Nebraska

Organizers expect enough signatures to ask Nebraska voters to repeal private school funding law

Published

1 year ago

July 17, 2024

OMAHA, Neb. — Public school advocates believe they have enough signatures to ask Nebraska voters in November to repeal a law that provides taxpayer money for private school tuition, marking the latest twist in a long-running fight with state lawmakers who have repeatedly opposed efforts to let voters weigh in on the public funding plan.

Organizers of Support Our Schools, which has been furiously gathering petition signatures over the past nine weeks, say they expect to have more than the roughly 86,500 signatures needed by Wednesday to ask voters to repeal the private school funding law.

“I mean, I’m a nervous wreck,” Karen Kilgarin, an organizer with Support Our Schools, said days before the deadline. “One of our biggest challenges is that we’ve really only had 67 days this time around to meet the deadline.”

If the repeal measure is approved for the November ballot, organizers fully expect school choice supporters to file a lawsuit to try to thwart the referendum, said Tim Royers, a Support Our Schools organizer and Millard Public Schools teacher.

“We’re very confident that, should they choose to try and file a court challenge to get us off the ballot, we would successfully defeat that challenge,” Royers said.

It’s the second time in a year public school advocates have had to carry out a signature-gathering effort to try to reverse a legislative measure to use public money for private school tuition. The first came last year, when Republicans who dominate the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature passed a bill to allow corporations and individuals to divert millions of dollars they owe in state income taxes to nonprofit organizations. Those organizations would, in turn, award that money as private school tuition scholarships.

The private school scholarship program saw Nebraska follow several other red states — including Arkansas, Iowa and South Carolina — in enacting some form of private school choice, from vouchers to education savings account programs.

Before the measure was even enacted, Support Our Schools began organizing a petition effort, collecting far more signatures than was needed to ask voters to repeal the law.

But rather than letting Nebraska voters decide, school choice supporters sought to thwart the petition process. Omaha Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, who introduced the private school funding bill, first called on Secretary of State Bob Evnen to reject the ballot measure, saying it violated the state constitution that places the power of taxation solely in the hands of the Legislature.

When that failed, Linehan successfully pushed a new bill to dump the tax credit funding system and simply fund private school scholarships directly from state coffers. More significantly, because Linehan’s new bill repealed and replaced last year’s law, it rendered last year’s successful petition effort moot — perfecting what Linehan called an “end run” around the effort to have Nebraska voters decide whether public money can go to private schools.

That move is in line with a growing trend among Republican-dominated state legislatures to find ways to force through legislation they want, even when it’s opposed by a majority of voters. A number of those efforts center on citizen-led petitions for law changes.

“They know that this is not popular with the public,” Royers said. “They know that every time vouchers have gone on the ballot in other states, it’s been defeated.”

Supporters of school choice say it’s needed for students and their families who are failed by low-performing public schools — particularly low-income families unable to afford private school tuition on their own. Opponents say private school funding programs end up being too costly for states to maintain and undercut public schools. Some have also said it violates the Nebraska Constitution’s prohibition against appropriating public funds to nonpublic schools.

When Linehan’s new direct funding of private school tuition scholarships passed this year, opponents again launched a petition effort to repeal it — but with less time and more obstacles than they had last year.

Royers noted that lawmakers waited until the last day of the session this year to pass the new private tuition funding bill. It then took days for Republican Gov. Jim Pillen to sign it into law and some 10 days for Evnen — also a Republican — to approve the language for a new petition effort.

They also had to start before most public schools were out for the summer, leaving teachers unable to help with signature collection early in the process. Most difficult, Royers said, was having to explain to people who had signed the repeal petition last year why they had to sign again if they wanted voters to have a say.

Linehan said she expects the fight over school choice “will probably end up in court,” but that the decision to file a lawsuit to stop the ballot measure would likely be up to the Nebraska Attorney General’s office.

Even then, if Support Our Schools succeeds in getting the repeal question on the ballot, Linehan said she expects that effort will fail if voters understand that it’s meant to help people — including foster children and military families — without the means to send their children to private school.

“I don’t think if Nebraskans understood the situation, if they will vote to take those scholarships away from those kids,” she said.

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Nebraska

Marijuana reclassification order divides Nebraska leaders, advocates

Published

1 hour ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Marijuana reclassification order divides Nebraska leaders, advocates

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – President Donald Trump’s executive order to reclassify marijuana at the federal level is reigniting debate in Nebraska, where voters approved medical marijuana in 2024.

Trump signed the executive order on Thursday, directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. The move does not legalize marijuana nationwide but opens the door for more medical research.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined attorneys general from seven other states in releasing a statement saying they are “concerned” with the order. Hilgers said the science shows marijuana should remain a Schedule I drug.

Sen. Pete Ricketts also opposes the move. He signed a letter with 14 other Republican senators urging Trump not to reschedule marijuana. The letter argues marijuana is linked to mental health issues, impaired driving and workplace accidents.

Local medical marijuana advocate Lia Post disagreed with state leaders’ opposition.

“It just comes to the point, when is enough enough?” Post said.

Post said the argument from state leaders ignores what Nebraska voters decided in November 2024 when they overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana.

“It does open up the door for research, which really makes me happy, and the ability to speak to my doctor. It’s hard to be excited when you know you’re just a part of the big, giant grift that is going on,” Post said.

The federal change would allow the FDA to study marijuana’s medical uses. That could potentially help veterans, seniors, and people with chronic pain. Advocates said it also removes excuses for state leaders to delay implementation.

“I feel like we are in the exact same place we always are with the people wanting medical cannabis, the current law supporting medical cannabis, but the elected officials stopping medical cannabis,” Post said.

The federal rescheduling process could take several more months to finalize. The executive order does not legalize recreational marijuana. Trump made that clear Thursday, saying he is not open to that.

“It is a big deal, it is change, and change is always a big deal. Anything to do with medical cannabis and politics, I have to find the joy in whatever small wins there are, because there are so few,” Post said.

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Nebraska

Nebraska football adds run game coordinator, defensive edge coach to staff

Published

13 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Nebraska football adds run game coordinator, defensive edge coach to staff

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska football is bolstering its staff with the addition of a run game coordinator and a defensive edge coach.

On Friday, head coach Matt Rhule announced the hiring of run game coordinator Lonnie Teasley and defensive edge coach Roy Manning.

Teasley spent the last five seasons with South Carolina, serving as the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach for the last three years.

He was also an assistant offensive line coach on Rhule’s Temple staff in 2014. Teasley also had stints with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Tech.

“Lonnie Teasley brings a wealth of offensive line coaching experience to our staff,” Rhule said in a press release. “Lonnie has had great success throughout his career and specifically has been one of the elite offensive tackle coaches in the country. He also has a proven track record as an excellent recruiter. Lonnie will make a positive impact on our coaching staff and the Nebraska Football program.”

Manning worked with new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich as a defensive edge coach at San Diego State in 2025. He helped the Aztecs rank among the nation’s top defenses.

Manning has also spent time coaching at USC, Michigan and Cincinnati.

“We are excited to add Roy Manning to our defensive staff,” Rhule said. “Along with Coach Aurich, he was a key part of the defensive transformation at San Diego State this past season. Roy has experience coaching defense from front to back and has coached at high-level programs throughout his career.”

Nebraska fired three assistant coaches following a lopsided loss to Iowa in November: defensive coordinator John Butler, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and defensive line coach Terry Bradden.

Aurich has been hired to lead the defense and Geep Wade is Nebraska’s new offensive line coach.

SEE ALSO: Report: Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola to enter the transfer portal

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Nebraska

Husker Fans flock to NCAA Volleyball final four despite no Nebraska

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Husker Fans flock to NCAA Volleyball final four despite no Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – With 2025 NCAA Volleyball Championships in Kansas City this season, many Nebraska fans made plans ahead time given the driving distance to Lincoln. The Huskers lost in the regional final at home yet many fans still attended the final four.

“We just want to watch high-quality volleyball, grow the sport, and it’s a competitive sport, and there’s still four very good teams here,” Elizabeth Wright, a life-long Nebraska Volleyball fan, said.

Hundreds of Husker faithful dawned their red Nebraska gear as they entered the T Mobile Center on Thursday night with their team not playing. When asked about which team Nebraska fans would support, the majority of interviewees said Texas A&M.

“Part of me wants to watch Texas A&M win just because they beat us, and if they win, it gives us a little validation that we lost to the best team,” Karla Huneke, a Grand Island native and Nebraska Volleyball fan, said.

Overall, the surprise of Nebraska not making the NCAA Volleyball Championship didn’t impact Nebraskans from attending the final four.

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