Nevada’s students and schools cannot afford continued inaction on revenue. During the 2025 Legislative Session, educators and advocates united around a clear message: Pass the Plan. That plan, developed by the Commission on School Funding, recognized a simple truth: adequate and stable education funding requires a modernized revenue system.
The Commission did its work. It recommended meaningful, reasonable proposals, including closing the property tax depreciation loophole and applying a tax to the sale of digital products, a common-sense update that reflects how commerce actually occurs in Nevada today. Last Session, the Legislature had the opportunity to take action on these recommendations with AJR1 and AB453.
These proposals were not extreme. They were measured, data-driven, and designed to stabilize education funding over time, not through one-time infusions or short-term patches, but through sustainable, recurring revenue.
Yet, instead of advancing these recommendations, education funding was effectively kept flat, with only a two-dollar increase per pupil statewide. That was a de facto education cut, and it's a decision that's having real and immediate consequences. School districts across Nevada are now facing serious budget shortfalls. Washoe County School District faced an $18 million deficit this year alone. Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, and Elko counties are facing deficits as well. These are not abstract numbers. They translate into larger class sizes, staffing reductions, school consolidations, service cuts, and fewer opportunities for students.
Educators see the impact of structural funding deficits every day in our classrooms. We are being asked to do more with less, year after year, while Nevada continues to rank near the bottom nationally in per-pupil investment. This is not a reflection of a lack of effort by educators, it is the result of a revenue system that has not kept pace with Nevada’s growth or its modern economy.
We know there are concerns raised whenever revenue proposals are discussed. But failing to act is also a decision, and it is one that shifts costs onto students, educators, and local communities while leaving outdated loopholes intact.
Strong public schools are not a barrier to economic growth; they are a prerequisite for it.
We urge this Committee to take the next step the Legislature did not: move revenue proposals forward for consideration, including those recommended by the Commission on School Funding. Closing outdated loopholes and modernizing our tax base are necessary if Nevada is serious about funding public education sustainably and responsibly.
Our students and educators deserve more than two dollars. They deserve a revenue system that reflects Nevada’s values and priorities—and a Legislature willing to act on the work it has already commissioned and reviewed. We respectfully ask you to help move that work forward.
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