By Mike Fischer
The new Douglas and Sarpy County Learning Community will be responsible for setting the standards as well as organizing the Learning Community Council.
Twelve of the 18 members on the council were selected in tonight’s election, and the remaining six will be selected by the council from current school boards, one from each Learning Community Districts.
The Learning Community Coordinating Council was selected by limited voting. Meaning, every voter selected one candidate, but the top two candidates will sit on the council.
The top candidate from each district was decisive. Ernie Chambers received more than 50 percent of the 2nd District’s vote. The 2nd district is mainly North Omaha east of 60th street. Chambers was a state legislature, and was an active proponent of the learning community there.
Rick Kolowski has taken a 2,000 vote lead in the 4th district, which is Maple Street to Cornhusker Street and 217th street to 120th street.
Although the top candidate from most districts is clear, the second candidate is not as obvious. With just over half the votes counted, many districts have two or more candidates within a few hundred votes of each other for second place.
Southwest Sarpy County did not get a representative on the council. The 6th district winners are from La Vista and Elkhorn.
Jim Thompson, of La Vista, was the top candidate from the 6th district. Thompson was not worried about leaving out the areas of southwest Sarpy County.
“I know the superintendent, Dr.[Kevin] Riley, in Gretna very well, as well as many of the school board members in Springfield and Papillion-La Vista,” Thompson said.
In Sarpy County’s only other district, the 5th district, Paul Hartnett has secured second place, and will be Sarpy County’s only other elected member to the council.
With Omaha Public School’s district in five of the six districts, the public’s concern has been a lack of representation by smaller districts, and overwhelming control by OPS’ interests.
Thompson brings 21 years of education experience to the table, and has worked with many of the coordinating council members, including Ernie Chambers.
“All have good reputations. The majority of people in there will be looking at the big picture,” Thompson said. “We have to look out for the kids; it doesn’t matter where they are from.”
Although Sarpy County has only two elected members to the council, it’s possible the number of representatives could grow to four, if the appointments from the 5th and 6th districts are selected from Sarpy County school boards.
“Most of them [council members] care about their own districts,” Thompson said, “but they also care about things across the two counties.”
