Category Archives: Buffett Early Childhood Institute

Why Nebraska Needs a Learning Community III. High Black Unemployment

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Omaha’s Metropolitan Area Planning Agency has just released a comprehensive report, “Equitable Growth Profile of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Region,” describing the challenges facing the Omaha area economy in the next 25 years.
CaptureAs also reported in the Omaha World Herald  MAPA says that:

  • Racial minorities currently make up 21% of the area’s population, up from 9% in 1980. Under current trends minorities will comprise 39% of the population by 2040.
  • Minorities are less likely than whites to have high school degrees, associate degrees, or four-year college degrees.
  • The education gap contributes to a skills gap which in turn contributes to a jobs and income gap. As shown above, black unemployment at 12.2% (in March 2014) is much higher than the unemployment rate for any other racial group.

MAPA has several suggestions for improving job prospects for blacks such as more and better job training, better public transit, and helping minority owned businesses.  It also suggests building “cradle to career” pipelines for underprivileged youths.
This last suggestion is precisely what the Omaha area Learning Community is focused on.  As I reported  several months ago, the superintendents of the 11 school districts in the Learning Community have approved a comprehensive plan for Early Childhood Education whose purpose is to make sure that children from low-income families are well prepared to succeed in school.  It will be funded by a ½ cent levy approved by the Learning Community Coordinating Council.
These same 11 superintendents are highly supportive of the overall mission of the LC to close the academic achievement gap between low-income students and middle class students.  They have recently submitted a report to the Education Committee of the Nebraska Legislature suggesting ways to make the LC even more effective than it is already.
Achieving improved educational outcomes for minorities has been called America’s big new civil rights challenge of the 21st century.  Omaha is making significant strides in addressing this problem thanks to a huge communitywide effort by many different organizations including the Learning Community.

Can Omaha Avoid Having Its Own “Ferguson”?

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As racial tensions begin to ease in Ferguson MO, it is natural to inquire about the root causes of this turmoil and how to avoid future recurrences.  Of course, police brutality and public distrust were the triggering events and need to be thoroughly investigated by the proper authorities.
CaptureBut the problem goes deeper than this.  The above chart from Think Progress  demonstrates the very high unemployment rate among black teenagers.  Is it surprising that idle teenagers get into trouble?
Omaha NE, where I live, is not immune to these problems.  In 2011 Nebraska had the worst black homicide rate in the nation at 34.4 per 100,000 population, just ahead of Missouri with a rate of 33.4.  Black unemployment in Omaha is estimated to be 20% compared with Omaha’s overall unemployment rate of 3.8%.
The problem goes still deeper yet.  To be employable, black youths need to become educated, i.e. to stay in school and remain on track to graduate.  This, in turn, means that they need to succeed in school from the very beginning, for example, by being proficient in reading at the end of third grade.
My last post, “Responsibility Goes Along With the “Good Life,” describes steps that are now getting under way in Omaha to turn around this whole vicious downward spiral of destructive black teenage behavior.  The Buffett Early Childhood Institute has put together a long range plan to work with children in poverty from birth to age eight to make sure that they are prepared to succeed in school. It is funded by an annual property tax levy of $5 per $100,000 of assessed valuation throughout the two county metropolitan Omaha area.  With such a local funding source, the program will inevitably receive much public attention.
Nebraska is aware that not all of its residents share in the “Good Life” and is making a conscious effort to find its own solution for a very serious national problem.

Responsibility Goes Along With the “Good Life”

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The New York Times recently compiled a map rating each of the 3,135 counties in the U.S. according to the following six factors:  educational attainment, median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity.  As can be seen (below) the whole state of Nebraska (motto: the Good Life) comes out very well in this rating scheme.
CaptureOn the other hand, Omaha has the highest black child poverty rate in the country at 59.4% (Omaha World Herald (4/15/2007)).  Partly for this reason the Nebraska Legislature established the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties in 2008 whose purpose is to close the academic achievement gap between middle class and low-income students in the Omaha metro area.
Just a few days ago the Learning Community Coordinating Council approved an early childhood education plan developed by the Superintendents of the 11 Omaha area school districts to help children in poverty in the metro area.  It will cost about $2.5 million per year and will fund 29.5 full-time equivalent positions.  The plan will be managed by the newly established Buffett Early Childhood Institute in Omaha.  The increase in the property tax throughout the two county area to support this program will amount to $5 per year for the owner of a $100,000 house.
It is quite appropriate for an overall wealthy community like Omaha in a very well off state like Nebraska to pitch in, in this way, to help out its less fortunate residents.  It represents an example of how state and local governments can and should step in and take more responsibility for addressing their own problems without help from the federal government which is broke and needs to cut back on what it does.
If the Early Childhood Education plan lives up to its high expectations (as I believe it will), it is likely to receive much national attention and will become a model for other parts of the country.  Nebraskans should be proud of supporting such a forward looking initiative!