A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until midnight Sunday for much of eastern Nebraska, including Omaha. A tornado watch is in effect until 10 p.m. for Nebraska counties south of the metro and a large portion of western Iowa, including Council Bluffs.
The state Senate has approved legislation that would increase state funding for K-12 schools by 4 percent for the 2014-2015 school year.
The Legislature is required to set school funding more than a year in advance, prompting Thursday's Senate vote. Because lawmakers didn't approve a budget last year, the Senate also passed a bill increasing funding for the coming school year.
In the House, Republicans in a committee approved a scaled-backed version of Gov. Terry Branstad's education reform proposals Wednesday night. The revised plan reduces teacher raises backed by Branstad and lets schools opt-out of minimum salary hikes or leadership bonuses.
The dueling efforts show the distance between the Democratic-majority Senate, the Republican-controlled House. A spokesman for Branstad says the governor was encouraged that House lawmakers were debating education reform.
