Public Comment: Interim Finance Committee 10.20.22

Item #16 on your Work Program List would move an additional $1M of ARPA funds to support confidential exit surveys and working conditions surveys to facilitate informed decisions about attracting and retaining educators. While NSEA hasn’t taken a position on this appropriation, we have consistently sounded the alarm about Nevada’s crisis-level educator shortage over the last year.Today, there are still about 2000 vacant positions in the Clark County School District with hundreds more in Washoe. Meanwhile, some rural districts have up to 40% of their teacher positions with no certified teacher.

Over the last year, NSEA has also consistently articulated what Nevada must do to address this crisis, and we even have an easy slogan to remember – Time for 20!

With thousands of educator vacancies and some of the largest class sizes in the nation, Time for 20 means a 20% educator raise, a $20 minimum wage for people who make schools run, and average class sizes of 20 students.

On Monday, the Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center released a report on the teacher shortage in New Mexico. They found that over the last year, New Mexico’s teacher shortage declined by 34%! When other states, including Nevada, have seen increases in our educator shortage, what makes New Mexico so different? Well, it doesn’t take exit surveys to figure it out. This February, New Mexico passed a legislative package that delivered an average 20% raise to New Mexico educators. Now that salary package is paying off, attracting more educators to the Land of Enchantment.

Nevada has the largest educator shortage in the nation, so why aren’t we following New Mexico’s lead? That’s for you to answer. However, when we talk about Time for 20 with decision-makers, we frequently hear, “Time for 20 sounds great, but how do we pay for it?” Again, that’s for you to answer. With that said, last week the Economic Forum met, and the numbers are really big. For FY21, the State’s net revenues came in $226m over projections. For FY22, they came in over $1.01B over. For this year, it's likely we will see a similar number. This is in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of unobligated and unspent ARPA funds at the State and school district level, and another $1M you could redirect from exit surveys.

Nevada, the crisis in public education is severe. Resources are available, and we need bold action now. It’s Time for 20.