Education funding dominates questions during Sheehy visit

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Education funding dominated the question-and-answer session of a visit from Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy, Thursday afternoon at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport. Sheehy's visit was scheduled to highlight priorities identified in Governor Dave Heineman's annual "State of the State Address," given earlier in the day in Lincoln, as well as his proposed two year budget.

Mayor Dennis Berry told Sheehy he was concerned with the effect that proposed reductions in state aid, to elementary/secondary schools and their communities, would have. "It needs to be looked at and the impact on schools and their communities considered," said Berry. Sheehy said that K-12 education funding was not proposed to be reduced and would actually see an increase next year, but was met with argument from Berry and Superintendent Grant Norgaard. Norgaard emphasized that the state aid level being matched in the proposed 2011-13 budget was an amount that was previously reduced, then subsidized by stimulus dollars, explaining that with the stimulus dollars gone, the remaining amount was a reduction from previous years state aid.

Sheehy acknowledged the complexities of the budget and said that every year the education budget seems to get tweaked a little, with losers and winners shifting. He encouraged everyone to communicate with Representative Mark Christensen regularly.

City Manager Kurt Fritsch was told that aid for cities and local entities was removed entirely from the budget, meaning city staff may have to respond to the loss of $63,000 budgeted into McCook's fiscal year 2010-11 budget. Fritsch later told the Gazette that accommodating the loss of state aid may be as simple as reducing the citys ending balance the first year, but added that it was only a proposed budget and would wait to see what was finalized.

Sheehy told Jim Ulrich, McCook Community Hospital CEO, that provider rates would be decreased by five percent this year and next year were planned to be flat, when asked about the effect of Heineman's proposed budget on Medicaid.

In Heineman's proposed budget $8.5 million will be put toward a Virtual High School program, led by the Nebraska Department of Education and the University of Nebraska. According to Sheehy the program is designed to expand learning beyond the traditional school day, allowing for evening and weekend education opportunities.

$25 million is budgeted to be invested in Innovation Campus, which Sheehy described as an effort that will attract new students and faculty to the University of Nebraska Campus, as well as facilitate partnerships.

Sheehy said the proposed budget was developed with input from citizens taken into consideration, stating the three priorities communicated were creating jobs, improving the economy and strengthening education.