OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has a decision to make with the deadline for ballot certifications coming up. Both sides weigh in on whether the Save Our Schools petition should stay on the ballot.
- The Nebraska State Education Association believes public funding should stay with public schools.
- Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska believes the decision should be made by state senators.
- The deadline for ballot certification is this Friday.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Will state dollars stay with public schools or follow kids to private institutions? We are waiting on a decision on if the Nebraska Supreme Court will keep the Save Our Schools petition on the ballot or not. After hearing arguments on Tuesday, they'll have to decide and a deadline is looming. 3 News Now Reporter Jill Lamkins is talking to those on both sides of the issue to hear why or why not they think it should stay on the ballot.
We talked with Tim Royers, the president of the Nebraska State Education Association who believes public funding should stay with public schools and that the people should have a say.
"The Nebraska constitution is very clear that whenever the legislature passes a law, the people reserve the right to refer that to the ballot. So if we ever think as people that the legislature passed a law that was bad, if we collect enough signatures like we did, then we can put it on the ballot. So that way the voters can decide if we should repeal that law."
On the opposing side, Lauren Gage with Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska believes the decision should be made by state senators.
"You have to have 33 senators say yes, this is a good use of our tax dollars and 33 of those state senators said this is a good idea, more kids need a chance. And although the voice of the people is really important, it is really important. They elected those state senators."
Some families are already receiving these scholarships. Removing the question from the ballot removes the risk of losing this state money.
"Education is a responsibility of the state government. And this is just a way to give more kids a chance,” said Gage.
"It's because they know that if this gets to the people, if it gets to the voters, the voters will ultimately reject the idea of diverting public dollars to private schools,” said Royers.
In this case, only one side can get their way but both are anticipating the decision to be in their favor.
The Nebraska Supreme Court has a decision to make with the deadline for ballot certification this Friday.
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