Nebraska
Gov. Pillen asks Nebraska lawmakers to overhaul school aid formula in 2025 • Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen is officially calling on Nebraska lawmakers to address “inconsistencies” in the state’s main school aid formula in the 2025 legislative session.
Pillen, in a Friday news release, pointed to a new report from his policy research office that compiled property tax data for new state senators. The governor noted that newly elected senators — with 16 fresh faces set to join the body in January — might not have a complete understanding of the state’s funding formula, or the impact of recent legislation.
The report includes data from Nebraska’s 244 school districts in the previous school year and indicates how decreases in state aid led to property tax increases.
“This document helps illustrate the impact of those changes and, hopefully, [will] inform discussions as we embark on the next legislative session and resume efforts to provide additional property tax relief to Nebraskans,” Pillen said in a statement.
TEEOSA breakdown
The conversation revolves around the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, better known as TEEOSA, which has been perennially updated since its adoption in 1990.
TEEOSA, also known as the “equalization aid” formula, determines funding aid based on the difference of about 18 “needs” minus six “resources” for each public school district. If “resources” outweigh “needs,” the district doesn’t receive the aid and is classified as “unequalized.”
“Needs” include student growth, poverty and English as a second language. “Resources” include net option enrollment, allocated income tax funds and base aid per student.
Another “resource” is based on possible property tax collections, assuming a $1 hypothetical tax rate across each school district. This is the amount the state assumes a district could raise if it had that high of a tax rate, based on annual valuations.
This means when valuations go up, a district’s equalization aid automatically goes down, possibly to the point they are “unequalized” and lose the extra funding.
Finding stability
For example, Lincoln Public Schools, the state’s second largest district, is likely to be unequalized in the coming years. LPS lost $31.85 million in state aid this year, a decrease of 30.4%, and raised property taxes by $31.57 million in response, a 9.6% increase.
Three other school districts — Millard Public Schools, Papillion-La Vista Public Schools and Gretna Public Schools — also saw “dramatic drops in state aid.” Combined with LPS, the four districts lost $56.27 million in state aid and increased property taxes by $62.25 million. That accounts for 82% of the total increase in property taxes statewide for that period.
Kenny Zoeller, director of the governor’s policy research office, said state aid decreased for 111 school districts for the 2024-25 school year.
“We need to find a way to better help districts budget for the aid they do get, thereby creating some predictability and, hopefully, further reduce what Nebraskans end up paying in property taxes year over year,” Zoeller said in a statement.
Pillen and Zoeller do not explain how to provide more stability. However, they state that initial research indicates newly placed soft “caps” on how much school districts can increase their property taxes slowed total increases to 2.5%, or about $75.82 million.
That’s the smallest annual increase since 2018 and the smallest percentage increase this century.
‘They’re on pins and needles’
Multiple state lawmakers proposed addressing TEEOSA in the Pillen-led special session on property taxes this summer, including State Sens. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and Jana Hughes of Seward.
Linehan, the Legislature’s outgoing Revenue Committee chair, called for eliminating the “resources” side of the funding formula, to better calculate each district’s needs. She later proposed using TEEOSA to distribute increased sales and “sin” tax revenue to districts for property tax relief. Linehan is term-limited and won’t return next year.
Hughes, a former school board member in Seward, worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on a proposal to reform TEEOSA over 10 years, or sooner if possible. Her proposal would have decreased maximum school property tax rates gradually over 10 years.
Pillen had proposed having the state take over nearly all local operational property taxes, which account for an average of 60% of Nebraskans’ property tax bills. However, when Linehan introduced Pillen’s core proposal, it did not include that component.
Hughes said she agrees TEEOSA needs to be a focus but thinks it will take time and an in-depth look, such as what happened when TEEOSA was first created, with the Revenue and Education Committees collaborating on the proposal, and relying on years of research and design.
“I get this sense from schools right now, every year they’re on pins and needles of what is going to change or what is the legislative body going to do?” Hughes said.
‘The formula is inconsistent’
In 2023, the Legislature helped to increase aid to schools by doubling special education reimbursements from 40% of expenditures to 80% and set a baseline “foundation aid,” about $1,500 per student in each public school district.
Hughes said some school districts “hunker down” and ask residents to invest through property taxes to prevent budget cuts or to react to uncertainty of whether future funds will be available.
“It’s just a little vicious cycle a bit when valuations go up,” Hughes said.
State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn, vice chair of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee, said he hadn’t yet digested the report but agreed with its main findings. He said he’s aware of people encouraging a reconsideration of TEEOSA and is “supportive of a thoughtful and patient process that includes all stakeholders, to improve the state funding calculation.”
Hughes said she and a team of lawmakers will return with a 2025 proposal that will be smaller but still “take a little bite” out of reforming TEEOSA.
Pillen has requested that lawmakers consider similar legislation.
“The formula is inconsistent and hits taxpayers hard,” the policy research office report states. “It is not fair to them or the schools. Providing certainty to school districts will allow Nebraska to have sustained property tax reductions for the first time in history.”
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Former South Carolina Gamecock offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield demoted at Nebraska.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have had a bit of an up and down season this year and head coach Matt Rhule announced a coaching change. Former South Carolina Gamecock offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has been demoted and long-time college coach Dana Holgorsen will take over the play calling duties.
Satterfield was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Carolina during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He has since been the offensive coordinator at Nebraska, but now is just the tight ends coach as of this week.
Nebraska this season ranks 99th in points per game averaging just 23.6 per game. They also rank 96th for total offense as they are averaging 354.1 yards per game. Holgorsen was a long-time head coach at West Virginia throughout the 2010s, was head coach at Houston from 2019-2023 and most recently was a scout and advisor at TCU this season.
During Satterfield’s time at South Carolina, the Gamecocks averaged 22.6 points per game in 2021 and then 32.2 points per game in 2022. Satterfield would then resign from his position with the Gamecocks during the 2022 season before the team’s bowl game against Notre Dame.
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The USC Trojans are coming off a bye week heading into Saturday’s matchup vs. the Nebraska Cornhuskers. What do this week’s Big Ten power rankings look like?
The Oregon Ducks remain at the top the Big Power rankings after their win over the Maryland Terrapins. The Ducks are now 10-0 and the unquestioned No. 1 team in the conference.
Next Game: 11/16 at Wisconsin
Ohio State handled their business against the Purdue Boilermakers in a shutout victory on Saturday. The Buckeyes are hoping to get another crack at Oregon in the Big Ten title game.
Next Game: 11/16 at Northwestern
In a dream season for Indiana, the Hoosiers are now 10-0 and likely just need to win one of their final two games to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff. They held on to a 20-15 win on Saturday over Michigan. After the game, coach Curt Cignetti’s daughter got engaged on the field. It’s like a movie in Bloomington!
Next Game: 11/23 at Ohio State
Penn State took care of Washington 35-6 on Saturday. The Nittany Lions do the same thing every season. They beat everyone except for any team that is remotely close to their level.
Next Game: 11/16 at Purdue
Illinois moves up after neither winning or losing during the bye week.
Next Game: 11/16 vs. Michigan State
Minnesota flipped their season around and won four straight games but went right back to their old selves with a loss to a struggling Rutgers team. It is too difficult to get a read on this Golden Gophers team.
Next Game: 11/23 vs. Michigan State
Iowa lost a close road game on Friday night to UCLA. The Bruins have been playing well as of late, so Iowa will remain at No. 7.
Next Game: 11/23 at Maryland
Nebraska is coming off of a bye week but still jumps up a couple of spots.
Next Game: 11/23 at USC
The UCLA Bruins are better than their 4-5 record would indicate. The Bruins took down a hot Iowa team 20-17. They looked lifeless after their 1-5 start, but they have rolled off three straight wins and have a legitimate opportunity to become bowl-eligible. First-year coach DeShaun Foster has surprised many with the turnaround.
Next Game: 11/15 vs. Washington
The Badgers had a bye week. If they can compete against Oregon next week, they will likely stay in the top ten.
Next Game: 11/16 vs. Oregon
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The Nebraska women’s basketball team surged to No. 21 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 rankings released on Monday.
After a 2-0 start to the season with home wins against Omaha Southeastern Louisiana last week, the Huskers rose two spots from their preseason ranking. Nebraska handled Omaha 88-48 in their season-opening win on Nov. 4, but flirted with a near-slip against the Lady Lions on Saturday. Nebraska fought its way back to win 78-68.
The No. 21 ranking is the highest for the Huskers since being rated No. 22 during the 2022-23 season. Nebraska was last inside of the top 20 in the 2014-15 season, rising as high as No. 12.
Nebraska’s Big Ten Conference foes represented well in the top 25, with the Big Ten featuring six programs in this week’s poll. Four other teams received votes, giving the Big Ten over half of the conference representation by the Associated Press.
Big Ten favorites USC and UCLA lead the pack with their No. 3 and No. 5 ratings respectively. No. 11 Maryland and No. 12 Ohio State narrowly missed out on the top ten after the Terrapins jumped seven spots. No. 23 Illinois and No. 25 Oregon rounded out the conference’s ranked teams, as Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana all received votes.
Seven @bigten teams are ranked in this week’s top-25 🙌#B1GWBBall pic.twitter.com/RKOSM82iNQ
— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) November 11, 2024
The Southeastern Conference earned the top overall spot with No. 1 South Carolina continuing its traditional grip on the sport. The SEC also included three more teams in the top 10, with No. 4 Texas, No. 7 LSU, and No. 9 Oklahoma. No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 20 Kentucky, and No. 22 Alabama gave the SEC a total of seven teams featured in the poll.
The Big East has the No. 2 team in the nation with 2-0 UConn, while the Big 12 four programs in No. 8 Iowa State, No. 10 Kansas State, No. 15 West Virginia, and No. 17 Baylor. The Atlantic Coast Conference was featured by No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 13 North Carolina State, No. 14 North Carolina, No. 16 Duke, No. 18 Louisville, and No. 24 Stanford.
The Huskers will continue their home stand Tuesday night, welcoming Southern to Pinnacle Bank Arena, followed by a road test in Sioux Falls battling South Dakota at the Sanford Pentagon Saturday.
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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
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