Omaha board backs scrapping of common school levy

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Omaha school board is backing a plan to eliminate a common property tax levy for a school system aimed at closing the achievement gap between poor and middle-class students and increasing classroom diversity.

The board voted Tuesday to support recommendations devised by superintendents of the 11 districts in the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy counties, according to the Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/1pQGPZI ). A report from the superintendents last month said the common property tax levy is a barrier to improving the collaboration between the Learning Community and districts.

The superintendents’ recommendations call for more state aid to Nebraska districts that have large numbers of poor and immigrant students. That includes the Omaha district, which says it has been hurt by the levy formula. The district’s property tax base has stagnated in recent years, officials have said, while those of some suburban districts have continued to rise, as has their income from the levy.

Eight of the districts’ boards already voted to support the recommendations, and two more boards are scheduled to vote in coming weeks. After those two votes, the recommendations will be presented to the Legislature’s Education Committee, probably in December.

Gov. Dave Heineman said Wednesday that it’s time to consider eliminating the Learning Community, which he said hasn’t met its original goals.

“We got an additional bureaucracy, and we spent a lot of extra money on transportation that ought to go to the classroom to help kids and teachers,” the governor said. “I think it’s time to have this conversation.”

The Learning Community was approved by the Legislature in 2007 to increase academic achievement among economically disadvantaged students and increase diversity in Omaha area schools.

A 2012 report from the superintendents said the community’s after-school, summer school and family support programs have helped disadvantaged students do better in their classes. But in last month’s report, the superintendents said the open-enrollment student transfer system was growing costly and had made little progress in improving the socio-economic diversity in schools.

The superintendents are recommending a special, separate tax to aid programs for students from poor families and support learning centers in north and south Omaha.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, https://www.omaha.com