 Many Nebraska state senators have personally benefited from a private school education. Their parents decided that a private school education was right for them, and many of them have made the same decision for their own children. Such a decision is not a rebuke of the public school system; it’s simply a personal decision based on a variety of factors such as natural strengths and challenges, curriculum preferences, learning style, educational goals, family traditions, and more. As the legislature debates LB295 today, many people are wondering if the senators who personally benefited from private education will vote to prevent poor children from accessing these same opportunities. Or will they extend educational freedom to those who are not privileged enough to have education options?  Burke Harr attended one of the state’s elite private schools, Creighton Prep. The school currently offers 19 AP courses and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1. Harr’s prestigious education has served him well; he went on to attend St. Thomas University and Notre Dame law school, both private schools supported in part by public dollars. Hopefully, he’ll recognize that low-income children deserve access to the kinds of options he has enjoyed.  Adam Morfeld attended St. Teresa’s Parish School in Lincoln, a small, tight-knit Catholic school currently serving approximately 300 students in the city he represents. Some students thrive in smaller school settings with traditional discipline, school uniforms, and religious instruction. Hopefully, Senator Morfeld will recognize that some low-income children would thrive in the school environment his family was fortunate enough to access for him.  Sara Howard attended Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Omaha. Duchesne focuses on college prep, and traditionally, 100% of the graduates go on to attend 4-year universities and colleges. Many low-income parents in Nebraska would love to be able to send their children to a school with such a focus and such a track record. Hopefully, Senator Howard will vote to extend her privileges to others.  Lynne Walz chose to send her children to Archbishop Bergan Catholic School in Fremont. This school prides itself on “recognizing the individual learning styles and abilities of each student.” With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, it’s very possible to do so. This is the kind of attention and focus that many parents would like for their children. Hopefully, Senator Walz will vote for education freedom for low-income parents because she knows how important it was for her own family.  Dan Quick sent his children to Grand Island Central Catholic. It’s the only school in Grand Island that offers foreign languages in middle school, and it also offers a variety of other innovative courses including AP, dual-credit, distance learning, and tech prep. Hopefully, Senator Quick will understand that he’s not the only parent who would love to be able to access these options for his children. And his children aren’t the only ones who just get one shot at their K-12 educations. It will be interesting to see in the debate today how many senators will send the message to low-income Nebraskans that school choice is “for me but not for thee.” Here’s to hoping that today is the day Nebraska shows its commitment to equal opportunity for all children. It’s time.
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 Thankfully, every child in America today has an opportunity to go to school. We could describe this opportunity with a pair of shoes. Shoes help people to go places, and education does the same thing. If an education opportunity is like a pair of shoes, then every child in Nebraska has at least one pair of shoes in his or her closet. Most low-income and middle-income children have only one pair of shoes in their closets: public education. Fortunately, these shoes fit most kids. They’re able to put them on, feel comfortable, and get where they want to go. But what if this one pair of shoes doesn’t fit very well? Or what if the one pair of shoes in the closet isn’t appropriate for the places the student wants to go? Wealthy children in Nebraska have several pairs of shoes in their closets, represented by multiple education opportunities. Since their parents can afford other options (private school, homeschool, online courses, etc.), it’s much more likely that they’ll be able to find a pair of shoes that fits well. LB295 puts more pairs of shoes in the closets of low- and middle-income children. One educator recently criticized LB295 by suggesting that it wouldn’t put all options within reach. For example, she said, perhaps what the student really wants is to go to Creighton Prep, but it’s too far for his parents to drive. This is like arguing that if a child can’t have a closetful of shoes, he should only have one pair. It’s hard to conceive of a situation in which people would rather have no choices at all than to have 2 or 3 options at their disposal. In most of the country, all children (wealthy to poverty-stricken) have several pairs of shoes in their closets. In some places, kids have dozens of pairs to choose from between public schools, private schools, charter schools, and online schools). Yet here in Nebraska, the education establishment is still insisting that everyone wear the same pair, whether it fits or not. They should rest assured that even if parents are given more pairs to choose from, most kids will still happily put on their pair of public school shoes and be confident that it will take them where they want to go. For those whose toes are squished or who need a different style, though, it’s time to offer a few more pairs. It’s time to recognize the diverse needs and dreams of Nebraska’s students. Let’s give all of them, not just the wealthy ones, a chance to run.  An independent fiscal analysis released today demonstrates that scholarship tax credit legislation would pay for itself over time and, if amended, would achieve permanent net state savings within two years. The study was conducted by Nebraska School Finance Strategies (NSFS) and follows nationally-recommended best-practices in determining the LB295’s fiscal impact on Nebraska.
“Eighteen other states are already showing that tax credit scholarships create a lifetime of better opportunities for children from low- and middle-income families, and are a proven fiscal and economic policy success,” said Nicole Fox, Director of Government Relations for the Platte Institute for Economic Research. “This study shows that as the number of Nebraska students receiving charitable support through Opportunity Scholarships grows, the savings to the State of Nebraska would grow as well.” LB295, introduced by Senator Jim Smith of Papillion and prioritized by Senator Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, provides for private school scholarships for low-income and working-class students. It does so by enacting a tax credit for donations to nonprofit scholarship granting organizations. LB295 is expected to be debated during the week of March 19th. Under an amendment (AM1418) adopted by the Revenue Committee, LB295 would enact a dollar-for-dollar tax credit with an initial $2 million annual aggregate credit cap. The NSFS study reveals that this would achieve a temporary net savings of at least $633,200 within two years, and pay for itself over time. Another proposed amendment (AM2071), would lower the tax credit per donation to 75 percent—allowing more contributions and, as a result, more scholarships before exhausting the annual tax credit. According to the fiscal study, this amendment would achieve a permanent net savings of more than $2 million in two years, and a permanent net savings of $3 million in the first three years. The savings would continue every year. This translates into $1.43 saved for every $1 in tax credits spent. “When we make policy decisions in the legislature, we must use best practices. This fiscal study demonstrates what we already know through common sense: scholarship tax credit policies save the state money. They also benefit kids. It’s a win-win for Nebraska families and taxpayers,” said Senator Linehan. As recommended by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the NSFS study analyzes key factors in assessing the cost savings of the tax-credit scholarship legislation. These factors include the percentage of participants who would have otherwise attended public schools, the enrollment capacity of accessible private schools, and the average cost of tuition in private schools versus the average cost-per-pupil in public schools. Similar best practices are not offered by the state legislature’s fiscal office. The NSFS fiscal study finds LB295 would save the state nearly $5 million in TEEOSA spending in the first two years, anticipating that approximately 93% of first-time scholarship recipients would otherwise enroll in public schools. These students could begin filling the nearly 14,000 available seats in K-12 private schools across Nebraska. Tom Venzor, Executive Director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference said, “Private schools in Nebraska currently educate around 39,000 students across Nebraska. It is estimated that these schools save Nebraska taxpayers around $450 million dollars per year in education spending. Private schools are ready and willing to continue serving more children across the state.” “The LCMS Lutheran nonpublic schools in Nebraska support LB295. We support, as the study notes, that a fiscally responsible move to adjust the tax credit percentage to 75% creates a great savings for our state. That savings can be reinvested in public education. It could also be used to provide further relief of the heavy tax burden on Nebraskans,” said Bob Ziegler, Executive for Education and Youth Ministries, Nebraska District – Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). “Many of the LCMS schools across the nation participate in some type of education choice and it has proven to be beneficial for all concerned. Education choice is good for all Nebraskans!” Today, tax-credit scholarship programs exist in 18 other states. Numerous independent studies confirm that such policies achieve a net state savings. For example, according to the Iowa Department of Revenue, Iowa’s tax-credit scholarship program achieves net state savings of about $12 million annually. Since Iowa’s program started in 2006, it is estimated that tax-credit scholarships have saved Iowa at least $280 million—$2 in state savings for every $1 of tax credit. The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability reports that the Florida scholarship tax credit program saved $1.49 in state revenue for every $1 of tax credits. Representing parents of Nebraska public and private school children, Deb Portz of School Choice Lincoln said, “It is time for Nebraska to incorporate proven best practices with the fiscal and academic improvement innovations that other states have already tested with their tax credit scholarship programs.” “The research confirms what Nebraskans already know, that school choice creates positive contributions for our communities. Legislators have the opportunity to improve the lives of students by providing greater access to education options that best fit the child’s needs, all while spending no new general fund dollars or reducing funding for traditional public schools,” said Brad Stevens, Regional Director of Americans for Prosperity. “When creative solutions are available that can significantly improve the quality of life for Nebraska’s students, state senators have no excuse but to act and support LB 295.” Across the country, scholarship tax credit programs serve over 270,000 students. Education choice policies, like LB295, lift the financial burden that prevents many families from choosing the education that best suits their children’s needs. “It is time for Nebraska legislators to put parents and children’s educational needs first. Parents desire to send their children to a school where they learn best. Tax credit scholarships are a tremendous way to actually provide this opportunity for the children who need it most,” said Karen Bowling, Executive Director of Nebraska Family Alliance. Jason Bedrick, Director of Policy for EdChoice, said: “Tax-credit scholarships empower families with educational choices so their children can find the right opportunity that meets their learning needs. The scholarships are a constitutional and fiscally responsible way to make sure more students can access the educational options they deserve.” The Nebraska School Finance Strategies, Inc., offers economic consulting services in the field of public education finance, with special emphasis on the analysis of the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Act (TEEOSA), Nebraska’s primary formula for distributing financial aid to kindergarten through twelfth grade public schools. The lead analyst of the fiscal study, William Scheideler, brings nearly a decade of experience in providing economic research of public education for Nebraska state government. He holds a master’s degree in applied economics from Iowa State University and has over 30 years of experience developing applied economic, demographic and tax analysis.  The teachers unions are saying that Nebraska cannot afford $2 million in statewide tax credits to help low-income students get scholarships for K-12 private school tuition; meanwhile, OPS (a single district, mind you) passed a measure to issue over $300 million in pension obligation bonds, which actuaries estimate will pull nearly $21 million out of the classroom every year to pay bondholders due to the district’s out-of-control pension debt. Plus, state taxpayers are annually spending over $1 billion for K-12 state per-pupil funding (this doesn’t include local property taxes for local school districts).
In other words, the Nebraska teachers unions are willing to take hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars out of classrooms for the ill-managed pensions of a single district, but they’re not willing to consider a $2 million program that goes directly to classroom learning for low-income children across the state. And when you consider that within a few years the $2 million will actually be saving the state money, it’s inconceivable that they’re trying to block this program. Unfortunately, that’s not where the hypocrisy ends. Let’s take a look at the union rhetoric surrounding this issue. It helps us to understand the unfathomable. This morning I wrote some of our Nebraska state senators to express support for LB295, Opportunity Scholarships, and I got three replies back. One was non-committal, one was very positive, and one included many false statements, including the following:
This senator also emphasized that she personally benefited from private education (as did Senator Harr who is threatening to filibuster the bill), and she also recognized that the legislature has a responsibility to make sure a free public education is available to all children in the state. Yet she didn’t recognize the fact that private schools in the state are currently saving taxpayers roughly half a billion dollars per year. For all the whining and crying over $2 million in tax-credits, TEEOSA is currently costing taxpayers over $1 billion every year. In conclusion, we’re spending over $1 billion each year (on a state level alone) for public education that is getting poor results (only about half of the students are reaching reading proficiency). LB295 would help low-income children in failing schools to access additional education opportunities that are currently out of their financial reaches. In addition to helping these children, Nebraska taxpayers would save money in the long run, and public schools would benefit from increased per-pupil funds and standards-raising competition. How can the unions rationalize their opposition to LB295? It’s unfathomable. -Rachel Terry |
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