At your August meeting, this Committee advanced a BDR to repeal data center tax abatements and establish a moratorium on new data center development. NSEA strongly supports this proposal.
Then last month Governor Lombardo issued an executive order requiring data centers seeking new abatements to pay the Local School Support Tax, a significant change in position for a Governor who has championed data center development and corporate tax incentives. Coming just weeks before a difficult reelection with strong headwinds on the data center issue, the timing gives the appearance of election-year political posturing. But regardless of motivation, the executive order doesn't go nearly far enough. It leaves all existing tax giveaways in place along with future property tax abatements, while green-lighting additional data center development.
NSEA is particularly concerned by suggestions that this change could eventually generate $500 million annually for schools, eliminating the need for additional revenue. First, that revenue is speculative, dependent on massive new data center development. And even if every penny materializes, it covers only one-quarter of the nearly $2 billion in additional annual funding called for by the Commission on School Funding.
Public education should not be used to sell more data centers.
Last session, NSEA called on lawmakers to Pass the Plan, including meaningful property and sales tax reform. Instead, schools received just a two-dollar increase in per-pupil funding, leading to budget shortfalls across Nevada. Ending corporate tax giveaways should supplement comprehensive revenue reform, not replace it. We appreciate this Committee's leadership and urge you to stand by your BDR and advance the revenue reforms our schools desperately need.
Seriously, Pass the Plan. Thank you.
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