Former educator announces bid to succeed Penner on Nebraska State Board of Ed
Angie Eberspacher of Beaver Crossing is the first announced 2026 candidate for the District 5 seat on the State Board of Education held by Kirk Penner of Aurora, who says he will not seek a second term on the board. (Candidate photo courtesy of Eberspacher campaign | Penner photo courtesy of the Nebraska Department of Education | School bus photo by Rebecca Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — A former educator announced a campaign Wednesday for the Nebraska State Board of Education to succeed Kirk Penner of Aurora, who helped conservative candidates organize and win more races for the board in recent years.
Angie Eberspacher of Beaver City, a former member of Educational Service Unit 6, seeks to represent District 5 on the Board of Ed. While on the ESU board, Eberspacher said, she was a strong voice for fiscal responsibility and an advocate for students and teachers. She eventually served as chair. She said she is dedicated to ensuring a 'quality education' for all students.
Eberspacher is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with dual degrees in elementary education and early childhood education.
'I'm committed to supporting today's students and helping ensure the next generation has every opportunity to succeed,' Eberspacher said in a statement.
District 5 on the State Board consists of Butler, Clay, Fillmore, Franklin, Gage, Hamilton, Jefferson, Nuckolls, Pawnee, Polk, Richardson, Saline, Saunders, Seward, Thayer, Webster and York Counties, as well as portions of Lancaster County (south Lincoln and surrounding communities including Denton, Sprague, Hallam, Roca, Hickman, Firth, Bennet and Waverly).
The eight members of the State Board of Education generally oversee the Nebraska Department of Education. Terms in office are for four years.
Eberspacher said she plans to visit communities across her district to listen and focus on how to improve literacy and proficiency scores, recruit and retain quality teachers and strengthen academics. She said she also wants to be 'a voice for all parents' and promote spending restraint.
In 2023, Eberspacher testified at the Nebraska Legislature in support of a handful of conservative-led proposals, including opening up teachers or librarians to possible criminal penalties for distributing 'obscenity,' prohibiting certain medical care for minors with gender dysphoria, outlawing drag shows for minors, creating a 'Parents' Bill of Rights' in education and allowing public dollars to follow students to private K-12 schools (the 'My Student, My Choice Act').
Eberspacher and her husband of 36 years, Curt, own a farming operation in rural Beaver Crossing. The family has three adult daughters, a son-in-law and a granddaughter.
Penner on Wednesday confirmed to the Examiner that he is not seeking reelection. He has given his 'full endorsement' to Eberspacher and said her experience and dedication 'make her the right choice to continue advocating for students, parents and educators across the district.'
The race is officially nonpartisan, but Penner and Eberspacher are both Republicans. She previously worked as a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Republican Party. Penner was appointed to the State Board in December 2021 and won election in 2022 with 55% of the vote.
The State Board of Education is currently split 4-4 between Republicans and Democrats. The split has led some to advocate for giving the governor more control over the education bureaucracy. A January vote for board chair required 54 votes in January.
'I am excited to run for the Nebraska State Board of Education and hear from voters across District 5 about their vision for education in Nebraska,' Eberspacher said. 'I'm running to support Nebraska's students, teachers and parents, and to work toward a stronger education system for everyone.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Arizona Gov. Hobbs vetoes antisemitism bill, citing 'attack' on public schools
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have allowed students and their parents to sue K-12 and university teachers and potentially make them pay damages for teaching or promoting antisemitism. Hobbs announced the veto of House Bill 2867 in a letter June 10. In it, she said the bill was "not about antisemitism" but rather, "it's about attacking our teachers. It puts an unacceptable level of personal liability in place for our public school, community college, and university educators and staff, opening them up to threats of personally costly lawsuits." She rebuked the Legislature, writing, "It is disappointing to yet again see this Legislature single out and attack our public education system." The governor said despite the veto, she continues to stand with the Jewish community against hate and remains "committed to fighting antisemitism in all its forms." Students who experience antisemitism in the classroom already can report unprofessional conduct to the State Board of Education, Hobbs said. She said she was "confident that by using those tools, we can fulfill our moral and legal responsibility to eradicate hate and discrimination in our public school system." Hobbs also pointed to several Jewish groups that opposed the bill, including the National Council of Jewish Women Arizona, the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center and the Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project. HB 2867 would have prohibited teachers, administrators, contractors and volunteers at K-12 public schools and public or private universities from: teaching or promoting antisemitism; requiring students to advocate for anti-Semitic points of view; and receiving professional development "in any antisemitism" that creates a "discriminatory" or "hostile" environment. The proposal provoked concern from public-school advocates about exacerbating the teacher shortage and had raised red flags about First Amendment violations due to what the proposed law considered "antisemitism." The Arizona Education Association, the main teachers' union in the state, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona had urged Hobbs, a Democrat, to veto the bill. The teacher's union said the bill "weaponizes legitimate concerns about antisemitism to attack public education" by stripping teachers of professional liability protections. The ACLU said it would "chill the First Amendment rights of students, teachers, speakers and administrators" and target those who criticized Israel. The bill included specific examples of speech the state would have prohibited, which a Federal District Court in Texas said amounted to "viewpoint discrimination that chills speech in violation of the First Amendment" when used to punish university students. Arizona's bill mostly applied to teachers, but one provision targeted university student groups — a fact First Amendment expert Eugene Volokh said was "pretty clearly unconstitutional." Supporters of the bill, such as sponsor Rep. Michael Way, R-Queen Creek, said it was needed because existing anti-discrimination laws "either weren't clear enough or didn't contain the necessary enforcement mechanism to address this problem." Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Democrat from Tucson and co-sponsor of the bill, was another vocal proponent of the legislation. Neither she nor Way immediately responded to requests for comment regarding Hobbs' veto. Could teachers be sued? Under a bill on Hobbs' desk, Ariz. teachers could be sued for what they say in classroom Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@ or by phone at 480-476-6116. Seely's role is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Gov. Hobbs says antisemitism bill an 'attack' on schools

Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Qualifying begins with no announced candidates in Decatur District 5 council race
Jun. 10—With qualifying beginning Tuesday for the Aug. 26 municipal election, no one has announced plans to seek the District 5 Decatur City Council position. Incumbent Jacob Ladner announced in May that he will not seek reelection. Tony Vest, a Madison County sheriff's deputy, had announced he was running for the District 5 council seat but said Monday that he won't seek the office. "I was going to, but there's too much of a gray area between working in law enforcement and serving on the council," Vest said. "I have 10 years left in my career, and I can't afford to have an issue." Meanwhile, there's at least one announced candidate so far in each of the other races for the Aug. 26 municipal election. The races for mayor and District 4 council member are the most competitive. Billy Jackson, Kent Lawrence, Butch Matthews and Suzie Wiley are the announced candidates for mayor, with incumbent Tab Bowling deciding not to seek a third term. District 4 Councilman Hunter Pepper announced Monday that he is running for reelection in District 4. Josh Horton also announced recently that he is running for the seat. Their announcements mean there are four announced candidates in this race to represent the Southwest Decatur district. The other candidates are Pam Werstler and Angie Thom. At 18, Pepper was the youngest person ever elected to municipal office in the state and city. The 23-year-old now owns two small businesses. Horton, 33, is a marketing and media manager for Bryant Brothers Automotive & Performance. The father of five also owns Expedition Marketing, a private marketing and social media company. Pepper joins District 2's Kyle Pike and District 3's Carlton McMasters as incumbents running for reelection. Pike and McMasters do not have announced opposition so far. With Jackson not running for reelection to his council seat after representing District 1 for 29 years, Terrance Adkins and Nick Perkins said they plan to run for the seat. Board President Michelle Gray King said four of the five Decatur school board incumbents are running again and, so far, they are unopposed. The incumbents seeking reelection are District 1's King, District 2's Peggy Baggett, District 4's Dwight Jett Jr. and District 5's Jason Palmer. Local accountant Katye Coats is the only announced candidate in District 3. This district seat will be empty because Doug Bacchus isn't running again. He has a new job and is moving to Birmingham. City Clerk Stephanie Simon said qualifying begins Tuesday and runs through June 24. City Hall will be closed June 19 for the Juneteenth holiday. Candidates can qualify at her office daily from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The qualifying fee is $50. Candidates should fill out the state's Statement of Economic Interest form that's available at the Alabama Ethics Commission website and bring it with them when they qualify, Simon said. Simon said the candidate will be swearing that the information in the qualifying paperwork is correct. She said this includes showing their home address is in the district if he or she is running for City Council or a school board seat. Simon said the candidate must be 18, a registered voter and live in the city and/or district since May 28. — or 256-340-2432
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Nebraska Secretary of State announces re-election
LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) — Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced his re-election bid in Lincoln. He's served in his role since January of 2019. Evnen says if he's re-elected, he will work to make sure the state has free and fair elections, protect public safety on the Nebraska Board of Pardons, and cut the red tape for businesses. Story continues below Top Story: Local band to be featured on Saturday in the Park Main Stage Lights & Sirens: Part of roof collapses during fire at Dakota City boat dealer Sports: Falcons fly to history! West Sioux boys soccer wins first-ever IHSAA State title with 2-1 OT win against Van Meter Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here Evnen was previously a labor attorney and served on the State Board of Education for eight years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.