TEEOSA Aid Up 6.5 % Next School Year
Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA) aid to Nebraska’s 244 school districts will equal just over $1.06 billion in school year 2019-20, an increase of 6.5 percent or $65.5 million over aid distributed last year. The figures come from the May 29 state aid certification by the Nebraska Department of Education.
TEEOSA aid includes equalization aid, allocated income tax rebate, option funding, and other forms of aid, but does not include dollars distributed for special education or the property tax credit program. Omaha Public Schools and Lincoln Public Schools will receive the most state aid in 2019-20, receiving $291 million and $135 million respectively. Together, the two schools account for 40 percent of total TEEOSA aid distributed and 30 percent of the formula students. McPherson County and Loup County Schools will receive the least amount of aid, $5,546 and $7,139, respectively. Of the state’s 244 school districts, 62 schools will receive less aid compared to 2018-19 and 182 schools will receive more.
The largest portion of TEEOSA aid, 84 percent, comprises of equalization aid. Equalization aid is calculated by subtracting a district’s needs from its local resources, primarily property taxes. In school year 2019-20, equalization aid will increase $51 million to total $899 million. The increase is mostly due to a reduction of the local effort rate (LER), or tax levy, by which a school’s property tax resources are calculated in the TEEOSA. The reduction, from $1.0203 to $1.00, lowered schools accountable local resources. Partly because of the LER adjustment, an additional 12 districts will receive equalization aid. Otherwise, most of the additional equalization aid will flow to the 69 schools which already received equalization aid in 2018-19. “Equalized” schools, those which receive equalization aid, comprise 33 percent of the state’s schools in 2019-20. For more information on the amount of TEEOSA aid your school district will receive, click here.
