1 week Ago
On May 6, voters will select by district four members of the Lincoln Board of Education. In southeast Lincoln's District 5, Mara Krivohlavek is running unopposed and was appointed Tuesday to fill the final month of the term of incumbent Lanny Boswell, who died earlier this month. Krivohlavek, who received 95% of the votes in last month’s primary, has three sons at LPS in second, fourth and sixth grades, has been part of the parent-teacher organization at Maxey Elementary School for over five years, and will bring a parent’s perspective to the board.
In the contested races, the Journal Star editorial board endorses: District 1: John Cartier. Cartier, a 33-year-old attorney who has dedicated his career to protecting voting rights and advancing civil liberties, will bring a commitment to ensuring all students, regardless of background, can thrive in Lincoln’s public schools. People are also reading.
.. Cartier, whose three sons attend Messiah Lutheran School, will work to expand career and technical education opportunities, and prioritize school safety and mental health resources, and maintain inclusive policies now under attack by the Trump administration.
District 3: Barbara Baier. Seeking her sixth term, Baier will provide consistency, institutional memory and experienced-based leadership on the seven-person board that will have three new members if she is reelected. Baier’s work on plans to increase on-time graduation, improved security with programming to reduce student discipline disparities, increasing after-school programming and mental health support has been invaluable.
She should be chosen to continue that work as the longest-serving board member. District 7: Marilyn Johnson-Farr. Few people can be more qualified for the board than Johnson-Farr.
She has 50 years of experience in education as a professor, elementary teacher and staff developer, 20 of those years at LPS. Johnson-Farr’s experience as a professor will allow her to identify the most pressing issues in elementary and secondary education. Her time as a teacher of teachers and a teacher herself will bring valuable classroom insight to the board, her work as a team leader and in development will provide a practical view of the implementation of policies and programs.
About our endorsements As with all of our editorial board opinions, our election endorsements don’t necessarily reflect the unanimous opinions of our members but rather a consensus. We arrive at them after reviewing news stories and research. While we consider the board an advocate for the community, our endorsements, and all our opinions, are intended to initiate discussion.
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