Education

The Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors recently approved a Master Plan that calls for the expansion of the Elkhorn Campus.

Board Member Tim Potter says the plan provides for the construction of new buildings to accommodate the fast growing campus.  He says right now, a building on Metro’s Elkhorn Campus is at 105% of capacity.  Potter says the only potential obstacle to the expansion right now is a dispute Metro has with the City of Omaha.

The Omaha Public Schools board will use a consulting firm from the Chicago area to assist with its second search for a new superintendent.

OPS board members voted Monday night to hire Proact Search of Wilmette, Illinois.  The school district is once again searching for a new superintendent following the resignation in early June of Nancy Sebring. She was to begin her new job as OPS superintendent July first, but resigned following reports that she used her Des Moines Public Schools email account to send sexually explicit messages.

The Omaha Public Schools board is set to vote in September on a new $481.2 million budget.

This year, the budget materials are online, along with committee presentations and a public comment section. OPS’ new fiscal year budget projects a six-percent increase in state aid, but no change in property valuations.

The Omaha Public Schools board is moving ahead in its search for an interim superintendent.

Board members approved an interim superintendent candidate profile and application during a special meeting Monday afternoon. The board is working with the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and American Association of School Administrators to find interim superintendent candidates.

The four-page application and one-page profile will now be used to find candidates for the interim position, which will be filled by September first.

“A Love of Place: The Metropolitan Advantage” is the theme of the 2015 conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.

UNO will host the conference.  Chancellor John Christensen says the coalition is comprised of 70 institutions across the country. 

He says between 250 and 350 leaders from those universities attend the conference each year. 

80 students from Omaha’s Lewis and Clark Middle School are spending the week at UNO, learning college and life skills.

The four-day program, which began Tuesday, incorporates arts, music, activities at UNO’S HPER building, and academics. The middle school students spend the week with UNO faculty, staff, and College of Education students.