Wind in the sails of good teachers

Don't expect alternative energy to be a cash cow any time soon, but a bill that would tap in to wind power, generated on school lands, has merit.

LB1014, introduced by Sen. Ken Haar of Lincoln, would create a fund with money from wind-energy leases on land owned by the Board of Educational Lands and Funds, which would then be paid out to teachers who were performing well.

Money from solar-energy leases and carbon sequestration also could be put into the fund.

Established in 1867, the Board of Educational Lands and Funds oversees about 1.3 million surface acres and 1.66 million subsurface acres, collecting rents on 3,200 agricultural leases and 250 mineral leases.

Income from the land goes into the Temporary School Trust Fund, which is distrubuted annually to K-12 public schools on a per-pupil bases. Proceeds from land sales and mineral royalties go into the Permanent School Trust Fund, which is managed by the Nebraska Investment Council, which pays interest income to the temporary fund.

Tapping into a potential new stream of "green" income, in addition to the traditional income, seems like an innovative thing to do.