Nebraska Education Commissioner discusses literacy, school funding headed into new year

Literacy, funding and the school financing review commission. These topics made headlines in education in 2025. Education reporter Jolie Peal spoke with Nebraska Department of Education Commissioner Brian Maher about these topics and more as 2026 gets underway.

Literacy and math

While NDE’s plan to improve literacy in schools was officially approved by the State Board of Education in February 2024, Maher said the education department was already working toward its goals before then.

By 2030, the state wants to have 75% of third graders proficient in English language arts and 73% of high school juniors. In the 2024-25 school year, about 58% of third graders were considered proficient, and 35% of juniors.

“Those goals really focus around high-quality teaching, high-quality materials in the hands of the kids, because it's our belief that the magic happens in the classroom,” Maher said. “We want to make sure our teachers are really well-versed on the science of reading, and what we're trying to get across to kids.”

Maher added that many new teachers learn the science of reading in their preparation programs and current teachers are learning through trial and error or by seeking out materials about the science of reading.

Some of those lessons may be looking at the basics of reading, Maher said, like breaking down words and sounding out individual letters in a word.

“The ultimate goal is about students, so we've got to keep that focus on students,” Maher said. “We do that by working with teachers and administrators.”

State Board of Education members also passed the department’s overall strategic plan, which includes goals to improve math scores, chronic absenteeism and the teacher shortage. For math, NDE wants to see 71% of juniors proficient, and 80% of eighth graders by 2030. Last school year, about 33% of juniors and 57% of eight graders were proficient.

“I want to be sure to let folks know it doesn't mean it's at the exclusion of any other content area, but we believe that if kids are sufficiently good readers and really understand mathematics, that a whole lot of other content areas will be easier to learn,” Maher said. “For example, there's a good amount of reading in social studies. If you don't know how to read, social studies may be a real problem for you.”

The ongoing teacher shortage

In the 2025-26 school year, there were about 490 unfilled teaching positions, meaning they were left vacant or filled with someone who wasn’t fully qualified. This is an improvement from the previous school year which had 669 unfilled teaching positions. Earlier this year, several superintendents shared with Nebraska Public Media that it felt easier to fill open teaching spots.

Maher said some of those filled spots are thanks to several programs and partnerships NDE has pushed. He brought up apprenticeship programs that allow those becoming teachers to work in the classroom as a paraprofessional or paid student teacher.

Maher also said the department has been trying to bring light to how industry experts can now get a teaching degree in their field easier than before.

“Years back, Warren Buffett wouldn't have been able to qualify to be a basic business teacher in the state of Nebraska because of some of the rules that we had in place,” Maher said. “I think we're past that now, so if Mr. Buffett would like to come teach, we can certainly get him certified,” Maher said.

These steps, as well as partnering with the Nebraska Department of Labor to help with recruiting teachers, have been helping the shortage, Maher said.

“While the issue may not be as bad as it was, it's still far from perfect,” Maher said. “We've still got to keep the pedal to the metal, so to speak, in finding teachers in Nebraska schools.”

School funding

The Nebraska Legislature created the School Financing Review Commission to look at the state’s current funding system — the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, better known as TEEOSA — and make recommendations to improve it. Maher, who leads the commission, said it set the groundwork in 2025, and he hopes to see “continued progress” in 2026.

Gov. Jim Pillen has called for the state to take over all school funding. Maher said the commission will likely explore what that option could look like, along with seeing any recommendations that arise during the upcoming state legislative session.

“I think the commission will be looking at what the governor has said, what the legislature talks about in the short session coming up in 2026,” Maher said. “Then, hopefully we'll have some solid recommendations by the end of the calendar year 2026.”

Another issue with TEEOSA that Maher said the state department is focusing on is an error that overpaid three school districts, one of which was overpaid by $30.5 million. He said the first step was to ensure the upcoming state aid calculations were corrected, along with having another set of eyes on the process.

“It's not just 'person A' working with 'person B' to validate each other's work, but rather it's a new person entirely bringing an independent set of eyes to the process, so that if there's a mistake made, you're not just working the previous problem together,” Maher said. “Rather, you're looking at the problem independently, so that if there's a problem there, we're more likely to catch it. That revision is already in place and ongoing for the coming year.”

Maher further said he’s working with the finance department on other safeguards to put in the process for the future.

Looking ahead

Overall for 2026, Maher said he wants to continue to address absenteeism, especially chronic absenteeism, and make sure students are healthy.

“As a former math teacher, I can tell you, if kids were starving in my class, they didn't really care much about the Pythagorean theorem, if their stomach was growling,” Maher said. “I want to make sure kids are healthy.”

Maher said once those two goals are set, then it’s easier to focus on “the magic of education” that happens in a classroom.

“I think it's a little bit like Tom Osborne used to say, if we block well and we tackle well, the wins and losses are probably going to take care of themselves,” Maher said. “I think that way in education, if we can get kids to school, make sure they're healthy, put quality teachers in front of them, I think the teaching and learning will take care of itself.”

By way of full disclosure, Maher is a commissioner on Nebraska Public Media's governing board, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission.