Reviews major issues surrounding funding of Nebraska's public schools and presents an alternative funding system sustaining the goals of local control, tax equity, and flexibility for program quality. The new formula would add an economic factor to the weighting of pupils and alow local tax flexibility for districts losing state funding. (MLH)

Nebraska's small schools have been shortchanged by recently enacted school finance policies. LB 1114, which limited property tax levy rates, and LB 806, which changed the state aid distribution formula, were first implemented for the 1998-99 school year. These measures were intended to force cuts in school expenditures, especially among smaller,…

This report details results of the 1998 Nebraska Rural Poll, which asked rural Nebraskans their opinions on taxes, school finance, and school consolidation. Survey responses were received from 4,196 residents of Nebraska's 87 non-metropolitan counties. When asked about the tax structure, most respondents favored changing the current distribution…

A study examined educational property tax burdens in Nebraska counties, using data on property taxes levied, property values, and per capita income. The study found that the average school tax burdens for residents in the lowest third (by per capita income) of Nebraska counties, which were nearly all rural farmers and ranchers, were 88 percent…