If you haven’t heard, Community Learning Centers in Lincoln are about to lose $1 million in federal funding grants. The Mayor and Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel have been talking about how to fund these “before and after school” programs.
The Lincoln Independent Business Association (LIBA) supports the Lincoln Community Learning Centers (CLC) goals of improving student learning, strengthening families, and the neighborhoods where they live. LIBA also believes that it is important for this organization to improve and grow with the community.
However, LIBA will not support a request from Lincoln Community Learning Centers for $1 million from Lincoln’s taxpayers.
LIBA recently requested budget documents from CLC and learned that CLC does not have a budget that breaks down its numbers for salaries and number of employees.
They have also not produced a budget to account for their “home office” expenses. This is not the type of transparent accounting required of an organization asking for $1 million from Lincoln’s taxpayers.
A complete and itemized budget needs to be maintained and available for review by the public. This budget must account for all income and expenditures and the specifics of the origins of funds and uses of those funds.
The CLC also needs to establish itself as an independent, well managed, transparent, and public organization that collaborates with the City and LPS but is independent of both. In other words, we would not support the creation of a JPA with a taxing authority. Joel told the Lincoln Journal Star that “he was likely to recommend creating the JPA.” LIBA does not feel that giving them a line item on your property taxes, or a guaranteed slice of expanded sales tax, is a good idea.
Donations and grant money that they receive are filtered through the LPS Foundation because CLC is not an entity. Plus, the LPS Foundation is now keeping 10% of the CLC money as a management fee. We would recommend that CLC establish their identity prior to asking for financial assistance from the taxpayers.
We are issuing our statement well in advance of the city budget process in order to give CLC time to respond with financial documents and records for the community to review. Our request for these documents is appropriate if CLC are going to seek $1 million from Lincoln’s taxpayers.
LIBA studies and promotes these types of issues that are important to businesses and our community. If you have an interest in joining LIBA, please call me at 466-3419. LIBA membership is not restricted to just businesses. We also have “individual” memberships for those who want to help influence our local government decisions.
Additional information about LIBA can be found at their website at www.liba.org.