Nebraska
Nebraska experiences déjà vu during ongoing battle over school choice
Wyoming’s smallest schools aim to meet kids where they’re at
Educators say smaller schools and class sizes allows for individualized education, and for kids to teach each other across grade levels.
LINCOLN – On a warm Monday evening, volunteers in a church parking lot passed large clipboards to drivers of minivans and pickup trucks, all part of a petition drive. Their objective: block a new measure that would introduce private school vouchers in the state. However, this campaign stirred a sense of déjà vu among Nebraskans. It marked the second ballot initiative within a year by the group Support Our Schools, a public school advocacy organization, following the state Legislature’s recent override of their initial effort.
As the national debate around school vouchers plays out across the country, the Cornhusker State is in a heated tug-of-war between school choice supporters and public school advocates over the passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act in 2023. The Act allocates $25 million from state coffers to tax credits for private school scholarship donations.
“If it gets on the ballot, you can vote whatever way you want. It’s just signing it to give the people a voice that belongs in public schools,” Nebraska State Educators Association President and Support Our Schools sponsor Jenni Benson said. “If you get public funds, you have to be accountable just the same way any other public entity would be if you’re giving them to a private school.”
If the current referendum is successful, it will end both the tax credit and the state appropriation of private school scholarship funds.
While some argue the law was a workaround for the initiative, state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, a sponsor of both bills, said this year’s law was crafted with the public’s response to the initial tax credit in mind.
“They said it was too much money, so we addressed both those things,” Linehan said. “We took it from 25 million to 10 with no escalator, and it’s no longer a tax credit. That’s what they said the problem was. … we listened, and we adjusted to what they said was problematic.”
She added that the state is already adequately funding public schools, pointing to a $1 billion funding boost for public education approved by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen last year, raising special education funding to 80%.
The debate plays out in Nebraska
Currently, 29 states and DC operate some form of school voucher system. While some states have more expansive programs than others, Nebraska’s is one of the newest. It was previously one of two states, including North Dakota, that didn’t offer some form of public funding for private school tuition.
In the days leading up to the Opportunity Scholarship application deadline for the next academic year, approximately 2,000 students had submitted applications, according to Lauren Gage, the Director of Marketing and Outreach at Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska. The program gives priority to students from low-income families, those who have experienced bullying, children of military personnel, foster care students, and those with an Individualized Education Program.
“The core of this program is to help give more kids a chance who are struggling to get their needs met in the school that they’re zoned for,” Gage said. “A lot of families in Nebraska do have school choice because they’re able to afford it. But for those families that are more disadvantaged, more low-income, that’s who this program is really targeting to help.”
While supporters argue that private school voucher programs help underprivileged kids access better resources and educational opportunities, opponents say they deprive public schools of funding.
Between collecting signatures in the church parking lot, June Pederson, a volunteer and League of Women Voters member, brought up a point that many against private school vouchers highlight. She finds putting public funding towards private school scholarships troubling because these are less accountable for discriminating against LGBTQ+ students and staff.
“If you want your child to have education other than a public school, wonderful, but don’t ask me to pay for it,” Pederson said. “Particularly if they have the option to say, ‘as a teacher, we heard you’re gay, and we don’t want you here,’ or ‘you have to follow our rules regarding abortion.’ We don’t do that in public schools.”
ALLIANCE, Neb. (WOWT) – Carhenge, a replica of the world-famous Stonehenge made of old cars, opened in the Nebraska Panhandle in 1987.
According to Visit Nebraska, it was constructed in Alliance by the Jim Reinders family in memory of his father during a family reunion.
Carhenge also includes sculptures made of old cars and car parts.
It is open year-round and free to visit.
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LINCOLN, NEB — With less than 1% of Nebraska’s native tallgrass prairie remaining, Lincoln officials say a newly acquired tract of land could help preserve a disappearing part of the state’s landscape while expanding outdoor recreation opportunities for future generations.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and city leaders announced the purchase of nearly 100 acres southwest of Pioneers Park for $924,630 through a partnership involving the City of Lincoln, the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, and Solidago Conservancy.
The acquisition advances the Prairie Corridor on Haines Branch project, a long-term effort to establish a continuous conservation and recreation corridor stretching from Pioneers Park Nature Center in Lincoln to the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center near Denton.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said the project will provide additional opportunities for residents and visitors to experience Nebraska’s prairie landscape while protecting natural resources.
“Advancing the Prairie Corridor, we create more opportunities for residents and visitors to hike, bike, explore nature, and experience the beautiful landscape that defines our region,” Gaylor Baird said. “We protect vital natural resources that improve water quality and help reduce flood risk downstream, and we preserve an important part of Nebraska’s natural heritage for future generations.”
The newly acquired Prairie Corridor Link property is intended to help connect Pioneers Park Nature Center and Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center through a continuous protected prairie and trail system.
Plans for the Prairie Corridor include restoring over 5,000 acres of prairie lands (~2,000 acres of tallgrass prairie, and ~3,400 acres of native prairie) and constructing a 14.5-mile multiuse trail that will connect to Lincoln’s existing trail network.
“This property is a piece of a long-term vision to connect Pioneers Park Nature Center and Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center through a continuous corridor, protected prairie, and trail,” Gaylor Baird said.
Parks and Recreation Director Maggie Stuckey-Ross said approximately over a majority of the Prairie Corridor Trail project has now been secured.
“Once complete, the corridor will include a continuous 7,400-acre passage of tallgrass prairie and a 14.5-mile multiuse trail, and in just nine years, nearly 70% of the Prairie Corridor trail corridor has been secured,” Stuckey-Ross said.
Project leaders say the Prairie Corridor has the potential to become a destination for hikers, cyclists, students, and nature enthusiasts from across Nebraska while helping preserve one of the state’s rarest ecosystems for future generations.
More information about the Prairie Corridor on Haines Branch is available at PrairieCorridor.org.
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