Districts request special judge

Six suburban Omaha school districts are calling for a special judge to resolve factual issues in a lawsuit challenging the common property tax levies of the two-county learning community, according to court documents.

Filing letters of support with the Nebraska Supreme Court were the Elkhorn, Bennington, Douglas County West, Gretna, Papillion- La Vista and South Sarpy districts.

The judge, called a special master, would attempt to resolve the disputed issues and make recommendations to the court.

If the high court declines to appoint the special master, the plaintiffs — the Sarpy County Farm Bureau and eight property owners — would have to consider filing their lawsuit in district court. That’s the usual path for a lawsuit, but it’s longer and potentially more costly.

The Supreme Court normally takes cases only on appeal, but it indicated two weeks ago it would take the new case directly if the parties reached “unconditional” agreement on the facts by Wednesday.

When that deadline passed without agreement, the plaintiffs asked the court to appoint a special master.

The plaintiffs want the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the common general fund and building fund levies imposed by the learning community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties this year for the first time.

A lawyer for the Omaha Public Schools said this week the district has a fundamental disagreement with the plaintiffs over the facts of the case.

The Legislature created the learning community to improve education in the metropolitan area after a series of border fights between school districts and allegations from OPS officials that the state was providing insufficient funding to educate children in high-poverty areas.

Contact the writer:

444-1077, joe.dejka@owh.com

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