 Shortly before the school board election in 2015, the Lincoln Journal Star’s Margaret Reist, wrote the following about future board member Connie Duncan: With twin boys at home, she taught part time for most of her career. Her boys attended Sheridan Elementary, then Lincoln Lutheran for junior high. One of them transferred to East for high school, playing baseball and attending the LPS Entrepreneurship Focus Program. Her other son graduated from Lincoln Lutheran, although he also attended the focus program with his brother. Duncan said they visited many schools, always looking for the one that was the best fit -- and in middle school that was Lincoln Lutheran. If Reist’s description is accurate, Connie Duncan and her husband fully embrace parents’ rights to choose “the best fits” for their kids’ educations. And yet, Duncan and colleague Kathy Campbell recently sent the following email out to members of their organization, Women’s Network of Nebraska.  The second item of their update appears to be about school vouchers, but then it talks about LB 670, which has nothing to do with vouchers. LB 670 is a bill about tax-credit scholarships, which are very different from vouchers.
Perhaps they think their members don't know the difference? Or are they trying to confuse their members? Either way, it seems they're trying to undermine the very people they claim to champion. Undermining Fellow Women Why would a woman who chose a private school for her own children spread misinformation about a program that would assist low- and middle-income mothers in finding “the best fit” for their own children? The Women’s Network of Nebraska claims to be “a grassroots coalition that provides education on civic and national issues that directly affect Nebraska women and their families.” What affects Nebraska women more than their children's educations? One of the biggest civic issues facing women in Nebraska is that most of us don’t have the financial resources to access the educational resources our children need. In nearly every other state in the US, low- and middle-income parents have options outside of their district schools. Neighborhood schools weren’t always the best fit for the Duncan kids, and they’re not the best fit for everyone else either. This may be the case for many reasons:
For these and many more reasons, parents sometimes seek “a better fit.” The elite women of Nebraska already have access to a host of education options for their children because they have the connections and resources necessary to pay private school tuition, cover the costs of homeschool, pay for private online school, or move to an area with better district schools. But most of us don’t. And yet this network that claims to champion women stands against a measure that would help low-income moms? This is identity politics at its most insulting. Out-of-control property taxes and a lack of K12 options for our kids are two of the biggest challenges facing Nebraska women. LB 670 helps to alleviate both of these problems. And this "women's" organization wants us to call senators and ask them to oppose it? Um, no. This has everything to do with the teachers unions and Sherwood Foundation seeking greater control over the children in Nebraska and the tax dollars that follow them. It has nothing to do with female empowerment. The school choice movement in Nebraska is growing. Stand up for parents and kids in Nebraska by joining us. We'd love to hear from you.
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