Last week, Nebraska’s governor urged Nebraska school superintendents to direct 97% of what they receive in additional state aid to property tax relief.
In its story noting the unusual nature of the call, the Nebraska Examiner spoke with Dr. Rebecca Firestone, executive director of OpenSky Policy Institute, who said that a “tax shift” does nothing to help schools deal with challenges of increased personnel expenses and inflation. OpenSky has long maintained that additional state dollars committed to funding public schools this year were designated for property tax relief and not intended to help schools in addressing budget issues.