Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: DPS Annual Expenditures Up 44% Since 2016

Thursday, July 23, 2026

NEWS ROUND-UP: DPS Annual Expenditures Up 44% Since 2016

Dorchester School Spending Up 44% Over 10 Years: Dorchester Public Schools spending has grown considerably over the past decade, according to research by the Times. Public reports show the school's total annual expenditures have increased 44%, from $2.80 million in school year 2015-16 to $4.03 million in school year 2024-25, the latest year available. Keep in mind that approximately 60% of your property tax bill goes to your local K-12 school, so it's worth noting a 12% one-year increase in spending occurred in 2023-24 at DPS. After examining the spending figures for the school, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: DPS must increase its student body to become more efficient. While the 2024-25 statewide public school cost per pupil is $17,664, the annual per pupil cost at DPS now sits at $23,356 — up from $16,433 just 10 years ago. You can see the 2025-26 budget for DPS online.

July 28 Is DPS Youth Volleyball Camp: Bump. Set. Spike! On Tuesday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to noon, Dorchester Public School will host its Longhorns Youth Volleyball Camp. This one-day event is for incoming second graders through fifth graders. Cost is $15. See this page for more details.

Gloria and Larry Andelt Celebrate 60 Years: Dorchester's Gloria and Larry Andelt are celebrating 60 years of marriage. They were married July 23, 1966, at the Lincoln Berean Church in Lincoln. Help them celebrate by sending a card to them at P.O. Box 118, Dorchester, NE 68343.

Joyce Karl Turns 75: Dorchester's Joyce Karl turned 75 years old recently. Help her celebrate by sending a card to her at 108 Whitmar Ave., Dorchester, NE 68343.

Dorchester's Annual Rib Cook-Off Is Aug. 15: Get ready for summer BBQ. On Saturday, Aug. 15, the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund will host its first annual rib cook-off, or "Ribfest," and street dance. This event, which will be held at the Dorchester American Legion building, will feature some of the area's best cooks as they vie to be named the rib cook-off champ. The village government website reports that the cook-off competition will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free-will donation supper starts at 5 p.m. The band will be Hardwood Dash. There will also be a free-will donation for a breakfast buffet from 7-10 a.m. at the Legion. A "color run" will begin at the Dorchester city park with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m. Contact Kelli Kohout with any questions at kelli.kohout@dorchesterschool.org.

Dorchester United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School, July 27-30: Dorchester United Methodist Church will host its annual Vacation Bible School at the church from July 27-30. This year's theme is "Surprise Party VBS." Bible school begins on Monday, July 27, with registration (for all area children) from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. RSVP by July 13 to get a t-shirt. All are invited to attend. Contact Hannah Railsback at 402-335-0361 for more information or to register.

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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."