Omaha Public Schools

Omaha Public Schools, is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska. This public school district serves a diverse community of nearly 51,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its district offices are located in the former Tech High at 30th and Cuming Streets.

The City of Omaha has grown in several steps, annexing neighboring areas. Under long established Nebraska law it is limited to the boundaries of Douglas County.

On June 13, 2005, the Omaha Public Schools (OPS) Board and Superintendent John Mackiel announced their intention to annex 25 schools within Omaha city limits to OPS. They are currently part of the Elkhorn Public Schools, Millard Public Schools and Ralston Public Schools districts. This announcement, based on three Nebraska statutes enacted in 1891 and 1947, is known as the One City, One School District plan.

This issue is highly controversial in Omaha. Supporters of the plan claim that a single school district is necessary to promote a cohesive Omaha community, ensure academic equity in all Omaha schools and prevent OPS from becoming locked into a declining property tax base. Opponents contend that Omaha-area residents should be able to choose from a number of school districts, that the schools would become less efficient in one large school district. Discussions among the school districts have been unproductive; the issue figured prominently in the 2006 session of the Nebraska state legislature.

The Nebraska legislature passed a bill (LB 1024) on April 13, 2006, that addresses the One City, One School District issues. The governor of Nebraska signed it later that day. It requires each metropolitan class city to have a "learning community" that consists of all of the school districts in the county where the city is located and any county that shares a border with the city. The learning community will be composed of voting representatives from each school district and will also include the superintendents of the districts as non-voting members. A learning community will be charged with helping to distribute property tax revenue more evenly throughout the school districts in its area.

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