Nebraska seeks Colorado canal land, school choice fight resumes

By Fred Knapp , Senior Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media

Jan. 28, 2025, midnight ·

Nebraska Capitol (Photo by Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media News) — Nebraska Capitol. (Photo by Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media News)

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Nebraska is offering to buy land in Colorado for the proposed Perkins County Canal, and a renewed fight is brewing over taxpayer-funded private school scholarships.

The offers to buy land in Colorado are the latest move in Nebraska’s effort to build the so-called Perkins County Canal. The idea, dating back more than a century, is to bring water from the South Platte River in Colorado into Nebraska. Under an interstate compact dating from the 1920s, Nebraska has the right to take water from Colorado in the non-irrigation season, but only if it builds the canal.

Jesse Bradley, interim director of the Department of Natural Resources, said letters were sent to six owners of land near where the canal would begin, southwest of Ovid, Colorado, offering $1.4 million for about 650 acres of land.

“Our offer letters would basically provide our offer, based on appraisal, then based on good faith or to negotiate, we provided an additional 15% over appraisal if they would close with us within the 90 days we offered. If they don’t, that notice also serves as a notice that we could then pursue the eminent domain process,” Bradley said.

The interstate compact gives Nebraska the right to use eminent domain to obtain land if the owners are not willing to sell. Bradley said not all the offers were for acquiring the land outright; some were just for temporary construction access. The letters were sent Jan. 17, giving the landowners until April 17 to respond.

Meanwhile in the Legislature, a group of senators is renewing a push to institute scholarships to private and religious schools.

After lawmakers passed legislation to that effect, opponents, led by the NSEA state teachers union, led a successful effort to repeal the law via a referendum that voters approved by a 57-43 percent margin last November.

Sen. Tony Sorrentino has now introduced a bill (LB509) to provide up to $25 million a year in scholarships, funded by donors who would receive a tax credit for their donations. At a news conference Tuesday, Christina Chvala, a single mother with two children in private school, said her family had benefitted from the previous program before it was repealed.

“It was truly life changing for our family. What it meant for us, practically, is that my daughters were able to have a parent at their games. Were able to have a parent Ubering them back and forth to practices. Were able to have a parent at the dinner table because I did not have to work multiple jobs to ensure that my children were in the environment that best fit their learning needs,” Chvala said.

Sorrentino said 4,500 students had benefitted from scholarships before the program was repealed, and it deserves a second chance.

“We cannot leave our children without opportunity,” Sorrentino said. "That is our message today. Instead we need to give parents and students hope, by passing school choice again this legislative session. School choice, particularly for our state’s low income families, is a matter of justice. And I look forward to continuing our advocacy for parents and kids, combatting the misinformation of our opponents."

Sorrentino said that misinformation included the argument that private school scholarships would take money away from public schools.

Opponents have pointed to the experience of other states, where such scholarship programs have cost more than originally projected and strained state budgets.

At a separate news conference Tuesday, flanked by senators with legislation supported by the teachers union, NSEA President Tim Royers reacted to the renewed push for private school scholarships.

“I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed, because there are certainly times where we don't necessarily agree on all the issues, including with some of the folks right here,” Royers said. "But I think what I've at least historically seen consistently, is our lawmakers respect the will of the people, and the people gave a pretty emphatic message at the last election that they don't want to see public dollars going to private schools."

Also Tuesday, Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke appeared before the Legislature to give the annual State of the Judiciary speech. Funke talked about the challenge of trying to save money and produce better results.

“Even though our state's crime rate has decreased, our rate of incarceration has increased,” Funke said. "We continue to have one of the most overcrowded prison systems in the United States. These criminal justice reinvestment efforts identified a need to divert less serious felons from prison and place them on probation."

According to Funke, the average cost of incarceration in Nebraska is $41,000 per person per year, while the average cost of adult probation is $3,500 per person per year.

Funke told lawmakers it is important for the Legislature to fund the judicial branch’s budget requests. Those requests include about $8 million in additional funds for probation, along with information technology and problem-solving courts.

Gov. Jim Pillen did not include those requests in his proposed budget, but they will now be considered by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.