http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=164 ... rnd=594843


I think it is pretty asanine, and believe that Senator Chambers from Omaha, the only Black Senator is hoping to fuck shit up before he is forced to retire due to term limits.
The city of Omaha is currently trying to annex the city of Elkhorn and the Omaha Public School system wants to take over all the suburban school districts in the Omaha metro area.
I think most of the state wants to bring the big city down a notch while they still can.

Here is a brief glimpse at the article:

LINCOLN (AP) - The Legislature voted Thursday to divide the Omaha school system into three districts - one mostly black, one predominantly white and one largely Hispanic.

The move is part of a broader effort to bring all the school districts in Douglas and Sarpy Counties within an organization that will coordinate funding and efforts to integrate metro-area schools.

Detractors criticized the measure, especially the breakup of OPS, as state-sponsored segregation.

The bill (LB1024) passed on a 31-16 vote.

"We will go down in history as one of the first states in 20 years to set race relations back," said Omaha Sen. Pat Bourne.

Gov. Dave Heineman was expected to sign the measure into law.

"History will not, and should not, judge us kindly," said Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha.

Attorney General Jon Bruning sent a letter Thursday 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 say at the very least its passage will force policymakers to negotiate seriously about the future of schools in the Omaha area. The division of Omaha Public Schools would not occur until July 2008, leaving time for either a special legislative session this year or during the regular session next year to make changes.

"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. He argued that the district is already segregated because it no longer buses students and instead requires them to attend their neighborhood school.

The schools attended largely by minorities lack the resources and quality teachers provided others in the district, Chambers said. Black students he represents in north Omaha would receive a better education if they had more control over their district, he said.

Coming from Chambers, the argument was especially persuasive on the rest of the Legislature, which first adopted the plan he introduced a week ago. The Legislature voted three times this week in favor of the bill leading to its passage on the final day of the session.

Omaha Public Schools is one of the most racially diverse district in the state, serving 46 percent white students, 31 percent black, 20 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent Asian or American Indian.

Boundaries for the newly created districts would be drawn using current Omaha Public Schools high school attendance areas, with two or three high schools in each district. That results in four possible scenarios, according to the district. In every scenario, two districts would end up with a majority of students who are racial minorities while the third would not.

The three-district idea was first brought forward a week ago as an attempt to solve an ongoing boundary dispute. Omaha Public Schools, the state's largest district with 45,000 students, wants to expand its boundaries to encompass primarily white and more affluent suburban districts.

The Omaha district argued that its "one city, one school district" plan would help integrate its district both racially and socioeconomically.

District officials, supportive state senators, school board members and others including Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and billionaire investor Warren Buffett have blasted the alternative plan passed by the Legislature, saying it will be struck down in court.

In addition to dividing OPS into three districts, the proposal would freeze school district boundaries and make all the districts in Douglas and Sarpy counties part of a "learning community" that would share property tax resources and come up with an integration plan. Failure to participate in the integration plan would lead to dissolution of the offending district.

Heineman, a Republican facing a May 9 primary against two opponents, opposed the original Omaha schools plan calling for the takeover of 25 suburban schools. He worked with senators on the bill passed and said that while there are parts he has concerns about, he thinks its passage will force schools leaders to negotiate more seriously in the future.

Assinine is one of those words that really shouldn't be used unless you know how to spell it.

Are you going for maximum irony, or did you just put your foot in your mouth?

Touché

I like to think I put the ass in asinine.

(makes note in journal)

So I misspelled a word, big whoop, you want to fight about it.
What do you actually think of the plan?

If it works, great. But how is it different than all those shitty years of segregated (accurately segregated, mind you, as in actual geographical basis - reflecting the actual population stats) districts? Does this create more money for those school systems that need it? If so, fantastic.

No, just to use it as a source of ridicule.

you probably graduated from that all-black school district

I thought all black people were banished from Nebraska after Lawrence Phillips left town. The Huskers sure could use a few these days.

np: Sahara Hotnights - "Who Do You Dance For?"

I think that the African American Senator believes that by linking the two counties together and consolidating the school districts before carving them up into three separate entities will cause some of the tax dollars in Sarpy County and the suburbs to be given to poorer North and South Omaha.
I personally think the Black Schools (Omaha North and Benson) will remain poor and probably get worse off, while the Hispanic school (Omaha South) will probably see a little more wealth, but won't improve overall. I think Omaha North and Central are getting screwed the worst by this deal as are the smaller Sarpy County schools.

As for Blacks in Omaha, if they didn't get booted out when Malcolm X left as child, they can probably survive LA's Lawrence Phillips scandal.
Personally, I think Nebraska is lacking big ugly white and black guys up front on the offensive line. They need more people like Will Shields and Dave Rimmington.

Malcolm X is from Nebraska?!? Wow, that's almost more bizarre than Marlon Brando being from Nebraska. Almost.

np: American Analog Set - "Million Young"

Yes, he was born here. In the Spike Lee Movie, his family was driven away by the Klan for preaching the Marcus Garvey philosophy.