Exclusive: Lawsuit Claims Learning Community Unconstitutional
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A legal move to stop the newly created Learning Community in its tracks, is off and running.
Nebraska Watchdog has learned that a lawsuit has been filed claiming that the Learning Community, a super school board comprised of all 11 school districts in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit filed by the Sarpy County Farm Bureau and eight other defendants, including former Papillion LaVista school board member Gene Kelly, asks the Nebraska Supreme Court to declare the Learning Community null and void.
The suit also asks the high court to stop the collection or distribution of any property taxes funding the board. The Learning Community was created by the Nebraska Legislature and signed into law by Governor Dave Heineman in 2006. It was designed to resolve educational and boundary issues among several school districts in the Omaha metropolitan area.
Don Stenberg
Former Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg is the attorney for the Farm Bureau. In the lawsuit Stenberg, who is expected to run for Nebraska State Treasurer next year, claims that eight of the 11 school districts are being over taxed.
According to Stenberg the Elkhorn School District is hit the hardest, overtaxed $935,158. Stenberg also says taxpayers in the Omaha School District are also being taken advantage of to the tune of $485,028. The lawsuit says the three districts receiving more tax dollars than they deserve are Millard ($2,590,434), Westside ($738,196) and Ralston ($489,609).
Stenberg is asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, instead of filing in a lower District Court, arguing that the case involves the Nebraska Constitution and “directly affects Nebraska property taxpayers and residents who make up more than one-third of the total population of the State.”
Editor’s Note: To see a copy of the lawsuit click here. To see a copy of additional legal information in the case click here.
Reported by Joe Jordan, joe@nebraskawatchdog.org
Posted under News, State Politics.
Tags: Dave Heineman, Don Stenberg, Elkhorn Public Schools, Gene Kelly, Learning Community, Millard Public Schools, Nebraska Supreme Court, Omaha Public Schools, Ralston, Westside
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Chambers Rips Stenberg and Learning Community Lawsuit
[...] Editors note: To see Nebraska Watchdog’s initial report click here. [...]
2:02 pm on October 21st, 2009
Right on Don Stenberg! We don’t need no stinking learning community. It’s very unfair to some districts, very wasteful of taxpayer dollars, and was motivated mainly by the desire of the legislature to pander to Ernie Chambers, mostly out of fear. It shows little prospect of improving test scores.In fact, Kermit Brashear, high-priced counsel for the learning community, has stated that we can expect no results from the learning community for “a decade. ”
If the legislature really wants to improve test scores among disadvantaged students, it will pass a charter school law.Charters such as KIPP, have been able to greatly improve test scores among disadvantaged students in four years, and at far less cost than regular public schools.Charters save taxpayer money. The learning community is a money trap, little more.