Nebraska Lawmakers Split Omaha School District Along Racial Lines
LINCOLN Neb.
In a move decried by some as state-sponsored segregation, the Legislature voted Thursday to divide the Omaha school system into three districts one mostly Black, one predominantly White and one largely Hispanic.
Supporters said the plan would give minorities control over their own school board and ensure that their children are not shortchanged in favor of White youngsters.
Republican Gov. Dave Heineman signed the measure into law.
Omaha Sen. Pat Bourne decried the bill, saying, “We will go down in history as one of the first states in 20 years to set race relations back.”
“History will not, and should not, judge us kindly,” said Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha.
Attorney General Jon Bruning sent a letter to one of the measure’s opponents saying that the bill could be in violation of the Constitution’s equal-protection clause and that lawsuits almost certainly will be filed.
But its backers said that at the very least, its passage will force policymakers to negotiate seriously about the future of schools in the Omaha area.
The breakup would not occur until July 2008, leaving time for lawmakers to come up with another idea.
“There is no intent to create segregation,” said Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, the Legislature’s only Black senator and a longtime critic of the school system.
