LINCOLN — Lawmakers approved a settlement Monday to end a three-year funding feud between Metropolitan Community College in Omaha and Nebraska’s five other community colleges.
Sen. Greg Adams of York, chairman of the Education Committee, mediated a compromise accepted by leaders of all six community colleges. Forty senators voted Monday to advance Legislative Bill 946 to the second round of debate.
“Do all six gain something? Yes. Do all six give something up? Yes,” Adams said. “There you go, that’s the definition of compromise.”
The bitter dispute involved the formula used to distribute state aid money, which Metro officials argued did not fairly reflect their growing enrollments and the more academic nature of their course offerings.
They said, for example, the formula gave greater weight to other colleges for their expensive vocational technology offerings compared with Metro’s less costly book-and-lecture courses.
Under the compromise, the first $87.9 million in state aid allocated by the Legislature will be distributed to the six colleges under the existing funding formula.
If the Legislature increases state aid above $87.9 million, a portion of the money will be distributed using a new formula based on enrollment, faculty growth, course selection and other factors that were supported by Metro leaders.
The proposal deals primarily with the aid dollars that the state funnels to community colleges, but one provision also changes their property tax authority. It allows colleges to use up to 2 percent of their levy authority for revenue bonds to construct campus buildings but caps the levy at 11.25 percent.
Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln said he was concerned about what he called a precedent for funding capital improvements.
“It might cause other institutions of higher learning to want to do the same thing,” he said.
Nonetheless, such compromise appeared impossible several years ago, when the rift prompted Metro to withhold dues to the Nebraska Community College Association. That group then kicked the Omaha college out of the association.
Later, the Omaha college sued the other schools, accusing them of manipulating revenue figures in order to reduce state aid for Metro.
Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids said given all the sides involved in the negotiations, it’s remarkable that an agreement could be reached.
“Perfect is the enemy of good,” she said. “This is not necessarily a perfect formula, but it’s a good formula for now.”
Several senators praised Adams for bringing leaders from all six colleges to the bargaining table last summer and reaching a deal that will allow the schools to focus once again on their mission.
“Hopefully, this is a blood oath by community colleges to move forward without acrimony,” said Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk, speaker of the Legislature.
Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, joe.duggan@owh.com
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