Nebraska could face tough decisions on school finance

Nebraska faces tough decisions on how it pays for education, the School Financing Review Commission heard Tuesday.

In the last couple of years, Nebraska has made progress replacing property taxes with sales and income taxes to pay for K-12 schools. But that progress will erode if fundamentals don’t change, the commission heard Tuesday. Former state senator and treasurer Tom Briese said school spending has outpaced inflation.

“If I was making a recommendation to the Legislature right now, I would tell them ‘Look for ways to run schools more efficiently, at a cheaper cost, look for…other revenue sources and look at the…revenue cap and see if that’s what you want,” Briese said.

Annual school revenue growth was capped at 3% in 2023 with certain exceptions. Over the last 20 years, school spending has increased an average of 3.9% per year, compared to inflation averaging about 2.6% per year. The commission is supposed to recommend changes in school finance next year.