OMAHA- On Tuesday, the Douglas County Board approved a settlement totaling around $2.2 million to pay Westside Community Schools for missed payments from 2019 to 2021. In June, Westside filed a lawsuit against Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing after his office overpaid and underpaid several local governments in 2021, including Westside and four other school districts.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that the Treasurer'sOffice had underpaid Westside by more than $3.7 million in 2021, and similar amounts in the two years prior. The State Auditor's Office concluded that Ewing and his office had incorrectly interpreted state statute that spells out how counties with more than one school district are supposed to distribute annual payments from the Omaha Public Power District.

OPPD is meant to direct 5% of its gross revenue from the previous year's retail electricity sales to local governments and school districts. Tuesday's settlement outlined the steps the City of Omaha is going to take to repay Westside, and will make equal payments to the school district between 2024 and 2029.

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