$38 Million

The Nebraska Department of Education and school districts across Nebraska are waiting to hear more from the U.S. Department of Education after an unexpected announcement that it would retain slightly more than $38 million already allocated to the state for a variety of programs designed to support students and teachers. School district budgets are actively taking shape in advance of a statutory deadline for passage in September, so ambiguity at this stage is less than ideal. Brian Maher, Nebraska Commissioner of Education, shared the news in a letter to Superintendents, indicating that the impact would be felt across all public schools and most non-public schools in the state. 

The largest portion of impounded funds for Nebraska was slightly more than $11 million earmarked for professional development for teachers, which funds programs related to building instructional skills in the teaching of core academic subjects, including literacy and math. Nearly $7 million was withheld that funds programs related to student well being and learning, including suicide prevention programs, mentoring and counseling, bullying prevention, awareness and protection against child sexual abuse and positive behavior intervention programs. An additional $6.5 million was also withheld that supports before and after school programming. Programs related to English language instruction and adult education will also be impacted by the funding freeze. 

The state and individual districts will now need to decide the best course of action for these funds coming late, if at all. Nebraska’s budget is currently stretched and the Legislature will be faced with difficult decisions in next year’s 60-day session. 

3-30-300

Urban planners and advocates for green spaces have developed a guideline of 3-30-300, or 3 mature trees visible from every dwelling, 30% tree canopy cover in every neighborhood, and 300 meters to the nearest high-quality public park or other green space. A recently released study from Oregon State University underscores the importance of green spaces as not just “nice to haves” but a critical aspect of public health infrastructure.

The study focused on the correlation between access to outdoor recreation spaces and mental health, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when access to many indoor and outdoor spaces was limited. They cite numerous studies linking the pandemic to a sharp increase in mental health struggles, including anxiety, depression and sleep difficulties. The Oregon State study showed that even after controlling for specific risk and protective factors, during the pandemic, outdoor recreation emerged as an important protective factor for mental health. They also pointed to disproportionate access to outdoor recreation opportunities for racial minorities and those experiencing a decline in their personal financial situation related to the pandemic, which they posit was likely to have contributed to disparities in rates of mental health outcomes among various racial groups. 

$421 Billion

A March 2025 McKinsey analysis projected that by 2030, the level of investment needed from the federal government in water infrastructure projects will reach $421 billion, far outpacing the $227 billion in available funding, which is already threatened by failure to disburse funds allocated by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Water infrastructure remains top of mind in summer months and in light of recent flooding disasters in Central Texas. 

A 2025 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce showed that for every $1 spent on pre-disaster resilience funding, $13 is saved in economic losses after a natural disaster. Their study modeled the economic impact of a Category 4 hurricane on a large city that had invested $10.8 billion in resilience and preparedness, which they estimated would save 184,000 jobs, $26 billion in GDP and $17 billion in earned income for residents. Without these investments, they projected a loss of 361,000 jobs, $46 billion in GDP and $29 billion in earned income for residents. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the abrupt end of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which was established by Congress in 2018 to fund disaster mitigation. Further threats have been made to eliminate FEMA completely. 

Over a billion dollars in federal funds have contributed to disaster relief in Nebraska since September 2003, according to reporting by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The majority of the recovery funds were allocated in response to 2019’s severe winter storm, straight-line winds and flooding. FEMA was responsible for the majority of grants, though the Department of Housing and Urban Development contributed as well.