Flanked by teachers and school superintendents, Governor Jim Pillen hosted a Back to School news conference to highlight the historic investment into Nebraska’s public education system during the past legislative session.
“Today, is a celebration of what we as Nebraskans can do when we work together toward a common goal,” said Gov. Pillen. “Our students are our future and every one of them deserves a high-quality education – no matter where they live. With the creation of the Education Future Fund, we are ensuring that happens.”
Gov. Pillen explained that his meetings with superintendents prior to becoming governor influenced the legislation that created the fund, as well prioritizing the expenditures. Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Paul Gausman was one of the participants.
“We greatly appreciate the Governor inviting education leaders from the state including the Lincoln Public Schools to be a part the conversation and solutions regarding education funding in Nebraska,” noted Gausman. “The work by the Governor and the state legislature to provide more state dollars for education, while at the same time renewing the commitment to local control for communities identifying educational priorities, contributed in part to our current budget proposal decreasing the overall tax levy by 13 cents. Purposeful policy decisions by the Lincoln Board of Education have consistently lowered the tax levy over the last 20 years, but this year, with the assistance of the Governor and legislature, we were able to provide a meaningful reduction to the levy.”
The Education Future Fund, championed by Senator Robert Clements, provides for an initial investment of $1 billion, with an additional $250 million each year following. The annual investment to public school districts will exceed $300 million per year, beyond what they receive through the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA).
“We are setting our students up for future success by creating a funding source that will allow these important initiatives to continue into the future, including $1,500 per student in foundation aid and boosting state funding for special education,” said Sen. Clements
He, along with Keith Runge, president of the Columbus Lakeview School Board, also pointed out the positive impact to taxpayers resulting from the state assuming a greater funding investment in public education.
“I view it as a responsibility of a school board member to be fiscally conservative when it comes to developing a school budget that meets the needs of all parties involved. This foundation aid will allow us, as a board, to decrease our levy resulting in direct property tax relief for our community.”
“We are talking about dollar-for-dollar replacement of property taxes through state funding,” said Gov. Pillen. “We need to make Nebraska an attractive place to locate and raise a family. To do that, we must become more competitive in our tax code.”
At the conclusion of his remarks, Gov. Pillen signed a large check, made out to “Nebraska students” in the amount of $1 billion.
“It took exceptional teamwork and commitment to pass the numerous pieces of legislation that were focused on education,” said Gov. Pillen.
Senator Rita Sanders was not able to attend the Back to School news conference in person, but did share that she was proud of the work done in the last session to set schools up for success.
“I look forward to more conversations about how the state can meet every child’s unique education needs by supporting all schools,” said Sen. Sanders.