During the first month of the 2023 session, there was a great deal of attention on Nevada’s record increase to school funding. Revenues were way up coming out of COVID, and the new school funding plan had mechanism to capture a proportionate share. However, shortly after, the theme of the session pivoted to school district accountability. This included an all-day Saturday hearing in March, where legislators called school districts to the table to demand accountability and ensure the additional dollars led to improved student achievement. There seemed to be the feeling that the work of funding was done, and the real problem was shortcomings of school districts.
The truth is that while there are inefficiencies at the school district level, the overriding issue in public education remains chronic underfunding. Most of the new monies invested in education last session were eaten up by increasing costs. As this subcommittee will hear this evening from Guy Hobbs, Nevada remains more than $4000 behind the national average and even further behind optimal per-pupil funding.
Last May, a thousand NSEA members and education supporters convened at the legislature to call on this body to do even better on funding. While the additional funds were appreciated, we knew they would not correct the structural shortages faced by Nevada schools. We even foreshadowed our Pass the Plan campaign with these words on that Saturday in March.
When the legislature created the Funding Commission, they charged it with making recommendations to raise the revenue necessary for Nevada to reach optimal funding. And the Funding Commission did just that— recommending the State raise revenue by expanding the base on the sales tax and closing property tax loopholes. But we haven’t heard a word about these proposals since the report was delivered to the legislature last year.
The recommendations of the Funding Commission were shelved for 2 years. Now with no new revenue and tougher economic times, Governor Lombardo has proposed just a $2 increase to base student funding for the upcoming school year. Districts across the state have begun deliberating budget cuts. They are talking teaching positions, reading centers, and possible school closures or consolidations. Two dollars doesn’t cover increasing costs, including a 3.25% increase in PERS coming this summer. And it probably also means little or no increases for Nevada educators. Our communities, schools, students, and educators deserve better.
That is why two years ago NSEA asked what accountability in public education means. Does it mean holding school districts accountable? Absolutely. But it also means holding state leaders accountable to the plan they commissioned. Pass the Plan.
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