Beutler Calls Education Cornerstone of City Growth

Lincoln – Ensuring student safety, forming creative partnerships and recognizing quality schools as an economic development tool are three goals in Lincoln Mayoral candidate Chris Beutler’s “Education Cornerstone” effort. Beutler unveiled his plan today.

“In the age of the Internet, video conferencing and email, many good companies can locate virtually anywhere,” Beutler said. “To attract the best employees, businesses target communities that provide a well-educated workforce and an outstanding quality of life. Education is the cornerstone of both – and that’s why our next Mayor must ensure City Hall works hand in hand with our outstanding public schools and our teachers,” Beutler said.

“Good schools are the foundation of job growth,” Beutler said. “Major employers want assurances that there will be outstanding schools for their employees’ children. Companies also need a highly skilled and technologically literate workforce. The connection between education and economic development is clear. I believe Lincoln’s top-notch schools will help our next Mayor attract new jobs.”

Officers in Schools

Beutler pledged his support to keep Lincoln police officers in LPS middle schools by working closely with the School Board on a safe and secure school plan.

“Protecting our kids is of paramount importance,” Beutler said. “Every year, we argue back and forth over who should pay to keep police in schools. That is an unproductive argument. Whether the funding comes from the school board or the city, it’s taxpayer money and leadership demands that we work out the most efficient plan to keep those officers close to our kids. We need a permanent plan rather than the one year fixes that keep coming out of City Hall.”

Education & Jobs

The passage of the last year’s Lincoln Public School $250 million bond is part of the motivation behind Beutler’s plan to tie investment in education to economic growth.

“The citizens spoke loudly and clearly they want quality schools. The City of Lincoln has to do its part by making sure the infrastructure is planned and in place as those schools are built. It is too expensive and a danger to the kids to make fixes after the school is open. The politicians at City Hall made a mess of South 14th near Southwest High School and taxpayers paid a steep price for it,” Beutler explained.

City/LPS Cooperation

Beutler wants to explore the location of non-profits on joint LPS-City projects. “We have taken the first step in joint city-school cooperation by locating Arnold school with a proposed city library. Parks and recreation centers have also been part of joint location discussions.

“We need to think even more creatively about whether a campus can also house non-profit programs, such as the Fallbrook Middle School and YMCA project. Lincoln may be getting a Boys & Girls Club in the near future and we need to explore innovative collaborations between the public, private, and non-profit sectors to best use community resources,” Beutler said.

Continuing Lincoln’s vision of using public schools to deliver city services, as envisioned in the Community Learning Center concept, must be improved and expanded according to Beutler. “The schools can serve as a gateway to programs that improve the health and well being of our children. The more service delivery we can do in cooperation with the schools makes for healthier kids and saves money.

“My Education Cornerstone plan will lead to better schools for our children and our teachers and help us attract new businesses and new jobs,” Beutler concluded.