Legislative Committee Votes on Pay Cut
Urge Legislators to Raise Revenue for Education

  • You, Nevada's legislators, voted to cut our pay by 4% and I am not happy.  I know you’ve said this is the best you can do given the circumstances but this decrease in funding is going to affect all of us—the children as well as teachers and support professionals charged with educating these children.
  • Fortunately, what we, as educators, have to fall back on are our contracts. 
  • You voted to provide 4% less in funding to the districts; however, while it is your intent that the cuts be implemented, all is subject to bargaining.
  • As you know, salaries are a mandatory subject of bargaining and the districts can use other funding to cover the pay cut set forth—all, of course, done through the bargaining process at the local level.
  • With that said, we need you to pressure certain interest groups to step up to the plate and contribute to the state’s economy so that funding is available. 
  • We, the 28,000 members of the Nevada State Education Association, need you to revenue sources to fund education. 
  • We need you to pressure all groups that profit from doing business in this state to pay their fair share and join in the efforts to save our state and our schools. 
  • We know you have many options, even in these tough financial times, that you can explore such as increasing taxes to industries that currently contribute little to none to this state's economy. It's not too late! 
  • More than 28,000 teachers and support professionals, along with Nevada’s students, are counting on you to raise revenue for education.
  • Please don’t let us down!
 
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A Band-aid Won’t Heal Education Cuts
  • We are hard-working educators charged with one of the most important tasks any adult can have--and that is to educate the children of Nevada to prepare them for our future.
  •  I understand that times are tough; they're tough for everyone! But the cuts that the governor has proposed and that are being considered are irrational and unfair.
  • Historically, the legislature has taken a band-aid approach to funding education and never really addressed the critical funding needs.
  • A band-aid won't heal education cuts! Educators cannot be expected to assist with balancing the state's budget when we are already operating on a bare-bones budget.
  • I, along with the other 28,000 teachers and support professionals live in your district, are watching what is going on in Carson City. Our state association, NSEA, is there working with you and representing us.
  • We need you to do what we elected you to do--and that is to protect the interests of Nevada's education system.

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Urge Lawmakers to Support AB 458
  • AB 458--the Rainy Day Fund--creates the Public Education Stabilization Fund. Passage of AB 458 would limit the amount of money collected for education from reverting back into the general fund.
  • Education funding is hurting so much that we cannot afford to lose any funding due to the education budget.
  • Please support AB 458.
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Talking Points
AB 319—Educator Bill of Rights
What you need to know…

Many good teachers leave the classroom because they are not treated as professionals. Research suggests that the teacher is the most important factor in students achieving at a high rate of success. With the massive amount of teacher vacancies across this state and the numerous Nevada educators who leave the classroom every year, more needs to be done in order to address educator’s working conditions.

AB 319 provides that a school employee has certain rights with regard to matters involving the discussion of that employee's conduct, performance, employment status, discipline or transfer. This bill provides rights if the employee has a complaint or concern about working conditions.

Major provisions include the following:

  • A written notice of a meeting that must be sent to the employee and must contain specific information about time and location as well as the purpose of the meeting;
  • Rights of an employee during the meeting, specifically requiring the continuation of a meeting that has been called for another purpose if the meeting topics begin to fall under the provision of the bill;
  • Reinstatement of an employee if sufficient grounds for dismissal do not exist, including full compensation;
  • A written policy prohibiting acts or statements by administrators intended to convince employees to waive their rights under the act; and

Please contact your legislator and urge them to support AB 319.

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Urge Lawmakers to Support AB 488
  • AB 488 extends the program currently in place that brings back retirees to critical shortage areas.
  • We support AB 488 which allows retirees to return to the classroom in critical shortage areas and to be compensated at the level at which they were at the time of retirement.
  • Please support AB 488 because Nevada needs to provide as many incentives as possible in order to fill these-much needed vacancies.
  • This program allows for highly-qualified teachers to fill those critical subject area vacancies.
  • Please support AB 488.
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Support Proposed Changes to EMRB Proceedings
  • Our state association, NSEA, supports AB 409—changes proposed the EMRB proceedings.
  • The EMRB bill (AB 409) requires the Employee Management Relations Board (EMRB) to no longer hear employee/employer-related complaints in the manner which they currently do.
  • The purpose of the bill is to ensure due process for all involved and to streamline the current decision-making process.At times, the EMRB has taken several years to complete their rulings and many of them did not follow previous precedent taken by previous rulings of the EMRB.
  • AB 409 will make the process more succinct, be more cost effective and will be reviewed by an experienced hearings officer to ensure a fair and balanced approach to employer-employee disagreements.
  • Please support AB 409.
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PERS Talking Points
  • The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce’s proposal to balance the state budget on the backs of state workers is wrong and dangerous for the state of Nevada!
  • Keeping contribution rates stable is the key to long-term stability of the PERS trust.  It provides a sound and predictable system for members and taxpayers alike.  The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce’s recommendations upset this long-term stability and may end up costing tax payers more money.
  • The Nevada PERS already has a solid financing plan place to ensure all benefits earned by public employees will be paid when due.  The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce report disregards this cost saving premise. 
  • Nevada PERS costs are far less than the average similar pension fund while it contributes more than $1 billion to the state’s economy.  In fact, for every dollar paid into PERS, the State receives $6 in return investment. 
  • The costs of changing the Defined Benefit plan enjoyed by all of Nevada’s public employees to a Defined Contribution plan, or 401(k) plan, would end up costing the taxpayer billions of dollars.  The Defined Contribution plan would give our educators a worse benefit at a cost of more money from the state budget.
  • NSEA agrees the State’s budget and revenue sources need to be changed …but these changes cannot be made on the backs of our teachers, support professionals, police, and fire fighters.
  • The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is simply trying to shed the budget deficit in an extremely irresponsible manner by putting your neighborhoods, your family and your homes at risk.
  • By increasing the burden on State workers, The Chamber wants to make it more difficult for the school districts to attract and retain educators and their plan would endanger your neighborhoods by lessening your city’s police protection.
  • The Chamber is basing its claims in a report they distributed last year where their assumptions in that report are factually wrong.  In fact, if the legislature were to follow the Chamber’s plan, it would actually cost the taxpayers MORE money and hurt the economy of every county in Nevada.
  • The Las Vegas Chamber’s report on PERS was intellectually dishonest in the fact they did not take into account that Nevada’s public employees do not receive Social Security benefits.  The lack of costs of Social Security to Nevada’s public employers is actually a cost savings when compared to other states across the U.S. 
  • The Chamber’s sole purpose was to find savings for Nevada Taxpayers.  However, PERS is one of the best-run programs in Nevada.  Funding the retirement of teachers, education support professionals, police, and firefighters is not wasteful spending.
  • The agreement currently in law is that the State and school districts share equally with teachers and support professionals in the costs of the premiums to the Public Employees Retirement System.  The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce completely ignores this fact.

 
 
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