Nebraska lawmakers debate capping school district property tax requests

BEATRICE – A bill to restrict Nebraska school districts from raising property taxes by more than the greater of 2.5%, or the consumer Price Index for inflation, was being debated on Tuesday.  Senator Tom Briese’s LB 986 would factor in student growth and size of district…and seeks to decrease property tax requests if more state aid is received. It is his priority measure.

"Although inflation has been averaging about 1.75% per year during the past ten years, property taxes have been increasing at about 4.45% or roughly about 250% faster than inflation. And, I think it's unconscionable for us to allow this to happen. I don't think it is too much for us to ask schools to limit their askings."

Briese said the state is known for having some of the highest property taxes in the country.  "That's not conducive to attracting residents and growing our state. So, what are we going to do about it? Property tax relief requires a multi-faceted, multi-prong approach. One prong of that approach must be trying to control the increases in property taxes...and that's what LB 986 does...and it does it in a very reasonable, manageable way."

A revenue committee amendment that would become the bill, averages the CPI to minimize one-or-two- year swings….and clarifies non property tax revenue. Other amendments have been offered.

Senator Matt Hansen says Nebraska knows it is not putting enough money into the school aid formula, with strict restrictions on schools. He says the bill is a one-size-fits-all approach.  "School districts that are growing, aren't going to be able to grow. School districts that have special needs or special challenges are going to struggle. And, we are going to see this over and over again."

Senator Steve Lathrop says lawmakers often talk about the quality of education and criticize public schools…..but never say exactly what they want public schools to do about it.

"And, then we talk about caps. And, when we talk about caps, implicit in this conversation is that these school districts are wasting money. We can't trust them to do the right thing. But, no one is on this floor telling us where they think they're spending too much. What is it? Are they spending too much on school buses, transporting kids, the lunch room, teachers, paras, health insurance....all the things that go into running a school district?  So when we start talking about these caps, what do we think is going to happen after we put them in place? What if a school district has a huge surge in the health insurance premium?"

LB 986 was at the first round of consideration during Tuesday floor debate.