Superintendent Press Release October 3, 2025
Dear Cedar Bluffs Families,
As of late September 2025, the State of Nebraska faces a $95.3 million shortfall in the current two-year budget cycle, following a spring scramble to close a $432 million deficit with temporary measures such as cash fund transfers and reduced spending. Those one-time maneuvers briefly created the appearance of a surplus, but the underlying challenges have persisted. In May and June alone, state tax revenues came in $86 million below forecast, erasing much of the progress that had been made. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Nebraska’s Gross Domestic Product fell by nearly 4 percent in the first quarter of 2025—the steepest decline in the nation, tied with Iowa. This contraction was driven largely by losses in agriculture, where drought, lower commodity prices, and weakened export demand combined to push farm income sharply downward. At the same time, the Big Beautiful Bill passed in mid-2025 are projected to cost the State of Nebraska an additional $216 million in lost revenue over the next two years.
Governor Pillen has responded by calling for a reduction of $500 million, in the next budget cycle. The chair of the Appropriations Committee has likewise warned that stricter spending controls will be necessary. With the state’s forecasting board expected to update revenue projections in October, the financial outlook remains grim: Nebraska is in contraction, not growth, and the resources available to fund essential services, including education, are shrinking.
Despite this, the Governor has chosen to opt Nebraska into a new, uncapped federal voucher program, a decision in direct contradiction to the state’s financial reality. On one hand, Nebraskans are told the budget requires belt-tightening and hundreds of millions in cuts to public services. On the other, the state is opening the door to unlimited subsidies for private school tuition, even for families earning over $200,000 a year. The Nebraska State Education Association has warned that this program diverts tax dollars to private schools without limits or accountability, disregards the will of voters who rejected vouchers at the ballot box only months ago, and undermines the fiscal discipline the governor himself has called for. The consequences for public schools are serious: every dollar spent on vouchers is a dollar lost to classrooms that serve all children, including those with disabilities, English learners, and families without the means to pay private tuition. Vouchers primarily benefit higher-income families and selective schools, creating inequity while adding a permanent new cost to a shrinking state budget. Even more troubling, many Nebraska communities—particularly rural areas—do not have private schools at all. Families in these districts will see their tax dollars leave home to fund private education in larger cities, while their own public schools struggle. This creates a system where rural taxpayers subsidize private education elsewhere while their children are left with fewer resources and fewer opportunities at home.
Nebraska cannot sustain two school systems on a shrinking budget. Public schools are already stretched thin while serving 90% of the children in the state. Diverting resources into an uncapped voucher program during a budget crisis is fiscally irresponsible and educationally damaging. Protecting the stability and strength of our public schools is not only a matter of fairness but also of ensuring the long-term success of every Nebraska student.
Have a great weekend! - Wildcat Pride