LINCOLN- A bill that would require school districts to seek voter approval before spending more than $250,000 from the special building fund,LB1063 introduced by Sen. Steve Halloran, received wide opposition from education leaders during a hearing on Tuesday. Halloran argued that the bill would promote accountability, transparency, and "appropriate use of the special building fund," which he said has been abused by some school districts.

"I think it's necessary to have a bill acknowledging the fact that we shouldn't be using the special building fund without, at some level, approval of the voters," Halloran said. Despite this, school board members and administrators from across the state said the measure would hamper local control and potentially increase costs for taxpayers.

Scott Wieskamp, director of operations for Lincoln Public Schools, said the district would need to seek voter approval to complete even routine annual maintenance work on its 81 facilities if the bill passed. Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools board member Suzanna Sapp said voters have already empowered their local school boards to make tough decisions on how best to spend resources in the district's best interests.

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