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(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman, responding to repeated media requests, issued the following statement on the second-round advancement of LB 1024, the bill addressing educational opportunities and school district boundaries in metropolitan Omaha:
"What has been going on has extraordinary importance to metropolitan Omaha. The bill that senators have been discussing, LB 1024, secures the boundaries of each and every school district in Douglas and Sarpy counties. The intent of the bill is to end all of this talk about district boundaries, and force each of the metro area districts to sit down and communicate about what we should have been discussing all along -- ways to improve the education of Omaha's children.
"This bill is far from perfect, and I'll be honest, there are parts that make me nervous, and parts that would make me concerned as a parent. I have never been in favor of bringing Sarpy County into this fight, but the Legislature has made the extent of its will clear in two votes. I don't like the additional layer of administration that the learning community creates, but there have been no better solutions. I am also unsure of whether a breakup of OPS is necessary to pursue these aims, but it is consistent with my belief and reasoning that bigger is not always better. I would have preferred the simple and outright repeal of the old and previously abandoned law at the heart of "one city, one school district," and left the rest to local decision makers, but it was clear that no such legislative solution was possible.
"Over the last six months, positions have hardened into polar opposites, with one side claiming victory only with inaction and another claiming victory only with repeal. Learning communities that had once cooperated across boundary lines are no longer working together, and little genuine progress can be made because of a lack of trust. More than anything else, LB 1024 is a conduit to encourage constructive dialogue.
"Some legitimate concerns about the language and intent of LB 1024 were addressed last night before second-round passage, and I believe the bill was improved. While neither side won everything they sought, this bill, particularly with last night's amendments, secures both boundaries and future cooperation. It gets the focus back where it belongs, on the quality of education for Omaha's children.
"It is clear to me that the motivation behind this proposal is neither segregation, nor separation, but instead the goal of improving the education of all students. I know you want to know what I plan to do with this bill, but I am going to take the time today for one final review of the amended bill before announcing my decision.
"I would like to thank the Legislature for its very difficult work on LB 1024 throughout the course of the last two days. The tone and tenor of this debate reflected the challenges of addressing the ongoing boundary dispute in the Omaha metropolitan area, and senators are to be commended for their hard work to bring all parties to the table."
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