A recent commentary in the Nebraska Examiner stated that “Nebraskans should be concerned about Legislative Bill 1169.” Indeed, they should, but not for the reasons offered by the commentary. LB 1169 is the solution to serious problems at the Nebraska State Historical Society (now called by some, History Nebraska).
Thanks to excellent persistent reporting by Paul Hammel, Nebraskans have been made aware of some of the problems at History Nebraska. The previous director, who abruptly resigned in May 2022, will be charged in early March for misdirecting approximately $270,000 in funds intended for State of Nebraska coffers to a nonprofit organization that he set up. This money was specifically provided to the agency to help it through the COVID period in 2020. During testimony at a recent hearing, he revealed that the History Nebraska Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee directed this transaction. This and other issues motivated the introduction of LB 1169.
LB 1169 would move History Nebraska from a non-code to a code agency. As a code agency, the governor would appoint the director, which would require confirmation by the Legislature. The present governance by an elected Board of Trustees has been ineffective in managing and leading the agency for the past several years.
Under the previous director, many critical mission elements of History Nebraska have been neglected, with minimal Board of Trustees intervention. For example, deaccessioning, the process of evaluating and disposing of historical property, has been lax. I have attended board meetings where multi-page deaccessions lists were approved without question, even though the board had received the lists only the day before, with little time to review items. The previous director removed and discarded important historical property from Fort Robinson and the Kennard House in Lincoln without proper authority, resulting in the loss of significant historical artifacts. The board took no action to protect the preservation duty of the agency.
Employment is dramatically down in History Nebraska because of the loss of experienced employees who either left out of frustration or were forced out by the dictatorial policies and methods of the previous director. At one point in the recent past, agency policy prevented the Board of Trustees from interacting with agency employees. Again, board members at the time did not speak up about this appalling policy.
To this day, the Board of Trustees has not acted on or acknowledged wrongdoing by the previous director. Its response to the state auditor, who uncovered and reported the misuse of the $270,000 intended for the agency, was to defend the actions of the previous director.
There are other examples, but the problem is clear. The elected Board of Trustees’ method of managing the Nebraska State History Society is ineffective. Confidence in the agency is at a low point. It needs more direct oversight that converting it to a code agency would accomplish. Having the Legislature play a role through confirmation and oversight would help get the agency back on track.
The previous commentary asked: “Will LB 1169 reduce your taxes?” The answer is no. What LB 1169 would do is help assure that your tax dollars are properly spent and that History Nebraska adheres to its mission of collecting, preserving, and sharing the fabulous Nebraska histories we all share.
LB 1169 would get the Nebraska State Historical Society back on track.
