Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Department of Revenue on Tuesday publicized a list of the first organizations certified to provide scholarships for K-12 students to attend private schools beginning Jan. 1.
The list of certified scholarship granting organizations includes Assistance for Individuals and Families without Borders in La Vista; Metro Area Christian Schools SGO in Omaha and Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska in Lincoln.
State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, who tried for years to enact school choice legislation, introduced Legislative Bill 753 this year and ushered it to Gov. Jim Pillen for his approval in May.
Linehan said Tuesday she was “thrilled” the organizations are off the ground.
“It’s very hopeful to me,” Linehan said. “I am very glad that there’s a group of people that know how important this is and they’ve been willing to go after it and help kids who need different choices than they currently have.”
For donors who give funds to a certified organization, the donation is eligible for a tax credit equal to the lesser of:
- The total amount of contributions made to an SGO during the tax year.
- 50% of the income tax liability of the taxpayer for such year.
- $100,000, or $1 million for estates and trusts.
LB 753 will allow a total of $25 million in tax credits in its first three years and could grow to a total of $100 million annually, based on demand.
The Revenue Department will accept SGO applications year round. The nonprofits can accept contributions no earlier than Jan. 1 and must be certified before they can do so.
Opponents say ‘nothing has changed’
Opponents of LB 753, including the Nebraska State Education Association, argue taxpayer dollars should never be diverted to private schools. This summer, they formed Support Our Schools to gather signatures and let voters have the final say on the law.
Those efforts were successful, and LB 753 has qualified for the 2024 ballot.
“Nothing has changed,” said Tim Royers, president of the Millard Education Association and treasurer of Support Our Schools. “If there’s one thing I learned this past summer it’s that Nebraskans want their public dollars to go to public schools.”
Rebecca Firestone, executive director of OpenSky Policy Institute, said in a statement the $25 million could be spent in better ways, such as investing in education for all of Nebraska’s children. Instead, it will go in the form of tax credits to wealthy Nebraskans and businesses, she said.
The Revenue Department would stop issuing determinations of available tax credits for SGOs if voters reject the law from the date election results are certified, according to a department FAQ.
Taxpayers who contribute to SGOs before that date could still claim the tax credit.
‘This money goes to kids’
A counter organization, Keep Kids First, formed to stop Support Our Schools.
The $25 million limit in the law is 0.46% of all new state aid, Linehan added, and is 1% of all funding directed toward pre-K-12 education. Gov. Pillen, at the bill’s signing, described this as a “drop in the bucket” compared to new funding for public schools and the state’s overall budget.
“This money goes to kids for scholarships,” Linehan said. “There is no benefit to the wealthy.”
Linehan and the Nebraska Catholic Conference said this summer that once Nebraskans saw the impact of LB 753 for families in need, they would embrace the law.
Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska
Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska, led by familiar advocates who fought to keep LB 753 off the ballot, borrows its name from LB 753 — the Opportunity Scholarships Act.
Leading the SGO is Executive Director Jeremy Ekeler, the former associate director of education policy with the Nebraska Catholic Conference. He said the new organization is excited to engage families and accompany them through the scholarship application process.
“This transformational scholarship program is common sense, and education freedom is quickly becoming the standard across the country,” Ekeler said in a statement. “The reason is simple: every child learns differently.”
Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska is endorsed by Nebraska’s three Catholic dioceses and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod schools, among other private schools, according to the organization’s website.
Lauren Gage is its director of marketing and outreach. She previously served as state director of the American Federation for Children, which advocates for charter schools, vouchers and such tax credit scholarships to private schools.
Linehan’s daughter, Katie, is a spokesperson and registered Nebraska lobbyist for the state federation.
The American Federation for Children, along with its associated growth fund, contributed nearly half of the $1.4 million in total contributions to Keep Kids First — just over $661,000. Much of that went directly toward legal services, staff time and other expenses.
The co-chairs of the Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska board of directors, Rick Bettger of Omaha and Kim Schroll of North Platte, also financially contributed to Keep Kids First.
Bettger, who owns Omaha Car Care, donated $10,000. Schroll, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NebraskaLand Bank, donated $1,000.
Pillen also donated a sizable amount to the Keep Kids First campaign: $100,000.
A website for AIF-without Borders states the nonprofit began in April 2014 in Lincoln, intending to help those who are deprived or in need. Additional objectives are assisting the integration of immigrants in the country, ending poverty, fighting against hunger and ensuring access to various needs, including health, education, gender equality and peace.
Further information about people involved with AIF-without Borders was not available. A website or more information could not immediately be found for Metro Area Christian Schools SGO.
‘They’re just wrong’: Revenue chair reacts to projected reductions in state funds
State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, chair of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee, said Tuesday she does not accept projections that state tax cuts could lead to deep reductions in state revenues.
Linehan’s comments come less than a week after a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reported that the state’s latest “tax-cutting spree” could result in some of the steepest state funding reductions in the country.
According to the report, the tax cuts are projected to reduce state revenues by $3.1 billion over the next five years, a 7.6% decline in general fund revenue.
“These permanent cuts built on temporary budget surpluses over time will threaten the sustainability of current investments in schools, health care and public safety,” Rebecca Firestone, executive director of the OpenSky Policy Institute, said in a statement.
Linehan, who was a major player behind the tax cuts, rejected those projections and warnings from OpenSky, a nonprofit that focuses on fiscal research and analysis.
“They’ve never been right,” Linehan said.
Linehan argued that OpenSky and the state’s fiscal office are ignoring the state’s money that remains on hand and is accruing interest.
“They don’t even take that into account,” Linehan said.
“This idea that we’re in trouble or we’re not going to be able to afford our obligations, they’re just wrong,” Linehan continued. “They’ve been saying that since I’ve been there and they have been wrong every time.”