Gov. Heineman's Statement Before Signing Schools Bill, LB 1024
Gov. Dave Heineman, responding to repeated media requests, re-issued the printed version of his Thursday statement before signing LB 1024, the bill addressing educational opportunities and school district boundaries in metropolitan Omaha:
"I want to begin today to addressing LB 1024. The bill that senators have been discussing secures the boundaries of each and every school district in Douglas and Sarpy counties. The intent of this bill is to end all of this talk about district boundaries, and force each of the metro area districts to sit down and communicate about what we should have been discussing all along - ways to improve the education of Omaha's children.
"More than anything else, LB 1024 should act as a conduit to encourage constructive dialogue. It is a new beginning for a community dialogue that needed to occur before, but could not. While neither side won everything they sought, this bill, particularly with recent amendments, secures both boundaries and future cooperation. This bill is far from perfect, and I'll be honest, there are parts that make me less than comfortable, and parts that would make me pause as a parent. I have never been in favor of bringing Sarpy County into this fight, but the Legislature has made the extent of its will clear in three votes. I have never liked the additional administrative layer that the learning community creates, but no better solutions have reached my desk. I remain uneasy about the bill's proposed breakup of OPS, because I am unsure if that is necessary to pursue the resolution of this issue.
"But let me be clear, the reason that the amendment to downsize OPS is even part of LB 1024 is because we had not heard from the Omaha Public Schools in good faith. OPS did not come to the table in any meaningful way until the eleventh hour, when it was clear their boundaries were as threatened as those in the suburbs they attempted to absorb. They left us little choice. I would have preferred the simple and outright repeal of the old and previously abandoned law at the heart of "one city, one school district," and left the rest to local decision makers, but it was clear that no such legislative solution was possible.
"I believe we are at a pivotal moment for Omaha and our great state. We are at a moment where sitting the fence and hoping the issue subsides is not a viable option, if local control and parental involvement are issues that matter to you.
"The reason I included this issue in my State of the State address is because I've seen what the pursuit of "one, city one school district" has done. Parents and children in and around our state's largest city don't know what to do or what will happen. They need a sense of certainty.
"As a state, we needed to muster the courage to bring about a forcible peace on the issue of educational boundaries and get back to the issues that really matter learning and academic achievement. I believe we have made a start.
"This is a new beginning. While I was initially concerned about the scope and nature of the changes proposed in Senator Chambers' amendment, recent changes to the bill addressed many of my concerns. I know that Education Committee Chairman Ron Raikes would never have put his name on such an important proposal unless he believed it were good for the children and families it will affect. And I have spoken personally with Senator Chambers about this bill.
"It is clear to me that the motivation behind his proposal is neither segregation, nor separation, but instead the goal of improving student achievement and the responsiveness of schools.
"At its core, LB 1024 is about protecting local control while enhancing the opportunities for cross-boundary cooperation. If viewed from more than the emotion of the last few days, it is an approach that addresses integration and does so in a way that empowers parents. Studies show that schools with good teachers and high levels of parental involvement succeed, and one of the best harbingers of parental involvement is a sense of ownership. Like many parents, some families in Omaha wish their school district were more responsive. They wish they had more of a neighborhood feel and a neighborhood level of accountability. They are tired of feeling lost in a large bureaucracy that is neither efficient, nor cost-effective.
"At the very least, the idea of forcing each of the districts in Omaha and its suburbs to talk is something that could help Nebraska's largest community come together and move forward. That LB 1024 has a stated aim of offering parents a choice of which learning community school to attend is also intriguing, because it includes a realistic transportation component.
"The proposed cap on school district size, while it might initially provoke some legitimate and passionate concerns, addresses the long-held belief that bigger is not always better. In fact, this bill takes a good, long look at an issue that has been overlooked for too long, the principle of whether the State of Nebraska should allow the creation of a mega-district, a school district so large it has the unchecked power to affect education policy without regard to the unique concerns in other parts of our state.
"Senator Chambers and Senator Raikes have said that the intent of LB 1024 is to address the quality of education, community cooperation, integration and school choice. Those are all ideas that warrant serious consideration.
"It is my hope and understanding that some of the first fruits of this bill might be locally generated ideas and improvements for LB 1024 that could be adopted by the next Legislature. I believe senators would look favorably upon any compromise with local support. If those conversations, started by LB 1024, leads to a superior local solution that requires legislative action, I am prepared to call a special session.
"I am grateful that senators answered my call to address this issue, and I intend to sign LB 1024 into law later today. Thank you."
http://gov.nol.org/news/2006_04/14_lb1024.html