Letter to the Editor

Deceptive tactics by paid out-of-state canvassers

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Dear Editor,

An article in the Gazette on Aug. 4 said the Opportunity Scholarships Act (LB 753) warrants voter “scrutiny.” However scrutiny - or analysis - is NOT what was being promulgated by paid canvassers collecting signatures in our small towns last weekend.

When I encountered a young woman outside our grocery store on Saturday we had a conversation that revealed much about those working to repeal the Opportunity Scholarships Act. She read me a list of objections to the Law and each point she made was false. Thinking she might be young Nebraska teacher, I asked where was from and where she works etc. She is actually from Arizona and works for a D.C. company called “Field Works.” Field Works, LLC provides paid canvassers and operatives to political campaigns throughout our country.

When I disputed several of the claims the young woman was making about LB 753 (for example claims that “90% of Nebraska public schools will be damaged by the Opportunity Scholarships Act,” and that “this Act benefits only large corporations”), she refused to engage in debate and instead threatened to call the police.

Although I am a Nebraska resident, a Nebraska taxpayer, a supporter of quality education, it is a paid out-of-state operative with slick signs and a memorized speech replete with falsehoods who has more power to affect the future of my grandchildren’s education than I do.

Our Nebraska public schools’ budget has already been fully funded and has a billion dollar trust going forward. Many lower income families would love to send their children to private schools but can’t afford to. I support public schools with my property tax money; this Scholarship Act would incentivize many thousands of us Nebraskans to donate to help parents send their children to schools they believe would be a better fit for their precious offspring. A society that values diversity should also value diversity of philosophy and ideology. Building a vehicle for school choice into our state’s laws can only lead to a more healthy, diverse and dynamic society.

The young canvasser told me she herself had been educated in private schools. Clearly her family could afford that. Our Nebraska legislature showed great heart in passing LB 753, a law that would give lower income families the same opportunity this young woman had enjoyed growing up in Arizona.

The information being given by the paid canvassers is false. If their collected signatures springboard the law to the 2024 ballot, a tidal wave of false information about the Opportunity Scholarships Act (LB 753) will be deluged on our Nebraska voters to convince them to repeal this excellent law, a law that serves the most needy among us.

Canvassers collecting signatures in our small towns are, by the way, paid a generous salary by Field Works, LLC. They are sent here from outside Nebraska and will not personally be affected by this law or its repeal.