Nebraska school system

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The Nebraska public school system (prekindergarten-grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards members and superintendents. Nebraska has a total of approximately 277 school districts.

The Nebraska state constitution requires that the state legislature "free instruction in the common schools of this state of all persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years."[1]

[edit] School revenues, expenditures and budget

See also: Nebraska state budget
Nebraska's education costs are 31% of the state budget

The finalized 2009-2010 statewide budget for the state of Nebraska is $3.38 billion. Education accounts for $1.05 billion, 31.07%, of the total statewide budget.[2] In 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Nebraska received a total of $234 million in education stabilization funds.[3]

[edit] Personnel salaries

In the 2008-2009 school year Nebraska school system had approximately 24,332 teachers with an average of 15.19 years of experience. The average Nevada teacher salary in the 2008-2009 school year was $44,954, a $1,325 increase from the 2007-2008 school year.

The table below outlines the average teacher salary, years of experience and total number of teachers for the 2003-2004 through 2008-2009 school years.[4]

School year Avg. salary Avg. yrs of experience Total # of teachers
2003-2004 $40,090 15.59 19,950
2005-2006 $40,382 15.62 23,587
2006-2007 $40,382 15.49 23,839
2007-2008 $43,629 15.30 24,193
2008-2009 $44,954 15.19 24,332

[edit] Role of unions

The main union related to the Nebraska school system is the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA). NSEA is the largest education association in the state. For the 2003 tax period NSEA had: $6.74 million in total revenue, $6.82 million in total expenses and $3.43 million in total assets.[5]

List of local Nebraska school unions:[6]

[edit] Role of school boards

The State Board of Education was established in 1869. It is comprised of eight board members, all of which are elected on a non-partisan ballot and serve four-year terms. Each board member represents one of the eight districts throughout the state.[7] The board is responsible for setting the policy for education throughout the state, as well as working with the state legislature to improve education.[8] [9]

[edit] Taxpayer-funded lobbying

See also: Nebraska taxpayer-funded lobbying

The main education taxpayer-funded lobbying organization is the Nebraska Association of School Boards.

[edit] Transparency

See also: Nebraska transparency headlines

NebraskaSpending.com is the name of the publicly available website created by the Nebraska government. It discloses information about how the state spends taxpayer dollars, and includes data on agency expenditures and contracts. Nebraska Spending was created at the initiative of State Treasurer Shane Osborn in July, 2007.[10]

[edit] Reports

A 2009 study, Leaders and Laggards, conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for a Competitive Workplace, Frederick M. Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, and the Center for American Progress, gave Nebraska: "B" in academic achievement; "D" in truth in advertising about student proficiency; "D" in rigor of standards; "C" in post-secondary and workforce readiness; "C" in for its teacher workforce policies; "C" in data quality.[11]

[edit] Academic performance

The chart below details the number of schools that made and did not make the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for school years 2002 through 2009. AYP is used by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program to determine the academic performance of schools. In the 2008-2009 school year 93.56% of students met Reading AYP requirements and 93.66% met Mathematics AYP requirements.[12]

School year Reading (%) Mathematics (%)
2002-2003[13] 83.08% 81.73%
2003-2004[13] 85.17% 87.16%
2004-2005[14] 88.49% 89.62%
2005-2006[14] 87.38% 87.61%
2006-2007[15] 89.82% 90.15%
2007-2008[12] 91.97% 92.24%
2008-2009[12] 93.56% 93.66%

[edit] School choice

School choice options include:

  • Charter schools: the state of Nebraska does not have a charter school law.[16]
  • Public school open enrollment: the state of Nebraska has one open enrollment policies: inter-district. In other words, students are permitted to enroll in any school in any alternative district in the state.[17] [18] Additionally, Nebraska has a home school program.[19]
  • Online learning: the state of Nebraska has one statewide online program, the Distance Education Council, which was established in 2009. Approximately $1 million was used to set up the online program and scheduling system. However, for yearly maintenance and necessities, the legislature appropriated $330,000 annually for the online program.[18] [20]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Nebraska Constitution,"Article VII, Section 1," retrieved November 18, 2009
  2. ↑ Nebraska State Budget Division,"General Fund Appropriations Summary, 2009-2011 Biennium," retrieved November 18, 2009
  3. ↑ Nebraska Recovery Site,"State Fiscal Stabilization Fund - Education," retrieved April 8,2009
  4. ↑ Nebraska Department of Education,"2008-2009 State of the Schools Report," retrieved November 18, 2009
  5. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Nebraska State Education Association," retrieved November 17, 2009
  6. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Nebraska teachers unions," retrieved November 17, 2009
  7. ↑ Nebraska Department of Education,"Background of the Nebraska State Board of Education," retrieved November 18, 2009
  8. ↑ North Dakota Department of Education,"Duties of the state board of education," retrieved November 18, 2009
  9. ↑ Nebraska Constitution,"Article VII, Section 2," retrieved November 18, 2009
  10. ↑ National Taxpayers Union, "Taxpayer Group Applauds South Carolina Governor, Nebraska Treasurer for Putting State Spending Online," October 10, 2007
  11. ↑ U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute,"Nebraska Education Report Card," retrieved November 16, 2009
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Nebraska Department of Education,"Federal Accountability: Adequate Yearly Progress 2008-2009," retrieved November 18, 2009
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Nebraska Department of Education,"Federal Accountability: Adequate Yearly Progress 2003-2004," retrieved November 18, 2009
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Nebraska Department of Education,"Federal Accountability: Adequate Yearly Progress 2005-2006," retrieved November 18, 2009
  15. ↑ Nebraska Department of Education,"Federal Accountability: Adequate Yearly Progress 2006-2007," retrieved November 18, 2009
  16. ↑ The Heritage Foundation,"School Choice in Nebraska," retrieved November 17, 2009
  17. ↑ Education Commission of the States,"Open Enrollment: 50-State Report," retrieved November 17, 2009
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Nebraska Department of Education,"Enrollment Options," retrieved November 17, 2009
  19. ↑ Nebraska Department of Education,"Exempt (home) schools," retrieved November 18, 2009
  20. ↑ Network Nebraska,"Nebraska's distance-education network enhances learning opportunities," February 2009
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Nebraska school system
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