LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s largest public schools are still using local tax dollars to pay for lobbyists at the Capitol, and more than three-fourths of that money is coming from districts in the Omaha area.
An Associated Press analysis of lobbying reports finds that school districts paid more than $477,000 last year to lobbyists, in addition to membership fees for statewide education groups. Of the money from individual districts last year, nearly $366,800 was spent by those in Douglas and Sarpy County and the Omaha area’s Learning Community.
Schools have continued to retain lobbyists despite a 2011 change in Nebraska’s school-funding formula that prevents them from using state aid to cover the cost. Jack Gould of the group Common Cause Nebraska says it gives bigger schools an unfair advantage over smaller ones.
2013 SCHOOL DISTRICT SPENDING ON LOBBYISTS
Adams Central Public Schools — $11,117.87
(*)Bellevue Public Schools — $60,200
(*)Bennington Public Schools — $32,300
Columbus Public Schools — $11,250
(*)Elkhorn Public Schools — $18,950
Fremont Public Schools — $20,000
Grand Island Northwest Public Schools — $11,079
Grand Island Public Schools — $30,000
Lakeview Community Schools — $6,080
Lincoln Public Schools — $45,086
(*)Millard Public Schools — $66,079
(*)Omaha Public Schools — $67,091
(*)Papillion-La Vista School District — $27,200
(*)Ralston Public School District — $28,416
(*)Springfield Platteview Community Schools — $10,769
(*)Westside Community Schools — $31,418
TOTAL SPENT BY INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS: $477,038
REGIONAL GROUPS
Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy County — $24,345
TOTAL SPENT BY DOUGLAS, SARPY DISTRICTS AND LEARNING COMMUNITY: $366,769
STATEWIDE GROUPS
Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council — $18,750
Nebraska Association of School Boards — $40,106
Nebraska Council of School Administrators — $92,295 (some dues paid through payroll deductions)
Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association — $27,700
Source: Clerk of the Nebraska Legislature
(*)District based in Douglas/Sarpy County