LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker told members of a legislative committee Thursday that they don’t need to wait until January to address problems in state-aided funding to local schools.

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, the Revenue Committee chair, presented Legislative Bill 45 before the Education Committee on Thursday. It would remove the “resources” part of the state’s “equalization aid” formula — referred to as a school district’s “needs” minus its “resources.”

That formula, the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, or TEEOSA, was put in place in 1990 as a way for the state to more equitably allocate state funds to school districts. It has been perennially updated since its adoption. For the 2024-25 school year, TEEOSA is calculated between 18 “needs” and six “resources.” Linehan told the committee, of which she is a member, that part of the reason she introduced LB 45 is to have a conversation that can be part of the broader special session to address property taxes. TEEOSA is one part of broader state funding, including foundation aid for every student.

Linehan introduced LB 1 this special session on behalf of Gov. Jim Pillen, whose final approach to property tax relief for school districts was to provide more than $2 billion in annual tax credits to cover the districts’ taxes and let future Legislatures sort out revisions to or a rewrite of TEEOSA.

“It’s a little different than the Pillen plan because Pillen says we’re going to wait and see,” Linehan told the Nebraska Examiner. “We’re not going to wait and see,” she said of the Legislature.

Total state aid to the school districts is estimated to be $1.16 billion for the 2024-25 school year.

For the full article click HERE