The State Board of Education on Friday approved a learning community plan for Omaha-area schools after one member who voted against the plan earlier this week chose not to vote.
Sherry Jones, like some of the other conservative board members, voted against the plan at a meeting Tuesday because one of the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties’ partners is OneWorld Community Health Centers, an organization that provides transgender health care outside of its work with the learning community.
But Jones said during a special meeting Friday that she had since learned that the revised plan removed a mention of partner organizations.
“My stated reason for voting as such was because of OneWorld Health being included as an integral part of the plan. I stated four of my specific concerns during the February board meeting, which can be found on NDE website. I stand by these concerns and believe they are justified according to statute,” Jones said.
But, she said, she believes that reasoning is outside of state statute requirements.
“I cannot, in good conscience, vote yes, and I cannot, due to the statute requirements, vote no,” Jones said.
Her abstention allowed the plan to pass on a 4-3 vote. The three other Republicans on the board, Kirk Penner, Lisa Schonhoff and Elizabeth Tegtmeier, voted against it. The four Democrats – Kristin Christensen, Maggie Douglas, Deborah Neary and Liz Renner – voted for it.
The Learning Community consists of 11 Omaha-area school districts, including Omaha, Ralston, Millard and Papillion La Vista. About $10 million in state aid is tied to the community achievement plan, money that goes to the school districts involved in it.
Gerald Kuhn, chief executive officer of the learning community, had said in a recent interview with Nebraska Public Media, that rejection of the plan and loss of the money could have meant the closure of 25 preschool programs serving about 700 students in Omaha.
The learning community had emphasized ahead of Tuesday’s vote that “no learning community resources — including state funding or levy funds — may be used to provide, support, subsidize, or reimburse gender-affirming medical care, reproductive health care services, prescription medications, or any clinical medical procedures.”
Other board members who voted against the plan said they had other concerns besides the OneWorld Health issue.
Board member Lisa Schonhoff said Omaha Public Schools continues to see declining attendance rates, declining graduation rates and declining ACT scores. Its students also score very low on standardized tests in English and math. And the Learning Community plan has already proven ineffective, she said.
“There are a great deal of things that we can do to improve this plan, but by voting yes today, you are reinforcing the very conditions that are holding students back, rather than correcting the course of action,” Schonoff said.
Board President Elizabeth Tegtmeier said she has seen no metrics from the participating school districts showing how the plan has improved student achievement.
“This plan falls short, and as I’m always faced with the question, personally, if we’re not teaching kids how to read, write and do math. What are we even doing here?” she asked.