Drive-up events planned June 20, 25 at Senior Center
by Kurt Johnson
A group of retired and current educators have begun gathering signatures seeking to stop a new state law that helps some students pay for private schools.
A similar effort launched last August in an effort to repeal LB 753 by placing it on the November ballot was successful, gathering more than 117,000 verified signatures statewide, well more than the 61,000 signatures required. However, when state lawmakers passed a new version of the law this past session, LB 1402 became the latest version of a scholarship or voucher program for students attending private K-12 schools in Nebraska.
Steve Jacobsen and Glen Beran, both retired educators who live in Hamilton County, say they represent local opposition to LB 1402, though neither are members of the Nebraska State Educators Association.
“This is the first time in Nebraska history where lawmakers passed a bill to deny citizens the right to vote on a petition drive,” Beran began. “And so if our lawmakers are unwilling to respect the referendum process, we must do the petition again.”
“It would’ve been nice to let the initiative be on the ballot,” Jacobsen added. “At least then they would have some idea of whether people support or not support this issue, which is important to us. If there is large support in the state, then the people have spoken, just like everything else in a democracy.”
The petition seeks to repeal section 1 of LB 1402, which directs $10 million annually for financial grants-in-aid for eligible students to attend a qualifying privately operated elementary or secondary school in Nebraska. The local group and others around the state who are seeking signatures have until mid-July to gather approximately 61,000 signatures from about 5 percent of registered voters statewide, plus 5 percent from voters in at least 38 counties.
Beran and Jacobsen noted specific concerns with the funding allocation listed in the bill, as well as the way it is designed to serve people living at or near the poverty level. The funding total designated for scholarships was reduced from $25 million in LB 753 to $10 million in LB 1402, for example, though Beran said there is no guarantee the number would not go up.
“If the legislature can void 753, what is to prevent them from raising the funds from $10 million to whatever in the future?” he said. “It’s just the stroke of a pen.”
As for the bill’s reference to serving those living in poverty, Beran reported that the first priority for scholarships under LB 1402 is low-income students at 185 percent of the poverty level, which in Nebraska would be $67,673. If there are not enough low-income students, then the scholarships can go to second priority families at 213 percent of the poverty level, which is $77,915.
“And if there’s not enough students yet, they can go to the third tier, which is 300 percent, or $109,740,” he said. “That’s not poverty anymore. Other states have history with this issue. It starts out with priority students, but eventually, after several years, poverty doesn’t become an issue as even higher income families are getting it.”
Jacobsen pointed out what he believes is a misnomer about the school choice law debate. “Some have said that Nebraska is one of only two states that don’t have school choice, and that’s not really true because we do have school choice, but we don’t fund private education,” he said. “That’s kind of co-mingling those to make it sound like it’s the same thing, but our students have been able, through option enrollment and all those other things, to find another school. North Carolina schools have really suffered from this and their governor is pushing to try and get this changed. Some of their money goes to like 39,000 of the wealthiest families in their state.”
Both Beran and Jacobsen noted that members of the local committee are not against private schools, but do oppose this method of funding.
“There’s a great place for private schools and there always has been,” Beran said. “They do a good job for the students that they are serving and we’re not denying that, but what we don’t necessarily like is how it’s being funded through scholarships, either through the state level or tax credits. We just think that’s wrong.”
Beran also pointed out that receiving a scholarship does not mean a private or parochial school has to accept that student, a concept that he said may be misleading to some.
“Whether that’s a special needs student or whatever, they’re not required to accept all students that get a scholarship,” he said. “Supposedly the organization that determines the scholarships is supposed to be independent of the private schools. We hope that’s true, but there’s no guarantee of that.”
“And what if a private school had two applications for children with special needs,” Jacobsen added. “Can you afford to hire staff for that. It’s just not fiscally easy for them to do that, whereas the public school is required to take those students and to provide services.
“Public schools are all geared up to deal with special needs students and it’s constitutionally mandated,” he continued. “Public schools have licensed teachers, they pay for transportation, they provide services for the disabled students and they cannot reject students that they don’t want to teach. Those are things that the public school deals with that the private school wouldn’t have to and you can certainly see the outcomes of what’s going on in the public schools with the growth of things like unified sports and things like that. There are a lot of services that they’re providing.”
Beran offered an analogy of the base argument of why the group believes tax money should not be earmarked in this way to fund private schools.
“If you don’t like the police department and you hire your own security do you expect the taxpayers to pay for your own security?” he asked. “The same is true here. If you dislike what the public schools are doing or the neighboring public school, now you’re asking us to support us at my own endeavor.”
Direct appropriation
The scholarship program started as a privately funded effort backed by a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $25 million a year for donors. The program shifted under LB 1402 into a direct appropriation of $10 million to the State Treasurer’s Office to distribute. Some have questioned the constitutionality of the appropriation and whether there’s enough of a step between state money and private schools. Others have also questioned whether a ballot measure can repeal a legislative appropriation.
“I think the issue is basically the same,” Beran said, “but instead of Lincoln getting the money through a tax credit the first time around, now they’re taking state funds directly out of their treasury and writing a check. There is some question whether it’s a separation of church and state. Somebody will have to argue that in court, but it would be very hard for our group to afford to argue that kind of question.”
On that note, Jacobson pointed out that some of the support for the scholarship bill has come from outside sources, which he finds troubling.
“Much of the money to do this has come from out of state, so all we ask is why out of state,” he said. “Somebody is trying to figure out how to benefit somebody.”
Asked why they are volunteering their time to help with this effort, both said it’s a matter of principal.
“Number one is to let the people vote,” Beran said. “In a democracy, the people of the state tell the legislature what they want in a form of legislation. The petition had 117,000 signatures, but evidently the legislature didn’t want to listen to them so therefore we want to put it back on the ballot so that people have a say. If it passes, fine. If it doesn’t pass, the people have spoken and that’s what we want. To be clear, if they sign the petition they are saying that their signature is there against taking tax money to fund private schools.”
For those who have questions on the issue or want to sign the petition, two events are being planned in Aurora later this month. On both June 20 and June 25 committee members will be at the Aurora Senior Center parking lot answering questions and gathering petition signatures.