Push to put Omaha school pension plan under state control draws scrutiny

A push by Omaha's school board to put that district's employee pension plan under state control drew across-the-board skepticism during a legislative hearing Thursday.

The plan has a projected $680 million in unmet liability, and lawmakers and other state officials expressed concern that the rest of Nebraska would be forced to help foot Omaha's bill.

"The biggest concern that I have is, we're sitting here with a $900 million shortfall in our own budget, and our plans are not funded at 100 percent yet either," said Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, chairman of the Legislature's Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee.

"So in essence, you're asking us to help you get out of a hole you've dug yourself," Kolterman told Lou Ann Goding, a member of the Omaha Board of Education.

Read more: http://journalstar.com/legislature/push-to-put-omaha-school-pension-plan-under-state-control/article_fb3fc2dd-7eb4-5b70-9a93-8be143f2f056.html