Public commenter alleges pension mismanagement at Omaha Public Schools; board did not act

OMAHA, Neb. — During public comment at the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education meeting on Feb. 20, resident Justin Riddle accused district officials of actions he said led to underfunding of the district’s OSERS pension program and alleged the district withheld requested records.

Justin Riddle told the board he had reviewed public documents and asserted that in 2021 “the board took over and started nominating their own people” to the OSERS program’s governing body and that the program’s funded status is “just over 50%,” which he contrasted with an asserted statewide average of about 97%. He said the consequences would be borne by taxpayers or future payouts. Riddle urged the board and public to examine public records and said he would provide documentation for his claims.

During his remarks, Dr. McFarland interrupted to enforce the meeting’s public-comment procedures; Riddle challenged the interruption and requested his time be restarted. The meeting record shows his time was not restarted and he concluded his remarks as staff advised time limits. He also alleged the district had not provided records he had requested and that the attorney general had declined many public records requests statewide; those are claims he presented to the board for the record.

Why it matters: public comment is a forum for community members to raise concerns to the board; the board did not take immediate action on the allegations during the meeting. The claims are reported here as statements made by the speaker; the district did not make a response on the record during the public comment segment in this meeting.

No formal board action was recorded in response to Riddle’s remarks during the meeting. The public comment was one of three speakers scheduled for the allotted public-comment hour and occurred prior to the board’s consent and action items.