Editorial Sample
On any given day, dozens of lobbyists can be found roaming the halls of the Nebraska Capitol. Most of them represent the usual suspects: business groups, nonprofits and special interests all jockeying for access to senators. But a growing number of lobbyists have found a profitable new clientele — government organizations.
The problem? These lobbyists, whose clients include schools, utility districts and local governments, are lining their pockets with taxpayer money.
Thirty-seven Nebraska public entities spent $1.3 million in taxpayer money on lobbyists in 2008. That number is expected to be higher this year. And nowhere has this trend become more apparent than in the lobbying activities of one organization — Lincoln Public Schools.
In 2008, LPS spent $79,918 lobbying the Legislature, more than any other public school district in the state.
The year before that, LPS spent $96,358, dwarfing Omaha Public Schools' comparatively paltry lobbying budget of $67,750. You read that right. LPS spent $30,000 more than OPS in 2007, even though Omaha has 12,000 more students and 25 more schools than Lincoln.
Taxpayer money buys not only a full-time lobbyist on the LPS payroll, but the services of an outside firm as well. There's no doubt that these lobbyists - both among Lincoln's most skilled and powerful - are very effective advocates. So why is it we need them both waving the LPS banner?
Surely LPS could survive with just one professional political persuader.
It's not just Lincoln either. Of public entities that hire lobbyists, the fastest growing segment is schools. Ten years ago, four Nebraska school districts hired their own lobbyists. This year, 16 districts will write checks to lobbying firms, a 400 percent increase during the past decade.
Lobbyists are now being hired in place of educators. The Omaha learning community (which was created just a few months ago) has not yet picked an administrator, hired a staff person or even found office space. But, you guessed it, it's already got itself a couple of lobbyists.
Much of the lobbying on behalf of schools is geared toward influencing the state aid formula. With a little luck, lobbyists hope to provide their client schools with annual revenue boosts. This practice, where school districts dole out large sums of taxpayer money in an effort to secure even more taxpayer money, just doesn't seem right. It creates an influence arms race, pitting district against district as they rush to compete for a finite number of state aid dollars.
The yearly state aid adjustment has become a war zone, with lobbyists in the trenches and our children stuck out in no-man's-land.
Taxpayer-funded lobbying not only distorts the legislative process, but also the education system itself. Nebraska has 254 school districts. What about the kids from the 238 school districts that cannot afford professional representation? The Legislature should not be beyond the reach of any school district, large or small. Taxpayer-funded lobbying also creates a feedback loop. Districts that spend more cash swaying lawmakers sometimes succeed in tweaking the state aid formula to their advantage, which in turn allows them to buy even more influence.
This is a practice that must be regulated. That is why I am working on legislation that will limit school spending on lobbyists. Taxpayer money should be used to educate our kids, not to fund insular battles over provincial interests.
If we can't stop the turf war, then let's at least stop paying for it.
Web Copy Sample
[ Dear friends of the Bemis Center ]
At the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, clarity of mission is one of our core strengths. We exist to support artists, fostering creativity in its purest form. This purposeful generosity infuses the entire organization.
It is also one of the main reasons for our unprecedented growth over the past year. When many other non-profits were retreating inward, reluctant to take risks in the face of uncertainty, we have been expanding. Working towards this common goal, Bemis Center staff, the board of directors, members and sponsors have had the foresight to identify opportunities and the agility to capitalize on them.
This momentum, a direct result of last year’s Building Bemis capital campaign, has allowed us to expand our programming and cement our reputation as a leader in the growing field of artist communities. We are currently on track to receive over 1400 residency applications this year, double what we had just a few years ago. We have received recognition and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, calling our new Community Arts Residencies “imaginative and innovative.” And our exhibitions program has been making actual rainbows in the sky.
Obviously, organizations like the Bemis Center have aesthetic and cultural benefits, but I believe the implications of our success extend beyond the arts. The kind of energy generated by our programs and projects have become a catalyst for the community's creativity as a whole. Even as we’ve expanded, I’m proud to say that our fundamental values remain unchanged. As an artist-centered organization, we have been unwavering in our mission of supporting exceptional talent.
I invite you to join us.