It’s been an incredibly busy year at OpenSky, navigating the regular legislative session, saying goodbye to legislators who will not be returning in January, navigating the heat (both literal and figurative!) in a July special session, helping to defeat one of the largest tax shifts in Nebraska history, linking arms with partners to support continued summer food benefits for children in need, rallying Nebraskans to defend their public schools from being defunded in favor of private school vouchers, the list goes on. 

While there would be plenty of material to fill a Naughty list, we’ve decided to focus on the good, constructing the list of all the Nice that inspired us, bolstered our spirits, and moved Nebraska closer to The Good Life for all. 

 

NICE – Nebraska’s Public Schools

There is no denying it, Nebraskans love our public school system. The thousands of individuals who show up in classrooms every single day to help each and every child reach their full potential, the staff that keeps the buildings in tip top shape, the coaches who teach our youth resilience and grit, they inspire us daily. We were proud to be joyful defenders of public school funding, especially against privatization threats that have proven disastrous in other states. We mounted a strong defence against a summer proposal to eliminate local control in generating the revenue needed to meet the unique needs of a district by shifting operational expenses to the state. Our public schools are essential to our state’s future, and we will continue to be champions for adequate funding that closes opportunity gaps, bolsters our educator workforce, and provides predictable, sustainable funding for our beloved schools. 

 

NICE – Fair Taxation

OpenSky worked hard to make sure that those among us with the fewest resources weren’t being asked to contribute at the highest rates. In the special session, we fought against the regressive nature of increasing sales taxes as a means to lower property taxes, highlighting the already disproportionate percentage of household income already paid in sales taxes and how the proposals would put property tax relief for wealthy land owners onto the backs of working class Nebraskans. We shared information about the dangers of removing types of taxes from our rolls entirely, and the instability that would ensue. This work will continue, and we’re grateful for the support of so many who believe in fair taxation and are working alongside us to make sure working-class Nebraskans have a voice in the conversation. 

 

NICE – Local Control

It’s a simple fact that what is good for Omaha may not be good for Osceola, Ogallala, or Ord. Locally elected officials are best positioned to make decisions for the communities where they live, work, and play, and we are proud to have defended against more aggressive limitations on how much revenue they can collect to fund essential services. Responsible spending is a shared goal of all policymakers, but hard caps on revenue collection can leave local taxing authorities in dire straits in economic downturn, cause difficulty in hiring and retaining high quality public servants, hamper public safety, reduce efficiency and expediency in government services, and a host of other impacts. OpenSky will continue to defend the rights of cities, counties, school districts, and other governing bodies to set their own budgets, and encourage their communities to exercise accountability and meaningfully engage in the budgeting process. 

 

NICE – The Littlest Nebraskans

Advocating for our children’s access to The Good Life is some of the most important and rewarding work we do. Providing for their educational opportunities are at the core of our work, but we are also proud of the strides we made in food security, especially our work alongside several partners on a summer food program to prevent an increase in food insecurity while school was not in session. We also protected line items in the budget for things like childhood health care access, essential to the well-being of our youth. 

 

We hope that 2025 will bring you, your loved ones, and the State of Nebraska more nice than naughty, that you might enjoy the abundance that surrounds us in our peaceful prairie land, and that we all arrive in the legislative session fortified for the work of shaping Nebraska for generations to come.