THE CONFERENCE:
Candidate Survey (11/2006)
making (1/06)
Statement (2/05)
-Capitol
Correspondent:
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Life Insight:
Columns-2008
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Throughout this website, the NCC provides links to other websites solely for the user's convenience. By providing these links, the NCC assumes no responsibility for, nor does it necessarily endorse the websites or organizations linked.
PARENT ADVOCATE Vol. 11, No. 3, Dec. 2004, Aug. 2004, April 2004
From Academics to Athletics, Catholic Schools Excel!
Blue Ribbon School
Omaha’s St. Vincent de Paul School is one of 50 private schools across the country named by the U. S. Department of Education as A Blue Ribbon School. To qualify for the award, the students at the private school have to collectively achieve test scores in the top 10 percent on nationally standardized tests.
The school, located at 144th and West Maple Streets in Omaha, provides a quality Catholic education to about 780 students in grades K-8. Like most Catholic schools, parent volunteers are a big part of the school’s success story, staffing the cafeteria and playground, maintaining the grounds, and helping out in the classrooms and main office.
The No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. Paraphrasing Secretary of Education Rod Paige at the national recognition ceremony, Blue Ribbon schools are the very best in the country.
There are well over 100,000 public and private schools in the country. Of those schools, fewer than 300 can claim to be Blue Ribbon Schools. That's less than half a percent. Congratulations!
Cadillac Performance on a Chevrolet Budget
About 100 blocks away from St. Vincent de Paul, on the northeast side of Omaha at 43rd and Fort Streets, St. Richard School provides an academically rich, faith-based education in a safe environment to approximately 170 mostly non-Catholic children. Featured in a recent Omaha World-Herald story, St. Richard School embraces neighborhood children from all faiths. More than three-fourths are Protestant, mostly Baptist and Pentecostal. Many of the Protestant students from St. Richard go onto high school at Roncalli Catholic High School, according to St. Richard principal Sue McCaslin.
More than sixty percent of students attending St. Richard School receive free or reduced priced lunches through the federal meal program for low-income families. Although the per-pupil cost at St. Richard is about half that of the lowest-spending public school district in the metro-Omaha area, according to the World-Herald, the students consistently achieve above the national average on standardized tests.
Math Whizzes
Speaking of above-average students, at the 15th annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln Math Day, Catholic school students demonstrated their above-average skills at solving complex math problems in a competition involving 103 Nebraska schools. Teams from Kearney Catholic, Grand Island Central Catholic, Omaha Creighton Prep, Omaha Skutt Catholic, Elkhorn Mount Michael and Lindsay Holy Family all came away in first or second place in their respective class divisions in various competitions.
Extracurricular Champs
And finally, as if achieving above average results on standardized tests and other academic challenges weren’t enough, Catholic school students also demonstrate their above-average prowess in athletic competitions. Catholic schools won state football championships in five out of the state’s six classes this fall: Omaha Creighton Prep (Class A), Lincoln Pius X (Class B), Norfolk Catholic (Class C1), North Platte St. Patrick (Class C2), and Lindsay Holy Family (Class D2).
Catholic schools also won state volleyball championships in two classes and were runners-up in three. West Point Central Catholic and Humphrey St. Francis took state in Class C2 and D1 respectively, and Lincoln Pius X, Columbus Scotus, and Fremont Bergan were runners-up in Class B, C1 and D1.
In addition, Omaha Creighton Prep and Omaha Skutt
Catholic dominated the boys tennis circuit, winning state championships in their
respective classes; and Omaha Marian and Lincoln Pius X won state championships
in girls cross country. Congratulations!
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Title V Saved at Lower Level Congress passed a year-end spending bill that includes $200 million for Title V, thus restoring in part, the program that House and Senate appropriations committees had once earmarked for elimination. Congress cleared funding in Title V even while appropriators were forced to scale back spending for education due to overall budget restraints. Instead of the nearly $59 billion education package proposed in the Senate and the $57.6 adopted in the House, Congress ultimately approved $57 billion in education spending, still the highest level in history. The Title V
funding within the context of a downsized education budget was the
direct result of an energetic and extensive advocacy campaign to
pressure Congress to reinstate the popular program. The private school
community and some important segments of the public school community
joined forces to encourage grassroots contacts with members of
Congress. CAPE's Legislative Action Center alone logged well over 7,500
e-mail messages to Congress on this issue. And the effect was
remarkable. In the end, even appropriators who originally approved the
program's eradication played a critical role in restoring funds.
Council on American Private Education (CAPE) Update -- November 21, 2004 * * * * * * * * * * The directors and staff of the NFCSP want to extend their thanks to all of the Nebraska Catholic school administrators, teachers and parents who contacted the Nebraska Congressional delegation in response to the call to action included in the August issue of Parent Advocate and the Action Alert sent to schools and NFCSP liaisons in early November. |
GUARDIAN ANGELS STUDENT SPEAKS AT THE ARCHBISHOP’S DINNER
Laura Kreikemeier, the daughter of Kelly and Patricia Kreikemeier of West Point was chosen by Sister Mary Ann Tupy, Guardian Angels Grade School Principal, to speak at the 27th Annual Archbishop’s Dinner for Educational Development on September 23, 2004 at the Omaha Hilton. Laura, pictured here with Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss, was asked to share her thoughts on “What Catholic Education Means to Me”. At this dinner Catholic Educators and Administrators from throughout the Omaha Archdiocese were honored for their years of service and dedication to Catholic Education. Here is Laura’s speech.
Hi, I am Laura Kreikemeier, an eighth grader at Guardian Angels in West Point. Catholic education is a major part of my life. This includes my upcoming Confirmation, my core classes, the priests and nuns in my school, the sacraments we celebrate, and the influence of my parents and grandparents. Since I’m celebrating my Confirmation this year, I have been active with my service hours. Once I am done with them all, I will have completed five hours each for the Church, School, Community, Home, and Elderly. I think this is a great way for me to practice volunteering, as I know I will use this well into the future. It also exposes me to some hands-on religion.
In School, two of the classes I enjoy are English and Computer. I also get to help update our school website using Microsoft Front Page. I update calendars, newsletters, and seasonal events. It gives us a chance to keep up with the world around us. I also take algebra at Central Catholic High School along with four other students in my grade. Every other week, Fr. Gerry or Fr. Frank comes into our classroom for a different kind of religion class. You see, we get to ask questions about the lessons you don’t always get out of a book. We have talked about our individual opinions on vocations and the history of our Church, St. Mary’s. In one class, we even had an open discussion about how to apply a parable to our everyday lives.
Here at Guardian Angels, we also have three Nuns - our Principal, Sr. Mary Ann, our music teacher, Sr. Carol Ann, and our math tutor, Sr. Collette. Having these sisters in our school helps set the example of vocations to our students. Not many Catholic Schools today have any nuns active in their school like I do, so we are very fortunate. As a school, we celebrate Mass twice a week. We participate in the Mass as lectors, song leaders, choir members, and even student musicians. Last year, I got to play a clarinet solo in Mass. We also celebrate Reconciliation twice a year, which is something I’ll practice throughout my life. One advantage in a Catholic School is our right to express ourselves through prayer. For example: on 9/11, Guardian Angels and Central Catholic joined in Church to pray a rosary. This was a great experience for me personally because it united our two schools more than ever. You could just feel the presence of it while we prayed. It truly was a calming feeling from the events that had happened earlier that day.
Now, I believe I was meant to be educated in a Catholic school before I was born. One of my grandmothers, Dorothy Kreikemeier, boarded with the nuns during the school week when she went to St. Wenceslaus in Dodge. My grandfather, the late Bob Kreikemeier, went to St. Boniface Country Grade School in Monterey. My other grandmother, Virginia Spethman, attended Our Lady of Lourdes Grade School and Duchesne Academy for high school and college. My other grandfather, Richard Spethman, went to St. John’s Grade School and Creighton Prep High School. He also attended Creighton University for law school. Combined, my grand-parents sent 17 children to be educated in Catholic grade schools, high schools, and colleges. After the giving example my grandparents set for my parents, it doesn’t surprise me that they too sent their children to a Catholic School. My mother went to Saint Joan of Arc for grade school and Marian High School here in Omaha. She also graduated from the College of St. Mary. My father, like his, went to St. Boniface and then to Central Catholic High School; that is where I am going next year.
As you can see,
Catholic education has and will continue to be a major part of my life. I have
been taught many morals and values that will stay with me forever. From my
everyday classes to the influences of those around me, my Catholic faith has
become rooted deep inside me, somewhere that has touched my soul and given me a
deeper understanding of God.
Laura Kreikemeier – 8th Grader at Guardian Angels Grade School
Nebraska Federation of Catholic School Parents
18,000 Parents and Supporters committed toIdentity * Unity * Collaboration * Empowerment * Identity * Unity * Collaboration * Empowerment
 | ADVOCATE for parental choice in education without economic penalty as a just and viable means of assuring well-educated citizens. |
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INFORM the Catholic School community about public policy affecting Catholic School students and parents. |
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MOBILIZE the Catholic School community to communicate with legislators and other public officials regarding educational rights and public policy. |
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ENHANCE the advocacy efforts of the Nebraska Catholic Conference with a visible, well-informed Catholic education network in Congressional and legislative districts across the State. |
Working With Parents – Working For Parents
ESA’s and 529 Plans Can Help Pay for Education
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Coverdell Educational Savings
Accounts (ESA’s), and the State of Nebraska’s College Savings Plan (529
Plan) both provide tax-advantaged opportunities to help pay for
educational expenses. Parents, grandparents, and others can invest
funds into either or both of these investment vehicles for the benefit
of their children and grandchildren. The key differences between the
two are that Coverdell ESA’s can be used for K-12 expenses in addition
to higher education expenses, while the State’s College Savings Plan
provides for a tax deduction for contributions and higher contribution
limits.
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Plan |
College Savings Plan of Nebraska (529 Plan) |
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESA'S) |
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Are contributions tax deductible? |
Yes. Nebraska Residents can receive a State income tax deduction for up to $1,000 per return for contributions to the plan. | No |
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Is there a contribution limit per beneficiary? |
Currently $250,000 | $2,000 per individual per year. |
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How are distributions for qualified education expenses taxed? |
Withdrawals for qualified higher education expenses are tax-free including accrued interest. | Withdrawal for qualified education expenses are tax-free, including accrued interest. |
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How can funds be used? |
Funds can be used at eligible public and private post-secondary schools nationwide. | Funds can be used at eligible public and private schools nationwide, including K-12 expenses. |
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How do I set one up? |
Contact the College Savings Plan of Nebraska at 1-888-993-3746 or log onto www.PlanForCollegeNow.com | Contact your local financial institution. |
PARENTAL CHOICE IN EDUCATION
Nebraska Parents who educate their children in non-government schools for religious or
other reasons should be able to:
1. exercise, without economic penalty, their parental rights and responsibilities to choose the education they deem best for their children;
2. obtain economic recognition for the substantial cost savings they provide the State and its govern-mental subdivisions by educating their children in non-governmental schools;
3. freely exercise their religious preferences in educating their children, regardless of their financial situation;
4.
exercise choice and promote competition, thereby strengthening the State’s government and non-government schools.Parents are not being treated fairly under the present educational finance system. All parents are subject to the State’s mandate to educate their children, but are provided free instruction only in government schools. This creates an economic burden on parents who choose to meet the State’s mandate by providing their children with education in non-government schools. The inequitable treatment of parents choosing non-government schools fails to recognize the cost savings they provide the State of Nebraska, and fails to promote their freedom in fulfilling their responsibility to provide the instruction they deem best for their children. Moreover, in those many instances where the parents are financially unable to assume the added financial burden, their choice is effectively denied. Accordingly, the present system needs to be modified in order to meet the above objectives and provide a fair and equitable system for the education of Nebraska children.
Do You Know Where Your Representative Stands?
Interested in
knowing where some of the recently elected and re-elected legislators stand on
education issues such as education expense tax credits and vouchers? In case
you missed it, the Nebraska Catholic Conference’s 2004 pre-election candidate
questionnaire that was published in the diocesan newspapers is still available
for viewing on the Conference’s website:
www.nebcathcon.org. If you don’t have access to the internet, call our
office at (402) 477-7517. We will be happy to send you a copy of the responses
received from the office-holders representing your district. We have responses
on file from many members of the Nebraska Unicameral, as well as Congressmen Tom
Osborne, Lee Terry and Jeff Fortenberry.
PARENT ADVOCATE Vol. 11, No. 2, Aug. 2004; Vol. 11, No. 1, April 2004, Dec. 2004
IMPORTANT PROGRAM AT RISK
Title V Funding Eliminated By House Appropriations Committee
With little advance warning, the Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate funding for Title V, Part A: Innovative Programs, a component of the No Child Left Behind Act. Under this program, federal funds support a wide variety of educational activities including the provision of library materials and computer hardware and software, and professional development for teachers. Children attending private and religiously oriented schools and their teachers are eligible to participate equitably in activities supported through this Title.
Title V, Part A is the program formerly known as Chapter 2 that was upheld as constitutional in 2000 by the United State Supreme Court in the Mitchell v. Helms decision. The program had been challenged on the grounds that providing educational resources to children in religiously oriented schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. By a 6-3 majority, the Supreme Court ruled that providing aid to students whose parents have chosen a private, religious school does not violate the Establishment Clause. As Justice Clarence Thomas put it: “If a program offers permissible aid to the religious, the areligious, and the irreligious, it is a mystery which view of religion the government has established, and thus a mystery of what the constitutional violation would be.”The original program, instituted by federal legislation in 1965, was known then as Title II. At various times, due to Congressional reauthor-izations, it also has been known as Title IV-B, Chapter 2, and Title VI. Since its inception, this program has been one of the most flexible, most useful and most meaningful of all Federal education programs.
In Nebraska, the average allocation of
approximately $5 per pupil per year under Title V, Part A has resulted in
Catholic-school children having access to library materials, computer hardware
and software, and audio-visual equip-ment that the children might not otherwise
have had access to. While the per-pupil dollar amount may not seem significant,
the precedent of
equitable inclusion of private school children in a federal education aid
program is very significant, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s
favorable decision.
The full House of Representatives will take up the education appropriations bill after its August recess, and the Senate appropriations process will also gear up at that time. It is imperative that members of Congress hear from their constituents regarding the importance of continuing funding for this program.
Use the accompanying contact information and tell Nebraska’s Congressional delegation that the Innovative Programs funding in the No Child Left Behind Act and its predecessors has allowed students access to improved technology, updated media center materials, and staff development opportunities for their teachers, and that funding should be restored to at least the $296 million level of FY 2004.
Successful School Choice Efforts Begin at the Ballot Box
Just a reminder that the November election is drawing near. With about one-half of the Nebraska Legislature’s 49 seats and all three U. S. House of Representative seats, and President on the ballot, it is time to carefully consider each candidate’s position on a number of issues, including school choice issues. Keep an eye out for the responses to candidate surveys published by the Nebraska Catholic Conference in the diocesan newspapers in October. These survey responses provide a good insight into how the incumbent or his/her challenger might vote on a wide variety of important issues including education-expense tax credits and vouchers.
NFCSP President
Moves On
Left to right: Fr. Tom Ryan, Superintendent of Schools, Grand Island Diocese; Jackie Ridder, NFCSP Vice-Presdient; Bernadette Esposito, NFCSP‘s outgoing President; Fr. John Perkinton, Superintendent of Schools, Lincoln Diocese.
Extracurricular Team Excellence 2003-2004
Columbus ScotusState Champion: Class C-1 Girls Basketball State Champion: Class C-1 Volleyball State Runner-Up: Class C Girls Cross Country David City AquinasState Champion: Class D Wrestling State Champion: Class D Boys Cross County State Runner-Up: Class C Boys Track Falls City Sacred HeartState Champion: Class D-1 Boys Basketball Grand Island Central CatholicState Champion: Class C-1 Boys Golf State Champion: Class C- Boys Track Humphrey St. FrancisState Runner-Up: Class C Girls Golf State Runner-Up: Class D Girls Track Kearney CatholicState Champion: Class C-1 Boys Basketball State Runner-Up: Class C Girls Track |
Lincoln Pius X State Champion: Class A Girls Golf State Champion: Class B Boys Basketball State Champion: Class B Girls Tennis State Champion: Class B Girls Soccer Lindsay Holy FamilyState Runner-Up: Class D-2 Football State Runner-Up: Class D-2 Boys Basketball Nebraska City Lourdes CentralState Champion: Academic Decathlon – small schools division State Runner-Up: Class C-2 State Play Norfolk CatholicState Runner-Up: Class C-1 Girls Basketball Omaha Creighton PrepState Champion: Academic Decathlon – large schools division State Champion: Class A Boys Tennis State Champion: Class A Boys Golf State Champion: Baseball State Runner-Up: Class A Football
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Omaha Gross State Champion: Class B Journalism Omaha Marian State Champion: Class A Girls Cross Country State Champion: Girls Swimming State Runner-Up: Class A Girls Tennis Omaha RoncalliState Runner-Up: Class B Football Omaha SkuttState Champion: Class B Wrestling State Champion: Class B Boys Soccer State Runner-Up: Class B Girls Basketball O’Neill St. MaryState Champion: Class D-2 State Play Spalding Academy/SpaldingState Runner-Up: Class D-1 Speech Wahoo NeumannState Champion: Class C-1 Football West Point Central CatholicState Champion: Class C-2 Volleyball State Champion: Class C-2 Girls Basketba |
Congratulations!!
Vol. 11, No. 1, April 2004, Aug 2004, Dec. 2004
First Rate Teachers Treated as Second Class Citizens (again!)
LB 1153 Attempted to Promote Excellence in Teaching
Once again, teachers employed in state-approved and accredited non-governmental schools would be denied equal opportunities for state-funded professional development under a bill heard February 23, before the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee. LB 1153, introduced by Senator Dennis Byars, proposed to use state lottery receipts to fund professional development programs for teachers, but only for teachers employed in "public" schools.
The stated intent of LB 1153 was to "promote excellence in teaching, enhance student achievement, and increase retention of beginning teachers." The bill as introduced would have provided stipends to teachers who volunteer to be mentors to beginning teachers, provided professional development for beginning teachers, and provided tuition assistance for beginning teachers to become fully endorsed in the areas in which they are teaching. At the public hearing on LB 1153, Senator Byars offered an amendment to expand the proposal to provide professional development benefits to experienced public school teachers as well as beginning public school teachers.
The Education Committee took no action on the bill. The bill was not selected as a priority bill by any senator or the Education Committee. However, given the fact that the proposal had the support of the State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, the Nebraska State Education Association (public school teachers’ union), the Nebraska Association of School Boards, and the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, it is likely that the proposal will be reintroduced.
At the hearing, Education Committee member Senator Chip Maxwell asked Senator Byars if he was open to expanding the proposal to include teachers employed in private schools. Senator Byars responded that he might be willing to include private-school teachers if private schools were subject to the same standards, assessment and reporting requirements as public schools. However, it should be noted that nowhere in the bill or the Senator’s statement of intent are state academic content standards, assessment and reporting requirements noted as a basis for providing the proposed professional development benefits to public school teachers.
Opposition testimony provided by the Nebraska Catholic Conference questioned the rationale for linking participation of private school teachers to a standards and assessment mandate specifically targeted at public schools. Nonetheless, it was noted that state laws and Department of Education regulations require private schools to have a standards based curriculum and conduct regular assessment of student achievement of those standards. Finally, it was noted that private schools are independently held accountable for results by the parents enrolling their children in such schools. Parents expect the schools to provide a top-notch education in exchange for the tuition they pay on top of the tax dollars they pay to support the government school system.
Angela Roberts, a fourth-grade teacher at St. Mary School in Lincoln, testified on behalf of Catholic-school teachers. Ms. Roberts reminded the Education Committee that private school teachers and public school teachers are subject to the exact same state-imposed requirements to obtain a teaching certificate and related subject matter endorsements. She emphasized that it is unfair for her students, and other private-school students, to be deprived of the benefits of state-funded professional development programs designed to improve teacher skills and knowledge.
| Compulsory School Age Range Expanded |
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Legislative Bill 868, as amended, requires parents and guardians of children between the ages of 6 and 18 to enroll their children and compel attendance at a public, private or parochial school. The current compulsory school attendance requirement applies to children between the ages of 7 and 16. The change at the front end of the age range is a response to concerns by teachers and administrators that too many children are being held out of school for too long, and the range of ages of children in Kindergarten is too wide, with some classrooms consisting of children ranging from four to seven years old. As amended, the bill states that a child is of mandatory attendance age if the child will reach six years of age prior to January 1 of the then current school year. A companion proposal requiring children to be five years old by September 1 to enroll in Kindergarten was eliminated from the bill after meeting stiff opposition from Senator Ernie Chambers, who noted for the record that he started school at age 4. The change to the upper age range is intended to keep kids in school until they graduate with a high school diploma. The sponsor of this proposal, Senator Pam Redfield, noted that earning potential is greatly reduced without a high school diploma, and costs to society increase dramatically for services provided to high-school drop-outs because of higher levels of unemployment and incarceration. However, the bill still allows for children 16 and older to drop out of school if the child’s parent or guardian signs a notarized release form provided by the school. The change in mandatory attendance ages takes effect July 1, 2005. |
Websites for Public Policy Issues Affecting Catholic Schools
(Reprinted from the Winter 2004 issue of Parent Power, published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPSHome pg/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: www.usccb.org Site for all Education Department projects: www.usccb.org/education/index.htm Current and past Parent Power newsletter issues: www.usccb.org/education/parentassn/power Information about Congressional Advocacy Days conference held each spring: www.usccb.org/education/fedasst/conference.htm Office of Government Liaison home page: OGL Monitor contains updated information about legislation the USCCB is following: www.usccb.org/ogl/oglmonitor.htm |
INTERNET RESOURCES ABOUT CONGRESShttp://thomas.loc.gov/home/legbranch/legbranch.html U.S. Congress home page with links to Senate and House members and their districts and the work of Congressional Committees. Bill text and status are available by bill number, key word, and sponsor. |
PUBLIC POLICY SITES OF OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLORGANIZATIONSInformation from the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), a national organization of 17 associations of private schools and 28 state affiliates: www.capenet.org/pubpol.html Information from the National Catholic Educational Association Government relations resource center of the National Association of Independent Schools. Some information may be available only to NAIS members: http://www.nais.org/government/index.cfm?Itemnumber=146191 http://www.nais.org/government/index.cfm?Itemnumber=146191 |
ABOUT STATE CATHOLIC CONFERENCES
This website for the National Association of State Catholic
Conference Directors provides links to websites for each state Catholic Conference.
SITES OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS
www.diocesephoenix.org/catholicschools/legislation/az-can.htm
www.flacathconf.org/FFCP/Homepage.htm
www.mdcathcon.org/ParentAdvJan04.pdf
www.njcatholicschools.org/category.cfm?Category=2
http://web.state.nm.us/lobby/NMFCSF.HTM
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OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS
through Choice in Pennsylvania) www.paschoolchoice.org/reach/site/default.asp
Services in Education
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| January 23, 2004--President Bush today signed into law the nation’s first federally funded K-12 voucher program. The U.S. Senate approved the historic legislation yesterday, and the House of Representatives did so last month. The voucher legislation is contained in title III of division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), an omnibus spending bill that the Senate passed by a 65-28 vote. The CAA includes $14 million to provide low-income students in the District of Columbia with up to $7,500 to cover tuition and fees at private schools. The program is part of a $40 million three-way package that includes $13 million in new funds for public schools and another $13 million for charter schools. www.capenet.org |
| A Colorado District Court has halted the implementation of the voucher plan recently enacted in that state. The Opportunity Contracts program would allow certain low income students from under-performing Colorado school |
| districts to receive vouchers up to $4,500 to attend private, including religious schools. Since the voucher program provided public funds to schools which established their own instructional programs, the District Court judge ruled the program violated a provision of the Colorado state constitution that requires public school districts to maintain local control over instruction. The case has been appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court. Parent Power, Volume 9 Issue 2, Winter 2004 |
| In Escambia County Catholic schools, most of Florida’s first wave of voucher students have advanced more than one grade level on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for each of the four years they have been in the program. One student, who was performing slightly below grade level when she began Catholic school, jumped six grade levels in three years under the Opportunity Scholarships Program. School Reform News, March 2004. |
Textbook Loan Requests Exceed Appropriation
According to the Nebraska Department of Education, requests for textbooks for use during the 2004-05 school year under the Textbook Loan Program exceeded the legislative appropriation of $351,259 by approximately $57,000. As a result, not every textbook loan request will be satisfied.
Under state law and Department of Education rules, when the amount necessary to purchase sufficient textbooks to meet all textbook loan requests exceeds the amount of funds appropriated by the legislature, the State Department of Education reduces the reimbursement to the local school districts on a pro rata basis. Since the public schools are not required to loan any textbooks for which reimbursement funding is not provided, some parents may not receive the textbooks requested.
Under Department of Education rules, the local public school board determines which textbooks will be purchased. If there are not enough textbooks of a particular subject and grade level to fill all of the individual requests, then the textbooks purchased are distributed on the basis of a random drawing.
While it is unfortunate that not all textbook loan requests will be met this upcoming school year, this situation clearly demonstrates that the demands on the program exceed the current funding levels and provides a powerful argument in favor of increasing the funding in future years.
Notables
Benjamin Davis, Omaha Skutt, Gina Hoesing, O’Neill St. Mary’s, Elizabeth Hoy, Falls City Sacred Heart, and Jeremiah Riesberg, Omaha Creighton Prep, received Peter Kiewit Foundation Distinguished Scholar Awards. The awards are based upon class rank, GPA, ACT and SAT scores, essays, difficulty of course work, character references, honors and extracurricular activities. More than 800 students applied for the 50 available awards given by the Peter Kiewit Foundation.
Omaha Creighton Prep and Nebraska City Lourdes Central Catholic won the large and small school championships in the Nebraska Academic Decathlon. The Creighton Prep team will represent Nebraska at the national championships in April. The Creighton Prep team consisted of Brandon Swartz-Brown, Paul McDonald, Mike Cimino, Doug Peters, Tony Keber, Bob Gambrel, Brad Kirshenbaum, Kevin Elliott, Craig Reeson, Matt Storm, Alex Braun, and Matt Kaipust. The Nebraska City Lourdes’ win represents the
second consecutive win for the school in the small schools division, which encompasses Class C and D schools. Members of the Lourdes’ team were Steven Duplantis, Rachel Grundman, Katie Lance, Lisa Lerdahl, Jill Liesemeyer, D. J. Madsen, Eugene McCrann, Cara Morrison, Matt Murnan, Matt Wigington, and Travis Wurtele.
The Saint Cecilia Ragazzi performed with Opera Omaha in its production of La Boheme. The Ragazzi consists of children selected from the choirs of the Saint Cecilia Schola Cantorum, which is an after school program conducted on the campus of St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha dedicated to fostering excellence in church music throughout Northeast Nebraska. Members of the Ragazzi who performed with Opera Omaha are Michael Brich, Paul Brosnihan, MaryBeth Brosnihan, Katherine Capadano, Nora Gnabasik, Alex Hake, Cori Horner, Cecilia Jensen, Christine Koyama, Kaela Lynn, Ben McGuire, Brigitte Speicher, Julie Zaborowski, and Dominique Worthing.
NFCSP Memberships Surpass 18,000!
For the first time in the organization’s 11-year history, NFCSP membership exceeded 18,000 parents and supporters at the conclusion of the 2003-04 school year membership drive. This continued growth is encouraging. Strength in numbers is vitally important as the NFCSP pursues school choice legislation such as tuition tax credits or vouchers, equal opportunities for private school teachers to participate in state-sponsored professional development programs, or textbook loan funding. Thank you for your support!
High Court Says States Can Discriminate Against Religious Education
By a 7-2 margin, the United States Supreme Court held that a state can discriminate against students seeking to use state-funded college scholarships for religious study.
At issue was the state of Washington’s Promise Scholarship Program, a need-based scholarship provided to academically gifted students. The scholarship could be used at any accredited public or private college or university to pursue any degree or program of studies, except a degree in devotional theology. Joshua Davey, a qualified recipient of a Promise Scholarship, sued the state when he was advised he could not use it toward his double major of business administration and pastoral studies. Davey alleged that the state’s restriction on the use of the scholarship amounted to an unconstitutional prohibition of his right to free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Mr. Davey and the State of Washington appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice William Rehnquist stated that the...
| "Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." |
...scholarship program falls in between the two components of the First Amendment religion provisions, the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. In other words, the state could have included religious education in the scholarship program without violating the establishment clause, but it was not compelled to include religious studies to avoid offending the free exercise clause.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin
Scalia remarked that the Court was ignoring its own First
Amendment religion clause precedents by upholding a public
benefits program that facially discriminates against religion.
"When the State makes a public benefit generally available,
that benefit becomes part of the baseline against which burdens
on religion are measured; and when the State withholds that
benefit from some individuals solely on the basis of religion, it
violates the Free Exercise Clause no less than if it had imposed
a special tax."…"Today’s holding is limited to
training the clergy, but its logic is readily extendible, and
there are plenty of directions to go. What next? Will we deny
priests and nuns their prescription-drug benefits on the ground
that taxpayers’ freedom of conscience forbids medicating the
clergy at public expense?" Locke v. Davey, Case No
02-1315 (2004) 
