close
close
bxsonair

Families are calling on Nebraskans to maintain state support for private schools. • Nebraska Examiner

Posted on by Gerres
Families are calling on Nebraskans to maintain state support for private schools. • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Christina Chvala of Omaha remembers feeling trapped last year when she learned she was unable to financially help both of her daughters attend the private schools of their choice.

Chvala’s younger daughter, Lela, now a seventh-grader, was already attending a private school, but increased tuition made it difficult for her to continue her education. And Chvala’s older daughter, Olu, now a high school freshman, was referring to Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, a college-prep Catholic high school for girls.

“I had no idea how I would cope with it, and there was no time in the day for other work,” Chvala said. “I didn’t know what to do and I was faced with a sort of ‘Sophie’s Choice’ moment: OK, whose education should I receive?”

Christina Chvala takes a selfie with daughters Olu (left) and Lela at Small’s Fruit Farm in Mondamin, Iowa. (Courtesy of Christina Chvala)

Chvala has been a single mother for over 10 years. She met with a financial advisor, cut back on groceries and essentials, and tried to find financing, but support from both Olu and Lela seemed out of reach.

“And then I got this email and I just started crying,” Chvala said of learning that both of her daughters would receive “opportunity scholarships” “I knew I didn’t have to have this terrible conversation. I knew that then I could be a bringer of hope.

“For some people it’s so little, but for our little family it’s life-changing,” Chvala said, describing the scholarships as a “breath of fresh air” and “wind in our sails.”

Multi-million scholarships were distributed

Chvala is one of three mothers interviewed by the Nebraska Examiner who urged Nebraskans to vote “retain.” Referendum Measure 435 on Voting on November 5 retaining a major part of the state’s newest school choice law.

In total, these three families have nine children receiving “opportunistic scholarships” under Legislative Bill 753 passed in 2023 under the leadership of State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn. The first-of-its-kind program for Nebraska was designed as a $25 million annual tax credit to encourage contributions to scholarships for private elementary and middle schools.

During the 2024-25 school year, scholarships totaling $2.6 million, averaging $1,723, were distributed to 1,515 students.

The remainder of the donations will be sent to students for the next school year or to transfer students, according to a spokesman for Nebraska’s largest scholarship organization, Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska.

The organization received 965 tax credits totaling $9.53 million, ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. The average contribution was $9,800.

This program will officially end after Thursday. Linehan led the effort to end the program for LB 1402direct appropriations to the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office at a cost of $10 million annually. Nebraska State Treasurer Tom Briese will also distribute all scholarship funds to 4,000 families on Thursday.

If voters overturn LB 1402, any unspent funds would return to the state of Nebraska, as would any unclaimed tax credits, up to the $25 million limit under the previous law. Linehan is in his last year in the Legislature due to term limits.

“It’s not a public-private issue.”

Katie Zach, from Lincoln, said the scholarships meant hope and a chance for four of her six children, who receive £753 in funding, to attend a private school. Zach is a stay at home mom. Her children range in age from 6 months to 9 years. Her husband, John, is a teacher and coach at a private school.

Katie Zach with her children at her home in Lincoln. (courtesy of Katie Zach)

Zach said her family’s income is near the poverty line, so any small disruption could have devastating consequences.

“A little thing like the fridge breaking down that just happened is already tripping us up,” Zach said. “This type of relief makes a huge difference.”

“Thank God there are people who care about things like this making a difference,” Zach said of the scholarship funds.

Public school advocates say the state should not compensate for the cost of attending private schools, many of which are religious, because they have different standards than public schools and could pose a threat to future public school funding if program costs rise.

Zach said it’s not about whether the schools involved are public or private, but about better education for all children. She said her family had no real “choice” due to finances.

“At the end of the day, every family wants to have the same opportunity and the same ability to use the tool that is right for them,” Zach said. “It’s not a public-private issue. “It’s about lower-income families being able to give their children a chance.”

“A Punch in the Face”

Opponents of the programs note that public schools must follow nondiscrimination laws and admit all students, regardless of their special needs. But in the case of Ann Rief, a mother from around St. Paul, Nebraska, this did not include her son Azraeyl.

“It’s not the whole truth because we were rejected and it was because our son had special needs,” Rief said.

The Rief family takes a photo at Ponca State Park. From left, back row: Jacob Rief, Matt Rief, Ann Rief and Gabe Rief. Azraeyl Rief on the front. (courtesy of Ann Rief)

The Riefs, who have two sons in high school, served as Azraeyl’s foster parents before finalizing his adoption in July. They wanted to send him to the same school his older brothers attended, but Azraeyl had an individualized education plan.

Rief said the local school district he didn’t have the resources needed to help.

“It was like a slap in the face,” said Rief, whose family he no longer lived within the boundaries of this district. “Here we are, a solid family, wanting to send him back to a place where our boys had good experiences and to a public school that is close to our home. And when I heard no, it was difficult, discouraging and disappointing.”

A year later, Azraeyl entered kindergarten, and now he is thriving and catching up, Rief said. She said her family chose the school because it taught the “whole person” of Azraeyl, including faith, which is important to the familyand diversity to support Azraeyl, who is African American and “trying to find his place.”

Rief said she can’t help but think of other students who may come from trauma, are in foster care or come from minority communities and could benefit from a different environment but are unable to do so due to financial constraints.

“Providing these scholarships to enable foster parents, guardians or parents to make this choice is really huge for these children and their future,” Rief said.

Chvala and Zach said the prospect of scrapping the program is painful to think about and said parents question their life choices when they are unable to support their children.

“I will do anything for my children”

Chvala said her older daughter worked hard to receive an academic scholarship to Duchesne.

Olu worried about having to get a job or work summers at age 14 to help pay for her education, which her mother said would take away from her passion as a lacrosse player, which could help with her studies.

State Senator Lou Ann Linehan and Justin Wayne flank Governor Jim Pillen after he signed LB 753, the Opportunity Grants Act, which became law on May 30, 2023. (Courtesy of the Office of the Governor of Nebraska)

Linehan has often said that she never believed that if Nebraskans understood that they were “taking away hope” from children and parents, they would vote to repeal the program.

If that happens, Linehan said she thinks the legislation will come back in part because she believes Gov. Jim Pillen is “fighting for the long haul” and the thousands of families who will lose their scholarships will demand answers and changes.

Leaders of the Support Our Schools to Repeal LB 1402 campaign — Tim Royers of the Nebraska State Education Association and Jenni Benson, campaign leader — said they were not to blame for taking away the scholarships because Linehan voluntarily got rid of them LB753 to circumvent the referendum, already in the event of voting in 2024.

When asked about LB 1402, Royers and Benson pointed to the lack of accountability and transparency measures required by private schools and pointed to other states where the programs have not made a difference.

Chvala said she understands and respects where opponents of the law are coming from, and that she knows opponents do not claim to value her daughters’ education. But she said that wasn’t the message her daughters would hear. LB 1402 was defeated.

Instead, it will be that their dreams are worth having as long as they have the money.

“I will do anything for my children. It doesn’t really affect me,” Chvala said. “These are my daughters.

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.