Omaha school board downsizing bill amended, advanced
A bill that would change the size and structure of the Omaha Public School (OPS) board was advanced from general file Jan. 31.
LB125, introduced by Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh, would reduce board membership from 12 to nine members. Election of school board members would be changed to coincide with the citywide election instead of the general election.
Lautenbaugh said the proposed changes are a necessary first step in dealing with multiple issues at OPS.
“This has to happen now for the good of the district and the good of all students,” he said. “We need a board that reflects the aspirations of what we want from OPS.”
Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers also supported the bill, which he said seeks to address systemic inefficiencies of the board.
“The public doesn’t feel like they get serious consideration before the board,” Chambers said. “The board simply ‘rubber stamps’ whatever the superintendent tells them to.”
A Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 37-0, removes an original provision of the bill that would have instituted term limits of two consecutive four-year terms with an allowance to run for a board position again after a four-year hiatus.
Saying there is a causal relationship between school board size and student performance, Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery said a large board can lead to other problems as well.
“The evidence is pretty clear,” Avery said. “Larger boards tend to be correlated with lower performance, lack of consensus building, poor communication and poor decision-making.”
Wilber Sen. Russ Karpisek opposed the bill, saying the current process of electing board members should be allowed to run its course.
“We have elections all the time and get new people in,” Karpisek said, saying the election process should not be discounted simply because some board members are perceived to be ineffective.
Following the adoption of two technical amendments, senators voted to advance the bill to select file on a 37-4 vote.
