OMAHA- Surrounded by students from a Catholic school in North Omaha, advocates of Nebraska's new scholarship tax credit law called on the state's teachers union to stop their petition to place the issue on the ballot, adding that the value of the tax credits for Nebraska's students far outweighs the costs. Standing in front of Holy Name Catholic School, Tanya Santos, the school's former principal, and Jayleesha Cooper, a former Holy Name student who had received a scholarship to attend the school, lauded the new law.
"I actually attended this amazing school behind me, only thanks to private donor scholarships," said Cooper, "Without scholarships, that would have been a reality for me, and it would not have been a reality for many of the students standing next to me today." At the event, Santos acknowledged that many private schools already offer students need-based scholarships funded by private donors, but argued that many children end up on waiting lists because of a lack of funding.
Standing behind the speakers was Sen. Justin Wayne of North Omaha, who, alongside Sen. Terrell McKinney, supported the Opportunity Scholarships Act, saying that they want families, especially those living in North Omaha, to have more choices on where they send their children to school. Opponents of the new law, including the Omaha Chapter of the NAACP, led by Rev. Michael Williams, argue that the Opportunity Scholarships Act will divert funding from public schools. Brad Christian-Sallis, of the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table and a former Holy Name Student, also argued that funding should remain in the public treasury, and should be spent on public schools if the need arises.
On Thursday, petition circulators attempting to place the scholarship tax credit on the ballot confirmed that they are on pace to collect their goal of 90,000 valid signatures. While Karen Kilgarin, a spokeswoman for Support Our School, declined to state how many signatures had been collected thus far, but said that they plan on collecting the final round of signatures on August 28th before turning them in on August 30th, the deadline set by the Nebraska Secretary of State's Office.
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