Senators hear arguments for school-incentive aid ■ Unicameral Education Committee considers money for good teachers, and assistance for schools. By Brian Carlson Staff writer The Legislature’s Education Committee on Monday heard bills pro viding incentives for schools that hire highly qualified educators and adjust ing the cost-per-pupil factor to assist small schools hurt by changes in school finance. LB646, sponsored by Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln, would provide pro fessional-staff-incentive aid for schools that hire highly qualified educators. Schools would be eligible for addition al state aid based on the amount of experience and number of advanced degrees among faculty members. Jim Griess, executive director of the Nebraska State Education Association, said schools too often must hire die best teacher who could be hired most cheap ly. To continue attracting outstanding educators and providing quality educa tion, the state must provide financial incentives, he said. “If we can’t, high school graduates will choose other careers, and teachers college graduates will go ter other states,” he said. “We must address this critical problem now if we are to attract and retain the brightest and best into the teaching profession.” A1 Inzerello of Westside Community Schools said the bill would allow schools to innovate as they attempted to meet new educational challenges. “This has the potential to do a lot of good things for education,” he said. LB668, sponsored by Sen. Bob Wickersham of Harrison, would adjust the cost-per-pupil ratio for schools with 250 to 900 students under the state’s adjusted formula. Smaller schools face greater per pupil costs, putting a squeeze on many v districts, Wickersham said. “This impinges hardest on schools with under 900 pupils,” he said. Brad Cabrera, superintendent of Sutton Public Schools, said his school system would see a sharp drop in state funding in coming years unless a bill like LB668 were passed. “Next year, my concern is that the cuts we’re going to have to make are going to harm our students,” he said. Jack Moles, superintendent of Nemaha Valley Schools, said his school system had provided quality education but needed increased state funding to deal with high per-pupil costs. “By passing LB668, the Legislature would make a strong state ment in support of rural schools,” he said. In other Education Committee action Monday: ■ The committee advanced the Student Freedom of Expression Act to die floor on a 5-4 vote. The bill would allow high school students greater free dom of expression in school publica tions, allowing only their adviser to edit material. ■ The committee heard LB329, which would end the requirement that school districts provide information about the parental-notification law for minors seeking abortions. Instead, school districts would be required to post a toll-free telephone number to the Department of Health and Human Services; students could call this num ber to receive information on the parental-notification law. Management department ranks among top 52 in nation ByIeva Augstums Senior staff writer The* many hours students spent waiting in line trying to override into UNL College of Business Administration’s management class es may have been worth it, manage ment department faculty members said. The college’s management department has just been ranked among the top 52 in the nation. “This recognition will be great for us,” said University of Nebraska Lincoln Management Department Chairman Sang Lee. “And it will help us attract excellent undergraduates, because people pay attention to this kind of thing.” UNL’s management department was listed among 31 departments nationwide as “middle status,” for overall course instruction, faculty research publications and graduation and doctoral student recruitment rates. Twenty-one schools were classi fied as high status, while 53 schools were classified as low status. Out of hundreds of top universi ties, 105 met the study criteria, which was published in the December issue of the prestigious Academy of Management Journal. The study compiled 18 different studies regarding college deans’ and department chairmen’s perceptions and the reputation of faculty mem bers, as well as faculty research in top-tier publications. Two of UNL’s peer institutions, Ohio State University and the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, were placed in the high-sta tus group. The university’s remaining peers, except for the University of Colorado at Boulder, which was placed in the low-status group, were placed in the middle group. Fred Luthans, George Holmes Distinguished Professor of Management, said UNL’s placement was superior, even when compared to its peer institutions. “The schools rated above us have an advantage,” Luthans said. “They are at least twice as big as we are, and they have twice as many faculty.” Lee agreed. “Our management department is one of the best among state universi ties,” he said. “I believe our rating is accurate.” Luthans said the department would continue to expand its scope from a local and regional level to national and international levels. The recent ranking would help, he said. “The key here is the value added to our university and the students at Nebraska,” Luthans said. “We want a quality program for everyone, univer sitywide.” At the beginning of the semester the department saw a large increase in students wanting to take management information systems courses. Management information sys tems courses teach students how to make an organization, like Microsoft, for example, more effective and responsive through information tech nology. The college has about 400 management majors, with hundreds of CBA students taking management courses every semester. Students who finish the manage ment program usually receive five to seven job offers and have a beginning salary of $60,000 or more per year after graduating, he said. “It’s good publicity for the college and the university,” Lee said. “The ranking is something to be proud about.” fcfc The schools