OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Westside Community School District announced on Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit against Omaha Public Schools in an effort to recover funds that were overpaid to the school system, city and Douglas County.
Back in July, Westside took the Douglas County Treasurer to court after the office made a series of errors while divvying out money that was in lieu of tax payments from Omaha Public Power District.
The school district stated that they are seeking to secure more than $10 million of lost revenue. In 2021 alone, Douglas County stated Westside was underpaid by $3.7 million and OPS was overpaid $5.7 million.
A statement further read, in part:
"While we value our relationship with Omaha Public Schools, ultimately, our responsibility is to you, our stakeholders and taxpayers, as well as our students and staff. That money is imperative in our mission to promote student achievement and success, to fairly compensate our dedicated teachers and staff, and to improve the safety and infrastructure of our schools and facilities."
An attorney representing the district issued the following statement:
"Through no fault of their own, the Westside Community Schools was underpaid for a period of time for monies that were wrongfully paid to the Omaha Public Schools, City of Omaha and Douglas County. Efforts and amicable inquiries to Omaha Public Schools leadership to resolve this situation have been ignored.
Accordingly, the Westside Community Schools has no other choice but to seek relief in the Douglas County District Court to get these monies returned to those to whom were rightfully entitled."
Omaha Public Schools responded in a statement:
“All school districts share a common goal to prepare the children of our community for success. As Nebraska’s Auditor of Public Accounts has stated, the errors at the heart of Westside Community Schools’ filing were made by the County Treasurer. That is why the Omaha Public Schools chose to initiate its action in Sarpy County against the Treasurer rather than our fellow school districts. Our district has not yet been formally served with legal paperwork and we will remain relentlessly focused on educating the young people we serve."
It is unusual to see school districts file suit against another district but the Westside parents 3 News Now spoke to said it's the right move to make.
“I don’t love the fact that is the action that needs to be taken but its funding that is owed to the district and its well within their rights to put that money back where it belongs,” said Doug Parsonage, a parent of two current Westside students.
For Westside the misallocated funds mean lost opportunities to promote student success, compensate and retain staff and improve school safety and infrastructure and parents like Parsonage say it's frustrating to think of the support students could have received if the funding was disbursed correctly.
“Fortunately this school district has really engaged parents to step up and do things to support, whether its athletics or clubs, I feel like we have funded our kids really well outside of that but at the same time its frustrating that it's not with us at this moment,” said Parsonage.
RELATED: Westside schools sue Douglas County Treasurer, wants money from missed payments
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