Gov. Jim Pillen touts school funding at press conference

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska public schools will be seeing an influx of new state funding under the budget passed in May.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Jim Pillen signed a large check pledging $1 billion to public schools across the state.

That breaks down to $305 million more each year than what they’re receiving now.

That should help property tax levies go down, supporters say.

“Until now, state aid to education has been nearly flat,” Sen. Robert Clements said. “The package also helps to solve two high-priority issues for me. It significantly increases state aid to Nebraska public schools while also working to reduce our reliance on property taxes.”

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Paul Gausman noted that the district is planning on reducing the tax levy.

“[This funding], in the city of Lincoln, has provided a projected tax relief of about 13 cents per $100 of value on a property, and that’s a significant change.”

He also said that while the tax levy is going down, the valuation of homes in Lincoln is increasing, which means you may not see a drastic tax decrease.

The Nebraska State Education Association said this is not an increase in funding for schools but just a tax shift.  Instead of the money coming from property taxes, it’s coming from the state budget.

The teachers union said the state has enough revenue to support education more.