{"id":1984073,"date":"2023-07-27T12:25:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T16:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nations-largest-teachers-union-bankrolls-fight-to-kill-school-choice-in-nebraska\/"},"modified":"2023-07-27T12:26:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T16:26:57","slug":"nations-largest-teachers-union-bankrolls-fight-to-kill-school-choice-in-nebraska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nations-largest-teachers-union-bankrolls-fight-to-kill-school-choice-in-nebraska\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest teachers&#8217; union funds battle against school choice in Nebraska."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnations-largest-teachers-union-bankrolls-fight-to-kill-school-choice-in-nebraska%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1984073&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Teachers&#8217; Unions: A Rampant Increase in \u2064Left-Wing Political Spending<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>An empty elementary school \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The nation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/los-angeles-school-hosts-commercial-shoot-while-doors-remain-shut-to-students\/\" title=\"Los Angeles School Hosts Commercial Shoot While Doors Remain Shut To Students\">largest teachers\u2019 union<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-senate-votes-to-support-finland-sweden-joining-nato\/\" title=\"US Senate Votes to Support Finland, Sweden Joining NATO\">making significant investments<\/a> to \u200cput an end to Nebraska\u2019s first-ever\u2062 school \u2063choice program for K-12 students, \u200cas revealed by financial \u200ddisclosures reviewed \u200cby\u200b the <em>Washington \u200cFree \u200bBeacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2063nonprofit\u200d group Support Our Schools Nebraska, which aims to force a \u200creferendum to terminate \u2064the state\u2019s new school choice\u2064 program, has received a whopping $800,000 from the National \u2064Education Association, accounting\u200d for\u200d approximately 80 percent\u2064 of the group\u2019s total funds. Additionally, the \u2062union&#8217;s\u200d state-level affiliate has contributed another $60,000 to Support Our \u200cSchools Nebraska, and \u2064the nonprofit is led by\u200d a \u200blocal\u2064 union\u2064 leader who is also a \u200bmember of the National Education Association.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 association&#8217;s campaign against school choice is indicative of the overall surge in political spending by teachers&#8217; unions in \u2062recent years, with the majority \u200bof these funds \u2062being directed \u2063towards \u200bDemocrats and liberal causes. According \u2062to the <a href=\"https:\/\/g-a-i.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/GAI-Teachers-Union-Report.pdf\">Government Accountability Institute<\/a>,\u200d the National Education Association spent \u2064more than\u200b twice\u2062 as much on political activities and lobbying in 2021 than it did on member representation. \u200bFurthermore, \u2062in\u200c the 2020 election cycle, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/orgs\/national-education-assn\/recipients?toprecipscycle=2022&#038;id=d000000064&#038;candscycle=2020\">95 percent<\/a> \u200dof the union&#8217;s federal campaign contributions went to Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is who \u200cthe NEA has always been,&#8221;\u200b remarked Erika Sanzi, the outreach director of Parents Defending Education, in an \u2062interview with the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. Sanzi finds the association&#8217;s political efforts even more concerning considering that teachers&#8217; unions \u2062advocated for school\u2062 closures, resulting in a setback for students&#8217; progress and leaving many \u2062at \u200brisk of falling behind.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c National\u200d Education Association, which\u2064 boasts a membership of \u2064over three million, did not \u2063respond to a \u200brequest\u200d for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Nebraska\u2019s \u200bschool \u2064choice program, known\u2064 as the Opportunity Scholarships Act, <a href=\"https:\/\/nebraskalegislature.gov\/FloorDocs\/108\/PDF\/Final\/LB753.pdf\">allocates<\/a> \u200d$25 million per year in tax credits for individuals or entities\u200c that donate\u200b to nonprofit \u200cscholarship\u2063 organizations. These organizations then distribute the donations to low-income families, enabling \u200dthem \u200dto\u2062 send\u2064 their \u200dchildren to\u2062 private schools. Despite this, Support Our Schools \u200dNebraska argues that the program \u200cwill \u2063harm \u200cpublic schools and low-income families\u200c while benefiting \u200bthe wealthy,\u200d a claim that \u2062Nebraska&#8217;s Republican governor, \u2062Jim Pillen, refutes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These scholarships will be awarded to the students who need them the most,&#8221; wrote Pillen in\u2064 a May <a href=\"https:\/\/governor.nebraska.gov\/press\/governors-column-school-choice-puts-kids-first\">column<\/a>. &#8220;They will provide students with the opportunity\u2064 to attend schools they would otherwise be unable to\u200d afford.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Nebraska&#8217;s\u2064 program specifically prioritizes families with a household income\u2062 that does not exceed 100 percent \u200cof the \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oakland-to-enroll-600-families-of-color-in-guranteed-income-pilot-program\/\" title=\"Oakland to Enroll 600 Families of Color in \u2018Guranteed Income\u2019 Pilot Program\">federal poverty level<\/a>. It also gives priority to special needs students,\u200d students \u2063in foster care, and students from military families.<\/p>\n<p>Leading Support \u2062Our Schools Nebraska is Tim Royers, the president of \u2064the Millard Education Association, a local affiliate of \u200cthe National \u2063Education Association. Royers is actively collecting \u200dsignatures from registered voters \u200dto\u200d initiate a referendum \u200dthat\u200c would revoke the Opportunity \u200dScholarships \u2064Act. In response, another group called\u200c Keep Kids First is \u2064mobilizing voters who support the \u200cpolicy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nations-largest-teachers-union-bankrolls-fight-to-kill-school-choice-in-nebraska\/\" title=\"Largest teachers' union funds battle against school choice in Nebraska.\">teachers&#8217; union \u2062perceives \u200dopportunity scholarships<\/a> as a threat to their control over\u200d the classroom,\u2062 students, parents, and taxpayers,&#8221; states \u2064the group on its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keepkidsfirstnebraska.com\/#FAQs\">website<\/a>. &#8220;The teachers&#8217;\u2062 union\u2064 opposes the notion\u2062 that low-income families should have the same educational opportunities as financially well-off families when it \u2064comes to K-12 education.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teachers&#8217; unions are increasing their left-wing political spending. The largest union is investing heavily to terminate Nebraska&#8217;s school choice program. Financial disclosures reveal their efforts to support Support Our Schools Nebraska, a nonprofit aiming to eliminate the program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2088,"featured_media":1984074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1984073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2088"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1984073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1984074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1984073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1984073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1984073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}