‘Hope': Omaha mother, daughters call to revive Nebraska school choice law
LINCOLN — An Omaha mother and her daughters encouraged state lawmakers Tuesday to revive school choice legislation to help thousands of other Nebraska families.
Christina Chvala of Omaha, flanked by her daughters — 14-year-old Olu, a high school freshman, and 13-year-old Lela, a seventh-grader — joined Nebraska state senators, a couple hundred young students and other advocates of school choice in Nebraska to revive legislation that, last summer, was 'synonymous with hope' to the Chvala family.
'One of the worst feelings as a parent is knowing your child, knowing where they are going to thrive and knowing what's best for them but not having the means to be able to plant them there,' Chvala said.
Chvala, a single mother for the past 10 years, said she is no stranger to strict budgets, family sacrifices of meticulously deciding spending priorities or savings and working long hours.
But last July, Chvala said, she broke down in tears after getting a confirmation email that Olu was eligible for an 'opportunity scholarship' to cover attendance costs at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all-girl, Catholic college-preparatory high school that Olu had set her sights on.
Part of the desire also stemmed from Olu's past experiences with racism and sexism.
Olu had asked early last year how she could get a job to help her mother, whose extra work and responsibilities took her away from being with her daughters at sports or the dinner table.
'I just believe that as a parent, my girls are too young to have to live with that anxiety of knowing whether or not they're going to be able to finish off their school year in the school that they love and in the environment that best fits their unique needs,' Chvala said.
The mother-daughter duo said Duchesne is now Olu's 'second home' as she's thriving and growing.
'I just want others like me to be able to experience that sense of belonging in a place that fits their needs perfectly,' Olu said at the news conference.
State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk, one of only four state senators whose District 19 voters three months ago voted to keep the latest school choice law, led Tuesday's event in honor of National School Choice Week.
His Legislative Bill 624 would reinstate Nebraska's most recent school choice program, which between July and December was housed in the Nebraska State Treasurer's Office, before 57% of Nebraskans voted to repeal the law. It appropriated $10 million annually for state-funded vouchers or scholarships to cover attendance costs at private K-12 schools.
About 4,500 students in 2024 benefited from that program or the Opportunity Scholarships Act of 2023, which was set up as a tax credit for private donors funding similar scholarships.
'I firmly believe that if we want to keep kids safe, help them reach their full potential and be vibrant members of our state, we must ensure that their K-12 education experience is the one that's best for them,' Dover said.
In passing the school choice legislation, we are continuing to send the message to my daughters, to these kiddos, to all of the families that are like us, that investing in the future of our children matters and that we as Nebraskans are committed to that.
– Christina Chvala, an Omaha mother
Another possibly revived proposal, LB 509 from freshman State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, would reinstate the Opportunity Scholarships Act that the Chvalas benefited from.
Lawmakers passed that law in 2023, preparing to lose up to $25 million annually in revenue for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to scholarship granting organizations.
School choice supporters in the Legislature replaced the tax credit law with the direct appropriation or vouchers partly because opponents, led by the Nebraska State Education Association representing thousands of public school teachers, had gathered thousands of signatures to repeal the original Opportunity Scholarships Act of 2023, the tax credit.
After that referendum qualified for the November 2024 ballot, Sorrentino's predecessor, former State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, led a legislative effort to place the second program in the State Treasurer's Office, at the smaller $10 million level, without built-in growth if there was high demand.
Sorrentiono's voters elected him in November, but 54.9% of voters in his district rejected the treasurer-based vouchers program. He is asking for a 'second chance' for the short-lived tax-credit law, and others like it.
I just want others like me to be able to experience that sense of belonging in a place that fits their needs perfectly.
– Olu Chvala, a 14-year-old recipient of a Nebraska opportunity scholarship
Sorrentino said Tuesday he is a Nebraska state senator, not just a District 39 senator in eastern Douglas County. He said he is following the lead from other districts like District 11 in North Omaha, one of the poorest in the state with the highest percentage of poverty for seniors and children. About 50.7% of voters in the North Omaha district voted to keep the program.
'I think it's every bit worth bringing it up again,' Sorrentino said, describing the policy efforts as a 'second chance.' 'I'll bring it up again until we get it right.'
Sorrentino and other lawmakers say they are undeterred by the election results, saying the law didn't fail because of the policy itself.
They say misinformation and millions in advertising from the teacher's union and others muddied the waters in a year of multiple ballot measures. Sorrentino said one thing he and others will continue to fight is the misperception that the programs take away from public education. He says they don't.
The laws are funded through the state's general pocketbook, which includes but is not limited to state aid to schools.
Opponents note the Nebraska Constitution prohibits state appropriations to schools 'not owned or exclusively controlled by the state or a political subdivision thereof.' Neither of the recent laws was challenged in court on those grounds.
Though supporters of the law didn't spend millions to preserve the voucher program, this time around they will get support from Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska, which announced a 'historic grassroots campaign' Tuesday designed to rally support for school choice in Nebraska.
The effort will include activists invested in 'keeping lawmakers accountable' statewide and 'waves' of print and digital advertisements. The goal is to ensure lawmakers continue to support the students who previously received state-funded or donor-funded scholarships.
'Powerful special interests have made it clear that they want to bully Nebraska kids and take away their ability to get the best education that fits their needs,' said John Gage, AFP-NE state director. 'We know that Nebraskans support school choice despite the millions of dollars in lies and deceit from narrow-minded pressure groups that care more about money than our kids getting a good education.'
Sorrentino, Chvala and others believe that if voters had more information and heard personal stories, the vote might have changed.
Families urge Nebraskans to retain state support to private schools
The NSEA and its allies have pledged to continue fighting, too, including if that means an 'annual summer habit' of collecting signatures to repeal recently passed laws.
'We joke about it, but in all seriousness, we will out-resolve them on this issue,' Tim Royers, president of the NSEA, told the Nebraska Examiner last week. '… If they don't get that point, yes, we will absolutely put this in front of the voters again.'
Royers and his counterparts in Wisconsin and Iowa have cautioned Nebraskans against allowing vouchers to begin in the Cornhusker State, which they say could lead to the state funding two education systems.
Dover said senators have to weigh what's important, which should be Nebraska children feel safe, happy and that they are able to thrive.
Chvala said that's where she wants to keep her focus, not on fear or dread but on 'building a legacy of hope' and being 'one step closer' to extending that benefit to more families.
'In passing the school choice legislation, we are continuing to send the message to my daughters, to these kiddos, to all of the families that are like us, that investing in the future of our children matters,' Chvala said, 'and that we as Nebraskans are committed to that.'
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