We’re nearly halfway through session and things are heating up in floor debate. A familiar foe arose this week- the urban-rural divide.

When it comes to lawmaking in Nebraska, a phrase is often used in floor debate on bills structured to benefit the Omaha metro: “What’s good for Omaha is good for the rest of the state.”

It’s a magical phrase intended to appease opposition from rural senators on policies that do not directly impact their district. The collegial approach is not reciprocated for rural communities. When rural lawmakers in the Legislature propose bills to benefit their districts, they are almost always asked to provide concessions to urban interests that far exceed any gain they may have with a bill. Our school funding formula sums up this problem.

TEEOSA, the main state funding mechanism for schools, is tilted heavily in favor of the twenty largest school districts in Nebraska. The three largest school districts in Nebraska- Omaha, Lincoln, and Millard- receive hundreds of millions of dollars apiece, representing over 50% of TEEOSA funding. The next seventeen largest school districts, when combined with Omaha, Lincoln, and Millard, account for over 75% of state funding through TEEOSA. On the other hand, over 180 rural school districts do not receive a penny of state funding through TEEOSA. Rural districts are left almost completely dependent on property taxpayers to keep their lights on and doors open.

The outcome of our system is clear: Nebraska provides less money to fund a student sitting in a Pawnee City classroom than if they are sitting in a classroom in Papillion. Our rural schools do a wonderful job of educating our students, even while working within a funding system that puts them at a disadvantage. Changes to this formula to fund students fairly are consistently blocked by urban senators, who counter with funding proposals that would raise taxes in rural Nebraska to offer a small gain for smaller school districts, but with most of the money going to support urban school districts.

Whether it’s negotiating for school funding, property tax relief, rural economic development, or rural broadband, it seems like the rural disadvantage in the body is far steeper than the narrow 25-24 vote majority held by urban senators. Sure, what’s good for Omaha is good for Nebraska- but we should take the same approach for policies that are good for Otoe, Ogalla, Osceola, and Ord.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.