Nebraska state legislators are considering a proposal to allot $7 million for private and parochial K-12 school scholarships.
That proposal on education funding came late last week after Governor Pillen’s Condition of the State speech, and the state teacher’s union quickly opposed that.
This is not the first time a private school voucher program has been proposed in Nebraska.
The Nebraska State Education Association strongly opposes public funding for private school scholarships. In an statement, NSEA President Tim Royers said the organization is concerned about “misplaced priorities,” since “Public dollars belong in public schools,” he asserted.
Pillen’s budget proposal aims to address Nebraska’s $472 million budget deficit with spending cuts to state agencies, a reorganization of the state’s cash fund and an elimination of retroactive Medicaid eligibility.
While the bill allocates $7 million for private school scholarships, Royers said it also cuts $20 million in special education funding, which he calls “insulting.”
