Nebraska

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

Published

2 years 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

Miss Nebraska festivities kick off with opening ceremonies

Published

9 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

Miss Nebraska festivities kick off with opening ceremonies

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) -The Miss Nebraska festivities kicked off tonight at Venue 304 with opening ceremonies.

The week-long event began with a ceremony to give the delegates a chance to introduce themselves to the community before official competition begins.

Each contestant was joined alongside a young girl, where they had the opportunity to be given a crown and sash by a Miss Nebraska member.

Officials say the event is about inspiring young women across the state.

“What it does is it helps them really build that stage presence confidence, and it really allows them to see kind of what we’re all about. We’re more than crowns; we’re more than sashes, but really about building confidence in young women. And they get to see that, and they leave with that confidence after their week-long journey with their candidate,” said Audri Pelton-Johnson, co-director of Miss Nebraska.

The first night of official competition begins Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

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Nebraska

Three-Time Nebraska State Champion Eje Kim Sends Commitment to Yale for 2027

Published

19 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Three-Time Nebraska State Champion Eje Kim Sends Commitment to Yale for 2027

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Three-time Nebraska High School State champion Eje Kim has announced his verbal commitment to the admissions process at Yale University as a part of the Bulldogs 2027 recruiting class.

Kim wrote the following about his commitment.

I’m extremely excited to announce my verbal commitment to the admissions process at Yale University! I want to thank my coaches, Pat, Miranda, Gaby, Randy, Katie, Uriah, and Emma for creating my love for swimming and pushing me to the limits. I also want to thank the Yale coaching staff, Jim, Kyle, Joey, and Dana for giving me this amazing opportunity. Thank you to my teammates, Mason, Mason, Ryan, Quinn, Bennett, and Nolan for making practice fun and becoming such good friends. Lastly, thank you to my parents. GO BULLDOGS! 🐶💙

Kim hails from Lincoln, Neb., where he represents Club Husker and Lincoln East High School. As a junior, Kim secured a pair of Nebraska State championship titles, winning both the 100 backstroke in 48.32 and the 100 fly in 47.95. As a sophomore, he claimed his first state championship title in the 100 back, clocking 49.73.

A few weeks after those championships, he raced at the Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, where he won the 50 fly in 21.63, and set a plethora of lifetime bests in the process, including the 50 free (21.22), 100 back (47.83), 200 back (1:44.17), and the 100 fly (47.81).

Best Times SCY:

100 Back: 47.83
200 Back: 1:44.17
100 Fly: 47.81
50 Free: 21.22
100 Free: 46.44
200 Free: 1:40.60
200 IM: 1:52.82

Kim is set to join a Yale men’s program that finished just under 200 points behind Ivy League Champions Princeton at the 2026 Men’s Ivy League Championships.

Based on Kim’s best times, he would have finished tied for 11th in the 200 back, 14th in the 100 back, and 20th in the 100 fly.

Kim’s immediate scoring ability is a major upside, and in the highly competitive Ivy League, Yale could use all of the points they can get to creep up to the top of the Ivy League.

With another year until he makes his collegiate debut, Kim still has plenty of time to build up his base times and make an even more significant impact on the Ivy League stage from year one.

Yale was productive in all of Kim’s events at the 2026 Ivy League Championships, including 51 points in the 100 back, 55 points in the 100 fly, and another 74 in the 200 back.

Kim joins Fin McLane, Charles Knoepp, Evan Pan-Wang, and Edward Zhang in Yale’s 2027 recruiting class.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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Nebraska

Free summer meals available for Nebraska children

Published

1 day ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Free summer meals available for Nebraska children

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) — Children across Nebraska can get free meals during the summer months through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program.

The Olinger family is one of many families getting free meals while school is out. Mikayla Olinger said the program helps save money on groceries.

“It helps a lot,” Olinger said. “Oh yes, especially with the three boys and now my daughter is starting to eat big food.”

Oscar Garcia, director of food service at West Lawn Elementary, said the community struggles with food insecurity.

“Some kids don’t know where their next meal is coming from, that’s why it’s important we meet the need in our community,” Garcia said.

The program also provides a place for children to learn new skills. One parent said it teaches children how to use a cafeteria so they are prepared when they go for the first time.

“The bonus to that is that sometimes they may run into their classmates they haven’t seen in a couple of months,” Garcia said.

Another parent said the program keeps children active.

Garcia said he has a goal for 16,000 meals to be served this year. Meals are available for any child whether they are in the school district or not.