archived: 30 Apr - 6 May, 2006 Back Next
CATHERINE LYNN*
“Moving To Iowa”
JUNKIE: TPJ readers may be aware that Nebraska enacted into law specific resegregation of schools in Omaha. The law, which was intended to resolve a school district boundary dispute between Omaha and its suburbs, will split the district into three. One is mostly white. One will be predominately black. The third district encompasses a large Hispanic population.
TPJ believes that Lynn’s wonderful article below is a clarion example of just how quickly constitutional rights; in this case the right to public education, can be lost.
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Hello
again from the red state Democrat who is embarrassed by what has happened here
in Nebraska! Before everyone decides we are all bigots, I would like to add
some background which all the newspapers ignore. This was a freak situation
where everyone got an opportunity to exact revenge, and in the final day of the
legislature, they didn't have time to cool off and consider what they were
doing. I hope this will help explain it.
Over the years, the legislature has forced small towns to consolidate schools.
This has made them very angry at the legislators from large communities who did
not want to continue paying for one room schools.
Next we have our only black legislator who has done so much through the years to
make sure the black community has a voice. Through the courts and legislation,
he forced Omaha to have districts for the City Council, County Commissioners and
School Boards instead of at large representatives. He has been tireless in
pushing for fairness in the legislature, but is not always tactful. As a
result, a term limits law was just passed and it will force him out in four
years. He undoubtedly sees this as an effort to get rid of him.
Lastly we have the Omaha Public School District, called OPS, which created a
wonderful bussing program years ago by court order. Several school districts
were created around Omaha and grew with white flight. The court order ended,
and OPS decided to return to neighborhood schools. The black community wanted
neighborhood schools and were promised the best teachers, smaller classes,
several new programs and enlarging the magnet school program. Magnet schools
were able to integrate a number of schools during the bussing years and are
still very popular. The test scores haven't gone up so the new programs are
seen as failures. Then OPS discovered a law that would make it possible to take
over all the school districts in Douglas County and announced it was going to do
this. Needless to say, the suburban districts were not happy about being
absorbed, the white flight parents were upset at having to be back in the big
school system, and OPS was not going to discuss options.
All this came together in our unique one house legislature which was going to
try to settle the One City One School controversy. Mr. Chambers saw it as his
opportunity to get revenge on a school system he felt failed poor children,
saying black educators could do a better job educating their own children. His
bill creates three systems, one in the heavily black area, one in the heavily
Hispanic area, and one suburban. He also commented that if the Omaha School
system had treated him right when he was growing up, he wouldn't be there
fighting it today. The out state legislators saw it as a great way to get back
at cities for messing with their schools, the suburban legislators saw it as a
way to avoid being absorbed by Omaha, and the Governor signed it as an
opportunity to get more votes. He replaced the elected Governor when he became
Secretary of Agriculture, and he is now trying to become the Republican
candidate. The Primary is in May and his opponent is our former football coach
Tom Osbourne. It is like running against God, but the issue has worked for him,
they are now tied in the polls.
Fortunately, the bill puts off the division until 2007, the various school
districts are talking now, out state legislators are having second thoughts, and
once the Primary is over, it won't be a political issue. This was all done in
the last moments of the yearly session, so by next year we'll have new
legislators, and it will be changed by them or the courts. If not, I may have
to move to Iowa where there are more Democrats.
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*CATHERINE LYNN is a lifelong resident of Omaha, a retired Art teacher, mother of two sons who are Democrats and married to a converted former Republican. She is from a family of Democrats with a maternal grandfather who was a friend and supporter of William Jennings Bryan and a fraternal grandfather who held local political office in Iowa. She has been active in local campaigns through the years.
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Last Update: 05/07/2006