OMAHA - Gov. Jim Pillen says the Nebraska Department of Education's $30.5 million overpayment to the Omaha Public Schools for the 2025-26 school year shows the current state aid formula is a "failure."

OPS officials announced Monday that they had been notified by the Nebraska Department of Education that an error causing the district's poverty allowance to be overstated resulted in the overpayment of state aid under the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act.

Pillen issued a statement Thursday stating the error is "another example of how the TEEOSA formula continues to fail Nebraskans."

"Time and time again, I have said that we must do away with this complex formula that nobody understands and have the state fund schools while providing property tax relief," Pillen said. His statement noted the Department of Education is governed by an elected board rather than directly accountable to the governor.

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