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State education commissioner says NDE error caused $30 million TEOSA miscalculation; board members spar over characterization
Summary
Commissioner Maher told the State Board of Education an internal reporting change led to TEOSA overpayments, identified three districts facing large prior corrections, and described steps to fix data processes; a heated exchange followed after a board member used the word "stole" to describe the effect on other districts.
Commissioner Maher told the Nebraska State Board of Education on Dec. 5 that an internal change to how the department calculates TEOSA — the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act distribution — caused an overstatement of free lunch counts and resulted in a significant recalculation of state aid. "The mistake is that of the Nebraska Department of Education," Maher said, explaining that a reporting update added an identified student percentage (ISP) and a 1.1 multiplier but that the department had continued to use raw CEP counts without applying that adjustment.
Maher said three districts will see significant negative prior corrections as a result of the recalculation: Omaha Public Schools, Grand Island Public Schools and Southern Public Schools in Wymore. He warned that exact dollar…
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