LINCOLN- Polling released by a Lincoln-based think tank, the OpenSky Policy Institute, indicated that 55% of respondents oppose a new state law that grants state tax credits for donations for private and parochial school scholarships. The telephone/text message poll of 600 likely voters was done May 31 to June 1 by a Washington, D.C., polling firm, Lake Research Partners. The margin of error was plus or minus 4%.

The survey found that 47% of respondents strongly supported repeal of the law, which outpaced the 37% of respondents who expressed any level of support to retain the legislation. OpenSky is among those supporting the repeal. The organization contributed nearly $55,000 in staff time to “Support Our Schools Nebraska,” a group led by the state teachers union which is gathering signatures for the referendum, according to the most recent state political spending report.

The law would allow donors to devote up to half of their state income tax payments to organizations that grant scholarships for students to attend private or parochial schools. LB753 initially caps the yearly tax break at $25 million, but it could rise to $100 million a year if the funding is fully utilized. Supporters of LB753 have said it is unfair that lower-income families do not have the same opportunity to send their kids to private schools as more wealthy families do.

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