Line The Street at 6 Feet Event Monday February 15th at Noon

(Carson City, NV/Las Vegas, NV)— On February 15, 2021 at 12:00PM, Educators, parents, students, and community members from across the State are dressing in red and bringing the Red for Ed movement to the steps of the Nevada Legislature in Carson City, NV, and to the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas, NV.

“Our message is clear: listen to educators. Making meaningful strides in education funding requires our leaders to have the courage to stand up in demanding new progressive revenue,” said Brian Rippet, President of the Nevada State Education Association. There have been few more challenging times than the one we find ourselves in right now; however, the issues we face, such as chronic underfunding, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of respect for the profession, are not new. They are only made worse by the current situation.”

Throughout Nevada, many school districts have struggled to close budget deficits year after year resulting in overcrowded classrooms, cuts to important services, and little or nothing to advance public education in Nevada. “Now we are faced with even more cuts to public education,” said Dawn Etcheverry, Vice President of the Nevada State Education Association. “We already have the largest class sizes in the country, and the Governor’s budget proposal includes $156M in cuts to Class Size Reduction over the next biennium and cuts to base per-pupil funding. Taken together, these cuts could result in the loss of thousands of educators, ballooning class sizes across the state.”

With the 81st Session underway, there is no immediate revenue on the table, and public education is being threatened with a radical overhaul in the new “funding” formula that simply does not work without new funding. Public education cannot have another Session that simply creates new winners and new losers. In the 2020 Quality Counts report from Education Week, Nevada currently ranks 47th in school finance and 50th in their overall “Chance for Success” index. The issue of chronic underfunding, overcrowded classrooms, and respect for public education is a concern for every Nevadan. Nevada students deserve educators focused on the classroom, not financial struggles facing their families.  Nevada students deserve well-compensated educators and resources needed to ensure their safety, health, and success. Most importantly, Nevada educators deserve respect for their commitment to our student’s success.

The event is co-sponsored by Mi Familia Vota, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), Indivisible Northern Nevada, For Our Future Nevada, AFSCME 4041 Retired, Educate Nevada Now (ENN) Battle Born Progress, Culinary Workers Union 226, Empower Nevada Teachers, State Innovation Exchange (SIX), the Carson City School District, and Faith in Action Nevada. We hope educators and those who support public education can join us and wear red to symbolize the financial struggles and deficits educators and our schools face.