Lincoln Public Schools board elects officers, reviews conflict-of-interest rules at organizational meeting

The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education on May 19, 2025 held its organizational meeting, swore in newly certified members and elected officers for both the school board and Educational Service Unit (ESU) 18.

Board members took the oath of office after the Lancaster County Election Commissioner certified four newly elected members. The board then conducted nominations and paper-ballot elections for board officers. According to the recording secretary’s tally, the board elected Bob (as recorded) as president and Piyush Shrivastava as vice president. The board also confirmed customary administrative officers: the superintendent as board secretary and Liz Standish as treasurer. The board adopted its annual order of business and affirmed routine policies and regulations. The ESU 18 membership followed the same sequence and elected its officers, appointing Takako Olson as unit administrator.

Why it matters: the organizational meeting establishes who will preside over Lincoln Public Schools and ESU 18 for the coming year, assigns committee placement and official designees (including the district representative for the LB 644 joint public hearing), and reminds members of statutory responsibilities they will carry into committee and policy work.

At the start, a presiding official read the notice that the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted at the meeting entrance and administered the oath of office to the newly certified board members. Annie Mumgaard, a newly seated member who was nominated for president, addressed colleagues before ballots were distributed, saying she aimed to "build a needed foundation" focused on relationship building, supporting the interim superintendent and monitoring district data in committees.

Derek Holden of the Perry Law Firm gave a brief overview of statutes relevant to board members, including conflict-of-interest provisions and political-accountability disclosure requirements. "Conflicts of interest are very important for you as actions and items come before you," Holden said, noting definitions for "immediate family members" and "business associations," and pointing members to excerpts required by regulation 82-60.1 and to statute citation 49-1425 for further detail.

The meeting included multiple roll-call votes; each recorded motion passed with an affirmative vote by the board members present. The board noted that, under its adopted order of business, public comment is provided at each meeting; no blue cards were submitted and no public comments were heard at this session.

Votes at a glance: - President of the Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education — elected (recorded name: Bob). Motion to approve carried on roll call (unanimous yes). - Vice President — Piyush Shrivastava elected (unanimous yes). - Secretary and Treasurer — superintendent confirmed as board secretary; Liz Standish confirmed as treasurer (unanimous yes). - District designated representative for LB 644 joint public hearing — Liz Standish confirmed (unanimous yes). - Adoption/reconfirmation of the board order of business — approved (unanimous yes). - Affirmation of policies, regulations and day-to-day business practices — approved (unanimous yes). - ESU 18 elections and appointments, including appointment of Takako Olson as unit administrator — approved (unanimous yes).

What's next: board members were asked to rank committee preferences so administration can assign committee seats. The board also indicated it will schedule additional statutory and ethics training for new members to expand on the high-level overview provided at the meeting.

All quotations and attributions in this article come from statements recorded during the May 19, 2025 Lincoln Public Schools/ESU 18 organizational meeting.