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New Nebraska coalition focuses on property taxes, education funding

A new coalition of Nebraska farm and education groups is calling on the state to be less reliant on property taxes to fund public schools.

The group is called Nebraskans United for Property Tax Reform and Education. At a Tuesday news conference, Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson said farmers and ranchers carry too much of the burden to fund public education.

“For many years, our organization and our members have been concerned about the growing burden of property taxes and imbalance in our state’s tax system,” Nelson said. “It has become too reliant on property taxes to fund government services, specifically education.”

According to Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen, study after study has shown lawmakers Nebraska doesn’t have a balanced approach to funding schools.

“I would ask the legislature to revisit, review and implement the gist of all of their studies for the last 30 years,” Hansen said. “We’re going to help bring the attention and focus that needs to happen to help address adequate funding of our schools and also the need to fund them in a more fair and balanced way.”

Chadron Public School board member Boone Huffman said school districts are at a financial “tipping point”.

“For the first time in Nebraska’s proud track record in education, the actual education of our students is in danger of declining,” Huffman said. “The reason we need reform right now is that state aid is not keeping pace with the mandates we see in our districts.”

Former State Senator Al Davis, speaking for Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, said ranchers cannot afford to pay more property taxes, putting additional stress on rural school districts.

“I come from the grass counties. Cherry County is my home,” Davis said. “Every one of the grass counties is hurting and what I see happening in rural Nebraska is school boards who say, ‘We can’t go forward any more with this—we’re going to have to cut programming’.”

The coalition says that while Nebraskans pay one of the highest property tax rates in the nation, the state ranks 49th in public education funding.

Brent Martin, Nebraska Radio Network, contributed to this story.