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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1999)
v • - - / - ' ■ | ; Aviation has landed on the UNL campus. / See the schedule of classes for courses or for more information call 472-4432 UNO Aviation Institute University of B Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska at Omaha is an affirmative^action/equal opportunity institution. Spring is here, are you rea<iy? Ik. M Lincoln-Iithep. 0»«|p. ittwd ftftwtif v___j dailyneb.com _ Face of school aid changes By Shane Anthony Staff writer A debate that pitted a new governor against the Legislature produced yet another change in the way Nebraska supports public schools. LB 149 received headlines from the moment the Education Committee advanced it unanimously Jan. 19. The bill relieved schools of having to pay back what then looked like a $22 mil lion overpayment from the year before. It also changed certification dates from Dec. 1 to Feb. 1 in the hope that by using more recent real numbers instead of three-year averages, the state-aid for mula would be more predictable. The votes were decidedly for the bill. But the debate was intense. “State aid has been a fight in this state since the day it was designed,” said Speaker Doug Kristensen. According to Kristensen, the fight began in 1989 when senators passed LB 1059, creating a pot of money for F" school funding. Then, in 1996, the Legislature passed LB1114, which set limits on property tax levies. Under that bill, schools now receive $ 1.10 per $ 100 of property valuation. The figure will drop to $1 in 2001. Property taxes support only local schools and governments. Before LB1114 passed, local school districts could set property tax levies to the levels they needed. The bill’s passage meant the state would have to put more of its own money - raised primarily from sales and income taxes - into schools to support the loss of property tax rev enues. The Legislature did that in 1997 when it passed LB806, said Harrison Sen. Bob Wickersham. That bill, he said, set a formula for calculating state aid. In simplified form that formula reads “needs minus resources equals state aid.” Unfortunately, said Hastings Sen. Ardyce Bohlke, the LB806 formula was flawed. It used a three-year average of data that was three years old to deter mine needs. Schools anticipated losing property taxes after LB 1114 passed, and they looked for ways to become more effi cient So when the state Department of Education certified schools’ state aid on Deq. 1,1997, the figures were inflated. A year later, the department certi fied state aid for the 1999-2000 school year. Included in that calculation was an auditing mechanism called the “respin.” The respin looks back to correct over payments or underpayments from the past year. The December 1998 respin indicated schools had been overpaid by $22 million. Under state law, they would have to pay that amount back. The respin usually makes minor corrections, Bohlke said, but a $22 mil lion swing would have been disastrous. Schools had already spent the $22 million without knowing there was an error. The blame for that error, she said, j rested squarely on senators’ shoulders. ! Please see SCHOOLS on 7 i '. ■! CMcpatutAtim fo tfo 199X-1999 ^ I! Jennifer Adaitis Megan Adkins Ashley Anderson Christina Anderson , Laura Anderson Ryan Anderson Courtney Arnold Marc Boggy Jennifer Burke Joe Chasek Zach Chipps Angela Clements Tomas Cosenza > Justin Cramer Veronica Daehn Alicia Danielson Nga Dinh Kim Ebeler Jessie Egley TJ. Ehlers Danielle Eickman Allyson Friez Rachel Gildon Matthew Glenn Mike Greene-Walsh Megan Groathouse Laura Grother Chris Gustafson Lindy Gustafson Allison Hamiel Christina Hansen Geoffrey Hartman Rick Hoesing Melanie Hoffman Paul Horky Mandi Jefferis Lindsey Johnson Justin Kauk Sarah Kippenbrock Tiffany Kline Mike Knockenhauer Derek Lackaff Alexis Lewis David Lockwood Jaron Luttich Ernesto Marquez Austin McKillip Amy Mettenbrink Stacia Miller Koumtey Mueller Katie Mueting Megan Mullinix Liz Noble Dana Novak Susanne Novak Audra Prior Scott Raymond Geoff Reno Todd Schkade Ricki Scully Andrew Seier Andrew Shaw Britt Sommer Dan Swan Anne Vlach Kendra Wesely Jaclyn Wilson i ' Gateway Mall provides real convenience with free giftwrap for mall purchases (excludes Dillard}s and Sears). Just bring your Mother’s Day, wedding and graduation gifts to the ‘Gift Wrap Center near JCPenney. • _ 'v;- ■ .... ( - ; . Shop at Lincoln’s largest enclosed mall with over 95 stores including Younkers, JCPenney, Montgomery Ward, Candleman, Eddie Bauer, Spencer Gifts, Things Remembered and more. L Gateway Mall, the smart choice for your shopping. 1 , ^ .. .~ ' ..lilt 131111-33P ■■ 41.1 I *■ j 5PJOT< ;m .. . . . i; MrnM