Flatwater Free Press: Lincoln Public Schools paid its former superintendent to be an on

Emily Wolf Flatwater Free Press

When Paul Gausman announced his surprise retirement as superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools in December 2024, the district said he’d be staying on in an as-needed advising capacity through June. And in that superintendent emeritus role, he’d continue receiving his monthly salary.

It doesn’t appear he did any work.

A series of records requests submitted by the Flatwater Free Press shows Gausman didn’t exchange any emails with school board members, assistant superintendents or the interim superintendent from Dec. 28, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

In response to questions from Flatwater, the school board’s president confirmed that Gausman — who earned $333,720 annually — was not needed during the transition.

Gausman took the top job in Lincoln in 2022 after