Dorchester Times: Is Nebraska Spending Enough On Education?

Monday, January 25, 2021

Is Nebraska Spending Enough On Education?

Every two years, the Nebraska Legislature crafts a massive state budget. This is one of those years.

The so-called mainstream news media will spotlight controversial parts of the budget -- like proposals to build a new penitentiary or giving more dollars to K-12 school districts to offset local property taxes. That's what gets eyeballs.

But the news media do a horrible job of informing Nebraskans on the basics of our state government's spending plan. Did you know your state tax dollars (primarily income and sales taxes) are being spent to the tune of $4,741,682,111. (See the Ricketts administration's budget briefing book here.)

Roughly 40% of that $4.7 billion goes to education. That's not enough for the teacher unions or the left-of-center social groups. That's not enough for the lobbyists who are paid with taxpayer dollars. (See this list and look at Lincoln Public Schools and Omaha Public Schools, as well as Omaha's suburban public schools.)

At last check, Nebraska's statewide per-pupil cost was an average $13,183. Here's what every public school in the state is spending per pupil.

Nebraska is in the top one-third of states for per-pupil spending. In fact, the Cornhusker State spends more on K-12 education than any other "Republican state" except Alaska and North Dakota.

Of course, the majority of K-12 education is still being funded by local property taxes, which is fair. Your kids, your school district -- you should get the pleasure of funding most of it. (See your local school budget using this tool.)

This report in no way implies that high levels of education funding are not worthwhile. But considering how much is being spent, shouldn't the results be better? Shouldn't Nebraska's kids be graduating with more skills, while being completely sufficient in math, science, reading and using the written word?

If you are concerned about how much is being spent by your local school district, and haven't taken time to speak with your local school board members or attend a school board meeting, you know who to blame. Just look in the mirror.

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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."