It seems way too easy a solution to a problem that has plagued the Legislature for years, school funding. But lawmakers have advanced Governor Jim Pillen’s proposal for the state to pay public school districts $1,500 in foundation aid per student beginning with school fiscal year 2023-24.
The measure (LB583) would also increase state aid to school districts to help cover their special education expenses. It’s all part of a larger package that includes income tax cuts, property tax relief and a cap on school revenue growth.
Catch this; it’s the largest increase in state aid to public schools in Nebraska’s history at approximately $300 million per year. It sailed through to second- round consideration in a very distracted legislative session highlighted by the relentless filibustering of two Omaha senators who are hell-bent on a single issue, allowing youth who say they want to be a gender other than what they were born to make life-changing medical decisions before they turn 19.
