and the student-to-employee ratio in LPS was 7:1. That means for every class of 21 students, one LPS employee was in the classroom with the children . . . and two more were outside the classroom. That's approximately the same ratio within OPS.

LPS officials had predicted teacher layoffs and increased class sizes, but were able to adjust several budgetary funds and cut busing expenses to make ends meet.