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Bill would change school finance treatment for districts opening multiple schools amid fast growth
Summary
LB711 would adjust Nebraska’s new‑school adjustment so rapidly growing districts opening multiple schools can count additional capacity together, proponents said this would better match the original legislative intent and ease start‑up costs for districts such as Gretna, Bennington and parts of Omaha experiencing sustained growth.
Senator Megan Hunt introduced LB711 to address a discrepancy in the school finance formula that she and proponents said penalizes rapidly growing school districts that open multiple new school buildings in a short period.
Under current law a district opening a new school receives a two‑year “new school adjustment” to help fund start‑up costs: a larger adjustment the first year and a smaller one the second year. Hunt told the committee the statute treats a single building correctly but does not align with practical costs when a district opens several buildings in succession. She said LB711 would change the statutory language so that multiple new buildings could be counted together for the adjustment, allowing districts to receive funding that more closely matches the costs of opening and staffing several new sites.
Burke Harharr, representing Gretna Public Schools, said the bill targets fast‑growing districts (defined in prior language as three percent growth over three or more years) and would fix a mismatch between legislative intent and how the formula applies in practice. Harharr said the current approach can reduce the district’s adjustment during years when costs are still elevated, and that the result shifts more burden to local property taxpayers.
Committee members asked for clarifying language to ensure the bill’s text matched intent. Senator Hunt said she would work with the committee and stakeholders on statutory wording. Testimony included a written position from Norfolk Public Schools supporting the approach. No formal committee vote was taken during the hearing.
