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Lawmakers Hear From Bellevue Officials on Proposal to Offset Lost Impact Aid
Summary
Bellevue Public Schools officials told the Education Committee that LB 249 would help districts with large federal property holdings recover revenue lost to federal tax-exempt land; proponents said the bill could produce an estimated $5–7 million for Bellevue, while senators pressed for fiscal clarity.
Senators on the Nebraska Legislature's Education Committee heard testimony on LB 249 on funding to offset lost federal impact aid for districts with sizable federally owned land.
Sen. Rita Sanders, who introduced the bill, said Bellevue Public Schools faces a funding shortfall because federal property in the district is exempt from local property taxes. "This means that approximately 25 to 30 percent of the property tax in our district is exempt from local property tax," Sanders said during her remarks.
Jeff Rippe, superintendent of Bellevue Public Schools, told the committee the district serves about 9,500 students and that roughly 27 percent are military-connected. He said federal impact aid declines have reduced payments that once exceeded $15 million in prior years to a much smaller amount today. "This bill, I think, would produce 5 to $7,000,000 for Bellevue Public Schools based off the formula," Rippe said.
Committee members asked how federal impact aid is calculated and how state assistance would interact with existing formulas. Rippe explained the federal program pays an amount per eligible student and then prorates payments because the federal pot is not sufficient to cover the full statutory amount for all districts. "It's amount per student...they prorate everybody," he said.
Rippe said some of any state-provided funds would be used for programming that supports military-connected students and some to lower the local levy. He gave the committee Bellevue's general-fund levy as about $1.03 and said the district has at times had to levy at the maximum allowed to meet obligations.
Senators pressed for more precise fiscal details, including how the proposed formula compares to neighboring districts such as Papillion and whether there are payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) that Bellevue receives; Rippe said he was not aware of PILT payments going to the district.
The committee closed the hearing on LB 249 after soliciting proponent and opponent testimony; the record included one electronic opponent and no in-room opponents. No vote was taken during the hearing.
Next steps: LB 249 remains in committee for further consideration; senators asked staff to ensure complete fiscal notes and details on formula implementation before any committee advancement.
