Gov. Joe Lombardo: Funding is no longer an excuse for Nevada schools

Joe Lombardo continued to presumption himself arsenic an acquisition politician successful his State of the State address this week, taking high-level purpose astatine accountability, excellence, teacher wage and schoolhouse choice.

“When it comes to our acquisition system, let’s inquire ourselves 2 nonstop questions: One, are we satisfied with the presumption quo that results successful our acquisition strategy twelvemonth aft twelvemonth bouncing adjacent the bottommost of nationalist metrics? I cognize I’m not,” helium said successful his code Wednesday. “And two, shouldn’t we collaborate much to adjacent the accomplishment gaps plaguing our schools and situation ourselves to effort thing different? I judge we should. To alteration the outcome, we indispensable beryllium consenting to alteration the model.”

In 2023, Lombardo added much than $2 cardinal successful new acquisition funding to the biennial authorities budget. He besides signed a measure that acceptable speech $250 cardinal for pedagogue raises statewide — wage bumps that helium present proposes making permanent, and extending to antecedently excluded charter schoolhouse teachers.

Now, helium said, lawmakers tin “no longer judge deficiency of backing arsenic an excuse for chronic underperformance.”

Lombardo said his forthcoming acquisition bill, the Nevada Accountability successful Education Act, demands stricter accountability, equity and excellence astatine school, territory and committee levels.

The Nevada State Education Association, which represents teachers statewide but successful the Clark County School District, pointed retired successful a connection aft the code that the authorities Commission connected School Funding outlined a way 3 years agone to execute optimal backing — but adjacent with the concern made successful 2023, Nevada remains $4,000 per pupil beneath the nationalist average.

“Ranking adjacent the bottommost successful acquisition funding, legislators indispensable prioritize investments successful our nationalist schools and cull proposals that divert payer dollars into backstage interests — specified arsenic stadium vouchers, backstage schoolhouse vouchers and Hollywood subsidies,” said NSEA president Dawn Etcheverry. “Instead, Nevada should walk the program to execute optimal acquisition funding, trim people sizes, fortify accountability for charter schools, and guarantee each pupil has entree to cosmopolitan escaped meals.”

The Clark County Education Association said successful a connection Thursday that it was committed to moving with the Lombardo medication and looking guardant to much details of his proposals.

The CCSD teachers’ national approved of maintaining the raises and said it would similar much treatment connected wage for “hard-to-fill subjects,” high-poverty schools with precocious vacancies, and peculiar education.

“CCEA supports stronger accountability for pupil outcomes astatine the schoolhouse territory level with the superintendent, the schoolhouse committee and, arsenic important, astatine the gathering level, wherever higher standards of pupil accomplishment outcomes should beryllium successful spot for principals,” the national said. “CCEA educators invited accountability arsenic good successful our efforts to amended a student’s education.”

From what Lombardo said Wednesday, helium has immoderate communal crushed with an acquisition omnibus measure that authorities Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, teased successful December.

The Education done Accountability, Transparency and Efficiency Act, besides referred to arsenic the EDUCATE Act, continues teacher raises. Its higher-level accountability portion establishes a “school territory oversight board” and sets qualification standards for apical administrators similar superintendents and main fiscal officers, and it expands teacher mentation programs. Teacher prep got a boost successful Lombardo’s 2023 acquisition measure with added funds to assistance programs for aspiring educators.

This year, Lombardo besides wants to proceed to absorption connected aboriginal literacy and found an Excellence successful Education Fund to reward high-performing teachers and administrators.

In a Democratic effect Wednesday instantly aft Lombardo’s address, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, said taxpayers merit to cognize however wealth is being spent successful a mode that gets results.

He said lawmakers volition proceed with those efforts, including “fixing the issues with the Clark County School District committee of trustees, which continues to marque the quality for each the incorrect reasons.” He wasn’t explicit, but the EDUCATE Act proposes giving voting rights to the 4 municipally appointed, nonvoting advisory members of the CCSD board. CCSD is the lone territory with a hybrid committee aft a measure past league adding the appointees.

He said Democrats volition besides prioritize expanding prekindergarten.

Lombardo affirmed successful his code that he’s “a large believer successful schoolhouse choice.”

He sought to grow accidental scholarships successful his omnibus measure past session, but the connection was cut. He did get done a $7 cardinal allotment for charter schoolhouse busing, though. This year, his Nevada Accountability successful Education Act expands unfastened enrollment policies and provides proscription support.

While Lombardo’s code Wednesday did not notation backstage schools oregon accidental scholarships — the concern taxation recognition programme that covers tuition for lower-income families — Democrats did.

Democrats privation to guarantee that backstage schools receiving funds done accidental scholarships are taxable to the aforesaid math, subject and speechmaking appraisal requirements arsenic nationalist schools. And Yeager said Democrats volition “continue to reason immoderate effort to privatize nationalist acquisition and divert your payer wealth to unaccountable backstage organizations.”