Welcome
We are delighted that you have decided to visit our website and hope that the information provided will be both informative and productive. We are committed to a policy of openness in all of our dealings with the public, so please call if you have any questions or would like any additional information.
The Board of Educational Lands and Funds was established by the Nebraska Constitution to serve as Trustee of lands contributed to the State in 1867 by the federal government. As Trustee of these lands, the Board is bound by fiduciary duty to its beneficiaries---Nebraska’s K-12 public schools. In exercising this fiduciary duty, the Board must use the judgment and care that persons of prudence and intelligence would exercise in the management of their own affairs.
The Board and its staff are firmly committed to the mission of maximizing income, exercising careful stewardship of the land, and treating our Lessees fairly. In pursuit of these goals, every effort is made to conduct the Board’s business consistent with a profit motive patterned after the most efficient enterprises in the private sector.
The Board serves in the dual capacity of land owner and land manager of approximately 1.3 million surface acres and 1.66 million subsurface acres. Rents are collected on 3,200 agricultural leases and 250 mineral leases. In its capacity as land owner, the Board makes expenditures for conservation, improvement, and management of the land placed in its care. The Board also sells and trades land to the extent that this is consistent with its fiduciary duty.
The net income from the Trust is deposited in the Temporary School Trust Fund, which is distributed annually to the K-12 public schools statewide on a per-pupil basis. Proceeds from land sales and mineral royalties are deposited in the Permanent School Trust Fund. The Permanent Fund is managed by the Nebraska Investment Council. The net income from the Permanent Fund is also deposited to the Temporary Fund and distributed to the public schools each year. |
