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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1999)
Long-awaited school-aid data helps senators mull over bill By Shane Anthony Staffwriter Numbers - sheet after sheet of them - had state senators and school officials scrambling for calculators Monday. Long-awaited data from the state Department of Education gave senators and schools an idea how schools’ state aid picture will look next year with or without LB 149. The bill puts $ 19.3 million in state aid that schools would have to have returned via cuts back into the state bud get and changes the timing and numbers used for calculating aid. Senators and Gov. Johanns have to decide whether or not LB 149 is the right solution to state aid questions. Schools must decide how to deal with the num bers - whether the bill passes or fails. “We never spend money until it’s in the bank,” said John Deegan, Superintendent of Bellevue Public Schools. Bellevue was one of several school districts that will receive less state aid if LB 149 passes. Without LB 149, Belleyue would lose $29,758,525 in state aid - about $300,000 less than last year, he said. If the bill passes, Bellevue would lose $422,749 less than last year. But Deegan said he will probably still support the bill. “I think the state’s commitment to state aid has been there the last couple of years, and if there are some adjustments we have to go through, we’ll work with those,” he said. But other schools, such as Petersburg, a small district southwest of Norfolk, face different decisions. “We’re not really any better off than we were before,” said Superintendent Jerry Phillips. “We’re going to have to reduce some I staff, I think,” he said. Phillips is leaving the district, so the school can save by hir ing a part-time superintendent. Petersburg would receive $23,313 more in state aid if LB149 passes, bring ing its total state aid to $110,553. Some senators were not convinced that the numbers provided real answers. Omaha Sen. Pam Brown introduced an amendment that would change the date schools would receive certification for state aid from Feb. 1 to March 1. She said the fact that the Department of Education could did not have figures until now concerned her. In a press conference after debate, Hastings Sen. Ardyce Bohlke said the department started running the numbers in January, immediately after the bill - sponsored by the Education Committee - was introduced. Next year, she said, the department will have time to pro duce numbers by Feb. 1. Bohlke said LB 149 does not con flict with the governor’s budget plan, which would include a property tax belief program. But passing it would leave less money for that plan, she said. In his press conference, Johanns said he wanted to look at dropping the re-spin - an auditing mechanism that brought a $22 million miscalculation in this year’s state aid to light Chris Peterson, a spokesman for Johanns, said the governor also has con cerns about locking the state into school aidbyFeb. 1. During floor debate, Brown raised similar questions, referring to LB 149 as an “autopilot’ for state aid. But Bohlke said the current system for determining state aid is no different in that respect The fiscal analyst determines a fig ure that is given to the governor and the Appropriations Committee, she said. LB 149, Bohlke said, looks forward. The Department of Education used actual data - not estimates - in arriving at the figures presented Monday, she said. The projected state aid figures would allow schools to plan for 1999 2000. Reductions some schools would receive under LB 149 would be reflected in next year’s re-spin, she said. William Knapper, director of busi ness services for Scottsbluff Public Schools, which will receive $121,738 less in state aid if LB 149 passes, said he hopes the Legislature gets state aid fig ured out Scottsbluff will still receive more state aid next year than last year, but he and other schools are just hoping for predictability. - “The Legislature needs to get a han dle on what they’re doing with state aid,” he said. “There’s a real lack of under standing on the part of the Legislature on how this program works, and there’s a real lack of common sense in this pro gram.” c 1 \ . 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Joe DiMaggio died at home Monday, surrounded by family and friends, following a five-month battle with lung cancer. At age 84, Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away. DiMaggio underwent surgery in October, battling complications for weeks afterward and even falling into a coma briefly during his 99-day hospital ization. But he also astounded his doc tors by repeatedly bouncing back. DiMaggio left the hospital Jan. 19 to recuperate at home, where his bed was decorated with a sign that said, “April 9. Yankee Stadium or Bust” He died shortly after midnight, said Morris Engelberg, his longtime friend and attorney, one month and one day shy of making it back to the Bronx for the home opener. For years DiMaggio had smoked three packs a day, and at times he even sneaked behind the run way at Yankee Stadium during games to have a cigarette with Gehrig. Said Ted Williams, who shared the spotlight with DiMaggio in the ’41 sea son by batting .406 for Boston, the last time anyone batted .400: “There is no one Ted Williams admired, respected and envied more than Joe DiMaggio. Because of my close relationship with the DiMaggio family, I feel a very deep personal loss.” Commissioner Bud Selig said he idolized DiMaggio: “I never saw a play er who was as graceful. There was an aura about him that was amazing.” The Hall of Fame flag in Cooperstown, N.Y., was lowered to half-staff and a wreath was placed around DiMaggio’s plaque. U.S. flags at Yankee Stadium, including the one in left field’s hallowed Monument Park, were also at half-staff. DiMaggio roamed center field and ran the basepaths for 13 years through 1951, playing for 10 pennant, winners « There was an aura about him that was ’ amazing Bud Selig Major League Baseball i commissioner and nine World Series champions despite missing three years because of service in World War II. He batted .325 lifetime, with 361 home runs. He won three AL Most Valuable Player awards, appeared in 11 All-Star games, and entered the Hall of Fame in 1955, his third year of eligibili ty. For half a century, he was introduced as “the greatest living player.” The summer of ’41 was magical largely because of DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, one of baseball’s most enduring records. The streak riveted a" country fresh from the Depression and elevated DiMaggio from baseball star to national celebrity. He ascended to the top rank of pop ular culture in 1954 when he wed Marilyn Monroe, a storybook marriage that lasted less than a year and left him brokenhearted. For years after she died in 1962, DiMaggio sent roses to her grave but refused to talk about her. Only twice did DiMaggio bat less than .300. He accumulated 3,948 total bases and drove in 1,537 runs. He fin ished his career with 2,214 hits. Yet, the numbers don’t account fully for his almost legendary place on the American cultural landscape, the rea son Ernest Hemingway wrote about him and Simon and Garfunkel sang about him. There was something about the courtly bearing of this son of Italian immigrants that made him special. Said former Dodgefis manager Tom Lasorda: “If you said to God, ‘Create someone who was what a baseball play er should be,’ God would have created Joe DiMaggio. And he did.” NEU ERASE YOUR COLLEGE LOAN. If you’re stuck with a (federally insured) student loan that’s not in default, the Army might pay it off. If you qualify, we’ll reduce your debt—up to $65,000. Payment is either 1/3 of the debt or $1,500 for each year of service, whichever is greater. You’ll also have training in a choice of skills and enough self-assurance to last you die rest of your life. Get all the details from your Army Recruiter. (402)467-2221 ARNK BE ALL YOU CAM BET www.goarmy.com I Invites interested students to discuss political ethics and participation in state government. Pizza and pop will he provided. Join us on Tuesday, March 9th at 6:30 in the Regency Room at the Student Union Medical Laboratory Technician need at SCC-Lmcoln in two years or less. • Associate of Applied Science Degree program • Transfer credits accepted • Excellent job opportunities • Free job placement assistance Sttlledkal Laboratory Vechnkkmmaduates can transfer theiraeiSts to the Medial tchnology Pivgixun at the University of Nebraska ffedfcol Center to earn a B.S. degree! For information contact SCC-Uncoln Admissions, 8800 O SL, Lincoln, NE 68520 Phone: 402-437-2600,1-800-642-4075. View Ihe program on Ihe SCC web site. Southeast community college http://www.college.sccm.cc.ne.u8