Learning community opt-out proposed

Learning community school districts could terminate their membership under a bill heard by the Education Committee Feb. 10.

LB481, introduced by Papillion Sen. Bill Kintner, would enable any school district that is a member of a learning community to opt out of membership with a majority vote of the district’s board of education. Kintner said a district should be able to leave the community if it no longer serves the needs of its students.

“If you’re serving the people you’re supposed to be serving, all schools will want to be part of it,” he said. “And if you’re not, [the school districts] should be able to opt out.”

Any school district wishing to opt out of the learning community would be required to notify the learning community coordinating council and state commissioner of education at least six months in advance of the planned withdrawal.

Papillion-La Vista Superintendent Andrew Rikli spoke in favor of the bill, saying that even though his district has consistently opposed the learning community, it would like to be part of the solution going forward.

“We do believe there are some serious flaws. We don’t believe the funding formula is working for our school district,” he said. “If [the learning community] doesn’t meet the needs of a local school district, that district should have the ability to opt out.”

Ted Stilwill, chief executive officer of the Omaha Learning Community, opposed the bill. He said that any school district leaving the community would harm the community’s progress.

“You need participation by all affected to make the collaborative effort work,” he said. “The excellent work we’re seeing with regard to elementary education would begin to fall apart if too many districts were to fall away from that effort.”

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.