A group of state senators, community leaders and business owners is urging Nebraskans not to sign a petition seeking to repeal a law granting tax credits to individuals who donate to private school scholarships.
Keep Kids First has launched a “decline to sign” effort against a referendum drive to put repeal of the Nebraska’s Opportunity Scholarships Act on next year’s general election ballot.
Ironically, many of those supporting the referendum mounted a similar “decline to sign” campaign last year against the initiative petition drive that put a successful photo voter ID bill on last year’s ballot backed by many of the Keep Kids First members.
Support Our Schools Nebraska, backed by the state teacher’s union, launched a referendum drive last week and needs 61,000 signatures of registered voters by September to make the ballot.
Keep Kids First says it will “correct the endless misinformation about the program from the teachers union and their well-funded political allies,” accusing the union of being willing” to do and say anything for their own self-interest, but not for Nebraska kids.”
The group says LB 753 had support from rural, urban and suburban senators with even 2 Democrats voting for it.
The law allows a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to 50% of owed taxes and an individual maximum of $100,000 for donations organizations offering scholarships to private or parochial schools.
Backers say it provides an option for lower-income families unhappy with the local schools with priorities for those from lower-income and military families, special needs students, students who have been bullied, and those in the foster care system
Opponents say as the program grows, it will take funding away from public schools and give it to private schools that don’t have to accept all students. They also complain that it favors donations to the scholarship groups over other charities.
A $10,000 dollar scholarship donation would bring a $10,000 tax credit while the same donation to the Chadron Public Schools Foundation would get a $650 credit.
Sounds like a Chadron will be up a creek with the rest of rural NE schools of this stuff starts to pass and the voters don’t get their say in it. Lots of money behind the desire to privatize our pu lic schools all while they prop up the kids and say it’s for them…until it becomes all about the profits. Corporate K-12 schools here they come. Wal-mart style education.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/rural-school-districts-are-facing-financial-ruin-some-state-officials-prefer-it-that-way/
Fun facts to supplement the article:
• There are 175 private schools in Nebraska with a total enrollment of 36,656 students. You can count the number of secular private schools in Nebraska on one hand.
• There are 998 public schools in Nebraska with a total enrollment of 328,721 students. Public schools are secular, thanks to the founding fathers who wrote the U.S. Constitution.
So I ask the following:
1) If this campaign truly aims to “keep kids first”, why are they trying to funnel tax dollars away from public schools? The vast majority of the kids in this state are enrolled in a public school.
2) The campaign emphasizes giving more Nebraskans a “choice” in their children’s education. Why exactly would Nebraska parents want to choose private schools over public schools?
If it’s because public schools are dilapidated, then subsidized private school is obviously not the solution to that problem.
If it’s because public schools are secular, or because parents are unhappy with the books in the school library, then those are personal issues that can be solved with personal resources.
3) I hear a lot of talk about misinformation and mistruths from the teachers union. I’m skeptical whenever anyone tells me to not trust a labor union, especially a teachers union. Anyone who speaks out against a labor union either has too much money or not enough education. So riddle me this, what are these misinformation and mistruths from the teachers union?