Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Metropolitan Community College and the state's five other two-year schools have signed on to a new formula being considered by the Nebraska Legislature for divvying up state money.
The proposal would allow the colleges to receive more state funding based on enrollment. It also would let them use 2 cents of their property tax levy for capital improvements, although the total allowable levy wouldn't change.
If passed, it is hoped the bill would end a feud between Omaha-based Metro and the other five colleges.
In return, the schools would be asked to meet goals set by the Legislature to get the additional funding. That figure would probably vary from year to year and depend on the state's financial situation.
"Across the country, many states have gone to performance-based funding," said Sen. Greg Adams of York, the sponsor of Legislative Bill 946. "We haven't done that here, but what we have done is say 'Hey, look, a certain portion of your new money is going to go to schools reaching these goals.'"
The first $87.9 million would be distributed just as it is now under a formula agreed to by the colleges. The proposed bill would affect any funding over that amount.
Adams acknowledged that in some years, additional funding might not be available; the full — and current — $87.9 million also might fall short in a tight budget year.
But if extra money were available, the bill would change the way it would be divvied up. Lawmakers would consider programs, enrollment and a three-year average "reimbursable education unit," which would take enrollment and course selection into account, in determining who got money and how much.
The bill will be up for a hearing Tuesday before the Education Committee.
The agreement is the latest attempt to tackle a longtime feud over the colleges' state funding that has fueled lawsuits and frustration on the part of lawmakers and the colleges themselves. College leaders have acknowledged that the Legislature would probably cut funding if the colleges continued feuding.
All six community colleges are on board with the plan, Adams said. He began meeting with officials from the colleges last summer, and a proposal evolved.
"We've been trying to work on resolving funding disputes for three years," Adams said. "This would not have happened had not been for the fact that each college had at least two people who showed up for our meetings. We didn't meet unless everybody was there."
In 2010, lawmakers reached a deal that gave Metro about $4 million more in state funding than it received the year before. The other schools got a smaller slice of the pie than they did before, leaving them financially strained.
Metro still stands to get more money under the new legislation — one of the ways to get the extra funding is to have strong enrollment, which arguably gives the large Metro an edge. Metro's board approved the proposal last month on a split vote of 5-4.
"It's a step in the right direction," said Steve Brock, vice chairman of Metro's board. "With state aid being such a precarious nature, we didn't want to continue to fight with the other community colleagues. It was in our best interest."
Metro board member Dave Newell disagreed, saying the proposal wouldn't guarantee additional state funding and wouldn't benefit Metro or taxpayers.
"It's a guise to make it look like it's a solution to the problem," Newell said.
The rural Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, on the other hand, would benefit, said Todd Holcomb, the school's president.
"It would give our college the chance to continue to grow and address some of the infrastructure needs that we need to address," he said. "It would give all community colleges a little more flexibility to meet their needs."
Holcomb said such legislation, had it been adopted earlier, might have prevented fighting among the schools.
"It's hard to say, and it's always easy to look in hindsight," he said. "But we might not have gone through those difficult years."
Contact the writer: 402-444-3100, maggie.obrien@owh.com
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